Create and Edit Annotations

Creating a Single Annotation

To create an annotation:

1. Open the Annotations menu from the Tools menu and ensure the Edit tab is selected.
2. Select one or more markers to display with the annotation by clicking Select markers… and using the Object Menu to select entities to attach markers to.
3. Enter an optional annotation title in the title box. If no title is entered, the “<Enter annotation title>” text will be removed and the title field will be blank for the annotation.
4. Enter an optional description in the description box. This is a multi-line textbox, so it can accept detailed descriptions. If no description is entered, the “<Enter annotation description>” text will be removed and the description field will be blank for the annotation.
5. Finally, click  Capture to create the annotation. This saves a settings file and properties files for the current page to a temporary directory along with storing the markers, title and description.

The new annotation will be added to the Annotation list (below the Capture button). Each annotation in this list has two further checkbox options:

1. Autoplay []
   If ticked, the annotation will be automatically animated when reloaded
2. Export as animation []
   If ticked, if the list of annotations is exported to D3PLOT Viewer, the annotation will be exported as an animation rather than a single frame

The annotation list can be displayed in four different modes, selected by using the icons above the list:

1. List mode [] displays the title, Autoplay and Export as animation checkboxes
2. Thumbnail list mode [] displays a small thumbnail, the title and the Autoplay and Export as animation checkboxes
3. Small thumbnails mode [] displays the title and a small thumbnail
4. Large thumbnails mode [] displays the title and a large thumbnail

Editing an Annotation

To edit an existing annotation, first select the annotation in the Annotation list. This will show the title and description for the selected annotation in those textboxes and will highlight the markers for the selected annotation. The view on the page will not be automatically updated. To reload the annotation page view, click Reload view.

The title and description can be updated simply by editing the text in the corresponding textbox. There is no need to click anything else – the edits are automatically stored for the annotation. Likewise, the markers can be redefined by clicking  Select markers… and selecting new entities to attach markers to (the existing markers will be overwritten).

To update the page view, make any changes to what is shown in the graphics window – change the view, the data component, magnify displacements, etc. – and then click  Update view, which will save a new settings file and properties files to the temporary area.

Reordering

To reorder annotations, click  Reorder... (towards the bottom of the Annotations menu). This will bring up a new menu.

To move an annotation up or down the list, first select it in the list then use the arrow buttons at the top of the menu to move it to the top, the bottom or up or down by one place.

Once the annotations are in the order you want, return to the main Annotations Menu by clicking Dismiss.

Deleting Annotations

The selected annotation can be deleted immediately by clicking Delete (towards the bottom of the Annotations menu). There is no confirmation: the annotation is deleted immediately.

To delete all the annotations in the list, click Delete all. In this case, you will be prompted to confirm the operation before the annotations are deleted.