New Object View
When we create a new source or filter with ParaView, we obviously want to see the object once we hit accept. With ParaView 2, there was no question as to where to put the result since there was only one place to put it. With the introduction of multiple views in ParaView 3, the appropriate view to display the pipeline object's data becomes ambiguous. ParaView 3 also supports multiple types of views, further complicating the decision making processes. Currently, the process for creating a plot from a 3D object is to create the filter, then divide up the view, then assign the view type to the new view area, then finally add the new pipeline object to the view. Although explicit, that is far too many steps to establish a new plot.
Without a user mind reading device, which is not on the current feature list of ParaView 3.0, it is impossible to always accurately predict the desired behavior of the user. We must realize that, no matter what decision making processes we use, ParaView will make mistakes. With that in mind, we have two major criteria for the process of placing new objects. First, the processes should be simple. There should be few rules to the process and the rules should be intuitive (or at least make sense). Second, the result should be easy to "fix" if ParaView makes the wrong decision.
Immediately below is the proposed set of rules for placing new pipeline objects in views. The rules are to be traversed in order until an applicable one is reached. At that time the rule is applied and the process ends. Note that although the motivation for this discussion was for placing plot-type objects, these rules are designed to be generic enough for any object type.
- #Place the new object in the currently selected view, if possible
- #Place the new object in an empty view frame, if available
- #Split the currently selected view and use the new view
The following sections are more detailed explanations of the rules as well as discussions of the ramifications and motivations for each.
