Difference between revisions of "Documentation:Mac OS Section 1"

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===Introduction===
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==Introduction==
 
<!--<sectiondesc desc=<"Mac OS specific">--->
 
<!--<sectiondesc desc=<"Mac OS specific">--->
<p>Welcome to POV-Ray 3.5 for Mac OS! This software is called a ray
+
<p>Welcome to POV-Ray 3.7 for Mac OS</p>
tracer. It may be a little different from other 3-D software you are
+
<p>POV-Ray is a ray tracer. It may be a little different from any other 3-D software you've used before, however, you will soon find that the images and animations created with POV-Ray can rival those commercial packages costing thousands of dollars!</p>
used to, but you will soon find that the images and movies you can
+
<p>POV-Ray reads a text file that describes the objects and lighting in a scene, and it generates an image of that scene from the view point of a camera, also described in the text file. The creation of these images and animations by ray tracing is not a fast process by any means, but it produces very high quality images with realistic reflections, shading, textures, perspective, and other effects.</p>
create with POV-Ray can rival those commercial packages costing
+
 
thousands of dollars! POV-Ray reads a text file that describes the
+
===What's new in POV-Ray for Mac OS===
objects and lighting in a scene, and it generates an image of that scene
+
<p>For technical reasons the Mac OS graphical user interface was not ready at the time of the version 3.7.0 release. For that reason, the <em>Official</em> distribution is a command-line only version.</p>
from the view point of a camera, also described in the text file. The
+
<p class="Note"><strong>Note:</strong> A graphical user interface is planned for future release.</p>
creation of these images and animations by ray tracing is not a fast
+
<p>See the section [[Documentation:Tutorial Section 1#Changes and New Features Summary|Changes and New Features Summary]] for information about <em>non-platform</em> specific changes.</p>
process by any means, but it produces very high quality images with
+
 
realistic reflections, shading, textures, perspective, and other
+
===Requirements===
effects. This program is Copyrighted Freeware, which means you may use
+
<p>This version of POV-Ray runs on any Intel based Macintosh computer with Mac OS version 10.6.8 (<em>Snow Leopard</em>) or later.</p>
it for free, but it does have special restrictions on how you can modify
 
it or redistribute it. For more information on the usage and
 
distribution policies of POV-Ray, please see POVLEGAL.DOC included with
 
this distribution.</p>
 
===New Features in POV-Ray 3.7===
 
<p class="Note">'''Note: '''This entire section needs updating. Any volunteers?</p>
 
<p>The list is in no particular order.</p>
 
<ul>
 
<li>Multiple open source files
 
<li>Carbon compatibility
 
<li>Easier to use Render Settings dialog
 
<li>Extended preferences dialog
 
<li>Improved text editor window with popup menus to jump to markers,
 
declares, macros and includes and show dependent files
 
<li>Search Menu (Find, Replace, etc) with regular expression searching
 
<li>Faster syntax coloring
 
<li>Symbol coloring
 
<li>Faster image preview window
 
<li>Batch render multiple files with the extended Render Quene window
 
<li>Preview and search templates in POV-Ray (requires CarbonLib 1.6 and
 
later)
 
<li>Render progress dialog
 
<li>Improved message window to show statistics, errors and warnings
 
<li>New preferences format that will never again be lost in a new
 
version, it will not destroy 3.1 preferences, too!
 
<li>New about box and startup screen
 
<li>New application and file icons
 
<li>Optional control of POV-Ray rendering via command-line arguments
 
used on other platforms in Render Settings dialog
 
<li>Rendering runs in its own thread and no longer locks the user
 
interface while rendering
 
<li>Built-in just-in-time compiler for &quot;function&quot; generating
 
native PowerPC code more than doubling speed of isosurfaces in many
 
cases
 
<li>More control over POV-Ray via AppleScript
 
</ul>
 
  
 
===Installation===
 
===Installation===
<p>Just copy the &quot;POV-Ray 3.6&quot; folder to your harddisk. Note
+
<p>Download one of the following distributions. See the <em>README</em> file for more information.</p>
that POV-Ray does not run on read-only volumes.</p>
+
<ol>
===Requirements===
+
  <li><strong><em>[http://www.povray.org/download/ Official]</em></strong></li>
<p>The Macintosh version runs under Apple's Mac OS operating system
+
  <li><em>[http://megapov.inetart.net/povrayunofficial_mac/ Unofficial]</em> (not supported by the POV-Ray developers)</li>
version 8.6 (it may run on 8.1 and 8.5 as well, but we do not support
+
  <li><em>[https://github.com/POV-Ray Source Code]</em></li>
POV-Ray 3.6 running on Mac OS 8.1 and 8.5) or newer with CarbonLib 1.6
+
</ol>
or newer installed. Note that we no longer support 68K based Macintosh
+
<p>Most users will want to choose either the <em>Official</em> or <em>Unofficial</em> distributions because they contain a universal 32/64 bit binary and support (application scene and include) files. The <em>Unofficial</em> distribution (made available by a third party) offers a stable alternative to the command-line only <em>Official</em> release. It comes with a complete GUI, editor and templates, it even supports Retina&reg; displays. Choosing the <em>source code</em> distribution assumes an adequate environment (compiler and support libraries) and the expertise to build your own package.</p>
computers. POV-Ray 3.6 requires a Power Macintosh!</p>
+
 
<p>A Power Macintosh is any iMac, iBook, Mac G3, Mac G4, Mac G5, Cube,
+
<p class="Note"><strong>Note:</strong> POV-Ray does not run on read-only volumes.</p>
any older Mac with a four digit model number (i.e. 5200, 6300, 7200,
+
 
8100, 9600) and any third party computer running Mac OS 8.6 or later.
+
===Bug Reporting via our Bug Tracking System===
Mac OS X 10.2 or later are supported but for maximum render speed it is
+
<p>Bug reports may be lodged about povray by using the [https://github.com/POV-Ray/povray/issues issue tracker] on GitHub. The issue tracker is monitored regularly by the POV-Ray development team and they will address any properly-lodged bug reports in the most timely manner possible.</p>
not recommended to use Mac OS X.</p>
+
 
<p>Required hardware and software: Power Macintosh computer with at
+
<p class="Note"><strong>Note:</strong> Bug reports related to any <em>Unofficial</em> distribution should be lodged with the maintainer!</p>
least 16 MB of free RAM. Mac OS 8.6 or newer with CarbonLib 1.6 or newer
+
 
installed. About 20 MB free disk space to install and an additional 5-10
+
<p>You may like to remember, however, that no matter where you end up getting assistance from, users who show that they have looked in the documentation and read the [http://wiki.povray.org/content/Knowledgebase:POV-Ray_Questions_and_Tips POV-Ray Questions and Tips] first, will be much more likely to receive the response they want than someone who obviously has not done their homework. It's also important to check that the bug hasn't already been reported - if it has, and is still open, don't add a new report - if you have relevant information not already in the existing report, consider adding a comment.</p>
MB free space for your own creations (scenes and images). Graphic file
+
 
viewer utility capable of viewing Mac PICT, GIF and perhaps TGA and PNG
+
<p>Any messages or reports sent to us may (not necessarily will, but may) be re-posted in our newsgroups, on USENET, or on our web site, if we consider it appropriate to do so.</p>
formats (the shareware GraphicConverter applications is good.)</p>
+
 
<p>Required POV-Ray files: POVPMAC.SIT or POVPMAC.HQX - a StuffIt
+
<p>You should not expect any reply to bug reports. If you wish to follow the progress of a bug, it's best to use the bug tracker (be sure to configure your account to receive notifications of replies to your bug). You can also request to be emailed when there are replies to an existing bug report.</p>
archive containing the native Power Macintosh application, sample
+
 
scenes, standard include files and documentation.</p>
+
<p>The minimum information to include in your bug report is:</p>
<p>Recommended: Power Macintosh G4 with 128 MB or more of free RAM. Mac
+
 
OS 9.2.2 or newer with CarbonLib 1.6 (works with Mac OS 8.6 or newer) to
+
<ol>
access all features of the Mac frontend. CarbonLib 1.6 is available for
+
<li>The version number of POV-Ray for Mac OS.</li>
free download from Apple in the software update section of the Apple
+
<li>Your operating system or distribution and version. It's surprising how many people fail to provide this basic piece of information. We need to know what version of operationg system you are running.</li>
website. Color monitor with millions of colors.</p>
+
<li>Your computer; what processor and how much memory.</li>
 +
<li>A complete description of the problem and what led up to it. It will make it a lot easier to
 +
track down if you can include a scene file that will cause the problem. If the file is large,
 +
try removing parts until you have the minimum scene file that will cause the problem.</li>
 +
</ol>
  
 +
<p class="Note"><strong>Note:</strong> If posting on the news group or emailing someone for support, do not include file attachments without asking first. This <em>particularly</em> applies to email (for security purposes, emails with unsolicited attachments may be deleted unread). Reasonably-sized file attachments on the bug tracking system are permitted.</p>
 
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Latest revision as of 11:16, 1 October 2016

This document is protected, so submissions, corrections and discussions should be held on this documents talk page.


Introduction

Welcome to POV-Ray 3.7 for Mac OS

POV-Ray is a ray tracer. It may be a little different from any other 3-D software you've used before, however, you will soon find that the images and animations created with POV-Ray can rival those commercial packages costing thousands of dollars!

POV-Ray reads a text file that describes the objects and lighting in a scene, and it generates an image of that scene from the view point of a camera, also described in the text file. The creation of these images and animations by ray tracing is not a fast process by any means, but it produces very high quality images with realistic reflections, shading, textures, perspective, and other effects.

What's new in POV-Ray for Mac OS

For technical reasons the Mac OS graphical user interface was not ready at the time of the version 3.7.0 release. For that reason, the Official distribution is a command-line only version.

Note: A graphical user interface is planned for future release.

See the section Changes and New Features Summary for information about non-platform specific changes.

Requirements

This version of POV-Ray runs on any Intel based Macintosh computer with Mac OS version 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) or later.

Installation

Download one of the following distributions. See the README file for more information.

  1. Official
  2. Unofficial (not supported by the POV-Ray developers)
  3. Source Code

Most users will want to choose either the Official or Unofficial distributions because they contain a universal 32/64 bit binary and support (application scene and include) files. The Unofficial distribution (made available by a third party) offers a stable alternative to the command-line only Official release. It comes with a complete GUI, editor and templates, it even supports Retina® displays. Choosing the source code distribution assumes an adequate environment (compiler and support libraries) and the expertise to build your own package.

Note: POV-Ray does not run on read-only volumes.

Bug Reporting via our Bug Tracking System

Bug reports may be lodged about povray by using the issue tracker on GitHub. The issue tracker is monitored regularly by the POV-Ray development team and they will address any properly-lodged bug reports in the most timely manner possible.

Note: Bug reports related to any Unofficial distribution should be lodged with the maintainer!

You may like to remember, however, that no matter where you end up getting assistance from, users who show that they have looked in the documentation and read the POV-Ray Questions and Tips first, will be much more likely to receive the response they want than someone who obviously has not done their homework. It's also important to check that the bug hasn't already been reported - if it has, and is still open, don't add a new report - if you have relevant information not already in the existing report, consider adding a comment.

Any messages or reports sent to us may (not necessarily will, but may) be re-posted in our newsgroups, on USENET, or on our web site, if we consider it appropriate to do so.

You should not expect any reply to bug reports. If you wish to follow the progress of a bug, it's best to use the bug tracker (be sure to configure your account to receive notifications of replies to your bug). You can also request to be emailed when there are replies to an existing bug report.

The minimum information to include in your bug report is:

  1. The version number of POV-Ray for Mac OS.
  2. Your operating system or distribution and version. It's surprising how many people fail to provide this basic piece of information. We need to know what version of operationg system you are running.
  3. Your computer; what processor and how much memory.
  4. A complete description of the problem and what led up to it. It will make it a lot easier to track down if you can include a scene file that will cause the problem. If the file is large, try removing parts until you have the minimum scene file that will cause the problem.

Note: If posting on the news group or emailing someone for support, do not include file attachments without asking first. This particularly applies to email (for security purposes, emails with unsolicited attachments may be deleted unread). Reasonably-sized file attachments on the bug tracking system are permitted.


Introduction Getting Started


This document is protected, so submissions, corrections and discussions should be held on this documents talk page.