Insert Menu Add-on (POV-Ray version 3.6.2/ 3.7)
last update: 5-May-2012

How to use?
Version 'Insert Menu Add-on' for POV-Ray for Windows:
   After having installed this add-on, all you have to do for building your own new scene is:
Step 0: Click on "New" button and you get a new white sheet for a scene text. Click on "Save" choose a good name (without anything than normal ASCII characters!) and save this empty text file like you save any normal text file but ending with ".pov" (The editor used with POV-Ray for Windows will do this automatically!).
Step 1: Click on "Insert Menu", "Basic templates", "Ready_made scenes" and choose one of the scenery backgrounds (Do this only one time in a scene!).
Step 2: You move your cursor at the end of the text! (Don't forget this - otherwise you ... will see not very much!) Click on "Insert Menu", "Basic templates" "Shapes with textures" and choose the shape you want to add in your scene.
Step 3: Click on "Run" button and you will see this scene rendered.
All shapes have colors and other surface properties in textures statements. All shapes also have vanilla transformations like scale<1,1,1>, rotate<0,0,0>, translate<0,0,0>. This makes it very easy, to play around with them and gain experience, because you can't make so much errors in spelling and punctuation.

HTML-Version / Online-Version for all POV-Ray versions:
   Unzip the compressed file of the HTML-Version and open the file '_index.htm'
with any webbrowser parallel to your POV-Ray Scene Editor.
No automatic insert available - we have to insert the templates by 'Cut and Paste'.
Klick on the thumbnail image of the element you want to insert. A new browser window with the according template text file will open. Pick from this browser window (mark it and hit CTRL-C) the whole text from the browser window by 'Cut (CTRL-C) and Paste(CTRL-V)' and paste it with CTRL-V in your scene file where you want it to be inserted.

HTML Version of the Insert Menu Add-on:
The HTML Version can be used with all operating systems for inserting templates by 'cut and paste'.
Download the file "00_Basic_Templates.zip" (5.894 kB)   Last update: 20-July-2011 .
Unzip it to any directory you want. Start reading by opening '_index.htm' in your webbrowser.
Continue the downloading and installing with the include file collections
by the following steps: Step 2, Step 3, Step 5.

How to install the Insert Menu Add-on with POV-Ray for Windows:

Attention please: If you have installed an older version of the "Basic templates", you should cancel or rename this version. Otherwise you will get a chaotic mixture of old and new text template files!

Step 1:
Download my Insert Menu Add-on with the file
"Basic_templates.zip" (7.408 kB)   Last update: 24-May-2010
"Basic_templates_37.zip" (6.334 kB) Update : 5-May-2012 for POV-Ray 3.7 only!

and copy this file to your Insert Menu directory in your POV-Ray program directory
(normally this is
  with POV-Ray for Windows 3.62:
    under Windows XP "C:\Programs\POV-Ray for Windows v3.6\Insert Menu\"
  with POV-Ray 3.7 beta:
    under Windows Vista: "C:\Users\MY_NAME\Documents\POV-Ray\v3.6\Insert Menu\"
    unter Windows XP/Vista/Winows 7:"..\Documents\POV-Ray\v3.6 bzw. v3.7\Insert Menu\" ).

Extract this file with winzip or unzip using "Extract to ... "
with option "use folder names" active and choose in folder "Insert Menu"
the subdirectory "00 - Basic templates".
You will get the following structur of subdirectories:

C:\Programs\POV-Ray for Windows v3.6 or v3.7   (under Windows XP)
resp.
C:\Users\MY_NAME\Documents\POV-Ray\v3.6 or v3.7   (under Windows Vista)
..............Insert Menue
...........................\00 - Basic templates
................................................\10 - Ready_made scenes
................................................\20 - Basic shapes round
................................................\21 - Basic shapes angular
................................................\23 - Shapes2
................................................\24 - shapes_lo.inc (! download 'shapes_lo.inc'! Step 2)
................................................\25 - shapes_lo2     (! download 'shapes_lo2'! Step 2)
................................................\26 - blob and fractal
................................................\27 - 3D text shapes
................................................\28 - height_field and HF macros
................................................\29 - Non-CSG shapes
................................................\30 - Isosurfaces by basic functions
................................................\31 - Isosurfaces by function.inc
................................................\32 - Isosurfaces by pattern functions
................................................\35 - Polynomial Quartic
................................................\37 - Parametric Surfaces
................................................\40 - while loops + for loops
................................................\42 - sphere_sweep and spline_curves
................................................\45 - Random
................................................\50 - Shearing and transform
................................................\52 - Shape modifiers
................................................\55 - Colors in textures
................................................\60 - Textures + Materials(!extra download for POV-Ray 3.6! Step 4!)
................................................\70 - Lights, skies, fogs, rainbow
................................................\75 - Radiosity and Photons
................................................\80 - Math Functions
................................................\85 - Analytical Geometry (! extra download! see Step 5+6!)
................................................\90 - General statements
................................................\93 - Include files
................................................\95 - Animation
...........................\00 - Scene templates
...........................\10 - Headers ..... and all the other Insert Menu items.
Step 2:
Download my macro include files :
"shapes_lo.inc" (27 KB)   last update: 23-July-2006 and
"shapes_lo2.zip" (15 KB macro collection)   last update: 20-July-2011 and
"Circle_Text_Valigned.inc" (8 KB)   15-July-2007.
Copy these files to your include file directory in your POV-Ray program directory
(normally this is your Documents directory "POV-Ray\v3.7\include\".
Sure you can also use any other directory mentioned by "Library_Path=" in your "povray.ini")
Step 3:
Download my height_field sample targa file (4 mountains):
"MountLo.zip"(777 KB)   04-May-2005 and
[For download click on the file name with the right mouse button and choose from context menu "Save Target as ...".
Copy it to your include file directory in your POV-Ray program directory.
Extract also this file with winzip or unzip to your include file directory.]
Step 4:
Download my Insert Menu Add-on Part "Textures and Materials ":
(! for POV-Ray 3.6 only !)
"Textures_and_Materials.zip" (9.023 kB)   last update: 15-April-2010
and copy this file to your Insert Menu subdirectory "00 - Basic templates".
Extract this file with winzip or unzip using "Extract to ... " with option "use folder names" active,
choose folder in your Documents directory
POV-Ray\v3.7\Insert Menu\00 - Basic templates\60 - Textures and Materials".
You will get the structur of subdirectories like shown above.
Step 5:
Download my include file for "Analytical Geometry with POV-Ray":
"analytical_g.inc" (23 kB)   last update: 27-Sept-2004
[For download click on the file name avec right mouse button and choose from context menu "Save Target as ..."
and copy this file to your include file directory in your POV-Ray program directory.]
Step 6:
Download my Insert Menu Add-on part "Analytical Geometry":
"Analytical_Geometry.zip" (247 kB),   last update: 03-March-2007.
[For download click on the file name avec right mouse button and
choose from context menu "Save Target as ...".
Copy it to your Insert Menu subdirectory "00 - Basic templates".]

        POV-Ray Objects - Ready-made Objects for POV-Ray
               - Download of the include files and the according Insert Menu Add-on -

    POV-Ray Objects is a little collection of ready-made objects and parts of objects for POV-Ray.
    They mostly were definded in one or more include files as objects or as macros.
Download of all ready-made POV-Ray objects
"pov_objects1.zip" (138 kB),   New: 5-May-2012.
Save the files unzipped in the documents directory "/POV-Ray/v3.7/Include/"
or in the directory of your scene files in use (Extension: ".pov")
or in any other directory listed in "POVRAY.INI" as a valid "Library_Path".
Some of these POV-Ray Objects additionally need my include file "shapes_lo.inc".
Download POV-Ray objects for railway / railroad
Railtrack elements for my Rail-Track-System: "RT_System.zip" (64 kB),   Update: 26-April-2012.
Railway / railroad wheels and axes: "RW_System.zip" (6 kB),   New: 5-May-2012.
Save the files unzipped in the documents directory "/POV-Ray/v3.7/Include/"
or in the directory of your scene files in use (Extension: ".pov")
or in any other directory listed in "POVRAY.INI" as a valid "Library_Path".
Some of these POV-Ray Objects additionally need my include file "shapes_lo.inc".
 
Download the according Insert Menu Add-ons for the POV-Ray Objects
with template texts and preview thumbnail images for comfortable use,
For POV-Ray 3.6 (thumbnails in 'bmp') "Ready_made objects.zip" (3 099 kB),   Update: 5-May-2012.
For POV-Ray 3.7 (thumbnails in 'jpg') "Ready_made objects_37.zip" (1 022 kB),   Update: 5-May-2012.
Save thes files unzipped in the documents directory
"POV-Ray/v3.6/Insert Menu/" resp. "POV-Ray/v3.7/Insert Menu/" or in any other subdirectory in this path.

HTML version of Insert Menu Add-ons for the POV-Ray Objects
"01_Objects_lo.zip"(755 kB)   New: 5-May-2012.
Unzip it to any directory you want. Start reading by opening '_index.htm' in your webbrowser.