north

$image\north_mod.jpg$

General Module Function

The north module is used to place a 3D North Arrow or Rose Compass in the 3D viewer scaled by the model data and/or user defined parameters.

Module Input Ports

The north module has four input ports.

1) in_view (Purple) : This port takes Viewer output and will use the extents of all objects connected to the viewer to place and scale the North arrow or rose.

2) objects_in (Red) : This port takes the renderable output from any module with a red output port and uses the exent of that object to scale and place the North arrow or rose.

3) in_field (Blue-Black) : Accepts mesh data information specifying the model extents.

4) z_scale (Grey-Brown) : This port accepts scaling data from Explode_and_Scale which contains information on the z exaggeration variable.

Module Output Ports

north has one output port which sends its output to the viewer for display.

$image\north_panel.jpg$

Module Control Panel

The main control panel for north is shown above.

1. A radio selector lets you choose between "Arrow" and "Compass Rose" outputs. This selection affects the appearance of other subpanels.
2. Display Options lets you adjust scale, positioning and various aspects of the two output options
3. Label Options lets you adjust labeling scale, positioning and various aspects of the two output options
4. Z Scale is a type-in linked to the Z Scale input port. This isn't a critical input, however by having the proper Z Scale of your model you can place north's ouput in true z coordinates.

$image\arrow_display.jpg$

The Display Options panel is shown above for the default Arrow option.

Position Panel
1. Three sliders are provide for x, y, and z center of the output
2. Toggles for Immediate Sliders and Extend Bounds allow you to place the ouput in real time and to position the annotation outside of the model's extents.
Object Panel
1. Size is a scale factor for the entire arrow or "rose compass" object
2. Height Factor affects the z-height of the arrow or rose.
3. Primary Color is a button to set the color of most of the objects comprising the output
4. Secondary Color is a button to set the color of the alternating faces of the compass' rose. To understand this completely make this color red to see what happens.
Arrow Options Panel
1. Bevel is a percentage that affects the degree of beveling on the north arrow
2. Stem Width Factor affects the width of the arrow's stem (shaft).
3. Stem Length Factor affects the lenght of the arrow's stem (shaft).
4. Triangle Base Factor affects the width of the arrow's head.

$image\rose_display.jpg$

The Display Options panel is shown above for the Compass Rose option.

Rose Options Panel
1. North Length Factor allows you to exaggerate the length of the north pointing shaft.
2. Sub-Cardinal Length Factor controls the length of the 45 degree shafts relative to the primary shafts.
3. Inner Radius Factor controls the radius of the solid core section

$image\arrow_labels.jpg$

The Label Options panel is shown above for the default Arrow option.

Upper Panel
1. Font Name and Color can be specified. Since this module creates 3D objects, forward facing text fonts are not available.
2. Flip Label makes the text readable from the underside
3. Bevel is a percentage that affects the degree of beveling on the text objects
4. Depth is the height as a percentage of text width
5. Scale affects the size of all text objects.
Label North Panel (identical to Label East, South and West)
1. Size sets the size of the North label (N by default) as a percentage of the entire North Arrow (or rose compass) object.
2. Offset specifies the distance away from the arrow or rose shafts
3. Label allows you to change the label text (N,E,W,S by default)

$image\rose_labels.jpg$

The Label Options panel is shown above for the Compass Rose option.

Label Sub Cardinals Panel
1. Size sets the size of the North label (N by default) as a percentage of the entire North Arrow (or rose compass) object.
2. Offset specifies the distance away from the arrow or rose shafts
3. Four type-ins allows you to change the label text (NE, SE, SW, NW by default)

EXAMPLES: Below are several examples of output from the north module:

$image\arrow_viewer.jpg$

$image\rose_viewer.jpg$

$image\pope_rose_viewer.jpg$