program interface

Different interfaces exist to use Sfere2. The most obvious are the graphical interfaces, the ones that appear on the screen. Some options can be activated using non-visible interfaces, the accelerators, or 'hot-keys' as they are sometimes called.


Graphic Interfaces



The graphical Sfere2-interface consists of four parts.

1. the pulldown menu.
A standard windows interface. By clicking the different items on this menubar sub-menus will drop down, allowing selection of commands. Throughout these support-files there are references to options in the pulldown menu. These can be recognized by the  gray rectangle  behind them. When clicked these menu references will take you to an extended explanation.

2. the toolbars.
Most buttons on the toolbars are just a shortcut to a command from the pulldown menu. Hovering the mouse cursor over a button (without clicking it) will show a ToolTip, a small rectangle displaying the name of the menu-command.
Within the toolbars are some buttons and dropdown-lists that don't appear in the pulldown menu. These can be used to change properties of selected items, more about these options later.

3. the view.
Here a graphical representation of the structure that is being build or calcultated is shown. Using this view is the easiest way of building and modifying a structure. Depending on the active command, clicking and dragging the mouse over this view will create or change the structure. Or change the way the structure is represented.

4. the main console.
This tabbed interface allows for advanced use of the program. For simple use of Sfere2 it can be switched it off (using  Tools > Toolbars > Main Console ). There are some options that are only available via the Main Console.

Each tab of the main console supplies an advanced interface to a certain part of the application.
Creation, additional interfaces for the creation of objects
Select and Modify, additional interfaces for selection and modification of objects
Materials, the main interface for material creation and modification.
Cross-sections, the main interface for cross-section creation and modification.
View, advanced view settings

The tabs switch automatically to the page most relevant to the active command.


Non-Graphic Interfaces: Accellerators


Accelerators are keyboard-stroke/mouse-click combinations that (temporarily) invoke a certain command.

Keyboard accelerators, or hot-keys, link a certain keyboard-key to a command in the pulldown menu. For instance: the default accelerator for deleting selected items ( Edit > Delete ) is the Delete-key on the keyboard.

Mouse accelerators link a certain action with the mouse (optionally combined with the keyboard Shift- and Ctrl-key) to a command. When the accellerator is used the command is temporarily activated. For instance: pressing the right mousebutton and dragging the cursor over the view will rotate the view without canceling the active command. Using these kinds of accelerators will initially seem complicated but after a few times using them they'll speed up the use of Sfere2 (hence, the name 'accelerator').