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Qimera 4D Scene Toolbar


Qimera - 4D Scene Toolbar

This tool bar controls the main 4D Scene view of Qimera.  It controls how the cursor behaves in the window, visibility of certain scene components and quick ways to change view directions and the location in the scene.


View Buttons

  2D View

This button places the scene into a plan view mode.  You are viewing the scene from above and can zoom in/out or pan the view.  Left-Click and drag will pan the scene.  Moving the mouse-wheel will zoom in or out of the scene.

  3D View

This button places the scene into a turntable view mode. You are viewing the scene as if it were on a rotatable table in front of you.  Left-Click and drag in the horizontal direction will rotate the scene around the current center point.  Left-Click and drag in the vertical direction will tilt the scene.  Middle-Click on a point in the scene will change the center of rotation to that point. 


Zoom Buttons

  Zoom to Scene

This button will zoom out the current view so that all objects within the scene are viewable.

  Zoom to Object

This button will zoom the scene such that the selected objects fits the viewable area of the window. 


Cursor Mode Buttons

  Explore Mode 

This is the primary navigation mode of the 4D scene.  If you are in any other cursor mode, simply hold down the Shift key to allow standard explore mode navigation behavior.  When in explore mode, status information about the objects under the cursor will be displayed in the Status Bar.  If you are in Plan View, use a Left-Click-Drag to pan around the scene.  Use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out of the scene.  Alternatively, you can Center-Click-Drag to zoom in and out of the scene.  If you are in Turntable View, a Left-Click-Drag horizontally will spin the scene about a central point as if the scene was on, you guessed it, a turntable.  If you drag vertically, it will tilt the table toward or away from your viewpoint.  To change the center of rotation, Center-Click a different location in the scene.  This also works when in Plan View. 

Navigation Override

To navigate in the scene in any cursor mode, hold down the Shift key and follow the navigation actions listed above.

Jump Selection To New Location

An action common to every selection mode below is the ability to Jump the selection to a new location in the scene.  After you have an active selection, use ALT-Left-Click to select a new location in the scene.  Your selection center will jump to that new location and if you were doing 3D or Slice editing, the appropriate soundings will be loaded to the editor.

Selection Mode Hot Keys

The Rectangle, Free Slice, Fixed Slice and Scroll Line selection modes all share use of a set of hot keys that will be described below.  They are modeled after game controls and a future revision will allow customized remapping (for you lefties).  The key pattern is W, S, A, D, Q, E, where Forward/Back motion= W/S, Left/Right motion= A/D, and Left/Right rotation= Q/E.  The addition of the SHIFT key is also used for selections modes that have an Overview area such as Free and Fixed Slice selection mode.  See the individual mode descriptions below for more information on exactly which hot keys they support.


  Rectangular Select Mode 

This mode allows for rectangular area selections within the scene on a surface.  This selection mode can be used by the Qimera Slice Editor and Qimera 3D Editor.

The selection can be drawn with two different methods: click and drag or three click.

  • Click and Drag: This draw method allows for drawing the selection with a single mouse gesture, but limits the orientation of the initial selection to match your current scene view. To draw Left-Click and drag anywhere on the surface. While drawing with this method, holding the Ctrl key will make the selection match the surface grid cell orientation.
  • Three Click: This draw method allows for careful control of the height, width, and orientation of the rectangle. To draw, Left-Click without dragging, this will define the upper left corner of the selection. A line will be shown connecting the cursor to the first point, adjust your cursor for the desired orientation and width and Left-Click a second time to define the top edge of your selection. Further adjust your cursor for the desired height and Left-Click a third time to finalize the selection. While drawing the top edge with this method, holding the Ctrl key will make the edge match the surface grid cell orientation.

Once the rectangle has been drawn on the surface, it can be rotated or reshaped using the drag handles that appear on all sides and corners of the widget. 

  • Left-Click and drag one of the corner handles, it will resize the rectangle width and height.
  • Left-Click and drag on one of the side handles, it will resize the rectangle in the associated axis.
  • Left-Click and drag on the center handle rotates the selection rectangle.
  • Ctrl + Left-Click and drag on any handle rotates the selection rectangle. You can toggle this behavior while dragging by releasing or clicking the Ctrl key.
  • Left-Click and drag inside the rectangle but not over one of the handles allows you to move the rectangle over a surface.

To easily move the Rectangular Selection, use the W and S  keys to move forward and backwards along the direction of the arrow.  Use the A and D keys to move left and right, perpendicular to the arrow.  Use the Q and E keys to rotate the selection +/- 15 degrees. 

An example of this selection mode while Slice Editing is shown below. 

 Polygon Select Mode 

Left-Click a series of points on a series to define a selection polygon.  You must select on the initial point to close the polygon.  This selection mode can be used by the Qimera Slice Editor and Qimera 3D Editor. An example of this selection mode while Slice Editing is shown below. 

Hitting the ESC key at any point during polygon selection will remove the last polygon point created.

 Freehand Select Mode 

Left-Click and drag a shape to define a selection area.  When you release the left mouse button, the selection area will be closed automatically.  This selection mode can be used by the Qimera Slice Editor and Qimera 3D Editor. An example of this selection mode while Slice Editing is shown below. 

 Fixed Slice Mode 

The selection is made up of an Overview area and a Slice area.  The selection can be drawn with either the Click and Drag or the Three Click methods described in the Rectangular Select mode above.  The handles of the Overview portion of this selection mode behave just like the Rectangular Select mode described above.  The primary movement shortcut keys are mapped to the Slice for this selection mode.  However, the slice can only be resized and move forward or backward within the overview.  So only the W, D, Q and E keys have an effect.  To move, resize or rotate the Overview of the selection using your keyboard, simply use the shortcut keys with the addition of the SHIFT key.  This selection mode is used primarily by the Qimera Slice Editor but can be used by the Qimera 3D Editor. An example of this selection mode while Slice Editing is shown below. 

 Free Slice Mode 

The selection is made up of an Overview area and a Slice area. The selection can be drawn with either the Click and Drag or the Three Click methods described in the Rectangular Select mode above.  The handles of the Slice portion of this selection mode behave just like the Rectangular Select mode described above. The primary movement shortcut keys are mapped to the Slice for this selection mode.  The center of the Slice will always stay within the Overview when moved. To move or resize the Overview of the selection using your keyboard, simply use the shortcut keys with the addition of the SHIFT key. This selection mode is used primarily by the Qimera Slice Editor but can be used by the Qimera 3D Editor. An example of this selection mode while Slice Editing is shown below.  The inner selection can be rotated independently of the outer selection, which is the primary distinction between Free Slice and Fixed Slice modes.

  Scroll Select Mode 

Left-Click and drag a shape to define a selection area.  When using this mode, the selection area expands around your initial point.  This is done so that you can begin your scroll selection at a particular point or feature in your survey.  Left-Click to define all of the points in your line.  Define the last point using a Right-Click.  To start this mode, you can alternatively single Left-Click your starting location and Qimera will create a default selection area based on the size of your survey extents.  If you have previously defined an area using this mode, Qimera will create a selection area with the same width and height.  Similar to other selection modes, you can use the W and S keys to move forward and back along the scroll line.  As you move, the selection area will point along the general direction of the scroll line.  You can also use the Q and E keys to rotate the selection.  This adds an angular bias to the scroll selection that will be maintained as you move along the scroll line. An example of this selection mode while Slice Editing is shown below. 

Hitting the ESC key at any point during line creation will remove the last point created. 


  Geo Picking Mode

Left-Click a point on a Dynamic Surface to add a Geo location to the Qimera Geo Pick Dock.


  Profiling Mode 

Left-Click to create a series of line segments in order to see the depth profile in the Profile WindowRight-Click to end the profile.  You can also use Right-Click and drag to define a single segment profile when in any of the standard cursor modes. With the scene in plan view mode (2D), clicks can be registered off-surface, while when the scene is in turntable view mode (3D), only clicks on a surface are considered valid. Hitting the ESC key at any point during profile creation will remove the last point created. An example of a multi-segment profile is shown below.  


  Measure Mode

Left-Click a series of line segments to see total distance, line segment distance and line segment bearing. You will see the last segment 2D distance, Bearing, Line-Of-Sight Distance, Surface Distance and Z Delta displayed in the Status Bar.  As you move to a new location, a range circle will be drawn so that you can see all parts of the survey within the particular range.   With the scene in plan view mode (2D), clicks can be registered off-surface, while when the scene is in turntable view mode (3D), only clicks on a surface are considered valid. An example of a completed multi-segment measurement is shown below.  

Use the =/+  key to increase the size of the text and the - key to reduce it.  Hitting the ESC key at any point during line segment creation will remove the last point created. 


Scene Component Buttons

  Color Map

Show/Hide the color map overlay for the selected surface.



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