Section 5.3.3.1.1. The main graphical window

Fig. 5.3.3.1 is an example of the use of enCIFer to read and modify a CIF. The figure shows the components of the main window after a file has been opened. Beneath the standard toolbar that provides access to operating-system utilities and to the main functions of the program itself is a task bar (here split over two lines) providing rapid access to a subset of the program's features. Under this are two large panes. The pane on the right is the editing window, where the content of the CIF is displayed and may be modified. The left-hand pane is a user-selectable view by category of the data names stored in the CIF dictionary against which the file is to be validated. At the bottom are two smaller panes. The one on the right logs the session activities and displays informational messages. The left-hand pane lists errors and warning notices generated by the validation system. Errors are labelled by line number, and selection of a specific message (by a mouse double-click) scrolls the content of the main text-editing window to that line number.

Figure 5.3.3.1 | top | pdf | The enCIFer graphical user interface.

Tabs in the middle of the display allow the user to switch rapidly between the editing mode and a visualization of the three-dimensional structures described in the CIF.

These components are described more fully below, followed by a description of the other windows that may be created by a user: the help viewer, the loop editor and the data-entry wizards.