Release 4.0

Keyboard support

ChaosPro can be controlled not only by using the mouse, but also by using the keyboard.

• The following more general key combinations exist:
  

  Shift + <Return>	Starts the fractal calculation
  ALT + Tab-key	Windows hotkey: activates the next window
  ESC	Closes the current window. If the keyboard focus is on an element inside a window, the keyboard focus will be given to the parent (i.e. the window). You then have to press ESC twice: The first key press will remove the focus from the entry field, the second key press will close the window.
  F1	Opens the help window.
  F2	Lets you rename the current fractal.
  Shift+F2	Lets you rename the current folder.
  F5	Refresh: By pressing F5, the fractal gets recalculated.
  Shift+F5	Refresh: By pressing Shift+F5, the fractal gets redrawn, i.e. the colors get reassigned (same as re-assigning the current palette).

• Many menu commands can be accessed by using a hotkey. Have a look at the menu commands to see the hotkeys.
• The various input elements in ChaosPro can be activated using a hotkey, too. The following rules apply:

  Input elements	Input elements which can be activated using the keyboard indicate this by an underlined character in their label, or, in case of elements without a label, by the tooltip, which then contains a description of the shortcut. The shortcut can be activated using ALT + <key>, where <key> is the key indicated by the underlined character or specified in the tooltip
  Slider/entry	ChaosPro sometimes uses a combination of a slider and an entry field for adjusting a parameter, for example when specifying the number of iterations. In this case the shortcut will activate the entry field. If you'd like to activate the slider, you need to hold down the Shift key, too. So for example ALT+I activates the entry field, ALT+Shift+I activates the slider.
  Tabs	The different tabs of a tabcontrol don't use the ALT+<key> combination in order to not interfer with the standard key combinations. Instead, you need to press either ALT+Ctrl+<key> or Ctrl+Shift+<key> (both combinations will work).

  
  
  
  
• The fractal window itself has several key actions.
• Pressing the right mouse button over a list view normally brings up a context menu. Whenever you feel like a command is missing, try it with the right mouse button and see whether there is something in the context menu.
• ChaosPro uses the normal Windows behaviour for selection: For example in the palette editor window: There are many control points. If you want to select many control points at once, draw a selection frame around them. If you then want to add control points to the selected control points, hold down the shift key and draw another selection frame or select additional control points. If you hold down the shift key and then move around a control point you can see that all selected control points stay selected and can be moved around at once. If you release the shift key and select a control point, all other control points will be deselected.
  
  The same applies for the alpha channel window or the 3D transformation window (height transformation field): Holding down SHIFT allows multi selection.

Changing numeric values in entry fields

Fig. Parameter Change ChaosPro allows you to change a number in an entry field not only by typing in a new number, but also using the mouse. This feature is "general" and not limited to specific numeric fields: Whenever you see an entry field with a number inside, you can change it with the mouse. Now how does it work: Choose a digit from the number using the mouse (by selecting a digit with the left mouse button). Keep the left mouse button pressed, do not release it. The digit which you've just selected defines how strong the number will change. After that move the mouse up/down while holding down the left mouse button. The digit which you selected will be increased or decreased while you move the mouse up and down. See image at the right side, perhaps it helps a bit to understand what I mean. If there is the number 0.77903204 and for example you choose the 0.77903204, then you can easily explore how the fractal looks like, if the parameter is 0.78903204, 0.79903204, 0.80903204. This is easy going with the mouse. Round about 20 pixels on the screen correspond to a change of the selected digit. By selecting the proper digit you can determine how much the number actually changes. As ChaosPro restarts the rendering each time a parameter changes you can see quite fast, how the fractal responds to changes of its parameters.