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6 VIEW MENU |
The view menu provides access to dialogs used to view a variety of model and editing session information. Some of the dialogs can modify the model definition too.
A second part of the view menu provides global defaults for the model viewport options. These settings are inherited by model viewports, although they can be changed within each viewport as well.
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Blocks... |
The View Blocks dialog is displayed. The blocks of the current model are shown by name, and the selected blocks are highlighted. Additional selections and deselections can be made. |
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Cut/Paste... |
The View Cut/Paste dialog is displayed. The list of blocks currently in the cut buffer is displayed with the region dimensions, and position of the paste. |
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Model... |
Open a new model viewport. Multiple viewports may be displayed at the same time. |
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Pointer Mode... |
The View Pointer Mode dialog is displayed. This dialog shows the current implicit viewport pointer mode, and can also be used to set the explicit pointer mode. |
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Probe Value... |
The View Probe Value dialog is displayed. When the pointer is in Probe mode in a viewport during a simulation, the probe value is shown in the dialog. This dialog is automatically brought up during a pointer Probe operation. |
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Undo... |
The stack of saved editing operations is displayed. The operations can be undone in sequence, restoring the model to its former state. |
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Source Waveforms... |
Display the waveform for sources defined in the model. The waveform can be a time plot, a frequency spectrum, or frequency content versus mesh density. |
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Show Extent |
Show a frame around the model in the viewports. This is useful for determining the overall size of the model. The extent only includes the visible blocks. |
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Show Grid |
Show nodes in the model grid as dots. The minor grid spacing from the Define Model dialog is used to determine the points shown as small dots. These dots represent the nodes of the grid, and the coordinates of new and modified blocks will be rounded to these values. Large dots are displayed based on the major grid factor from the Define Model dialog. These have no special significance other than they're easier to see than the small dots. The actual display of the model in the viewports will depend upon the size of the model and the magnification of the view. If the display of the grid points would be so dense as to obscure the model, then the points are not displayed. |
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Show Limits |
Show viewport limits for orthogonal views. The limits markers are small triangles along the edges of the viewports. These markers correspond to the depth axis limits the other viewports which have an orthogonal view. For example, if a +Z viewport and a +X viewport are displayed, then the depth limits for the +X viewport will be shown as limits markers on the X-axis of the +Z viewport, and the depth limits for the +Z viewport will be shown on the Z-axis of the +X viewport. The limits markers can be dragged to move the depth clip limits of the corresponding viewport. The lower depth limit of the +X viewport is modified by moving the right X-axis marker in the +Z viewport, and the upper limit by moving the left marker. |
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Show Origin |
Display three axis arrows at the coordinate system origin (0,0,0). |
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Show Ruler |
Annotate coordinate axes with coordinate values |
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Perspective View |
The geometry is scaled according to its distance from the viewer. Thus, more distance objects will look smaller, closer ones larger. The default is to show all blocks as their actual relative size. |
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Box Drag |
If Box Drag is set, then orienting pointer actions such as Rotate and Zoom are shown as a box during the operation. The model is redrawn when the pointer is released. If Box Drag is not set, then the model is drawn as the operation proceeds. |
The View Blocks dialog displays a list of the names of the blocks defined for the current model. The currently selected blocks are highlighted in the list. Clicking on a block selects it, and dragging the mouse selects a range of blocks. Blocks can be selected and deselected individually by holding down the control key and clicking on the name.
A set of filter options are available for reducing the number of blocks shown on the list.
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Creation Order |
Select the order of the list. In creation order, the blocks are listed with the first block created on top, and the last block created on the bottom. In stacking order, the blocks are reversed, with the highest priority block first in the list. |
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Select Entire List |
All blocks in the list are selected. This may not be all of the blocks in the model, depending upon the filter options in effect. |
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Clear Selections |
Press this button to clear all of the currently selected blocks. |
6.1.1 Filter Options Frame
The list of blocks can grow too large to be easily viewed, so a set of filter options are available to reduce the list to a more manageable size. Each filter option is enabled by a toggle button, so any, all, or none of the filters may be selected.
Editing operations always effect all selected blocks, not just those displayed by the set of filter options selected. Use the Clear Selections button before doing list selections after changing the filter options to deselect blocks not currently displayed.
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Block Type |
Select the type of block to be displayed. |
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Name |
Enter a pattern to match the block names of interest. The pattern must be entered before the Name toggle is selected, or else press enter to make the new name active. |
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Visibility |
Display blocks with a matching Visible flag. |
The View Cut/Paste dialog is used along with the Cut, Paste, Copy, and Move editing functions. Each Cut operation removes the currently selected blocks from the model, and saves the blocks on the Cut/Paste list. Any blocks previously on the list are lost. Copy is similar, except the blocks are not removed from the model, and Move performs a Cut and immediately turns on Paste mode. A cut operation can also be performed with the Cut Current Selections button.
The blocks currently in the Cut/Paste list are displayed at the top of the dialog, along with the minimum, maximum, and center of the region Cut Min, Cut Max, and Cut Center, respectively). These values are set automatically each time the Cut/Paste list is filled.
The blocks on the Cut/Paste list can be retrieved and put back into the model with a Paste pointer operation. This operation is performed by first selecting Paste pointer mode with the Edit Paste menu selection or in the View Pointer Mode dialog, then positioning the buffer contents within a viewport.
During the paste operation, the current position of the paste buffer is shown as Paste Min, Paste Max, and Paste Center. The offset between the cut blocks and the pasted ones is shown as Offset.
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Cut Selections |
Cut the currently selected blocks from the model, placing them into the cut/paste list. |
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Copy Selections |
Copy the currently selected blocks, placing them into the cut/paste list. |
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Paste Cut Buffer At Offset |
This can be used to perform a precisely positioned paste operation. Before pressing the button, enter in the coordinates of the paste operation as Paste Min, Paste Max, Paste Center, or Offset. When the button is pressed, a paste of the blocks on the Cut/Paste list is done at those coordinates. |
The View Model dialog displays the current model and allows a variety of viewing and editing operations. The dialog is divided into two parts: a menubar/control area, and the model viewport.
Views which are orthogonal to the coordinate axes are useful because more information can be provided, including grid marks, axis labeling, and axis ruling. For each view, three axes are defined: horizontal, vertical and depth. Transformations are made relative to the axes assignments for the current view.
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File |
Open a new viewport, save viewport image, or close the viewport. |
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Edit |
Selections similar to the main window edit menu: Cut, paste, undo. |
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Options |
Select viewport display options, overriding the defaults from the main window menubar. |
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View |
Six orthogonal views are provided (+X, +Y, +Z, -X, -Y, and -Z). |
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Reset |
Reset viewing angles and return the model to an orthogonal view. |
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Cursor |
As the pointer moves in the viewport displays the current location. |
6.3.1 Pointer Operations
Pointer operations are performed by clicking and dragging the mouse buttons while the cursor is within the viewport. A drag is made by holding the button (and modifier keys, if any) down while moving the pointer. When the button is released, then the operation is completed.
6.3.2 Model Manipulation Pointer Modes
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Magnify |
Drag to box a window to be magnified. The look at point and magnification factor are set to fit the boxed region into the drawing area. |
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Rotate |
Rotate the viewing point around the model. Vertical motion of the pointer rotates around the horizontal axis, horizontal motion rotates around the vertical axis. |
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Zoom |
Adjust the magnification factor. Vertical motion toward the top of the display zooms out (reduces the magnification factor), and vertical motion toward the bottom of the display zoom in (increases the magnification factor). |
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Pan |
Adjust the look at point. The look at point is changed to make the model move with the pointer. |
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Spin |
Rotate the viewing point around the depth axis. |
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Slice |
Slide the depth axis clip limits to isolate a model slice. Vertical motion toward the top of the display increases the clip limit coordinates, motion toward the bottom decreases the limits. |
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Limits |
Adjust the depth axis clip limits. Vertical motion changes the lower limit, horizontal motion changes the upper limit. |
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Probe |
Display a field value at a point in the model during a simulation. The View Probe Value dialog is brought up if not already displayed. |
6.3.3 Block Manipulation Pointer Modes
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Select |
Drag to box a region. All visible blocks within the region are selected. |
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Move |
Cut and paste the selected blocks. |
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Scale |
Scale the size of the selected blocks. |
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Rotate |
Rotate the selected blocks in the plane of the current view. |
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Create |
Create a new block by drawing it in the viewport. |
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Clip |
Clip the model to within the drawn region. |
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Paste |
Place the contents of the paste buffer at this point. A bounding box is displayed and can be repositioned before releasing the button for the final placement. |
6.3.4 Fast Access To Pointer Operations
When no operation toggle is selected within the View Pointer Mode dialog, then the operation is choosen by selecting one of the three mouse buttons. Because there are more operations than buttons on the mouse, modifier keys (Shift, Control, and Meta) are used to access all of the functions. On some keyboards, the Meta key is marked Alt, or with a diamond symbol.
Table 3 Default mouse button bindings.
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Modifier |
Left Button |
Middle Button |
Right Button |
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None |
Magnify |
Select |
Create |
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Shift |
Rotate |
Zoom |
Pan |
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Control |
Spin |
Slice |
Limits |
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Meta |
Paste |
Probe |
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6.3.5 Viewport Limits Markers
Since the video display is two dimensional and the model is three dimensional, there is no direct manipulation of the depth limits within one viewport. When two or more viewports are displayed, and different views are selected, then the depth clip limits of one viewport are shown as small triangles on the edges of the other viewport.
These limit markers can be moved clicking and dragging the mouse. Moving the limits markers in one viewport will change the depth clip limits in the other viewport. This allows a slice of the model to be easily isolated for viewing or manipulation.
This special limits marker drag pointer operation takes precedence over any other pointer operation when a marker is displayed and the cursor is on it. This relationship is shown by the cursor becoming a double-ended directional arrow when it is on a marker.
6.3.6 Viewport Options Menu
The viewport options includes a number of toggles which are inherited from the main window view options, plus additional controls.
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Hold Model |
When this toggle is not set, then the viewport always displays the current model. If this toggle is set, then the currently displayed model is locked into this viewport, even if a new model is loaded. |
The controls within this dialog modify the view of the model.
For the most natural looking representation, select solid model and perspective view.
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Center |
These coordinates are the X-, Y-, and Z-axis coordinates of the center of the viewport. By default, the model is centered within the viewport. Changing these values will offset the model within the viewport. The Reset button returns to the default offset. These values are also set by the magnify and pan pointer operations. |
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Rotation |
These are the X-, Y-, and Z-axis model rotation angles. The Reset button sets the deafult angles. These values are also set by the rotate and spin pointer operations. The Corner menu selects angles to view the corners of the model. The X, Y, and Z buttons rotate the model around the given axis by 45 degrees. |
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Zoom |
This is a relative scaling factor for viewing the model. The default value of 1 displays the entire visible model. The Reset button sets the default value. This value is also set by the zoom and magnify pointer operations. The Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons double and half the scale, respectively. |
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Limits |
These values clip the model in the depth axis (the axis of the current view, e.g., the X-axis in the +X view). By default the limits are set to include the entire visible model. If the range is reduced, the blocks which are not at least partially within the limits are not visible. These values can be changed by the slice and limits pointer operations, or by moving the corresponding limit marker in an orthogonal view. |
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Perspective |
This value controls how close the model appears when the Perspective View toggle in the View menu is set. Perspective makes closer objects look bigger, and far away things look small. The default value is 2. Very large values will remove the perspective distortion and the model will appear as if it were very far away. Small values bring the model in close. The Move In and Move Out buttons half and double the distance. |
This dialog saves the viewport image to a file in one of several two-dimensional graphics file formats.
Much of the functionality of this dialog has now been incorporated directly into the model viewport.
Within the drawing area of a viewport, the pointer can be used to access a large number of operations. By default, a set of bindings of modifier-button combinations are used to access the operations implicitly. For example, pressing button 2 in the drawing area while the Shift key modifier is depressed invokes zoom mode.
If a mode is explicitly selected by clicking on a toggle button in the Pointer Mode dialog, then the bindings are ignored and only the single operation is active. By deselecting the toggle button, the original bindings are restored.
The Pointer Mode dialog can be used in three ways:
Selecting a mode in the dialog fixes the mouse buttons to that mode only. Each time a new pointer operation is desired, a new selection must be made in the dialog. If no mode is selected, then the default mouse button bindings are used.
The modes are arranged by the default button bindings. The dialog can be a reminder of what modifier-button combination is used to invoke a particular pointer operation.
If the default mouse button bindings are active (no toggle is selected), then the currently active mode is shown in the dialog when a mouse button is pressed.
Also see the View Model dialog for more information on the pointer operations.
The View Probe Value dialog is used in conjunction with the Probe pointer operation. During a probe operation, the current position of the pointer within the viewport is displayed. If a simulation is running, then the value of the probe is calculated and displayed as well. Depending upon the probe form, it may be displayed in several ways.
The Probe pointer operation can be selected from a model viewport or the View Pointer Mode dialog.
6.7.1 Location Frame
Two of the coordinate values for the probe are taken from the position of the pointer within the viewport. The third coordinate is the center value of the depth limits. For example, in a +Z view, the X- and Y-axis coordinates are from the pointer position, and the Z-axis coordinate is selected by setting the Limits Min and Max values.
6.7.2 Value Frame
The Value frame shows some statistics for the pointer probe. These values are updated as the probe locatoin changes.
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Point |
The value of the point probe, or the value of the center of the line or plane probe. |
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Minimum |
For a line or plane probe, the smallest value. |
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Maximum |
For a line or plane probe, the largest value. |
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Noise |
For a line or plane probe, the smallest absolute value. |
6.7.3 Options Frame
The Options frame defines the parameters for the pointer probe.
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Output |
The type of probe value is selected on the Output menu. Only vector quantities can be shown. |
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Component |
The vector component to be displayed is selected with the Component menu. |
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Form |
The pointer probe can be one of several of the normal probe forms. If a point probe is selected, then its value is shown in the Value frame. If a line probe is selected, then the probe values are shown in an X-Y graph dialog. If a plane probe is selected, then the plane is displayed in any open viewports for the current model. |
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Axis |
Line and plane probes are oriented along this coordinate axis. |
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Magnitude |
If this toggle is set, then absolute value of the probe values is shown. |
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Space Factor |
By default, a value is shown for every field component within the probe region. The space factor reduces the number of values by the factor. For example, if a space factor of 2 is given, then half of the field components along each axis (every other one) will be displayed. For a line probe, only half the values would be shown, but for a plane probe, only one forth of the values will be shown by eliminating half of the values in each dimension. |
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Range Min |
If given, then any values below the given value will not be used for scaling the plane probe values onto the color palette. The omitted values will be shown as blue. |
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Range Max |
If given, then any values above the given value will not be used for scaling the plane probe values onto the color palette. The omitted values will be shown as red. |
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Range Noise |
If given, then any values less in magnitude than the given value will be ignored for scaling the plane probe onto the color palette,, and the values will be shown as black. |
6.8 VIEW UNDO DIALOG
The View Undo dialog displays the list of editing operations that have been saved to the undo stack. All updates to the model are saved in the undo stack as they are performed, and the updates can be reversed with one of the undo functions. The undo operations always undo the immediately previous editing operation, and the undo operations are performed in the opposite sequence as the editing operations. Each undo operation removes one undo item from the stack, which is discarded (i.e., there is no Redo function).
When the undo stack has been filled, additional editing operations will be saved on the top of the stack, but the undo entries for the oldest updates will be lost.
The maximum size of the stack is shown as the Undo Limit. The current size of the stack is given as the Undo Count. The list is shown with the top item as the last editing operation saved. Thus, the next Edit Undo menu selection will undo the top item. The same function can be performed by the dialog Undo button as well.
6.9 VIEW SOURCE WAVEFORMS DIALOG
The View Source Waveforms dialog plots the source blocks of a model.
Time Domain |
Display the source waveform in the time domain. This form of display can be useful when determining the number of time steps required during a simulation. |
Frequency Domain |
Display the source waveform in the frequency domain. This form of display can be useful in determining the frequency ranges during post-simulation analysis. |
Mesh Density |
This display is a plot of the source waveform resolution. Approximately twenty cells per wavelength are required for the simulation to remain accurate. If the mesh density falls below ten cells per wavelength, a significant amount of distortion of the source will occur. |
Start Time |
The extent of the waveform displayed can be selected by entering in time values (in seconds). |
Save... |
The displayed waveform can be saved to a file. It is possible to create a custom waveform in this way, and use the resulting file as a user-defined source waveform. |
6.9.1 Save Source Waveforms Dialog
To save the selected source waveform to a file, enter the filename then press Save. Press Cancel to abort the file save.