Enables the setting of graphical properties for signals in viewers.

Prepare Signal Graphics

Overview

This preparation operator tells a data viewer what graphical properties the signals in each channel should have.

This is a special operator that does not perform any mathematical functions, but that only reads the signal channel configuration to be able to prepare certain properties for a signal viewer.

This operator should only be used if it is connected to a data viewer input, or to another viewer preparation operator.

For more information about this class of operators, see "Viewer Channel Configuration (Preparation operators) Overview".

Operator ports

Input S: Any sample type. The connection is not limited to one type of signal.

Output S: Any sample type. The connection is not limited to one type of signal.

Properties

Find more information about changing properties here: "Properties Viewer"

Remember unconnected channels

type: True or False
Decides if settings from channels that are currently not connected should also be stored to disk.

Select one of those presets:
True or False
True may also be read like 'yes' and false like 'no'

During designing, channels may be added or removed at the input of this operator. All channels that were once connected are kept in memory, so that when you re-connect them, the settings are still available.
Normally, when you save your project to disk, those unconnected channel settings are not stored, because they may take unnecessary space.
However, sometimes your design may be so that different sets of known channels could be connected, in which case you want the settings to be available for all those channels. So, then Polybench should save the settings for the channels that are not connected as well. In that case, set this flag to True.

Caption

type: Word or phrase
The name of the object in the project. This name must not contain '.', '$' nor '@' characters.

For more information about the rules and usage of the Caption property, please refer to "Caption property - background and usage".

Documentation

type: See description
Optional documentation of this object. If this object is an operator, the Documentation text is displayed below the operator symbol.

Special dialog to change properties of this object: Graphical properties of signals

Variable Parameters

Find more information about Variable Parameters here: "Variable Parameters"

Visibility

type: Parameter list (see "Parameter List")
A parameter list with information about whether channels are visible in a viewer or not. Channels are marked with pseudo-boolean '1' if visible and '0' if hidden.

Use the address of this variable in a List Viewer ("List Viewer"). It will then show check boxes for each channel, which you can use in your user interface.

VisibilityAndName

This variable is about the same property as Visibility. The difference is that if this list is shown in a List Viewer ("List Viewer"), that also the channel names are displayed.
Channel names cannot be edited using this variable.

Functions

Find more information about Functions here: "Operator Functions"

DisableAll

Sets all or filtered channels invisible.

Parameter:
Optionally specify a channel name filter using wildcards, see "Filter items with wildcards". Write '/' first to filter on alternative (technical) channel names.

EnableAll

Sets all or filtered channels visible.

Parameter:
Optionally specify a channel name filter using wildcards, see "Filter items with wildcards". Write '/' first to filter on alternative (technical) channel names.

InvertEnabled

Sets all or filtered channels visible that are invisible and vise versa.

Parameter:
Optionally specify a channel name filter using wildcards, see "Filter items with wildcards". Write '/' first to filter on alternative (technical) channel names.

EnableChannel

Allows to set one specific channel visible

Parameter:
Name or index of the channel that should be set visible. The first channel has index 1. If a name is used, all channels with that name are affected.

DisableChannel

Allows to set one specific channel invisible

Parameter:
Name or index of the channel that should be set invisible. The first channel has index 1. If a name is used, all channels with that name are affected.

Details

General functionality

The Prepare Signal Graphics operator specifies how signals are shown in viewers that follow this preparation operator. A number of properties of the signal display can be changed (the next items are part of the table in the properties dialog):

Visible
Click the check box to make the signal visible or not. For some viewers, the result of making a signal invisible will be that the other visible signals are stretched to fill the new free space.

Color
Click to select a color for the signal. The standard Windows color picker is displayed. Signal colors are not related to the Color Repository ("Color Repository Editor"), because the number of signals you want to colorize may be large, which would make the use of the Color Repository inefficient. Also, signal colors are independent of user interface colors.

Line Width
In this column you select the thickness of the signal lines, if that is relevant for the viewer. Normally, this value is 1. You may want to make lines thicker for signal viewers that are used to create high resolution images or for printing. Note that signal lines are not thickened automatically if you zoom into a signal viewer; you need this Prepare Signal Graphics operator to make signal lines as wide as is suitable for the display they are shown on.
Please note that for live data viewers, such as the Y-T Viewer ("Y-T Viewer"), lines with a width greater than 1 may cost more processing power. Also, thick lines may be less smooth, showing small gaps between line segments in some cases.

High Quality
If you check the High Quality check box for a signal channel, then the subsequent viewer may draw the signal using anti-aliasing. Anti-aliasing is a trick to make lines appear smoother on a monitor screen.
For some data displays, the High Quality setting will improve the visual appearance of signals. However, in some cases the signals may appear to be less sharp, and for dense signal waves detail may get lost. Also, this option costs more processing power for the computer.

Note that you may select multiple signals in the table and change properties for all selected signals at once.

Graphics properties can also be set in the Prepare Viewer Signals

The role of this operator is also included in the operator "Prepare Viewer Signals", but that operator does not offer the variable parameters and functions of this operator. If you put the Prepare Graphics operator after the "Prepare Viewer Signals" operator, then the Prepare Graphics overrules the graphics setting as set in the operator before it.

Using the VisibilityAndName variable parameter

You can use the variable parameters of this operator, to let the user of your app hide or show signal channels in viewers. In order to do so, you could use a "List Viewer" and set the Address property of the List Viewer to the VisibilityAndName variable of a specific Prepare Signal Graphics operator. The List Viewer will then show a list with check boxes and channel names, which the user can click in order to hide or show signal channels.

The Visibility variable could be used to store the latest visibility settings of a viewer, using the "Application Settings" operator.

The user interface of your app can further be extended with buttons that hide or show all signal channels at once, or that invert the visibility of all signal channels. Use a FUNCTION action ("FUNCTION") to call the functions as specified in this document.