Keyboard Shortcuts: [ F1 ] will pop open the interactive manual and integrated help facility

With the keyboard focus on any control, press the F1 key to see detailed help on that control in the manual.

Click on the question mark on any dialog to see the help page for that dialog in the interactive manual.

Click on the small image near the top-right with the three bright stars in it to see the About dialog, which provides the StarSpikes Pro 3 version information as well as links to online resources.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ H ] activates the Hand Drag scrolling mode, [ Alt ], [ Ctrl ], and [ Space Bar ] modify operation.

With this tool active, you can drag the image around in the viewport to see different parts.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ Z ] activates the Zoom display mode, [ Alt ] and [ Space Bar ] modify operation

With this tool active, you can zoom in or out on the image in the viewport.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ X ] activates the Hide Effects mode, [ Alt ], [ Ctrl ], and [ Space Bar ] modify operation.

With this tool active, you can hide effects on specific stars or a group of stars within a rectangle.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ + ] activates the Show Effects mode, [ Alt ], [ Ctrl ], and [ Space Bar ] modify operation.

With this tool active, you can show effects on specific stars or a group of stars within a rectangle.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ D ] selects the display, then [ Arrows ] and [ Pg Up ] / [ Pg Dn ] scroll, [ Ctrl ] modifies scrolling; [ Home ] and [ End ] jump to corners.

The effects to be rendered in the image are previewed in the preview display viewport, and are updated upon any control change. When you like what you see, press the [ OK ] button to commit the StarSpikes Pro 3 effects back to the image in the editor.

At the bottom of the preview display viewport are several controls that will allow you to select a zoom level at which to view the preview of the rendered effects. The current level of zoom is displayed as a percentage.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ Ctrl + ] zooms in, [ Ctrl - ] zooms out

The [-] and [+] buttons at the left will zoom the display out and in respectively by one pre-defined step.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ V ] pops up the zoom selection menu, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] and [ Enter ] to change

Mouse Shortcuts: Right Click in the preview display pops up the zoom selection menu, then Left Click on an entry to change

The [v] button just to the right of the zoom percentage display pops up a zoom selection menu, which you can use to choose from a variety of presets.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ T ] activates the Settings drop-down, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] to change

Allows you to load pre-defined sets of parameters. Parameter sets can be saved via the Save, Load and Delete Parameter Sets menu icon just to the right of the Settings selector. "Factory Settings" are defaults provided for first use of the plug-in. "Initial Settings" return all controls to the saved settings from the last plug-in run, which are loaded by default when starting the plug-in.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ M ] activates the file access menu, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] to change, [ Return ] to do

Allows you to save, load, or delete named sets of parameters in the parameter storage area on your hard drive. The "Delete Settings" choice is available after you have selected a named set via the Settings control.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ Q ] selects this control, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] change values

This slider / edit box combination allows you to increase or decrease the number of stars that are given effects. You can spike just a very few of the brightest stars or most of the stars in your image.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ I ] selects this control, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] change values

This slider / edit box combination allows you to both increase or decrease the brightness at which the primary spike effects are rendered.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ L ] selects this control, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] change values

This control sets the length of the main and secondary spikes. It does not affect the Soft Flare.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ A ] selects this control, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] change values

This control sets the angle of the spikes as they emanate from the star. 0 degrees is straight up.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ N ] selects this control, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] change values

This control sets the number of primary diffraction spikes that emanate from the star. Odd numbers, though not possible optically, are provided for extra creative control.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ S ] selects this control, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] change values

This control allows you to match the sharpness of the stars in the image by making the spikes more crisp or fuzzy.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ K ] selects this control, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] change values

This control allows you to set the amount the spikes spread as the distance from the star increases.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ C ] selects this control, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] change values

This control sets the overall amount of color that will be rendered in the effects. It affects spikes, secondary spikes, and soft flare. Turned all the way down, the spikes will be in pure grayscale.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ U ] selects this control, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] change values

This control adjusts the interpretation of the star colors from within your image. Depending on your prior image processing, the star colors picked up by StarSpikes Pro 2 may be too greenish or purplish, and this control allows you to compensate for that to some degree.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ R ] selects this control, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] change values

This control sets the amount of the repeating multicolored "rainbow" pattern in the primary and secondary spikes. Some solid color can remain in the spikes due to the detected color of the star even with this control turned all the way down.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ F ] selects this control, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] change values

This control sets the rate at which the multicolored "rainbow" pattern repeats. Optically, higher focal length systems generally produce a more gradually repeating pattern, and you can use this control to closely match optical results.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ E ] selects this control, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] change values

This control sets the intensity of the additional faint and fuzzy pseudo-random spikes that accompany the main spikes. To some extent these secondary spikes can seem to be a glow, especially very near a star.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ B ] selects this control, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] change values

This control sets the intensity of the soft glow around a star. It can provide a cleaner, smoother overall appearance than the Secondary Spikes.

Keyboard Shortcuts: [ G ] selects this control, then [ Up Arrow ] and [ Down Arrow ] change values

This control sets the intensity of the ring flare around a star.

Keyboard Shortcut: [ O ] disables / enables inclusion of the original image with the effect

This checkbox allows you to see and generate the effects alone or combined with the original image. It is useful if you have duplicated the image as a new layer and are planning to creatively combine the effects yourself using, for example, the layer mixing features of the image editor.

Keyboard Shortcut: [ P ] toggles preview on / off

This checkbox allows you to see your image alternately with or without the generated effects. Toggling the preview off/on is a good way to gauge the effects being rendered by StarSpikes Pro 3.

Open the About dialog by clicking the [Configure] button. This will allow you to set the interval in days between checks for new releases online, the OpenGL optimization, and the colors of the controls on the plug-in dialog and space around the preview pane.

You can grab the diagonal dialog resize control at the lower-right corner, or indeed any side or corner of the dialog (Windows only), to resize it per your preference. Note that larger dialog sizes require more computer resources to render preview displays, so smaller sizes may yield faster display updates. Once you have run the plug-in successfully (i.e., exited via the [ OK ] button) StarSpikes Pro 3 will remember where you left it and what size it was then put it there next time you run it.