OtfSolutionOverview
Introduction
Whereas the Solution Explorer provides the detail view and management of an OTX solution, the Overview page gives the overall view and management of an OTX solution.
To access the Overview page, you can right click on the Solution node (or a Project node or a Package node or a Procedure node) in the Solution Explorer and select the context menu "Overview". The Overview page will be opened and focus at the corresponding node.
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| The Overview page gives the overall view and management of an OTX solution in simple layout |
Functions of the Overview
Changing the Display Layouts
An OTX solution can be presented in the Overview page with one of the following 3 layouts:
- Mind Map: The solution node is displayed at the center with the surrounding projects.
- Diagram left to right: The solution node is displayed at the left most with the child nodes spreading both upward and downward to the right.
- Diagram top to bottom: The solution node is displayed at the top left with the child nodes spreading downward to the right.
To change the layout, you need to right click on the white empty space in the Overview page and select one of the 3 layouts above in the context menu "Layout".
Zooming and Element Filter
You can easily zoom in or out on the Overview page by holding the CTRL key and scroll the mouse. The allowed range of zoom scale is from 10% to 400%. You can also use the "Zoom Slider" in the Status Bar to zoom in and out, or use the "Reset zoom factor" button in the bar to set the zoom of the page back to 100%. The "Reset zoom factor" button can also be found in the "Display" tab of the Ribbon Menu. Here in the same tab of the Ribbon, in the "Designer Appearance" section, you can select a level to filter the displayed elements e.g. the 'Packages' level displays from the Solution node to the Package nodes, the Document nodes and all their child nodes are filtered out.
You can use the Overview tool window to navigate the visible display area in case your solution is large (click here for more information). In this tool window, you can drag the rectangle outline across the overview picture to move the current view to the expected position.
Managing elements in the page
In the Overview page, you can use the same context menus with the Solution node (or a Project node or a Package node or a Procedure node or a Monitor node or a Control node) as in the Solution Explorer.
Please note that when you select a node in the Overview page, the corresponding node will be selected in the Solution Explorer too and vice versa. Because you are selecting the same node in the Solution Explorer, you can use the same context menu with that node as in the explorer.
Besides that the context menus are the same as in the Solution Explorer, some nodes in the Overview page have the specific context menus as below:
| Node | Context menu | Description |
| Solution | Expand all | Expands all the child nodes of all levels. |
| Solution | Expand all projects | Expands all the Project nodes to show all the first level Package nodes but it does not expand the first level Package nodes or their child nodes if they are collapsed. |
| Solution | Collapse all projects | Collapses all the Project nodes, only displays the Solution node and the Project nodes. |
| Project | Expand all packages | Expands all the Packages nodes of the current Project node to show all the Document nodes but it does not expand the Document nodes or their child nodes if they are collapsed. |
| Project | Collapse all packages | Collapses all the Package nodes of the current Project node, only displays the first level Package nodes. |
| Document | Expand all procedures | Expands all the Document nodes of the current Package node to show all the Procedure nodes but it does not expand the Procedure nodes or their child nodes if they are collapsed. |
| Document | Collapse all procedures | Collapses all the Document nodes of the current Package node, only displays the Document nodes. |
| ProcedureCall | Display called Procedure |
Opens the procedure tab of the procedure called by the current ProcedureCall. |
| ProcedureCall | Display ProcedureCall |
Opens the procedure tab containing the current ProcedureCall. |
Handling with mouse
Besides that you can use the context menus to expand or collapse nodes in the Overview page, you can simply click on the "Expand" [ + ] or "Collapse" [ - ] icon at the right side of each node in the page. Double-clicking on a Project node or a Package node or a Monitor node will also expand or collapse that node. Double-clicking on a Document node will open the OTL editor of that Document. Double-clicking at a Procedure node will open the procedure tab. About the ProcedureCall nodes, please view the tooltip icons at the context menus of the ProcedureCall node above.
If you select a child node of a node which is collapsed in the Solution Explorer, the collapsed parent node in the explorer will be automatically expanded to display the selected child node, and vice versa in case selecting node in the explorer.
Handling with keys
As mentioned above, when you select the node in the Overview page, you are selecting the same node in the Solution Explorer and vice versa. Therefore, you can use the same keys with the node as you do in the explorer such as CTRL + C (Copy), CTRL + X (Cut), CTRL + V (Paste), DEL (Delete) or F2 (Rename).
Other tips
When you select a child node, you can see that the line from the solution node to the current child node will be bolded, which helps you to trace the parent nodes easily. Besides, there are thin blue lines between the referred Project nodes / imported Document nodes / called Procedure nodes (with round icon at the end of the line) and the referring Project nodes / importing Document nodes / calling ProcedureCall nodes (with no round icon at the end of the line), which helps you to see the references clearly. When you select a ProcedureCall, the color of called Procedure node will turn violetish. If you have a Document node e.g. Document1 which imports another Document e.g. Document2, selecting Document1 node will make the Document2 node turn dark-greenish whereas selecting Document2 node will make the Document1 node turn reddish.
Capturing and printing the solution overview
Capturing the solution overview
You can capture the image of the current solution overview by using the button "Copy as Bitmap" in the "Start" tab of the Ribbon. The captured image of the overview is the same as it is presented in the OTF. Please note that the zoom of the captured image is always 100%. The image will be copied to clipboard, you can then paste the image in another application such as MS Word etc.
Printing the solution overview
You can also print the current solution overview. Please proceed as follows:
- Set the layout, expansion and collapse of the overview as you desires. The overview will be printed as it is presented.
- Press CTRL + P. It will open the "File" menu in the Ribbon, and go to the "Print" tab.
- With the "Page Setup ..." button, you can set the properties of the page and select a printer.
- Click on the "Print ..." button to print the solution overview.
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| Printing the solution overview with page preview |
