Winbrot.rtf
This source file is compiled by the Windows Help Compiler to produce the Winbrot.hlp Windows 3.1 WinHelp file. This RTF file describes features specific to Winbrot's Mandelbrot set calculation commands. A second RTF file (sdibwin.rtf) is compiled along with this one. It describes the graphics features that are common to several of my programs.
If you use Microsoft Word, these WinHelp source files are based on the helpfile.dot template, which you might find useful.
#$k+ Winbrot Help Contents
OverviewHID_OVERVIEW
Files and File FormatsHID_FILEFORMATS
File Menu CommandsHID_FILEMENU
Colors Menu CommandsHID_COLORSMENU
View Menu CommandsHID_VIEWMENU
Effects Menu CommandsHID_EFFECTSMENU
References and Further ReadingHID_FURTHERREADING
#$k+ Overview
Winbrot allows you to display and magnify regions of the Mandelbrot set, save the coordinates of interesting areas, define the colors to use in the display, and export interesting displays to BMP files.
Program works fine in hi-res modes. Just change Windows mode with ATIDesktop:
1024 x 768 x 32k colors: incredible detail ("book plate" quality), and all colors in the palette are true.
1280 x 1024 x 256 colors: poor because you must share 256 total colors with Windows system.
Misc Notes
For best color representation, Windows must be in a mode that allows more than 256 colors on the screen at one time.
Very high magnification zooms close to the M-Set boundary can find regions with the most interesting colorations and effects during color cycling.
#$k+File Menu Commands
New (random)
Calculates and displays a randomly selected region, (at a randomly selected magnification into the set), sized to fit the current window. Regions are screened so that designs containing no detail are avoided as much as possible.
If you specify any INF, PIC, or BMP files (wildcards allowed) on the command line when you start the program, Winbrot creates an internal list of the files. In this case, the File|New command will load and display the next file in the list, and delete it from the list. When the list becomes empty, File|New will begin calculating random regions as described above. If you want, for example, to review all the files in a directory that Winbrot can load and display, you could use FileManager|Run, with the command line: WINBROT *.INF *.PIC *.BMP. (You may need to specify a full path for each: WINBROT C:\DATA\*.INF C:\DATA\*.PIC C:\DATA\*.BMP if the program, WINBROT.EXE, is not in the same directory as the data files.). You can also use FileManager File|Associate to set Winbrot as the default viewer for .INF, .PIC, or .BMP files.
Open (.inf, .pic, or .bmp)
An INF file contains the bounding coordinates of a region in the complex plane (i.e. Mandelbrot coordinates, not screen pixel coordinates) in the order left top right bottom. (Left,top) is the top left corner of the rectangle. (Right,bottom) is the bottom right. When an INF file is loaded, the region it describes is freshly calculated (which can take several minutes) and displayed, after which you can zoom into it using the various zoom commands. (Tip: to specify numerically the coordinates of a region to calculate, put them into an INF file, then File|Open it.)
A PIC file contains already-calculated escape times for only the screen pixels of a previous display of a region of the set. It does not contain the actual coordinates of the region. When a PIC file is loaded, the escape times are simply translated to colors using the current palette, and the image is displayed on the screen, which is a quick process. The colors can be edited, but recalculation and zoom commands cannot be used. You can also use Open to display PIC files from other applications that use the same format (DLA, 3d, etc.). That is, you can use it as a general-purpose PIC file viewer.
Restart (whole mbrot area)
Calculates and displays the whole Mandelbrot region for the power of Z currently in effect. Zoom commands are then available.
Previous
As you calculate new designs, a list of the regions is maintained in case you want to go back. This option recalculates and displays the region previous to the currently displayed one. As you back up over entries, they are deleted from the list (that is, once you have gone back, you cannot then go forward).
Note that if you have been zooming into a region, you can also back out somewhat less accurately using View|Zoom Out.
CalcAgain
Recalculates the same region that was just calculated. Useful after resizing the display window. You can save time by previewing new designs in a very small window. When you find one you want a better look at, maximize the window and CalcAgain.
Flip Vertical
Flip the current region so it is upside down. Because the Mandelbrot set is symmetrical above and below the y axis, this is accomplished by calculating the region on the other side of the axis.
SaveAs
BMP
Saves the currently displayed image as a 256-color BMP file using the color table currently in effect, for later viewing as a graphic display or for exporting your design to another application such as a bitmap editor. To create a design with a specific size or proportions, size the display window as needed, wait for the design to be completed, and then use SaveAs.
PIC
Saves the currently displayed image in .PIC format.
You can translate a PIC file to BMP and vice versa using File|Open and File|SaveAs.
Every design calculated is also saved automatically in two formats. See File FormatsHID_FILEFORMATS.
#$k+ View Menu Commands
Fit to Window
A PIC or BMP file image loaded from disk has a fixed size. The region it describes may be a different size and/or shape than the window you have available to display it in. This can also happen if you calculate an area in one window and then resize the window. In these situations, Fit to Window will cause the displayed design to be stretched or compressed so that it fills the window. However, it does not change the resolution of the image. When a very small design is fit to a large window, the pixels will look large and the design will look fuzzy, but it will give you some idea of what the image will look like if you recalculate it to fit that size window.
IsotropicXY
To get an accurate (undistorted) look at a region of the Mandelbrot set, it is necessary that the translation from real coordinates to screen pixels be the same for both the X and Y axes. That is, a distance of 1.0 in either direction in the complex plane must translate to the same screen distance (same number of pixels) vertically as horizontally. A problem can arise when the area you want to calculate does not have the same shape as the window it is to be displayed in.
As an example, the boundaries that contain the complete Mandelbrot set are (-2.0, 1.25, 0.50, -1.25), which describes a square whose X and Y axes are both length 2.5. So the ideal display window for this region would also be square. However, a maximized window is usually not square. So how do you display a square region in a non-square rectangular window? Or, in general, how do you adjust the display when the region you want to show does not have the same proportions as the window you want to show it in? IsotropicXY addresses this problem.
When IsotropicXY is ON, an image being calculated will always be kept to its true proportions. If the area being calculated was loaded from a file or defined by dragging the mouse (two situations where the area proportions and window proportions are probably different), the displayed region will always include AT LEAST the entire area described in the INF file, but it may include somewhat more than the described area in either the X or Y direction, in order to fill up the window in that direction.
When IsotropicXY is OFF, an image being calculated will NOT be constrained to its true proportions. Also, what is displayed on the screen will be exactly the region described in the INF file. For calculation and display, the X axis will be scaled so that it completely fills the window horizontally, and the Y axis will be scaled independently so that it completely fills the window vertically. The two scales may be quite different, so that the image is distorted. A design that is really circular may be distorted out-of-round either vertically or horizontally. Turning IsotropicXY OFF can be useful if you have an extremely small region that is proving difficult to magnify proportionally.
IsotropicXY has no effect when you are calculating random regions because the randomly-selected regions are sized to have exactly the same proportions as the current display window. That is, random regions and any quadrant zooms into them always ARE isotropic.
Set Z Power
The usual equation for the Mandelbrot set is Z = Z * Z + C, (Z squared) but you can use other powers of Z besides 2 . Use this to specify a different power. Note that if you retrace through previous designs using File|Previous after changing the power of Z, the designs will not be the same as the ones you saw using the original power of Z.
Set Display Time Interval
When a design is completed, it remains displayed for a number of seconds before the program automatically starts a new randomly selected area using File|New. Use this option to set the number of seconds of delay. You cannot disable the feature entirely, but you can set it to a high value unlikely to be reached.
Zooming with View Menu Commands
You can use the zoom commands to easily zoom into any quadrant (1/4) of the display window. The chosen quadrant will be magnified and recalculated so that it fills the entire window. 5 zoom-in quadrants are available, as shown in the menu.
You can also zoom out. When you zoom out, the NEW region is sized such that the OLD region is its center quadrant. That is, if you zoom out, then zoom back in to the center quadrant, you will be back where you started.
Zooming with the Mouse
After a region has been calculated, you can use the mouse to zoom into a portion of it. Place the cursor at the top left corner of the area you want to select. Click and hold the LEFT mouse button while you drag the cursor to the bottom right corner of the area you want. The selection area will be highlighted with a rectangle. As soon as you release the left mouse button, calculation will begin on the area you selected. Once you have left-clicked, you are committed to calculating a new area, but if you do make a mistake, you can return to the previous design by choosing File|Previous. The IsotropicXY setting will significantly affect how the selected region looks when it is calculated. If you want the maximum magnification in both directions, regardless of probable distortion, IsotropicXY should be turned off.
When you zoom with the mouse, keeping the shape of the selected area similar to the shape of the display window will help make subsequent quadrant zooms more accurate. This is because quadrant zooms are calculated based on the data in the INF file. If IsotropicXY is ON, and the shapes of the selected area and the window are drastically different, the display may show significantly more area than the INF file specifies. A quadrant zoom, based on the INF file, will show an area that is not what you might have expected based on the display screen.
Selecting a Region of the Displayed Bitmap
If you use the mouse to "zoom", as described above, at a time when the displayed image is only a graphic display (i.e. if it is a loaded PIC or BMP file, and thus not a calculated Mandelbrot set area), the program copies the area you selected into the disk file AREA.PIC. This feature allows you to quickly select an area, then load it immediately using the various 3D options. This is useful because the 3D options work best only if the foreground is "lower in elevation" than the background. Use this feature to select a PIC area for which that is true.
# $ K + For Further Reading
Books:
Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick.
Fractals Everywhere, Michael Barnsley.
Computer Programs:
Fractint, available on CompuServe.
