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Preference Pages
- Sylvain Ménard
Use the Window > Preferences dialog page to set the preferences of RT-LAB.
The value of these parameters are used when a new model is created. If you change a property from the Preference page, each new model will inherit settings from the Properties defined in the Preference page but existing models stay unchanged.
Capabilities Preference Page
Window > Preferences > RT-LAB > Capabilities
The capabilities preference page allows you to enable or disable various product components of RT-LAB such as Operator or Developer environments. By default, no capabilities are active and only the basic functionalities of RT-LAB are active.
| Operator | This capability enables all features that allow the user to manage consoles and make some changes to the parameters and aliases of the models. It enables all components making data acquisition and monitoring and also basic operations on the simulator as loading, executing, pausing or resetting the models. (default value=false) |
|---|---|
| Developer | This capability enables all features related to the development of models, scripts, and codes. It also enables all features of the operator capabilities. (default value=false) |
| Advanced User | This capability enables all product components including operator and developer capabilities. Moreover, it also enables other unclassified features related to Eclipse and external plugins. (default value=false) |
Compiler and Linker Preference Page
Window > Preferences > RT-LAB > Development > Compiler
The value of these parameters is used when a new model is created. If you change a property from Preference page, each new model inherits settings from Properties defined in the Preference page but the existing models stay unchanged.
| The Restore Defaults button | Enables the user to restore the defaults value of the parameters. |
|---|---|
| Sources | Names of source files to be compiled in addition to the code generated by RTW. Used to incorporate user-written code into the model executable (e.g. file1.c file2.c file3.c) |
| Includes | Target path(s) where user include files can be found. Used to search for include files required to compile user-written code, when the include files do not reside in already-searched paths. |
| Libraries | Names of user-specified libraries to be used when incorporating user-written code, in addition to the standard system libraries (MATLAB and RT-LAB). |
| Library path | Target path(s) where user libraries can be found. Used to search for libraries other than the MATLAB and RT-LAB libraries when incorporating user-written code. |
| Compiler command | User command to be called on the target during the compilation process. |
Monitoring Preference Page
Window > Preferences > RT-LAB > Diagnostic > Monitoring
The value of these parameters is used when a new model is created. If you change a property from Preference page, each new model will inherit from Properties defined into Preference page but the existing models will stay unchanged.
| Enable monitoring | Enables or disables the monitoring during the execution of the model. (default value=true) |
|---|---|
| Display controller in operating system task bar | Displays RT-LAB Controller application in the taskbar. Unchecked by default. (default value=false) |
| Display warning when disk space is lower than [Mo] | When checked, a warning message is displayed when the disk space is lower than the value specified. (default value=false) |
| Target display information | Represents the amount of information that is displayed in the display window during load and execution. Setting the value from MINIMAL to EXHAUSTIVE allows the user to retrieve more information about communication and I/Os initialization for example. This can be used to debug unexpected model behaviors. (default value=minimal) |
| Message precision factor (us) | Defines the precision of the timer reporting the time required to perform one calculation step in microseconds. The default value is 0 (no printout). Value=1 prints the step size of the model every 1,000,000 steps with a precision of 1 μs. Value=100 prints the model’s step size every 10,000 steps with a precision of 100 μs and so on. (default value=0) |
Debugging Preference Page
Window > Preferences > RT-LAB > Diagnostic > Debugging
The value of these parameters are used when a new model is created. If you change a property from Preference page, each new model will inherit from Properties defined into Preference page but the existing models will stay unchanged.
| Enable controller log (s) | Creates a file called Controller.log in the RTLAB_ROOT\common\bin folder for debugging use. This file reports all operations perform on the model during the life-cycle of your project. Note also that it reports also other internal operation related to the controller of your project. Unchecked by default. (default value=false) |
|---|---|
| Enable extended timeout | All timeouts are extended when this option is enabled. It is typically used when debugging the model. (default value=false) |
| Enable watchdog | Enables or disables the Watchdog functionality. The Watchdog ensures that all nodes are running normally. There are as many watchdogs as there as computation subsystems in the model. At regular user-defined time intervals, the watchdog verifies that the model is still running and that processes are still active. If an error occurs, the watchdog stops the simulation. This option is not available on Windows target.(default value=true) |
| Watchdog timeout [ms] | The regular user-defined time interval the watchdog verifies the model is still running. 5000 ms by default. (default value=5000) |
| Compile model in debug | When this option is enabled, the compiler's optimization options are removed and replaced by debug options during model compilation. This option is useful when debugging a model. (default value=false) |
Environment Variables Preference Page
Window > Preferences > RT-LAB > Execution > Environment Variables
The value of these parameters are used when a new model is created. If you change a property from Preference page, each new model will inherit from Properties defined into Preference page but the existing models will stay unchanged.
| Name | Name of the user variable. |
|---|---|
| Value | Value of the user variable. |
| Description | Description of the user variable. |
Files Transfers Preference Page
Window > Preferences > RT-LAB > Execution > File
The value of these parameters is used when a new model is created. If you change a property from Preference page, each new model will inherit from Properties defined into Preference page but the existing models will stay unchanged.
| File retrieval root directory | Directory where the files retrieved by RT-LAB after the model execution is copied. |
|---|---|
| Enable automatic file retrieval | When this option is enabled, RT-LAB retrieves files generated by the model simulation on the target nodes and transfers them to the host computer. (default value=true) |
| Enable file retrieval during simulation | If this option is enabled, RT-LAB retrieves the files generated by the model simulation as soon as they are created on the target. If this option is disabled, RT-LAB will retrieve those files after the model resets. |
| Build intermediate tree on file retrieval | Specifies if intermediate folders are generated or not in the retrieved directory. (default value=true) |
| Display notifications | Displays a pop-up notification each time a file is retrieved:
Clicking on the notification opens the file with an appropriate editor or with Matlab, depending on the file extension. |
| Do not display notifications at reset | Prevents RT-LAB from displaying notifications when files are retrieved after a model has been reset. This is useful when many files are retrieved, since there is one notification per file. |
Performance Preference Page
Window > Preferences > RT-LAB > Execution > Performance
The value of these parameters are used when a new model is created. If you change a property from Preference page, each new model will inherit from Properties defined into Preference page but the existing models will stay unchanged.
| Enable detection of overruns | (Only applies to models ran in hardware/software synchronized modes.) When this parameter is not checked, RT-LAB does not detect overruns. When this parameter is checked, RT-LAB detects overruns and performs the action specified in the Action to perform on overruns field. This property has no effect in simulation mode. (default value=true) | ||||||||
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| Perform action after N overruns | Performs the action specified in the Action to perform on overruns field when the number of overruns detected by RT-LAB reaches this number. (Only applies when Action to perform on overruns is set to Reset or Pause.) Default value=10 | ||||||||
| Action to perform on overruns | Type of action to perform when overruns are detected. Default value=Continue Here are the available types:
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Real-time Preference Page
Window > Preferences > RT-LAB > Execution > Real-Time
The value of these parameters are used when a new model is created. If you change a property from the Preferences page, each new model inherits from Properties defined in the Preference page but the existing models stay unchanged.
| Default target Platform | Allows the user to choose the target platform on which to run the simulation (OPAL-RTLinux (x86-based) or Windows system). Default value=OPAL-RTLinux x86-based. |
|---|---|
| Real-time simulation mode | Enables the user to define how the model’s simulation can be executed on an OPAL-RTLinux (x86-based) or Windows system. Default value=Software synchronized. |
| Simulation | In this mode, the model is not synchronized; the model starts a new computation step as soon as the previous one is completed (the model runs as fast as possible). |
| Simulation with low priority | this simulation mode can be used to run a simulation in the background while working with other applications on the same computer. |
| Note: 'Simulation with low priority' mode is only available when working with a Windows target. | |
| Software Synchronized | In this mode, real-time synchronization of the entire simulation is achieved by the OS, using the CPU clock as a reference. Depending on the resolution available on the OS, some sampling times may not be obtained using this mode. |
| Hardware Synchronized | In this mode, an I/O board clock is used to synchronize the entire simulation. |
| Real-time communication link type | Sets the target cluster’s communication medium. Default value=UDP/IP. Here are the available choices for each target platform.
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| Time Factor: | This value, when multiplied by the model’s basic calculation step (or fixed step size), supplies the final calculation step for the system. The time factor can only be changed when the simulation execution is paused and is only available in Synchronized (hardware/software) mode. (default value=1.0) |
Note: This parameter enables you to change the I/O acquisition speed. Because the model always uses the basic calculation step, changing the time factor for the I/O may give results that differ from the offline simulation. This parameter should be used only to determine the simulation’s minimum calculation step. Once this step is determined, this parameter must be brought back to a value of 1. The model’s basic calculation step must be updated accordingly by setting the correct value in the Simulink model and by recompiling it. | |
| Stop time | This value (in seconds) specifies when the model will stop. If the value is Infinity, the model executes forever. You don’t need to recompile the model to apply a new value. (default value=Infinity) |
| Pause time | This value (in seconds) specifies when the model will pause. If the value is Infinity, the model executes until a reset is done except if a stop time is specified. (default value=Infinity) |
Hardware Preference Page
Window > Preferences > RT-LAB > Hardware
The values of these parameters are used when a new model is created. If you change a property from the Preferences page, each new model inherits from Properties defined into Preference page but the existing models will stay unchanged.
| Reset model on I/O board missing | When the option is checked and the model is loaded, RT-LAB stops loading and generates an error, if some I/O boards required by the model are not detected on the target(s). RT-LAB generates only a warning if this setting is unchecked. Note that only a few I/O boards (mainly the Opal-RT TestDrive boards) support this option. Most I/O blocks force a reset of the model if the boards are not detected at load time. Default value=true. |
|---|---|
| Abort compilation on bitstream missing | When option is enabled, if some bitstreams required by a model are not present in the model directory, RT-LAB stops the compilation and generates an error. RT-LAB generates only a warning if this setting is disabled. Default value=false. |
Simulation Tools Preference Page
Window > Preferences > RT-LAB > Simulation Tools
The value of these parameters are used when a new model is created. If you change a property from Preference page, each new model inherits from Properties defined in the Preference page but the existing models stay unchanged.
| Matlab command before opening model | Matlab command to execute before opening the model. For example. MyInitFile.m, where MyInitFile includes commands that initialize model variables. |
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| Matlab command after opening model | Matlab command to execute after opening the model. For example, MyInitFile.m, where MyInitFile includes commands that initialize model variables. |
| Handle console automatically | Enables the console to be automatically opened and closed, when a model is Loaded or Reset. The console starts automatically at the first model’s execution. Default value=false. |
EMTP Preference Page
Window > Preferences > RT-LAB > Simulation Tools > EMTP
The value of these parameters are used when a new model is created. If you change a property from Preference page, each new model inherits Properties defined in Preference page but the existing models stay unchanged.
The Restore Defaults button enables the user to restore the defaults value of the parameters.
| EMTP-Works/EMTP-RV Installation folder | Path where the EMPT tool is installed. |
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MATLAB Preference Page
Window > Preferences > RT-LAB > Simulation Tools > Matlab
The value of these parameters are used when a new model is created. If you change a property from Preference page, each new model inherits Properties defined in Preference page but the existing models stay unchanged.
| Use same Matlab version than model | Use same Matlab version as model to open and compile Simulink mode. If Matlab version of model is not supported or not installed, use Current Matlab version. Default value=unchecked. Note: In an opened project, if a model is saved in a new Matlab version, the new Matlab version will be used next time your project is opened. |
|---|---|
| Current Matlab version | Matlab version used to open and compile Simulink models. Note: this setting will be changed if the user opens the model by choosing Edit with and a new Matlab version. Default value is the latest installed, compatible version |
| Matlab and Simulink target root directory | Path to be used instead of /usr/matlab to find the MATLAB include and source files. RT-LAB supports multiple versions of Matlab by keeping copies of previous versions in paths other than /usr/matlab. Automatic setting means the target path is automatically set based on the MATLAB version used on the Command Station. (default value=automatic) |
| RTW template make file (TMF) | Specifies which template makefile to use during the compilation. When Automatic is selected, the template makefile corresponding to MATLAB version is automatically selected. This option is available for SIMULINK models only. (default value=automatic) |
| RTW target language compiler file (TLC) | Specifies which TLC file to use during the compilation. When Automatic is selected, the TLC file corresponding to the MATLAB version is automatically selected. This option is available for SIMULINK models only. (default value=automatic) |
RT-LAB Preference Page
Window > Preferences > RT-LAB > Simulation Tools > RT-LAB
The value of these parameters is used when a new model is created. If you change a property from the Preference page, each new model inherits from Properties defined in the Preference page but the existing models stay unchanged.
| Development targets OPAL-RTLinux (x86-based) | Identifies the target node where the compilation is done. Target nodes must be defined in the workbench, by using the New Target wizard, before the development node can be chosen. |
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| Target root directory | Path to find the RT-LAB executables include files and libraries or the target nodes. This allows previous versions of RT-LAB to be used side-by-side with newer versions. Automatic setting means the target path is automatically set based on the last installed RT-LAB version. (default value=Automatic) |
Target Detection Preference Page
Window > Preferences > RT-LAB > Target Detection
| Enable target detection | Uncheck this option to completely disable automatic target detection. Target detection can still be manually done by right-clicking on the Targets item of the Project Explorer and selecting the Discover targets menu. |
|---|---|
| Display notifications | Displays a popup notification each time a target is detected:  Clicking on the notification opens the Detected Targets Wizard. Automatically add new targets to the workbench: New targets are added to the workbench as soon as they are detected. |
| Ignored targets | If you do not want to be notified when a particular target is connected to the network, simply add its IP address to this table. This table is also automatically populated by the Detected Targets Wizard. |
| Detection ranges | Here you can limit the target detection to some IP addresses by defining ranges. Any target outside these ranges will not be detected by RT-LAB. Note: Ignored targets and targets outside the detection range can still be used in the Workbench, but you will have to add them manually by using the New Target wizard. |
General Preferences Pages: Window > Preferences
Accessibility Preference Page
General > Editors > Text Editors > Accessibility
| Use custom caret | Replaces the original caret (the marker that indicates where the next character will appear) with a custom caret and shows a different caret for Overwrite and Insert modes. |
|---|---|
| Enable thick caret | Replaces the original caret with a more visible, thicker caret. |
| Use characters to show changes on line number bar | Quick Diff shows the changes in a vertical ruler using colors. Color-blind persons can enable this option to show differences with different characters in the line number ruler. |
Annotations Preference Page
General > Editors > Text Editors > Annotations
| Show in Text as | The selected annotation type is shown in the text. The corresponding text is underlined with squiggles or highlighted. |
|---|---|
| Show in Overview ruler | The overview ruler on the right side of the text editor is shown. |
| Show in Vertical ruler | The selected annotation type is shown in the vertical ruler. |
| Color | The color for the selected annotation type. |
Capabilities Preference Page
The capabilities preference page enables or disables various product components of RT-LAB such as Operator or Developer environments. By default, no capabilities are active and only the basic functionalities of RT-LAB are active.
Note: Some capability selections have dependencies on other capabilities, disabling a required capability while leaving dependant capabilities enabled only results in them becoming re-enabled.
| RT-LAB | Enables all features related to RT-LAB. Do not disable this capability. |
|---|---|
| RT-LAB Operator | Enables all features allowing the user to manage consoles and make changes to the parameters and aliases of the models. It enables all components to perform data acquisition and monitoring and also basic operations on the simulator as loading, executing, pausing or resetting the models. (default value=false) |
| RT-LAB Developer | Enables all features related to the development of models, scripts, and codes. It also enables all features of the operator capabilities. (default value=false) |
| RT-LAB Advanced User | Enables all product components including operator and developer capabilities. Moreover, it also enables other unclassified features related to Eclipse and external plugins. (default value=false) |
| Development | Use the Eclipse SDK to develop applications. |
| Team | Use configuration management systems to manage resources. |
Appearance Preference Page
General > Appearance
| Current presentation | Specify the currently active presentation (look and feel). |
|---|---|
| Override presentation settings | Locally override the settings from the current presentation's defaults. |
| Editor tab positions | Specify either top or bottom to indicate where you want tabs for stacked editors to appear. |
| View tab positions | Specify either top or bottom to indicate where you want tabs for stacked views to appear. |
| Perspective switcher positions | Specify the location of the perspective switcher bar. |
| Current theme | Specify the currently active theme (color and font set). |
| Show text on perspective bar | Specify whether labels should be shown in the perspective bar as well as icons. |
| Show traditional style tabs | Specify whether traditional (square) tabs should be used in place of the curved tabs. |
| Enable animations | Enable/disable the feature where views animate to their location when closed or opened. |
Colors and Fonts Preference Page
General > Appearance > Colors and Fonts
A tree is used to navigate among and show a short preview of the various colors and fonts.
The current face (but not size) of any font is previewed in its label. Colors are previewed in the icon associated with its label. Additionally, some categories (Workbench in particular) provide a more detailed preview of their contributions. This preview is shown below the description area if available. Font settings can be changed either by selecting the font from the list and clicking Use System Font to choose the Operating System font setting or by clicking Change to open up a font selection dialog. Color settings can be changed by clicking color to the right of the tree area when a color is selected.
The Colors and Fonts text field can be used to filter the contents. Simply type in an entry and any matching results will remain in the tree view.
Descriptions and previews are provided when the Workbench colors and font settings are selected.
Compare/Patch Preference Page
General > Compare/Patch
General Options
| Open structure compare automatically | This option controls whether a structure compare is automatically performed whenever a content compare is done. Turn this option off if you don't want to see the structural differences. |
|---|---|
| Show structure compare in Outline view when possible | If on, structure compare is displayed in the Outline view whenever it is possible. |
| Show additional compare information in the status line | If on, additional information about a change is shown in the status line. Turn this option on if you are interested in additional information about a change. |
| Ignore white space | Controls whether or not whitespace change are shown in the compare viewer. Turn this option on if you want to see changes in whitespace. |
| Automatically save dirty editors before browsing patches | Controls whether any unsaved changes are automatically saved before a patch is applied. Turn this option on if you want to save changes automatically. |
| Filtered Members | Note: The names in the list must be separated by a comma. |
Text Compare Options
| Synchronize scrolling between panes in compare viewers | The two comparison viewers will lock scroll along with one another in order to keep identical and corresponding portions of the code in each pane side-by-side. Turn this option off if you do not want the compare viewers to lock scroll. |
|---|---|
| Initially show ancestor pane | Sometimes you want to compare two versions of a resource with the previous version from which they were both derived. This is called their common ancestor, and it appears in its own comparison pane during a three-way compare. Turn this option on if you want the ancestor pane to always appear at the start of a comparison. |
| Show pseudo conflicts | Displays pseudo conflicts, which occur when two developers make the same change (for example, both add or remove the exact same line of code or comment). Turn this option on if you want pseudo conflicts to appear in compare browsers. |
| Connect ranges with single line | Controls whether differing ranges are visually connected by a single line or a range delimited by two lines. |
| Highlight individual changes | Controls whether the individual changes inside conflicts are highlighted. |
| When the end/beginning is reached while navigating an element | Use this option to configure what occurs when the end/beginning is reached while navigating an element. |
| Prompt | If this option is on and you selected to compare a single element you will be asked whether you want to go to the beginning/end of the element after the end/beginning is reached. If you are comparing two or more elements you will be asked whether you want to go to the beginning/end of the current element or to go to the next/previous element. Moreover, if you choose to remember your decision, this option will be changed to one of the below respectively. |
| Loop back to the beginning/end | When this option is on, the selection will be moved back to the beginning/end after you reach the end/beginning of an element. |
| Go to the next/previous element | If you are comparing two or more elements and this option is on after you reach the end/beginning of an element the next/previous element will be opened. |
Content Types Preference Page
The General > Content Types preference page enables you to edit content types and their associated file names and character sets. You can also associate arbitrary file names or file extensions with content types. A content type acts as a description of a certain class of files (for instance, XML files). RT-LAB uses this description in various scenarios, such as editor look-ups and file comparisons.
Window > Preferences > General > Content Types
By selecting a content type in the topmost tree, you can alter the file names and extensions associated with it.
Note: Certain items are marked as locked. An item is locked if it is one of the associations provided by the plug-in that declares the content type. In other words, you can remove only user-contributed associations.
Adding an association is as simple as clicking Add.... A dialog prompts you to enter the file name or extension.
In addition to adding and removing file names or extensions, you can also set the default encoding for a given content type. To do this, simply enter the encoding name in the provided field and click Update.
Editors preference page
General > Editors
| Size of recently opened files list | Each file opened in an editor is stored in a list of recently used files in the File menu. This option controls the number of files displayed in that list. |
|---|---|
| Show multiple editor tabs | Specifies whether you wish to show multiple editor tabs. If off, editor workbooks have one large tab and all non-visible editors are accessible only from the chevron. |
| Close editors automatically | Specifies whether or not to re-use editors in the Workbench. If on, you may specify the number of editors to use before they are recycled (the default is 8). You can also specify if a prompt dialog should be opened or if a new editor should be opened when all editors are dirty (have unsaved changes). Once it is turned on, the Pin Editor action is added to the toolbar and editor tab menu. Pinned editors are not recycled. |
File Associations Preference Page
General > Editors > File Associations
File Types List
| Add... | Adds a new file or file type (extension) to the predefined list. In the resulting New File Type dialog, type the name of a file or a file extension. If you are adding a file extension, you must type either a dot or a *. before the file type (e.g., .xml or *.xml as opposed to simply xml). |
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| Remove | Removes the selected file type from the list |
Associated Editors List
| Add... | Adds a new editor to the list of editors associated with the file type selected above. In the resulting Editor Selection dialog, you can choose an editor to launch either inside the Workbench (internal) or outside the Workbench (external); click Browse to locate an editor yourself if the editor you want is not displayed in the list. |
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| Remove | Removes the association between an editor and the file type selected above. Note: Any editor that is bound by content type may not be removed from this list. Currently, there is no mechanism available to remove these editors. |
| Default | Sets the selected editor as the default editor for the file type selected above. The editor moves to the top of the Associated Editors list to indicate that it is the default editor for that file type. |
Help Preferences
| Use external browsers | If embedded web browser is supported on your system, help window uses an embedded help browser to display help contents, whenever possible, and this option is available. Select it to force help to use external browsers. Use Web Browser preference page to select a browser to use. |
|---|---|
| Open window context help | Determines whether the window context help are opened in a dynamic help view or in a pop-up. |
| Open dialog context help | Determines whether the dialog context help will be opened in a dynamic help section of help view or in a pop-up. |
| Open help view documents | Determines whether the documents selected in the help view are opened in place or in the editor area. Note: Selection performed on this page can affect how the help view is presented. If the selected browser is not fully compatible with Internet Explorer or Mozilla, or has JavaScript disabled, the help view shown in the browser might be a simplified version. |
General Preference Page
Each Workbench contains one or more perspectives. Perspectives contain views and editors and control what appears in certain menus and toolbars.
| Always run in background | Turn this option on to perform long-running operations in the background without blocking you from doing other work. |
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| Keep next/previous part dialog open | If this option is turned on then the editor and view cycle dialogs will remain open when their activation key is let go. Normally the dialog closes as soon as the key combination is released. |
| Show Heap Status | Turn this option on to display an indicator showing information about current Java heap usage. |
| Open mode... | You can select one of the following methods for opening resources:
Note: Depending on which view has focus, selecting and opening a resource may have different behavior. |
Help Content Preference Page
Help > Content
| Include help content from a remote infocenter | If checked, this option enables the use of remote help content. The rest of the fields on the page are only enabled if this option is checked. |
|---|---|
| Add/Edit/Delete | Add, edit or delete a remote data source |
| View Properties | View the properties for this remote data source |
| Test Connection | Tests to see if it is possible to connect to this host/port combination |
| Disable/Enable | Allows a data source to be disabled so the help system will not try to read topics from that source. Pressing the Add button opens a dialog to add a new infocenter, these are the fields that can be entered in the Add new infocenter dialog. |
| Name | A name for this info center |
| Host | Specifies the hostname of the system that is running the info center to server remote help content. This must be a hostname and cannot be a URL (i.e. it cannot start with http:// or https://) |
| Path | Specifies the context root of the Infocenter application running on the host. |
| Port | If Use default port is selected, port 80 will be used to access remote content on the host. To use any other port the Use port option must be selected and the correct port must be specified in the text field. |
Keys Preference Page
The function of the keyboard can be extensively customized in RT-LAB using the General > Keys preference page. Within RT-LAB, keystrokes and key sequences are assigned to invoke particular commands.
Keystrokes, Key Sequences, and Key Bindings
- A keystroke is the pressing of a key on the keyboard, while optionally holding down one or more of these modifier keys: Ctrl, Alt or Shift. For example, holding down Ctrl then pressing A produces the keystroke Ctrl+A. The pressing of the modifier keys themselves do not constitute keystrokes.
- A key sequence is one or more keystrokes. Traditionally, Emacs assigned two or three keystroke key sequences to particular commands. For example, the normal key sequence assigned to Close All in emacs is Ctrl+X Ctrl+C. To enter this key sequence, one presses the keystroke Ctrl+X followed by the keystroke Ctrl+C. While RT-LAB supports key sequences of arbitrary lengths, it is recommended that keyboard shortcuts be four keystrokes in length (or less).
- A key binding is the assignment of a key sequence to a command.
A scheme is a set of bindings.
RT-LAB includes three schemes:
- Default
- RT-LAB (extends Default)
- Emacs (extends Default)
The Default scheme contains a general set of bindings, in many cases recognizable as traditional key sequences for well-known commands. For instance, Ctrl+A is assigned to Select All, and Ctrl+S is assigned to Save.
It is important to understand why the RT-LAB scheme says that it 'extends Default'. The RT-LAB scheme is not a complete set of bindings like the Default scheme. Rather, it borrows from the Default scheme where possible, only defining explicit RT-LAB-style bindings where they vary from the Default scheme.
Choose the scheme you are most comfortable with by changing the 'Scheme' setting on the keys preference page. If you choose the Default scheme, all RT-LAB bindings are ignored. If you choose the RT-LAB scheme, explicit RT-LAB-style key sequence assignments take precedence over any conflicting assignments in the Default scheme.
Contexts
Key bindings can vary based on the current context of RT-LAB.
Sometimes the active part might be a text editor, for instance, where a different set of key sequence assignments may be more appropriate than if the active part was an html file editor. This context is usually determined by the active part, but it can be influenced by the active window or dialog as well.
If the active part does not choose a particular context, the workbench will set the active context to In Windows.
RT-LAB includes a number of different contexts.
Some examples are:
- In Dialogs and Windows
- In Windows (extends In Dialogs and Windows)
- In Dialogs (extends In Dialogs and Windows)
- Editing Text (extends In Windows)
- Debugging (extends In Windows)
In Console
Much like configurations, contexts can extend other contexts.
Note: It is not recommended to promote a key binding to a context which it extends. For example, it is not recommended to move an Editing Text key binding to the In Dialogs and Windows context. This may have unexpected results.
Some key bindings work in dialogs. Those key bindings are assigned to the In Dialogs and Windows context. One example of such a key binding is the key binding for cut.
Users can change these key bindings. For example, you can have Ctrl+X as cut in dialogs, but Ctrl+W as cut in windows.
Customizing Key Bindings
With multi-stroke key sequences, schemes, and contexts, there are a lot of things to keep in mind when customizing key bindings. To make things easier, all key customization is done on the General > Keys preference page.
- In this example, we want to bind CTRL+5 to the About command. By default, the keys preference page will show you all possible keybindings. You can see the About command listed in the Help category. You can bind the command by putting focus in the Binding text box and pressing CTRL and 5 like you would if you were executing the command.
- When you type CTRL+5 you have created a binding for About. The right-most column will indicate that this is a user binding by displaying a U. If there was a conflict with another key, this column would also display a C. The binding will be in the default context, In Windows. You can now use the
- When combo box to change the key binding context (for example, to move this binding to Editing Text).
- If you wanted to add a second key binding to About, you can use the Copy Command button to create a second command entry for you to bind another key to. If you want to delete a binding, you can either use the Remove Binding button or simply give focus to the Binding text box and hit Backspace.
The Dynamic Nature of Key bindings
Key bindings are provided by plug-ins, and in RT-LAB, plug-ins can be added or removed. This can cause key bindings declared by these plug-ins to be added or removed. RT-LAB stores custom key bindings in a way to compensate for this. Consider the example above where CTRL+6 was assigned to About in the Default scheme. Say you install a new plug-in that assigns CTRL+6 to a particular command. RT-LAB will preserve your assignment to About.
Conflict Resolution
There are only a finite number of simple, common keystrokes available to assign to a multitude of commands. We have seen that scheme, context and platform all partition key sequence assignments into domains where they don't conflict with one another. Consider the case for Ctrl+B above if contexts did not exist.
- One plug-in would assign Ctrl+B to Build, the other plug-in would assign Ctrl+B to Make Bold Text. How would RT-LAB properly resolve this conflict?
- Though conflicts are drastically reduced by employing the above mechanisms, they can still occur. Two plug-ins, independent of one another, could assign the same key sequence to different commands with the same context, scheme, platform, and locale. Consider if a plug-in assigned Ctrl+F4 in the In Windows context and Default scheme to one of its commands. This directly conflicts with RT-LAB assigning Ctrl+F4 to the close command in the same context and scheme.
- This is a conflict.
- It wouldn't be proper to invoke both commands, nor would it be proper to simply choose one of the two commands to receive the keystroke. We pop up the Key Assist Dialog with the conflicting commands and allow the user to select one. The Key Assist Dialog is the same dialog that displays command choices for multiple keystroke key bindings.
- For example, if 2 commands were bound to F12 you might see a small dialog with two choices.
- If the user sets a keybinding and creates a conflict, the conflicting bindings will be displayed in the conflicts list. This can be used to navigate between conflicting keybindings so that they can be changed.
- These types of conflicts can be resolved by explicitly assigning the key sequence to one of the commands, or remove it from the other.
- Another type of conflict can be caused by multiple-keystroke key sequences. For example, in the Emacs scheme, there are many multiple-keystroke key sequences beginning with the keystroke Ctrl+X. Ctrl+X K is assigned to Close. Ctrl+X H is assigned to Select All.
- As previously mentioned, the Emacs scheme borrows key bindings from the Default scheme. In the
default scheme, Ctrl+X is assigned to Cut. - Though the Emacs scheme doesn't explicitly redefine Ctrl+X, pressing Ctrl+X is required as part of many of its key bindings. In the Emacs scheme, when one presses Ctrl+X, one is half way to entering one of many possible assigned key sequences.
- One would not expect the Cut action to be invoked at this time.
- For this type of conflict, the rule is that the Ctrl+X key sequence assigned to Cut would be ignored.
- Otherwise, it would not be possible to complete many of the key bindings in the Emacs configuration.
Label Decorations Preference Page
Label Decorations allow additional information to be displayed in an item's label and icon.
General > Appearance > Label Decorations
Linked Resources Preference Page
General > Workspace > Linked Resources
The preference Enable linked resources is used to globally enable or disable the linked resource feature for the entire workspace. By default, linked resources are enabled. If you disable
linked resources, then you will not be able to create any new linked resources or import existing projects that contain linked resources.
Not all versions of the workbench support linked resources and recognize them as such. You may not want to use linked resources if you plan to share your workspace data with other users. Disable this preference if they will not be able to work with linked resources.
The remainder of this page is for defining path variables that are used when creating linked resources.
Use the New button to define new variables, the Edit button to change the value of an existing variable, and the Remove button to get rid of an existing variable. Note if you change a path variable that is currently in use, you will need to perform a local refresh on those projects to discover what is different in the file system. You can refresh a resource by opening one of the navigation views' context menu for that resource and selecting Refresh. It is not recommended that you remove a path variable that is currently in use.
Local History Preference Page
General > Workspace > Local History
| Days to Keep Files | How many days you want to maintain changes in the local history. History state older than this value will be lost. |
|---|---|
| Maximum Entries per File | How many history states per file you want to maintain in the local history. If you exceed this value, you will lose older history to make room for new history. |
| Maximum File Size (MB) | Maximum size of individual states in the history store. If a file is over this size, it is not stored. |
Perspectives Preference Page
General > Perspectives
| Open a New Perspective | Use this option to set what happens when you open a new perspective. Do you want the perspective opened within the current Workbench window or opened in a new window? |
|---|---|
| Open a New View | Use this option to specify what happens when a new view is opened. It is either opened to its default position within the current perspective or it is opened as a fast view and docked to the side of the current perspective. |
| New Project Options | Use this option to specify the perspective behavior when a new project is created. You can set it to switch the current perspective to be the one associated with the project type and open the perspective in the same Workbench window as the current one, switch the perspective and open it in a new Workbench window, or not to switch perspectives at all. |
Available Perspectives Options
Make Default | Sets the selected perspective as the default perspective. |
| Reset | Resets the definition of the selected perspective to the default configuration. This option is only applicable to built-in perspectives that have been overwritten using Window > Save Perspective As... |
| Delete | Deletes the selected perspective. This option is only applicable to user-defined perspectives (built-in perspectives cannot be deleted). |
| Quick Diff Preference Page | The following preferences can be changed on the General > Editors > Text Editors > Quick Diff preference page. |
| Enable Quick Diff | This option will enable or disable the quick diff option. |
| Show Differences in Overview Ruler | This option will show differences in the overview ruler. |
| Colors - Changes | Controls the color of changes. |
| Colors - Additions | Controls the color of additions. |
| Colors - Deletions | Controls the color of deletions. |
| Use this Reference Source | This option sets which reference to use as the base for generating quick diff comparisons. |
| Options are: |
|
Search Preference Page
General > Search
| Reuse editors to show matches | This option allows you to keep using the same editor for search results to reduce the number of open editors. |
|---|---|
| Bring Search view to front after search | Displays the search view at the front after performing a search. |
| Ignore potential matches | Select this option if you only want to see exact matches. |
| Emphasize potential matches | Highlights potential matches in the Search view. If the Search engine isn't 100% sure about the match then it is considered a potential match. |
| Foreground color for potential matches | This option allows you to select the foreground color for potential matches. |
| Default perspective for the Search view | This option allows you to define which perspective should be brought to the front when there are new search results. |
| Spelling preference page | This service is not installed with RT-LAB. |
Startup and Shutdown preference page
General > Startup
Normally plug-ins are not activated until they are needed. However, some plug-ins may specify that they wish to be activated during startup. This preference page allows the selection of which of these plug-ins will actually be activated during startup.
| Prompt for workspace on startup | Prompts you each time it is started for what workspace to use. |
|---|---|
| Refresh workspace on startup | Synchronizes its contents with the file system on startup. |
| Confirm exit when closing last window | Asks if you wish to exit when closing the last window. |
| Plug-ins activated on startup | Allows you to select which available plug-ins should be activated on startup. |
Text Editors preference page
General > Editors > Text Editors
| Undo history size | Sets the size of the undo history for text editors. |
|---|---|
| Displayed tab width | Sets the displayed tab width for text editors. |
| Insert spaces for tabs | Inserts space characters in place of tab characters. |
| Highlight current line | Controls whether or the current line is highlighted or not. |
| Show print margin | Controls whether the print margin is visible or not. |
| Print margin column | Allows you to set the print margin column position. |
| Show line numbers | Controls whether or not line numbers are shown on the left side of the text editor. |
| Show range indicator | Controls whether or not range indicators are shown in the text editor. |
| Show whitespace characters | Controls whether to display whitespace characters in text editors. |
| Enable drag and drop of text | Controls whether text drag and drop is enabled. |
| Warn before editing a derived file | Controls whether to warn if a derived file is going to be edited. |
| Smart caret positioning at line start and end | Controls whether the editor automatically positions the caret and the start or end of a line. |
| Show affordance in hover on how to make it sticky | Controls whether to show an affordance in the hover on how to make it sticky. |
| Appearance color options | Controls various appearance colors. |
Web Browser preference page
General > Web Browser
| Use internal Web browser | Enables you to use an internal Web browser. |
| Use external Web browser | Enables you to use an external Web browser. Select the required browser from the list of available external web browsers. |
Workspace preference page
General > Workspace
| Build automatically | If this option is turned on, then the Workbench performs an automatic build whenever a modified resource is saved. |
| Save automatically before build | If this option is selected, when a manual build is performed the Workbench automatically saves all resources modified since the last build. |
| Workspace save interval (in minutes) | This number indicates how often the state of the workspace is automatically saved to disk. |
| Refresh automatically | If this option is turned on then the workspace resources will be synchronized with their corresponding resources in the file system automatically. |
Note: This can be a lengthy operation depending on the number of resources in your workspace.
| Open referenced projects when a project is opened | If this option is enabled opening a project also opens and closes projects it references. Select prompt if you wish to be asked first. |
| Text file encoding | Use this option to specify the encoding when saving text files in editors. |
| Text File line delimiter | Use this option to specify the line delimiter for new text files. Note: This generally does not affect the file line delimiter for existing files. |
Cheat Sheets
RT-LAB provides cheat sheets to guide you through some of its application processes. Each cheat sheet is designed to help you complete some task, and lists the sequence of steps required to help you achieve that goal. As you progress from one step to the next, the cheat sheet automatically launches the required tools for you.
If there is a manual step in the process, the step tells you to perform the task and click a button in the cheat sheet to move on to the next step.
Launching a cheat sheet
To launch a cheat sheet from the Workbench
- Select Help > Cheat Sheets from the menu bar.
- The available cheat sheets are listed, select one and click OK. Alternately, if you know the location of a cheat sheet content file on your file system or on the web you can enter its path.
The cheat sheet opens as a view. At any time, only one cheat sheet is open and active. When you launch a cheat sheet, any open cheat sheet is closed before the new one is opened. The completion status of the closed cheat sheet is saved.
| Collapses all | Collapses all the expanded steps except the current step or expands steps to the last expanded state. Click to toggle between these two states. |
| Select | Allows you to select and open another cheat sheet. The completion status of the active cheat sheet is saved. Then, the active cheat sheet is closed and the selected cheat sheet is opened. |
| Hide | Hides the cheat sheet. |
| Save | Saves the completion status of the active cheat sheet and closes it. |
Note: Some cheat sheets can also be launched from the Welcome page by first selecting Tutorials and then selecting one of the tutorials.
| Starting the cheat sheet | Each cheat sheet has a list of steps and it always begins with an Introduction step. When you launch a fresh cheat sheet, the Introduction step is expanded so that you can read a brief description of the cheat sheet. To start working with the cheat sheet, click Click to Begin in that step. The next step is expanded and highlighted. You should also see one or more actions buttons, such as Click to Perform in the highlighted step. You can now begin working through the tasks using the cheat sheet. At any time, the only highlighted step in the cheat sheet is the current step. |
| Restarting the cheat sheet | Any time after starting a cheat sheet, you can restart from the first step by clicking Click to Restart in the Introduction step. If you have already created some artifacts, you will have to manually clean up the workspace before restarting the cheat sheet. |
| Progressing through the steps | In the current step, when you click Click to Perform, a tool (which can be a wizard), will be launched and you will be required to work with that tool. When you finish working with that tool, the next step is automatically highlighted and it becomes the current step. When the current step is a manual task, you will need to perform the work and click Click to Complete to move to the next step. A checkmark appears in the left margin of each completed step. |
| Getting help information for tasks | To get step-by-step instructions for that step, click the help link in the step before you click Click to Perform, and the step-by-step instructions on how to work with that tool will be displayed in the Help window. Additional help for entry fields in the tool or wizard may be available by focusing on the field (use the Tab key to position to that entry) and pressing F1. |
| Skipping a step | If a current step has a Click to Skip option, then it is an optional step. You must click Click to Skip the current step when you do, the step will have the skip mark in the left margin. If the task does not present Click to Skip, you must perform that step and you cannot skip it. |
| Redoing a step | You can redo any step that you may have completed or skipped in the current cheat sheet. To redo the step, expand the step by clicking its expand icon and then clicking Click to Redo. After redoing a step, the cheat sheet will continue from the redo step. |
| Closing the cheat sheet | When you finish the last step in a cheat sheet, it automatically restarts. You can also close the active cheat sheet by clicking the close icon in the cheat sheet's toolbar. The active cheat sheet saves its completion status when it is closed so that you can continue where you left off at a later time. |
MetaController
The MetaController is a server required by RT-LAB to interact with the RT-LAB simulator. This application runs in the background. The MetaController also helps you to launch all applications related to RT-LAB that interact with the simulator.
Since RT-LAB version 11.x, the MetaController is automatically launched when the RT-LAB user interface is started. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to launch the MetaController before opening the RT-LAB user interface.
System tray icon
On Windows command station, the MetaController is shown in the system tray located in the Windows Taskbar, usually at the bottom right corner next to the clock. See the following figure.
The system tray icon provides various useful features such as starting the RT-LAB user interface. When you right-click on it, a popup menu appears with the available features.
MetaController icon system tray (Windows only)
Menus
Here are descriptions of the MetaController menus:
| RT-LAB | Start the RT-LAB Workbench. Double-clicking on the icon in the system tray will also start the RT-LAB user interface. |
|---|---|
| ScopeView | Starts the ScopeView application to acquire and display signals from real-time simulation. See Using ScopeView for more information. |
| Help | Opens the RT-LAB Help Center. |
| Exit | Closes MetaController. |
Mouse over
MetaController icon tooltip (Windows only)
When the mouse hovers over the MetaController icon, a tooltip appears to show the current RT-LAB version. It is a good way to know which version is currently used in case of a support request.
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