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Modeling: Geometry Entry
Slide incorporates a sophisticated geometry entry interface
modeled after the leading CAD packages on the market today. Boundaries
representing the external perimeter, material boundaries, water table,
etc., are defined by drawing with the mouse and/or concurrently entering
coordinates through a command-line (see screenshot below). Users can
also import existing geometry from an AutoCAD DXF file. As with most
CAD programs, features such as grids, snapping, undo are all implemented
to greatly simplify the process. Any person who has used a CAD program
(e.g. AutoCAD) will have no problem understanding and using the Slide
geometry modeler.
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Modeling: Interactive Editing, Moving and
Deleting
After entering geometry into Slide
either by importing an AutoCAD DXF file, or by using Slide's
own advanced CAD interface, it is very easy for a user to modify
it. Slide allows users to move or delete either whole boundaries
or selected vertices, add new vertices to boundaries, and modify
various properties. The easiest way to edit objects in Slide
is to right-click directly on the particular
object or its vertex. However, the user is not limited only to this
method, since all the editing options are duplicated in the main
program menu.
Deleting a Search Grid by using a right-click menu
(left) or by selecting "Delete Search Objects" main menu option
To assist with moving boundaries and vertices, Slide also
provides various snapping and coordinate display options.
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Modeling: Right-Click Editing
Almost all Slide editing tasks are accessible through mouse
right clicks. Right clicking on an object will display a menu with
a set of appropriate actions that can be performed on that object.
This makes editing very fast and easy. For example to delete a material
boundary, you can right click on it and select the Delete Boundary
option from the pop up menu. The animated figure below illustrates
this (click on the figure to view the animation).
Modeling: More examples
Load editing
Support pattern editing
Material assignment
Setting boundary conditions in groundwater mode
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Modeling: Show Vertex Coordinates
Slide allows the user to view vertex coordinates for all
or selected modeling entities. This feature is very useful when you
need to inspect the location of boundaries (or any other modeling
entity) or for printouts. The coordinates are displayed on top of
the model drawing. The output format, such as color and number of
decimal digits is fully customizable.
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Modeling: Snapping Options
Snapping options allow the user to control where to place a vertex
during geometry entry or editing. Slide has three snapping
options: Snap, Ortho Snap, and Object Snap. All three options can
be combined with each other making geometry modifications very easy.
These functions should be very familiar for any person who has used
CAD programs like AutoCAD before, however because of their simplicity
they are easy to learn even for a novice user.
Snap
The Snap option allows you to snap the vertex being edited to any
existing vertex on the geometry, to a line segment, or to a grid
point (if the Grid is displayed).
Water table vertex being snapped to External boundary
vertex (upper figure) and to boundary segment (lower figure)
Ortho Snap
If the Ortho Snap option is turned on, a line segment currently
being drawn or edited will be snapped to a horizontal or vertical
line. This feature is very handy for drawing orthogonal lines.
Using Ortho Snap to horizontally align a water table
segment
Object Snap
With the Object Snap option, the user can snap a vertex to an extension
of any existing line segment or to horizontal or vertical lines
from an existing vertex. It works in the following way. When you
hover the mouse over a line segment, a temporary infinite line will
be drawn through the segment allowing you to snap anywhere on that
line. If you hover the mouse over a vertex, vertical and horizontal
lines will be drawn through that vertex. Furthermore, you can also
snap to the intersections between these temporary lines.
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Modeling: Interactive Zoom and Pan
Slide has variety of ways in which you can customize the view of your
model. Aside from standard options like Zoom In, Zoom Out, Zoom All,
and Pan, there is also Zoom to Window, Zoom with Mouse and Zoom to
Slope. The effect of Zoom All and Zoom to Slope is shown in the figure
below.
All Zoom and Pan options are accessible through keyboard shortcuts.
For users with a Microsoft compatible wheel mouse there are additional
shortcuts. Scrolling the wheel up and down will zoom in or zoom out.
Holding the mouse wheel button down and moving the mouse will pan
the view window.
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Modeling: Import and Export to DXF Format
Boundaries and support objects (eg. bolts) can be imported to Slide
from an AutoCAD DXF file. This allows you to use an existing digitized
drawing in Slide or to export and import parts of geometry
from one Slide file to another.
To import or export boundaries, simply select Import DXF or Export
DXF from the menu, and then select the boundary types you need from
the DXF Options dialog as shown in the snapshot below.
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Modeling: Undo and Redo
Any action in the Slide modeler can be easily undone with
just one mouse click. Any undone action can just as easily be redone.
You can undo / redo either a single action or multiple actions recorded
by the Slide modeler.
Undo single action
Undo multiple actions using the Undo History drop list
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Modeling: Data Tips
Data tips in Slide provide the user with information about
any object in a model by simply moving the mouse cursor over that
object. The information is provided in the form of a Windows Tool
Tip right next to the mouse cursor. The amount of information can
be selected by the user at any time. There are three Data Tip modes:
Minimum, Maximum, and Turned Off. The modes can be switched quickly
with a click of the mouse in the status bar area.
Clicking on the Data Tips status bar pane switches the
Data Tip mode
In the Minimum Data Tip mode, the program shows only a short description
of an object or area where the mouse is located. In the Maximum mode,
the program provides detailed information about an object or area
under the mouse cursor.
While in maximum Data Tip mode, moving the mouse cursor
over different areas provides detailed information about an object
or an area under the cursor
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Modeling: Multiple Materials
By default Slide starts with 20 material and 20 support properties,
but if your model requires more properties you can increase that number
up to 500. Properties can also be easily imported from other Slide
files.
To distinguish between different materials in the model, they are
assigned a fill color or a hatch pattern to fill with. A hatch pattern
is particularly useful for black and white printouts of the model
drawing.
Material layers of the same model are color filled (top) and filled with hatched pattern (bottom).
Material assignment in Slide is also very straightforward.
Just bring up the Assign Properties dialog, select the property you
need to assign, then click inside a material zone. Alternatively,
you can right-click in any material zone and select from the first
seven material properties in the pop-up menu.
Assigning properties to a material layer is simple: select
the property to assign and click in the material layer
Right-click inside a material layer to assign one of the
first 7 material properties
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