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Controlling view and display

Changing Between 3D and Cross-Section View

To change to 3D view, press the 3D toolbar button.

To change to cross-section view, press the cross-section toolbar button.

To measure distances in the 3D environment, press the ruler button.

Controlling the 3D Environment View

With the mouse in the display area, the view may be rotated, panned, and zoomed using the mouse:

  • To pan: Right Click, Ctrl + Right Click, Alt + Left Click
  • To rotate: Ctrl + Left Click
  • To zoom: Mouse Wheel, Ctrl + Middle Click, Shift + Left Click.

To reset to a bird's eye view, click the Reset View button.

When in this bird's eye view, objects (sources and probes) may be left-clicked and dragged within the environment, and scale markers are shown along the x and y axes. Once the view is rotated, objects may no longer be dragged.

When the mouse cursor is over the display area, the info bar at the bottom of the main window gives information on the current mouse location and view state (pan, rotation, and zoom). In addition, when dragging objects in the view window, the current x and y location will be shown.

Display of Components

The visual depth scaling can be changed on the options page with the Z scale slider. Land and water colours can be altered on the preferences page.

Visibility of individual components can be turned on and off via the View menu.

Setting the Cross-Section

Before the cross-section view can be shown, the cross-section position must be set. Clicking the cross-section view toolbar button or choosing Setup cross-section from the project setup page shows the location of the cross-section in bird's eye view. Click and drag the endpoints to move the cross-section. While in this mode, pressing the number keys (1, 2, 3...) will set the start point to the location of the corresponding source, if one exists. Clicking the cross-section view toolbar button again shows the cross-section.

In cross-section view mode, a smaller overview of the project area is shown at the top right. The cross-section endpoints shown in this view may be dragged to move the location of the cross-section, which will update automatically.

Measuring Distances

Pressing the ruler toolbar button allows the user to measure distances. Click with the mouse at the location to measure from, and the cursor will begin to show the distance from that point. While in this mode, pressing the number keys (1, 2, 3...) will set the start point to the location of the corresponding source, if one exists.

Exporting the Current Scene to an Image File

An image file containing the current scene may be exported by choosing the Export the current scene as button from the Tools menu. BMP, JPG, PNG, and PDF file types may be exported. If the current scene includes calculated sound levels, then the exported image will include a scale bar showing the colour scale for levels. The exported image can also include text and an image, which are set under [Preferences → Exporting.]

Exclusion Zone Export

For the exclusion zone, you can choose to export as either ASCII grid .asc or as ESRI shapefile .shp.

Animated Exports

If you have modelled a moving source, and ticked the Moving sources retain all calculated levels box (memory intensive), then you can use this tool to generate a .gif or .avi animation of the movement of your source. This tool does a frame-by-frame animation of the track, not taking movement speed into account.

Export to Shapefile or ESRI ASCII Grid

A shapefile or ESRI ASCII grid file is exported with current levels and geo-referenced to the selected UTM zone.