Please read all of the following before you begin

Installing Pattern Manager (PatMan)

  1. Download patman.zip: click here
  2. Extract the patman directory and its subs to your web server
  3. Skip this step if you are not running IIS.If you are running IIS on Windows, install CGI and PHP (they are not IIS defaults): here is how
  4. From your browser, run the url to the PatMan directory: (your-web-server-path/patman/). The demo pattern collection should run.

Setting up a pattern collection

  1. A pattern collection is a subdirectory of patman\collections. The collection name is the name of that subdirectory. For example, when PatMan is first installed, the demo collection is in patman\collections\Demo. So create a subdirectory under collections with your first collection name. For example: patman\collections\My_Favorite_Patterns
  2. Organize some of your patterns (rle files) into categories and, if you want, subcategories. A category name is the name of a subdirectory of a particular collection; a subcategory (optional) is the name of a subdirectory of a category. For example:
    • patman\collections\My_Favorite_Patterns\Oscillators
    • patman\collections\My_Favorite_Patterns\Orthogonal_Spaceships\2c5
    • patman\collections\My_Favorite_Patterns\Whatever
  3. Place your rle files in the appropriate subdirectories. The pattern name is the name of the pattern file. The pattern file must have the extension txt (not rle). For example:
    • patman\collections\My_Favorite_Patterns\Oscillators\112P5.txt
    • patman\collections\My_Favorite_Patterns\Orthogonal_Spaceships\2c5\70P5H2V0.txr
    An xs, xp, or xq apgcode may be used in the txt file instead of an rle.
  4. Run PatMan.
  5. You can have multiple collections.

Making a Collection Downloadable

  1. If it does not aleady exist, create patman\downloads.
  2. Zip the collections\patern_name folder (and all its subs) into a file with the identical pattern name.
  3. Put pattern_name.zip in patman\downloads. For example: patman\downloads\My_Favorite_Patterns.zip
  4. A link to download the zip file will appear in PatMan's left panel

Notes:

  1. If have more than one collection (i.e. patman\collections has more than one subdiretory), you'll be given a list of the collections to choose from when you run PatMan.
  2. Collection, catagory and pattern names come from their respective directory and file names.
    • Case will be displayed as it is in your directories and files.
    • It is advisable to use underscores instead of spaces in directory and file names. This avoids the "how many spaces are there between words" problem. PatMan replaces underscores with spaces when it displays the names.
    • Do not use plus signs in file or directory names.
  3. Each time it runs, PatMan reads whatever appears below patman\collections. This means you can rename, add, replace and delete items as you wish. Don't want the Demo collection anymore? Just delete patman\collections\Demo.
Questions or comments: post here