The image on the right shows Canvas' Startup Screen, where users can create or open projects, view the offline and online help files, and view the current Canvas versions. Users can select a project to continue editing if there are any saved projects from previous editing sessions.
Project Modification
To create a project, click File > New > Project, press the hotkey [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [N], or click Create New Project on the Startup Screen. This will bring up the New Project pop-up window at the far right, where users can set the desired project properties. The window automatically populates with the defaults of “Sample Project Name” for the Project Name field, the most recent location a project was created at for the Save Location field, and 800x480 for the Screen Size field.
In this window, users can choose between Landscape and Portrait modes and set a password to open the project.
To open a project, click File > Open…, press the hotkey [Ctrl] + [O], click the Open Project… (Ctrl O) icon on the toolbar, or click Open Project Files on the Startup Screen. Only project files with the “.cnvs” formats can be opened.
When the user selects a project file and clicks Open, the last-edited version of that project will be launched. If a project is currently opened, the project will automatically close.
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Projects created using the newer versions of CIMON Canvas cannot be executed using an older version. |
To close a project, click File > Close > Project, press the hotkey [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [W], or terminate Canvas. If changes to the currently opened project are not saved, the dialog box displayed to the far right will appear:
The project closing time will vary depending on the system environment and the project size. If Canvas is not terminated when closing a project, it will return to the Startup Screen.
To save a project's current status, click File > Save, press the hotkey [Ctrl] + [S], or click the Save (Ctrl S) icon on the toolbar. The project saving time will vary depending on the system environment and the project size.
To copy a project, open the project and click File > Save As, press the hotkey [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [S], or click the Save As… (Ctrl Shift S) icon on the toolbar. This will open a pop-up window where the user can define a name for the copy of the project file and select a location to save the file. After designating a name and location, the original project will maintain its name and file location, and a new file will be created.
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The file can only be saved in “.cnvs” format, and the name cannot be duplicated with other project folders in the same path. |
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If a project has been recently edited, it can be found on the Startup Page under Recent Projects or by going to File > Open Recent and opening it by left-clicking. Up to the last 16 edited projects will be shown at both locations. If a project was built in a higher version, it cannot be opened. Additionally, if a project's path has been changed, the project's new location will not appear in the recent project sections.
Project Properties
The Project Properties window has most of the customizable options for a user's project. The image to the right displays all of the fields and checkboxes available in the Project Properties window:
Users can change the project password, customize pages, change runtime options, change identity and access management options, change audit log options, and set up email settings, including SMTP Properties.
Convert Project Size
The Convert Project Size window allows users to change a project's set size to another size. Users can select width and height, resize objects when converting, and create a backup project.
Designer Settings
The Designer Settings window allows users to change the default save location until it is updated by the most recent save, language, theme, and system.execute options in the Simulator.
General Properties
Basic Properties
The Basic Properties window allows users to change the displayed content and formatting within the object. For all objects, the object's name will show up in place of Basic Properties. An example of the Basic Properties window for a text box is shown to the right:
Each object's Basic Properties window is different, but users will find fields to name objects, change the contents they display or store, date and time formatting, etc.
Appearance
The Appearance pane enables the use of colors and selections to alter visible characteristics. An example of the Appearance pane for a text box is shown to the right:
Each object's Appearance pane differs, but users will find fields to control visibility, opacity, blinking, colors, font, and configuration.
Transform
The Transform tab provides adjustable properties that reshape or move the object. An example of the Transform tab for a text box is shown to the right:
Each object's Transform tab is the same. Users will find fields that control x and y coordinates, z-indexes for layering, width, height, and rotation centers.
Actions
The Actions section allows users to add commands or scripts to an object activated on press, release, double-click, or enter. An example of the Actions section for a text box is shown to the right:
Some objects do not have applicable actions, but if an object does, the Actions section will be the same, except for the Text Field and Numeric Field. With commands or scripts set to touch, users can remove touch functionality from an object or set security organization through permissions.
Pane Relocation
Each pane can be relocated by clicking and dragging the pane's name to a desired location. There are preset blue rectangles that, when dropping a pane into one, will resize the existing content to fit the desired placement. Dragging a pane into a blue rectangle location with an unchanged column is shown in the first image on the right:
The second image on the right displays the column after the placement:
Project Tree
Click View > Project Tree and check the checkbox to enable the Project Tree. The Project Tree is a window that exhibits every page and the objects on each page. Users can easily traverse a project by clicking on any object on a page to navigate to it. An example of a Project Tree window is shown to the right:
Status Bar
Click View > Status Bar and check the checkbox to enable the Status Bar. The Status Bar populates on the bottom of a project and shows the current cursor location, magnification level, and whether a selected device is connected. The magnification level can be changed by clicking the percentage drop-down and selecting an option between 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, 150%, 200%, or 400%. An example of a Status Bar is shown to the right:
Graphic Library
Click View > Graphic Library and check the box to enable the Graphic Library pane. In the Graphic Library pane, users can choose from a preset database of static or animated images or create a new custom library. In a custom library, users can import, delete, and rename images as well as create, rename, and organize folders.
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Acceptable image formats are *.png, *.jpg, *.gif, *.jpeg, *.bmp, and *.svg. |
Some static images can change the Transparent Color field that assigns a color to be treated as transparent. Certain static images also have the option in their right-click menu, to be placed as vectors, which retains consistent quality when changing the size of the image.
All animated images have the Enabled field, which controls whether the image will be animated. Enabled can have a tag bound so that it can be changed in runtime. They also possess the Speed and Loop Count fields, where speed controls how fast the animated images loop, and loop count controls how many loops of images the animation goes through, infinitely at 0.
Tag View
Click View > Tag View and check the box to enable the Tag View pane. In the Tag View pane, users can change the Tag Overlay options from the View menu, font size, font color, and backgrounds. The Tag View pane displays all bound tag paths, the item names the tags are bound to, the type of property and I/O device, and I/O address if assigned. This information will be displayed on objects corresponding to the chosen overlay options.
The image to the bottom-right shows an example of the Tag View display when using the settings from the image at the top-right:
Action View
Click View > Action View and check the box to enable the Action View pane. The Action View pane displays all instances of bound actions, the name of a script if executing a script, the type of object the actions are bound to, the item names they are bound to, and the method of execution.
