1.0 Overview
1.1 Mode of Operation
1.2 Getting Started
2.0 Basic
Drawing Features
2.1
Using
Create
2.2 Using Edit
2.3 CO and Object Selection
2.4 CO Orientation
2.5 Button Based Actions
2.5.1 Transfer
2.5.2 Create
2.5.3 Edit
3.0 Menu Options
3.1
File
Menu
3.2 View Menu
4.0 Miscellaneous
4.1
Lineage
4.2 Fileless Objects
4.3 Security Considerations
Intended
Audience
This document is intended
for use by licensed customers of Alpha Software Express' Express
Designer. It contains information required for creating and
using Complex Objects. To implement Complex Objects, users need, at least,
a Standard Edition of the product. This document also assumes the reader
is familiar with the general concepts of ExpressDesigner
and
has read the Basic User's Guide.
© 2002 Alpha
Software Express, LLC - San Rafael, CA USA
Send any questions or comments
to: aex@alphase.com
ExpressDesigner refers to this product
BDI refers to the Basic Designer Interface
CDI refers to the Complex Designer Interface
CLI refers to your platform's Command Line Interface
Text in This Type refers to on screen buttons
Text in This Type refers to top level menu items
Text in This Type refers to specific menu selections, or input field labels
Text in This Type refers to file names
Text in This Type refers to text you enter into the CLI
Text in This Type refers to text generated by the CLI
1.0 Overview
Complex objects (COs) are
composed of one or more simple objects and identified by a unique ID number,
a name and up to 5 user defined, attribute/value pairs (e.g. weight=1.5
g). There is no upper limit to the number of simple objects that a complex
object can contain. They are always created and maintained from within
the CDI. And they are always considered as a single object from
within the BDI. To include a complex object in your BDI you
must first transfer it from a CDI repository (aka
CO Bin File).
In addition, there are 2 types of complex objects: Local and Global. The Standard and Professional Editions of ExpressDesigner allow for only local COs, while the Enterprise Edition allows for both local and global COs. The main difference between the 2 types is the domain, within which a CO's ID number is unique and known. All new CO objects are automatically assigned a unique complex object ID based on their type and lineage (see Lineage). Local CO IDs are in the range 1024 - 64,512. Global IDs are in the range 64,513 - 16,777,215.
Each CO drawing represents a single Bin File. It can contain as few as one complex object or as many as will fit in it. Like BDI drawings they can also specify scale sizes in the same way that BDI does. This is especially important when transferring the COs to a basic drawing, since, during the transfer, they will re-scale to the basic drawing's scale if at all possible. If the new scale will result in a CO either too small to be seen, or to large to be included, you will be notified and given an appropriate set of options.
1.1 Mode
of Operation
The CDI looks very
similar to the BDI, but has 2 modes of operation: dependent
and independent. The only difference is that if an existing CO has
been selected, the Transfer button is enabled on the dependent
window and remains disabled on the independent one. In reality,
the mode of operation has more to do with how you use it, as it does with
what it can, or can't do.
When using the CDI in dependent mode, you are usually only concerned with transferring existing COs to your BDI drawing from which the CDI was spawned. In this mode you are referring to each complex object as a single entity. For example, when you select the Object ID option from the View menu of a dependent CDI, you see a single id number for each complex object, referring to its position in the stack, as you would in a BDI. When selecting an object in this mode you can click on any part of it to get the whole CO.
When using it in independent mode, you are concerned either with creating new complex objects, or updating existing ones. In that mode you select either Create or Edit to work on a CO. The CO is then reloaded into the upper left area of the screen where you can see all the id numbers for each primitive that went into making up the complex object, and each is selectable independently (see figure 2-4).
1.2 Getting
Started
Like the BDI, the
CDI
is a Java based application, which requires an installed Java Virtual Machine
(JVM), or Run Time Environment (RTE). This means that
Java must be started and told to start ExpressDesigner.
To start the LocalCDI
in independent mode, PC users can just double-click on the ExpressCDI
shortcut. Others may have to start from a CLI and enter
java com.alphase.aex.cdiAfter a few seconds, the CDI window will appear.
or,
jre com.alphase.aex.cdi
Depending upon your platform and its display settings, you may not be able to see the whole window, or it may be too small to see easily. Like the BDI, if you don't see all the widgets above, try stretching it's frame until they all become visible. If the text is too small to read, Alter Base Font... (from the Options menu). The default base font is Arial, 11 point.
To start the GlobalCDI from the CLI, enter:
java com.alphase.aex.cdi -type global
or,
jre com.alphase.aex.cdi -type globalFigure 1-2
Global CDI Window
To start the CDI in dependent mode, you must have an active BDI window. From the Complex menu on your BDI, select either Local or Global, depending on your need and/or its availability (since the Global type is only available in the Enterprise Edition, it is disabled in other editions).
2.0 Basic
Drawing Features
Regardless of the method
you used to start the CDI (dependent or independent),
or which type of CDI your using (Local or Global),
most of the functions work exactly as they do in the BDI. The
remainder of this manual describes only those functions and operations
that are different from the BDI. For basic functionality,
refer to the Basic User's Guide.
Initially, only the Create button is enabled (see Figure 2-1). At this point you can either start creating new COs or edit a CO Bin File (see the File Menu).
2.1 Using
Create
When you click on the Create
button, two things happen. First a black box shows up in the upper, left
hand corner of the CDI. This contains the ID number of the CO you
are about to create (see figure 2-2).
Then the CO Master Box will appear as a separate window (see
figure
2-3) with a pre set, unique ID already assigned. In this box
you assign the CO a name and up 5 attribute/value pairs. The name and ID
number will be your method of identifying this object when using it in
a BDI drawing. The other attributes are optional and will only appear
on the BDI drawing when specified (see the View
Menu). Do not close this window until you are done creating
this CO.
At this point you can begin creating your new CO using all of the basic drawing features described for simple objects in the Basic User's Guide. When the CO is completed, click the Done button on the CO Master Box. Or click Cancel, to cancel the create operation.
Figure 2-2
CDI during CO creation
2.2 Using
Edit
When an existing CO has
been selected (see Object Selection),
you can click on the Edit button to alter the object and/or
its attributes. The only thing you cannot change is the ID. Clicking on
the Edit button causes the black box to show up again in
the upper, left hand corner with the ID number of the CO you are about
to edit (see
figure 2-2).
Then the CO Master Box will appear as a separate window appear filled in
with all the CO's current information (see figure
2-3).
Like create, when you have
finished altering the CO, click the Done button on the CO
Master Box. Or click Cancel to cancel the changes you made.
Do not confuse the ordinal number with the object ID. Object ID's are assigned incrementally based on a lineage file, which contains the number to be used next when creating a new CO of any type, in any CO Bin File. In other words, many CO Bin Files use the same lineage file. For more information on this, see the Lineage Section.
Object selection is done in the same manner it is in the BDI, but the object numbers look somewhat different depending on when the selection is made. When not creating or editing a CO, each CO has a single, distinct number and clicking on any part of it will populate the Selected Object Indicator. But when a CO is being created or edited, each of its component parts are assigned a unique object number, beginning after the last CO number assigned in the drawing. In addition, the black box containing the object ID will be assigned the first number of the new set.
In the example below there are 3 CO's plus a special scale object (item #1). By selecting number 2 for editing (the propeller), the primitive objects in it will begin at number 6. The black ID box is assigned number 5. It is selectable to allow positioning operations (move, flip, etc.) on the CO as a whole.
2.4 Orientation
In CDI's normal viewing
mode, the Edit menu has all its options
disabled, except Select All and the orientational
ones (i.e. FlipVertical, FilpHorizontal, Turn 1/4 Right
and Rotate). Making such changes in this mode
will not affect the object's permanent orientation. They provide orientational
changes for viewing purposes only. To make an actual, persistent
orientational change to a CO, you must first Edit the selected
Complex Object, then click on the black ID box and then use the Edit
menu's orientational changes. Click Done on the CO Master
Box to make them permanent.
2.5 Button
Based Actions
Once a CO object has been
selected, you can use the Move and Remove buttons
located on the top toolbar.
These changes will be permanent
if you save the file in the usual way. If you are in dependent mode,
the Transfer button will also be enabled. But the Split
button will always be disabled. This is because Complex Objects cannot
be split.
During CO creation, or editing,
however, once one of the CO's simple objects has been selected, you can
use all of the first 4 button based actions (Move, Copy, Split,
and Remove) as you would in the BDI.
.
2.5.1 Transfer
You can transfer a selected
CO to your BDI drawing only in dependent mode, and if the
selected object type in your BDI has been set to
Static
Transfer or Dynamic Transfer. When
transferring this way, the selected CO will show up in the BDI at
the place where you last clicked the mouse.
Only one Static
Transfer and one Dynamic Transfer
is allowed on a given CO. If you need more copies in your basic drawing,
just use the Copy button on the BDI.
2.5.2 Create
CO creation is discussed
in Using Create, but there is an additional
option. If you click on Create, when a valid CO has already
been entered into the Selected Object Indicator,
you will have the option to clone the selected object as part of your new
CO. This is very helpful for making small modifications on a given part
(CO) and saving each one as a new CO. You can also use this to create a
duplicate CO, then just change its orientation (FilpHorizontal,
for example).
3.1 The
File Menu
These choices work the same
as in the BDI, except that the CO bin files are a different file
type than the basic drawing files. Selecting a basic file type from
the View/Update in CDI will result in
an error. However, you can Import a basic file
type (BDI drawing) when you are creating or
editing a CO. Just click Import and proceed in the usual
way, ignoring the file type error message.
3.2 The
View Menu
The view choices are identical
to the standard BDI. However, when a complex object is included
in either the BDI or CDI, the view choices are expanded on
the bottom of the menu to reflect the COs in the drawing (see figure
3-2). Each CO is shown under the title -Complex Objects- with its unique
ID and name. When this entry is selected (the default condition),
the corresponding CO is displayed.
In addition, when COs are
present on either interface, the Complex Borders
and Complex Attributes are enabled. Selecting
them reveals the expected information (see figure
3-3). Note: the text in red is instructional
and will not actually appear in your drawing.
View Menu(when COs are Present) |
Complex Borders and Attributes |
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4.0 Miscellaneous
4.1 Lineage
All Complex Objects are
contained in special files known as Bin Files. Multiple COs can be included
into a basic, BDI drawing from any number of related Bin
Files, so long as they stem from the same Lineage File. Bin Files are considered
related
if they stem from the same Lineage File and are of the same type (i.e.
Local or Global). This requirement becomes clearer when you realize
that every CO, Local or Global, must be assigned a
unique ID when it is created. To insure uniqueness within
related
Bin Files, each Lineage File contains the next unique number available
for use and is updated as CO's are created.
An environment can have multiple Lineage Files of either type, but any given Bin File must be related to one, and only one, Lineage File. Bin Files that reference different Lineage Files are unrelated, so the COs they contain cannot successfully coexist in the same BDI drawing. That is, each BDI drawing that includes complex objects must refer to no more than one Local and one Global Lineage File.
Normally, you should never create, or delete, Lineage Files. If they don't already exist, they will be created by ExpressDesigner when needed. Should they be accidentally deleted, creating new COs will cause duplicate assignment of CO ID numbers.
Under some circumstances, like reviewing a drawing made from an unknown, or unavailable, lineage file, it may desirable to bypass lineage checking. To do this deselect the Enforce CO Lineage Check on your Options menu.
4.2 Fileless
Objects
Although it is recommended
that all Complex Objects be saved in a CO Bin File, they can also be fileless.
A fileless Complex Object is one that is created, but never saved
in a Bin File. To create a fileless object, you invoke a dependent
CDI
from your BDI. Then create one or more Complex Objects in the usual
way. These completed objects can then be transferred back to the BDI,
but only as StaticTransfer objects. When finished,
don't save the Complex Objects; just close the
CDI window instead
. Then, when you save your main BDI drawing, the static Complex
Objects will be saved within it.
Fileless Complex Objects should be used with caution, however, since you can never distinguish the primitives objects within it, or ever be able to modify it. Otherwise, it's perfectly ok to use.
4.3 Security
Considerations
If the CO Bin File is secured
(see Security document), you will need to log
in to access it. Normally, you must log into the CDI separately,
even if the user name and password are identical to the ones used on the
BDI
login. Once logged into the secure CDI, you will be able to transfer
any number of Complex Objects to your BDI drawing without further
logins. If, however, you are just loading Dynamic Transfers,
from CO Bin File, as part of a BDI drawing, you will not be
required to log in again.
© 2002, 2003 Alpha
Software Express, LLC.
All rights reserved.