### How do I... change a particular slide? add or remove slides? change the slide order? use the slide panel? abort a build? undo mistakes? use the Detail box? zoom in? zoom out? generate a julia set? start again from scratch? stop the colours from moving? use keyboard control? unlock the keyboard? lock the mouse? register? uninstall Fractopia?

how to change a particular slide Choose a slot by clicking the Next Slide/Previous Slide buttons until the desired slot number is shown (eg 2 of 5). Click the Open Fractal button and choose a replacement fractal file. The slide will change, but the original fractal file will remain on disk in case you need it again
how to add or remove slides Click the Add Slide button to insert a new (blank) slide at the current location. You can then use Open Fractal to load a fractal into the slide, or New Fractal to start a new fractal from scratch. Click the Remove Slide button to remove the current slide from the show. You will be given the option to delete the associated fractal file too. [Note: You can also add and remove slides from the Slides panel.]
how to change the slide order Work with individual slides, nudging them forward or back until they are in the right position. For example, if your favourite slide is in the third position (3 of 5): Click the Next Slide/Previous Slide buttons until slide 3 is in the explorer window. Click the Nudge Back button twice. Your favourite slide is now the first slide in the show! [Note: you can also do this from the Slides panel.]
how to use the slide panel The slide panel provides a list view of your slides. All the normal slide functions are reproduced here. Click the Slides button to access the slides panel.
how to change the build size You can adjust the size of the preview/screensaver from the Preferences panel: Click the Preferences button to bring up the Preferences panel. Click the Auto button so that it turns red. Enter your preferred width and height in the boxes above. For internal reasons, Fractopia may adjust your dimensions so that they are divisible by 8. If you wish to return to full screen mode, click Auto again so that it turns green.
how to abort a build Press the Escape key, or click the Build button a second time. This will abort the current build operation. You can use the same technique to interrupt the action in the explorer window.
how to undo mistakes Click the Undo button to go back to the previous action. Click the Redo button if you change your mind
how to use the ‘Detail’ box Use the Detail box carefully, to avoid adding to the build time. After zooming repeatedly in to a design, crinkly lines can become smoothed out, and empty holes appear where you would expect to find detail. To see what I mean, try the following: make sure the Mandelbrot formula is selected turn off ribbons and lake magic click the down arrow to the right of the detail box and reduce it to 10 click the Regenerate button See how smooth the edge of the lake area is, compared to the normal level of detail of 150? If you notice this kind of effect, consider increasing the level of detail. Or you might like the low-detail effect and decide to keep it! If you do decide to increase detail, do it a bit at a time until you get it right. Beyond a certain point, you are adding extra seconds to the build time for no visible improvement in the image.
how to zoom in First, use your mouse to draw a zoom box in the explorer window: Click the left mouse button and hold it down, then drag the mouse towards the bottom-right corner of your screen. A dotted zoom box will appear. This defines the area you want to zoom in to. When the box is, say, a quarter of the size of the explorer window, release the mouse button. Next, position the zoom box wherever you want it: Move the mouse inside the zoombox. Now click the left button again, holding it down, to ‘pick up’ the box. By moving the mouse you can position the box so it is over an area of interest. Finally do the zoom: Double left click inside the zoom box and wait while Fractopia zooms in to the area you have selected. (Or left click outside the box if you want to start again). You can keep zooming in this way to journey deeper and deeper into the fractal.
how to zoom out First, use your mouse to draw a zoom box in the explorer window: Click the left mouse button and hold it down, then drag the mouse towards the bottom-right corner of your screen. A dotted zoom box will appear. This defines the area you want to zoom out from. The smaller the box, the greater the zoom. When the box is, say, a quarter of the size of the explorer window, release the mouse button. Next, position the zoom box wherever you want it: Move the mouse over the zoombox. Now click the left button again, holding it down, to ‘pick up’ the box. By moving the mouse you can position the box so it is over an area of interest. Finally do the zoom: Hold down the Ctrl key and double click inside the zoom box. Wait while Fractopia zooms out from the area you have selected. (Or left click outside the box if you want to start again). You can keep zooming in this way to journey further and further out of the fractal.
how to generate a julia set Choose a point in the current fractal, and click there once with the right mouse button. Every point in a normal set has a unique julia set associated with it. You’ll get different results wherever you click. Many of the most beautiful julias are to be found near the edge of the lake area - on the land side rather than in the lake (although there are some noticeable exceptions to this rule!) As you start to venture into the lake, progressively larger bits of lake will appear in your julia set, and this will increase the build time. If you don’t like the result, right click anywhere on the new image and try again.
how to start again from scratch Click on the New Fractal button.
how to stop the colours from moving Press the spacebar. Press it again to restart colour cycling. This way you can step through the colour changes frame by frame.
how to use keyboard control You can use the keyboard to control several Fractopia features, both in Preview mode and when the screen saver is running:
Press | To
PageUp/Down | Step through the colour schemes one by one
Spacebar | Stop/start colour cycling
Up/Down Arrows | Change the colour cycling direction
Left/Right Arrows | Slow down/speed up colour cycling
Insert | Change the palette style
Del | Turn Random Stripes on/off
‘L’ | Turn lake cycling on/off
Escape | Stop screensaver/preview and return to the desktop
If these keys have no effect, click the Preferences button, and make sure the Keyboard Control button is active (green).
how to unlock the keyboard Fractopia can be manipulated via Keyboard Control. This feature allows you to interact with your fractal while it is playing on the big screen. You can browse through all the colour schemes, change the direction and speed of colour flow, and even apply Random Stripes and Palettes Style changes while the screen saver or preview is active. With Keyboard Control on, all the keys on the keyboard are LOCKED with one exception - the Escape key. You can always press Escape or move the mouse slightly to stop the screen saver running and return to the desktop. If you prefer to have the keyboard enabled while the screen saver runs, you can turn off Keyboard Control as follows: Click the Preferences button to bring up the Preferences panel. Then click the Keyboard Control button so that it turns red.
how to lock the mouse When you feel like dimming the lights and turning your computer into a fractal light show, you don’t want to get hurled back to the desktop every time someone accidentally knocks the mouse. So, to lock the mouse: Click the Preferences button to bring up the Preferences panel. Then tick the Mouse Lock button so that it turns green. Used in combination with Keyboard Control, the only way to end the screen saver/preview is to press the Escape key on the keyboard, leaving you free to enjoy the show.
how to register Click the Register button. A new panel will appear in the center of the Fractopia control panel. If you have a registration key, enter it into the box at the top of the panel and press Enter. The full set of formulas and colour schemes will be activated, and you will no longer be bothered by reminder messages. If you do not have a registration key, click on the Fractopia icon in the lower panel. This will take you to the Fractopia web site, where you will be able to acquire a registration key. Once you have a key, enter it as described above.
how to uninstall Fractopia You can uninstall the software in one of two ways: Click the Start button, then go to Programs and select the folder you installed the software into, eg. ‘Fractopia’. Find the icon marked Uninstall and click on it. Follow the instructions as they appear on the screen. Click the Start button, then go to Settings and click on Control Panel. Click on the Add/Remove Programs icon then scroll down the list of programs ‘til you come to Fractopia. Click to highlight it, then press the Add/Remove button and follow the instructions as they appear on the screen.