TOC
INDEX

Action Menus

While the Action menu differs radically from one Category to the next, it always begins with the same three items below.

Basic Action Menu

Action

About This Object...

About This Category

Create

The second item is always enabled, and brings up a window that describes the current Category in some detail. The first and third items are enabled as soon as an object has been selected from the Main menu (except that About This Object... is never enabled for a user defined object). Create, as its name implies, redraws the current object with all the current settings. About This Object... brings up a window which in principle should contain all kinds of interesting descriptive material concerning the current object. Unfortunately, that requires a lot of work, and as yet many objects have only the barest minimum description, e.g., giving the formulas that describe the object. But this will at least let you see how the object depends on the global parameters, aa,bb,...,ii, the information required for creating interesting morphs..

Below, for each Category, we list the items in the Action menu that are appended to the above Basic Action menu. (Depending on the particular object, certain items may be missing.)

Plane Curves 

Action

Parameterize by Arclength

Show Generalized Cycloids

Show Osculating Circles

Show Osculating Circles With Normals

 

Space Curves 

Action

Show as Curve

Show as Tube

Show Tangent Developable

Show Repère Mobile

Show Projection on Osculating Plane

Show Projection on Normal Plane

Show All Three Projection

Frenet Frame

Parallel Frame

Parameterize by Arclength

 

Surfaces

Action

Show Parallel Surfaces
Surface Coloration
	Hue = v/2 pi
	Hue = v/2 pi
	Hue = u^2 + v^2
	White Paint
	User Paint...
	Distinguish Sides By Color
	Set Surface Front Color...
	Set Surface Back Color...
	Default Front and Back Colors
	User Coloration...
	Stereo
Show All Gridlines
Show Alternate Gridlines
Show Every Third Gridlines
Show No Gridlines
Show Original Surface
Show Conjugate Surface
Set Associate Family Parameter...
Don't Show Reflections

The Show All Gridlines, Show Alternate Gridlines, Show Every Third Gridline, and Show No Gridlines items allrefer only to the Surface category and behave just as you expect. In particular the Show No Gridlines item will turn off the display of the u,v coordinate curves entirely when a surface is redrawn (except, of course, in wire-frame mode). While this option is available in monochrome and stereo display modes, it is rarely if ever advisable in these situations, and should be reserved for (occassional) use when displaying a surface in color, where it can improve the aesthetics.


The group of items, Show Original Surface, Show Conjugate Surface, Set Associate Family Parameter..., Show Reflections, and Don't Show Reflections, refer only to minimal surfaces given by Weierstrass Enneper data (those at the bottom of the minimal surface submenu) and are dimmed unless one of these is selected.

Conformal Maps

Action

Choose Line By Mouse

Choose Interval By Mouse

Choose Circle By Mouse

Cartesian Grid

Polar Grid

Polar Conformal Grid

Cartesian Morphing

Polar Morphing

Color Code Gridlines

Polyhedra

Action

Create Truncated

Create Subdivided

Create Stellated

ODE(1D)-1st Order

Action

IC By Mouse

Continue

Erase

Hide Direction Fields

SHide ODE Controls

ODE(1D)-2nd Order     ODE(2D)-1st Order

Action

IC By Mouse

Continue

Erase

Project ODE Orbits

Hide Direction Fields

Hide ODE Controls

ODE(2D)-2nd Order    ODE(3D)-1st Order    ODE(3D)-2nd Order

Action

IC By Mouse [Drag]

Continue

Erase

Project ODE Orbits

Hide ODE Controls

Central Forces

Action

IC By Mouse [Drag]

Continue

Erase

Lattice Models

Action

Continue

Set Lattice Parameters...

 

Waves

The Action menu for the Wave Category depends on which wave equation is under consideration. It also has somewhat different items when an initial value problem is being solved numerically.

KDV Action Continue Display As Graph Evolve Profile Display Time Slices	KDV IVP Action Continue Display As Graph Evolve Profile Display As Graph Display Wave Form Only Display Fourier Transform Only Display Both
Sine Gordon Action Continue Display As Graph Evolve Profile Display Time Slices
Cubic Schroedinger Action Continue Display As Graph Evolve Profile Display Time Slices Show Modulus and Phase Show Modulus Only	Cubic Schroedinger IVP Action Continue Display As Graph Evolve Profile Display Time Slices Display Wave Form Only Display Fourier Transform Only Display Both Show Modulus and Phase Show Modulus Only