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POV-Ray(1)			   Version 3.7			      POV-Ray(1)

NAME
     povray - POV-Ray: The Persistence of Vision Ray Tracer

SYNOPSIS
     povray [+Ooutput_file] [+/-option ...]  [input_file]

     povray [+Iinput_file] [+Ooutput_file] [+/-option ...] [INI_file]

DESCRIPTION
     POV-Ray  is  a  free, full-featured ray tracer, written and maintained by a
     team of volunteers on the Internet.  On the UNIX platform	POV-Ray  can  be
     compiled with support for preview capabilities using the X Window System.

     This  manual  page  only lists the basic POV-Ray and UNIX specific features
     and command-line options for this version of POV-Ray.  For a  complete  de-
     scription	of  the  features  of POV-Ray and its scene description language
     (a.k.a. POV-Ray SDL), or for a better explanation of  the	meaning  of  the
     command-line  and	INI  file options, please consult the documentation that
     should accompany all versions of POV-Ray.	The documentation  is  installed
     in PREFIX/share/doc/povray-3.7, where PREFIX is /usr/local by default, or a
     path  specified when configuring the source package for compilation and in-
     stallation.

     Some of the UNIX-specific features are:

	    Support for X Window display  automatically  uses  the  best  visual
	    class  and deepest depth available.  For visuals that do not support
	    24 bits of color per pixel, Floyd-Steinberg error diffusion  dither-
	    ing  is  used,  along  with  a  dynamically  allocated and optimized
	    palette to produce the best display possible with  the  current  vi-
	    sual, depth, and available colormap.

	    ICCCM  compliance  for  the  X Window version means that the preview
	    window will behave like  standard  X  Window  programs,  communicate
	    properly  with the window manager, and will accept the standard com-
	    mand-line options.	See X(1) for more information.

	    ASCII graphics in the text-mode version allow a basic  view  of  the
	    current rendering on text-only terminals.

	    An	interrupt  handler  allows rendering to be interrupted in a safe
	    way, so that any data not currently written to disk  will  be  saved
	    before  exiting.   Control-C  or SIGINT will cause a user abort, and
	    save the current rendering, before exiting.  See  kill(1)  for  more
	    information.

	    Platform  and architecture-independent rendering means that the same
	    scene will render in the same way on  all  computers  and  operating
	    systems (with the exception of the rendering speed, of course).

OPTIONS
     Options  can be specified with either a leading '+' or a leading '-'.  Many
     options are switches, meaning a '+' turns the option on, and  a  '-'  turns
     the  option off.  For other options, it doesn't matter if a '+' or a '-' is
     used.  Most options cannot have spaces in them so you  should  specify  +FN
     rather than +F N, and combining options is not allowed, so +SC is very dif-
     ferent from +S +C.  Options are not case sensitive.

     The  command-line options are shown below with their corresponding INI file
     options.  If the same option is specified multiple times,	whether  in  INI
     files  or	on the command-line, the last such option overrides any previous
     ones, with the exception of the +L or Library_Path option, which is cumula-
     tive.

   Parsing options:
     I<input_file_name> or Input_File_Name=file
	    Specifies the input file to use.  If the input file name is '-', the
	    scene description will be read from the standard input.  The

     HI<header_include_file_name> or Include_Header=file
	    Specifies a file as the first include file of a  scene  file.   This
	    can  be  used  to  always  include a specific set of default include
	    files used by all your scenes.

     L<library_path> or Library_Path=path
	    Specifies a directory to search  for  input  files,  include  files,
	    fonts,  and  image maps, if the specified file is not in the current
	    directory.	This may be specified multiple	times  to  increase  the
	    number of directories to search.

     MVn.n or Version=float
	    Treat scene files as if they were version n.n instead of the current
	    version.  This may be overridden from within the scene file.

     SU or Split_Unions=bool
	    Split  bounded CSG unions if children are finite.  This allows auto-
	    matic bounding of CSG objects to take place.

     UR or Remove_Bounds=bool
	    Remove unnecessary bounding objects.  This allows automatic bounding
	    of older scene files to take place.

     BM1 or Bounding_Method=1
	    Enable BVH (Bounding Volume Hierarchy) bounding (the default).

     BM2 or Bounding_Method=2
	    Enable BSP (Binary Space Partitioning) tree bounding.

   Output options:
     Hn or Height=integer
	    The image should be n pixels high.

     Wn or Width=integer
	    The image should be n pixels wide.

     SRn or Start_Row=integer
	    Start the rendering at row n from the top of the screen.

     SR0.n or Start_Row=float
	    Start the rendering n percent from the top of the screen.

     ERn or End_Row=integer
	    End the rendering at row n from the top of the screen.

     ER0.n or End_Row=float
	    End the rendering at n percent from the top of the screen.

     SCn or Start_Column=integer
	    Start the rendering at column n from the left of the screen.

     SC0.n or Start_Column=float
	    Start the rendering at n percent from the left of the screen.

     ECn or Start_Column=integer
	    End the rendering at column n from the left of the screen.

     EC0.n or Start_Column=float
	    End the rendering at n percent from the left of the screen.

     C or Continue_Trace=bool
	    Continue a previously interrupted trace.

     P or Pause_When_Done=bool
	    If previewing, pause when the rendering is complete  before  closing
	    the window.

     V or Verbose=bool
	    Output verbose status messages on the progress of the rendering.

     WLn or Warning_Level=integer
	    Set warning level to n.

     X or Test_Abort=bool
	    Enable the 'q' and 'Q' keys to interrupt a rendering in progress.

     Xn or Test_Abort_Count=integer
	    Only check every n pixels for a user abort.

   Output options - display related:
     D[0][GHT] or Display=bool	Palette=char
	    Display   the  rendering  in  progress,  optionally  specifying  the
	    palette.  The only valid X Window palette option is G, which  forces
	    grayscale  preview.   The  X  Window  palette is based on the visual
	    used, whether selected automatically by POV-Ray or via  the  -visual
	    option.   To specify the palette, you must first specify the display
	    type (the second character, shown here  as	'0')  for  compatibility
	    reasons, even though it is ignored in UNIX versions.

     SPn or Preview_Start_Size=integer
	    Start mosaic preview with blocks n pixels square.

     EPn or Preview_End_Size=integer
	    End mosaic preview with blocks n pixels square.

     UD or Draw_Vistas=bool
	    Draw vista rectangles before rendering has been deprecated.

   Output options - file related:
     F[CEHJNPST][n] or Output_to_File=bool Output_File_Type=char
	    Store  the rendered image using one of the available formats, namely
	    Compressed TGA, OpenEXR, Radiance  High  Dynamic-Range,  JPEG,  PNG,
	    PPM, System  specific (PNG) and TGA.

     O<output_file> or Output_File_Name=file
	    Write the output to the file named output_file, or the standard out-
	    put if '-' is given as the output file name.

     MIn or Max_Image_Buffer_Memory=n
	    Sets the allowable size of the output image cache in megabytes.

   Tracing options:
     MBn or Bounding=bool Bounding_Threshold=integer
	    Use  automatic  bounding  slabs  if  more  than n objects are in the
	    scene.

     Qn or Quality=integer
	    Render at quality n.  Qualities range from 0 for rough images and  9
	    for complete ray-tracing and textures, and 10 and 11 add radiosity.

     A0.n or Antialias=bool Antialias_Threshold=integer
	    Do	antialiasing on the pixels until the difference between adjacent
	    pixels is less that 0.n, or the maximum recursion depth is reached.

     AMn or Sampling_Method=integer
	    Specify the method of antialiasing used, non-adaptive (n  =  1),  or
	    adaptive antialiasing (n = 2).

     Jn.n or Jitter=bool Jitter_Amount=float
	    Specify  maximum  radius, in pixels, that antialiased samples should
	    be jittered from their true centers.

     Rn or Antialias_Depth=integer
	    Set the maximum recursion depth for antialiased pixel sub-sampling.

     UA or Output_Alpha=bool
	    Use alpha channel for transparency mask.

     UL or Light_Buffer=bool
	    Use light buffer to speed up rendering has been deprecated.

     UV or Vista_Buffer=bool
	    Use vista buffer to speed up rendering has been deprecated.

   Animation options:
     Kn.n or Clock=float
	    Render a single frame of an animation with the clock value n.n.

     KFIn or Initial_Frame=integer
	    Specify the initial frame number for an animation.

     KFFn or Final_Frame=integer
	    Specify the final frame number for an animation.  This must  be  set
	    at a value other that 1 in order to render multiple frames at once.

     KIn.n or Initial_Clock=float
	    Specify the clock value for the initial frame of an animation.

     KFn.n or Final_Clock=float
	    Specify the clock value for the frame final of an animation.

     SFn or Subset_Start_Frame=integer
	    Render a subset of frames from an animation, starting at frame n.

     SF0.n or Subset_Start_Frame=float
	    Render a subset of frames from an animation, starting n percent into
	    the animation.

     EFn or Subset_End_Frame=integer
	    Render a subset of frames from an animation, stopping at frame n.

     EF0.n or Subset_End_Frame=float
	    Render a subset of frames from an animation, stopping n percent into
	    the animation.

     KC or Cyclic_Animation=bool
	    Generate clock values for a cyclic animation.

     UF or Field_Render=bool
	    Render  alternate  frames using odd/even fields, suitable for inter-
	    laced output.

     UO or Odd_Field=bool
	    Start a field rendered animation on the odd field, rather  than  the
	    even field.

   Redirecting options:
     GI<name> or Create_Ini=bool or Create_Ini=file
	    Write all INI parameters to a file named after the input scene file,
	    or one with the specified name.

     G[ADFRSW]<name> or <Stream>_File=bool or <Stream>_File=file
	    Write  the	stream	to  the  console and/or the specified file.  The
	    streams are All_File (except status), Debug_File,  Fatal_File,  Ren-
	    der_File, Statistics_File, and the Warning_File.

   X Window System options:
     In  addition to the standard command-line options, POV-Ray recognizes addi-
     tional command-line switches related to the X Window System.  See X(1)  for
     a complete description of these options.

     -display <display_name>
	    Display  preview  on  display_name	rather than the default display.
	    This is meant to be used to change the display  to	a  remote  host.
	    The normal dispay option +d is still valid.

     -geometry	[WIDTHxHEIGHT][+XOFF+YOFF]
	    Render the image with WIDTH and HEIGHT as the dimensions, and locate
	    the  window  XOFF  from the left edge, and YOFF from the top edge of
	    the screen (or if negative the right and bottom edges respectively).
	    The WIDTH and HEIGHT, if given, override any previous Wn and Hn set-
	    tings.

     -help  Display the X Window System-specific options.  Use -H by  itself  on
	    the command-line to output the general POV-Ray options.

     -icon  Start the preview window as an icon.

     -title <window_title>
	    Override the default preview window title with window_title.

     -visual <visual_type>
	    Use  the deepest visual of visual_type, if available, instead of the
	    automatically  selected  visual.   Valid  visuals  are   StaticGray,
	    GrayScale, StaticColor, PseudoColor, TrueColor, or DirectColor.

RESOURCES
     Currently no X resource or app-default files are supported for the X Window
     options.

FILES
     POV-Ray for UNIX allows a povray.ini file in the current directory to over-
     ride the individual setting in $HOME/.povray/3.7/povray.ini.  POV-Ray looks
     for  initial  configuration  information,	like  the Library_Path settings,
     which gives the location for the standard include files, first in the envi-
     ronment   variable    $POVINI,    then    in    ./povray.ini,    then    in
     $HOME/.povray/3.7/povray.ini, then in PREFIX/etc/povray/3.7/povray.ini. The
     PREFIX  directory	can be changed at compile-time using the --prefix option
     of the configure script.  For backward compatibility with	POV-Ray  version
     3.5  and  earlier, the $HOME/.povrayrc and $PREFIX/etc/povray.ini files are
     also searched for when none of the above files were found.

     Since version 3.5 POV-Ray features an I/O Restriction mechanism.	I/O  Re-
     strictions  attempt to at least partially protect a machine running POV-Ray
     from having files read or written outside of a given  set	of  directories.
     The  settings  are  defined in two configuration files, a system-level PRE-
     FIX/etc/povray/3.7/povray.conf	 file	   and	     an       user-level
     $HOME/.povray/3.7/povray.conf  file  with more restrictive settings.  As of
     POV-Ray 3.6 the format of these configuration files  has  changed,  and  no
     backward  compatibility is retained with the configuration files in POV-Ray
     3.5. See the documentation for further details and examples of I/O Restric-
     tion settings.

     povlegal.doc should accompany all installations of  POV-Ray,  and	outlines
     specific  conditions and restrictions on the POV-Ray software.  A condition
     of povlegal.doc requires that documentation, INI and scene files be  avail-
     able  to  all users of POV-Ray. Scene and INI files are typically installed
     in     PREFIX/share/povray-3.7,	 and	 documentation	    in	    PRE-
     FIX/share/doc/povray-3.7,	but these may be in other locations on some sys-
     tems.

     The most recent version of POV-Ray and its documentation can always be  re-
     trieved  via  anonymous FTP at ftp.povray.org or via HTTP at povray.org, as
     well as many other locations.

SEE ALSO
     X(1), kill(1), The POV-Ray Manual

COPYRIGHT
     Persistence of Vision Ray Tracer (POV-Ray)
       Copyright 1991-2013 Persistence of Vision Raytracer Pty. Ltd.

     For further information see the file povlegal.doc that comes with this pro-
     gram.

     The X Window System is
       Copyright 1984 - 1991 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
       Copyright 1992 - 1996 the X Consortium, Inc.
       Copyright 1998	     the Open Group, L.L.C.
       Copyright 1999 - 2004 the X.Org Foundation, L.L.C.

TRADEMARKS
     The terms Persistence of Vision Raytracer and  POV-Ray  are  trademarks  of
     Persistence of Vision Raytracer Pty. Ltd.

     UNIX  is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the US and other coun-
     tries.

BUGS
     Before reporting a bug  to  our  bug-tracking  system  bugs.povray.org  you
     should  make  sure you have the latest version of the software, in case the
     bug has already been fixed. There are a large number of  POV-Ray  users  on
     the  POV-Ray  newsserver news.povray.org and a list of available groups can
     be found on povray.org/resources/newsgroups. You should try  to  find  help
     and assistance in there before lodging a bug report.

AUTHORS
     Primary POV-Ray 3.7 Architects/Developers: (Alphabetically)

       Chris Cason	   Thorsten Froehlich  Christoph Lipka

     With Assistance From: (Alphabetically)

       Ton van den Broek   Nicolas Calimet     Jerome Grimbert	   James Holsen-
     back
       Christoph Hormann   Nathan Kopp	       Juha Nieminen

     Past Contributors: (Alphabetically)

       Steve Anger	   Eric Barish	       Dieter Bayer	   David K. Buck
       Nicolas Calimet	   Chris Cason	       Aaron A. Collins    Chris Dailey
       Steve Demlow	   Andreas Dilger      Alexander Enzmann   Dan Farmer
       Thorsten  Froehlich   Mark  Gordon	   James Holsenback    Christoph
     Hormann
       Mike Hough	   Chris Huff	       Kari Kivisalo	   Nathan Kopp
       Lutz Kretzschmar    Christoph Lipka     Jochen Lippert	    Pascal  Mas-
     simino
       Jim McElhiney	   Douglas Muir        Juha Nieminen	   Ron Parker
       Bill  Pulver	    Eduard Schwan	Wlodzimierz Skiba   Robert Skin-
     ner
       Yvo  Smellenbergh     Zsolt  Szalavari	   Scott  Taylor	 Massimo
     Valentini
       Timothy Wegner	   Drew Wells	       Chris Young

     Other contributors are listed in the documentation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
     POV-Ray is based on DKBTrace 2.12 by David K. Buck and Aaron A. Collins.

POV-Team			    July 2021			      POV-Ray(1)

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