Choosing your Simulation Panel - Revision history

MartinW: /* Major Differences */

2023-09-14T10:06:31Z

Major Differences

MartinW at 10:05, 14 September 2023

2023-09-14T10:05:46Z

DavidA at 07:33, 2 July 2019

2019-07-02T07:33:05Z

PaulN at 09:22, 6 July 2016

2016-07-06T09:22:37Z

PaulN at 09:19, 6 July 2016

2016-07-06T09:19:58Z

PaulN at 09:16, 6 July 2016

2016-07-06T09:16:54Z

PaulN at 09:14, 6 July 2016

2016-07-06T09:14:23Z

PaulN at 09:13, 6 July 2016

2016-07-06T09:13:28Z

BenR at 09:42, 1 April 2014

2014-04-01T09:42:46Z

DavidA: Created page with "When starting a new project as a user you may wonder which of the two panels to choose when adding components to your project. This page should help you choose which of the pa..."

2014-01-29T15:21:05Z

Created page with "When starting a new project as a user you may wonder which of the two panels to choose when adding components to your project. This page should help you choose which of the pa..."

New page

When starting a new project as a user you may wonder which of the two panels to choose when adding components to your project. This page should help you choose which of the panels is appropriate for your project.

__TOC__

== Overview ==
Flowcode has two separate panels which behind the scenes do very much the same thing. The System and Dashboard panel function almost identically, the choice of which to use in your project comes down to the user preferences and the project type being undertaken.

==Major Differences==
The two panels while functioning similarly have some very important differences which makes choosing which one to use in your project important.

[[File:System_dashboard_diff.jpg]]

Pink: The most obvious change is that the System panel has a 3D viewpoint, while the Dashboard panel is restricted to a top down ‘2D’ view.

Red: The Systems panel has both 2D and 3D shapes available to construct objects straight from the panel, the 3D shapes aren’t available in the 2D Dashboard panel which is limited to basic 2D shapes.

Blue: The System panel has additional buttons which deal with the rotation and alignment of the camera. The Dashboard panel has none of these options as there is only one view.

Green: Looking at these numbers here shows how the Dashboard panel is constructed; it essentially is the same as the System panel but with the Z-axis (depth) always locked at zero.

==Different Uses==

{|style="background-color: #E5E5E5; border-collapse: collapse; margin: auto; width: 100%; text-align: center;"
|style="border-width: 0px 4px 0px 4px; border-style: solid; border-color: white; width: 20%"|
[[File:Circuit_level.jpg|border]]
|style="border-width: 0px 4px 0px 4px; border-style: solid; border-color: white; width: 20%"|
[[File:Electromechanical_level.jpg|border]]
|style="border-width: 0px 4px 0px 4px; border-style: solid; border-color: white; width: 20%"|
[[File:Systems_level.jpg|border]]
|-
|style="border-width: 0px 4px 0px 4px; border-style: solid; border-color: white;"|'''Circuit Level Users:'''
|style="border-width: 0px 4px 0px 4px; border-style: solid; border-color: white;"|'''Electro-Mechanical Users:'''
|style="border-width: 0px 4px 0px 4px; border-style: solid; border-color: white;"|'''Systems Designers:'''
|-
|style="border-width: 0px 4px 0px 4px; border-style: solid; border-color: white;"|We envisage users who are basically dealing with items which could be represented on a circuit board to only really require the Dashboard Panel. These users should not really need to construct 3D systems and the '''Dashboard Panel''' should be sufficient for their needs. Using only the Dashboard panel mimics the Flowcode v4/5 panel usage.

|style="border-width: 0px 4px 0px 4px; border-style: solid; border-color: white;"|For these type of projects we would envisage users requiring a combination of BOTH the '''System Panel''' and the '''Dashboard Panel'''. Mechanical systems and parts can be modelled in the 3D System panel and the controlling elements of the system can be placed in the 2D Dashboard Panel.

|style="border-width: 0px 4px 0px 4px; border-style: solid; border-color: white;"|Users who mainly utilise Flowcode for designing large systems will probably find most of their use from the '''System Panel''', however as for Electro-Mechanical users the Dashboard panel may prove useful for adding in controlling components to the system design.

|}

'''Examples:'''

[[File:Dsp_example_sm.png|border]]''Example 1: DSP System: ''Since this is a circuit based problem we can use the Dashboard only.

[[File:Linear_example_sm.png|border]]''Example 2: Linear Actuator: ''Since this is a circuit based problem we can use the Dashboard only.

[[File:Robotarm_example_sm.png|border]]''Example 3: Robot Arm: ''As an Electro-mechanical system we have our robot arm modelled in the 3D System Panel and the controls for this arm in our Dashboard Panel.

==Switching Components between Views:==

Because the panels function exactly the same behind the scenes it is very quick and easy to transfer components from one view to the other, simply click and hold the object you want to transfer and drag it to the other panel.

In the example below we have dragged a hexagonal prism from the 3D System Panel to the 2D Dashboard Panel.

[[File:System_dashboard_drag.jpg|border]]

@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 <span style="color:#0000FF;">Blue</span>: Additional controls are used to change the perspective, the way in which objects move through the simulation panel, background colours and more.
-<span style="color:#00CC33;">Green</span>: Looking at these numbers here shows how the 2D panel is constructed; the Z axis always locked at zero.
+You can add as many 2D panels as you like and they all can be renamed.
 ==Different Uses==

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 == Overview ==
-In the Flowcode environment there are two panels which are used as a place to store components which are referenced by your program. In previous versions of Flowcode there was only one fixed panel available for the components so why did we move away from the single panel approach?
+In the Flowcode environment there are two types of panels that are used as a place to store components that are referenced by your program. In previous versions of Flowcode there were only two fixed panels available for the components so why did we move away from the two panels approach?
-) The [[Dashboard_Panel|dashboard panel]] is used as a replacement for the standard panels used in previous versions of Flowcode. There are some differences still in that you can zoom in and out but the overall functionality is about the same. The dashboard name was used as we wanted to be able to re-create systems such as cars where there is a set of indicators or controls which can be constantly available to the user.
+) The [[2d_Panels|2D panels]] is used as a replacement for the dashboard panel used in previous versions of Flowcode. There are some differences still in that you can't currently zoom in and out.
-) The [[System_Panel|system panel]] is used to allow new features in Flowcode, such as mechanical based components or simulations. This allows us an area to build a system like we would in real life, in 3D. We can rotate around an object as well as being able to create multiple views so top, side, and perspective views can all be seen at once. We can also manipulate the camera for the first instance of the [[System_Panel|system panel]] by using the [[API_Panel.Position.Camera|camera simulation macros]]. This is useful for example for following a robot around as it moves through the simulated environment which could be a maze or obstacle course.
+) The [[System_Panel|3D system panel]] is used to allow features in Flowcode, such as mechanical based components or simulations. This allows us an area to build a system like we would in real life, in 3D. We can rotate around an object as well as being able to create multiple views so top, side, and perspective views can all be seen at once. We can also manipulate the camera for the first instance of the [[System_Panel|3D system panel]] by using the [[API_Panel.Position.Camera|camera simulation macros]]. This is useful for example for following a robot around as it moves through the simulated environment which could be a maze or obstacle course.
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 ==Major Differences==
-The two panels, while functioning similarly, have some very important differences which makes choosing which one to use in your project important.
+The two panels have some very important differences which makes choosing which one to use in your project important.
+<span style="color:#FF66FF;">Pink</span>: The 3D system has a 3D viewpoint where the camera angle can be rotated, while the 2D panel is restricted to a top down ‘2D’ view.
 <span style="color:#FF0000;">Red</span>: Camera and selection controls are used to move and manipulate the camera of selected objects as required. See [[Camera Control]] for more details on their operation.
@@ Line 27: / Line 26: @@
 <span style="color:#0000FF;">Blue</span>: Additional controls are used to change the perspective, the way in which objects move through the simulation panel, background colours and more.
-<span style="color:#00CC33;">Green</span>: Looking at these numbers here shows how the Dashboard panel is constructed; it essentially is the same as the System panel but with the Z-axis (depth) always locked at zero.
+<span style="color:#00CC33;">Green</span>: Looking at these numbers here shows how the 2D panel is constructed; the Z axis always locked at zero.
 ==Different Uses==
@@ Line 43: / Line 44: @@
 |style="border-width: 0px 4px 0px 4px; border-style: solid; border-color: white;"|'''Systems Designers:'''
 |-
-|style="border-width: 0px 4px 0px 4px; border-style: solid; border-color: white;"|We envisage users who are basically dealing with items which could be represented on a circuit board to only really require the Dashboard Panel. These users should not really need to construct 3D systems and the '''Dashboard Panel''' should be sufficient for their needs. Using only the Dashboard panel mimics the Flowcode v4/5 panel usage.
+|style="border-width: 0px 4px 0px 4px; border-style: solid; border-color: white;"|We envisage users who are basically dealing with items which could be represented on a circuit board to only really require the 2D Panels. These users should not really need to construct 3D systems and the '''2D Panels''' should be sufficient for their needs. Using only the 2D panels mimics the Flowcode v9 or less, panel usage.
-|style="border-width: 0px 4px 0px 4px; border-style: solid; border-color: white;"|For these type of projects we would envisage users requiring a combination of BOTH the '''System Panel''' and the '''Dashboard Panel'''. Mechanical systems and parts can be modelled in the 3D System panel and the controlling elements of the system can be placed in the 2D Dashboard Panel.
+|style="border-width: 0px 4px 0px 4px; border-style: solid; border-color: white;"|For these types of projects we would envisage users requiring a combination of BOTH the '''3D System Panel''' and the '''2D Panels'''. Mechanical systems and parts can be modelled in the 3D System panel and the controlling elements of the system can be placed in the 2D Dashboard Panel.
-|style="border-width: 0px 4px 0px 4px; border-style: solid; border-color: white;"|Users who mainly utilise Flowcode for designing large systems will probably find most of their use from the '''System Panel''', however as for Electro-Mechanical users the Dashboard panel may prove useful for adding in controlling components to the system design.
+|style="border-width: 0px 4px 0px 4px; border-style: solid; border-color: white;"|Users who mainly utilise Flowcode for designing large systems will probably find most of their use from the '''3D System Panel''', however as for Electro-Mechanical users the 2D panels may prove useful for adding in controlling components to the system design.
 |}
@@ Line 53: / Line 54: @@
 '''Examples:'''
-[[File:Dsp_example_sm.png|border]]''Example 1: DSP System: ''Since this is a circuit based problem we can use the Dashboard only.
+[[File:Dsp_example_sm.png|border]]''Example 1: DSP System: ''Since this is a circuit based problem we can use the 2D panels only.
-[[File:Linear_example_sm.png|border]]''Example 2: Linear Actuator: ''Since this is a circuit based problem we can use the Dashboard only.
+[[File:Linear_example_sm.png|border]]''Example 2: Linear Actuator: ''Since this is a circuit based problem we can use the 2D panels only.
-[[File:Robotarm_example_sm.png|border]]''Example 3: Robot Arm: ''As an Electro-mechanical system we have our robot arm modelled in the 3D System Panel and the controls for this arm in our Dashboard Panel.
+[[File:Robotarm_example_sm.png|border]]''Example 3: Robot Arm: ''As an Electro-mechanical system we have our robot arm modelled in the 3D System Panel and the controls for this arm in our 2D panels.
 ==Switching Components between Views:==
@@ Line 63: / Line 64: @@
 Because the panels function exactly the same behind the scenes it is very quick and easy to transfer components from one view to the other. With 'Selection Mode' enabled, simply click and hold the object you want to transfer and drag it to the other panel.
-In the example below we have dragged a hexagonal prism from the 3D System Panel to the 2D Dashboard Panel.
+In the example below we have dragged a hexagonal prism from the 3D System Panel to the 2D panels.
 [[File:System_dashboard_drag.jpg|border]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-<sidebar>Sidebar: Flowcode Help Overview:Panels</sidebar>
 __TOC__
 == Overview ==
-Flowcode has two separate simulation panels which behind the scenes do very much the same thing. The System and Dashboard panel function almost identically, the choice of which to use in your project comes down to the user preferences and the project type being undertaken.
+In the Flowcode environment there are two panels which are used as a place to store components which are referenced by your program. In previous versions of Flowcode there was only one fixed panel available for the components so why did we move away from the single panel approach?
 ==Major Differences==

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 <span style="color:#FF0000;">Red</span>: Camera and selection controls are used to move and manipulate the camera of selected objects as required. See [[Camera Control]] for more details on their operation.
-<span style="color:#0000FF;">Blue</span>: The System panel has additional buttons which deal with the rotation and alignment of the camera. The Dashboard panel has none of these options as there is only one view.
+<span style="color:#0000FF;">Blue</span>: Additional controls are used to change the perspective, the way in which objects move through the simulation panel, background colours and more.
 <span style="color:#00CC33;">Green</span>: Looking at these numbers here shows how the Dashboard panel is constructed; it essentially is the same as the System panel but with the Z-axis (depth) always locked at zero.
@@ Line 55: / Line 55: @@
 ==Switching Components between Views:==
-Because the panels function exactly the same behind the scenes it is very quick and easy to transfer components from one view to the other, simply click and hold the object you want to transfer and drag it to the other panel.
+Because the panels function exactly the same behind the scenes it is very quick and easy to transfer components from one view to the other. With 'Selection Mode' enabled, simply click and hold the object you want to transfer and drag it to the other panel.
 In the example below we have dragged a hexagonal prism from the 3D System Panel to the 2D Dashboard Panel.
 [[File:System_dashboard_drag.jpg|border]]

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
-<span style="color:#FF66FF;">Pink</span>: The most obvious change is that the System panel has a 3D viewpoint, while the Dashboard panel is restricted to a top down ‘2D’ view.
+<span style="color:#FF66FF;">Pink</span>: The 3D system has a 3D viewpoint where the camera angle can be rotated, while the Dashboard panel is restricted to a top down ‘2D’ view.
-<span style="color:#FF0000;">Red</span>: The Systems panel has both 2D and 3D shapes available to construct objects straight from the panel, the 3D shapes aren’t available in the 2D Dashboard panel which is limited to basic 2D shapes.
+<span style="color:#FF0000;">Red</span>: Camera and selection controls are used to move and manipulate the camera of selected objects as required. See [[Camera Control]] for more details on their operation.
 <span style="color:#0000FF;">Blue</span>: The System panel has additional buttons which deal with the rotation and alignment of the camera. The Dashboard panel has none of these options as there is only one view.

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:16, 6 July 2016
Line 12:		Line 12:


−	[[File:~~800px-~~SimulationPanels.png]]	+	[[File:SimulationPanels.png\|800x524px]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:14, 6 July 2016
Line 12:		Line 12:


−	[[File:SimulationPanels.png]]	+	[[File:800px-SimulationPanels.png]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:42, 1 April 2014
Line 1:		Line 1:
		+	<sidebar>Sidebar: Flowcode Help Overview:Panels</sidebar>
	When starting a new project as a user you may wonder which of the two panels to choose when adding components to your project. This page should help you choose which of the panels is appropriate for your project.		When starting a new project as a user you may wonder which of the two panels to choose when adding components to your project. This page should help you choose which of the panels is appropriate for your project.