draw lines
The draw lines module enables you to create both 2D and 3D lines interactively with the mouse.
The mouse gesture for line creation is: depress the Ctrl key and then click the left mouse button on any pickable object in the viewer. The first click establishes the beginning point of the line segment and the second click establishes each successive point.
draw lines allows adding of points that are outside the model extents, undoing of the last picked point, and the clearing of all picked points. Unlike most modules which create mesh data to be used by other modules, the draw lines module receives input from the viewer, and also passes on field data to be used by other modules.
There are two drawing modes:
Top View Mode creates 2D lines which are always at Z=0.0. You must be in a Top View to draw with this mode, but you may pick points anywhere in the viewer screen.
Object Mode creates 3D lines which are drawn by probing objects in your model. You cannot draw at a point without having an object there or specifying a coordinate using the x-y-z type-ins.
NOTE: Because draw lines saves your lines with your application, when an application is saved, the purple port is automatically disconnected from the viewer. This ensures that when you load an application the resulting objects (lines, fence-diagrams, etc.) will look exactly the same as when you saved the application. However, if you wish to draw new lines you will need to reconnect the purple port from the viewer.
Ports
| Direction | Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input | Input Z Scale | Number | The factor for vertical scaling. |
| Output | Output Field | Field | A field containing the created lines. |
| Output | Output Glyphs | Field | A field containing the created glyphs. |
| Output | SampleData | Renderable | A renderable object displaying the lines. |
Properties
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Probe Action | Choice: None, Reset Position, Add Point | Allows for the changing of the current line coordinates or for adding new coordinates at the probed location. |
| Drawing Style | Choice: Top View Mode, Object Mode | The Drawing Style allows the user to select coordinates using two different methods. In Top View Mode: the Viewer must be in Top View; any point in the Viewer can be selected; and the Z coordinate is the Z Top value. In Object Mode: the Viewer can be in any rotation; and only probing on objects will give coordinates. |
| Z Scale | Double | The Z Scale is the vertical exaggeration that has been applied to the input of the module. |
| Z Top | Double | The Z Top value is the z value used when creating lines in Top View Mode. |
| Coordinate Units | String | The coordinate units control for draw lines has different behavior than other linked controls. The first time a point is created the control will unlink and check the coordinate units of additional points against the set units. |
| Display Lines | Boolean | The Display Lines toggle will turn off visibility of the created lines. |
| Display Glyphs | Boolean | The Display Glyphs toggle will turn off visibility of the created glyphs. |
| Line List | String | The list of lines and their coordinates created so far. Selecting the Closed toggle will cause a line segment from the last point added to the first point to be created. |
| Current Line | String | The Current Line is the line selected from the Lines list. |
| ELF File Name | String | Output the created lines as an ELF file. |
Glyph Settings
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Generated Glyph | Choice: Sphere, Cube, Cone, Cylinder, Polygon, Disk, Point | The Generated Glyph choice allows the user to select the type of glyph that is automatically generated. |
| Glyph Size | Double | The Glyph Size value is used to scale the glyphs in all directions. The default is automatically computed based on your input data. |
| Sphere Subdivisions | Integer | The number of subdivisions to use for spheres. Larger numbers create more detailed sphere representations. |
| Glyph Resolution | Integer | The resolution for generated cone, polygon, cylinder, and disk glyphs. |
| Primary Axis Factor | Double | The scale factor for the primary axis of the glyph. |
| Secondary Axis Factor | Double | The scale factor for the secondary axis of the glyph. |
| Heading Dip | Double | The Heading and Dip values are used to align the glyphs to a constant orientation. |
| Roll | Double | The roll of the glyph along its primary axis. |
| Include Center Data | Boolean | The Include Center Data toggle will tell the module to include the center point of each glyph as a cell data component. This allows the user to probe onto the glyph and return its center instead of the position on the outside of the glyph. |