Useful Tips for Using the Graphical Interface

The following are useful tips for working with the graphical interface.

You can perform searches using special options. For example, is:functor shows only functors, and is:loop shows only containers that are loops. These commands are valid in every search box of the interface. To use them, the “Also search for additional info” option must be enabled in the search box menu.

• is:container
• is:loop
• is:junction
• is:carrier
• is:hook
• is:mux
• is:loader
• is:saver
• is:deprecated
• is:submodel
• is:systemsubmodel
• is:usersubmodel
• is:localsubmodel
• is:storesubmodel
• is:functor

• is:hollow
• is:submodelinput
• is:submodeloutput

You can also search by values defined in the port editors of basic types: enter the value, or part of it, to find the functor containing the matching port. The basic types are RealValue, BooleanValue, Percent, String, Name, Folder, NullValue, TableValue, TableCellType, IndexOrName, CellType, LogTag, the IntegerValue type family, and the Filename type family.

• is:hollow
• is:runtime
• is:error
• is:warning

• You can instantiate a functor by dragging it or by double-clicking its name.
• When a functor is created by dragging its name, you can hold down the Shift key while dragging so that it is automatically connected to the functor currently selected in the sketch.
• The Favorites tab shows the functors that have been marked with a star. To mark a functor as a favorite, click the star next to its name.
• You can reorder the tabs (“All”, “Favorites”, etc.) by dragging a tab to its new position in the tab bar.

• You can zoom using the mouse wheel.
• You can pan by dragging the mouse while holding down the left button.
• If a selected functor is not visible, you can center the view on it by clicking its name in its action bar (the bar shown above a functor when it is selected).
• You can copy the path of the model open in the sketch by hovering the mouse over the tab bearing the model's name and pressing Ctrl+C, or by left-clicking the tab and choosing the corresponding option from the menu that opens. In this menu, you can choose between the full file name of the model and the name of the folder where the model is saved.
• To connect functors that are far apart and not visible on screen at the same time, select the source functor and—without selecting the destination functor—scroll the view so that the destination functor becomes visible (note that the source functor's action bar remains visible). Choose the “create connection” option in the action bar and click the destination functor.
• Another way to connect distant functors that are not simultaneously visible is to use the selection-navigation mechanism:
  1. Click the source (output) functor. You may also simply search for this functor in the interface's functor Explorer and then click the “View functor” button in that Explorer.
  2. Do the same for the destination (input) functor.
  3. Click the connection button in the action bar and, while the connection is still in progress, press Alt+Right Arrow. This selects the destination functor and brings it into view.
  4. Click the destination functor to complete the connection.
• You can use Alt+Right Arrow and Alt+Left Arrow to navigate between your most recent functor selections: Alt+Left Arrow returns to the previous selection, and Alt+Right Arrow advances to the next one. You can also skip across multiple selections by holding Alt while moving from selection to selection with the arrow keys.
• When you select a connection between two functors, the connection action bar is shown in the upper-right corner of the sketch. Hovering the mouse over the name of each port in this action bar displays a tooltip for the port and for the functor it belongs to, including its banner, comment, and alias.
• The functor information panel (shown when you click the “?” icon in a functor's action bar) can be used to identify which connection represents the link to a given port of the functor. Click the desired port name in the port list, and the connection corresponding to that port is selected in the model view.
• The functor information panel can also be used to find out which port is connected, being edited, or being viewed. This information is shown next to the corresponding port name.
• You can reorder the tabs corresponding to the open models by dragging a tab to its new position in the tab bar.
• You can reorder the tabs corresponding to the local submodels of the open model by dragging a tab to its new position in the tab bar.
• The functor representation uses borders to convey certain information. More than one border can be visible at the same time:
  • Yellow border – the functor has one or more warnings.
  • Red border – the functor has one or more errors.
  • Green border – the functor exports input and/or output ports as part of a submodel.
  • Blue border – the functor's input and/or output ports are exported to a wizard.
• After copying the current selection of the displayed model using Copy Selection or Ctrl+C, you can paste that selection either (a) into another model, or (b) into an external text editor. In case (b), the selection is pasted using the EGO Script representation of that fragment. Ports connected to functors that were not selected and copied are shown as disconnected (.UNBOUND). The settings specified in Options | EGO Script are used when writing the fragment.
• Likewise, you can paste a script fragment into a model after copying it from an external text editor to the system clipboard. The only restriction is that the fragment must be syntactically valid. Ports connected to variables whose definitions were not copied are treated as disconnected.

• You can pan the model view in the Sketch panel by left-clicking on the desired part of the model in the overview representation. You can also right-click and drag to scroll the model content in the sketch.
• You can zoom the model view in the Sketch panel by right-clicking the small handle in the lower-right corner of the rectangle representing the currently visible Sketch area and dragging.
• You can also use the mouse wheel to zoom from within either the Overview or the Sketch. When zooming from the Sketch, the zoom is centered on the mouse location.

• In addition to showing the organization of functors and containers in the model, the Explorer panel shows useful information about certain functors in the Attributes column. This includes an indication of whether a loop can execute multiple steps simultaneously, and whether a functor has input and/or output ports exported as part of a submodel or wizard. To see what a given attribute means, hover the mouse over the attribute icon to view its tooltip.
• You can find out which functors in the model take the most time to execute. Click the “Show model bottleneck only” icon, and only the 10% of functors responsible for the largest total execution times are shown. This information is also available for the local submodel panels.

• Hovering the mouse over a port's description in an editor displays the tooltip for that port, showing its name, type, description, and flags.
• Hovering the mouse over a port's connection information (“This port input is being provided by…”) displays the tooltip for the functor and output port to which the input port being edited is connected.

• The progress bar shown in the lower-left corner of the interface during model execution has an additional function: hovering the mouse over it displays a tooltip with information about the execution, including which task each “worker” is performing. This tooltip keeps updating with the current execution status as long as the mouse pointer remains within it.

• Hovering the mouse over a name such as i1, t1, v1, etc. in the editor of the port containing the expression displays the tooltip for the functor and output port to which the corresponding NumberMap, NumberTable, or NumberValue is connected.
• Clicking a name such as i1, t1, v1, etc. in the editor of the port containing the expression inserts the corresponding identifier at the current cursor position in the expression.
• If the functor connected to the NumberMap, NumberTable, or NumberValue has an alias associated with it, that alias is used to represent the corresponding variable (i1, t1, v1, etc.) in the expression shown by the editor, making it easier to read.

• The Issue Panel also retains the most recent errors and warnings generated during model execution. To view them, keep the “Also show last execution issues” toggle enabled.