Interface

Introduction

The LabRPS interface is based on Qt, a well known graphical user interface (GUI) toolkit, particularly used in Linux, but also available in Windows and MacOS.

File:LabRPS interface base divisions.svg

Standard interface in v0.001.

The main window of the application can be roughly divided into 15 sections:

The main view area, which can contain different tabbed windows
The 3D graph view, normally embedded in the main view area
The 2D graph view, normally embedded in the main view area
The Table view, normally embedded in the main view area
The Matrix view, normally embedded in the main view area
The Note view, normally embedded in the main view area
The upper part of the combo view, which includes the visual objects tree view and the RPS objects tree view
The lower part of the combo view, which includes the Visual objects property editor and RPS objects property browser
The result log view
The Scripting console
The project explorer view
The status bar
The toolbar area, see the following information on the toolbars
The Phenomenon selector, which itself is inside a the simulation toolbar
The standard menu

Components of the interface

Like many pieces of software, LabRPS includes a standard menu bar, and then a series of toolbars and panels where the user tools are found.

Menus

The standard menus are: File, Edit, View, Scripting, Input, Simulation, Output, Help.

Toolbars

The standard toolbars that appear in the interface are:

File toolbar: tools to work with files, open, save, import, export documents actions.
Edit toolbar: tools to work with files, copy, paste, undo and redo actions.
Table toolbar: tools to work with table, work on rows and colums.
Matrix toolbar: tools to work with matrices.
2D Plot toolbar: tools to work with 2D graphs.
3D Plot toolbar: tools to work with 3D graphs.
Input toolbar: tools to work with simulation data input.
Simulation toolbar: tools to control the simulation options.
Output toolbar: tools to work with simulation data output.

These can be turned on and off by right clicking on an empty space on one of the toolbars and choosing the desired element, or from the menu, View → Toolbars.

Panels

The main panels that allow working with objects are:

3D gragh view: the area where 3D graph is drawn.
2D gragh view: the area where 2D graph is drawn.
Combo view: the panel that contains the visual objects tree view, the RPS objects tree view.
Visual objects tree view: the element that shows all visualization objects (tables, matrices, notes, plots...) in the document.
RPS objects tree view: the element that shows all plugins and RPS objects (spectrum models, coherence functions, modulation functions, simulation methods...) in the document.
Visual objects property editor: the place where visualization object properties are modified.
RPS objects property browser: the place where RPS object properties are shown.
Result log view: the text box that shows different messages from the application and its tools.
Project explorer view: the place where the structure and the containts of the document are shown.
Scripting console: the editor that allows running Scripting code interactively.
Status bar: the bar that shows certain messages from the application.

With the exception of the main view area, all can be turned on and off by right clicking on an empty space on one of the top toolbars and choosing the desired element, or from the menu, View → Panels.