The create view dialog box has two modes; a cartesian mode and a polar mode, as shown in figure 4.1, with cartesian on the left, and polar on the right:

Cartesian mode	Polar mode

Figure 4.1: Two create view dialog boxes

The create view dialog box contains the following elements:

• two graph radio buttons,
• a domain and a range pop-up menu,
• four bound edit boxes,
• a Cancel button, and
• a Create button.

Cartesian and Polar radio buttons

The Cartesian and Polar radio buttons are for changing the coordinate system used for plotting. They are in the upper left area of the create view dialog box. GrafEq sets the mode to Polar if r or q are present in the constraint specification; otherwise, GrafEq sets the mode to Cartesian. The mode can be changed by clicking on the other radio button or on its name.

Hint: If x and/or y, as well as r and/or q, is used in a relation specification, GrafEq sets the mode to Cartesian.

Domain and range pop-up menus

A variable pop-up menu is adjacent to each of the domain and range axes. They are for specifying the variables used for each axis of the new view. In the Cartesian mode, the variables default to x and y; in the Polar mode, they default to r and q. For a graph specified in variables other than x and y, or r and q, the variables can be changed by clicking on the respective pop-up menu to bring up the menu of available variables, and then selecting a new variable from the menu.

Bound edit boxes

Two sets of upper and lower bound edit boxes are adjacent to each of the domain and range variable axes. They are for specifying the bounds of the graph. In Cartesian mode, the default bounds are -10 to 10 for both x and y; in Polar mode, the default bounds are 0 to 10 for r, and 0 to 6.28 for q. Any of the bounds can be changed by first clicking inside their respective edit boxes, and then editing the values.

Hint: Instead of the mouse, the tab key or the arrow keys can be used to move among the edit boxes.

Create button

The Create button is in the center left area of the create view dialog box. It can be used in one of the following two ways:

• Simply click on the Create button and the following will happen:
  1. The create view dialog box will close.
  2. A view window, as specified in the create view dialog box, will open.
  3. Plotting of all active relations of the current graph will commence in the new view.
• While holding down the option key, click on the Create button and the following will happen:
  1. The create view dialog box will close.
  2. The view options dialog box, which provides additional options and controls, will appear. More details are described in the next section.

Cancel button

The Cancel button is for aborting the creation of a new graph view. It is in the bottom left area of the create view dialog box. Clicking on it will simply close the create view dialog box without creating a new view.

View Options Dialog Box

Figure 4.2: A view options dialog box

The view option dialog box contains the following elements:

• a Start Graphing Immediately checkbox,
• a Colour View checkbox,
• a View Size pop-up menu and arrow buttons,
• a Cancel button, and
• a Create button.

The elements of the view option dialog box are explained as follows:

Start Graphing Immediately checkbox

The Start Graphing Immediately checkbox is for controlling whether GrafEq starts plotting immediately after the graph view is created (by automatically selecting the Graph checkbox in the view window’s paramter bar), or waits until the Graph checkbox in the view window’s parameter bar is selected to start plotting. This option can be useful for presentation purposes. Clicking on the checkbox toggles between the selected and unselected states.

Colour View checkbox

The Colour View checkbox is for choosing between a colour view or a black-and-white view. The black and white option is useful for printing to a black-and-white printer. Clicking on the checkbox toggles between the selected and unselected states.

Hint: The black and white option is also useful for exporting to another application, such as a word processor, for further processing and subsequent black-and-white printing.

View Size pop-up menu and arrow buttons

The View Size pop-up menu and arrow buttons are for changing the size of the graph view on the monitor. GrafEq determines the default view size according to the size of the monitor used. The size can be changed in two ways:

• Click on the View Size pop-up to bring up a menu of available sizes, and then select a size from the menu.
• Click on the up arrow button to ascend (or the down arrow button to descend) through the list of available sizes.

Hint: View dimensions are measured in pixels. For high resolution display or printouts, select large values from the View Size pop-up menu to achieve best results.

Cancel button

This Cancel button is the same as the one in the create view dialog box. It is for aborting the creation of a new graph view. Clicking on it will simply close the view options dialog box without creating a new view.

Create button

The Create button is for setting off the following sequence of events:

1. The view options dialog box will close.
2. A new graph view, in accordance with the specifications given in the create view and view options dialog boxes, will be created.
3. If the Start Graphing Immediately checkbox was selected, plotting of all active relations of the current graph will commence; otherwise, GrafEq will wait until the Graph checkbox in the view window’s parameter bar is selected before plotting is started.

Conclusion

• Both the create view dialog box and the view options dialog box are modal; they must be finished with and closed before other GrafEq windows or features can be accessed. Pressing the Cancel button closes the box. Pressing the Create button removes the box and also creates a new view window, as explained earlier.
• If the create view dialog box is brought up by pressing the return key from an algebraic relation window, the relation specification is completed: the algebraic window collapses to display just the title bar, parameter bar and constraint field(s) - prompts, the blinking cursor, the keystrokes field, and the easy button floating window will all disappear.

Navigation Options jump up to the Table of Contents go back to The Structural Relation Window review The Create View and View Options Dialog Boxes continue on to The View Window send us email