Exercise - Dashboard Panel - Adding Objects

This exercise shows how to add a labeled switch to the Dashboard Panel, and use it to control the LED on the car's instrument panel.

Open the Mounted LED flowchart

• Open the flowchart "System_Panel_Add_Mounted LED" which you created in Exercise - System Panel - Controlling Shapes.
• This time, set the Panel Properties to display sizes as 'Scale'.

To do this, click on the down arrow next to 'World size' and select the 'Local scale'option.

Set up the Dashboard Panel

• Make sure that the Dashboard Panel is visible. If it is not, then click on the View menu and tick the check box next to 'Dashboard Panel'.
• Select a suitable color for the background, such as dark green (red=0, green=128, blue=0) by clicking on the 'General options' tab.File:Panel Icon GeneralOpts.jpg

Add the switch

• Click on the 'Inputs' toolbox and locate the 'Toggle Metal Panel' switch.
• Click on the down arrow next to it and then on the 'Add to dashboard panel' option.

The switch appears at the center of the Dashboard Panel.

• Add a label to identify it (as there will be others!)

To do this: :: Click on the colored rectangle at the top of the vertical toolbar on the right-hand side of the Dashboard Panel.

Select the color black.".

File:Gen exerciseDashPaneladding objects dashpanel1 01.png

Click on the text icon, (the letter 'T') and drag it onto the Dashboard Panel.

It may not be visible at this stage, but the Panel Properties will show it as the object called 'label', and list four properties - 'Color' 'Background', 'Font' and 'Text'.

The default text content is 'Please Change Caption". Click on the default text and overwrite it with the word "sidelight

In addition, change the background color to yellow (0x00FFFF);

the coordinates to 'X'=0, 'Y'=-10, 'Z'=0;

the scale to 'Width'=5, 'Height'=5, 'Depth'=2.

• The Dashboard Panel now resembles that shown opposite: