but uses a different graphical interface which purportedly eliminates some intermediate dialogs and provides direct access to numerous effects.

Element thickness, color, label, and other attributes (including the so-called magnetic property) can be set using a separate panel.

CaRMetal also supports a configurable restricted construction palette and has assignment capabilities, which use an apparently unique feature called Monkey.

CaRMetal has a scripting language (JavaScript) which allows the user to build rather complex figures like fractals.

CaRMetal has several locales including French, English, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese and Arabic.

When one chooses a tool like the parallel to a line through a point, or a circle, the intended object appears in yellow color and follows the mouse movements.

This constant interaction between the pupil and the object of experimentation is in phase with modern theories about didactics and, in this view, CaRMetal is intended to be used by students.

The windows which show the history, the tools palette, the properties of the selected object are around the figure and never above it.

The macros can be organized in a hierarchy of folders, which make it easy to transform CaRMetal into a tool allowing to explore non-euclidean geometries.

(by the way, there is much compatibility between both software) and the file structure is a meta-description of the figure in the XML language.

But a workbook is saved as a zipped folder containing all the zir figures, plus the included pictures (GIF, JPEG or PNG) and a preferences file.

CaRMetal allows the user to set some properties of the objects, like their color or the fact that they are visible or not, as conditional.

It is also possible to set the coordinates of a point as character strings written in the language of CaRMetal.

For example, to have a point B which follows A except that B's coordinates are integer (to model a gaussian integer) one can write As an example, the Sierpinski triangle can be built up as an iterated function system with this recursive script, which is rather short because of the already available graphic instructions such as MidPoint: After the cloud of points has been built up (and even while the script is still running!)