The Trade Show Manager performs two tasks within the APECS Animator. It functions as a mechanism to lock down all, or parts of, the program so that buttons and menus cannot be used accidently. The Trade Show Manager can also execute a script which directs the Animator to perform certain tasks without operator intervention.
The data contained within a Trade Show Manager can be saved in a file called a Trade Show Manager Set file.
At the top of the Trade Show Manager a row of buttons appears. These buttons allow the user to open and save Trade Show Manager Set files. They also allow for the creation, or deletion of a Trade Show Manager Set.
Open - Retrieve a previously saved
Trade Show Manager Sets file.
Save - Save the current Trade Show
Manager data to a Trade Show Manager Sets file.
New - Create a new Trade Show Manager
Set.
Delete - Delete a Trade Show
Manager Set.
Available Sets -
Available Trade Show Manager Sets will be listed in this drop-down list. A set may contain only one set of locks
and may have only one script associated with it.
The Locks Tab gives the user the ability to lock the entire program or to lock certain portions of the program.
When a functionality of the program is locked inadvertant usage of that function will not be permitted. If the entire program is locked then none of the programs functionalities will work other than the Trade Show Manager itself and the lock/unlock button found in the upper right corner of the Animator itself.
Lock/Unlock Button - To lock
and unlock the program press the Lock/Unlock button. When the button is pressed the user will be requested to
type in a password and then to repeat that password.
Thus, when the program is locked the lock icon on the button will be in a closed state. When the program is unlocked, as shown above, the lock icon on the button will be in an open state.
Lock Entire Program
- Checking this item will quickly lock the entire program without the need for highlighting all the items in the
provided list.
Lock Item by Item - To lock only certain parts of the Animator select them from this list.
The Scripts Tab permits the development of a script which can be executed by the Trade Show Manager. A script might change the Animator's time, the scene, or a layer. Other capabilities are supported as well and are described below.
The Script Toolbar
Add Row -
For the tab that is currently selected a record will be inserted into the Steps list when this button is pressed.
Remove Row
- Deletes the row that is currently selected in the Steps list.
Replace Row
- Replaces the row that is currently selected in the Steps list with the data from the currently selected tab.
Pause Tab:
Pause at time - The time at which the Animator should be paused.
Duration in mill-seconds - The duration in milli-seconds the Animator should pause.
Change Time Tab:
Change at time - The time the Animator should be change the time.
Change time to - The time to which the Animator should be changed.
Change QGF Tab:
Change QGF at time - The time the Animator should change the QGF layer file.
QGF layer visible - Turns the visibility of the QGF layer on or off.
Layer top or bottom - Instructs the Animator to draw the layer in the background or the foreground. If the layer is draw in the background then it will appear beneath the link/node structure. QGF layers drawn in the foreground will be drawn above the link/node structure. Foreground layers will be redrawn at every screen refresh, background layers are only drawn when a zoom or pan takes place.
Layer priority - The layers drawn in the background (or foreground) can be prioritized thus causing them to be drawn in a particular order.
QGF layer name - The name of the QGF layer to draw.
Remove QGF Tab:
Remove QGF at time - The time the Animator should remove the QGF layer file.
Layer top or bottom - Remove the layer from either the background or foreground.
QGF layer name - The name of the QGF layer to remove from the program's memory.
Change Scene Tab:
Change scene at time - The time the Animator should change the scene.
Scene name - The scene name.
Change Speed Tab:
Change speed at time - The time the Animator should change the scene.
Speed rate - The speed to which the Animator should be changed.
Print Screen Tab:
Print screen at time - The time the Animator should print the map graphics.
Filename - The filename to which to print the map graphics.
Filetype - The type of file which should be printed.
Run Jython Tab:
Run Jython script at time - The time the Animator should run the Jython script.
Jython script - The Jython script name to run.
Script Steps - The steps which will be executed by the Trade Show Manager.