RiverWare 6.6: Show Slot Descriptions in SCT / Analysis and Proposal
Phil Weinstein, CADSWES, edit: 7-07-2014 (b).

This document explores several ways in which slot descriptions could be shown for slots within an SCT.

Users can add a description to any slot (*). Below are three examples of slots having descriptions, and links to more examples:

• http://cadswes2.colorado.edu/~philw/2014/BorTruckee/ShowSlotDesc/RefImages/TruckeeSlotDescExamples2.png
• http://cadswes2.colorado.edu/~philw/2014/BorTruckee/ShowSlotDesc/RefImages/TruckeeSlotDescExamples3.png

(*) Note: User-supplied description support is currently devised specifically for physical slots. Although accounting slots can be shown in an Open Slot dialog -- where slot description editing is supported -- accounting slots are normally shown instead in other, accounting-slot related dialogs.

(1) SCT Contexts

There are several SCT contexts to be considered:

1. SCT Series Data Table (Series Slots) -- Horizontal Time Axis Orientation
2. SCT Series Data Table (Series Slots) -- Vertical Time Axis Orientation
3. SCT Edit Series Slot List Tab
4. SCT Scalar Slots Tab (including 1x1 Table Slots)
5. SCT "Other Slots" Tab (Table, Periodic and List Slots)

(1.1) SCT Series Data Table (Series Slots) -- Horizontal Time Axis Orientation

(1.2) SCT Series Data Table (Series Slots) -- Vertical Time Axis Orientation

(1.3) SCT Edit Series Slot List Tab

(1.4) SCT Scalar Slots Tab (including 1x1 Table Slots)

(1.5) SCT "Other Slots" Tab (Table, Periodic and List Slots)

(2) Approaches to showing Slot Descriptions in, or from, an SCT

(2.1) As a tooltip on slot names.

None of the five "SCT contexts" enumerated above currently show a tooltip on the slot name, so using the tooltip for slot descriptions would not conflict with any existing tooltip feature.

When shown as tooltips, user-supplied line-breaks in description text should be reflected. Also, long lines (paragraphs) should be wrapped, as were the tooltips on long diagnostics messages in the Diagnostics Output Window (in RiverWare 6.5). See this image:

• http://cadswes2.colorado.edu/~philw/2014/bugs/0626/tooltipDiff.png

(2.2) As a column in the slot-list tabs.

This applies to these three SCT tabs.

1. Edit Series Slot List tab
2. Scalar Slots tab
3. Other Slots tab

The "Other Slots tab" currently has a "Column Labels" column which is also quite wide (i.e. as would be a "Description" column). Probably only the "Column Labels" OR "Description" column should be shown at any one time.

Descriptions shown in a slot-list column would necessarily present the description as a single line. But description tooltips (on the single-line description) could show it with wrapping and the original line-breaks.

(2.3) In a Slot Description popup window

A Slot Description viewer popup window could be shown in one of the following two ways. It would be a singleton and would remember its user-adjusted window size and location.

1. from a context menu on the slot name.
2. from a distinct "Description" icon button associated with each slot. These could be arranged in a narrow (icon) column in each of the three slot-list tabs (see above) -- and in the horizontal timestep axis orientation in the Series Slots tab (where slots are rows). The button's tooltip could also show the slot's description. These currently available RiverWare icons could be considered:

(2.4) With improved access to the "Open Slot" operation.

Since slot descriptions are viewable (and editable) in Open Slot dialogs, providing easy access to Open Slot dialogs from SCT slots is a reasonable way to show slot descriptions. There are other benefits to this as well; we should consistently support this operation on all SCT slot items.

Context menus on these two slot-list tabs already provide an "Open Slot..." operation.

1. Scalar Slots tab
2. Other Slots tab

(3) Proposal (Phil, 7-7-2014)

Approach	SerSlot Tab Horz Time	SerSlot Tab Vert Time	Edit SerSlot Tab	Scalar Slots Tab	Other Slots Tab
(2.1) tooltips on slot names
(2.2) column in slot-list tabs
(2.3 a) popup window, from context menu ... REVISED: "Open Slot Description"
(2.3 b) popup window, from icon button
(2.4) (add) "Open Slot" context menu op.

I propose that we initially implement the simplest approaches:

• (2.1) Show tooltips -- with appropriate wrapping -- on slot names. In the vertical axis orientation of the Series Slots tab, this involves adding tooltips to the series data table column header (QHeaderView).
• (2.3 a) and (2.4) add context menus with both "Show Slot Description..." and "Open Slot..." operations on all slot names. This requires:
  • a simple "Slot Description" popup window.
  • adding a context menu to the column headers in the vertical axis orientation of the Series Slots tab.
  • adding these operations to the relevant context menus.

We'll take this opportunity to consistently support these three operations in SCT slot-name context menus -- including copying the selected slot (-references) to the slot clipboard.

• Open Slot...
• Open Slot Description... (REVISION)
• Copy Slot(s)

This can be done within one day (8 hours).

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