Updated documentation

src/lay/doc/manual/main_window.xml

@@ -7,31 +7,111 @@
   <keyword name="Main window"/>
 
   <p>
-  The main window is divided into three parts: the left panel is the
-  hierarchy browser which depicts the cell hierarchy. Cell nodes can be
-  expanded showing the child nodes. The cell selected in the cell browser
-  is shown in the center panel.
+  The main window is divided into three parts: the left area is the hierarchy browser and navigator, the 
+  center part of the canvas and the right part is the layer list with the layer toolbox.
+  The individual components can be rearranged, so the arrangement described is just the default
+  arrangement. You can move a component to a new place by dragging it with it's title bar to 
+  some other place or detach it from the main window to form a floating separate window.
   </p>
+
   <p>
-  The center panel is the actual canvas. There, the layout is drawn. Click
-  there to zoom or to draw rulers for measuring distances.
+  <img src="/manual/main_window.png"/>
   </p>
+
+  <h2>Left Part - The Hierarchy Browser and Navigator</h2>
+
   <p>
-  The right panel is showing the layer list with the layer drawing style.
-  Below a set of control panels is located. The control panels are
+  The left panel is the
+  hierarchy browser which shows the cell hierarchy and - optionally - the navigator window 
+  that shows an overview over the whole layout.
+  </p>
+
+  <p>
+  In the hierarchy browser, cell nodes can be
+  expanded showing the child nodes. The "current cell" is the one shown in the center
+  panel. It is drawn in bold font. One or multiple cells can be selected. The selected
+  cells are the ones, the various functions act on. The "context cell" is the cell which
+  is the "active cell" on which drawing happens. The context usually is the same than 
+  the current cell, but by descending into the hierarchy, the child cell of the current
+  cell can be made the context cell. It is shown in underlined font.
+  </p>
+
+  <p>
+  In the following example, "TOPTOP_BIG" is selected, "TOPTOP" is the current cell and 
+  "TOP" is the context cell:
+  </p>
+
+  <p>
+  <img src="/manual/hierarchy_panel.png"/>
+  </p>
+
+  <p>
+  The navigator is invisible by default but can be activated by checking the 
+  "Navigator" menu item in the "View" menu. The navigator shows an overview
+  image of the whole cell and a box indicating the clip shown in the 
+  center panel:
+  </p>
+
+  <p>
+  <img src="/manual/navigator.png"/>
+  </p>
+
+  <h2>Center Part - The Canvas</h2>
+
+  <p>
+  The center panel is the actual canvas. There, the layout is drawn. To zoom 
+  in, click with the right mouse button and drag a rectangle that will become 
+  the new area shown. Select items by left-clicking or dragging a selection
+  rectangle with the left mouse button pressed. A variety of edit and 
+  display modification feature is supplied, for example the ability to 
+  add rulers or background images.
+  </p>
+
+  <h2>Right Part - The Layer List and Layer Style Controls</h2>
+
+  <p>
+  The right panel is shows the layer list or layer tree. By default, it 
+  shows a plain layer list, but the are manifold ways to configure the 
+  list, i.e. grouping, styling, adding tabs to easily switch between 
+  different setups etc.
+  </p>
+
+  <p>
+  The layer tree specifies what and how layout is drawn. Entries can be 
+  deleted or configured freely - this does not affect the layout itself. 
+  Essentially, the layer list can be entirely independent from the layout
+  and omit layers from the layout or add (empty) layers that are not 
+  actually part of the layout. In this scenario, a layer list typically
+  reflects a set of drawing layers with a certain technology-dependent
+  meaning. This list provides a styled layer view for an otherwise
+  undecorated layout file. The layers can be reordered, so their 
+  drawing priority is changed. The top layer will be drawn first, 
+  while others will be drawn later. Hence the first layer is likely
+  to become obscured by following layers.
+  </p>
+
+  <p>
+  Modification operators can be attached to layers - for example, the 
+  drawn layout can be transformed geometrical (i.e. translated, rotated, 
+  scaled, mirrored) and layout can be selectively drawn when certain 
+  conditions for user properties apply.
+  </p>
+
+  <p>
+  Below the layer list, a set of control panels is located. The control panels are
   minimized per default. They can be expanded by clicking on the header
-  bar. 
+  bar. These controls form the "Layer Toolbox" where you can modify the 
+  layer styles. The styles selected in the layer toolbox will affect the 
+  layers selected in the layer list.
   </p>
+
   <p>
-  Several control panels are available allowing to control colors, fill
-  and drawing styles etc. Select one or many layers in the layer list to
-  apply the selections from the control panels to.
-  </p>
-  <p>
-  Multiple layouts can be shown at once. Either they can be overlayed or
+  Multiple layouts can be shown together. Either they can be overlayed or
   they can be shown in separate views. In this case, a tab panel appears
-  at top of the main window. Switch between the views by selecting the
-  tab. 
+  at top of the main window. Selecting a tab switches between the layouts.
+  Layers for different layouts appear as annotated layers in the layer list - 
+  for example "1/0@1" for layer 1, datatype 0, first layout and "1/0@2" for
+  layer 1, datatype 0 and second layout.
   </p>
 
 </doc>

src/lay/layHelpResources.qrc

@@ -178,6 +178,7 @@
         <file alias="hiding.xml">doc/manual/hiding.xml</file>
         <file alias="hier_ops.xml">doc/manual/hier_ops.xml</file>
         <file alias="hier.xml">doc/manual/hier.xml</file>
+        <file alias="hierarchy_panel.png">doc/manual/hierarchy_panel.png</file>
         <file alias="images.xml">doc/manual/images.xml</file>
         <file alias="index.xml">doc/manual/index.xml</file>
         <file alias="landmarks.xml">doc/manual/landmarks.xml</file>
@@ -200,12 +201,14 @@
         <file alias="loading.xml">doc/manual/loading.xml</file>
         <file alias="load_save_layers.xml">doc/manual/load_save_layers.xml</file>
         <file alias="main_window.xml">doc/manual/main_window.xml</file>
+        <file alias="main_window.png">doc/manual/main_window.png</file>
         <file alias="marker_browser.xml">doc/manual/marker_browser.xml</file>
         <file alias="max_coherence.png">doc/manual/max_coherence.png</file>
         <file alias="measure.xml">doc/manual/measure.xml</file>
         <file alias="min_coherence.png">doc/manual/min_coherence.png</file>
         <file alias="move_layer_sel.xml">doc/manual/move_layer_sel.xml</file>
         <file alias="move_sel.xml">doc/manual/move_sel.xml</file>
+        <file alias="navigator.png">doc/manual/navigator.png</file>
         <file alias="object_align.xml">doc/manual/object_align.xml</file>
         <file alias="panels.xml">doc/manual/panels.xml</file>
         <file alias="partial_vs_full.xml">doc/manual/partial_vs_full.xml</file>