Mouse mode

The mouse mode allows you to control the behavior of the mouse. Depending on the mode, the user can edit objects, pan or zoom in the view ports or measure the distance from one point to another. When applicable, the shortcut key used to run the function from the keyboard is given in brackets next to the name of the tool. Only one mouse mode may be selected at a time.

Select (S)

This function puts the mouse into the select mode. This allows objects to be selected through the view ports (objects may be selected in the objects tree regardless of whether the mouse is in select mode or not).

For reference, the current location of the mouse within the view ports is shown in the field at the bottom right-hand corner of the CAD window (see the image below). The < and > buttons at the right decrease or increase the number of decimal places shown.

Changing aspect ratio settings

A feature available when in the select mode is changing aspect ratio settings. Right click in one of the view windows to see the menu, and then select Change aspect ratio settings.

This function sets the mouse to be in the zoom mode. The default aspect ratio of the XY view and perspective views are locked at 1:1, which means circles always appear round (rather than as ovals). The aspect ratio for the XZ and YZ is not locked. Use the left click to zoom in and the right click to zoom out. To zoom to a particular area, drag diagonally across the desired region. Finally, double clicking either button zooms to extent. To adjust the view, it's easiest to set the XY view first, then adjust the Z view in the XZ or YZ views.

Pan view (P)

The pan view mode allows the user to drag the view in the plane of the view port. In the Perspective window, the pan mode is used to rotate the view.

Scrolling in the view ports

The other method of adjusting the view ports is by using the arrow buttons on your keyboard. Each press of a button results in the view shifting in the direction indicated by the arrow.

Ruler (R)

Once the ruler mode is selected, a distance measurement can be made by pressing the left mouse button and then dragging the mouse. A non-permanent triangle is drawn between the locations where the mouse button was pressed (A) and released (B). The distances are given in the lower left-hand corner of the CAD window (see the image below). The dx and dy fields correspond to the horizontal and vertical distance between A and B, and the AB field corresponds to the length of the hypotenuse.

3.2.4 View

The view toolbar contains tools to zoom to the extents of objects, edit grid settings and view the mesh used for the simulation. When applicable, the shortcut key used to run the function from the keyboard is given in brackets next to the name of the tool.

Zoom Extent (X)

Selecting this tool centers and scales the view ports around the selected simulation objects. For instance, pressing zoom extent while a structure is selected arranges the view such that only the structure are shown, while other simulation objects may appear outside the extent of the view. When no objects are selected, pressing this button zooms to the the largest object in the model. This function is also accessed via double-clicking either the left- or right-hand mouse button while in zoom mode.

Drawing Grid

Clicking on the drawing grid brings up a window in which the following options can be edited:

SHOW GRID: when checked, the grid will be plotted in the drawing palette

SNAP TO GRID: when checked, objects can only be moved so that their centers align with intersection points of the grid

A1 LATTICE: the distance between grid lines in the a1 direction A2 LATTICE: the distance between grid lines in the a2 direction AZ LATTICED: the distance between grid lines in the z direction

ANGLE BETWEEN A1 AND X-AXIS: the angle (in degrees) between the a1 direction and the x-axis

ANGLE BETWEEN A1 AND A2: the angle (in degrees) between the a1 and the a2 directions

Recalculate simulation mesh (F5)

Mesh generation is too computationally intensive to be done constantly as the simulation setup is modified. If you wish to see the current mesh, use this option to update and recalculate the mesh. The mesh is always recalculated before running a simulation.

3.2.5 Simulation

The simulation tools are:

Resources

Opens the resource configuration manager. This window can add/remove and enable/ disable computational resources. It also contains a useful configuration test tool to check the resource setup.

Run

Run the current simulation. For more information on how to run simulation, see Running a simulation.

Run scripts

This function will allow the user to run a Lumerical script file (*.lsf) to perform automated commands such as plotting and saving data. This button is located in the CAD environment twice if the script editor is open: once in the simulation toolbar and once at the top of the script editor. Pressing the button on the toolbar brings up an open file dialog. Pressing the button in the script editor runs the script that is selected in the editor window.

Switch to layout editor

This function returns the simulation environment from analysis mode back to the layout editor mode. If you switch to layout editor and then save the file, the data from the simulation will be overwritten and lost.