On 09/07/2014 03:16 PM, Bald Eagle wrote:
> A few things I'm noticing about this as I learn how to use it:
>
> 1.  I get "Only /EDIT and /RENDER may be passed to previous
> instance"

Those options are returned by MSWindows with the command when MSWindows
is queried for the 'handler' for *.pov files (i.e., pvengine). They were
previously left on the command line; They are now stripped off.
(They seemed to work with POV-Ray 3.6, and seem to cause trouble with
3.7, as I recall.)

>
> 2.  If I close POV-Ray and launch with EPSpline, it then wipes out my
> previously opened tabs.  This makes my inner raytracing code cry
> isosurface tears.  :(

I was not aware of that; I only do some portable software testing under
MSWindows, I don't actually use it, so there is much about the MSWindows
version of POV-Ray that I cannot anticipate.

The gist of the problem is that like most MSWindows programs, MSWindows
POV-Ray is not designed to be used as a child utility (the Unix version
was probably not "designed" with that in mind either, but works fine in
that way as its interface is simpler, completely without an editor, and
not designed for interactive use). Using MSWindows POV-Ray as a preview
is a hack, a convenience.  With the new license a hacked POV-Ray could
be included *in* Epspline, albeit without an editor and using a display
surface provided by Epspline. *I have no intention* of doing that.

It would be very nice if MSWindows POV-Ray had options that would make
it simply render (and display) a files argument. I won't presume to ask
the devs to add features, but if some options become (or are -- I could
have missed them) available for that, then epspline can use those
options if they are added to the command in the Edit->Preferences dialog.

>
> 3.  The lathe object is upside down when rendered from the .inc file,
> as opposed to when it gets rendered via the temporary files generated
> by EPSpline
>
> 4.  The prism object is 90deg from how it was rendered when called by
> EPSpline, and since it isn't "at the origin", rotate and scale are
> fraught with trouble.
>
> Any tips from experienced users?

I covered this in the docs; select Help->"Help Contents" and then go to
section 2.4 Useful Transforms.  I hope it is comprehensible: I am not a
documentation writer (much tougher than coding).

-Ed

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