Lesson 3 - The GoldSim User Interface

GoldSim runs in a window with a browser on the left and a graphics pane on the right. The GoldSim window also has a menu bar and a number of toolbars. At the bottom of the window, the status bar provides information about the state of the model, including what mode your model is in (e.g., Edit Mode or Result Mode).

The largest part of the screen is occupied by the graphics pane. This is where the graphical depiction of the model is shown. It is the "canvas" on which the model is drawn. This is where most model building and manipulation tasks will be carried out.

The browser represents an alternative way to view a GoldSim model. The browser displays all of the elements in your model in a tree format. By default, the browser displays the elements in alphabetical order by name in Containment View.

At the bottom of the browser is a Class View tab that opens a view that shows elements by type.

Let's take a closer look at the browser.

1. Click the Class View tab to see the model elements organized by type.
2. Click the Containment View tab to return to viewing the model elements by name.
3. Move your cursor over the border between the browser and the graphics pane.
4. When the cursor changes to a bar with left and right arrows, click and drag the browser border to the left to make the browser smaller.
5. On the GoldSim toolbar, click the browser button to close the browser.
   
6. To open the browser, click the browser button again.

Note: You can also open and close the browser by pressing F6, or by selecting Model Browser from the View menu.