June 2006 - Fractint - mailman.xmission.com

Re: [Fractint] Increasing Resolution?
by Paul N. Lee 06 Jul '06

06 Jul '06

Kim Hagar wrote: > > I did some reading and found that > many NICE monitors, etc., just do > not allow the changes, even though > they are quite capable . . . Most problems people have running FractInt under Windows-XP are due to the graphics card, and rarely has anything to do with the monitor used (unless that monitor is so old that it truely is incapable of higher resolutions). > > I am loading them back from a .gif The file you sent me does have the special trailer information within the GIF file, where the FractInt related information is stored. I was able to load the image, then turn-around and save it as a PAR file. (See instructions at the bottom of this email.) > > I am running WinXP SP2 patched to the hilt. > Video Adapter: Radeon VE Version 6.13.10.6006 > I was using VGA/MCGA 320 X 200 @ 256 colors. > Have not tried running the MAKEFCFG.EXE program; > mainly because I really didn't understand what > that would do . . . It should rebuild the FRACTINT.CFG file with the particualr settings unique for your system. This is where the video resolutions are kept as options when you choose within FractInt. > > I have kind of just gone down the list. > Most of them say what I am doing requires > 256 colors, which I would want, anyway, > but the ones that ARE 256 colors are higher, > but those are the ones that error out. > > Mostly it gives an error: "That video mode > is not available with your adapter. Any Key > to Continue." Here is what I did to get around your situation: 1. Use the <r> key to "load image from file". 2. Once it has been displayed, use the <b> key to "save current parameters" to a PAR file with a image name matching the loaded GIF file. 3. Once the parameters have been saved to disc, use the <@> key to "run saved command set". You will need to navigate to the PAR file and choose your named image. 4. Now, use the <DEL> key to make choice of the SFn SuperVGA video modes, such as SF5 or SF6. 5. If this works, then try some of the other higher resolutions available. I was able to easily get 1024 x 768 @ 256. But this machine I used would not go further without resorting to Disk Video Mode. Sincerely, P.N.L. ------------------------------------------------- http://home.att.net/~Paul.N.Lee/PNL_Fractals.html http://www.Nahee.com/Fractals/

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The light is in sight
by JimMuth＠aol.com 30 Jun '06

30 Jun '06

Fractal fans: The problems connected with the move are in the process of being resolved. The fractal drought will end within a few days. All four fractal cats are doing well. Take care, and see you in about three days with a glorious fractal to start things off. Jim Muth

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re: RE: Kim, Increasing Resolution?
by Hal Lane 29 Jun '06

29 Jun '06

################################################################# >I am still having trouble, though. Seems that no matter what >higher video mode I choose, it says it's not available . . . What >is limiting me in that? Do I need to change something else first, >like my actual monitor resolution?? I must be dense . . . Sorry. > > Thanks ever so much for your guidance! > > Kim >Do I need to change something else first, >like my actual monitor resolution?? No. Fractint sends your graphics card a series of commands to put it into whatever DOS graphics display resolution you have told Fractint to use to display images at. Each time you change the graphics resolution Fractint sends new commands to your graphics card. Today's video monitors are smart enough to detect whatever resolution (within their capability) they are being asked to display and automatically switch to it. Kim, I recommend that you do this first: 1) >...run MAKEFCFG.EXE to set your choices of resolution >based upon your system's hardware and driver configuration. This program modifies your original FRACTINT.CFG file so I recommend that *you* make a backup copy of it before running MAKEFCFG.EXE even though *it* creates a backup file. I believe that running MAKEFCFG.EXE twice will overwrite *its* backup of your original file. Your distribution of FRACTINT 20.0 contains a copy of MAKEFCFG.EXE and MAKEFCFG.TXT, its instructions. I have placed a copy of MAKEFCFG.TXT below. 2) If you still have problems after running MAKEFCFG.EXE you may have a problem with your modern graphics card having trouble running higher resolution DOS graphics modes. I have placed a copy of the section of Fractint's manual that speaks about this below. 3) If you still have problems consult further with the folks here at fractint(a)mailman.xmission.com 4) Can you please tell us what version of Windows you are using and the manufacturer and model number of your graphics card? The place you obtained your computer from should be able to provide you with this information if you do not know it. > >Then there is the alternative: Disk-Video Mode. Disk-Video Mode allows someone whose graphics card cannot display higher resolution DOS video modes to calculate images using Fractint at any desired resolution and then display the resulting .gif images with almost any Windows image display program. You can locate an interesting image with Fractint at a resolution that your graphics card can display and then use Disk-Video Mode to create higher resolution versions of the image. I do this regularly. Instructions for doing this are in FRACTINT.DOC (see below). You could use the Disk-Video Mode method if you determine that your computer cannot display higher resolution DOS images. I strongly recommend that you create the documentation for Fractint as Paul (P.N.L.) recommended. Typing the command (see below) into a DOS command window will create the file: FRACTINT.DOC. Rename the file to FRACTINT.DOC.TXT since the file is not in the Microsoft Word format. It is a complete description of all the features of Fractint and is a well-formatted ASCII text file with a table of contents. You do not need to print it out -- almost any ASCII text viewing program can display its contents and search for terms within its text. Try double-clicking FRACTINT.DOC.TXT to see what program Windows uses as your default text display program. Fractint's documentation is also available on the web: http://spanky.triumf.ca/www/fractint/findex.html#seach_anchor You can use a search engine to find all locations of a particular term within the web-based text: At www.Google.com I use a search of the following form: site:spanky.triumf.ca/www/fractint/ <whatever_you_want_to_search_for> e.g.: site:spanky.triumf.ca/www/fractint/ "Disk-Video" If you click Google's underlined "cached" link, Google will highlight the term you searched for in yellow in the displayed text. This is very helpful when your search term is buried somewhere in a long page of text. Just scroll down the long page moderately quickly looking for a flash of yellow to scroll by. > >By running the >following from a DOS prompt, you can produce the manual with all of the >instructions [for Fractint]. >FRACTINT.EXE MAKEDOC Use your latest version of fractint to do this. Note that this document is not a tutorial -- it is a reference manual. You should use Google or another search engine to find tutorials on the web. They are very useful since they tell of tips and tricks as well as what sequences of commands produce what results and often include pictures. There are some tutorial links at: "Fractint Tutorial pages" and "Information currently available" at: http://spanky.triumf.ca/www/fractint/fractint.html Unfortunately many of the links at: http://home.san.rr.com/jayrhill/iFAQ/Resource.htm no longer point to existing web pages -- but there are still a few valuable ones. Please let us know of the results of your efforts to use higher resolutions. The more detailed the information you can give us, the better we can respond to your situation. - Hal Lane ######################### # hallane(a)earthlink.net <mailto:hallane@earthlink.net> # ######################### ################################################################# Excerpt from FRACTINT.DOC: ################################################################# Fractint Version 20.0 Page 140 6. Hardware Support 6.1 Notes on Video Modes, "Standard" and Otherwise Alas, in this day of Windows, video adapter manufacturers do not have much incentive to support DOS video modes. Fractint can support any video modes included in your board's VESA video bios. Many otherwise good boards do not include the higher resolution modes in their bios even though those modes are supported in the manufacturer's Windows driver. Fractint users are particularly fond of the 1600x1200 mode. If you want to use this mode, make sure your video board supports it. Some boards that have given good results are boards from STB, various versions of Matrox Millennium, and boards from several manufacturers using Nvidia Riva chip sets. Using high resolution video modes poses a second challenge for fractint users. That is that the VESA standard does not have standard settings for this mode, so you will have to edit the fractint.cfg file to support your board. You can run the program makefcfg.exe that comes with fractint to generate entries for your fractint.cfg file. Finally, even if your video board VESA Bios supports high resolution video modes, it probably doesn't come with a utility that allows you to set the vertical refresh. If the vertical refresh is set for 60 Hz or less, you may see flicker and be subject to headaches. Fortunately, there is a wonderful freeware utility by Rob Muller that allows you to control the vertical refresh for any VESA video mode. Of course your monitor still needs to be able to support higher rates -- software can't help that. To get Rob's unirefresh program, email Rob at r.muller(a)student.utwente.nl or check out http://home.student.utwente.nl/r.muller/unirefresh True to the spirit of public-domain programming, Fractint makes only a limited attempt to verify that your video adapter can run in the mode you specify, or even that an adapter is present, before writing to it. So if you use the "video=" command line parameter, check it before using a new version of Fractint - the old key combo may now call an ultraviolet holographic mode. ################################################################# Contents of the file MAKECFG.TXT: ################################################################# Makefcfg 1.0 -- A Fractint video utility by The Stone Soup Group Makefcfg reads your VESA Video BIOS and writes a Fractint fractint.cfg file with VESA video modes set up. Syntax: makefcfg [commands ...] optional commands (space separated) include: 16 -- causes 16 color modes to be included true -- causes true color modes to be included <fkey> -- starting Fractint video mode key. <fkey> is one of F1, F2, ..., AF1, AF2, ..., CF1, CF1 ... overwrite -- program will overwrite fractcfg.old if it exists (note: fractint.cfg is always saved to fractcfg.old) You can abbreviate the overwrite and true commands with 'o' and 't'. The idea of allowing you to set the starting function key is to facilitate inserting the resulting fractint.cfg file inside your existing fractint.cfg. When using this command, don't type in '<' or '>'; these symbols just indicate that <fkey> is not literally what you type - you type in F1, F2, etc. This utility is particularly useful for setting up Fractint to use semi-standard VESA video modes such as 1600x1200. As of Fractint version 20 the truecolor modes are still not very useful, so this capability looks to the future. Example: makefcfg 16 AF1 overwrite will create an fractint.cfg file with 256 color modes, 16 color modes, but no truecolor modes, with the function keys starting with AF1. Tim Wegner September, 1999 ################################################################# -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.9.6/378 - Release Date: 6/28/06

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Increasing Resolution?
by Kim Hagar 28 Jun '06

28 Jun '06

Hello, All! I am sure this is probably a much asked question, but as I'm new here, and also a novice Fractint user, I need the info! I have actually worked with Fractint off and on over the past 10 yrs., but I never get much time to use it, and by the NEXT time I do, I have forgotten what I DID know and have to start all over again! The learning curve is quicker each time, but . . . At any rate, what I am trying to do is make my fractals at a higher resolution. I have some that I had already created several years back, and I can load them again into the program, but I don't know how to make it re-render, or re-draw . . . if that is what you would term it. I am currently running the newer version that is downloadable- just got it a few months ago and have had some fun sneaking to use it here and there, when I am not overwhelmed at work! So! If anyone can step me through what I should be doing, I would be EVER so grateful! Thanks so much! Smiles- Kim --------------------------------- How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! MessengerÂs low PC-to-Phone call rates.

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The best is yet to come
by Jim Muth 20 Jun '06

20 Jun '06

Fractal Fans: I must apologize if I have failed to respond to any important letters. I am still back ot Old Fractal Central, clearing out the last few left-overs. I have very limited internet access. From the way things look now, the FOTD will be back to its usual glorious daily schedule within a week. So keep the faith and know that the best is yet to come. Jim M.

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FOTD 14-06-06 (FOTD for 14-06-06 [No Rating])
by Jim Muth 19 Jun '06

19 Jun '06

FOTD -- June 14, 2006 (No Rating) Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: Today's minor emerald effort is a scene in the fractal that results when Z^(-3.5) is subtracted from Z^(-0.85) and (1/C) is added. The image has been partly 'evaporated' by raising the escape radius to 1300, resulting in a fractal that consists of half inside and half outside stuff. The inside parts have been rendered with the 'bof61' option, while the outside parts have been rendered with the 'tdis' option, resulting in a kind of bubbling effect. Once again I have neither named nor rated the image, which calculates in 4 minutes on my machine. This 4-minute render time may be eliminated by downloading the finished GIF image from the FOTD web site at: <http://home.att.net/~Paul.N.Lee/FotD/FotD.html> A near perfect day here at New Fractal Central on Tuesday was enjoyed by the new fractal cats from their table by the large living room window. They watched birds until big boy decided he would rather pull at the drapes, and little lady did nothing to stop the mischief. The cats have indeed chosen their names, but to add to the suspense I will not reveal what they have chosen until the next FOTD appears, if all goes according to plan, in 2 days. There will be no FOTD tomorrow because we are taking a trip back to Old Fractal Central to gather some things that were inadverten- tly left behind in the big move. Until then, take care, and wait with bated cat breath for the great revelation. Jim Muth jamth(a)mindspring.com jimmuth(a)aol.com START PARAMETER FILE======================================= FOTD_for_14-06-06 { ; time=0:04:09.58--SF5 on a P200 reset=2004 type=formula formulafile=allinone.frm formulaname=MandelbrotMix4 function=recip passes=1 center-mag=+1.53127146459365400/+1.617905671158664\ 00/10938.25/1/152.5/-7.97390464768454876e-009 params=1/-0.85/-1/-3.5/0/1200 float=y maxiter=255 inside=bof61 outside=tdis logmap=yes periodicity=10 colors=000aSbSUXJWR9YL0ZF4`H8aICcJGdLKeMOgNShPViQZ\ kRblTfnUjoVnpXrrYvshztmzpchmQ`jMSfHKcDC`84Z4Aa8GeC\ MiGSgJQbHOTGMJFK9JJEPJIUJMZIRcIVhIZmHcrHgvHkzFivEh\ rDfmCehBdcAbZ8aW7_U6ZS5YQ4XO3XP2YUL_ZKZcJZhIYhHYhG\ YhFXhEXhEWgDWgCWgBVgAVg9Ug8Ug8UgwAdoKghUi`ckUlmMXb\ FIS83ID6LI8NNAPSDRXFTaHVfJXkMZpO`uQbySdvUbsWapY`m_\ _kaZhcYedWbfV`hUYjTVlSSnRQoQOiSMdULZWJUYIO_GJaFEcG\ IfHLhIPkJSmKVpLZrMauMdwo`xlXvjUthQrfNqcKoaGm_DkYAj\ U9kR8lN7mK6nH5oD4pA3q73qA5jC6cE7XH9QJAJLBCNC6TH8ZL\ AdPBjTDpXFv`GodNhgUaj`VmgPpmRjhTecU`ZWWVYRQZML`HGa\ CCRLRGTeXWjlYnfSfaN_XISRCLM7DH26K6AM9EPCIRFLUIPWLT\ YOW`S_bVceYgg`jjcnlfrokvniumgtlfsldskbrjaqj_qiZphX\ ohVogUnfSmfRmlP_qONTsQSoTRkWRhYQd`PacPYeOVhNRkNOm_\ XllelgY_bRO`H8YKCVNFSQIPTLNWOKZSHaVEdYBg`7kb9icAhd\ BgeDffEegFchHbiIajJ`kGYoK_kO`gRacVb_YcWadSdeOhfKkg\ GohCri8vj4yk0mn8sOntOnjQh } frm:MandelbrotMix4 {; Jim Muth a=real(p1), b=imag(p1), d=real(p2), f=imag(p2), g=1/f, h=1/d, j=1/(f-b), z=(-a*b*g*h)^j, k=real(p3)+1, l=imag(p3)+100, c=fn1(pixel): z=k*((a*(z^b))+(d*(z^f)))+c, |z| < l } END PARAMETER FILE=========================================

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Confusion continues, but the end is in sight
by Jim Muth 18 Jun '06

18 Jun '06

Fractal fans: I'm still back at Old Fractal Central, writing on a strange machine that will not run Fractint, and hoping that all goes well in getting this letter posted. I am turning up some of the stuff that was inadvertently left behind in the big move, but I still have a way to go. No one ever told me that something as simple as a move would be so complicated. I expect to have things wrapped up here and be back at New Fractal Central for good within a week. Then it will be back to the important things of life -- the fractals. Both the new fractal cats and the old fractal cats are doing well. Until next message, take care, and be one. Jim Muth

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Where have all the fractals gone?
by JimMuth＠aol.com 17 Jun '06

17 Jun '06

Fractal fans: The fractals have gone nowhere. I am simply too busy to have the time to search for them. Believe me, moving is no fun, especially with a business to keep going, and some important records and disks unaccounted for. But eventually, we'll get the confusion straightened out and things will slowly return to normal. Until then, take care, and the new fractal cats are falling right into their roles of being fractal cats. Jim Muth

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Still hanging in there
by JimMuth＠aol.com 16 Jun '06

16 Jun '06

Fractal fans: All is well back here at Old Fractal Central, where I am trying to locate some things that seem to have vanished in the move. The regular FOTD will resume in the not-too-distant future. Until things settle down, take care. Jim Muth

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More on XP Compatibility
by Jim Muth 16 Jun '06

16 Jun '06

Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: Things are going well here at NFC. The new fractal cats are going especially well, and will likely have chosen their names before the end of the day. (It is now 11:30am.) The main purpose of this letter is to clarify some of the confu- sion about how I run Fractint under WindowsXP. To start, I run the professional version of XP. I chose it because it is designed for commercial operations such as mine. When I purchased it, I had no idea how well or even if it would run Fractint. I have never used the home version of XP, though I have tried to run Fractint under the home version on several other machines, usually with very limited success. The top video mode available was usually 640x480x16, the standard VGA mode. Some computers running the home version have simply locked up when I tried to boot Fractint. But my fastest machine, a Dell-8400 2300mhz, which runs the pro- fessional version of XP, runs fractint perfectly, at over twenty times the speed of my old dedicated 200mhz Pentium unit. To run Fractint under XP-PRO I boot XP and bring up a DOS window. I do NOT go to full screen. Then I change to the Fractint directory, type <fractint>, and strike enter. The machine shifts to full- screen mode automatically when Fractint starts. If I shift to full-screen mode before booting Fractint, the Fractint program calculates fractals at full speed for about a minute, then slows dramatically. The fractals need to be stopped and re-started every minute to keep them running at full speed. When I start Fractint in a DOS window and let it shift to full screen automatically, this strange slowdown does not occur. For me, Fractint runs under XP-PRO's version of DOS as well as it does under straight DOS. All features including color cycling are fully functional. All video modes up to SF9, (1280x1024x256), which is the resolution limit of the monitor, are available. Offhand, I do not know if the fractals are dis- played in VESA mode, though the fact that all modes are automa- tically sized to fill the screen would lead me to believe that they are. Unfortunately, with all the confusion left over from the big move, I cannot find the documentation that came with the computer, so I would need to dis-assemble the machine to determine the make and model of the video card. Things are still too rushed for me to start taking things apart. I might have chosen a lucky combination of software and hard- ware, or there might be some real differences between the home and professional versions of XP. I'll check into it further as soon as things are more settled down here at NFC. (Maybe some- thing in my sstools.ini file helps things along.) Jim M.

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