The Datafile PD-CD 5/DATAFILE_PDCD5.iso/utilities/f/fractal112/!Fractal/Help/MainMenu

Text File | 1996-10-13 | 22.4 KB | 495 lines

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|                !Fractal v1.11: General Fractal Plotter                   |
|                           September 1996                                 |
|                   Main Menu And Panel Documentation                      |
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Tools
=====
The tools pane provides quick access to many functions. For full details see
the corresponding function in the Menu section. The various tools are, in
descending order:

Zoom: click with Select to zoom in, Adjust to zoom out. Repeat the click to
cancel the zoom. See Image->Zoom for full details.

Mandelbrot: click on this to redraw an image after you have changed
parameters or function. The icon is displayed in reverse when plotting is
active. To stop a plot click on the icon again (after clicking Adjust to
return to desktop mode). See Image->Redraw for full details.

Wheel: enters colour cycling mode. Press menu to exit, or use the Select
button to pause. Move the mouse up/down to change speed and direction
(requires a graphics card). See Effects->Cycle for full details.

Numbers: opens the data entry panel for the current function.

Palettes: 20 different display palettes can be chosen. These do not change
the image itself, merely the way it is shown on-screen. Use Adjust to select
the alternate palette for each icon. Double click to set the screen palette
as well (requires graphics enhancer or RiscPC). See Palette->Presets for
details.

Palette Shift (striped colours): Use Select to increment the colour by 1
(small stripes) or 8 (large stripes), and Adjust to decrement by 1 or 8. To
reset the shift, click on a display palette. See Palette->Shift for details.

Rotation: shows the current rotation viewing angle with two icons to adjust
the viewpoint. This icon is used directly by the 3d drawing functions (such
as Lorenz) and image manipulators (such as 3d_View). You can also use this
tool at any time to rotate the current image on display - simply
double-click on the Rotation icon itself. Some clipping of the image is
inevitable and repeated rotation will result in the loss of image quality.
Also see Effects->Rotate.

Rotation Arrows: Clicking with Select steps by 15 degrees, whilst Adjust
steps in 5 degrees. Keeping the button pressed will continuously move the
viewpoint. The left-hand adjust icon rotates clockwise, the right-hand icon
moves anti-clockwise. The new angle takes effect when you redraw the image.

Elevation: shows the current elevation viewing angle, as used by the 3d
functions. Use Select and Adjust as with the Rotate icons, stepping by 15 or
5 degrees respectively. The new angle takes effect when you redraw the
image. Some functions limit the elevation range.

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Menus
=====
The icon bar menu shows the program Info window, access to the Help files
and the Quit option. The main menu is available from any !Fractal window.
Pressing Adjust instead of Select will keep the menu open.

The Main Menu
----------------
The menu options are available from the desktop or full screen window. When
performing a multi-tasking plot the only menu option available is to stop
the plot to prevent options being changed whilst being used, or to revert to
full Desktop mode. Menu items are:

fractal: The currently selected fractal name appears as a menu selection.
Some fractal functions offer their own menu selection. Refer to the help
application !Functions or !L-Systems for details.

      ----------------------------------------------

FUNCTION: Selects the Fractal function to be used. Reloading a saved sprite
or GIF file automatically sets the function to that which created the
sprite. When switching back to a function, the function variables will be
the same as previously, allowing you to switch between functions without
losing your position.

      ----------------------------------------------

IMAGE: Controls the factors used to create the image such as the variables.
The image is held internally as a sprite which can be saved in AFG2 format.

Image->Zoom->Zoom In
Image->Zoom->Zoom Out
The default is Zoom In if you click on Zoom.
Activates the zoom box and re-plotting process where supported by the
fractal function. Moving the mouse moves the box, even beyond the edge of
the image. The mouse buttons have the following effect:

    Left: Zoom box in fast.        Shift+Left: Zoom box in slowly.
  Middle: Start zoom
   Right: Zoom box out slowly.     Shift+Right: Zoom box out slowly.

When zooming out the box represents the current image size. The information
window at the top of the screen shows the bottom left x & y values and the
width and height, as used by the Fractal function. A cross hair replaces the
standard pointer except when the zoom box is small when the pointer is
turned off.

On pressing Menu the new display will be drawn in dedicated mode (which is
the fastest) until you press Adjust, at which time desktop mode is
re-entered. The plotting will continue in the background and the screen will
not be automatically updated (this may be added at a later date).

To see the state of the display when in background mode click on one of the
display palettes. When you are in desktop mode a time counter shows the
progress on the icon bar.

Background plotting allows you to carry on using other desktop applications,
though you will notice some reduction in speed (Nb. entering commands such
as *BASIC will halt all desktop operations!). Background plotting will take
much longer.

Image->Redraw: causes the image to be re-generated using the current data
variables. Same as clicking on the Mandelbrot tool icon.

Image->Redraw->Clear: Clears the image on redraw when on. Turn off to allow
composite images. This works well with Faults or L-Systems.

Image->Shift Clrs: Leads to a submenu of colour changes. This allows the
image colours to be permanently shifted up or down as required, by adding
the value to the physical colour number of each pixel.

Image->Save->Image+Data & Image Only
Provides 2 standard panels for saving the current image. Saving with data
saves the image and associated fractal data, allowing the image to be
reloaded (by dragging onto !Fractal) and plotting continued. The standard
sprite just contains the image and takes less space when saving 3d
transformed shapes (eg Render) since the source image is not saved. In both
cases the sprite is saved with the current 256 colour palette which will be
understood by RiscOS 3.1 compliant applications (eg. Paint).

Image->Save->GIF Format
When on saves the image in GIF format. This saves disk space but takes
longer to save. GIF files may be viewed on PCs in full 256 colour format.
Also you can use the GIF file with ChangeFSI or Translator to see the image
dithered using the RiscOS standard 256 colours. This option is very useful
if you do not have a graphics enhancer or RiscPC since you get most of the
benefits of Fractal's palette facilities.

Image->Mode->...   Shows all the available 256 colour modes on your machine.
Image->Size->...   Shows the current image size, which can be changed.
Images can be generated in any 256 colour mode, including multi-sync and
custom overscan modes. This allows different resolutions to be chosen as
desired. Alternatively you can set the image size (in pixels) via the SIZE
entry - the size is limited only by memory. Small sizes help speed up
plotting. When using custom sizes you will not see the image being replotted
on screen. Use the Display->Magnify panel to allow extra large images to be
seen all at once. RiscPC modes > 127 are not currently supported by Fractal.

Image->Details
Shows various statistics about the current image, mostly useful when
redisplaying stored images and to see the plotting mechanism used. Create
Time is the length of time taken to create the last fractal displayed. Plots
shows the number of plot operations performed, where this is known - for
some functions this is zero.

Accuracy shows the type of maths used, which is dependant on the function,
zoom level and presence of FPA hardware. Possible values are:
  Integer: 32 bit integer maths.
  16 Bit Fixed Point: Uses the ARM integer processors and computes to 4 digit
                      accuracy.
  32 Bit Fixed Point: Uses the ARM integer processors and computes to 8 digit
                      accuracy.
  32 Bit Floating Point: Computes to 7 digit accuracy using either FPA hardware
                         or floating point emulation.
  64 Bit Floating Point: Computes to 17 digit accuracy using either FPA hardware
                         or floating point emulation.
  96 Bit Floating Point: Computes to 21 digit accuracy using either FPA hardware
                         or floating point emulation.
The 96 Bit format is known as extended precision or long double and actually
uses only 80 bits. Currently only the Mandelbrot/Julia z=z²+c function uses
this because the C compiler does not yet support long doubles, requiring
these routines to be written in Assembler. If and when the C compiler does
support long doubles, Fractal will be upgraded to support them.

Integer processor shows either ARM2 or ARM3.
Floating point processor shows FPA, Emulator x.xx (Acorn's emulator) or Mike
Curnow's emulator (32 bit accuracy, 5 times faster than Acorn's emulator).

Plot Type can be: Pixel x/y, Sprite processor or show the point plotting
function from the Effects->Plotting panel. Effects shows whether 3d or
Riemann plotting of x/y is in effect.

      ---------------------------------------------

EFFECTS: This menu entry allows manipulation of the generated image and
controls the 3d aspect.

Effects->Plotting...
Opens a dialogue box to control the plotting of points. See the
'Plotting Options' section for a description.

Effects->3d Details->
Leads to a panel giving control over the 3d plotting. See the section on 3d
plotting for full details.

Effects->Rotate
Rotates the image clockwise the number of degrees shown in the Tools rotate
icon, or as in the 3d Options panel.

Effects->Cycle 255
Effects->Cycle 256
Allows the image colours to be stepped through. 255 mode is used with
palettes that use colour 0 for the background to avoid flicker. When used
with a graphics enhancer the palette is reprogrammed each cycle. Use the
mouse as follows:

  Mouse up   - speed up cycle
  Mouse down - slow down cycle, then reverse action
  Select     - pause
  Adjust     - continue
  Menu       - exit

Without a graphics enhancer or RiscPC palette changing is simulated as best
as possible, but will be slower. To speed up the rate try using a lower
resolution display mode. In this mode the mouse keys act as follows:

  Select: Halt cycling. Press Adjust to restart.
  Menu  : Exit cycling and restore the image colours.
  Adjust: Reverse the direction of cycling.

Two screen banks will be used if there is sufficient memory to avoid
flicker. Note that in Modes 21, 24, 28 etc this is not possible due to the
480k VIDC limit on non-RiscPC machines. In other modes, if you get flicker,
try to free up memory using the task manager.

Colour cycling will work in non-default display palettes as long as the
image is normal screen size and the image mode can be entered. This can
produce some amazing effects - try the Fault function with different
palettes for example. This palette cycling feature is slower than using
straight image colour cycling. If palette cycling cannot be performed,
normal image cycling will be used which will produce strange results since
the cycling does not step through the palette, but merely increments the
displayed colours.

      -----------------------------------------------

PALETTE: Controls the palette in use. Most options work if you do not have a
graphics enhancer or RiscPC, but you will not see the full colour range. To
do this save the image as a GIF file and input into ChangeFSI.

Palette->Set Screen
Click to set the screen palette to the one in use for the image.

Palette->Set Screen->Auto Update
When on the palette is set whenever it is updated within Fractal - this
works best when in full screen mode.

Palette->Presets
Gives a selection of palettes to try, corresponding to those available from
the tool icons. If you have loaded a palette file, its name will be given in
the 3rd menu selection. If you have loaded a palette directly from !EditPal,
generated one at random, or loaded a Fractal sprite, then this palette will
be the 'Internal' palette.

Palette->Random
Click to generate a palette at random. Use the submenu to choose how many
colours to choose at random. Intermediate colours are generated by
interpolating between the random colours. This feature works best with a
programmable palette and can give good results with Mandelbrots and other
pixel generated images. Random palettes become the 'Internal' palette (press
Adjust over the 2nd palette Tool icon).

Palette->Files...
Opens a Filer window showing all the supplied palettes. Simply drag a file
into Fractal to use it. The palette becomes the 'External' palette (2nd
palette tool, 3rd preset).

Palette->Shift
Allows the palette to be shifted up or down as in colour cycling. Palette
shifting is useful with the Landscape palette to get a balance between sea
and land.

Palette->Save
Allows the current palette to be saved. Drag onto !EditPal to edit.

      -----------------------------------------------

DISPLAY: Displays the data for the fractal function and controls the overall
display.

Display->Data
Leads to a data entry panel allowing you to directly enter the function
variables - these are dependant on the function being used. Use Fractal's
standard editing keys to move around the panel (see later). Select OK to
enter the variables and have them verified. Press REDRAW to enter the data
and start plotting. Use INITIAL to return to the default values for the
function or Inital Zoom just to reset the zoom size. The size and format of
the input fields is dependant on the variable type (integer, float or
double). For doubles the full 16 or 17 digits of accuracy is allowed. Use
the Options panel to select 17 digit accuracy but note that in this mode the
rightmost digit may be rounded up/down slightly, which can result in numbers
displaying as 2.099999 instead of 2.1.

Display->Previous
If a previously plotted image exists, then you can select this to quickly
re-display it. To save older images, use the Save dialogue. If there is
insufficient memory available, this function is disabled.

Display->X/Y Position
For zoomable functions, this opens a window showing the x/y co-ordinate at
the mouse pointer. This can be useful for noting positions on the image. The
x/y values are dependent on the function. This window is closed on a redraw
or zoom.

Display->Desktop
Closes the full screen window when open. This can be done even while
plotting is going on.

Display->Magnify->...
The panel allows you to change the displayed size of the image. This is
useful when creating oversize images to enable it all to be seen. Setting
magnify to 2:3 allows all the image to be seen at a reasonable scale without
taking up all of the desktop.

Display->Full Screen
Click on this to see the image in full screen mode. Alternatively click with
Adjust over the icon bar icon.

      ----------------------------------------------
MISC: Contains these sub-items:

Misc->Resources
Opens a Filer window showing the supplied data files used by some functions.
Load them by dragging them onto Fractal.

Misc->Scripts
Opens a Filer window showing the supplied scripts. See the !Scripts help
file for information. To run a script, simply drag it onto Fractal.

Misc->Options
Leads to a panel listing the options currently in effect. Click on the
button to turn an option on/off. Press OK to enter your settings or Save to
make them permanent. Options are:

Options->X/Y Guessing: Some functions such as Mandelbrots plot a pixel by
pixel. With X/Y Guessing a rough image is drawn and then the detail is
filled in, guessing if possible the colour in between. Not only does this
allow you to quickly see the image, but it is also up to 4 times quicker.
The downside is a slight loss in accuracy, so an option is provided to turn
this mode off, in which case each pixel will be drawn in sequence.

Options->Tools Window: Allows the tools window to be turned on and off.

Options->Previous Image Save: turns off the internal image storing feature
which helps to reduce memory requirements.

Options->256 Colour Palette: set on if you have a graphics board capable of
programming all 256 colours. This option will be set on automatically for
RiscPC machines. This enables full colour cycling and palette setting. If you
don't have such a board, take !Fractal along for a demo as soon as possible -
you'll be hooked!

Options->Preserve Desktop Colours: when on desktop colours are preserved
when the screen palette is changed. Colours 0-15 are set to the desktop
colours and 16-255 to those in the image palette. This allows you to play
around with new palettes without affecting the rest of the desktop.

Options->Full Screen Mode: The full screen display mode can be selected from
any 256 colour mode. The default is the same as the image mode. When the
display mode is different from the image mode, the image mode will be
entered when plotting commences. This unfortunately produces some flicker
but it allows Mode 13 sprites (with square pixels and twice as quick to
plot!) to be used with a Mode 15 display. Click on Other to use the mode
number you enter.

Options->Screen Blank: High resolution screen modes (eg. Mode 21) slow down
the processor on non RiscPC machines. With screen blank on, the screen is
switched to Mode 13 when the image is being generated. This will
significantly reduce plotting time, with the disadvantage that you will not
see the image build up.

Options->Full Precision Maths: Some functions such as Mandelbrots use
integer arithmetic or 32 bit floating point where possible to increase
speed. This reduces accuracy and can produce strange effects. Set this
option on to force use of full floating point, but be prepared for a great
reduction in speed. If you have a floating point hardware card, then turn
this on to exploit it, though most routines will do this automatically.

Options->17 digit display: displays floating point numbers using 17 digits
to allow the full accuracy to be viewed and entered. Note that floating
point numbers are actually accurate somewhere between 16 and 17 digits, so
some inaccuracy will occur when using 17 digit displays.

Options->Save: click on this icon to save the options as set for the next
run of Fractal.

      ----------------------------------------------
Plotting Options
================
This dialogue box controls the plotting method used by Bifurcate, Henon,
IFS, Martin and Popcorn functions. These functions all plot points and this
box controls the colours used.

Initial Colour: the colour used at the beginning of the plot.

Change Every: after this number of plots the colour will be changed if
Stepping or Random colour selection is on.

Plot Type: Controls how the colour is set on the screen:
  Overlay : simply sets the colour.
  OR      : the pixel colour is ORed with the current plot colour.
  AND     : the pixel colour is ANDed with the current plot colour.
  EOR     : the pixel colour is EORed with the current plot colour.
  Invert  : the pixel colour is set to 255-the pixel colour. The plot colour
            is not used.
  Add     : the plot colour is added to the pixel colour, wrapping around if
            >255.
  Subtract: the plot colour is subtracted from the pixel colour, wrapping
            around if <0.

Step: when on the value of 'By' is added to the plot colour every change
interval, thus stepping through a colour range.

Random: when on a random colour is chosen every change interval.

A wide variety of effects can be produced by combining different Plot Types
with Stepping or Random colour selection - do experiment!

Typically OR, AND and EOR would be used when overlaying a plot on top of
another image. When Adding or Subtracting the Initial Colour value would
typically be set to a low value such as 1, but note that this value could be
stepped so that the amount of colour change changes!

It is hoped that these plot options will be extended to line plotting and
maybe even Mandelbrot style functions at some stage.

      ----------------------------------------------

3d Details Panel
----------------
You must click on OK to enter your new settings.

3d X/Y Plot: Activates the 3d pixel plotting for functions that plot each
pixel on an X/Y map (eg. Mandelbrots).

Riemann Plot: Direct Riemann plotting for pixel plotting functions. See the
Riemann function for details.

Height Mapping: controls the process of mapping pixel colours into heights.

Log: uses a logarithmic map which favours lower colours. It gives the best
results for 3d mapping.

Inverse Log: uses an inverse logarithmic map, favouring the higher colours.
It is of most use when using a 3d transform with an image that has had its
palette inverted via Effects->Invert. This produces an upside down image.

Linear: maps the pixel colour number directly into the height.

Scalar: Controls the vertical scaling. It is useful where the pixel values are
all low to exagerate the height. Also as the elevation increases the height
decreases - increase the scalar to compensate if required.

Rotation: specifies the viewpoint angle in degrees anti-clockwise, ie. the
clockwise angle of rotation of the image. The value can be -360 to 360°.

Elevation: specifies the viewpoint angle in degrees from -90° to 90°. Many
of the functions limit this angle to positive angles only.

3d Buffer: the number of points stored for re-plotting when using the 3d
image functions. Larger values provide a better impression of the image, but
take longer to re-draw.

      ----------------------------------------------

Data Editing Keys
-----------------
There are several data entry panels used within !Fractal. To move around
these panels use these keys (which follow RiscOS conventions) or the mouse:

Mouse click: moves the caret to the icon under the mouse.

Return, Tab or Down-cursor go to the next editable icon.

Shift Tab or Up-cursor go to the previous icon.

Shift-Cursor-up/down or Page-Up/Down move to the icons above and below.

Standard RiscOS keys are used to edit data. As a reminder these are:

Delete    : deletes to the left of the caret
Copy      : deletes to the right of the caret
Ctrl-U    : delete all
Ctrl-Copy : delete to the right of the caret

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