| 1. Main Window | 11 November 2004 |
The program has one main window which looks like this when the program just has been started:
Figure 1.3:1. ECF program main window at program start.
The main window has general purpose menus, buttons for creation and deletion of symbols of model diagrams, a text area and a scrollbar for different times and a drawing area for model diagrams.
The dummy model test.xml shows the different symbols that may constitute a model:
Figure 1.3:2. ECF program main window with a sample model loaded.
Figure 1.4:1. ECF program, buttons for dragging, adding and deletion of symbols.
The main window has one button for selecting and dragging symbols, four buttons for adding symbols to a model and one button for deleting symbols. The flow diagram is drawn on the drawing area of the program window as explained below.
Press the Add sector button (second button) to put a sector symbol on the drawing area. Then move the cursor (now a cross) to the drawing area and click in the desired position. Junction, source and flow path symbols are added in the same way. Sectors, junctions and sources are called nodes with a common name.
Figure 1.4:2. New sector, junction, source and flow have been created
The symbols can be moved to other positions by first pressing the pointer button and then hit a symbol, hold down the left mouse button and drag to a new position. The end points (connectors) and the label of the flow path symbol are sensitive to the mouse pointer. The symbols will turn reddish (except flow path connectors) when hit.
Figure 1.4:3. Symbols in new positions.
A collection of nodes can be selected by holding down the shift key while clicking on the symbol. Flows are selected by clicking on the label and can only be selected one at a time.
Selected objects are deleted by pressing the delete
button 
.
Flow paths are connected to nodes by dragging a connector slightly inside the edge of the node. Then release the mouse button and the connector will snap into place.
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Figure 1.4:4. Connecting a flow path to a node. |
Connector snapped into place. |
The flow path can be moved to a different place by just dragging it again.
Sector symbols can be resized by dragging the sides. Move the pointer over a side of the symbol until the cursor appears as a double arrow, hold down the left mouse button and drag. Flow path lines will move with the edge.
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| Figure 1.4:5 Resizing sector symbols |
Flow path labels can be moved by dragging by the mouse. Overlapping symbols or poor layout can thus be adjusted.
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| Figure 1.4.6 Adjusting flow paths |
The name of nodes and flow paths can be set by clicking with the right mouse button on the symbol or label. This will open a dialog window in which the name can be entered.
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| Figure 1.4.7 Renaming nodes and flow paths |
The connectors may be hidden by using the menu View -> Hide/Show connectors. Hidden connectors can not be disconnected from the nodes.
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| Figure 1.4.8 Hidden flow connectors |
Only four kinds of components are included: sector, junction, source/sink and flow path.
Back to home page, contents,
beginning of chapter.
Next chapter Chapter 2.