Data Frame

Work in Progress

The functionality described in this section contains information is still under development. Some information might be outdated, missing or not applicable anymore as it is not entirely adapted for usage with IPSE GO yet.

Data frames are user-defined tables that you can place in your flowsheet for displaying additional project information. The data table sheet is an optional sheet of a project that contains one or more tables which are used to configure provide input for a project and to display calculation results.

Data frames and data tables in the data table sheet have some similarities in the sense that they both can contain the following type of information:

Text
Values (Parameter & Variable)
Results of mathematical expressions.

In contrast to data tables, data frames can also contain images. However, in the data tables of the data table sheet you can also enter data that is used as calculation input and use switches to change the behavior of the process model.

Data frames are visible in all datasets of a project, whereas the data table sheet belongs to an individual dataset of a project. You can place any number of data frames in your flowsheet.

The Contents of Data Frame Cells

Data frames are composed from cells which are arranged in a freely configurable number of rows and columns. Data frame cells are made up by the following elements:

Cell data
Cell frame

Cell data holds the information that is contained in a data frame cell.

Cell frame contains information about the background and the borders of the cell.

Data frame cells can either contain text or images. If a cells contains text, it is very similar to cells in spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel. The content of a data frame cell can be a descriptive text or a mathematical expression based on the values of variables and parameters in the project.

To indicate that the text in the data frame is an expression, it must start with the “=” character.

Notice that a mathematical expression that does not start with the character “=” is treated as a descriptive text and will not be evaluated!

Data frames support arithmetic expressions and brackets. Whenever you run a calculation or modify the expression in a cell, IPSE evaluates the expression.

Creating a new data frame

To create a new data frame:

Select Objects New Data Frame. A dialog window appears requesting the number of rows and columns of the data frame to be inserted.
Enter the appropriate numbers of rows and columns and click on OK. The defined data frame appears attached to the cursor.
Place the data frame in your project window, clicking in the appropriate position.

Data Frame Toolbar

The data frame toolbar is the primary interface for editing and formatting data of a data frame. Figure 1 shows the data frame toolbar. Data frame cells’ contents and attributes can be modified using the data frame toolbar, as explained further in this section.

Figure 1. The data frame toolbar is the primary interface to edit data frames.

Selecting a Data Frame and Its Cells

Before editing you need to make the appropriate selection. Depending of the type of selection, different functionality is available. You are allowed to edit:

A single cell
A block of cells
The selected data frame

Selecting a Single Data Frame Cell

To select a single data frame cell:

Click on the data frame cell you want to select. IPSE displays selection markers for the data frame and draws a bold gray selection frame for the selected cell.

Selecting a Block of Data Frame Cells

To select a block of data frame cells:

Select the first cell of the block that you want to select.
While pressing Shift click on the last cell of the block that you want to select. IPSE draws a bold gray selection frame around the selected cell block.

Selecting the Entire Data Frame

To select the entire data frame:

Place the cursor in a free area of the project window near the data frame, establishing one of the corners of the selection frame.
Drag the mouse to the opposite diagonal corner of the frame, so that the data frame is completely inside the selection frame. When you release the mouse button, the data frame is selected, but no cell of it is selected.

Select the data frame by selecting the according data frame name in the object bar.

Notice that when you select one ore more individual cells, IPSE also displays the selection markers for the frame. However, only the selected cells are modified, and not the entire frame.

Editing the Data Frame Name

When you create a new data frame, IPSE automatically gives it a unique name. When you change the name, you must choose a name which is not already in use.

To edit a data frame name:

Type the name that you want to use for the data frame in the Data Frame Name field of the Edit Cell Data dialog shown in Figure 2.

Editing the Text of a Data Frame Cell

The most simple way to edit the text of a data frame cell is by using the edit field of the data frame bar.

To edit a data frame cell using the edit field of the data frame bar:

Select the cell that you want to edit. The content of this cell will be displayed in the edit field of the data frame bar.
Edit the text or expression in the edit field of the data frame bar.

When you insert the name of a variable or parameter in an expression, you do not need to type the name.

To insert the name of a variable or parameter in an expression:

Place the cursor at the position where you want to insert the item name.
Click on the object that contains the respective item. IPSE displays a list with all variables and parameters that are available in this object.
Select the variable or item that you want to insert in the expression. IPSE closes the item list and inserts the item in the expression

If you insert item names by clicking on the respective object, you avoid the risk of typing errors.

If you change an object name, you need to modify the expressions in the data frame cells that use this object name. IPSE does not modify the expressions automatically.

If you copy objects and data frames between two projects, you also may need to change the expressions manually since IPSE modifies objects names if there is an insertion conflict.

The information that is contained in a data frame cell is called cell data. The data is formatted and displayed depending on the type of data:

For arbitrary text strings text format is used.
For mathematical expressions the number format is used.

To open the window for editing cell data:

Select the appropriate cells for which you want to edit data.
Select Objects Data Frame Edit Data or click on the Edit Cell Data icon from the data frame bar.
IPSE opens the window for editing cell data shown in Figure 2.
Select the tab Text.

Figure 2. Editing cell data

In the Edit Cell Data dialog you can:

Edit the data frame name.
Edit the cell text.
Specify the cell text format.
Specify the number format for results of mathematical expressions.

Specifying the Text Format

In the Text Format section you can choose between a predefined standard font and a user defined font. If you choose the option Standard, the cell text will be displayed using a standard font which you can predefine by selecting Project Set Standard Font. If you choose a user defined font, you can select any font that is available on your system. Additionally you can choose how the text will be aligned.

To select a user defined font:

In the Text Format Section select the option User defined. IPSE enables the Edit button.
Click on Edit. IPSE displays a window where you can select the new font.
Set the font according to your requirements.
Click on OK.

Specifying the Number Format

If the cell text is a mathematical expression, the evaluated result is a number. You can define the number format that is used to display the result of the mathematical expression.

To define the number format:

Click on Edit in the Number Format section. IPSE displays the format settings window (see Figure 3).
Make the required modifications, and click on OK to finish.

Figure 3. Changing the number format

In the format settings dialog, as shown in Figure 3, Width is a non-negative decimal integer that controls the minimum number of characters printed. If the number of characters in the output value is less than the specified width, blanks are added to the values until the minimum width is reached.

The width specification never causes a value to be truncated. If the number of characters in the output value is greater than the specified, all characters of the value are printed (subject to the precision specification).

Precision specifies the maximum number of characters printed for all or part of the output field, depending on the selected formatting type.

The formatting types Standard, Exponential, and Compact have the following meanings:

Standard

The value is displayed having the form dddd.dddd, where dddd is one or more decimal digits. The number of digits before the decimal point depends on the magnitude of the number. The number of digits after the decimal point depends on the requested precision.

Exponential

The value is displayed having the form d.dddd e ddd, where d is a single decimal digit, dddd is one or more decimal digits, ddd is exactly three decimal digits, and sign is + or –.

Compact

The value is displayed in either standard or exponential format, whichever is more compact for the given value and precision. The exponential format is used only when the exponent of the value is less than –4 or greater than or equal to the precision argument. Trailing zeros are truncated, and the decimal point appears only if one or more digits follow it.

In the Example field of the format settings dialog, you can enter an arbitrary number that IPSE displays in the Preview window, according to the selected formatting options.

Editing Image data in a cell

To insert, change or delete an image in a cell open the window for edit cell data.
If the cell does not yet contain an image, select the Image tab.
Import or delete the cell image.

Figure 4. Editing the cell image

Editing Cell Frames

The frame format contains all information that defines the appearance of the cell:

border color
border style
background color

To open the window for formatting the cell frame:

Select the cells for which you want to format the frame.
Select Objects Data Frame Edit Frame.
or
Click on the Edit Frame Attributes icon from the data frame bar. .IPSE opens the window for formatting the cell frame, see Figure 5.

Figure 5. Cell frame formatting

To format cell frames of a data frame:

Select the cells that you want to format.
Open the window for formatting the cell frame shown in Figure 5.
Select the part of the Border you want to format.
Select a style that you want to use. You will see that the preview window of this line in the Border section will be updated immediately.
To change the color, click on Edit and select the appropriate color.
Enter a line width in the Width field.
Select the option Transparent if you want a transparent background for the selected cell. Uncheck this option and select a color if you want to use filled background.
Click on OK to apply the new frame settings.

You can format the content and frame for more than one cell by selecting several cells add the same time before opening the windows for editing the cell content or the cell frame. The format changes will then be applied to all selected cells.

Changing the Data Frame Geometry

You can change the geometry of a data frame in three different ways:

You can change the size of the entire data frame.
You can change the width of a column or the height of a row.
You can insert and delete rows and columns.

Changing the Size of the Entire Data Frame

To change the size of the entire data frame:

Activate the data frame. IPSE displays the selection markers for the selected data frame.
Drag a selection marker in order to change the size of the data frame.

When you change the size of the entire data frame, column widths and row heights are changed proportionally.

Changing the Column Width and the Row Height

To change the width of a column or the height of a row:

Activate the data frame. IPSE displays the selection markers for the selected data frame.
Place the cursor on the grid line that you need to move in order to change the column width or row height. IPSE displays a cursor that indicates in which direction you can move the grid line.
Drag the grid line to the new position.

When you move a grid line, all cells left or down from this grid line will retain their original size. As a consequence, the size of the entire data frame will be changed.

Inserting and Deleting Rows and Columns

You can change the number of rows and columns of an existing data frame by inserting or deleting rows and columns.

To insert data frame rows or columns:

Select the cell where you want to insert the new rows or columns.
Select Objects Data Frame Insert Rows/Columns. IPSE displays the window shown in Figure 6.
Choose if you want to insert new rows or columns and enter the number of rows or columns. Choose also if you want to insert the new rows or columns before or after the selected cell.
Click on OK.

Figure 6. Inserting data frame rows and columns

Having made your choices, click on To delete data frame rows or columns:::

Select one or more data frame cells that belong to the rows or columns you want to delete.
Select Objects Data Frame Delete Data frame Rows/Columns. IPSE displays the window shown in Figure 7.
Choose if you want to delete rows or columns.
Press OK to finish. Depending on your selection all rows or columns which contain at least one of the selected cells will be deleted.

Figure 7. Deleting data frame rows and columns

Data Frames Used in Multiple Datasets

Since each dataset can contain different data, it is important that the cells of a data frame account for this. For each cell attribute, you can choose if it applies to an individual dataset or to all datasets of a project.

Common Attributes in All Data Sets

Within the Edit Cell Data and the Format Cell Frame dialogs, you define with the Common to all data sets option if a particular attribute applies to a single data set or to all datasets in the project.

If you choose Common to all data sets for the cell text, all datasets use the same text. However, if the text is an expression, the expression is evaluated using the variables and parameters of the respective dataset. This guarantees that you always display correct data.

Apply Cell Content to All Data Sets

Sometimes it is helpful to copy the content of a cell to all datasets even though the cell content is not common to all available datasets. By clicking on the Apply to all data sets button, you can copy the cell content of the currently active dataset to all datasets contained in the project.

If the option Common to all data sets is enabled, the button Apply to all data sets is disabled because the content of the data frame cell is automatically the same in all datasets.

Notice that the option Common to all data sets and the button Apply to all data sets are only available if you have selected a single data frame cell.