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==Introduction==
 
==Introduction==
 
<!--<sectiondesc desc=<"Mac OS specific">--->
 
<!--<sectiondesc desc=<"Mac OS specific">--->
<p>Welcome to POV-Ray 3.7 for Mac OS! This software is called a ray tracer. It may be a little different from other 3-D software you are used to, but you will soon find that the images and movies you can create 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. This program is Copyrighted Freeware, which means you may use 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>
+
<p>Welcome to POV-Ray 3.7 for Mac OS</p>
 +
<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>
 +
<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>
  
 
===What's new in POV-Ray for Mac OS===
 
===What's new in POV-Ray for Mac OS===
<p>This section covers version 3.7 changes and new features that apply to POV-Ray for Mac OS. 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>
+
<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>
 +
<p class="Note"><strong>Note:</strong> A graphical user interface is planned for future release.</p>
 +
<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>
  
<p>The are no new features for the Mac OS platform. 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>
+
===Requirements===
 +
<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>
  
 
===Installation===
 
===Installation===
<p>Just copy the <em>POV-Ray 3.7</em> folder to your hard-disk. Note that POV-Ray does not run on read-only volumes.</p>
+
<p>Download one of the following distributions. See the <em>README</em> file for more information.</p>
 +
<ol>
 +
  <li><strong><em>[http://www.povray.org/download/ Official]</em></strong></li>
 +
  <li><em>[http://megapov.inetart.net/povrayunofficial_mac/ Unofficial]</em> (not supported by the POV-Ray developers)</li>
 +
  <li><em>[https://github.com/POV-Ray Source Code]</em></li>
 +
</ol>
 +
<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>
  
===Requirements===
+
<p class="Note"><strong>Note:</strong> POV-Ray does not run on read-only volumes.</p>
<p>The Macintosh version runs under Apple's Mac OS operating system version 8.6. It may run on 8.1 and 8.5 as well, but we do not support POV-Ray 3.7 running on Mac OS 8.1 and 8.5 or newer with CarbonLib 1.6 or newer installed. Note that we no longer support 68K based Macintosh computers. POV-Ray 3.7 requires a Power Macintosh!</p>
+
 
 +
===Bug Reporting via our Bug Tracking System===
 +
<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>
 +
 
 +
<p class="Note"><strong>Note:</strong> Bug reports related to any <em>Unofficial</em> distribution should be lodged with the maintainer!</p>
 +
 
 +
<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>
  
<p>A Power Macintosh is any iMac, iBook, Mac G3, Mac G4, Mac G5, Cube, 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. Mac OS X 10.2 or later are supported but for maximum render speed it is not recommended to use Mac OS X.</p>
+
<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>
  
<p>Required hardware and software: Power Macintosh computer with at 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 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 formats (the shareware GraphicConverter applications is good.)</p>
+
<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>
  
<p>Required POV-Ray files: POVPMAC.SIT or POVPMAC.HQX - a StuffIt 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 access all features of the Mac frontend. CarbonLib 1.6 is available for free download from Apple in the software update section of the Apple website. Color monitor with millions of colors.</p>
+
<ol>
 +
<li>The version number of POV-Ray for Mac OS.</li>
 +
<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>
 +
<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>
 
<!--<wikinav>--->
 
<!--<wikinav>--->
 
<br>
 
<br>

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.