UF Mailing List FAQ
Please send any corrections or additions to Janet Parke.

LIST TOPICS

The purpose of this list is to talk about how to use Ultra Fractal, to exchange parameter and formula files, and to talk about fractals in general. This list is not moderated (if you are a subscriber, messages sent to the list will automatically go through) but it IS monitored. Abuse will not be tolerated. :)

ULTRA FRACTAL RESOURCES

Ultra Fractal Home Page

UF Formula Database

Resource List (links to important information)

POSTING

To post a message to the list, just send it to ultrafractal-subscribe@lists.fractalus.com; it will be sent to everyone who subscribes. Please note, you will need to send your message from the same address you subscribed with.

This list has an easy-going, friendly atmosphere. The participants would like to keep it that way. So please don't use this list as a vehicle for "flaming" someone. Insults, personal attacks, and incendiary remarks will not be tolerated and if you engage in these activities you'll find yourself unsubscribed. I'm a pretty level- headed guy and I'm not going to squelch honest discussion; you'll probably get a warning if you're borderline. I simply want to make it clear that boorish behavior is unacceptable.

It is also very much preferred that you refrain from posting messages that contain stylized text, HTML enhancements, or basically anything other than plain vanilla ASCII. Plain ASCII mail does two things: first, it insures your messages can be read in the widest possible range of e-mail readers. (Many people do not use Outlook Express or Messenger to send their mail.) Second, plain ASCII mail cuts down on bandwidth.

Posting messages to the list with file attachments is STRONGLY discouraged. Remember that every message you post to the list must be copied to every user who subscribes to the list. Even a short 20K file, if sent to two hundred users, amounts to four megabytes of data being sent from this server. To make matters worse, some mail systems (particularly Juno, which is popular) do not accept messages with attachments at all. If you have a file which you wish to make available to list subscribers, you should place them on a web or FTP server and post a URL to the file; interested users can then download the file at their convenience. If you do not have access to a web or FTP server, please send me mail at uflist@fractalus.com and we'll work something out.

The language of the mailing list is English. Please, we realize that this is not everyone's language--but it is the language understood by almost all the list participants.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

It never fails, the same questions are asked over and over. :) So here are the common ones.

Q. How do I unsubscribe?
A. If for any reason you wish to unsubscribe from the list, send a message with just the following line in the body to ultrafractal-unsubscribe@lists.fractalus.com:

unsubscribe ultrafractal

Don't include anything else, a signature or anything. You will need to send this message from the same address you are subscribed with, so that the Majordomo software will know who to unsubscribe. This information is also included at the bottom of every message that comes from the list.

Q. Is there a digest mode for the list?
A. Currently, no. The Majordomo software does support digests but I haven't set it up yet to do so, because it's not trivial. There is the possibility that the list may end up using software besides Majordomo in the future, so I'm not going to go to the trouble of setting up a digest mode until I know for certain.

Q. How do I view the parameters posted to the list?
A. When you copy a parameter file from anywhere--an e-mail message, or from a tutorial or challenge page--you simply highlight and copy (Ctrl+C) the text and then with UF open, paste (Ctrl+V). The image will appear in a fractal window. When you copy parameters or formulas, you need the name and everything between the curly braces: formula or parname { }

Q. How do I save a parameter set?
A. To save a parameter set, press Ctrl+A (or File|Save Parameters) and give the parameter a name. UF will add the .upr extension. You will probably want to create a file for your own parameters when you are asked "Where should the parameter set be saved?" or place it in a folder already created.

Q. How do I copy my parameters for a fractal to an e-mail message to post to the list?
A. Make sure the image you want to copy is highlighted (active) and then press Ctrl+C to copy it to the clipboard. Then go to your email and press Ctrl+V. The text of the parameter file will be copied to the e-mail.

Q. How do I handle formulas that are posted to the UF list? How do I add them to the formula collections?
A. All files in UF (formula, coloring, transformation, and parameter) are stored in collections. The individual files within each collection will never be visible from Explorer. All of them are text files which may be edited in any text editor as long as they are saved as ASCII (DOS) text. You can open any formula file (including coloring and transformation files) with File|Open and then choose the file from your Formula directory. When a formula is posted, just open up the appropriate file (i.e. dmj.ufm, dmj.ucl) within UF, go to the bottom of the text and paste in the new file. Do this primarily when you just need to add a formula or two.

Q. I tried to paste in a parameter but I get complaints about missing formulas or parameters not being found. What does this mean?
A. Usually it means you don't have the latest version of the formula files. These are updated much more frequently than the Ultra Fractal software itself, and announcements of new formula collections are usually made to the list. There is a single, master formula database which you can find here:

    http://formulas.ultrafractal.com

If you're ever in doubt as to whether you have the latest formulas, go to this page and get the collection.

Q. I tried the master formula collection and I'm still getting errors. What now?
A. Most likely you're trying to use parameters that refer to a brand- new formula that isn't in the database. Usually the message that contained the parameters will tell you which formula collection to use; you can usually find links to these formula collections on the Ultra Fractal Resource List:

    http://www.parkenet.org/jp/ufresources.html

Q. What are these "challenges" I see mentioned?
A. When Ultra Fractal 2 was released, some "challenges" were designed to encourage participants to explore some particular features of UF. Though we aren't accepting new entries, they're a great resource for learning. You can find them here:

    http://www.parkenet.org/jp/ufchallenges.html

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