.. _userguide-intro:

******************************************
Presentation of the AsterStudy application
******************************************

The *AsterStudy* application allows setting up case studies
for the `Code_Aster <http://www.code-aster.org>`__.
It also allows starting the calculations, tracking the progress
of these calculations and accessing the results.


.. _Launching:

Launching
=========

.. |asterstudy| image:: /images/asterstudy.png
    :height: 32px

The *AsterStudy* application is a *SALOME* module; it can be activated by
clicking the |asterstudy| icon in the *Modules* toolbar, or by selecting
*AsterStudy* item in the drop-down list of modules.


Description of the user interface
=================================

.. figure:: /images/asterstudy_mainwindow.png
   :width: 800px
   :alt: Main window
   :align: center

   **Main window**

The GUI of *AsterStudy* application is composed of:

* `Main menu`_ (1),
* `Toolbars`_ (2),
* And two main views in the central area (3):

  * The `History View`_ that allows tracking a history of a study case (3.1),
  * The `Case View`_ that allows viewing and editing a study case (3.2).

You can select the view you want to use by selecting the corresponding
tab on the left.

.. note::
    Tabs are shown in the left of the main window by default; their position can
    be changed in the *Preferences* dialog.


.. _Main menu:

Main menu
---------

*AsterStudy* application provides the following menus:

* *File*: general operations *New*, *Open*, *Save* (these are standard SALOME
  operations),
* *Edit*: *Edit*, *Delete*, *Rename* and other operations (depending on the
  selected item),
* *View*: show / hide panels or toolbars,
* *Operations*: operations on case, stages, commands ...,
* *Commands*: list of commands grouped by categories,
* *Help*: access to the online help.


.. _Toolbars:

Toolbars
--------

A lot of operations are available via the context-sensitive toolbars.
The buttons in the toolbars duplicate the corresponding items
in the main menu and/or context menus of other GUI elements.


.. _Case View:

Case View
---------

.. figure:: /images/asterstudy_caseview.png
   :width: 800px
   :alt: Case View
   :align: center

   **Case View**

The *Case View* is composed of the following elements:

* A navigation zone in the left (1), composed of two tabs:

  * *Data Settings*: displays case details, list of stages and commands (1.1),
  * *Data Files*: displays input and output files used by the case (1.2),

* An information pane in the left-bottom, displaying short description of
  selected command (2),
* A viewing area in the center, displaying selected mesh and groups (3),
* An edition panel in the right (4).


.. _History View:

History View
------------

.. figure:: /images/asterstudy_history.png
   :width: 800px
   :alt: History View
   :align: center

   **History View**

The *History View* is composed of the following elements:

* A list of cases in the left (1),
* An execution history of the study case in the center (2),
* An information on the execution of the selected run case (trace, logs,
  messages, results ...) in the bottom (3).
