Touchscreen Interaction
See Also
PowerWorld Simulator supports interactions using the Microsoft Windows Touch features on a multi-touch monitor. Interactions using the touch screen augment the interaction possible with the more traditional mouse and keyboard. The actually interactions on the touchscreen are referred to as Gestures with the following representing typical gestures. After the list of gestures is a list of where these can presently be using the PowerWorld Simulator Interface.
Touchscreen Gestures
The combination of a few simple patterns in different contexts allow for a variety of complex interactions with a diagram on a multi-touch screen. The following are the basic gestures used in the Simulator interface.
Tap
A finger is touched to the screen briefly, and removed
Press
A finger is touched to the screen and held for the duration of the gesture
Two-finger Tap
Two fingers are tapped simultaneously. This is distinct from a "double-tap", which is like a double-click with a mouse.
Press-Tap
One finger is pressed on a point of interest; while the first finger is held in place, another finger taps elsewhere.
Press-and-Hold
One finger is pressed on a point of interest and held for one full second. By default, this is interpreted as a mouse right-click.
One-finger Pan
One finger is pressed and dragged, similar to a drag-drop movement with a mouse.
Two-finger Pan
Two fingers are pressed and dragged together. In some areas this operates the same as a One-finger Pan.
Pinch
Two fingers are pressed simultaneously, and dragged toward or away from each other.
Rotate
Two fingers are pressed simultaneously, and one is dragged in a circular motion around the other.
On a oneline diagrams, the following features are enabled
Panning
Simple One-finger Pan interface; operates exactly the same as clicking and dragging with the mouse
Zooming
A Pinch operation – moving the pressed points together zooms out, dragging them apart zooms in. Additionally, a Two-finger Tap zooms to display the entire oneline (operates like the "Show Full" button)
Accessing Local Menu
The oneline local menu normally accessible with a click of the right-mouse-button can be brought up with a Press-and-Hold gesture on the oneline background. The menu will open upon release.
Finding Oneline Elements
Oneline navigation is facilitated by making the "Find Element" dialog easily accessible at any time. A Press-Tap gesture on the oneline background will bring up this dialog
Oneline Element Interaction
Oneline diagrams can provide easy access to information on specific elements of the system. The following are some ways in which this access can be enhanced with a touchscreen interface.
Tap Correction
Tapping is an imprecise interface, and getting an exact tap on a small oneline element can be very difficult. In touchscreen mode, a tap or press which lands on the oneline background (but close to a displayed element) is interpreted as a tap or press on that element. The amount of correction desired can be set with the Tap Correction slider on the Simulator Options Dialog under Environment.
Local Menu
The oneline local menu normally accessible with a click of the right-mouse-button on an oneline element can be brought up with a Press-and-Hold gesture on the desired oneline element. The menu will open upon release.
Opening Object Dialogs
A Double-Tap (just like a double click in the keyboard/mouse interface) on an element of the oneline opens that element's dialog.
Bus View
A Press-Tap gesture on a bus will open a new Bus View window for the specified bus.
Additional Oneline Navigation Options
An additional navigation bar is available in fullscreen oneline diagrams if the Use Touchscreen Menucheckbox on the Simulator Options Dialog under Environment is enabled. This menu-bar appears at the bottom of the screen with large, easily tapped buttons. Four context buttons are displayed on the lower left corner of the screen, which are used to populate the rest of the touchscreen menu bar.
Open Onelines
This populates the touchscreen menu bar with a collection of buttons similar to the "Open Windows" dropdown menu in the Ribbon Bar. This allows for fast, easy navigation between diagrams
Saved Views
Tapping this button brings up a collection of buttons corresponding to any saved views associated with the active display.
Screen Layers
This button gives quick access to a list of screen layers in the active display, allowing easy control over the level of detail displayed.
Saved Hotkeys
Tying common actions to a hotkey through the normal Simulator interface allows those actions to be executed quickly and easily; this button populates the touchscreen menu bar with buttons corresponding to all custom hotkey actions.
3D Oneline Navigation
A number of touchscreen gestures are available to facilitate navigation in 3D space.
Center View On Point
Some of the following gestures act in reference to the view's center-point. To center the view on a point of interest, simply Press-Tap on that point.
Transformational Panning
Just as a drag-and-drop movement with the mouse moves the 3D camera view over the oneline, a simple One-finger Pan gesture will change the location of the camera without altering the angle of view.
Rotational Panning
A Two-finger Pan gesture controls the view-angle of the 3D camera without changing its location.
Zoom
A Pinch gesture moves the 3D camera toward or away from the view center point.
Spin
A Rotate gesture holds the view center constant while spinning the 3D camera around that point.
Overhead View
A Two-finger Tap gesture returns the 3D view to its default overhead orientation, positioned over the current view center-point.
Local Menu
The oneline local menu normally accessible with a click of the right-mouse-button can be brought up with a Press-and-Hold gesture. The menu will open upon release.
Case Information Display Navigation
Case information displays are a major part of the Simulator interface, but the small cells can be difficult to manipulate with a touchscreen. Some gestures have been implemented to ease that interaction.
Zoom
A Pinch gesture will change the magnification level of a case information display. A Two-finger Tap anywhere on the case information display will restore the zoom level to 100%
Reorder Columns
Using a One-finger Pan on a column header allows for drag-drop re-ordering similar to Ctrl-Left Mouse Drag.
Local Menu
The case information display local menu normally accessible with a click of the right-mouse-button can be brought up with a Press-and-Hold gesture. The menu will open upon release.
Sort
A Press-Tap gesture on a column will sort all rows based on the values in that column. Depending on the location of the tap, different sorting methods can be specified or toggled. A tap on the same horizontal or vertical level as the press point will toggle between sorting methods, while a tap on a diagonal corresponds to a specific sorting method. A taps on an upward diagonal sorts in an ascending order, a lower diagonal sorts in descending order; a taps on a right diagonal sorts by actual value, a tap on a left diagonal sorts by absolute value:
