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-====== POV-Ray Plugin ======
-POV-Ray is a free ray-tracer. The POV-Ray plugin defines an export of a 3D scene to POV-Ray's file format, this can be used to obtain high-quality images of scenes modelled with GroIMP.
-===== Installation of POV-Ray =====
-POV-Ray is available for download at [[http://www.povray.org]]. For GroIMP's POV-Ray plugin, you need POV-Ray version 3.5 or higher. Please follow the instructions given at POV-Ray's web page in order to install POV-Ray properly.
-** Note: Most Linux distributions contain POV-Ray. Just select it in the setup tool of your distribution, POV-Ray will then be installed automatically. **
-===== Configuration =====
-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.
-{{:pov:preferences.png}}
-** Figure 1: Configuration of the POV-Ray plugin **
-The configuration of the POV-Ray plugin is done in the
-Preferences panel, see Figure 1. 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 colors
-in the rendered image, deactivate this option.
-** Note: 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. **
-===== Using the Plugin =====
-GroIMP's POV-Ray plugin is used in two ways: At first, it
-defines an export to POV-Ray's file format. This is available via
-// View/Export// in the 3D view. You have to specify a
-file name for the output, the POV-Ray scene will then be written to this
-file. Some scenes contain additional image files, they will be written into a
-subdirectory called ''scene.pov-files'' (where
-<filename>scene.pov</filename> is the file name you have
-chosen).
-Secondly, this export is used to obtain a POV-Ray-rendered
-image of the current scene directly in GroIMP's 3D view. Just use the menu
-//Render View/POV-Ray// in the 3D
-view.
-===== Limitations =====
-D geometry and 3D materials are complex objects.
-Therefore, a 1:1 translation of one
-representation of 3D scenes to another is almost always impossible. All of
-GroIMP's geometry can be exported to POV-Ray, however, some objects like NURBS
-surfaces have to be exported as triangle meshes because POV-Ray does not
-support them directly. This leads to quite big POV-Ray file
-sizes.
-The export of GroIMP's materials to POV-Ray is even more
-restricted. For some material definitions, it is not possible to export all of
-their parts to POV-Ray, so POV-Ray's output may look different from what you
-would expect. Manual postprocessing of exported POV-Ray-scenes may be
-necessary.