[Historical Document]

Getting Started

Table of Contents

Conventions
Launching DataSplash with a Tour Demo or Working Canvas
Studio Window Description
Creating a Working Canvas
Saving a Canvas to Stop at Anytime
Closing a Studio Window and Exiting DataSplash

1. Conventions

Tour documents are divided into sections that are numbered and given descriptive headings. Demonstration instructions appear in tables which have two or three columns per row:

1. The step number appears in the first column. Some steps may also include an icon of the tool this step teaches, e.g., a picture of a button.
2. The action explanation, instruction, and result are broken out into three different rows within the second column.
3. A screen shot of the result of the action may appear in the third column (optional).

Sample demonstration instruction table

GeXX

A brief description of the concept being taught goes here, as well as instructions about what to look for on the screen. An instruction (e.g., click the foo button) goes here. A description of the screen which results from your following the instruction goes here.

DataSplash uses only the left (primary) mouse button, hereafter referred to as the "mouse button." The following definitions about the use of the mouse are used throughout the tours:

• Click: press and release the mouse button quickly (single click).
• Push: press and hold down the mouse button. A subsequent instruction will tell you when to release the mouse button.
• Drag: move the mouse while holding down the mouse button. A subsequent instruction will tell you when to release the mouse button.

The following terminology is used to describe objects being rendered:

• Solid: Objects are normally rendered as solid objects.
• Wireframed: In certain situations, objects are rendered as a thin outline of their solid form (no fill is shown for these objects and their outline is shown at half width).

2. Launching DataSplash with a Tour Demo or Working Canvas

With the exception of the Canvas Tour, you may begin any tour by loading a pre-constructed canvas. You can either start with a canvas which we supply, or you can start with a canvas which you have created by following previous tours.

In your UNIX environment, do the following:

Further actions are performed in the DataSplash environment. DataSplash uses Postgres95 as its database management system. In Postgres95, tables and visualizations are grouped together in "databases" (you can think of these as directories). When you start DataSplash, you must first select a database. Then you can select a visualization within that database.

Select a database and open a canvas

Ge03	Open Canvas. The Open Canvas button is the second button from the left on the main menu. Click the Open Canvas button on the main menu. If you have not yet selected a database (for example, if you have just started running DataSplash), you should see the Open Database dialog. If you have already selected a database (perhaps for a previous visualization), the Open Canvas dialog will appear. Go to step Ge05. If you see a dialog with the message "Database Connection Error", you probably don't have your PGHOST environment variable set correctly.
Ge04	Select a database. Select the "datasplash_demo" database and click the OK button. You should see the Open Canvas dialog.
Ge05	Select an existing DataSplash canvas. Either select canvas_<login><date> name or select one of the following demo canvas names: Layer Tour: layer_demo Trim Tour: trim_demo Splash Tour: splash_demo Link Tour: link_demo Save Tour: save_demo Click the OK button. Depending on your database server, there may be a considerable delay. Eventually you should see a window with the canvas name appearing as the title of the window.

3. Studio Window Description

Several DataSplash components are used to edit or navigate in a visualization. These components are grouped together in a window called a studio. A new studio is created each time you open a canvas.

• Canvas: The canvas displays the current visualization. You can pan and zoom in the canvas, as well as create and edit objects in the canvas. The canvas is the large square area on the left side of the studio.
• Toolbar: The toolbar contains icon buttons which you can use to edit objects and navigate in the canvas. The toolbar icons occupy two rows at the top of the studio.
• Layer Manager: The layer manager lets you graphically program different layers in the canvas. The layer manager occupies a sky blue square area in the upper right of the studio.
• Data Manager: The data manager displays the current data set (table). It occupies a gray square area in the lower right of the studio.

4. Creating a Working Canvas

At this point you may want to save the demo canvas as a different name. That way, you can work on the new copy of the demo canvas and keep the original demo canvas for future use. In this section you will copy a canvas by using Save As mode to save a copy under a new name.

Save a canvas under a new name

Ge06	Save As mode. The Save As button is located in the second row of the toolbar in the upper left corner of the studio. The button icon is a floppy disk with the word "As" on it. Click the Save As button on the toolbar. The Save As button should be depressed, the layer bars in the layer manager should be darkened, and objects in the canvas should be wireframed.
Ge07	Bring up the Save As Canvas dialog. You invoke this dialog using a button above the canvas that spans the entire width of the canvas. Click on the wide Save Canvas button. The Canvas Save As dialog should appear. It contains a text box for entering a new canvas name.
Ge08	Enter your working canvas name. Enter a name in the text box (we suggest canvas_<login><date>, e.g., "canvas_mts0109") for your working canvas. Click the OK button. The studio window title should display the new name you entered. All your changes will be saved to this new canvas name. From now on, we will refer to this name as canvas_<login><date>.
Ge09	Rename all layers. The previous instruction only renamed the canvas. In this step, you will rename all the layers and save them as well. (Layers with the same name are shared between canvases, so it is necessary to rename the layers if you do not wish your changes to appear in the original demo). Click on the wide Rename And Save All Layers button above the layer manager. Click the OK button in the subsequent warning dialog. Nothing will appear different at this point. However, in the next step you should notice that the layer name above the layer manager has changed to reflect the new canvas name.
Ge10	Leave Save As mode. You can leave this mode by selecting any other mode. If you do not yet know which mode you would like to be in, we suggest Click Pan. The Click Pan toolbar button has a white arrow pointing upward to the left in addition to a white cross. Click the Click Pan button on the toolbar. The Click Pan button should be depressed. Now you can pan in your visualization.

5. Saving a Canvas to Stop at Anytime

To stop at any point in a tour, save your working canvas using the following instructions and exit DataSplash (see Section 6).

Save a canvas

Ge11	Enter Save mode. Before you do this, you may want to verify you are not modifying one of the demo canvases. (If so, see Section 4 to save your work in a new canvas rather than overwriting the demo canvas). The Save button is located in the upper left corner of the studio. The button icon is a floppy disk with no writing on it. Click the Save button on the toobar. The Save button should be depressed. Any component of DataSplash which has been modified will be a bright pink color.
Ge12	Save all changes using the button bar above the canvas that spans the entire width of the canvas. (Note, this is the same button you used in Save As mode, but pressing this button in Save mode does not bring up a dialog. Pressing the button bar immediately saves all your changes.) Click on the wide Save Everything button bar. Depending on your database connection, this may take a few seconds. As components are saved, they will change from bright pink to dark burgundy.
Ge13	Change the studio mode from Save As to Click Pan. Click the Click Pan button on the toolbar. The Click Pan button should be depressed.

You may now proceed to the next section to close your studio window and exit DataSplash. If you are stopping part way through a tour, you may want to note the step number at which you will resume.

6. Closing a Studio Window and Exiting DataSplash

You now want to close the studio window and exit DataSplash.

Close the studio window and exit DataSplash

Ge14	Close the studio window. The Close Studio button is on the right edge of the toolbar. Click the Close Studio button on the toolbar. If a dialog appears asking if you are sure you want to close this window, click the Yes button to discard your changes. Otherwise click the No button and proceed to Section 5. The studio window should disappear.
Ge15	Exit DataSplash. Pull down the File menu from the main menu and select "Exit". The DataSplash Main toolbar should disappear.