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The Editor User Interface and Basic Operations
The Editor User Interface
The editor window can be used for viewing OM, SC, DP, MSC and HMSC diagrams.
The general user interface is described in User Interface and Basic Operations.
- The Entity Dictionary Window, which provides a name reuse facility as well as information for link endpoints.
- A symbol menu where you select the symbols that are to be inserted.
- A text window where you may edit text associated with symbols.
When you edit OM diagrams, three auxiliary windows are also provided:
- The Browse & Edit Class Dialog which you use to browse amongst and inspect and edit OM classes distributed across page and diagram boundaries.
- The Line Details Window which allows you to inspect and edit the various attributes of OM lines.
- The Symbol Details Window which allows you to inspect and edit OM symbol attributes.
When you edit DP diagrams, two of the auxiliary windows are also available:
- The Line Details Window which allows you to inspect and edit the various attributes of DP lines.
- The Symbol Details Window which allows you to inspect and edit DP symbol attributes.
When you edit MSC diagrams this function is also available:
- An instance ruler which allows you to view the kinds of instances, even if the instance head symbols are not currently in view.
The Editor Drawing Area
The drawing area is the part of the window which displays the symbols, lines and text that constitute a page (a diagram can contain multiple pages) or an MSC or DP diagram.
Drawing Area Boundaries
The drawing area is delimited by its boundaries, which correspond to the size of the page. No objects are allowed to be placed outside these boundaries. The drawing area uses a light background color, while the area outside the drawing area uses a grey pattern.
Within a diagram, each page has an individual size.
The Frame
The frame always coincides with the drawing area size. It is selectable but not editable. The frame is automatically selected with the Select All menu choice.
It is not possible to connect any diagram symbol to the frame. The frame only affects if the page is printed with or without a frame when printing selected objects, or when selected symbols are copied to a metafile (Windows only).
The Heading
OM, SC and DP only: The heading contains the diagram name. The heading is editable but cannot be moved. The editor performs a textual syntax check on the name used in the heading, see Diagram Name Syntax.
MSC and HMSC only: The heading identifies the chart type and name. The type cannot be edited.
The Page Name
All editors except MSC and DP.
In the upper right corner, the page name and the total number of pages in the diagram (within parentheses) are identified. The page name cannot be moved. To rename a page, use the Edit menu choice in the Pages menu.
The Printout Page Number
If a diagram page is larger than the paper format that is defined, the diagram page will be split into several printout pages. In this case, page numbers will be created. The page numbering follows a "down first, then right" fashion.
Grids
The editor uses two grids for an easy positioning of symbols, lines and textual elements:
- The symbol grid has a resolution of 5 * 5 mm, except for the MSC editor where it is 2.5 * 2.5 mm. All symbols adhere to the symbol grid.
- The line and text grid has a resolution of 2.5 * 2.5 mm. All lines and textual objects adhere to the line grid.
None of the grids can be changed.
Color on Symbols
For each symbol type in the editor there is a preference for setting the color of the symbol. It is only the graphical part of the symbol and not the associated text(s) that will use the color setting. On UNIX, this setting is only valid on screen and all symbols will use the black color when printed on paper. In Windows, when using MSW Print the color settings will be sent to the printer as well. See OM/SC/HMSC/MSC/DP Editor Preferences.
The text symbol is the same in OM, SC, DP and HMSC diagrams and has thus only one preference.
Keyboard Accelerators
In addition to the standard keyboard accelerators, the editor features the following:
Quick-Buttons
In addition to the generic quick-buttons in all SDL Suite and TTCN Suite tools, the editor tool bar contains the following quick-buttons. See also General Quick-Buttons.
Text window on / off Toggle the text window between visible and hidden (see Text Window).
Symbol menu on / off Toggle the symbol menu between visible and hidden (see Symbol Menu).
Previous page Open previous page in flow (similar to <Page Name>). Dimmed if no previous page exists.
Next page Open next page in flow (similar to <Page Name>). Dimmed if no next page exists.
Toggle Scale Toggle the scale between a scale to show the complete diagram in the window (similar to Overview in Set Scale) and a scale of 100%. For MSCs, the scale is adjusted to fit the diagram width in the window instead of the complete diagram.
Make space for new events Create space between two events (see Make Space).
Remove space between two events Instance ruler on / off Toggle the instance ruler between visible and hidden (see Instance Ruler).
Scrolling and Scaling
You can scroll the view vertically and horizontally by using the scrollbars. The view may also be scrolled automatically when you move the cursor beyond the current view, for example when you move an object or add a symbol.
If you move the cursor close to the edge of the current view, the automatic scrolling is slow. If you move it further beyond, the scrolling is quicker.
You can scale the view by specifying a scale or by zooming in and out.
Moving MSC Selection with Arrow Keys
You can move the selection using arrow keys in the MSC editor if there is one single symbol or line selected. The selection is moved along one instance in the vertical direction and between two instances in the horizontal direction.
In the MSC editor you are always in text editing mode, if there is a text to edit for the currently selected symbol. To move the symbol selection, press the arrow key one or several times in the direction you want to move. At first, only the text cursor position might be changed. But when the text cursor reaches the border of the text currently being edited (or if there is no text being edited), then the symbol selection will be moved.
One shortcut is available for fast-forward moving to the next/previous condition or instance head symbol attached to the current instance: Shift+up or down arrow key.
Lock Files and Read-Only Mode
When you open a diagram or document file, e.g. a.ssy, a lock file a.ssy.lck is created. If another user tries to open the same diagram or document file before you close it, a dialog will appear informing the other user that the file is in use. There are two choices in the dialog:
- Open the file in read-only mode.
- Reset the lock and open the file in read-write mode. (This alternative should only be used if the existing lock file is obsolete.)
The read-write mode is the normal editing mode. In read-only mode, you are not allowed to make any changes to the diagram.
You will also enter read-only mode if you open a diagram file that you do not have write permission for. The read-only mode is indicated by the words read-only in the window title.
If you want to edit a diagram that is in read-only mode, there are two alternative actions:
- Change the file access rights in the file system to give you write permission for the diagram file. When that is done, you can change from read-only mode to read-write mode with the Revert Diagram operation.
- Select File > Save As to save the diagram in a new file with write permission.
Symbol Menu
The symbol menu contains the symbols that you can place into the drawing area.
On UNIX, the symbol menu is a fixed-sized, non-moveable auxiliary window, associated with the drawing area and placed to the right of it. Each editor window has its own symbol menu.
In Windows, the symbol menu is a fixed-sized, moveable window that can be placed anywhere on the screen, not necessary within the limits of the editor window. A single symbol menu is shared by all instances of the editor currently running.
The symbol menu can be made invisible and visible again with a menu choice, Window Options, or a quick-button. In Windows: When visible, the symbol menu will always be placed on top of the editor window, if the two windows overlap.
Basically, when you select a symbol in the symbol menu and click it into the drawing area, it is added to the diagram. This chapter does not describe how to work with symbols. Working with MSC symbols is described in Editing MSC Diagrams. See also Working with Symbols, as working with symbols in this editor is similar to working with symbols in the SDL Editor.
OM only: When a new class or object symbol is placed in the drawing area, it will automatically become an endpoint if the preferences AlwaysEndpointClass and AlwaysEndpointObject, respectively, are set.
The contents of the symbol menu depends upon the type of diagram that is displayed in the editor window, as can be seen in Figure 284. When you switch between diagrams of different types in the editor, the symbol menu changes accordingly.
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