I just installed Red Hat Linux a few days ago, and noticed that it includes
POV-Ray - long my Macintosh hobby. I installed it, and now I con't launch
it. What's the trick to starting the thing? I've been using the KDE system,
which calls the smaple files "executables" (!). Can anyone help this newbie?

Thanks!
-----------------
David McCabe
dav### [at] maccom
http://homepage.mac.com/davidmccabe/index.htm
God is good!

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I'll give it a shot.
I launch mine by typing "x-povray" at the bash prompt followed by a buncha
arguments.

KDE shows a "meshed gears" icon when the file in question has the "x"
(executable) permission.
Under Linux a file is executable because of this permission, not because of
any property of the
file itself. (Under Windows for example a file must be a *.EXE file, there
is no equivalent "permission".)
I have zero Mac knowlege to relate this to.

I have an older version of Red Hat, and I haven't been able to make this
work, but you're supposed
to be able to configure the system so that x-povray is considered the
interpreter for .pov files, and
then you could invoke a .pov file just like a command, and x-povray is run
as the interpreter, and
does a render for you. I don't know how to make it work. Check out
"miscellaneous executables".

"David" <dav### [at] maccom> wrote in message
news:B6397AA4.2E24%dav### [at] maccom...
> I just installed Red Hat Linux a few days ago, and noticed that it
includes
> POV-Ray - long my Macintosh hobby. I installed it, and now I con't launch
> it. What's the trick to starting the thing? I've been using the KDE
system,
> which calls the smaple files "executables" (!). Can anyone help this
newbie?
>
> Thanks!
> -----------------
> David McCabe
> dav### [at] maccom
> http://homepage.mac.com/davidmccabe/index.htm
> God is good!
>

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On Thu, 16 Nov 2000 15:46:51 -0800, Scott Lambert wrote:
>file itself. (Under Windows for example a file must be a *.EXE file, there
>is no equivalent "permission".)

Not necessarily.  Other types of files are executable as well; most notably
.BAT and .COM files.  NT even lets you specify what extensions will be tried;
the default is PATHEXT=.COM;.EXE;.BAT;.CMD;.VBS;.VBE;.JS;.JSE;.WSF;.WSH

-- 
Ron Parker   http://www2.fwi.com/~parkerr/traces.html
My opinions.  Mine.  Not anyone else's.

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David wrote:
> 
> I just installed Red Hat Linux a few days ago, and noticed that it includes
> POV-Ray - long my Macintosh hobby. I installed it, and now I con't launch
> it. What's the trick to starting the thing? I've been using the KDE system,
> which calls the smaple files "executables" (!). Can anyone help this newbie?

Try something like x-povray +d +v -ifiletorender.pov
that should give you a image that shows up on the screen while rendering
and 
is saved to filetorender.png (I think PNG is the default, might be TGA).

/Peter Toneby
-- 
Alpha Test Version:  Too buggy to be released to the paying public. 
Beta Test Version:  Still too buggy to be released. 
Release Version:  Alternate pronunciation of "Beta Test Version".

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This is a common question. This is what I did before I figured out how
to do it one of the common ways. While I use RH I installed POV before
it came with so I don't know how it is done. 

David wrote:
> 
> I just installed Red Hat Linux a few days ago, and noticed that it includes
> POV-Ray - long my Macintosh hobby. I installed it, and now I con't launch
> it. What's the trick to starting the thing? I've been using the KDE system,
> which calls the smaple files "executables" (!). Can anyone help this newbie?

Subject:             Re: Povray3.1 for Linux
       Date:             Thu, 19 Oct 2000 18:51:48 -0400
       From:             Matt Giwer <jul### [at] ijnet>
 Organization:             IASUTAAS Industries
 Newsgroups:             povray.unix
  References:             1

Rod wrote:
> 
> I'm a linux newbe that needs help. How do I install povray3.1 for linux
> ? I know next to nothing yet about linux, and am learning it, and I do
> not know how to execute scripts or edit them.

        I'm half a newbie. I force it to work this way. I am certain
there are
better ways but at least it works. 

        Depending how now, if you an unpack it, you can use it. That is 

        tar -xzf povray.whatever.gz 

        linux tip: if you type the first few letters and hit tab it will
try to
fill in the rest of the name. 

        That should create a directory named povray and under that
povray31
which will have the executables and most of what you expect to find in
the Windows directory. 

        Without risking anything, you can make it work by 

/home/your_account_name/povray/povray31/x-povray filename.ini 

        (note .ini not .pov)

        (Of course make a shell file, chmod +xxx filename that contains
the
above line, and invoke by ./filename )

        povray does not appear to recognize 

~/povray/povray31/x-povray filename.ini

	so use the full path. 

(If you know how to SU root, just do so and type ./install and forget
the path to x-povray. However it still appears to need the path to the
files.) 

        Instead of the windows #include "colors.inc" in the scene file. 

        You need to type

#include "/home/your_account_name/povray/povray31/include/colors.inc" 

        (That assumes you have not installed it. If you have
/usr/local/lib/povray31/include/colors.inc. There is a better trick
though with the +Lpath in the ini file.) 

        The ini file contains tells it everything on how to render the
file.
Height, Width, AA, Quality all that sort of thing that is a pulldown
menu in Windows. There is a povray.ini file that comes with to get you
started. I have not figured out how to get that to work without adding
+I and input file and +O output file. Again with the full path. 

        I know of no place where the ini file options are fully
documented but a very good start is in the html docs. I have found them
in bits and pieces in related sections. +P is an important one, to pause
at the end and leave the image on the screen. 

        As I say, I am certain there are better ways to do it but at
least that
makes it work. 

-- 
None of my opinions are humble. 
        -- The Iron Webmaster, 96

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On Thu, 16 Nov 2000 11:51:00 -0800, David wrote:
>I just installed Red Hat Linux a few days ago, and noticed that it includes
>POV-Ray - long my Macintosh hobby. I installed it, and now I con't launch
>it. What's the trick to starting the thing? I've been using the KDE system,
>which calls the smaple files "executables" (!). Can anyone help this newbie?

In an Xterm type:

$ which x-povray

I get "/usr/local/bin/x-povray", so it's in my path, to find out what your 
path is set to do:

$ echo $PATH 

Must be PATH must be upper case, I get
"/usr/local/bin:/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin:/home/sjlen/bin", 

so I go into my home directory and set up the .povrayrc file which is like
the povray.ini file in windows, edit that file and make the appropriate 
changes.  Create yourself a pov directory in your home directory, and then
put some pov files in it.  

To render type:

$ x-povray -Isomefile.pov -Osomefile.ppm -W320 -H240 -A

The -I stands for input file, the -O for output file, -W for image
width, -H for image height and -A to turn AA off.

Fur some brief help do:

$ x-povray -h

I've produced a small utility which works with an Rxvt window to 
give you menu access to the most common command line options, 
it's on my websit in the Linux Stuff section, d/l it and read
the documentation, it's fairly straight forward to get it up and
running.   

-- 
Cheers
Steve              email mailto:ste### [at] zeroppsuklinuxnet

%HAV-A-NICEDAY Error not enough coffee  0 pps. 

web http://www.zeropps.uklinux.net/

or  http://start.at/zero-pps

  3:16am  up 37 days,  5:38,  2 users,  load average: 3.00, 3.00, 3.00

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OK, well, hmm...I think perhaps there's something in all that that I can
understand. I'll try doing some of that stuff with the $PATH, but what even
does it do? Remember, I've been using Linux for three days.
______
David McCabe
dav### [at] maccom
http://homepage.mac.com/davidmccabe/index.htm
Jesus loves you!

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David wrote:

> OK, well, hmm...I think perhaps there's something in all that that I can
> understand. I'll try doing some of that stuff with the $PATH, but what even
> does it do? Remember, I've been using Linux for three days.

Bash looks in the $PATH for the executables. So if you type 'x-povray -i 
somefile', bash looks in $PATH for the x-povray executable.

Remco Poelstra

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On Fri, 17 Nov 2000 10:26:01 -0800, David wrote:
>OK, well, hmm...I think perhaps there's something in all that that I can
>understand. I'll try doing some of that stuff with the $PATH, but what even
>does it do? Remember, I've been using Linux for three days.

Running "echo $PATH" tells you what the search path is for executables.

this can be changed in ~/.bash_profile where the path is redifined for 
your own needs: 

PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin

This adds ~/bin to the original path.  To get changes to take effect after
editing the .bash_profile file do:

$ source .bash_profile

It'd be a good idea to get a Linux book, "Running Linux" by O'Reilly, has a 
lot in it, covers the basics, and will allow you to grow at your own pace,
I've been on Linux for almost 12 months now and use the book regularly. 

A good URL to look at for basic stuff is:

http://www.crosswinds.net/~beginnerslinux/

-- 
Cheers
Steve              email mailto:ste### [at] zeroppsuklinuxnet

%HAV-A-NICEDAY Error not enough coffee  0 pps. 

web http://www.zeropps.uklinux.net/

or  http://start.at/zero-pps

  8:20pm  up 37 days, 22:43,  2 users,  load average: 1.38, 1.28, 1.13

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On Fri, 17 Nov 2000 10:26:01 -0800, David wrote:
>OK, well, hmm...I think perhaps there's something in all that that I can
>understand. I'll try doing some of that stuff with the $PATH, but what even
>does it do? Remember, I've been using Linux for three days.

You don't have to do anything with the PATH unless you install povray in
a non-standard place. But you will have to get used to typing commands
instead of clicking on icons (Not that you can't do much with with a
gui, but the commandline is the natural and most efficient interface to
a Unix system). Others have already posted how to invoke povray from a
terminal window.

I suggest you get a good indroductory book to Linux (O'Reilly's
nutshell-books are generally quite good, so I guess "Linux in a
Nutshell" is, too).

I guess I could write a short tutorial on how to use povray with
makefiles, if there isn't one already.

	hp

-- 


| |   | hjp### [at] wsracat      |    -- Lutz Donnerhacke in dasr.
__/   | http://www.hjp.at/ |

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