Simcenter Testing Solutions Simcenter Testlab: Segments and Windows

Figure 1: Time Data Selection is activated under “Tools -> Add-ins”
 

A new workbook called “Time Data Selection” is added to the available workbooks at the bottom of the application as shown in Figure 2.
 

Figure 2: After activation, the “Time Data Selection” appears as a new workbook.  With time data in the input basket, click on the “Add” or “Replace” button makes the time data appear.
 

Time data can be viewed using the "Time Data Selection" workbook.

If time data has been added to the input basket, clicking on the “Add” or “Replace” button will make it available for viewing:

2. Overview versus Detailed

Time data can be selected for viewing by clicking on the checkbox under the "View" column on the left side of the screen as shown in Figure 3.
 

Figure 3: After clicking on the checkbox on the left side, the data is shown on the right.
 

After clicking on the data for viewing (left side of screen), it is shown in both the Overview section and Detailed section (right side of screen):

The Overview and Detailed sections are shown below in Figure 4.
 

The Overview area always shows the entire time trace, while the detailed view shows a portion of the overview that is equivalent to the light blue area shown in the Overview.  Both the Overview and Detailed views can be made visible/not visible using the checkboxes to the left of their names.

3. Detailed Controls

There are controls below the detailed area for changing the amount of time data being viewed as shown in Figure 5.
 

Figure 5: The blue slider bar below the detailed window can be moved to scroll through the time history.  The ends of the slider bar can be used to zoom in and out of the time data.
 

The blue slider bar:

There are control buttons as well as shown in Figure 6.
 

Figure 6: In the controls of the detailed window, the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ buttons are used to zoom in and out of the time data.
 

The ‘+’ and ‘-‘ buttons are used to zoom in and out of the time data. Clicking on the ‘+’ doubles the amount of time data shown, while clicking on the ‘-‘ halves the amount of data shown.

4. Window versus Segment

In Time Data Selection, not only the detailed window can be defined, but a segment can also be used to define a time region for data post processing as shown in Figure 7.
 

Figure 7: A segment (black area, top graph) is used to define a time region for post processing.  The window (light blue area, top graph) defines what is shown in the detailed area (bottom graph).
 

A segment is defined by clicking and dragging (left to right) in either the overview or detailed area.  

4.1 Graphical Segment Definition

An example of how the segment shows after clicking and dragging is shown in Figure 8.
 

Figure 8: To define a time segment for post processing, click and drag from left to right in the display.
 

A segment is defined by graphically dragging from left to right in the display.  It can also be manually entered by typing values in the Segment from and to fields above the display area.

4.2 Reset Segment

To reset the segment selection, click on the black area of the segment in the display while holding down the Control key as shown in Figure 9.

Now a new segment can be defined by dragging the mouse again.  Only one segment can be defined at a time, multiple segments are not allowed.

4.3 Align Detailed Window and Segment

The segment and detailed window can be made the same by clicking on the appropriate control button as shown in Figure 10:
 

This makes the detailed window view the same as the currently defined segment.

5. Lock Segment for Processing

After dragging over the desired time range, it can be locked for processing as shown in Figure 11.
 

Figure 11: Click on the “Use Segment for Processing” button to lock in the segment duration.
 

It is a two-step process:

After pressing the button, the Processing Segment should reflect the highlighted segment. Applications like Signature Throughput Processing will only process data from this time range. See the knowledge article "Simcenter Testlab Throughput Processing Tips" for more information.

The segment can also be cut from the current time history and stored into a new file.  For more information, see the knowledge article: "Time Data Selection: Saving a Segment".

6. Segment versus General Tool

By default, the displays in the Time Data Selection worksheet do not function like other displays in Simcenter Testlab.  The displays are set up for segment definition.

To enable the “normal” features of the displays, like cursor menus, right click on the display and choose “Tool -> General” rather that “Tools -> Segment” as shown in Figure 12. 
 

Figure 12: Right click to switch from “Segment” to “General”.
 

Now the display menus are the same in Time Data Selection.  Now options are available to change the line style, add cursors, and more.

Hope this overview helps!  Questions?  Email peter.schaldenbrand@siemens.com or post a question.

Related Links:

• Index of Simcenter Testing Knowledge Articles
• Simcenter Testlab Overview
• Getting Started with Simcenter Testlab
• Simcenter Testlab Active Picture
• Simcenter Testlab Active Picture Plug-in Download
• Simcenter Testlab: Import/Export to Excel
• Simcenter Testlab: Documentation Tab
• Simcenter Testlab: Templates
• Simcenter Testlab: Time Signal Calculator Tips
• Time Data Selection: Saving a Segment
• Simcenter Testlab: Calculating Statistics from Time Histories
• Simcenter Testlab: Appending Time Histories