Quick Access Panel

The Quick Access Panel, as shown in Figure 1, contains several useful features. The Quick Access Panel allows you to easily manage your scenarios, navigate very large models, activate modules, monitor the status of your model, and view the input properties and output results for a pipe or junction.

The Workspace window with the Quick Access Panel outlined in a red box.

Figure 1: The Quick Access Panel

By clicking on the Scenario tab in Figure 2 below, you have the full scenario customization ability as you would with the Scenario Manager. You can create child scenarios, expand or collapse various families of scenarios, and use the many other Scenario Manager features here as well.

The Scenario Manager in the Quick Access Panel.

Figure 2: The Scenario Manager

When a model is very large in size, it can be troublesome to have to constantly drag the model around on the Workspace to get to a specific area of the model you want to view.  By clicking on the "Workspace Overview Map" button in the red box in Figure 3, you will bring up a map that is a bird's eye view of the model.  Drag the small square in the Workspace Overview Map over various parts of the model, then zoom in and out of the model.  You can also click the "Fit" button to see the full model zoomed out on the Workspace. You can also zoom in and out using the mouse wheel.

The Workspace Overview Map in the Quick Access Panel.

Figure 3: Workspace Overview Map

Clicking the Modules button in the bottom right of the Quick Access Panel in Figure 4 launches Analysis Setup to the Modules panel to activate or deactivate add-on modules.

The Activate Modules window.

Figure 4: Activating the Modules from the Quick Access Panel

In the bottom far right of the Quick Access Panel in Figure 5 is the Status Light. Clicking on open Analysis Setup.  When each item in Analysis Setup is fully defined, it will have a green check mark.  When all necessary items in Analysis Setup are completed, the Status Light will turn from red to green.

The Status Light and the Checklist in the Quick Access Panel.

Figure 5: The Status Light and the Checklist

As seen in Figure 1, there is a "Properties" tab in the Quick Access Panel.  When pipes and junctions are drawn on the Workspace, you can quickly view the Pipe or Junction Properties by first selecting a pipe or junction on the Workspace, then clicking on "Properties" tab.  This will display the Object Property data as well as any Output data if the model has been run.  Figure 6 below shows an example of what the Properties tab would look like when clicking on a pipe on the Workspace after it has been defined and output was created.

Viewing Pipe Properties and Output Data from the Quick Access Panel.

Figure 6: Viewing the Pipe (or Junction) Properties and Output Data from the Quick Access Panel

Minimizing the Quick Access Panel

By default, AFT Fathom opens with the Quick Access Panel automatically expanded.  The Quick Access Panel can be easily collapsed and pinned to the side of the Workspace to allow for a larger usage area of the Workspace.  Figure 7 shows the AFT Fathom window with the Quick Access Panel initially expanded.  By clicking on the thumbtack pin button (highlighted below with the red box), the Quick Access Panel will then become collapsed as shown in Figure 8.  After the Quick Access Panel is collapsed, it can be temporarily expanded again simply by hovering over the "Scenario" sidebar with the mouse.

The Workspace with the Quick Access Panel Expanded. The pin button in the top right is outlined in a red box.

Figure 7: The Workspace with the Quick Access Panel Expanded

The Workspace with the Quick Access Panel collapsed.

Figure 8: The Workspace with the Quick Access Panel collapsed