All canvas items have a context menu, which allow a variety of
operations to be applied to the canvas item. Common context menu items
are explained here:
- Help
- bring up context specific help for the item
- Description
- Attach an annotation to the item. This is only
visible by selecting the description item from the context menu,
although whatever is set as the ``Short Description'' will also appear
as a tooltip whenever the mouse hovers over the item.
- Port values
- When running a simulation, you can drill down into
the actual values at the input and output ports of the variable or
operation, which is a useful aid for debugging models.
- Edit
- set or query various attributes of an item. This function
can also be accessed by double clicking on the item. (Plot widgets
behave slightly differently).
- Copy
- Creates a copy of an item, retaining the same attributes
of the original. This is very useful for creating copies of the same
variable to reduce the amount of overlapping wiring (aka ``rats nest")
in a model.
- Flip
- actually rotates an object through
. You can
specify aribtrary rotations of objects through the edit menu.
- Raise/Lower
- Raise and lower the canvas items relative to each
other. You may need to do this if a large item such as a Godley table
or plot is obscuring a wire, making it hard to access the wire's
context menu or handles,
- Browse object
- gives a low level drilldown of the internal C++
object this canvas item represents. It is perhaps more of interest to
developers.
- Delete
- delete the object.
Item specific context menu items:
- variables, parameters and constants
-
- Slider
- add a slider control to a variable. This is most
effective for controlling parameters and constants, but can also be
used to control inputless variables.
- Add integral
- attach an integration operation, and convert the
variable into an integral type
- integrals
-
- Copy Var
- copy just the integration variable, not the
integration operation
- Toggle Var Binding
- Normally, integrals are tightly bound to their
variables. By toggling the binding, the integral icon can then be
moved independently of the variable it is bound to.
- Godley tables
-
- Open Godley Table
- opens a spreadsheet to allow financial flows
defining the Godley table to be entered or modified.
- Resize Godley Table
- allows the icon to be resized.
- Edit/Copy var
- allows individual stock and flow variables to be
copied or edited.
- Export to file
- export table contents as either CSV data, or as a LaTeX
table, for import into other software.
- Groups
-
- Zoom to Display
- Zoom the canvas sufficiently to see the
contents of the group.
- Resize
- Resize the group icon on the canvas.
- Save group as
- Save the group in it's own Minsky file.
- Flip contents
- Rotate each item within the group by 180
- Ungroup
- Ungroup the group, leaving it's contents as icons on
the canvas.
- contentBounds
- Draws a box on the canvas indicating the smallest
bounding box containing the group items.
- Plot Widgets
-
- Expand
- By double-clicking, or selecting ``Expand'' from the context menu, a
popup window is created of the plot, which can be used examine the
plotting in more detail.
- Resize
- Allows you to resize the plot icon on the canvas
- Options
- Customize the plot by adding a title, axes labels and
control the number of axis ticks and grid lines on the detailed
plot. You can also add a legend, which is populated from the names
of variables attached to the plot.
Russell Standish
2017-01-05