Notification Window

The Notification Window tracks and displays a variety of information regarding the current state of the design process. Messages are displayed in order of arrival, with the latest message at the top. Also at the top of the notification window is the Command Line where users can active and process tools.

The notification window is a Docking Window. Docking windows are easy to position, resize and can be pinned or unpinned. In the Basic Workspace Layout (default layout) the notification window is docked to the bottom of the screen and is pinned. In the image below the notification window us shown in the floating mode.

ssNotification ssLayoutBasic

Type	Format	Purpose
Option	ACTION: OPTION	Displays information on how to activate special options in the currently Active Tool. OPTION is the name of the choice, and ACTION is the key or mouse action used to activate the choice. These messages can be turned on or off in the Settings Dialog.
Instruction	[INSTRUCTION]	When a tool is expecting user input, it uses these messages to explain precisely what action is necessary in order to continue.
Action	VERTEX = (0,1,2)	When a tool completes an action of interest, it relates this information back to the user.
Activate / Deactivate	Tool Name Activated Tool Name Deactivated	These messages occur when a tool is activated or deactivated. These also show when Stackable Tools are being used. These messages can be turned on or off in the Settings Dialog.
Warning	Warning! "I" before "E" EXCEPT after "C".	A tool uses these messages to notify the user that input and actions may not have the desired result, or if there exists a potential for error.
Error	ERROR! "Ain't" ain't a word.	This mechanism notifies the user when a problem has occurred in the system, either through incorrect input or an internal error.

Command Line / Prompt / Console:

One of our new features in hsCADCreator is the command line also known as the prompt or console. This is a place for users to enter commands and run functions, often without using the mouse or property tree.

Activating the Command Line:

In order to type command in to the command line, the field needs to be active, or focused on. To gain this focus the user can either click inside the command line field, or press the " ~ " (Tilde) or " ` " (Acute) key (located next to the number 1 key and above the tab key). This is very useful for entering input while drawing. Typically users have their right hand on the mouse and their left hand on the keyboard. When you are using a tool, primarily using the mouse, but want to switch to inputting data, simply push the " ` " key and then type in what is wanted.

Using the Command Line:

Simply type in the command you want to process and press enter. Each tool's command keyword is listed each on tool's documentation page.

Notice that as you begin typing a command all the commands that begin with what you have typed so far. For instance typing "li" will bring up line, linear_array, etc.

Here is an example of the command line process:

From the default "Command:" prompt. I type in "line" and press Enter. This activates the line tool in the same way as if I clicked the Line Tool button on the Entity Toolbar.

The command prompt text has changed to "Start Point:", and now I can type the coordinates for the line's start point directly into the console, the values of X, Y, Z separated by commas. I type: "5,13,0" and press Enter.
Note: I could type "5,13" and achieve the same affect. If you do not put all the values it will assume 0 for them.
Note: If the the coordinates you specified are in the drawing screen, after submitting them, as with using the mouse or property tree, a cursor target overlay will be temporarily placed at the specified location.

2.	Now the command prompt says, "Next Point:", so I type "2, 6" (Leaving out the Z values as I noted was possible in the last step) and press enter. Now that we have specified the start and end points the line will appear completed on the drawing.

The command line process is useful for quickly moving through tools and their steps. The act of only typing is faster and more precise than having to move your hand back and forth between the mouse and keyboard.

Fortunately, for those who do not like the command line, hsCADCreator was not built around it and in fact is rather easy to use without it. For instance the ability to snap to the grid and different locations on entities assists in using the mouse to draw with precision.