Workspace overview
Ultra Fractal has one main application window that contains all open documents, such as fractals, gradients, and formula files. Secondary windows, called tool windows, edit the properties of fractals and provide access to other functionality.
The workspace contains the following elements:
- Document windows contain the documents that you work on, such as fractals and gradients. In the screen shot above, the fractal window is an example of a document window.
- The buttons on the toolbar provide access to frequently-used commands. Usually, these commands can also be accessed through the pull-down menu directly above the toolbar. The toolbar can be hidden and restored by clicking Toolbar on the Options menu.
- The dock bar is a place to store tool windows, to keep them from using too much screen space. Tool windows can be dragged into and out of the dock bar at any time. Tool windows in the dock bar are called docked tool windows. They can also be collapsed so you only see the title bar. To hide and restore all tool windows and the dock bar, click Tool Windows on the Options menu or press F12.
- Floating tool windows are tool windows that float freely over the screen, instead of being in the dock bar. This is useful if you use a tool window a lot, or to place some tool windows on a secondary monitor if you have one. The Timeline tool window works better when floating than when docked.
- The animation bar contains animation controls for the active fractal window. See Animation bar. (Ultra Fractal Extended Edition only)
- The status bar provides additional information about the active document window, such as the elapsed calculation time for a fractal. To hide and restore the status bar, click Status Bar on the Options menu.
- The window panel is an area in the status bar that lists all open document windows, much like the Windows task bar. To bring a document window to the foreground, click on its button in the window panel. To hide and restore the window panel, click Window Panel on the Options menu.
Next: Working with tool windows
See Also
Tutorials
Fractal windows
Gradients