Garden with Insight v1.0 Help: Options menu

The first four menu commands on the Options menu lead you to windows on which you can set options for the program. They are as follows:

Backdrop: Open the choose backdrop window.

Display: Open the display options window.

Simulation: Open then simulation options window.

Reseeding: Open the reseeding options window.

The rest of the items on the Options menu are options you can change right on the menu.

Metric/English units: Changing which unit system you use will change the unit shown on all browser components and graphed aspects to the default unit for that aspect in the unit system you choose. See How to switch between metric and English units for details.

Draw seeds as symbols: If this option is checked, seeds are shown as red triangles or circles; if unchecked, seeds are not shown at all until they germinate and become plants.

Draw plants as symbols: If this option is checked, plants are shown as red triangles or circles that fill up as the plant grows; if unchecked, plants draw as 3D representations. Checking this option causes the garden to redraw much more quickly.

Draw symbols over plants: This option is only available when you are not drawing plants as symbols. When this option is checked, you will see both the 3D plant and the plant symbol. This mode is useful if your plants are large, bushy, or close together, so you can see their bases more easily.

Show backdrop: If this option is checked, the garden is drawn on top of the selected backdrop bitmap (chosen in the choose backdrop window); if unchecked, no backdrop is shown (though it still uses memory).

Show tools: If this option is checked, the tools appear as bitmaps; if unchecked, the tools are invisible. If the tools are not shown, your only indicator of the tool you are holding is in the toolbar list.

Play tool sounds: If this option is checked, using tools causes sounds to play; if unchecked, no sounds play. If you don't have a sound card installed, this option doesn't matter.

Play startup music: If this option is checked, the program will play the MIDI (.mid) music file shown when it starts up. If this option is unchecked, no music will play at startup. When you turn this option on, a file dialog will appear for you to choose a music file. If you decide not to choose a file, click Cancel. This option is stored in the initialization file, and you can also change it there (see How to change startup file preferences). You can also turn off the startup music on the command line (see How to change command line options).

Show long hints: If this option is checked, the program will display a yellow hint box with a long explanation for each button, list, and other item in each window when you hold the mouse still over each item. Also, long hints with current information will appear over soil patches, plants, the weather (outside of any soil patch), and harvested items. If this option is unchecked, short hints will show for some items (mostly picture buttons) but for most items there will be no hint, and soil patches and plants will show only their name. If this option is on and you don't see long hints, check your initialization file to see if the program is reading a hints file (see how to change startup file preferences).

Show hints for aspects: If this option is checked, the program will display a blue hint box with an explanation of each aspect (when you hold the mouse still over it) in the browser, group editor, and graph window legend. If this option is unchecked, no aspect hints will appear. If this option is on and you don't see aspect hints, check your initialization file to see if the program is reading an aspect hints file (see how to change startup file preferences).