Watch Window Options
Right-clicking a watch window will present a context menu contain- ing a number of options for changing how data is represented and displayed. These options are discussed below.
Data Representation
Coordinate System
Watch windows can display data in one of three coordinate system types: Cartesian, Cylindrical, or Spherical. In the cylindrical/spherical case, the XY axes of the coordinate frame define the θ plane. In the spherical case, the Z axis of the coordinate frame defines the φ=0 direction. Values will therefore be displayed in either of 3 ways relative to the current reporting frame:
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X Y Z coordinates in the default Cartesian system.
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R (radius or distance from the axis), T (theta or rotation about the axis), Z (height from the origin) in cylindrical coordinates.
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R (radius or distance from the origin), T (theta or horizontal rotation), P (Phi or vertical rotation) in spherical coordinates.
Angular Display Mode
Angular rotation values can be reported in several display modes when full frame to frame transformation information is displayed.
Precision
The number of decimal places used to display watch window data can be controlled. Depending on the necessary accuracy and the user’s tolerance for quickly-changing values, the default values may provide too much precision (revealing noise and resulting in quickly- changing numbers) or too little (yielding insufficient detail for the required accuracy).
By default, SA uses the default length and angle precision set in the User Options. However, you can use any preferred precision. The options when changing decimal precision are as follows:
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Use SA Significant Digits. When selected the watch window will use the software defaults. Deselect this to use custom precision settings for the watch window.
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Length. The number of decimal places to use for displaying linear values.
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Angle. The number of decimal places to use for displaying angular values.
Projection Options
The projection options for a point-based watch window are shown here:
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Nominal-Actual. Deviations show the delta from the “nominal” or reference point to the measured point. This presents the deviation from an inspection point of view—that is, how far is the measurement from nominal?
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Actual-Nominal. Deviations show the delta from the measured point to the reference point. This presents the deviation from a build point of view—that is, how far do I need to move the probe to get to nominal?
The projection options for a watch window on a surface or object are built upon the query controls here: Projection Options
The frame of reference can also be adjusted. Frame of Reference
Vector tolerances can also be applied. Vector Tolerances
Item Visibility
Showing / Hiding Rows
Individual rows in a watch window can be shown or hidden. For instance, if you are only interested in adjusting the XY position of a feature, you can remove the Z component from the window to prevent confusion and simplify the display.
Row entry visibility is controlled using the provided set of check box- es. Only the checked options will be displayed when the watch window properties dialog is closed.
Background Window
Background Color
The Background color button provides the ability to set the color of the watch window in Solid Color display mode such that it can be set to any color needed to help in visualization.
Transparency
Watch windows can be made transparent, so that their backgrounds are invisible. The window border can also be made partially transparent. This allows you to see what’s going on in the graphical view while a watch window is being displayed across the entire screen.
To enable background transparency select the radio button in the properties dialog and use the Transparency Level control to adjust the window border transparency.
Text Controls
Font
Watch windows can be displayed in a custom font. You can change the font and style. (Although you can change the font size, this setting is ignored and the size of the window itself is used for determining text size).
Text Color
You can change the text color for the watch window on a row-by-row basis.
Highlight Color
If a prescribed tolerance for a watch window is exceeded, the out-of- tolerance values will be highlighted. You can control the color used for this highlight.
Arrow Settings
When a watch window is displayed that is comparing to another entity, arrows are displayed in the graphical view as a way to visualize the deviations. You can control how these arrows are depicted using the options in the Watch Window Settings dialog
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Arrows. Specifies which arrows should be displayed: X, Y, Z, and/or magnitude. The X/Y/Z arrows show the dX/dY/dZ values. Magnitude shows the shortest distance between the watched item and the entity it’s being compared against.
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Minimum Length (Static). The real-world minimum deviation below which an arrow does not get any shorter.
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Minimum Length (Pixels). The shortest length that any arrow can be drawn in the graphical view.
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Maximum Length (Static). The real-world maximum deviation above which an arrow does not get any longer.
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Maximum Length (Pixels). The longest length that any arrow can be drawn in the graphical view.
Graphical Guide
The graphical guide option are described here: Graphical Guide
Setting a Zero Reference
The X, Y or Z components in a watch window can be zero’d with respect to a particular reference position. To do so, place the reflector in the desired location and double click on the window to bring up the selection control. An offset reference can be added to any or all of the axes.
Once set, a display “OS: ###” will be added to the offset row so that this offset is clearly marked. To remove it, simply double click again and uncheck the corresponding zero component box.
UDP Network Transmit
The UDP Network Transmit controls are described here: