If the POV-Ray executable file is named povray
and
is contained in one of the directories specified in the PATH-variable of your
system, no further configuration of GroIMP is necessary. This is the case for
most UNIX-like systems, but normally not for Windows systems.
The configuration of the POV-Ray plugin is done in the Preferences panel, see Figure 1.1, “Configuration of the POV-Ray plugin”. In the field "Programme", enter the path to POV-Ray's executable file. For Windows systems, this is typically "C:\Path to POV-Ray Installation\bin\pvengine.exe". The field "Command line" allows you to specify some options for POV-Ray, which may, e.g., influence rendering quality; please consult POV-Ray's documentation. Finally, the option "Use standard output" controls how the rendered image is transferred from POV-Ray to GroIMP: If POV-Ray's standard output is used, the image is transferred continuously, so that a progressive display within GroIMP is possible. Without standard output, POV-Ray writes its output to a temporary file, which is displayed at once after completion of the ray-tracing process. Generally, the method using standard output is preferable; however, there is a bug in (some versions of) POV-Ray for Windows, which corrupts image data in the output. If you see unexpected colours in the rendered image, deactivate this option.
POV-Ray for
Windows is equipped with a graphical user interface for editing POV-Ray scenes
etc. Unfortunately, this graphical user interface is always shown, even when
POV-Ray is only used in batch mode, as is the case for GroIMP. Depending on
POV-Ray's configuration, POV-Ray may even keep running after the rendering has
completed. If this is the case, add the option /exit
in the
field "Command line". The option /nr
keeps POV-Ray from
restoring previous edit sessions, which may reduce startup
time.