GUI features overview¶
Main application interface¶
All system design projects can be built, managed, simulated and analyzed through SystemLab|Design’s main application interface (Fig 1) and includes the following main components.
The Functional block library tree menu; where pre-defined components, devices or subsystems can be quickly dragged & dropped onto any open project design space. New functional blocks or modified/custom versions of existing ones can be added as needed to this folder (in addition, using the config_fb_library.py module, the menu tree can be restructured as needed).
The Project design space; where system building blocks can be created, assembled, interconnected and analyzed. Multiple projects can be opened simultaneously and are saved in binary format (using Python’s pickle feature).
The Tool bar feature which includes shortcut buttons and panels for managing your projects, setting up and running simulations, viewing your design project’s global settings and a status panel which provides information on the progress of a simulation.
The Menu bar which includes File management functions, Edit features for copying and deleting project items, Project menu which can be used to add new items to a design space, Simulation menu for starting, pausing or stopping simulations, Tools menu for accessing a freq-wavelength converter, View menu for providing zoom functions, and a Help menu which includes access to the on-line documentation portal.
The Status bar which provides additional information on your projects, including Info/Status, Project file path and Zoom settings.
Fig 1: SystemLab|Design main application interface¶
Project settings dialog¶
The Project settings dialog is where you can set and manage your design project attributes. It includes properties tabs for defining your simulation settings, project layout attributes, and advanced settings.
How to access the Project properties dialog…
To access the Project properties dialog, select the Settings icon on the Tool bar or right-click and select Project layout and settings anywhere on the project design space.
Note
For details on how to setup the simulation settings see Understanding simulation settings.
Fig 2: SystemLab|Design project settings dialog¶
At the top of the Project settings dialog you will find the input fields for Project name, File path (project), and File path (additional).
The Project name defines the name of your project and is the name that will be used if you select File/Save project (you can save the project under a different name using File/Save project as…).
The File path (project) edit field is used to define the folder location where your design project will be saved. If it is empty, the current working directory (systemlab_design) will be used. This path is also used to search for the location of your scripts. If empty, the application searches for the script module(s) within the current working directory.
The File path (additional) edit field can be used to define an additional file path for locating your project scripts. During a simulation, the script file will be first be searched for using the functional block library config file settings, followed by File path (project), and finally File path (additional).
From the Project layout settings tab you can change the size of your project space (defined in pixels) and add a border by selecting the Show border check box. It is also possible to add a grid layout to the project design space by selecting the Enable grid check box. The size of the grid, line color and style can be modified as needed.
From the Advanced settings you can set the Max number of calculation attempts and the Code/script editor command line path. The latter allows you to select the editor to be used for opening and editing Python scripts (for further information on this setting, select the Help button next to the edit field).
Functional block properties dialog¶
The Functional block properties dialog is the main interface from where you can create and manage your system’s functional blocks and subsystems. It contains several properties tabs which are described in this section.
How to access the Functional block properties dialog…
To access the Functional block properties dialog, hover over any functional block and double left-click.
Functional block properties: Main settings, dimensions, text settings¶
The upper portion of the Functional block properties dialog includes tabs for the Functional block main settings, Functional block dimensions and colors and Functional block text settings.
Fig 3: Functional block overview (upper section)¶
Functional block main settings
The Functional block main settings tab is where the Functional block name/ID and Script module name are defined. By default the functional block title is displayed with the functional block item in the project design space. The functional block name display can be disabled by un-checking the Display fb name check box.
About functional block IDs…
Functional blocks are managed internally by the software through the allocation of functional block IDs (integer list). Each time a new functional block is added to a design project space, it is provided with a unique ID (as shown in the Functional block name/ID field). If a functional block is deleted, its ID is also deleted, and is re-allocated later when another functional block is created (or an existing functional block is copied). The process is automated and does not require any further actions from the user.
An icon can also be added to the functional block item. Icon vector images are located under systemlab_main\syslab_fb_icons. The name of the associated icon file can be added to the File name data field and is displayed when the Display icon check box is checked. Also, the position of the icon, relative to the origin of the functional block, can be set in the Pos(x/y) field.
Note
The x-y origin of the functional block is defined as the upper left corner of the rectangular image that represents the functional block. For example, if Pos(x/y) is set to (0,0), the vector icon image will start to be drawn from the upper left corner of the functional block image (unless an offset has been applied in the icon script)
Fig 4: Example view of functional blocks that have icons.¶
Functional block dimensions and colors
The Functional block dimensions and colors tab is where the dimensions of the functional block’s rectangular image can be set, along with the fill color for the rectangle and the border settings. The functional block dimensions can also be set by right-clicking on the functional block image and selecting Resize dimensions of functional block.
Functional block text settings
The Functional block text settings tab is where the font size, style, color and position of the functional block title can be adjusted. In addition, the font size, style and color of the port name labels can be set within this tab.
Functional block properties: Parameters, Ports Manager, Output Data¶
The lower section of the Functional block properties dialog includes tabs for the Input parameters, Ports manager and Output Data.
Input parameters
The Input parameters tab is where the input parameters associated with the functional block script can be defined and updated. The Parameter name, its Value, the associated Units and Notes (explaining further the parameter’s role) can be added to this table. The process for creating parameters is manual (to provide full flexibility) but includes several utility and convenience features on the right side of the table (see Fig 5). These include:
An Insert row function for adding new empty rows above a selected row in the table.
A Delete row function for deleting a selected row and its associated contents.
A Copy row function which saves all data contained within a selected row.
A Paste row function which replace all contents of a selected row with data saved from a previous Copy row operation.
A Move row up function which moves a selected row up by one position on the list.
A Move row down function which moves a selected row down by one position on the list.
An Insert header function which adds a full width title header to the parameters list (this is useful when wanting to divide your parameters into different functional groups).
An Add list function which creates a drop down list based on the information provided in the Notes field.
An Add check box function which converts a Value field into a check box (this operation only works if a Value field cell has been selected in the parameters table).
An Update-Save table function which aligns the column widths based on their contents and saves the table contents to the functional block data model.
An example of an Input parameters table for a PIN/APD detector model is shown in Fig 5. All these settings are saved with the component and can be updated or re-organized as needed using the Row operations and Other operations group functions.
Fig 5: Functional block parameters table (example shown for PIN/APD detector model)¶
Ports manager
The Ports manager tab is where the ports associated with the functional block script can be defined. Ports are first created using the Add port(s) dialog and can be later edited using the Edit port(s) dialog. Ports that are no longer needed can be deleted using the Delete port(s) dialog. Additonally, convenience functions have been included to allow for ports to be shifted up (Move port up) or down (Move port down) the ports manager list.
Fig 6: Functional block ports manager table¶
The Ports Manager feature has been designed for maximum flexibility. Ports of any signal type, direction, and cardinal location (North, East, South, West) can be defined for functional blocks allowing for a variety of layout and interconnection models (Fig 7).
Fig 7: Functional block port layout example with signal links¶
About port IDs…
Port IDs, similar to Functional block IDs, are unique integer identifiers that are automatically allocated to each port in a functional block. When ports are deleted or re-configured, the port ID numbering is automatically re-numbered to match the Ports Manager list (see the first column of the Ports Manager table in Fig 6).
Output Data
The Output Data tab is where custom results (returned as a list from the functional block script) are loaded for post-simulation viewing. An example output is shown in Fig 8 for the optical PIN detector. To learn more on how to create a results list, see data-output-label.
Fig 8: Functional block output data table (example shown for PIN/APD detector model)¶
Annotation & data display features¶
When working on system designs, annotations can be added to the Project design space to provide visual highlighting and text-based description areas. SystemLab|Design includes the following annotation tools (which can be accessed from the Project design space using right-click and menu select - Fig 9):
Description boxes which can be used to highlight various regions in the design space (such as sub-systems or grouped functions).
Text boxes which can be used to add short or long text (paragraph) descriptions for providing more detail on general or specific system functions.
Line-arrows which can be used to bring attention to specific parts of a design.
SystemLab|Design also includes specialized data viewers, called Data panels. They can be configured to provide customized lists of parameters and results originating from any system components in the project design space. Numerical results are transmitted to each Data panel during a simulation and are held in memory so that you can review data results for multiple iteration scenarios. To see how Data panels are used in a simulation, see Quick start 3: Run an example with pre-configured data panels and graphs.
Fig 9: Annotation and data panel features (Project design space)¶
How to access the properties dialog for annotations and data panels…
To access and edit the properties of annotation items and data panels, hover over each item and double left-click.
For the Description box, properties that can be modified include the border color and style, the description box dimensions and fill color and the text field font size, color and position within the description box.
For the Text box, properties that can be modified include the font settings and color, the text field (which can have multiple lines) and a text field wrapping width setting
For the Line-arrow, properties that can be modified include the line color, width and style, and whether or not to include an arrow in the annotation item
For the Data panel, a variety of properties can be set or modified. These include the dimensions, border style, color and fill settings for the title and data sections. For further details on how to setup data panels in a design see data-panel-label:.
