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0001 KStars Customization Guide.
0002 copyright 2002 by Jason Harris and the KStars team
0003 This document is licensed under the terms of the GNU Free 
0004 Documentation License
0005 ---------------------------
0006 
0007 This document provides a brief overview of the many advanced customization
0008 features provided in the program.  If you have a useful customization that
0009 you would like to share with the KStars community, please consider 
0010 submitting it to kstars@30doradus.org; we may incorporate your data into
0011 a future version of KStars!
0012 
0013 
0014 1. Color Schemes
0015 
0016 In the "Colors" tab of the KStars Configuration window, the colors of 
0017 all items drawn in the sky map can be customized.  At any time,
0018 you can save the current collection of colors into a custom color scheme.
0019 Saved schemes will appear in the listbox on the right of the Colors 
0020 tab, as well as in the "Settings|Color Schemes" menu.  In addition,
0021 the custom color schemes are automatically reloaded when KStars starts up, 
0022 so they will always be available.
0023 
0024 You can remove a custom color scheme at any time by highlighting it in the 
0025 listbox and then pressing the "remove" button.
0026 
0027 
0028 2. Geographic Locations
0029 
0030 The Change Location window allows you to set the geographic location
0031 by choosing from a list of over 2000 predefined cities around the world.
0032 If you would like to use a location that is not on the list, enter the
0033 relevant information (longitude, latitude, city name, province name, and
0034 country name), then press "Add to list".  All fields must be filled, except
0035 the optional province field.
0036 
0037 In addition, you can also modify the values for an existing city, by 
0038 simply changing the values in the window, and adding it to the list.
0039 
0040 
0041 3. Object Catalogs
0042 
0043 You can easily add your own object data to KStars.  First, prepare the 
0044 object catalog data file.  Each line in the file should contain the 
0045 following space-separated fields:
0046 
0047 for stars:
0048 type(0 for stars), RA, Dec, mag, SpType, name(optional)
0049 
0050 other types:
0051 type(3-8), RA, Dec, mag (optional), flux(optional), name(optional)
0052 
0053 The types are:
0054 0: star
0055 1: star (in object catalog...probably don't want to use this)
0056 2: planet (don't use this in custom catalog)
0057 3: open cluster
0058 4: globular cluster
0059 5: gaseous nebula
0060 6: planetary nebula
0061 7: supernova remnant
0062 8: galaxy
0063 18: radio source
0064 
0065 The SpType is a short string for the spectral type.  For example, "B5" or "G2"
0066 The coordinates should be given as floating-point values, in the J2000.0 epoch.
0067 The name can be anything you wish.  If the name is more than one word, it
0068 must be enclosed in quotation marks.
0069 
0070 Once you have constructed a custom data file, open the Configuration window
0071 to the Catalogs tab, and press the "Add Custom Catalog" button.  A popup
0072 window appears in which you can specify a name for the catalog, and the 
0073 name of the file (including the path).  
0074 
0075 When you press Ok, KStars will attempt to read the lines of your data file.
0076 It will report any problems, and if any lines at all were successfully parsed,
0077 you are given a choice to accept the data file (ignoring any unparsed lines),
0078 or to cancel the operation to attempt to resolve the problems first.
0079 
0080 Once the data file has been accepted, your custom catalog will be loaded on 
0081 startup along with the standard catalogs, and there will be a checkbox in the 
0082 Configuration window to toggle the display of your catalog objects.
0083 
0084 You can remove custom catalogs by highlighting its checkbox in the 
0085 Configuration window, and pressing the "Remove Custom Catalog" button (this
0086 button is only active if a custom catalog is highlighted in the list
0087 of checkboxes).
0088 
0089 + Radio Sources Catalogs:
0090 
0091 For radio sources catalogs, you must include the flux frequency and units. For example:
0092 
0093 # Flux Frequency: 1420 Mhz
0094 # Flux Unit: mJy
0095 
0096 The following is a simple catalog file:
0097 
0098 # Name: my_catalog
0099 # Prefix: et_radio
0100 # Color: #00ff00
0101 # Epoch: 2000
0102 # Flux Frequency: 1420 Mhz
0103 # Flux Unit: mJy
0104 # ID  RA  Dc  Tp  Mj  Mn  PA  Nm  Flux
0105 J0001 12:31:23.1 +11:29:34 18 180.60 360.30   45  my_radio_source   70
0106 
0107 4. URL Links
0108 
0109 You can add your own internet links to any object by selecting the 
0110 "Add Link..." item from the object's right-click popup menu.  A
0111 window opens in which you can enter text to appear in the new menu item,
0112 and the URL which should be opened.  You should also specify whether the 
0113 link points to an image or an HTML page (Image links open the Image Viewer,
0114 HTML links open a Konqueror window).  The menu text is filled
0115 with a default string at first; feel free to modify it.
0116 
0117 Note that the URL can point to a file on your hard drive, so this is an 
0118 interesting way to catalog your own astrophotos, or perhaps to keep 
0119 observing notes about different objects...
0120