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National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Document Revision 6.0
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2. FXC Architectural
Overview
2.1 FXC Operating Modes
2.2 Input Devices
2.2.1 Keyboard Functions
2.2.2 Mouse Functions
3.2 Main Tool Bar
3.2.1 Server
3.2.2 Collaborate
4.1 Using
the Slide Show Functions
4.1.1 The Slide Show Dialog Box
4.1.2 Creating Custom Templates (Advanced Feature)
4.2 Using the Procedure Functions
5. Creating a Briefing
5.1 Your first slide show
5.2 Spruce up your slide show
5.3 Add a slide of an annotated weather display
5.4 Insert a D2D display into your slide show
5.5 Need a very custom slide (existing templates won't do)?
5.6 Let's rearrange the slides in our presentation
5.7 Showing real-time data and text slides
5.8 Changing a template
5.9 Adding editable fields into your HTML template
5.10 Automating a slide briefing
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FXC Data Sources |
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Initial State of the FXC User Interface |
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File Pull-Down Menu |
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FXC Procedure Dialog Box |
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FXC Slide Show Dialog Box |
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View Pull-Down Menu |
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Options Pull-Down Menu |
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Display Properties Submenu |
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Area Submenu |
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Load Mode Submenu |
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Frames Submenu |
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Character Size Submenu |
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Display Density |
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Loop Properties Dialog Box |
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Image Properties Dialog Box |
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Image Color Submenu |
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Color Table Selector |
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Color Table |
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Display Color Palette |
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Display Size Submenu |
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Toolbars Submenu |
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Display Color Palette |
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Review Clock |
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Tools Pull-Down Menu |
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FXC Text Window |
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FXC Discussion Window |
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Volume Pull-Down Menu |
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Volume Browser |
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Volume Browser with Presentation Options Menu |
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Obs Pull-Down Menu |
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NCEP/Hydro Pull-Down Menu |
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Upper Air Menu Pull-Down Menu |
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Satellite Pull-Down Menu |
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kvbx - Local Doppler Radar Pull-Down Menu |
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Radar Pull-Down Menu |
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Maps Pull-Down Menu |
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Help Menu and About FXC Window |
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Main Toolbar |
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Drawing Toolbar (Shown in the Default Horizontal Layout) |
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"Vertical" Drawing Toolbar |
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Sample Drawing |
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Pop-Up Options Menu for Manual Graphics |
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Briefing Slide Components |
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Slide Show Dialog Box |
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Select Slide Type Dialog Box |
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Editing a Slide |
This Guide provides a brief overview of the system architecture and describes the many functions available from the FXC User Interface. The system emulates the AWIPS User Interface design and takes advantage of the display generation capabilities of AWIPS. As this system is applied to the needs of various users, some customization of the Main Menu and data selectors has occurred. Slight variations will exist in Main Menu layout and content. This Guide applies generally to systems known as FX Connect, FX Collaborate, and the Briefing Tool.
FXC features include the conventional capabilities of:
FXC Clients are usually located remotely. In order for a client to connect to a server, the user selects the desired server from the FXC Menu. Once the connection is made to the server, the client has access to a large set of data stored on the AWIPS Database. Some menu items and table changes are necessary to add additional AWIPS products to the FXC menus.
The FXC Server comprises a collection of server processes: DepictableServer, ScribbleServer, ChatServer, BaselineServer, PointServer, DispatchServer, and FileMonitor. The two processes that are of particular interest are the DepictableServer and ScribbleServer. The DepictableServer is responsible for interfacing with the AWIPS Software and exporting graphic products. It must therefore be hosted on a machine that has direct access to the AWIPS Database and is able to run the AWIPS 5.0 (or later) software. The ScribbleServer is responsible for coordinating graphical annotations among multiple users. The location of the ScribbleServer and other servers is more flexible and it is anticipated that in the future, FXC may actually reassign these server processes automatically if the hosts fail. During a collaborative session each server communicates with the clients independently, i.e., it does not broadcast the data to all clients. As a result, some degradation in performance may occur when a large number of clients are connected for a collaborative session.
Although the AWIPS Database is the primary and most extensive source of data, FXC can also obtain data (in image form) from Web servers and integrate data from other sources. The local data integration capability is restricted at this time to display of surface data that has been stored in netCDF format. Figure 1 illustrates the different data sources available to a user.
FXC is a multi-threaded Java application. It executes on PCs running Win98, WinNT, Win2000, Windows XP, and Linux. Recommended machine attributes include 1 GHz cpu speed, 1 GB RAM, and 20 GB or larger disk. A network connection (DSL, ISDN, or Ethernet) is also necessary.
Basic display functions of zoom, pan, and unzoom are performed using the mouse. Clicking mouse button 2 will cause the display to incrementally zoom, centered on the position of the mouse cursor. One click of mouse button 1 will incrementally unzoom, with the resulting display centered on the position of the cursor when clicked. To pan a zoomed display, press and hold mouse button 2, then drag the cursor in the desired direction to shift the display. The panned display will center on the location of the mouse cursor when button 2 is released.
Displayed products may be toggled on and off by placing the mouse cursor over the desired product legend (in the lower right portion of the display) and click once with mouse button 1. To change the color of a graphic overlay or background map, place the mouse cursor on the desired product label and click once with mouse button 3 to reveal a pop-up menu with color selections. Additionally, any individual displayed product may be unloaded from the display by placing the mouse cursor over the selected product label and clicking once with button 3, revealing a pop-up menu, and selecting the "Unload" option.
Other mouse functions are toggling background maps and map legends on
and off of the display, and unzooming to 1:1. These display controls are
available in a pop-up menu which is revealed by placing the mouse cursor
anywhere in the main display window and clicking once with mouse
button 3. The resulting pop-up window offers:
Summary of mouse button functions:
NOTE: | Unzoom is disabled with any editable graphic (Baselines, Points, Drawing Tools) in the display. Toggle the editable graphic to uneditable to unzoom. |
NOTE
Since the menus vary with location and application, the menus shown in the examples may differ somewhat from the ones on your system.
To move a baseline, first note if the product label indicates "editable" mode, i.e., "Interactive Baselines (editable)." If the word "editable" is not visible, click once with mouse button 2 with the cursor on the product label to toggle the baselines to "editable". Now to move a baseline, place the tip of the mouse cursor on the baseline and click once with mouse button 1. The shape of the cursor will change from an arrow to a hand when the baseline is successfully grabbed. Then relocate the cursor to the desired location of the baseline and click once again with button 1.
To move a vertex of the baseline, click once with mouse button 1 with the tip of the arrow cursor on the end of the baseline to be moved. The cursor shape will change to a cross-hair when successfully grabbed. Then click once more in the desired new location for the baseline end point.
Note: | To move an editable object (baseline, point, manual graphics glyph/symbol), click once to grab the object; then move the mouse to the desired location for the object, and click again to place it there. |
Manipulation of editable points is the same as that for baselines. Make sure the product label indicates "editable", place the tip of the mouse cursor over the point to be moved, and click once with mouse button 1. The shape of the cursor will change from a left-slant arrow to a hand. Move the cursor to the desired location and click once again with mouse button 1.
Figure 29. Volume Browser with Presentation Options Menu
Figure 34. kxxx - Local Doppler Radar Pull-Down Menu |
Figure 35. Radar Pull-Down Menu |
This sets the collaborative mode. All collaboration participants (FXC Clients) must be connected to the same FXC Server to utilize Collaborative Mode. Most of the actions by the user are shared with the remote collaborators. For example, a user can load an image, overlay model data, zoom in on a specific area, and then start an animation and have all of these actions performed on the other FXC Clients who have also enabled collaboration while connected to the same server. A key collaborative feature is the ability to annotate and draw onto any product displayed on the screen. Actions that are not currently shared include changing color enhancements, adjusting image intensity, and overlaying additional map backgrounds. Some of these may be added in the future. Also, with FXC set to Collaborate mode, a "chat room" capability (labeled "Discussion"on the Tools Menu) is available that allows users to exchange textual messages and determine who is participating in the collaboration session.
The speed and direction of the wind barb can be changed after it has been drawn. To change the speed click on the wind barb with mouse button 3 and select "speed" from the pop-up menu. To change the orientation of the wind barb select the "Move Glyph" from the drawing tool bar and click on the end of the wind barb with button 1. Rotate the wind barb to the desired direction and click button 1 a second time. To change the location of the wind barb follow the same basic procedure except click on the shaft of the wind barb.
Figure 41. Sample Drawing
Some adjustments may be made to elements of a manual graphic after they have been drawn by selecting the desired element, placing the tip of the mouse cursor on the element (glyph, annotation, line, etc.), and clicking once with mouse button 3. A pop-up menu will present options for changing the element, as shown in Figure 42.
Alternatively, the elements can also be moved, duplicated, or edited (i.e., line and shape modification) using the buttons on the drawing tool bar.
The manual graphic can be saved as a JPEG for incorporation into a document or sent directly to a Web server for display in a Web page (firewall permitting). If sent to a Web server it can be used for real-time coordination of weather events between the user and any external consumer that has access to a Web browser.
Figure 43. Briefing Slide Components
Another commonly used tools is a slide show that allows the forecaster to create a series of slides that can include AWIPS Displays, special purpose text slides and weather products downloaded from an internet server. Figure 43 illustrates the components of a briefing slide. The background image can be any JPEG, GIF, PNG, or even the current FXC display. The text component is an html overlay. Slide shows are created on FXC and are custom made for each weather briefing. They are played back using the FXC slide show capability.
Text Overlay - The basic text and layout is obtained from existing html template files. After selecting this option, click on the Create Slide Menu Button. The Template Dialog Box will appear and guide you through directories and files of pre-made text templates. Once you have choosen a template, click on the Open selector to display the text slide. The slide can be alterted by selecting Edit Text... (or pressing CTL-E with keyboard focus on the slide) which will display a popup menu with the editable fields. Refer to Subsection 5.8 for more information on how to create custom template files.
Image Background - This will create an image background of whatever is displayed on the FXC Screen. This could be anything "captured" from D2D, generated on the FXC Display, or an image or background file that you obtain via the Load GIF/JPEG/PNG... option from the File Pull-Down Menu. Click on the Create Slide Menu Button to create a new background slide. Note, background slides can be used to display meteorological data, such as radar or satellite images. These slides contain an empty text overlay.
Single-Frame Slide - This check box allows you to capture all or only one frame of a multi-frame loop of data. For example, if you load 12 frames of the ETA model family, but you only want to capture the 36-hour forecast, just step to that frame and then click on the Create Slide Menu Button. Vice versa, if you want to capture all of the forecasts disable the Single Frame Slide and click on the Create Slide Menu Button. Note: In order to view the frame animation the "Animate" button must be enabled.
Replace - This button is very powerful since it allows a user to replace any component of an existing slide, even if the component is empty. To replace the background image, first highlight the background image component for the desired slide, load the new background, and then select the Replace menu button. This will replace the background (only) for that slide. To replace the text overlay, first highlight the text component and then click on Replace. This will pop up a menu with the available text templates that can be used
Remove - To delete a slide, select the desired slide and click on the Remove Menu Button. This function can also be used to delete a slide component, i.e. text overlay or background image, by highlighting that component of the slide.
Edit Text... - This button will be enabled for any slide that contains editable text. To edit a slide select this button and modify the appropriate editable fields in the template. Note, the user may also use the shortcut CTL-E (with the keyboard focus on the display) to pop up the corresponding text template.
Move Up/Move Down - To rearrange the order of the slides in your slide show, use the Move Up/Move Down Menu Buttons.
Auto-load - Allows the user to automatically step to the next slide after a predefined delay. The Auto-load function will repeat the slide show, starting with the first slide after the last slide has been displayed.
Set Dwell Time - The time shown in the small window is the delay for the particular slide selected in the slide show dialog window. The delay for that slide can be modified by changing the value in the window.
Show Line Cursor - For some applications it is desirable to be able to show a horizontal line below a line of text that is being discussed. The horizontal line can be moved with the mouse by selecting the Move Glyph in the drawing toolbar.
Note
When transitioning from one slide to the next, the default background (black) is momentarily seen. If this is undesirable, change the background to white by selecting Options>Change Display Colors and restarting the application.
Perhaps you need to move some slides ahead of others and replace the very last slide with a new one.
The @@ symbols are used to delimit fields that are to be editable from the menu. These fields will be displayed when selecting "Edit Text..." in the slide show menu. The following editable fields are supported by the Briefing Tool (FXC).
The template files are found in /awips/fxa/FXC/fsl/data/templates/[Western|Eastern]Range/.
Let's insert our slide show into a procedure, and then let the system automatically step through the slides and real-time data displays.
FXC User's Guide Web versions created and maintained by: John
Osborn
Current Web Version Updated 6 April 2005 |
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