CSDS: Edit sequence CSDS 1.14.02

CSDS Help Index

The Edit Sequence window allows a new or existing sequence to be edited.

This window can be invoked via several places within the program, most notably from the main menu via
Sequence | New sequence [Graphics] or Sequence | Edit sequence [Graphics].

The Edit Sequence window consists of several sections, described below:

Sequence Box

The Sequence Box shows the sequence text that has been successfully processed by the program. Sequence text that has not yet been processed resides in the Edit Buffer (described below).

• The header, , shows the sequence database (e.g., 08TEMP), the index of the sequence within the database (4), and the number of lines contained so far in the sequence (8).
• A sequence may contain up to 20 formation pictures, which are inserted via the Insert formation button (described in the Edit Buffer section).
• Left-clicking the mouse within the sequence text box invokes a text editor (Edit Sequence [Text]) which may be used to edit the sequence.
• When the number of lines in the sequence exceeds a specified amount, the program automatically searches the GETOUT database for resolves from the current formation. If one or more GETOUTs are found, the number of GETOUTs is displayed in red immediately beneath the last line of the sequence. Pressing Ctrl+G displays the Find GETOUTs for current position window, which allows a resolve to be selected from the GETOUT database.
• The button displays the Find calls from current position window which searches for calls that the program can do from the current position. A prefix, such as "As Couples", may be entered, and the program will search for calls of the form "As Couples call".
• The button undoes the last call (one logical line of text) from the Sequence Box, moving it to the first line of the Edit Buffer. The dancers are also backed up one call.
• The button undoes all calls from the Sequence Box (effectively clearing the Sequence Box). The 'un-done' text is inserted before the first line of the Edit Buffer, and the dancers are reset to their starting position.

Edit Buffer

The Edit Buffer is where you type in or edit the calls to be executed.

• Calls may be entered in their entirety (e.g., "Relay the Deucey") or as one-word abbreviations (e.g., "RTD") in which case the program automatically expands the abbreviation into its corresponding prose name (e.g., "RTD" is expanded into "Relay The Deucey"). If there are multiple expansions for a given abbreviation (e.g., "ST" could be "Star Thru", "Swing Thru", "Slide Thru", etc.) the program prompts you to select the desired expansion from a list. If the entered text is not a recognized call name and the program is unable to find an expansion for the abbreviation, a dialog box appears into which you can add a new expansion, if desired.
• Multiple lines of text (i.e., calls) may be entered into the Edit Buffer. To create a new line at the current cursor position, press the Insert new line button (or Alt-W).
• Pressing the Enter-key tells the program to execute the calls within the Edit Buffer. If the calls are successfully executed, the dancers are updated to their ending position and the text corresponding to the executed calls is removed from the Edit Buffer and appended to the contents of the Sequence Box.
• The button inserts a picture of the formation at the current cursor location. The inserted formation must be on a separate line within the sequence text. Do not insert a formation in the middle of a call.
• The button clears the contents of the Edit Buffer.
• The button inserts a new line into the Edit Buffer at the current cursor position. You may insert as many lines in the buffer for editing purposes as you'd like; however, the program removes all blank lines when the sequence is saved.
• If you wish to split up a logical line of text into more than one line... (perhaps the call "Boys Spin The Top Twice as Girls U-Turn Back & Circulate Twice" is a bit cumbersome to fit on one line), make sure that the first part of the logical line starts in column #1, and that all remaining lines start in column #2 or beyond.

  For example,

  Boys Spin The Top Twice

  as Girls U-Turn Back & Circulate Twice

• There are a few special-purpose characters that may be inserted into the text of sequence:

  '%' toggles highlighting (underline + italic). '$' toggles extra highlighting (underline + italic + bold). '(' and ')' enclose comments. '[' and ']' modify call interpretation. For example, [As Couples Swing Thru] & Roll ===> does an individual Roll. [As Couples Swing Thru & Roll] ===> does an As Couples Roll. (note: the default action for CSDS is to apply the concept to the entire text string that follows, hence      As Couples Swing Thru & Roll ===> does an As Couples Roll). [Run Wild 3/4] Reset ===> does a 3/4 Run Wild then a Reset. Run Wild [3/4 Reset] ===> does a Run Wild then a 3/4 Reset. (note: CSDS prefers the fraction to precede the call.) An indented line is considered part of the previous line.

  For example, the text corresponding to the Sequence Box shown at the beginning of this help file (above) is:

  Heads Pass The Ocean,
  Chain Reaction,
  Explode Touch 1/4,
  Circulate $1 & 1/2$,
  (#formation#)
  %Center 6% Grand 1/4 Thru & %Spread%,
  All Spin The Top,
  In Roll Circulate (GBBG)
      

Dancer Area

The Dancer Area displays two sets of dancers:

• The Before dancers show the setup prior to executing the last call.
• The After dancers show the setup after executing the last call.
• The last call is shown in a box near the line connecting the two sets of dancers.
• The (dashed) grid and the (solid) axes can be hidden or shown via the menu option Display | Grid. The dancer sizes and colors may be modified via the menu option Display | Dancer settings....
• The Navigation Buttons, , move the dancers forward or backward either one call at a time or all calls at once.
  • moves the dancers to the beginning of the sequence - shortcut key is Ctrl+F11.
  • moves the dancers backward one call - shortcut key is F11.
  • moves the dancers forward one call - shortcut key is F12.
  • moves the dancers to the end of the sequence - shortcut key is Ctrl+F12.

Header Bar

The Header Bar consists of two dropdown lists and two check boxes.

• List associates a list of calls with the sequence (or set of sequences). A list keeps track of how many times each call or concept is used within a set of sequences. When writing a sequence, you can view the list via the button, via the View | List menu item, or via Ctrl+L. Viewing a list allows you to see a list of the calls that you haven't yet used for the dance that you are writing. In this manner, you can write a dance that utilizes most of the calls on the list.
• Difficulty assigns a difficulty level (Easy, Medium, or Hard) to the sequence. The default is 'Medium'.
• Star, when checked, marks the sequence as being a really good or 'extra special' sequence.
• In print list, when checked, means that the sequence is in the list of sequences to be printed.

Menus

• New sequence [Graphics] selects a new sequence database so you can write another sequence.
• Edit sequence [Graphics] selects an existing sequence (database and index) to be edited.
• Sequence text edits the entire sequence text in a Notepad-like text editor.
• Problems displays a dialog box that allows you to mark the sequence as having problems, so you can correct it later. A sequence may be marked as having any or all of the following problems:
  • Too long
  • Too short
  • Does not resolve
  • Illegal choreography
  • Awkward flow
  • Overflow
  • Not liked by dancers
  • Heads/Sides used after first line
  • Same hand used twice in a row
• Add sequence to a dance allows you to add the current sequence to a dance. A dialog box appears from which you can select the dance, the frame within the dance, and the position for the sequence within the frame.
• Create new getout adds new getouts from the current position to the GETOUT database.
• Create new getin adds new getins from the current position to the GETIN database.
• Abbreviation database edits the abbreviation database so you can add or delete abbreviations and expansions.
• List database edits the list database to add a new call or concept.
• Parse database edits the parse database to allow for a different way to spell a call or concept.
• Close closes the Edit Sequence window, usually returning you to the main menu.

• Prior sequence selects a sequence to be edited from the list of previously edited sequences.
• Next sequence edits the next new sequence within the current sequence database.

• Colors and relative sizes... changes the colors and sizes of the text displayed for a sequence. For example, you could change all comments (text contained within matching parentheses) to be purple and 80% the size of normal text.
• Font... changes the font name and font size used for the Edit Buffer, Sequence Box, and the last call executed.
• Dancer settings... changes the sizes and colors of the Before and After dancers.
• Inserted formation size... changes the scaling of formation pictures inserted into the sequence.
• Before picture enables whether or not the Before formation is displayed.
• Axes enables whether or not X and Y axes are displayed.
• Grid enables whether or not the dashed grid lines are displayed.
• Getout count (after N lines) tells the program when to automatically display the number of getouts available from the current ending position. You are prompted to select a number from 0 to 99, which indicates the number of lines required before the program automatically searches for getouts.
• Getouts at or below max level only, when checked, the program searches for getouts that are only at or below the maximum level specified for the current sequence database. It is generally a good idea to have this menu item checked, or else, when you are writing a Plus-level sequence, the program may display a lot of C4-level getouts.

• Calls from current position searches for calls that the program can do from the current position. You can specify the desired level range, whether or not to use fuzzy matching, and, most importantly, a prefix string. The prefix string is text inserted before the call: for example, the prefix string could be "Centers", in which case the program would search for all calls that the Centers could do.
• Calls from current position [Old] (via snapshot database) scans the snapshot database, and generates a list of calls that the program can do from the current position. This option is different from the preceding option. In the preceding option, the program actually tries to execute the calls by searching a list of calls. However, in the '[Old]' option, the program instead scans the snapshot database for snapshot records that can be done from the current position. The preceding option is generally faster and more versatile; however, the '[Old]' option is the only way to find more unusual instances of calls.
• Getout displays a list of getouts from the GETOUT database for the current position. If a getout is selected from the list, it will be added to the end of the Sequence Box, and the dancers will be updated accordingly.
• Getin displays a list of getins from the GETIN database for the current position. If a getin is selected from the list, the contents of the Sequence Box will be replaced with the selected getin.

The Flags menu sets or clears flags used by the program during call execution. The flags in this section should only be set when you want to force the program to behave in a specific manner for a short time so that you can enter a new snapshot record.

• Set all flags sets the four 'No' flags described below.
• Clear all flags clears the four 'No' flags described below.
• No expansions, when checked, disables the program from expanding text strings prior to executing the call. For example, the program expands "Catch anything 3" into "Square Thru 3 To A Wave; anything; Step & Fold".
• No extrapolations, when checked, disables the program from calling internal subroutines to process concepts such as As Couples, Phantom, Blocks, Concentric, etc.
• No split ups, when checked, disables the program from trying to chop up the overall formation into smaller formations in order to execute the call. When this flag is checked, the program is not able to execute 4-dancer calls from 8-dancer formations (e.g., it can no longer do Right & Left Thru from Facing Lines).
• No fuzzy matches, when checked, disables the program from executing calls from positions that do not exactly match the starting formation as specified in the snapshot database.
• Debug mode, when checked, outputs debugging information while a call is being executed.

• List displays the list associated with the current sequence database. The list is primarily used to keep track of which calls have not yet been used within a set of sequences.
• Last GETOUT record used displays the last record used from the GETOUT database.
• Last snapshot record used displays the last snapshot record used by the program during call execution. (A snapshot record is a before-and-after picture used by the program to execute calls). If the program incorrectly executes a call, viewing the snapshot record often gives you a clue as to what went wrong.
• Formation bitmap displays a bitmap of the current After formation. You can view, modify, and save the bitmap picture as desired.
• Dancer data displays coordinates and dancer attributes for the current After formation. It is used for debugging purposes.

• The Help menu item displays the help file you're currently reading.

Toolbar

The Toolbar allows quick access to selected commands.

• edits the sequence text - same as Edit | Sequence text.
• adds the sequence to a dance - same as Edit | Add sequence to a dance.
• selects a prior sequence for editing - same as Navigate | Prior sequence.
• edits a new sequence in the same sequence database - same as Navigate | Next sequence.
• changes the colors and relative sizes of sequence text - same as Display | Colors and relative sizes....
• changes the font used for sequence text - same as Display | Font....
• changes the sizes and colors of dancer icons - same as Display | Dancer settings....
• shows the grid - same as Display | Grid (checked).
• hides the grid - same as Display | Grid (not checked).
• displays a formation bitmap of the After formation - same as View | Formation bitmap.
• displays the help file you're currently reading - same as Help.