T H E F R A C T A L G R A F I C S O N - D I S K M A N U A L Copyright, 1991, 1993 by Dick Oliver Cedar Software, Morrisville, VT 05661-9605 Phone: (802) 888-5275 FAX: (802) 888-3009 Version 2.03, April, 1993 Compatibility: Required: * IBM-PC, XT, AT, PS/2, or compatible * DOS version 2.1 or higher * Hercules, CGA, EGA, VGA, or Super-VGA graphics adapter * Minimum of 384K of memory Optional: * Microsoft compatible mouse For file compatibility, this product uses the PCX and GX Graphics toolkits, Copyright 1989 by Genus Microprogramming, Inc. Other products mentioned are trademarks of their respective companies. CONTENTS -------- I. What is Fractal Grafics? II. What Can I Do With It? III. Getting Started IV. The Fractal Grafics Guidebook V. Installation VI. Running the Program VII. Start-up Files VIII. Registration I. WHAT IS FRACTAL GRAFICS? --------------------------- Fractal Grafics is a drawing program and an educational tool. As with any drawing program, you use the mouse and keyboard to create pictures on the screen from dots and lines, with full control over coloring and shading. The images you design are limited only by your artistic skill and imagination. There is a vast difference between computer generated imagery and computer art. When the computer does ALL the work, even the most spectacular pictures can become boring after a while. However, when you have a hand in shaping the pattern and coloration brilliantly glowing on the monitor screen, you become a true artist, and the accompanying sense of satisfaction can provide a thrill and impetus to continue for hours without ever feeling bored. Fractal Grafics brings out the true artist in you, allowing artistic freedom while the fractal principle makes it easy and fun. Fractal Grafics gives you a new, powerful drawing tool called a "fractal template". You use the template to create complex shapes with rich detail, and assemble these shapes into eye-catching, colorful images. With practice, you will be able to make pictures more realistic than anything you've ever created on a computer (or, more than likely, on paper). Many of the most difficult things to draw with other programs (like plants, landscapes, and other flowing natural forms) can be drawn in great detail in seconds with a single "imprint" of a fractal template. But realism is only half the story. Even before you build your drawing skills enough to mimic the "real" world, you'll embark on a breathtaking journey into the fantastic world of fractal geometry. The easiest shapes to create are spiraling vortexes, other-worldly plants, enchanting galaxies of color, and dazzling portraits of infinity. Fractal Grafics is designed to be intuitive and easy to use for anyone: you don't need to know any mathematics, or be any good at art--though you'll find plenty of chances to use both skills if you have them! The mission of Fractal Grafics is to let YOU get creative with the geometry that has revitalized both science and art, from the prediction of earthquakes to state-of-the-art motion picture special effects. II. WHAT CAN I DO WITH IT? -------------------------- Fractals are beautiful and fascinating, and you're sure to get a great deal of entertainment from using Fractal Grafics. You can also do some very practical things with it: --You will learn through hands-on exploration about fractal geometry and "chaos" theory, which are revolutionizing many fields of science. Here are just a few examples: * See with your own eyes why traditional linear systems go belly up when applied to most natural phenomena. * "Grow" plants on the screen by designing your own geometric genetic codes, and learn to reconstruct the genetics of real plants. * Learn to create visual graphs and models of non-linear dynamical data. --You can also create spectacular artwork and graphics designs. A sampling of your new artistic repertoire: * Create dazzling visionary, surrealistic, and sometimes whimsical abstract designs not possible with any other art program, including other fractal imaging programs. These designs have many practical applications such as: publication highlights, limited edition art prints, textile design, advertising and special effects, quilting and embroidery patterns, notecards, woodcarvings, etchings, and many others too numerous to mention. * Sculpt a fractal mimicry of any existing (or imagined) image, and add coloring and shading highlights. All shapes can be re-sized without loss of textural detail. * Then apply some of these effects: Irregular or spiraling zooms, complex "cracks" and fragmentation, spray, blur, winding tendrils, fuzz, or anything you can imagine (and lots you can't)! * Tile any shape with copies of itself for dizzying "off to infinity" effects. * Exchange images with other "draw", "paint", and desktop publishing programs via built-in compatibility with the PCX file format. III. GETTING STARTED -------------------- What should I do to get How long going with Fractal Grafics? will it take? 1. Install the program, and get 5 to 15 minutes it running. (The following two sections tell you how.) 2. Follow the on-line help 1 to 2 hours topics 0 through 9 to get familiar with the program. (Just run the program, press the letter H and follow the instructions that appear.) 3. Create some fractals! At least an hour Play, explore, and practice. 4. Follow the rest of the 1 to 2 hours on-line help topics to learn all the features of the program. 5. Practice some more. Try to At least an hour imagine a shape and see if you can create it on the screen. If you wish to continue using the program at this point, you are asked register your use with the author. You will be sent a professionally published 500 (yes, 500!!) page beautifully illustrated book, containing many color photographs, which picks up where the on-line tutorial leaves off. IV. THE FRACTALVISION BOOK --------------------------------- The Fractal Grafics manual is now a book, entitled FractalVision. It has been called "the best introduction to Fractal geometry I know of" by BYTE magazine reviewer Hugh Kenner, and "magnificent literature, a landmark work in the history of fractals" by computer artist Gini Schmitz. FractalVision takes you on a guided tour of the fractal universe, with more than 150 hands-on examples included on the disk in the back. The following topics are covered: 1. ART You'll master the use of fractal templates to create breathtaking images. Learn how to produce any design you can imagine, and a world of shapes beyond imagination. 2. SCIENCE Fractals have revolutionized almost every branch of science. By modelling the natural world, you will discover the deep simplicity behind Nature's complex face. You'll also learn to graph fractal curves to fit actual data. 3. MATH Step into infinity and learn how fractals work. If you want to see the equations and algorithms, they're all here. If you don't, everything is explained visually and intuitively. 4. PHILOSOPHY You'll discover the startling revelations of "non-linear" thinking, and the intimate connections between fractals and Chaos theory. Is the universe a fractal? Are YOU? 5. HISTORY You'll retrace the evolution of a new geometry, and find out how "pathological" shapes which appalled their inventors have revitalized science, mathematics, and art. 6. LITERATURE You'll also get a complete bibliography of fractal books, articles, software, and videos. There's also advice on how to use Fractal Grafics as a companion to several books. Registered users receive Dick Oliver's informative, entertaining free quarterly newsletter, which will keep you up to date on the latest developments in fractal geometry, 3-D imagery, and creative graphics. And all the examples used in the book are indexed in the back so you can browse through them on disk and then read about the ones that intrigue you the most. You can get the FractalVision by registering your copy of Fractal Grafics directly with the author, or by purchasing the book in your local bookstore and sending in the registration form in the back to verify your purchase. Either way, you'll also recieve a free subscription to Dick Oliver's Nonlinear Nonsense newsletter -- a lighthearted quarterly report on the latest advances in fractals and computer graphics. V. INSTALLATION --------------- Follow these steps before you run Fractal Grafics for the first time: 1. Back up the Fractal Grafics disk(s). Use the back up copy from now on, and put the original in a safe place. If you're not sure how to back up a disk, here's how: --Insert a blank floppy disk in drive A. --Type FORMAT A: at the DOS prompt, and press Enter. If you're sure you've inserted a blank disk, tell DOS by pressing Enter again. --When the formatting is done, take out the blank and insert the Fractal Grafics disk --Type DISKCOPY A: A: and press Enter --Follow the computer's instructions for inserting disks during the copy --Label the copy, and stash the original 2. Insert the back-up copy of the Fractal Grafics disk in drive A, type A: (the letter A and a colon), and press the Enter key. (The DOS prompt should now say A>) If, for some reason, you can't use drive A, just type the letter of the drive you will be using, followed by a colon, and press Enter. (Example: To use drive B, type B:). If you want to copy the disk to a drive other than A (for example, drive B), use this command: COPY A:*.* B: NOTE: A "double-density" 3.5 inch disk holds twice as much as a "double density" 5.25 inch disk. Therefore, you can not backup a 3.5" disk to a 5.25" disk, unless the 5.25" disk is "high density". You CAN copy two 5.25" disks onto one 3.5" disk if you want, though. Just use the XCOPY command above twice. If this all sounds confusing, just use one disk drive and the DISKCOPY command! 3. If you want TO INSTALL FRACTAL GRAFICS TO YOUR HARD DISK, simply copy all the files to a subdirectory on the hard disk, like this: C: MD \FRACTAL COPY A:*.* C:\FRACTAL See the next page for instructions on starting the program. VI. RUNNING THE PROGRAM ----------------------- Once you've installed Fractal Grafics (see the previous page for installation instructions), you can run it by entering FG from the directory where the program resides. For example: --To run from a floppy disk, type this (pressing Enter after each line): A: FG --To run from a directory on your hard drive (see previous page for instructions on copying Fractal Grafics to a hard drive): (drive letter): (drive letter) is probably C. CD \(directory name) (directory name) could be FRACTAL. FG NOTE FOR MOUSE USERS: If you wish to use your Microsoft-compatible mouse with Fractal Grafics, you must be sure to install your mouse driver before running the program. In many cases, the driver is installed automatically when you start the computer, so you may not need to take any additional steps. See your mouse manual for more instructions. The next page explains some advanced tricks for running Fractal Grafics. You don't need to read it until you've used the program for a while. VII. STARTUP FILES ------------------- Whenever you run Fractal Grafics, it automatically loads a picture file named STARTUP.PCX and a template file named STARTUP.FRT if they exist in the current directory. You can save any picture and/or template under the name STARTUP and they will come up every time you start the program. When you use a monochrome graphics mode such as /C (CGA 2-color hi-res), /H (Hercules), or /M (VGA monochrome 640x480 resolution), the program automatically loads the start-up files named STARTBW.FRT and STARTBW.PCX instead of the ones named STARTUP. You can specify another start-up file name on the command line. For example, to start Fractal Grafics in 320 by 200 mode and bring up picture and template files named MYSTART, enter: FG MYSTART /L Note that you can bring back the startup picture by picking Restore from the menu as soon as the program begins. To start up without loading any files, either delete the files named STARTUP and STARTBW or specify a non-existent name (example: FG NOFILE). The picture will come up blank and a simple triangular template will be centered on the screen. IX. REGISTRATION BENEFITS ----------------- This is an unregistered "shareware" copy of Fractal Grafics. You are encouraged to copy and distribute this program freely, but it is NOT in the public domain. If you continue to use the software in any way, you must "register" (i.e. buy) it by sending $39 to Dick Oliver at: Cedar Software Box 5140-R1 Morrisville, VT 05661-9605 When you register, you will receive the most recent version of the program, the 500-page illustrated FractalVision book, and over 200 fractal template files used as examples in the book. The book includes in-depth sections on fractal history, art, science, philosophy, and math. You will also receive a free subscription to Dick Oliver's Nonlinear Nonsense newsletter, lifetime free product support, a free copy of FRACTINT (which makes many types of astonishing, breathtaking abstract fractal designs, including the Mandelbrot and Julia sets), and discounts on all future Cedar Software products. For an additional $19 (making the registration total $58), you can choose to order the Fractal Grafics version 3.0 update as well. Version 3.0 of Fractal Grafics has many new goodies--features which users have requested such as: animation, metamorphosis (tweening), rearranging the order in which parts are drawn, on-screen numbering of parts, undo, level indicator, and much more. For $99 more, you can go whole hog and get the new Fractal Grafics 3D version 1.0, which takes all the interactive design features of Fractal Grafics into the third dimension, with red/blue 3D glasses, 3D animation, three-dimensional DXF file output, and much more. Registered users are also eligible to purchase the Fractal Grafics add-on, PAINTING WITH LIGHT, by computer artist Gini Schmitz for $20. For examples of Gini's artwork, try out the templates in the subdirectories LIGHT1 and LIGHT2. Just click on paint or draw and be prepared to be dazzled. The PAINTING WITH LIGHT add-on contains over 800 templates, over 100 PCX pictures, a tutorial, and a complete illustrated artist's guide. Like Fractal Graphics itself, PAINTING WITH LIGHT is continuing to evolve, and dramatic new techniques are developing now, even as I write. Watch for future upgrades. The shareware arrangement allows free information exchange while enabling authors to focus on development and support of quality software without huge advertising budgets, and resulting high prices. The success of shareware, and the freedom and benefits it offers all of us, depend on the honesty and integrity of users, distributors, and authors alike. Thank you for supporting the shareware concept. An order form/invoice is provided on next page for your convenience. Phone orders are also accepted at (802) 888-5275, or FAX: (802) 888-3009. Be ready with your Visa or MasterCard number and expiration date, name, address, and phone number. School purchase orders are also welcome. Thanks for trying Fractal Grafics. We hope to hear from you soon! INVOICE/ORDER FORM FOR FRACTAL GRAFICS COMPUTER SOFTWARE Remit to: From: ________________________________ Cedar Software Box 5140-R1 ________________________________ Morrisville, VT 05661 USA ________________________________ Voice: (802) 888-5275 FAX: (802) 888-3009 ________________________________ Check preferred disk size: ___ 5.25" disks ___ 3.5" disks ___ HD Qty Item Price Each Total ___ Fractal Grafics Software (Single User) $39 ______ Includes 500-page illustrated book, 200+ example files, free FRACTINT software, newsletter subscription, and lifetime support. ___ Update to Fractal Grafics 3.0 (Single User) $19 ______ This update to the FractalVision book and Fractal Grafics software adds interactive animation and fractal tweening/morphing. ___ Update to Fractal Grafics 3D 1.0 (Single User) $99 ______ Create true three-dimensional fractals! View your creations and the 70+ examples with or without red/blue 3D glasses (included) and output 3D DXF files to other 3D software. ___ PAINTING WITH LIGHT add-on. Includes 800+ $20 ______ templates, 100+ PCX pictures, tutorial, and complete artist's guide. 4 disks (compressed) ___ Full C Source Code for Fractal Grafics add $39 ______ Compatible with Microsoft and Borland C/C++. ___ Full C Source Code for Fractal Grafics 3D add $79 ______ (includes source for Fractal Grafics also) ___ Workshops/Seminars/Site Licences Call us! ______ Vermont residents add 5% sales tax ______ Shipping within North America, add $5. Overseas, $15 ______ TOTAL: ______ If ordering by Visa or MasterCard, please fill in: Card no.: __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Exp. Date: ___________ Signature: _____________________________