General
Below is a summary of all available items and their specific properties. It also describes how to create and edit each item in detail. All commands for creating the different items can be found in the “New” menu. Already created elements can be edited later via the menu “Properties” (also accessible via pressing the right mouse button).
Window
Via the menu item “Window| New” you can create a new window. The attributes of the window (frame, size, etc.) are displayed via the “Properties | window” is set.
Once created, a window can be moved on the screen, resized, and activated (brought to the foreground). You move the window with the mouse button in the title bar, resize it by dragging the double border, and select the window by clicking in the window.
Tip: If individual windows need to be opened and closed frequently in the sequence, it is recommended to provide buttons or buttons for this, which are hotkeys provided with “Graphic Editing”.
Hotkeys
After clicking on the “Hotkey” button, the “Key Combination” dialog box appears in which you can select a way from the list. in conjunction with The Ctrl, Alt, or Shift keys. Since all hotkeys of the windows visible on the screen are active, it is recommended that you make sure that no hotkeys of the windows on the screen are duplicated during configuration. If the assignment is duplicated, the hotkey of the first open window is active.
Line
After selecting the command, the mouse pointer appears as a crosshair. At the desired starting point of the line, press the left mouse button and move the mouse pointer to the desired end point of the line while the left mouse button is pressed. After the mouse button is released, the line is drawn with the default attributes.
Arc
After selecting the command, the mouse pointer appears as a crosshair. At the desired starting point of the arc, press the left mouse button and move the mouse pointer to the desired end point of the arc when pressed left mouse button. After letting go of the mouse button, an arc (1/4 circumference of an ellipse) is drawn with the default attributes.
In addition to the usual marker points for scaling an element, unfilled marker points also appear. Dragging at these marker points determines the radians.
Polyline
After selecting the command, the mouse pointer appears as a crosshair. At the desired starting point of the line, briefly press the left mouse button. Move the mouse pointer to the other vertices of the line train, and press the left mouse button briefly. The drawing of the line train is terminated by a double click with the left mouse button at the end point of the line move. The line is drawn with the default attributes.
In addition to the usual marker points for scaling an element, unfilled marker points also appear at the vertices. By dragging at these marker points, individual vertices can be moved retrospectively. By dragging at the filled marker points, the line train can be increased proportionally or reduced in size.
Polygon
After selecting the command, the mouse pointer appears as a crosshair. Briefly press the left mouse button at the desired starting point of the polygon. Move the pointer to the other vertices of the polygon, and briefly press the left mouse button. The drawing of the polygon is terminated by a double click with the left mouse button at the last vertex of the polygon. The connection to the starting point is automatically established. The polygon is drawn with the default attributes.
In addition to the usual marker points for scaling an element, unfilled marker points also appear at the vertices. By dragging at these marker points, individual vertices can be moved retrospectively. By dragging at the filled marker points, the polygon can be increased proportionally or reduced in size.
Rectangle
After selecting the command, the mouse pointer appears as a crosshair. At a corner of the rectangle, press the left mouse button and move the mouse pointer to the diagonally opposite corner of the rectangle while pressing the left mouse button. After the mouse button is released, the rectangle is drawn with the default attributes.
From the “Properties| Graphic” can also be defined as a hotkey. In the sequence, the function assigned in the dynamics dialog is executed by pressing the key defined as a hotkey.
Panel
A 3D panel can be created analogously to a rectangle. From the “Properties| Graphic” can be determined some additional features:
By appropriately selecting the edge color left/top and edge color right/bottom, the panel can be displayed “sublime” or “deepened”. The degree of “elevation” or “deepening” can be defined by the border width in pixels.
A checkbox can be used to activate an option for rounded corners. The element can also be defined as a hotkey. In the sequence, the function assigned in the dynamics dialog is executed by pressing the key defined as a hotkey.
Rundeck
The round corner corresponds to a rectangle with rounded corners.
Ellipse
After selecting the command, the mouse pointer appears as a crosshair. Imagine a rectangle enclosing the ellipse, and at a corner of this rectangle, press the left mouse button and move the mouse pointer to the diagonally opposite corner of the rectangle while pressing the left mouse button. After the mouse button is released, an ellipse is drawn that touches the sides of the imaginary rectangle. The display is done with the default attributes.
From the “Properties| Graphic” can also be defined as a hotkey. In the sequence, the function assigned in the dynamics dialog is executed by pressing the key defined as a hotkey.
Sector
After selecting the command, the mouse pointer appears as a crosshair. Imagine a rectangle that encloses a quadrant of an ellipse. At a corner of this rectangle, press the left mouse button and move the mouse pointer to the diagonally opposite corner of the rectangle while pressing the left mouse button. After letting go of the mouse button, a quadrant of an ellipse (1/4 ellipse) is drawn. The display is done with the default attributes.
In addition to the usual marker points for scaling an element, unfilled marker points also appear on the ellipse circumference. By dragging at the unfilled marker points, the opening angle of the sector can be changed retrospectively. By dragging at the filled marker points, the sector can increase or increase the size of the reduced in size.
Segment
After selecting the command, the mouse pointer appears as a crosshair. Imagine a rectangle that encloses a quadrant of an ellipse. At a corner of this rectangle, press the left mouse button and move the mouse pointer to the diagonally opposite corner of the rectangle while pressing the left mouse button. After the mouse button is released, a segment of an ellipse is drawn, with the sekante being the diagonal of the imaginary rectangle. The display is done with the default attributes.
In addition to the usual marker points for scaling an element, unfilled marker points also appear at the intersections of the ellipse circumference and the seedge. By dragging at these marker points, these intersections can be moved later. By dragging at the filled marker points, the segment can be increased proportionally or reduced in size.
Text
After selecting the command, the mouse pointer appears as a crosshair. At a corner of the text window, press the left mouse button and move the mouse pointer to the diagonally opposite corner of the text window while pressing the left mouse button. After letting go of the mouse button, the text window is drawn with a dashed border.
In the text window, the text content “TEXT” is displayed with the default attributes. The text content can be used by selecting “Properties| graphic”. The text content can be pasted from the clipboard. The text can be aligned to the left or right edge of the text window. The color of the texts can be changed by selecting “Properties| line color”. Font type, font (bold, italic) and font size can be used by selecting “Properties| font”.
The text content is automatically wrapped in the text window at word boundaries (line break). If the length of a word exceeds the width of the text window, the word is displayed incompletely. Please note that the formatting of the text may change due to the subsequent assignment of a different font or font size.
A line break within the text window can be enforced by entering Ctrl-Return.
The representation of integers can be octal, decimal or hexadecimal. For floating-point numbers, the number of comma digits can be specified.
Bitmap
Externally created graphics can be read into VisXpert as bitmaps in BMP format. Only the file name and access path of the bitmap are stored in the project. Thus, it is possible to change bitmaps with other programs without making changes in the project itself.
Attention: The path under which the bitmaps of the project must be located is fixed to “… GP7ProjectsPROJECTEprojektnameUSER-DATBITMAPS”! That is, all bitmaps of the project must be stored under this path.
After selecting the command “New| Bitmap” appears a selection window with the list of available *. BMP files.
In addition, bitmaps with the following formats can be used:
- Portable Network Graphics Format *.png
- Jpeg *.jpg
- Encapsulated Postscript File Format *.eps
- Graphics Interchange Format *.gif
- ZSoft Paintbrush Format *.pcx
- Tagged Image File Format *.tif
After selecting the desired bitmap, the mouse pointer appears as a crosshair. Move the mouse pointer to the upper left corner of the desired position and briefly press the left mouse button. The bitmap is transferred as an element to the window. Bitmaps can be scaled by dragging at the marker points.
From the “Properties| Graphics” can also be defined as a hotkey. In the sequence, the function assigned in the dynamics dialog is executed by pressing the key defined as a hotkey.
Caution: The use of bitmaps consumes system resources from Windows. Therefore, only a few bitmaps and only bitmaps with a low color resolution (16 or 256 colors) should be integrated into a VisXpert project.
Button
After selecting the command, the mouse pointer appears as a crosshair. At a corner of the button, press the left mouse button and move the mouse pointer to the diagonally opposite corner of the button while pressing the left mouse button. After letting go of the mouse button, the button is drawn with the label “Button”. This label can be used via “Properties| graphic”. The orientation of the text is definitely centered.
From the “Properties| Graphic” can also be defined as a hotkey. In the sequence, the function assigned in the dynamics dialog is executed by pressing the key defined as a hotkey, and thus corresponds to the clicking of the button with the mouse.
Slider
In VisXpert, horizontal and vertical sliders for variable “in/out” are available. Select the appropriate slider. At a corner of the slider, press the left mouse button and move the mouse pointer to the diagonally opposite corner of the slider while pressing the left mouse button. After letting go of the mouse button, the slider is drawn.
The following properties are available via “Properties| Graphic” selectable:
The range of values identifies the Min and Max values of a slider and is automatically pre-set with MIN=0 and MAX=1000 when creating a slider. Please note that the min values are the controller position at the top (vertical) or on the far left (horizontal). Tracking on determines whether the value is updated continuously (check mark set) or once when the mouse button is released after moving.
Caution: If you use the slider at the same time to output and output external variable values, you should not use “Tracking on” because of the feedback that occurs (no check mark).
Input/output field
After selecting the command “New| input/output field” the mouse pointer appears as a crosshair. At a corner of the input/output field, press the left mouse button and move the mouse pointer to the diagonally opposite corner of the field while pressing the left mouse button. After releasing the mouse button, the input/output field is drawn.
For input/output fields, the font type, font (bold, italic) and size can be changed by selecting “Properties| font”.
Via the menu item “Properties| Graphic” opens the “Edit Graphics” window. The text and text background colors can be specified there. Different colors are possible for the input and output mode for better clarity.
Caution: The field height must be a certain minimum height, depending on the font and size you choose. For the default system font, this minimum height is 10 pixels. The field width must also have a minimum width for the input to function correctly.
In/out fields of a window can be protected by passwords. The password class is assigned via the “Properties| Window”.
In the process, an input field can be activated via two variants:
- by clicking on the corresponding field
- by setting the system variable “Edit” via hotkey. This function activates the first field (the furthest “front”) in the active window.
Switching between the input fields is possible with the <TAB>key.</TAB> The input is completed via <ENTER>.</ENTER>
Sparkline
Sparklines can be used to display temporary historical values. From Visustart, the values are logged with. Edit Graphics allows you to set tooltip, cursor as ruler, and scale. In the tooltip, placeholders such as variable: .!varname can be used to displa
y duration: .!
duration. Additional values using th
e ruler.Value: .!value- Time: .!timestamp. The r
equired resolution corresponds to one value per x-axis pixel. With a width of 120 pixels and a time range of one minute, a value is logged every 500 ms.
Data grid
The DataGrid control in Windows Forms displays data in a group of rows and columns. The simplest case is when the datasheet is bound to a data source that consists of only a single table with no relationships. In this case, the data is represented in simple rows and columns as in a spreadsheet.
Menu
The menu function can be used to create a mask navigation in the style of buttons or menus. The basic elements can be designed graphically freely. The opening direction for menu and submenus are adjustable. The application-wide menu structure is edited via “Properties/Menu”. In the menu items, a menu item from the menu structure is specified as the start reference.
You can edit the menu structure via “Properties/Menu”.
The menu item “PopupMenu” is similar to a folder on Windows, with “PopupMenu/Next Level” you can create subfolders.
The menu items are similar to the files in the folder.
After selecting the menu item, you can enter the desired functions via “Dynamics” below.
