STARCALC 5.7

Astronomy planetarium and map program for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP

I. INTRODUCTION.

II. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.

III. PROGRAM INSTALLATION.

IV. PROGRAM USAGE.

1. StarCalc start.

2. Working modes and short description of StarCalc possibilities.

3. Plugin's: installation and usage.

4. Full list of the program "hot" keys.


I. INTRODUCTION.

StarCalc is the fastest professional astronomy planetarium & star mapping
program for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP. It illustrates star positions of any
instance of the day observed from any geographic locations on the Earth. The star
positions can be viewed and presented as images of semispherical whole sky or
any of the user defined sub-areas. These images can be zoomed at different
scales, rotated, screen-captured and printed.
Best of all StarCalc is freeware.

Main features of StarCalc:

- Extensibility:
Absolutely all of object types, which can be drawn by this program, work
through common "Plugin StarCalc interface to catalogs and object groups".
Any object or object group type (from Horizon to star catalogs) is implemented
as independent module, which is used by program core for drawing it's objects
and working with other functions of this interface (object search, etc.).
With minimal configuration, program has a core + set of 12 standard
interfaces, linked in one exe-file. Extension of StarCalc functions
is made on the bases of Plugin files, including replacement of standard
interfaces.

Plugin files can be implemented by any program development instrument,
which can create a dll-libraries, therefore I plan to prepare a SDK,
in order that StarCalc extensions can be made by independent programmers

- fast performance:
In StarCalc, extra efficient algorithm of coordinates transformation was
implemented, therefore in "Quick view" mode image calculation usually lasts
a fraction of a second even on very old slow computers and, if co-processor
is present, in "Detailed view" too. Besides, plugin interfaces allow
optimal support to any catalogs.

- User friendliness technology:
StarCalc has a simple interface, most operations are implemented by mouse or
"hot" keys (see item IV.4). The program follows WYSIWYG technology (What You
See Is What You Get), what helps you to print a detailed image of any
enlarged sky area.


II. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.

The program doesn't call for great computer performance and works well on
any computer with installed Windows 9x/ME or Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 and
Windows XP. Of course, during work with Plugin interfaces to big astronomy
catalogs, you must have enough disk space and RAM at least 16-32 Mb.


III. PROGRAM INSTALLATION.

To install StarCalc you must copy files from archive sc57en.zip to
a temporary folder and start file setup.exe, however this procedure isn't
mandatory and after files are extracted you can start main program
(starcalc.exe file) right away. If the installation program overwrite an
old version of StarCalc, it save settings of this, selected previously.


IV. PROGRAM USAGE.

1. StarCalc start.

After the installation procedures, start of StarCalc is made from "Start"
menu or by file "starcalc.exe". The program initializes available interfaces
(standard and plugin) with an appropriate messages show, then sets the "Quick
view" mode (zoom 100%) and current time. (If other settings were not saved
as "default state" previously.) When these procedures are completed,
StarCalc is ready to use.


2. Working modes and short description of StarCalc possibilities.

StarCalc have a two working modes: "Quick view", during zoom between
50% and 600%, and "Detailed view" with zoom from 601% to 200000%. Each of
available interfaces to object groups can support one of this modes or
both. Change of mode is made automatically during zoom change. Set of object
groups, which must be shown in each of modes, its draw order and parameters
are set in dialog window (menu "Catalogs and object groups"). You may change
draw order by buttons with arrows, pressing "Shift+Up"/"Shift+Down" keys
or dragging by mouse over group list.

Image of sky semi-sphere can be rotated under any angle along the azimuth.
For this action you can press "Azimuth rotate" button, press down the left mouse
button and drag mouse over sky image. Another variant is usage "hot" keys
Ctrl+"Right"/Ctrl+"Left" or Ctrl+mouse "wheel". If you wish to turn the image
around by a certain angle, click the mouse right button and choose a line of a
popup menu accordingly or use "hot" keys (see item IV.4).

For object selection press "Object selection" button and click left
mouse button on the needed object. After double click you will see the window
with a full data about this object. Also, you can select object from selection
list in right mouse button context menu - in order to open information window
or calculate ephemeris and path of the object.

In the 5.5 Version of StarCalc new "Object locking" mode is added. After
turning on this mode, if you change zoom or time, selected objects are
centered in main program window. With the help of this mode, for example, you
can comfortably observe eclipses or star occultation processes.

On the fast computer after the input of the required image rotation step
(to be set at the special dialog window) press and hold down '+' or CTRL+F
('-' or CTRL+B), or turn "on" autorotation mode, and you will enjoy the effect
of sky rotation even with constellation boundaries preserved. If the step of
rotation is equal to mean solar day or sidereal day you can see how planets,
the Sun, etc. move along the sky sphere.

The program can rotate the sky automatically - forward, backward or in
"real time mode". Duration of rotation step (excluding real time mode) for
autorotatoin mode same as duration of rotation step for "time forward"/
"time back" functions. Other parameters of autorotation mode - image refresh
rate, etc. - are implemeted in special dialog window.

In the 5.6 version of StarCalc new "Save state"/"Restore state" functions are
implemented. With help of these functions is possible not only go back to
viewing the necessary events, as well as to set sky image parameters at the
program start. For example, if you want to view required point on sky image,
you must save program state with "Location on sky image" and "Restore at the
program start" options.

The image adjustment toolbar can be made "auto hide" in order to save screen
space. For this purposes please select "Auto hide toolbar" in the menu. In
this case the toolbar will appear, if you move the mouse cursor to the bottom
of the main program window.

"Output console". If you turn "on" console window, the program workspace is
divided into two parts. Upper part is the console, lower contains sky image.
The boundary between these parts can dragged by mouse, switching to console
and back to sky image do by the "Tab" key. Output console assigned for
accumulation information, which is generated by the program (ephemeris tables,
etc.) and can be printed or saved to file.

As for the rest of my program, I think, you will understand it yourself without
problem.

3. Plugins: installation and usage.

After StarCalc installation in it's folder a sub-folder with name "Plugins".
is created. For usage of a plugin you must copy it's files into this
sub-folder. Also, for each plugin, you can make a sub-folders within "Plugins"
and place files into it.
During StarCalc start, available plugins are recognized and initialized
automatically. If program has found a new Plugin, it shows a window with
checkboxes for selection modes ("quick" and "detailed"), in which objects of
this plugin will be shown.
Installed plugin can be setup as well as standard interfaces.


4. Full list of the program "hot" keys.

a) Keys that are used to work in the main program window:

'+' or Ctrl+F - Time forward
'-' or Ctrl+B - Time back

Ctrl+N - Set the current time

Ctrl+L - Turn On/Off "Object locking" mode.
Ctrl+G - Turn On/Off "Autorotation" mode.

F2 - Save program state
F3 - Restore program state

F4 - Show/hide the output console window

Ctrl+P - Print image
Ctrl+S - Save image as file

PageUp - Zoom In
PageDown - Zoom Out
Home - Set Zoom equal to 100% (All sky)
Keys 1..0 - Set fixed zoom values:
(100%, 150%, 200%, 250%, 350%, 600%, 1000%, 3000%,
8000% and 50000%)

F8 - Adjustment of object group parameters, which have
support of this function

Cursor keys - Shift sky image in quick and detailed view modes

Ctrl + Cursor keys - Azimuth rotation of sky image

Ctrl+I - Information about selected objects

Ctrl+H - Enable/Disable horizontal coordinate grid
Ctrl+E - Enable/Disable equatorial coordinate grid

F9 - Show "Catalogs and object groups" window

Ctrl+D - Set date and time

Ctrl+R - Set duration of rotation step

Ctrl+T - Set autorotation parameters

Ctrl+A - Set Azimuth rotation angle

Ctrl+Z - Set Zoom

b) Keys that are used to work in dialog windows:

For date/time, rotation step, azimuth rotation angle and zoom set windows
pressing the "Enter" key confirms settings and "Esc" cancels them.
For example, in order to set duration of rotation step equal to
mean solar day, it is enough to press the following key combinations:
"Ctrl+R", "Shift+5", "Enter".

For duration of rotation step window:

Shift+1 - set the step equal to 1 second
Shift+2 - set the step equal to 1 minute
Shift+3 - set the step equal to 1 hour
Shift+4 - set the step equal to sidereal day
Shift+5 - set the step equal to mean solar day
Shift+6 - set the step equal to synodic month

For azimuth rotation angle set window:

Shift+1 - North at the bottom of image
Shift+2 - East at the bottom of image
Shift+3 - South at the bottom of image
Shift+4 - West at the bottom of image

For autorotation parameters set window:

Ctrl+F - set direction of rotation to "Forward"
Ctrl+B - set direction of rotation to "Backward"
Ctrl+R - turn On/Off the "Real time mode"

c) For most dialog windows:

"Esc" - exit.



News, last versions of StarCalc and Plugins for it can be found on
the StarCalc Home page mirrors:

http://www.relex.ru/~zalex/main.htm
http://m31.spb.ru/StarCalc/main.htm
http://www.intercon.ru/~zalex/main.htm

If you want to see new possibilities of StarCalc (may be in the form
of Plugin) or you have other questions or requests, send me e-mail to
following address:

[e-mail]


With best regards,

Alexander E. Zavalishin
Voronezh, Russia