FX Model Editor Tasks

Main Interface

The main interface of FX Model Editor is divided into two sections. The tree views on the left side show the nodes in the model, generally in the same organization as MORPH. On the right is information about the node that is currently selected. HTML documentation may be added to most nodes; when available, it is found on a separate tab in the right hand panel.

Most of the editing takes place in the "Normal" view. Object Classes and Interactions have two different trees: their class hierarchy (parent/child lineage), and what is known as a "meta-node" organization. The meta-node organization is open-ended, and a user may arrange the classes and interactions as he sees fit using this. The class hierarchy is edited on the main tree; the meta-node organization is found on the Metanode tab.

In both tree views, each root node represents a different model. Models have no relation to each other but may be edited concurrently. To work with a different model, select either the model node itself (the root node), or one of its children. Some operations, such as the "Save" command, operate automatically on the current model. Thus, when using these commands, be sure the desired model is selected first.

The various tree views are linked. If a model is selected in one, the same model is selected in the other. Expanding or collapsing a model using the menu also affects both trees.

Adding nodes

There are two ways to add a new node to the tree:

Select the desired parent node, then use the "Add" toolbar button and select a node off the resulting drop-down menu.
Right-click on the desired parent node and select the desired child node from the list.

Only valid children of the selected parent node are shown.

Moving nodes

Nodes are automatically arranged in groups of the same node type. Nodes may be moved up and down within their grouping, but they may not be moved outside of their groups. The Move Up and Move Down buttons move a node amongst its siblings. Dragging and dropping a node changes the node's parent.

Dragging and dropping nodes

A node's position in the tree can be changed by dragging it from anywhere in the tree and dropping it onto the new desired parent. Only valid parents are allowed as drop-points; if the node does not highlight under the mouse cursor when dragging, that node is not a valid parent.

Deleting nodes

To remove a node from the tree, select it and then do one of the following:

Use the "Delete" toolbar button (the red "X").
Right-click the node and select "Delete" from the menu that appears.
Press the Delete ("Del") key (only when the tree view has focus).

Placeholder nodes (such as "Object Classes") may not be deleted.

Working with notes

Many elements have "notes" associated with them. These are identified by the note icon button that can be found to their immediate right. The notes icon is dimmed if there are no notes currently applied to that element. A tooltip that appears when the mouse is hovered over the button also provides information about the notes currently applied to a piece of data.

To add or remove notes to a data item, click on the notes button beside it. This produces a list of all notes that currently exist in the model. Those with a checkmark beside them are applied to the currently-selected item. Checkmarks may be added or removed from the list, and the result applied by selecting the "Close" button. More than one note may be applied to a single item.

When invalid notes are applied to an element (such as a note that has since been deleted from the model), the notes button is displayed in red.