2.1 Running HDevelop 17
User Interface
When HDevelop is started for the first time it looks similar to figure 2.1. The main window offers a menu
and a tool bar for quick access to frequently used functions. The status bar at the bottom of the window
displays messages and image properties. In addition, the following windows are available by default:
1. Graphics window
This window displays iconic data: images, regions, and XLDs. It provides its own tool bar to
quickly zoom and pan the displayed image, and a context menu to adapt the visualization settings.
The context menu is available by right-clicking inside the window
1
It contains the most frequently
used entries from the menu Visualization. You can open multiple graphics windows. The one
marked with a lit bulb in the upper right corner is the active graphics window, i.e., it is the target
for subsequent display operations. The graphics window works like an image stack: Images can
be overlayed with regions or XLDs, or with images that have a reduced domain.
2. Operator window
You can select HALCON operators (and HDevelop procedures) in this window. The parameters
of the selected operator can be specified, and the operator can be executed, entered in the current
program, or both. You can also get online help for the selected operator from this window.
3. Program window
This window displays the current program. It provides syntax highlighting with user-definable
colors. The left column displays the program line numbers. The small black triangle is the insert
cursor, which is where new program lines will be added. In the following, it is referred to as
IC. The green arrow is the program counter which marks the next line to be executed. In the
following, the program counter is referred to as PC. You can also add or remove break points in
the current program in this column. These will halt the program execution at user-defined places
so that intermediate results may be examined.
The program source can be edited directly in this window provided that the full text editor is en-
abled (see section 6.4 on page 138). When adding new lines or modifying existing lines, advanced
autocompletion features speed up typing and help keeping the program consistent. Program lines
can also be modified by double-clicking them and editing them in the operator window. This is the
classical way to edit HDevelop programs. It is a more form-based approach to program editing.
Furthermore, different parameters can be easily tested in the operator window without changing
the program. Both the full text editor and the operator window can be used interchangeably for
program editing.
4. Variable window
Program variables can be watched in this window. It displays all variables of the current procedure
and their current values. Iconic variables are displayed as thumbnails, whereas control variables
are displayed as text. The layout of this window can be switched between horizontal and vertical
splitting by double-clicking the separator. You can double-click iconic variables to display them in
the active graphics window. Double-clicking control variables opens an inspection window with a
nicely formatted list of the current values and statistical data.
There are many other windows which will be covered later in this manual.
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Unless the context menu has been disabled in the preferences to prevent any interference with interactive drawing functions.
See section 6.2.2.16 on page 76.
Examples