Installation
Printing a flexagon
Folding a flexagon
Using your own Images
Load and Save
This documents to-do list.
To install, download the installer from hexaflexagon.sourceforge.net. It should be plain sailing from there.
When you first run the program you should see some crazy jumbled triangles in a sloped line. This is normal. There's a few things you can do from here, but for now let's print out a hexaflexagon so you can get an idea of what one is.
Printing is as simple as selecting Print.. from the File menu but there's one caveat. Currently the printed image is at the same resolution as the one you see on the screen. This means that if you zoom out (using the - toolbar button) you will end up with a pixelated printout, so it may be an idea to zoom in (press +) once or twice before printing. There's currently no limit on how far you can zoom in, but your machine will start to slow down and thrash its disk as bigger images chew up memory.
There's a separate page with details of how to fold a flexagon. Its a separate page in case you'd like to print it.
Before going there, there's one thing you should be aware of. The instruction page mentions layouts. If you look at the bottom of the view menu, you'll see a list of layouts. Selecting a layout switches the view to use that layout. That's all you really need to know to use the folding instructions.
For the curious, the following table summarizes their contents:
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| All Possible Views | This displays all images you'll see whilst flexing a standard flexagon. It may be useful if you're trying to build a clever geometric pattern. |
| Standard Hexaflexagon | This is the what to print to cut out most of the time. If in doubt use this one. |
| 3x2 sided Hexaflexagon (1,2) (3,4) (5,6) | This special layout results in a hexaflexagon that can be folded into three, two-sided configurations. See images/coins/coins.flexagon |
| Instruction Figures Part 1 (For Standard template) | This layout is designed to be used in conjunction with the above instructions. |
| Instruction Figures Part 2 (For Standard template) | As is this one. |
Now you're a flexing and folding ninja, you probably want a flexagon with the pictures from your last mountaineering expedition. This is a fairly simple operation.
Under the Image menu you can see a list of the pictures currently in use. Selecting one of the pictures will pop up a dialog allowing you to select an alternative .jpg or .bmp file. After a second or two the layout should update.
Print and fold to taste.
Each image on the hexaflexagon is squeezed or stretched until the ratio of the width to height is roughly 200:173. You may find this template useful.
Load and save can be found under the file menu. It should be noted that .flexagon files contain only references to the files and layouts they use.
There are a few sample layouts in the images subdirectory. There's a few examples in there showing off the double sided layout and a layout that may be useful if you're trying to figure out what happens inside the flexagon.
I'd love to hear about peoples experiences with this program. Use the on-line forum or e-mail me at flatfeetpete@users.sourceforge.net.
Custom layout files, editing the xml layout files
©2002 Peter Bradshaw
See
http://hexaflexagon.sourceforge.net for details and license.
