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Edition: Futurama Website/Futurama Export/Futurama Webservice

Module: Futurama Editor

User: Developer

Prerequisites

- Working with objects

 

Description

This page describes three windows in the Editor that are used extensively when working with objects: the Results Window, the Validate Window and the Errors Window. The latter two are discussed in more depth in the pages dedicated to troubleshooting and validating objects.

Result window

In the Results Window the value of a an object can be seen. Not every object results in a value. Objects that do are typically the Fixed, Reference, Formula, DataTable, Range, UserVariable, UserTableXmlBuilder and GraphConverter. By default the Results window is located in the lower left of the Futurama Editor, together with the Errors window, the Validation window and the Find window.

After selecting an object the button 'Evaluate' can be used to evaluate the value of the object. It is also possible to check the checkbox 'auto'. This will cause the Results window to be refreshed automatically when the value of the object changes. The button 'Evaluate' will be invisible when 'auto' is turned on.

Left to the button 'Evaluate' is a button that can be used to copy the value and paste it elsewhere. This is useful for instance if the result is a table of values and it has to be exported to Excel. By using this button the entire table can be copied and pasted in Excel at once. Likewise the result of an XmlBuilder or GraphConverter can be copied and pasted in Word for example.

In the top right of the Results window is a lock. By clicking on the lock it can be opened or closed. When open every time another object is selected the newly selected object will be evaluated. When the lock is being closed the object which was selected at that moment will continu to be evaluated even when another object is selected. This is useful for instance if the value of an object has to be monitored when making changes to another object. This is used often when evaluating a GraphConverter. Changes made in the input of the Graphconverter can then be seen instantly.

Example

Description

In this example the Futurama application which has been created in the previous page is used. It can be downloaded here. Alternatively the document can be created from scratch by following the link given in the prerequisites.

Steps

  • Open the Futurama Editor.
  • Open the Futurama Document "MyFirstDocument".
  • Select the three objects in the Document Explorer and verify that the Results window indeed states the correct results.
  • Select the Formula 'Sum'.
  • Click on the lock to close it.
  • Select the Fixed 'A'. Note that the Result window continues to show the result of 'Sum': 12.
  • Change the value of 'A' to 8. Note that the Results window instantly shows the new value of 'Sum' i.e. 15.

Validation window

The Validation window is located in the same group as the Results window in the lower left of the Editor. The Validation window shows the results when a validation is performed on one or more objects in the Futurama application or on the application as a whole. It will display all objects which are not properly defined as well as a message stating what is wrong. This can range from a divison by zero to a circular reference involving a number of objects. When hovering over the name of the object in the window a tooltip will appear containing the location of the object as well as the contents of the message.

The Validation window has its own contextmenu offering two options:

  • 'Clear' will erase all messages from the window.
  • 'Copy to clipboard' will copy the message into memory making it available to paste it elsewhere. This is useful for instance when the message is too long to be read properly in the Futurama Editor.

Example

Description

This example will only show a simple valuation and the resulting message. In the page about validation the subject will be treated in more detail. The example will use the same Futurama application as above.

Steps

  • Open the Futurama Editor.
  • Open the Futurama Document "MyFirstDocument".
  • Select the Fixed 'A'.
  • In the Properties window change the Type of the Fixed from 'long' to 'double'.
  • Select the Formula 'Sum'.
  • Do a rightclick and select Debug | Validate.

In the Validation window it can be seen that an Item and Message have appeared. The Item obviously is the Formula 'Sum'. The Message states that one of the parameters of the Formula is a double and that it should be a long.

Errors window

The Errors window is located in the same group as the Results window in the lower left of the Editor. The Errors window shows errors the moment they turn up. Of every Error the following information is provided:

  • Type: the type of error e.g. a system.exception
  • Time: the timestamp on which the error occured
  • Message: The message stating what went wrong

When hovering over an error a tooltip will appear containing the same information. Errors and how to solve them will be discussed in depth in the page about Troubleshooting.

The Errors window has its own contextmenu offering two options:

  • 'Clear' will erase all messages from the window.
  • 'Copy to clipboard' will copy the message into memory making it available to paste it elsewhere. This is useful for instance when the message is too long to be read properly in the Futurama Editor.

Example

Description

To illustrate the Errors window an error will be created deliberately in the Futurama application. The example will use the same Futurama application as above.

Steps

  • Open the Futurama Editor.
  • Open the Futurama Document "MyFirstDocument".
  • Select the Formula 'Sum'.
  • In the Properties window go to the property 'Text' and click on the icon with three dots. This will open a dialog 'Define Formula'.
  • Click on the button with no icon to the right of Number3 and select a Reference.
  • Click on OK.

Immediatly after the window is closed two errors are shown in the Errors window. The first states that the Reference is empty. The second states that the Formula 'Sum' can't be evaluated. This obviously is also because of the missing Reference.

Related Topics

Troubleshooting objects: Solving errors related to objects

Validating objects: CheckingSolving errors related to objects

Feedback

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Updated: 2013-08-02