Screen presentation

The TopSolid 7 screen consists of different zones allowing you to manage projects and documents:

1	TopSolid button	13	Search, change and request/approval tabs
2	System toolbar	14	Compass
3	Context and Menu Tabs	15	Workspace
4	Dialog Window	16	Visualization and Rendering Bar
5	Document Tabs	17	Scale Bar
6	Context Commands (Work Bar)	18	Project Management Window
7	Banner	19	Project Tabs
8	Context States	20	Preview Area
9	Entity Window	21	Visualization tolerances
10	Options Window	22	Tools bar of tree
11	Operations Window	23	Measurement
12	Dialog Area	24	Parts window

1 - TopSolid Button

This button, also called the Application Icon, allows you to access commands for file management, editing, display, document visualization windows, PDM management and exiting the software.

2 - System Bar

This icon bar groups frequently used TopSolid commands: Open Current Document, Save All Documents, Print, Undo, Redo, Stage Change and Refresh.

Contrary to the context icon bar, it is not customizable.

3 - Context Tabs and Menus

This area displays the entire set of available commands. The contents of this menu depends on the type of document being edited, as well as installed add-in modules.

Right-click the text of a context tab to display context icons on the Work Bar found just below. This bar contains the most frequently used commands of the menu (you can also change the toolbar by placing the mouse cursor in this area and turning the wheel, if the mouse has one).

Left-click the button (or right-click the tab text) to scroll the menu. Commands are split into sub-menus that can be accessed by clicking the arrow found at the right of the text (you can also click the text with the right mouse button).

The icon on the right of the Home tab or the F11 function key allows to display the document without the icons bars and trees .This mode allows to work using the contextual menus, and the keyboard shortcuts. The menus are displayed when the cursor hovers the document tabs. This menu bar can be pinned to be always visible.

4 - Dialog Window

This area displays when the name of a command ends in "..." (such as, for example, the Sketch > Line... command). It allows you to enter different information that performs the selected command.

By default, the dialog window displays in the upper-left area of the workspace, but it can also be displayed in the form of an anchored tool window with the TopSolid > Display > Dialog command (click it to turn on the mode).

The top of the dialog window consists of an icon bar allowing you to perform basic commands:

	OK	Validates the dialog and executes the current command when all necessary data is entered, if any data is missing, this button is grayed out. You can also run the validation by right-clicking and selecting the icon from the popup menu or pressing the Enter key on the keyboard.
	Cancel	Closes the dialog without running the current command. You can also close the document by right-clicking and selecting the icon from the popup menu or pressing the Esc key on the keyboard.
	Help	Launches the online help of the current command. You can also launch the help by pressing the F1 key on the keyboard.
	Preview	Activate or not the preview of the command result. This option is only available for some commands (surfacic commands, hollow, thicken, trim, ...) which needs a lot of system resource. Performances can be increased by deactivating the preview.
	Thumbtack In	Allows you to select the operation mode of the command. If the thumbtack is in, the command will automatically restart after use, which allows you to concatenate, for example, multiple fillets without relaunching the command. However, if the thumbtack is not it, the command only works once.
	Thumbtack Out
	Next	When certain commands function like wizards, the Next and Back icons allow you to go forward or back in the stages.
	Previous

In dialog, the size of the displayed lists can be set with the contextual menu.
- Automatic size: The list changes from 4 to 8 lines according to its contents. If the number of lines is higher than 8, a scroll bar appears.
- Possibility to fix the number of lines. This dialog is done dialog by dialog, it is saved and proposed when opening again this dialog. If the number of lines is higher than the entered value, a scroll bar appears.

Example: Set of the number of lines in the Shape > Repetition command.

The dialog can be displaced in the graphic area by dragging the title. The different sections of the dialog can be temporary closed by clicking the icon in the circle.

5 - Document Tabs

This area contains the list of open documents; each document is open in a window with a tab containing the name and icon of the type of document. It can also be followed by symbols that describe the status of the document:

Symbol	Example	Document Status
*		Modified Document.
		Document containing an invalid operation or item. Left-click this icon to edit the 1st invalid operation.
		Document for which the operations tree cursor was lowered in order to see the part or assembly in a previous state. Left-click this icon to move the cursor to the top of the tree.
Document Name: Window #		Document open in several windows.

When multiple documents are open, the tab of the current document has an orange background. Furthermore, in the right part of the window, the icons allow you to respectively display the list of open documents in order to select the new current document and close the current document.

The popup menu of tabs allows you to access document (Save, Vault, Close) and window (Tile, New Window, etc.) management commands.
You can quickly close a document by clicking on the document tab with the middle mouse button (wheel).
Tabs can be reclassified by dragging them horizontally.
You can slide a tab to the workspace to create a new window.

6 - Context Commands (Work Bar)

The command bar contains the most frequently used commands of the chosen context. Selecting a command generally triggers the display of command options in the Dialog Panel.

Commands are displayed in the left part of the context, whereas states (or modes) are displayed in the right part.

You can change the toolbar by placing the mouse cursor in this area and scrolling the wheel, if the mouse has one.

7 - Banner

The banner displays the name of the current document, as well as information related to the type of PDM used. In Local Mode, the Local PDM information displays, in Client/Server Mode, the name of the connection as well as the user name between brackets displays.

8 - Context states

States (or modes) allow you to set the options of the current context, select the mode when the icon is on an orange background (orange is the default active color and can be configured in the Window feature of the Tools > Options... command).

For example, in the Sketch context, Construction mode allows you to define the construction type for the items created next.

9 - Entities window

10 - Options window

11 - Operations window

12 - Dialog Area

The dialog area displays messages that guide you through each command. The right part contains the coordinates of the cursor in relation to the absolute frame, as well a progression cursor for the current command, when necessary.

13 - Search, change, request and approval tabs.

This area automatically opens when you slide your cursor over one of the tabs, in the same way that it automatically closes when your cursor remains outside the tab for a few seconds.

The Search tab allows you to search the document based on different criteria (see the Search command for details).

The Change tab allows you to quickly view documents currently open by different users connected to the same PDM server (see the Change command for details).

The Requests tab allows to visualize sent approval requests and requests to approve (workflow). (see the Requests command for details).

Search and Changes tabs can be displayed/hidden with the Search, Changes and Requests commands of the TopSolid7 button > View.

14 - Compass

The default position (lower left) displays the orientation of the absolute frame with different sensitive areas that turn green when the cursor hovers over them, this allows you to control the orientation of each view:

Displacement of View (Panoramic):
To move the view based on an axis, clicking one of the axes (represented in green in the opposite image) with the left mouse button, then move the cursor while holding down the left mouse button.
Spherical Rotation:
To rotate the view spherically, click the end of an axis (represented in green in the opposite image) with the left mouse button and move the cursor while holding down the left mouse button. For a perpendicular orientation to the selected axis, double-click the axis or the end of an axis.
Rotation Around an Axis:
To rotate around an axis, click a circle arc joining two axes (represented in green in the opposite image) with the left mouse button and move the cursor while holding down the left mouse button. For a 90° rotation, double-click a circle arc joining two axes.
Displacement of Compass:
You can move the compass by clicking the origin of the compass (represented in green in the opposite image) and moving the mouse to an item while holding down the left mouse button, then releasing the button to anchor the compass to the desired item. The compass is positioned on a peak, a planar face or in the middle of a cylindrical, conical or spherical face and the original sphere will be replaced by a cube. When the compass is anchored on an item, the orientation of the absolute frame is materialized by a trihedral positioned in the lower left corner of the screen. You can move the compass back to its initial position by selecting the original cube with the left mouse button, holding down the button and moving it to the void.

Negative Axes:
You can display the X-, Y- and Z- axes by positioning the cursor next to the assumed location of these axes, they will then appear in green and you will have the same options as for positive axes.

The size of the compass is set by modifying the value of the Scale Factor of Screen Size Objects in the Display feature of the Tools > Options command.
When the compass is not visible (while it is positioned on an element which is outside the graphic area), it is possible to dynamically rotate this the wire frame on the bottom left of the graphic area. A double click on this frame allows to position again the compass on this frame.

15 - Workspace

The workspace allows you to view the document being modified. The management commands of this area (Zoom, Orientation, Multiple Windows, Rendering, etc.) are found in the Visualization menu, the most frequently used commands are grouped in an icon bar called Visualization and Rendering Bar found to the right of this area.

The mouse buttons also allow you to quickly access certain commands:

Zoom: Turn the wheel of the mouse to zoom in or out of the view.

Global zoom: Double-click on the middle button (wheel) allows you to resize all elements in the graphic area (global zoom).

Rotation: Click and hold down the middle button to turn the view contents.

Furthermore, you can indicate a rotation axis by positioning the cursor on an item (edge, segment, etc.), and pressing the Alt key on your keyboard.

Translation (Panoramic): Click and hold down the right mouse button to move the view contents.

Furthermore, you can indicate a translation axis by positioning the cursor on an item (edge, segment, etc.), and pressing the Alt key on your keyboard.

When the workspace is divided into multiple views, the active view is identified by a black edge, the view also contains the compass and the visualization and rendering bar.

16 - Visualization and Rendering Bar

The visualization and rendering bar groups the most frequently used commands of the Visualization menu, these commands allow you to quickly act on the document being modified.

Icon	Command
	Displacement of View (Panoramic).
	View rotation and access to Rotate View and Lock View commands.
	Face view and access to other views (above, right, etc.).
	Perspective View.
	Split workspace into 4 views and access other split commands (1 view, 2 views, etc.).
	Best Zoom
	Window Zoom
	Shadowed rendering with edges and access to rendering commands (see the different rendering mode commands for more details). The icon changes according to the selected render.
	Attributes by default. The icon changes according to the selected color. When setting the default attributes, you can use the random color option to have a different color for each created shape of the document. To satisfy the TopSolid V6 users, a right click on the color palette allows to quickly change the color of an element without changing the current color. You can also select a part, open the color palette and change the part color by right clicking on a color.
	Default line style. The icon changes according to the selected line.
	Default marker style (available on Drawing documents). The icon changes according to the selected marker.

The contents of this bar can be modified with the Tools > Customize command.

17 - Scale Bar

The scale bar allows you to have an idea of the size of the item being modeled, its value is recalculated depending on the zoom performed on the view.

The scale bar can be displayed or hidden by checking or unchecking the Show Scale Bar option in the Display feature of the Tools > Options command.

18 - Project Management Window

19 - Project Tabs

When multiple projects are open, these tabs allow you to change the current project.

As with document tabs, you can quickly close a document by clicking the tab with the middle mouse button (wheel).

20 - Preview Area

The preview area displays a preview of the selected document as long as this document was created by a TopSolid7 application.

The preview of a document is calculated from shapes contained in the document with the Shadowed Rendering with Edges, Perspective Camera and Global Zoom settings. However, some types of documents, such as threading standards or unfolding rules, do not have a preview.

21 - Visualization tolerances

Visualization tolerances can be modified by double-click on the text.

22 - Tools bar of tree

Under the tree banner, a tools bar allows to display more or less information. The options are activated by clicking the icon (orange background) and are disabled by clicking a second time.

Some icons are not available for some trees. You will the detailled description of each icon in the pages explaining the role of each trees.

Some modes are only available for some trees. For example, the projects tree as no Synchronizations mode.

23 - Measurement

When you select one or more elements, a measurement is displayed on the bottom right of the screen without any command being selected.

The result depends on the type of element selected:

Selection	Result
Line	Line length
Arc or fillet	Radius
Circle or cylindrical face	Diameter
Two parallel lines or faces	Distance between both lines/faces
Two non-parallel lines or faces	Angle between both lines/faces

24 - Parts tree