# Welcome

Welcome to the Persistence of Vision Raytracer, v3.5. This help file contains detailed instructions and tutorials on POV-Ray, POV-Ray for Windows, the POV-Ray scene description language, answers to Frequently Asked Questions, and links to various internet resources related to POV-Ray.

If you find that you prefer a different color scheme or font for the topics in this help file, it is possible to modify them.

Using POV-Ray for Unix
Introduction to POV-Ray
Beginning Tutorial
Advanced Tutorial
POV-Ray Options
Scene Description Language
Standard Include Files
Appendices
POV-Ray Questions and Tips
Quick References
POV-Ray CDROM's and Accessories
Full Table of Contents

The topics are designed to be read in the order above, so if you're a new user we suggest that you do just that. If you want to print the documentation out, there may be a PDF version of this file available from the same place that you downloaded POV-Ray from; please have a look and see. Alternatively, chunks of this help file may be printed by selecting the topic you want printed in the 'contents' browser on the left of this window, pressing the 'print' button, then choosing 'print selected topic and all sub-topics'.

Be aware that learning to use POV-Ray effectively takes some time and practice, and that familiarity with the contents of this help file will save you a considerable amount of both. We also strongly recommend that new users read the Frequently Asked Questions list before asking any support-related questions on the internet or other locations.