USING THE DATA MANAGER

Figure 10.2.2: Context sensitive menus in the data manager

Using the right mouse button to access menus is usually the most effective means of accessing features or commands. Figure10.2.2shows an Illustration of a context-sensitive right mouse button menu.

The symbolic tree representation of the complete database shown in the database window may not show all parts of the database. The user settings offer options for displaying hidden folders, or for displaying parts that represent complete stations. Set these options as required (Section10.2.5: Data Manager Settings).

Note: It is useful to keep in mind that object folders, such as the grid ( ) folder are merely common folders , that have been designated to contain particular classes of objects.

10.2.1 Navigating the Database Tree

There are several ways to ”walk” up and down the database tree:

• Use the mouse: all folders that have a “+" sign next to them may be expanded by double-clicking on the folder, or by single clicking the “+" sign.

• Use the keyboard: the arrow keys are used to walk up and down the tree and to open or close folders (left and right arrows). ThePage Up and Page Down keys jump up and down the tree in big steps and the “-" and “+" keys may also be used to open or close folders.

• Use the toolbar in combination with the browser window. Double-click objects (see “c" in Fig-ure10.2.1) in the browser to open the corresponding object. This could result in opening a folder, in the case of a common or case folder, or editing the object dialogue for an object. Once again, the action resulting from your input depends on where the input has occurred (left or right side of the data manager).

• The buttons Up Level ( ) and Down Level ( ) on the data manager tool bar can be used to move up and down the database tree.

10.2.2 Adding New Items

Generally, new network components are added to the database via the graphical user interface (see Section9.2: Defining Network Models with the Graphical Editor), such as when a line is drawn between two nodes creating, not only the graphical object on the graphics board, but also the corresponding element data in the relevant grid folder. However, users may also create new objects “manually" in the database, from the data manager.

Certain new folders and objects may be created by right-clicking on folders in the data manager. A context sensitive menu is presented, offering a choice of objects to be created that will “fit" the selected folder. For example, right-clicking a grid folder will allow the creation (under the New menu) of a Graphic, a Branch, a Substation, a Site or a Folder object. The new object will be created in the folder that was selected prior to the new object button being pressed. This folder is said to have the ’focus’ for the commanded action. This means that some objects may not be possible to create since the focused folder may not be suited to hold that object.

For instance: A synchronous machine should not go into a line folder. A line folder should contain only line routes, line sections and cubicles. The cubicles in their turn should contain only switches or protection elements.

To access the whole range of objects that may be created, the icon must be pressed (new object icon). This is found the data manager toolbar and presents the dialogue shown in Figure10.2.3.

To simplify the selection of the new objects, a filter is used to sort the object list. This filter determines what sort of list will appear in the drop-down list of the ’Element’ field. If “Branch Net Elements" is first selected, the selection of, for instance, a 2-winding transformer is accomplished by then scrolling down the element list.

The Element field is a normal edit field. It is therefore possible to type the identity name of the new element, like ElmTr3 for a three-winding transformer, or TypLne for a line type directly into the field.

The possible list of new objects is therefore context sensitive and depends on the type or class of the originally selected folder.

10.2. USING THE DATA MANAGER

Figure 10.2.3: The element selection dialogue

After the selection for a new object has been confirmed, the “Element Selection" dialogue will close, the new object will be inserted into the database and the edit dialogue for the new object will pop up. If this dialogue is closed by pressing theCancel button, the whole action of inserting the new object will be cancelled: the newly created object will be deleted from the active folder. The dialogue for the new object may now be edited and theOK button pressed to save the object to the database.

As any other object, folders can be created either by using the context sensitive menu or by using the icon. Common folders (IntFolder objects) may have an owner name entered, for documentation or organizational purposes. In this way it should be clear who has created the data. Descriptions may also be added. An existing folder may be edited by using the Edit icon on the toolbar or by using the right mouse button.

Each folder may be set to be read-only, or to be a PowerFactory system folder. The folder may be a “Common" or “Library" folder. These attributes can be changed in the edit-folder dialogue. These settings have the following meaning:

• Common folders are used for storing non-type objects: electric elements, command objects, set-tings, projects, etc.

• Type folders are used as ’libraries’ for type objects.

• System folders, which are read only folders

The use of read-only folders is clear: they protect the data. In addition, folders containing data that is not normally accessed may be hidden. Selecting the kind of folders that the user/administrator wants to be hidden is done in the user settings dialogue see Chapter7(User Settings).

10.2.3 Deleting an Item

A folder or object which is selected may be deleted by pressing theDelete key on the keyboard, or by clicking the icon on the toolbar of the database manager.

Because most power system objects that are stored in the database are interconnected through a network topology or through type-element relationships, deleting objects often causes anomalies in the database consistency. Of course, PowerFactory knows at any moment which objects are used by which others and could prevent the user from creating an inconsistency by refusing to delete an object that is used by others. This, however, would create a very stubborn program.

PowerFactory solves this problem by using a ’Recycle Bin’ folder. All deleted objects are in fact moved to the recycle bin. All references to the deleted objects will therefore stay valid (for example, the reference between element and type), but will show that the referenced object has been “deleted" by:

• Showing the path to the recycle bin and the name of the ”recycle object” in stead of the original location and name.

• Colouring: a reference to a deleted object will be coloured red, i.e. a reference to a type. Type references are found in the edit dialogues of all elements which use a type like the line or the transformer object.

An object that has been deleted by mistake can be restored to the original location by selecting the restore menu option on the recycle object’s context sensitive menu. All references to the object will also be restored.

10.2.4 Cut, Copy, Paste and Move Objects

Cut, Copy and Paste

Cutting, copying and pasting may be achieved in four different manners:

1. By using the data manager tool bar buttons.

2. By using the normal ’MS Windows’ shortcuts:

• Ctrl-X will cut a selection,

• Ctrl-C will copy it,

• Ctrl-V will paste the selection to the active folder.

Cutting a selection will colour the item-icons gray. The cut objects will remain in their current folder until they are pasted. A cut-and-paste is exactly the same as moving the object, using the context sensitive menu. All references to objects that are being moved will be updated. Cancelling a cut-and-paste operation is performed by pressing the Ctrl-C key after the Ctrl-X key has been pressed.

3. By using the context sensitive menu. This menu offers a Cut, a Copy and a Move item. The move item will pop up a small second database tree in which the target folder can be selected. When the selected objects have been Cut or Copied, the context sensitive menu will then show a Paste, Paste Shortcut and a Paste Data item.

• Paste will paste the selection to the focused folder.

• Paste Shortcut will not paste the copied objects, but will create shortcuts to these objects. A shortcut object acts like a normal object. Changes made to the shortcut object will change the original object. All other shortcuts to this original object will reflect these changes immediately

• Paste Data is only be available when just one object is copied, and when the selected target object is the same kind of object as the copied one. In that case, Paste Data will paste all data from the copied object into the target object. This will make the two objects identical, except for the name and the connections.

10.2. USING THE DATA MANAGER

4. By dragging selected objects to another folder. The ’Drag & Drop’ option must be enabled first by double-clicking the ’Drag & Drop: off’ message on the data manager’s message bar. When the Drag & Drop option is on, it is possible to copy or move single objects by selecting them and dragging them to another folder. Dragging is done by holding down the left mouse button after an object has been selected and keeping it down while moving the cursor to the target/destination folder, either in the database tree or in the database browser window.

Note: When dragging and dropping a COPY of the object will be made (instead of moving it) if the Ctrl key is held down when releasing the mouse button at the destination folder. To enable the ’Drag

& Drop’ option double click the ’Drag & Drop’ message at the bottom of the Data Manager window.

10.2.5 The Data Manager Message Bar

The message bar shows the current status and settings of the database manager. Some of the mes-sages are in fact buttons which may be clicked to change the settings.

The message bar contains the following messages.

• “Pause: on/off" (only in case of an opened input window) shows the status of the message queue in the input window. With pause on, the command interpreter is waiting which makes it possible to create a command queue. The message is a button: double-clicking it will toggle the setting.

• “N object(s) of M" shows the number of elements shown in the browser window and the total number of elements in the current folder.

• “N object(s) Selected:" shows the number of currently selected objects.

• “Drag & Drop: on/off" shows the current drag & drop mode. Double clicking this message will toggle the setting.

10.2.6 Additional Features

Most of the data manager functionality is available through the context sensitive menus (right mouse button).

The following items can also be found in the context sensitive menus:

Show Reference List (Output... → Reference List) Produces the list of objects that have links, or references (plus the location of the linked object), to the selected object. The list is printed to the output window. In this manner for example, a list of elements that all use the same type can be produced. The listed object names can be double- or right-clicked in the output window to open their edit dialogue.

Select All Selects all objects in the database browser.

Mark in Graphic Marks the highlighted object(s) in the single line graphic. This feature can be used to identify an object.

Show → Station Opens a detailed graphic (displaying all the connections and switches) of the terminal to which the selected component is connected. If the component, is connected to more than one terminal, as might be in the case of lines or other objects, a list of possible terminals is shown first.

Goto Busbar Opens the folder in the database browser that holds the busbar to which the currently selected element is connected. If the element is connected to more than one busbar, a list of possible busbars is shown first.

Goto Connected Element Opens the folder in the database browser that holds the element that is connected to the currently selected element. In the case of more than one connected element, which is normally the case for busbars, a list of connected elements is shown first.

Calculate Opens a second menu with several calculations which can be started, based on the currently selected objects. A short-circuit calculation, for example, will be performed with faults positioned at the selected objects, if possible. If more than one possible fault location exists for the currently selected object, which is normally the case for station folders, a short-circuit calculation for all possible fault locations is made.

Other useful features:

• Relevant objects for calculations are tagged with a check-mark sign (this will only be shown fol-lowing a calculation). Editing one of these objects will reset the calculation results.