USER INTERFACE AND METHOD OF DATA NAVIGATION IN THE USER INTERFACE OF ENGINEERING ANALYSIS APPLICATIONS
A user interface and method. A user interface and method of using said interface that uniquely applies a web browser navigation style to engineering analysis applications is disclosed herein. The user interface, which may be implemented at least in part by use of a computer system, may comprise a browser panel, a tabbed workspace, a graphics view, a search box, and a search and select bar.
1 . An user interface, implemented at least in part by use of a computer system, for an engineering analysis application comprising:
a browser panel;
a tabbed workspace;
a graphics view;
a search box; and
a search and select bar.
2 . The user interface of claim 1 wherein said browser panel includes a property dialog.
3 . The user interface of claim 1 wherein said graphics view includes a radial menu.
4 . The user interface of claim 1 wherein said browser panel comprises:
a display of a plurality of properties that can be selected;
a display of a plurality of relationships that can be selected; and
a display of a plurality of actions that can be selected.
5 . The user interface of claim 1 that comprises a plurality of hyperlinks to allow a user to jump to selected content.
6 . The user interface of claim 1 that comprises a plurality of hyperlinks to allow a user to jump to another selected location.
7 . A user interface, implemented at least in part by use of a computer system, for engineering analysis applications comprising:
a plurality of hyperlinks for navigation and access to actions within said engineering application; and
a plurality of displays of location within the engineering analysis application.
8 . The user interface of claim 7 wherein said plurality of displays of location comprise:
a search and select bar.
9 . The user interface of claim 7 additionally comprising a radial menu that allows selection of relationships, capabilities and navigation within the engineering analysis application through gestures.
10 . A computer implemented method for displaying a user interface for an engineering analysis application comprising:
displaying a browser panel;
displaying a tabbed workspace;
displaying a graphics view;
displaying a search box; and
displaying a search and select bar.
11 . The method of claim 10 further comprising displaying a radial menu in response to input from a user; and
selecting an item from said radial menu by a gesture from the user.
12 . The method of claim 10 further comprising navigating to a different location within the engineering analysis application utilizing a hyperlink.
13 . A computer implemented method for displaying parameters for use in engineering analysis software in a radial menu in a user interface, comprising configuring one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
displaying a plurality of options in a radial orientation around a central node;
receiving a gesture from a screen pointer selecting one of said options;
displaying a second menu of parameters in response to receiving said gesture; and
receiving a gesture from the screen pointer selecting one of said parameters displayed on said second menu.
14 . The method of claim 13 wherein said plurality of options comprises:
a create option;
a navigate option;
a hide option; and
a fit option.
15 . A user interface, implemented at least in part by use of a computer system, for an engineering analysis application comprising:
at least one diagram showing the flow of data and operations within the engineering analysis application.
16 . The user interface of claim 15 , wherein said diagram comprises at least one icon representing an operation.
17 . The user interface of claim 15 , wherein said diagram comprises at least one icon representing a model.
18 . A user interface for computer implemented engineering analysis applications comprising:
a web browser style display.
19 . The user interface of claim 18 wherein the web browser style display comprises:
at least one tab;
at least one location display;
links that can be selected to access other data and locations within the application;
back and next functions that can be selected to move to different displays;
a history display;
at least one bookmark display; and
a search function display that can be selected to locate data and functionality within the application.
20 . The user interface of claim 18 wherein data and actions are grouped and accessible in one display in the web browser style display.
21 . The user interface of claim 18 wherein the web browser style display includes a search display that can be selected by a user to search for data and functionality.
22 . The user interface display of claim 18 wherein the web browser style display includes actions that can be selected by an user.
23 . The user interface display of claim 18 wherein the web browser style display comprises:
links to data and actions that are grouped and accessible in one display; and
a search display that can be selected by a user to search for data and functionality.
24 . A method of navigating within a computer implemented engineering analysis application comprising:
selecting a hyperlink;
displaying another location within the engineering analysis application in response to the selection of the hyperlink.
25 . The method of claim 24 wherein the location is in a computer program help system.
26 . The method of claim 24 wherein the location is on a data model within the engineering analysis application.
27 . The method of claim 24 wherein the location displays content associated with the hyperlink.
28 . The method of claim 24 further comprising:
navigating from at one least boundary condition to a table it references;
navigating to a library that stores the table; and
navigating to at least one parameter in the table.