D2D Perspective
D2D (Display 2-Dimensions) is the default AWIPS CAVE perspective, designed to mimmic the look and feel of the legacy AWIPS I system.
System menus include CAVE, File, View, Options, and Tools.
Data menus include Models, Surface, NCEP/Hydro, Upper Air, Satellite, Local Radar Stations, Radar, MRMS, and Maps.
Map projection, image properties, frame control, and a few featured applications (Warngen, Nsharp, and Browser) make up the the primary D2D toolbar.
Note: Depending on which Operating System version of CAVE there may be other application options (PGEN, GEMPAK).
Resource Stack
At bottom-right of the map window the the Resource Stack, which displays all loaded resources and map overlays, and allows for interaction and customization with the resource via a right-click menu.
There are three available views of the Resource Stack, the default will show all Product Resources. The other two views are the Simple view, which shows the time, and the Map Resources. To switch between views see the Right-Click Functionality.
It's important to understand that Product Resources and Map Resources are handled differently given the time-based nature of Products, compared to the static nature of maps. Selecting the Clear button will remove all Products but not remove any Map Products.
Left-Click Resource Name to Hide
A left click on any resource in the stack will hide the resource and turn the label gray. Clicking the name again makes the resource visible.
Right-Click Background to Cycle Resource Views
The default display in the resource stack is the Product Resources. Right Click the mouse on the map background (anywhere but on the stack itself) to switch to a Simple View, which just shows the current displayed time if product data is loaded. Right Click again to show all Map Resources. Right Click again to switch back to Product Resources.
Hold-Right-Click Resource Name for Menu
Drag the mouse over a loaded resource and hold the right mouse button until a menu appears.
The hold-right-click menu allows you to control individual resource Image Properties, Change Colormaps, change resource color, width, density, and magnification, move resources up and down in the stack, as well as configure custom options with other interactive resources.
This menu also gives you the option to unload this specific product, as opposed to removing all data prodcuts. Simply select the Unload option at the bottom of the resource's hold-right-click menu.
Unload a Single Resource
To remove or "unload" a single resource, use the Resource Menu. Open the Resource Menu on the resource you wish to remove and select Unload.
Display Menu
The display menu has many options which can alter the functionality in CAVE.
Hold-Right-Click Background for Display Menu
Holding down the right mouse button anywhere in the map view will open a right-click menu
Show Map Legends
From the above menu select Show Map Legends and watch the Resource Stack show only map resources which are loaded to the view.
Sample Loaded Resources
Most data types have a right-click menu option for reading out the pixel value, displayed as multi-line text for multiple resources. This can be toggled on and off by selecting the Sample option in the Display Menu.
Toggle 2 or 4-Panel Layout
Right-click hold in the view and select Two Panel Layout or Four Panel Layout to create duplicates of the current view.
Notice the readout is at the same position in both panels. Any mouse movement made on one panel will be made on the other.
By default, loading any data will load that data onto both panels. However, there is the option to specify which panel you would like to load data into, which can be useful if you want to have different data in each of the panels. To access this option, simple hold-right click to pull up the Display menu and choose Load to This Panel as shown below:
Now, a yellow L will appear in the lower left hand corner of the panel you selected to load data to. When data is loaded from the menus it will only load to the display desginated with the L. Switch back to loading in both panels, by using the Load to All Panels option in the Display Menu.
From this multi-pane display, hold-right-click again and you will see the Single Panel Layout option to switch back to a standard view (defaulting to the left of two, and top-left of four).
Unload Data
Select Unload All Products to remove all loaded graphic and image products from the display and start fresh.
Select Unload Graphics to remove all but the image products.
Product Browser
The Product Browser allows users to browse a complete data inventory in a side window, organized by data type. To open the Product Browser, either select the icon in the toolbar (
), or go to the menu: CAVE > Data Browsers > Product Browser.
Selections for Grid, Lightning, Maps, Radar, Redbook, and Satellite are available. All products loaded with the Product Browser are given default settings.
Note: The Linux and Mac version also have a selection for GFE available.
Options Menu
There are several toggle options and options dialogs that are available under the Options menu found at the top of the application.
Time Options (Ctrl + Shift + T)
This check button enables/disables the ability to select the time interval between frames of real-time or model data. This feature has the added benefit of allowing you to view extended amounts of data (temporally) but stay within the limits of 64 frames. For example, METAR surface plots, which typically display every hour, can be set to display every three hours via the Select Valid Time and Time Resolution Dialog Box.
When the Time Options check button is selected, the next product you choose to display in the Main Display Pane launches either the Select Valid Time and Time Resolution dialog box or the Select Offset and Tolerance dialog box.
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When you are loading data to an empty display and the Time Options check button is enabled, the Select Valid Time and Time Resolution dialog box opens.
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Valid Time: In this column of dates/times, you may choose the one that will be the first frame loaded onto the Large Display Pane. The Default option is the most recent data.
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Time Resolution: This column contains various time increments in which the data can be displayed. Once you make a selection, the Valid Time Column indents the exact times that will be displayed. The Default resolution displays the most recent frames available.
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With the Time Options check button enabled for a display that already contains data, when you choose the data to be overlaid in the Main Display Pane, the Select Offset and Tolerance dialog box appears, providing the following options:
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Offset: This column contains various time increments at intervals before, at, or after the time you selected for the first product that is displayed in the Main Display Pane.
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Tolerance: The options in this column refer to how strict the time matching is. "None" means an exact match, while "Infinite" will put the closest match in each frame, regardless of how far off it is.
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Image Combination (Insert)
This check button enables/disables the ability to display two images at once.
Combined-image displays have been improved by removing the valid time for non-forecast products and removing the date string (time is kept) from the left side of the legend. In particular, this makes All-Tilts radar legends more usable.
Display Properties
This menu option opens the Display Properties dialog box. Most of the options available in this dialog box are also available on the Toolbar, while the rest are available in the individual resource menus if that resource uses these properties.
Loop Properties (Ctrl + L)
Loop Properties is another dialog box that can be opened from the Options menu or from the Loop Properties iconified button on the D2D Toolbar, or by using the Ctrl + L keyboard shortcut. The dialog allows you to adjust the forward and backward speeds, with 0 = off and 10 = maximum speed. You can set the duration of the first and last frame dwell times to between zero and 2.5 seconds.
You can turn looping on or off by checking the Looping check button. There is also a Looping button located on the Toolbar that enables/disables the animation in the large display pane. Finally, you can turn looping on and increase/decrease forward speed by pressing Page Up/Page Down on your keyboard, and turn looping off with the Left or Right Arrow keys. On the toolbar, you can use the button to start/stop looping.
Image Properties (Ctrl + I)
The Image Properties dialog box can be opened here (in the Options menu) or by using the Image Properties iconified button on the D2D Toolbar (
), or using using the Ctrl + I keyboard shortcut. This dialog box provides options that allow you to change the color table; adjust the brightness, contrast, and alpha of either a single image or combined images; fade between combined images; and/or interpolate the displayed data.
Set Time
This option allows you to set the CAVE clock, located on the bottom of the screen, to an earlier time for reviewing archived data.
Set Background Color
You can now set the background display color on your workstation. You can also set the background display color for a single pane via mouse Button 3 (B3).
Switching Perspectives
Switching perspectives in CAVE can be found in the CAVE > Perspective menu.
D2D is one of many available CAVE perspectives. By selecting the CAVE > Perspective menu you can switch into the GFE, or Localization perspective.
The GFE perspective is not currently working on the direct Windows or MacOS installations of CAVE.
The GFE perspective is only enabled for the OAX site.
CAVE Preferences
Preferences and settings for the CAVE client can be found in the CAVE > Preferences menu.
Set the Localization Site and server for the workstation; configure mouse operations, change performance levels, font magnification, and text workstation hostname.
Load Mode
Within the Display Properties dialog is the Load Mode option, which provides different ways to display data by manipulating previous model runs and inventories of data sets. The selected load mode is shown on the toolbar when the Load Mode menu is closed, and can also be changed by using this toolbar option as well.
A description of the Load Mode options follow.
- Latest: Displays forecast data only from the latest model run, but also backfills at the beginning of the loop with available frames from previous runs to satisfy the requested number of frames.
- Valid time seq: Displays the most recent data and fills empty frames with previous data. For models, it provides the product from the latest possible run for every available valid time.
- No Backfill: Displays model data only from the most recent model run time with no backfilling to fill out a loop. Using this Load Mode prevents the mixing of old and new data.
- Previous run: Displays the previous model run, backfilling with frames from previous runs at the beginning of the loop to satisfy the requested number of frames.
- Prev valid time seq: Displays the previous model run and fills empty frames with previous model data or analyses.
- Prognosis loop: Shows a sequence of n-hour forecasts from successive model runs.
- Analysis loop: Loads a sequence of model analyses but no forecasts.
- dProg/dt: Selects forecasts from different model runs that all have the same valid times. This load mode is available only when there are no other products loaded in the large display pane.
- Forced: Puts the latest version of a selected product in all frames without time-matching.
- Forecast match: Overlays a model product only when its forecast times match those of an initially loaded product. This load mode is available only when another product is already loaded in the large display pane.
- Inventory: Selecting a product when the load mode is set to Inventory brings up a Dialog Box with the available forecast and inventory times from which you can select the product you want. Inventory loads into the currently displayed frame.
- Slot: Puts the latest version of a selected product in the currently displayed frame.