- 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.
+
- The center panel is the actual canvas. There, the layout is drawn. Click
- there to zoom or to draw rulers for measuring distances.
+
- 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. +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ In the following example, "TOPTOP_BIG" is selected, "TOPTOP" is the current cell and + "TOP" is the context cell: +
+ +
+ 
+
+ 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: +
+ +
+ 
+
+ 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. +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ 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.
+- 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. -
-- 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.
diff --git a/src/lay/doc/manual/navigator.png b/src/lay/doc/manual/navigator.png new file mode 100644 index 000000000..c6d6a9cc7 Binary files /dev/null and b/src/lay/doc/manual/navigator.png differ diff --git a/src/lay/layHelpResources.qrc b/src/lay/layHelpResources.qrc index b33622559..d1a695257 100644 --- a/src/lay/layHelpResources.qrc +++ b/src/lay/layHelpResources.qrc @@ -178,6 +178,7 @@