05.1 Displaying panels
The main controls for RedShift are located in on-screen panels. By default, when you start RedShift, the control panels are arranged in one group with the most frequently used controls available. You may find it easier to master these controls before progressing to the full control set.
In all, there are six panels, divided into two groups:
Settings
  • Time (sets any time and date for observation between 4600 BC and 9999 AD)
  • Location (sets location for observing anywhere on Earth, on another planet or moon, or in space, anywhere within 9999 astronomical units of the solar system)
  • Aim (directs your view towards an object or specified co-ordinates)
    Activities
  • Control Time (runs time forward and back in pre-set increments)
  • Track Aim (tracks aim relative to the horizon, the sky or an object)
  • Control (switches the step forward and back control between position, distance, direction and zoom)

    Each of these controls are described in detail in later chapters.

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    You can control which panels are displayed using the show/hide buttons in the Settings and Activities panel headers. Close panels you are not using to see more of the sky. Headers and panels can also be opened from the Windows menu.
    05.2 Positioning the control panels
    You can change where the panels are displayed in the sky window. In the header of the Settings panel, click the panels button to open a pop-up menu.
    The top three items in the panels menu configure the panels as floating (draggable) panels in the sky window (the three floating configurations are: both groups of panels float independently, adjacent to each other or as a single column).

    The bottom three items in the panels menu dock the panels at the side of the sky window (the three docked configurations are: both groups on opposite sides of the window, adjacent to each other on the left of the window or as a single column).

    05.3 Buttons, menus and fields
    Control panels are operated using a combination of buttons, menus and fields for entering data.

  • On/off buttons: on/off buttons are used to switch settings and controls between two states. When an on/off button is depressed (set) a particular setting is applied (for example the lock view button in the Aim panel ). Un-setting the button cancels the setting. On/off buttons are also used to re-size panels to show/hide additional controls.
  • Start/stop buttons: start/stop buttons are used to start and stop a process (for example start and stop time running forwards in pre-selected increments in the Control Time panel)
  • The Location and Track Aim panels contain buttons which open sub-panels. The Location, Observer sub-panel lets you select a new location by dragging a ball and stick to select a new location. The Track Aim, Illustration sub-panel displays an animation which explains the current location and track aim mode.

    Some button functions are duplicated in other places. For example, aim can be locked using the button in the Aim panel, from the Control menu, in the Find dialog, in an Object Info window, or in the Track aim control panel. The button reflects whether aim is locked or not, regardless of which control was used last.

    Menus
    Some buttons open pop-up menus. Pop-up menus are indicated by a down arrow button at the right of the associated box. The menu contains frequently used items that you are likely to want to use in the associated box.

    For example, the pop-up for the location body field offers you all the planets of the solar system, and major moons, asteroids and comets.

    Click a button with a down arrow to open a menu. Some menus contain sub menus. Click an item in a menu to select it.

    Boxes and Fields

    Current settings (which may be text or numeric values) are displayed in boxes. All boxes have associated pop-up menus. Settings values can be changed by clicking an item in the associated pop-up menu. Some boxes (such as the date and time boxes in the Time panel) contain fields which can be edited. Each value in the box operates as a separate field (e.g. - hours, minutes and seconds). Click a value in a field to highlight it. Use the keyboard to enter new values. In the date, time, Lon/Lat, height, co-ordinates, base plane and zoom boxes, press return/enter to apply the new values immediately. Otherwise the new values will be applied when some other change is applied to the sky window. New values in the step boxes (in the Activities panels) are automatically applied when the associated controls are next used.

    Tip
    Use tab to step through the editable data/fields in a panel.
    Press the first letter of a unit's name in a units fields to change units (for example press the letter d to change the step units to days. This also applies to AD and BC in the date field.

    Resize buttons

    The Location, View, and Activity panels include a Resize button, which changes the area of the panels, revealing or hiding several elements of the interface.

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