Previous Chapter 3 Editing MSC Diagrams

3 Editing MSC Diagrams

The MSC Editor is the tool with which you create the Message Sequence Charts, and edit the graphical and textual contents of these MSCs. The MSC Editor provides several windows where you can see the contents of your diagrams. This chapter describes how to work with the MSC Editor. For a reference manual, see chapter 25, The MSC Editor.

General

Editing Functions

The Message Sequence Chart Editor is the graphical tool that you use to create, edit, print and store MSCs. The Message Sequence Chart Editor is integrated with the SDL tools which are included in SDT. This integration provides, among other things, the facility of including MSCs into SDL systems.

The basic editing functionality that the MSCE provides can be summarized as:

Creating and managing MSCs
Appending, moving, resizing symbols
Interconnecting symbols with lines
Editing text
Printing MSCs.

Tracing a Simulation

The Message Sequence Chart Editor can also used as a graphical trace tool, which enables the automatic generation of a Message Sequence Chart from a simulation. The results of the simulation will be presented in an MSC Editor window, in which each event of interest will be appended to the chart in order to build up a chart which reflects the history of the simulation. The results of a simulation can be saved in MSC-PR form and reread by the MSC Editor.

The commands that start up the logging of MSC events, set up the scope of trace, stop the logging of events, and so on, are given to the simulator. See chapter 7, Simulating a System.

Validating a System

An MSC can be used as a means to express the requirements on an SDL system. With the MSC Editor and the Validator, SDT provides a powerful validation environment. The basic idea is to draw a Message Sequence Chart using the MSC Editor and then use the Validator to check if there is a possible execution path for the SDL system that satisfies the MSC.

The commands that validate a system are given to the validator. See chapter 8, Validating a System.

Compliance with MSC Rules

MSC Diagrams

The MSC Editor supports virtually all of the ITU language definition for MSCs. All the elements defined in the recommendation Z.120 are supported.

Some extensions have been included in order to provide a tool that is even more powerful when used in the SDT environment, allowing to express a graphical trace in a more intuitive way:

Messages are allowed to be sent to self (see page 208)
The status of messages and timer is enhanced (see page 212 - page 207)
The void instance (see page 251).

Pagination

MSCs cannot be split into multiple pages in the same way as SDL diagrams. However, if your MSC requires more than one sheet of paper when printing it out, the MSC Editor takes care of splitting the chart into multiple parts to print on separate sheets of the paper size you have specified. You set up the printer pages with The Preference Manager. You can use the Window Options menu choice from the View menu to show the page boundaries on the screen.

Each part of a multiple-part chart can be printed with adjacent page markers to assist you in making up the complete chart. This feature (which is not supported by the ITU Z.120 recommendation) is by default disabled and must be set as a preference.

Syntax Rules at Editing Time

Some of the MSC syntax rules are enforced during edit when you append symbols and lines to your MSC. These rules determine:

Which symbols and lines are allowed to be interconnected
Where symbols can be placed.

This syntax checking cannot be disabled. No syntax checking on text attributes takes place.

Starting the MSC Editor

Before you can start the Message Sequence Chart Editor, you must start the SDT Organizer. (See chapter 22, The SDT Organizer.) In the Organizer, MSCs are handled as references, which you can add and remove from the Organizer Associated Documents Area.

There are a number of ways of starting the MSC Editor:

Starting on an Existing MSC

In this topic, various ways of starting the MSC Editor on existing MSCs are described.

Starting on an Existing MSC Icon

To start the MSC Editor on an existing MSC which is managed by the Organizer, perform the following steps:

In the Organizer Associated Documents Area, locate the icon that represents the MSC of your choice. Select that icon.
- Alternatively, if the MSC is associated with an SDL diagram, you can select the associated MSC link icon (looking like an MSC icon displayed in dashed form).
```
Figure 75 : An MSC Icon and an Associated MSC Icon. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----
```
To start the MSCE, you have the following options:
- With the Edit Diagram menu choice on the Organizer's Edit menu.
- With the Edit Diagram menu choice on the Organizer's Popup Menus.
- By double-clicking the MSC icon.
After a few seconds, the MSCE responds by issuing its window (see "The MSC Editor Window" on page 1301 in chapter 25, The MSC Editor), then the current MSC data is read from file and the viewport will be positioned at the upper left portion of the chart.

Starting on an Existing MSC, not Managed by the Organizer

To start the MSC Editor on an existing diagram that is not managed by the Organizer (i.e. not contained in the Organizer Associated Documents Area) you must first include it into the Organizer, before the MSC Editor can be started.

To include an existing MSC into the Organizer:

Select the Organizer's Add Diagram command from the Edit menu. A dialog is issued:
```
Figure 76 : Adding an MSC 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----
```
- Make sure the diagram type is set to MSC. If not, select MSC from the Diagram Type option menu.
- Type in the name of the MSC in the Diagram Name field. (You need of course to know the name of the MSC that you want to add).
- Make sure the As Associated Document radio button is on.
Click the Add & Connect button. An SDT Connect Diagram is issued, prompting you to connect the MSC reference to a file on which the MSC is stored.
```
Figure 77 : Connecting the MSC to a File. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----
```

You have the following options:

To specify the file of your choice by typing the file name into the To an existing file field or by clicking the folder button (which issues a Standard File Selection Dialog). Click the Connect & Edit button. The Organizer first checks that the name of the MSC you entered and the name that is stored on the file match. If not, the following dialog is issued:
```
Figure 78 : Mismatch in Names Detected. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----
```
- If you click Connect, you may want to rename the MSC later on. (The file you have specified may also contain some MSC that is not the correct one.)
- If you click Cancel, you are returned to the dialog in Figure 77.
Alternatively, if you have an adequate Search List File, you can take advantage of it by having the tool locate a file containing the MSC - type in the name of the search list file and make sure the search list radio button is on. Click the Connect & Edit button. The Organizer first searches for a file that contains the MSC. If such a file cannot be found, the following message is issued:
```
Figure 79 : The Organizer Failed in Finding a Matching File. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----
```
- You are returned to the dialog in Figure 77. You should use another search list or specify the MSC file.

If the checks passed without errors, the MSC is added to the Organizer's Associated Documents Area, the MSC Editor is started and displays the upper left corner of the MSC.

Starting on a New (Nonexisting) MSC

This operation denotes how to start the MSC Editor when no MSCs are available.

You should perform the following steps:

Add a reference to an MSC using the Organizer's Add Diagram menu choice.
```
Figure 80 : Adding an MSC. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----
```
- Make sure the diagram type is set to MSC. If not, select MSC from the Diagram Type option menu).
- We recommend that you already now assign the MSC reference its correct name in the Diagram Name field.
- Make sure the As Associated Document radio button is on (MSCs cannot be added as roots into the Diagram Structure Area).
Click the Add button in the Add Diagram dialog. A new MSC Icon appears in the Associated Documents Area in the Organizer. The MSC has the status [unconnected], the connection will be established when saving the MSC (see "Saving a Newly Created MSC" on page 170).
```
Figure 81 : Having Added a Reference to a Non-Existing MSC. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----
```
Operate the Edit Diagram menu choice from the Organizer's Edit menu (see step 2. on page 160).
- Alternatively, activate the Organizer's Popup Menus or double-click the MSC Icon.

Make sure the New radio button is on (see Figure 82). Click the New button.

Figure 82 : Editing a nonexisting MSC 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----

This terminates the operation. The MSC Editor issues its window, displaying an empty diagram with the name assigned in the Organizer. The MSC icon changes its status from [unconnected] to [unsaved].
```
Figure 83 : The MSC Edit has Opened the MSC - Status Unsaved. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----
```

Exiting the MSC Editor

To exit the MSC Editor:

Select the Exit command from the File menu. If the MSC Editor holds any MSC that has been modified but not saved, a dialog is issued, prompting you to save the changes before the application terminates:
```
Figure 84 : The MSC Editor Exit Dialog. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----
```
The dialog informs you about the name of the diagram in turn to be saved. Depending on what if you want to save the changes or not:
- Click Save to save any changes made to the current diagram. Once the diagram is saved, the MSC Editor will prompt you to save the next modified diagram, alternatively exit if there are no more diagrams to saved. If a diagram has never been saved on file, the tool will prompt you to specify a file (see "Saving a Newly Created MSC" on page 170).
- Click Save All to save all changes made to all diagrams. Once all diagrams are saved, the MSC Editor will exit. If a diagram that the MSC Editor holds has not yet been assigned a name, the tool will prompt you to assign a file before saving it.
- Click No Save to close the current diagram without saving it. The MSC Editor will then prompt you to save the next modified diagram, alternatively exit if there are no more diagrams to saved.
- Click Exit, No Save to exit the MSC Editor without saving any MSCs.
- Click Cancel if you want to change your mind and continue the MSC Editor session.

Managing Message Sequence Charts

MSCs are created using the MSC Editor. Once a MSC has been created, you may include it into the structure that is managed by the Organizer tool in order to take full advantage of the functionality that SDT provides. MSCs can however be handled as separate entities.

In this section you can read about how to perform the following operations with SDT:

Creating an MSC

Below are described the two ways to create MSCs:

One way is to create them from the MSC Editor, in which case the MSC is saved as a separate entity that is not automatically appended to the Organizer's Associated Documents Area.
- You may also want to add the MSC to the Organizer's Associated Documents Area in order to provide an instant access to it from the Organizer. See "Appending an MSC Reference to the Organizer", below.
The other way is to start by adding a reference into the Organizer Associated Documents Area.

Creating an MSC from the MSC Editor

To create an MSC from the MSC Editor:

Select the New command from the File menu. The MSC Editor creates a new MSC with the default name Diagram_1, Diagram_2,... Diagram_N. The new diagram's window is immediately displayed.
- You may want to rename the newly created MSC. See "Renaming an MSC" on page 167 for how to do this.

Creating an MSC from the Organizer

The procedure is identical to Starting on an Existing MSC, not Managed by the Organizer, previously described on page 160.

Renaming an MSC

This action denotes changing the name and possibly the type of an MSC. The name and type of an MSC is reflected in the MSC Heading Symbol.

To change the name of an MSC:

Make sure the MSC being displayed in the MSC Editor window is the MSC you want to rename.
Select the Rename command from the Edit menu. A dialog is issued.
```
Figure 85 : Renaming an MSC. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----
```
- Type in the new name of the MSC into the Diagram Name field.
- Toggle the appropriate radio button to the type of MSC you want to apply.
Click the Rename button to apply the new name and type. The MSC is renamed accordingly and the MSC Heading Symbol is updated.

Opening an MSC

Opening an MSC is possible from the MSC Editor or from the Organizer.

Opening an MSC File from the MSC Editor

To open an MSC file from the MSC Editor:

Select the Open command from the File menu.

---------------------------------------------------------
(fig)     Alternatively, click the quick button for Open.  
---------------------------------------------------------

The menu choice issues a Standard File Selection Dialog (see Figure 86) The general properties of the file selection dialog are described in chapter 21, The SDT Graphical User Interface.

Figure 86 : Opening a File from the MSC Editor. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----

To select a file to open:

Select the file of your choice in the files list and click OK. If you happen to select a file that is already opened by the MSC Editor, you will be notified with the following message:
```
Figure 87 : Attempting to Open an Already Opened File. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----
```

Using the Filter Field

The filter field is set to *.m?? by default. This matches the default file extensions that we recommend for MSCs. However, SDT does not force you to use these default file extensions.

If you have used other file extensions than the default, you should apply another suitable file filter and click the Filter button to bring these files into view. For a reference about default file extensions used by the Message Sequence Chart Editor, see the table in chapter 25, The MSC Editor, on page 1314.

Opening an MSC-PR File

To open an MSC-PR file (a file containing an MSC stored using the Z.120 textual format), you should filter using the *.mpr file extension.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  SDT and instance orient MSC-PR                             
Only event-oriented MSC-PR can be read by the tool. Instance ori  
ented MSC-PR cannot be read by the tool.                          
----------------------------------------------------------------

Opening an MSC from the Organizer

To open an MSC from the Organizer:

In the Organizer Associated Documents Area, locate the icon that represents the MSC of your choice. Select that icon.
- Alternatively, if the MSC is associated with an SDL diagram, you can select the associated MSC link icon (looking like an MSC icon displayed in dashed form, see Figure 75 on page 159).
To open the MSC, you have the following options:
- With the Edit Diagram menu choice on the Organizer's Edit menu.
- With the Edit Diagram menu choice on the Organizer's Popup Menus.
- By double-clicking the MSC icon.

Saving an MSC

There are several ways to save an MSC. The effect is of saving any changes made to either one specific MSC, or all MSCs modified during the current session.

Saving an MSC can also be performed in conjunction to closing the diagram or exiting the MSC Editor. See "Closing an MSC" on page 175 and "Exiting the MSC Editor" on page 164.

Saving an MSC in the MSC Editor

In the MSC Editor, a request to save should be made from the window showing the MSC to be saved (see "Transferring to an MSC" on page 176 for how to access and show a specific MSC) that is read by the MSC Editor.

To save an MSC:

Select the Save command from the File menu

---------------------------------------------------------
(fig)     Alternatively, click the quick button for Save.  
---------------------------------------------------------

Saving a Newly Created MSC

When an MSC that is not connected to any file (i.e. a newly created MSC) is to be saved, you need to specify a file to store the diagram on.

To save a newly created MSC:

Select the Save command from the File menu. A Standard File Selection Dialog is issued (see Figure 88).
Specify the file to save the diagram on.
- The default file name that the MSC Editor suggests consists of <diagramname> appended with a default file extension (see the table on page 1314 in chapter 25, The MSC Editor for default file extensions.
- If a file with this default name already exists, you are required to specify a name.

Click OK to confirm the file name and to save the MSC.

Figure 88 : Saving a New MSC. 
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(fig)  
       
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Saving All MSCs

A global save can be made of all the MSCs that are open in the current session, and that are modified.

To save all MSCs:

Select Save All from the File menu. All MSCs which are modified are saved. (You will be prompted to specify a file for new diagrams that have never been saved on file.)

Saving an MSC i MSC-PR Format

SDT allows you to save an MSC in the MSC-PR format. See "Generating MSC-PR (Textual Format)" on page 235 for how to do this.

Appending an MSC Reference to the Organizer

To append an MSC Reference to the Organizer:

Select the Organizer's Add Diagram command from the Edit menu. A dialog is issued:
```
Figure 89 : Adding an MSC 
-----
(fig)  
       
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```
- Make sure the diagram type is set to MSC. If not, select MSC from the Diagram Type option menu.
- Type in the name of the MSC in the Diagram Name field. (You need of course to know the name of the MSC that you want to add).
- Make sure the As Associated Document radio button is on.
Click the Add button. An SDT Connect Diagram is issued, prompting you to connect the MSC reference to a file on which the MSC is stored.
```
Figure 90 : Connecting the MSC to a File. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----
```

Specify the file of your choice by typing the file name into the To an existing file field or by clicking the folder button (which issues a Standard File Selection Dialog). Click the Connect button. The Organizer first checks that the name of the MSC you entered and the name that is stored on the file match. If not, the following dialog is issued:
```
Figure 91 : Mismatch in Names Detected. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----
```
- If you click Connect, you may want to rename the MSC later on. (The file you have specified may also contain some MSC that is not the correct one.)
- If you click Cancel, you are returned to the dialog in Figure 77.
Alternatively, if you have an adequate Search List File, you can take advantage of it by having the tool locate a file containing the MSC - type in the name of the search list file and make sure the search list radio button is on. Click the Connect button. The Organizer first searches for a file that contains the MSC. If such a file cannot be found, the following message is issued:
```
Figure 92 : The Organizer Failed in Finding a Matching File. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----
```
- You are returned to the dialog in Figure 77. You should use another search list or specify the MSC file.

If the checks passed without errors, the MSC is added to the Organizer's Associated Documents Area, sorted alphabetically.

Saving a Copy of an MSC

The MSC Editor allows you to save a copy of an MSC that you are working on.

Continuing Working with the New Copy

To save a copy of an MSC and continue working with the new copy:

Select Save As from the File menu. A Standard File Selection Dialog is issued.
- The default file name which is suggested is the same file as the original was stored on, appended with an integer suffix (1, 2,..., N) in order to build up a unique file name.
Click the OK button to confirm. The MSC is copied to the specified file, the file containing the original is closed, and the window from where the save was made remains open for editing the newly created file.
- You may want to rename the copy of the MSC. See "Renaming an MSC" on page 167.

Continuing working with the original

To save a copy of an MSC and continue working with the original:

Select Save As from the File menu. A Standard File Selection Dialog is issued.
- The default file name which is suggested is the same file as the original was stored on, appended with an integer suffix (1, 2,...,N) that guarantees a unique file name. If the suggested file name is not suitable, you may type the new filename or the directory path and filename required into the File field.
Click the OK button to confirm. The MSC is saved on the specified file, and the window with the file from where the save was made remains open for editing.

Closing an MSC

Closing an MSC also means closing all instances of all windows displaying that MSC.

To close an MSC:

Select the Close Diagram menu choice from the File menu. The command should be performed from the window showing the diagram to close.
If modifications have been made to a diagram, an SDT Close dialog is shown providing the opportunity to save the modifications before closing the diagram - see Figure 93 below.
```
Figure 93 : Prompting to Save an MSC when Closing it. 
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(fig)  
       
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```
- Clicking Save saves the MSC and closes it.
- Clicking No save closes the MSC without saving it first.
- Clicking Cancel closes the dialog without closing the diagram.

Printing an MSC

The MSC Editor supports printing one MSC at the time, or a selection of objects contained in an MSC. A number of options are available for customizing the resulting printout.

How to print an MSC is described in chapter 4, Printing Information, on page 263.

Transferring to an MSC

This section describes how to transfer to an MSC that is currently read by the MSC Editor. (The MSC that you would like to see may reside in a window which is not on top of the screen.)

The Diagrams menu menu shows all MSCs (up to a maximum of the last nine to have been opened). If more than nine MSCs are open, a tenth menu choice, List All, provides access to a list dialog where all MSCs currently opened are listed.

To transfer to one of the MSCs opened by the MSC Editor:

Click Diagrams to bring down the menu showing the MSCs.
Then, select the required MSC (each menu choice identifies the MSC by its name followed by the file the MSC is stored on). The window containing the page is instantly displayed.
- If the diagram is not visible (because more than nine diagrams are open), select the List All command to list all diagrams. Scroll through the list which is issued until you find the diagram, select it and click OK.
```
Figure 94 : Listing All MSCs. 
-----
(fig)  
       
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```

Rearranging an MSC

The MSC Editor has the ability to rearrange an MSC in order to apply a nicer appearance or to extract a subset of the instances that you are interested in. The following topics are discussed:

Resizing an MSC

There are two ways an MSC can be resized:

Resizing Automatically

When appending objects with the double-click facility, the Message Sequence Chart Editor will automatically enlarge the MSC size when the MSC has grown so that it reaches the bottom or right of the drawing area. The drawing area is enlarged according to the value of a preference parameter.

Resizing Manually

If the current size of an MSC is not adequate, you can resize it with a command.

To resize an MSC manually:

Make sure the MSC Editor is displaying the MSC you want to resize. If not, transfer to the appropriate MSC (see "Transferring to an MSC" on page 176).
From the Edit menu, select the menu choice Drawing Size. A dialog appears:
```
Figure 95 : Resizing an MSC. 
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(fig)  
       
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```
Type in the new width and height for the MSC. You must type in values within the allowed range.
Click OK to apply the new size. The MSC is resized accordingly.

Changing the Spacing (Grid)

When the MSC Editor layouts an MSC, it makes use of a horizontal and vertical spacing parameter that affect the total height and width of the MSC. All instances and events on instances are positioned with an integer multiple of the spacing parameters.

To change the spacing:

Make sure the MSC Editor is displaying the MSC on which you want to apply a new spacing. If not, transfer to the appropriate MSC (see "Transferring to an MSC" on page 176).

From the Edit menu, select the Spacing command. The Spacing dialog is issued:

Figure 96 : Adjusting the Spacing Parameters. 
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(fig)  
       
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Drag the sliders for a coarse adjustment. Click left or right on the slider bar for a fine adjustment.
- Smaller values will give the chart a compact appearance that may possibly make it more difficult to read. Text associated to symbols may overlap other symbols and text. Symbols may overlap each other.
- Larger values will give the chart a less cramped appearance and should make it easier to read. The price of this enhanced readability is that the MSC will require more space when printing it.
Apply the new spacing parameters by clicking OK. The MSC is redrawn, using the new spacing parameters for positioning of objects.

Tidying up (Reorganizing) an MSC

The MSC Editor can reform and redraw an MSC for you, so that you don't need to spend a large amount of time on the tedious task of rearranging the layout.

To tidy up an MSC:

Make sure the MSC you want to rearrange is the one currently being displayed in the MSC Editor.

From the Tools menu, select the Tidy Up command. A dialog is issued.

Figure 97 : Tidying Up an MSC. 
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(fig)  
       
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Adjust the horizontal and vertical spacing to the values of your choice by dragging the sliders (for a coarse adjustment) or clicking left or right on the slider bar (for a fine adjustment).
- Smaller values will give the chart a compact appearance that may possibly make it more difficult to read. Text associated to symbols may overlap other symbols and text. Symbols may overlap each other.
- Larger values will give the chart a less cramped appearance and should make it easier to read, to the price of a larger size.
Select the desired grouping mode for the adjustment of dynamically created instances in relation to their parent instances.
- Turn First Closest on if you want the MSC Editor to group created child instances next to the parent instance, with the first one created placed closest to the parent instance.
```
Figure 98 : Using Insert Mode First Closest. 
-----
(fig)  
       
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```

Turn Latest Closest on if created child instances should positioned next to the parent instance, with the latest created instance placed closest to the parent instance.
```
Figure 99 : Using Insert Mode Latest Closest. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----
```
Click Outer Placement on to have each newly created instance placed in the first free position to the left of the parent instance.
```
Figure 100 : Using Insert Mode Outer Placement. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----
```

When the options are adjusted, click the Tidy Up button. The editor compresses and reorders the information in the diagram, as if you had redrawn the MSC using the double-click facility when positioning all objects.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Caution!                                                         
Tidying up an MSC cannot be undone. The appearance of the origi  
nal diagram may become modified to a large extent.               
---------------------------------------------------------------

Filtering an MSC

Having created an MSC, you may be interested in some of the instances only (this is in particular true when you have generated an MSC when tracing a simulator). The MSC Editor can filter a diagram for you.

To filter an MSC:

Make sure the MSC you want to filter is the one currently being displayed in the MSC Editor.
- If you only want the currently selected objects and their instances to be displayed in the new, filtered MSC, make sure you have selected these objects first.
Select the Filter menu choice from the Tools menu. The Filter dialog is issued.
```
Figure 101 : Filtering an MSC. 
-----
(fig)  
       
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```
Select the instances to be included in the new MSC from the Include Instance list.
- Clicking an instance a second time deselects it.
- If you only want the selected objects and their instances to be included, turn the Only Selected Messages button to on.
You can restrict the types of objects to be included in the new MSC by turning their corresponding toggle buttons off. By default, all types of objects are included.
Click the Filter button. The MSC Editor filters the source diagram and produces a new, unsaved MSC. The resulting MSC is rearranged as if you had applied the Tidy Up command.

Example 5 : Filtering an MSC.  
Figure 102 : The Original Unfiltered Diagram. 
-----
(fig)  
       
-----

Filtering the diagram with Instance_1 and Instance_2 selected in the Include Instance list results in Figure 103 on page 185:

Figure 103 : The Filtered Diagram. 
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(fig)  
       
-----

Managing Windows

Each MSC Editor window shows one MSC. The MSC Editor is a multi-window tool, allowing you to open new windows on a diagram and close windows that are no longer needed.

A newly opened window is a mirror image of the window from which the selection to open a window was made. Multiple windows may be opened (one at a time) and are all the same as the original. Any subsequent modifications made will reflect the same in either the original window, or any of the newly opened window(s). This option affords the possibility of viewing in more than one window, and can ideally be used in conjunction with the scaling factor when looking at a detailed MSC.

The window managing functions you can perform are:

Opening a New Window

To open a new window:

Go to the window from which you want to open a window.
Select New Window from the Window menu. The replicated window is opened almost instantaneously, and its screen position is offset from the window from where it was activated.

This command overrides the Always new Window option of the Editor Options dialog from the View menu, when it is toggled to the off position.

Closing a Window

To close a window:

Go to the MSC Editor window you wish to close.
Select Close Window from the Windows menu.
- If the window you want to close happens to be the last window opened by the MSC Editor, the MSC Editor will terminate. If any changes were applied on any of the pages, you will be prompted to save the changes, or to cancel the exit request.

Hiding and Showing Parts of the MSC Editor Window

The various component parts of the MSC Editor window can be shown or hidden as required. If they are hidden, it increases the drawing area available to be used in the creation or modification of a diagram.

All the available options for hiding and showing parts of the window can be found in the dialog box accessed via the Window Options command on the View menu - see Figure 392 on page 1331. All of these options can also be set as preferences.

Each of these options is turned on and off with a toggle button. Some of these options are available with quick buttons.

-------------------------------------------------------
(fig)     The quick button for text window on / off.     
(fig)  
   The quick button for symbol menu on / off.     
(fig)  
   The quick button for instance ruler on / off.  
-------------------------------------------------------

Once the options are set to the desired values, click OK to apply the values to the current MSC Editor window and close the dialog.
- Clicking All Windows applies the values to all instances of the SDL Editor windows.

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