Test/Practice_Mode

Test/Practice Mode UIWG

Presented By: Peter Wu, Jim Ramer

When: 6 April 2005

FSL Attendees: Woody Roberts, Joe Golden, Joe Wakefield, Leigh Cheatwood, Susan Williams, Jim Ramer

Teleconference Attendees: Peter Wu, Stowell Davison, David Freidman, Carl Gorski, Paul Kirkwood, Jim LaDue

A new mode setting capability has been added to the individual user interface to identify modes for creating test and practice text. The user interface for the Test/Practice Mode setting was presented by developer Peter Wu followed by a presentation by Jim Ramer on the changes made to the warnGen interface to support the Test/Practice Mode settings

Peter made the following points regarding the Test Mode Control dialog box:

The Text Mode Control dialog box is launched by the appLauncher and consists of 3 components:

the ability to switch modes
show a banner indicating the current mode, test or practice
and getTestMode, an interface that returns the status to the calling AWIPS application

The Test Mode Control dialog has four buttons that allow the user to select the mode or exit the application:

Test mode
Practice mode
Operational mode
Cancel

Using the Test Mode Control gui, the user cannot go straight to Test mode from Practice mode. The user must define two state transactions.
Noted that in Test Mode, the text message actually goes out over the communications network, whereas in Practice Mode, the text message stays in house.
Suggested using consistent colors to indicate Test or Practice mode to the color the warnGen dialog box changes to in the Practice or Test modes.
Suggested that the mode the user is currently in be made more prominent. For example, currently if you are in Operational mode this button is grayed out on the interface, leading the user to believe that you are either in Test or Practice mode. Peter will redesign this.
The showBanner, a small box that appears after selecting Test or Practice mode, appears in the lower left of each of the heads on the workstation and on the text workstation.
The showBanner box needs to be a consistent color (black, orange or red) to the warnGen dialog box.
The showBanner box is always in the foreground. Currently it is configured to always be in the lower left corner of the display. Suggested that the user have the ability to move the showBanner box and have it stay where positioned.
The question was raised, "Do we need a more stringent long procedure, especially during severe weather."

Jim made the following points regarding the changes made to warnGen in support of the Test/Practice modes:

When launching warnGen in the Test/Practice modes, the following are observed:

Test Mode: the background of the warnGen dialog box is BLACK as shown below:

Practice Mode: the background of the warnGen dialog box is ORANGE as shown below:

When a message is generated by warnGen in Test mode, the message is formatted with Test in the text and a T in the VTEC line.
When a message is generated by warnGen in Practice mode, the user can set the clock back and generate a product. This product will be formatted with Test in the Text and a T in the VTEC line. Then the clock is current, text will be created with an O in the VTEC line and Test will not appear in the the message.
The question was raised: "Is there a task to have the background on D2D reflect the black (Test) and orange (Practice) modes?"

Pertinent e-mail:

    Peter Wu: April 11, 2005

Support Documentation written by Peter Wu:

    Note presented to UIWG April 6, 2005

    Note on running Test/Practice Mode program

    Note on updated Show Banner GUI (9 May 2005)