Multi Windows Features

11. Multi-Windows Features

Isba allows you to open several rulesets at the same time in different windows. This can be useful to compare rulesets, or if you want to make a quick modification in an include file without closing your main ruleset. You can also copy/paste objects, and even rules from one ruleset to another.

Contents

Opening a new isba window
Opening include files
Copying objects
Copying rules

Opening a ruleset in a new isba window

You select the File>Open menu entry, and activate the "open in a new isba window" check button in the Open popup. The ruleset you choose will then be opened in a new window.

Each new isba window you open has a different border color. Then all sub-windows and popups are drawn with the same border color as the isba window they come from. For example if you open the Service Choosers of two different isba windows, you'll be able to tell which Chooser belongs to which ruleset:

New isba window

Simultaneously editing several rulesets: the windows border color is your friend

Note: if you change preferences from a secondary isba window, changes will apply only to that window, and they won't be saved when you quit it. Preferences changes are saved only on closing the main isba window.

Preferences changes

Opening include files

When you edit a ruleset that has include files, you may have to make some changes to the included objects. As you can't do them from the main ruleset, you must open include files in another isba window. You can do it with the standard "File>Open" menu, or you can use the "File>Open include file>" shortcut. This entry is a cascaded menu that contains the names of all include files of your current ruleset. If you select one of them, isba will open it in a new window. For example the sun-cluster.isba sample ruleset has many include files:

Quickly open include files

Quickly opening include files in a new isba window

Note that the indentation in the cascaded menu reflects the inclusion hierarchy.

After you have modified and saved your include file, you must reopen the main ruleset ("File>Reopen") for the changes to be read.

Reopening main ruleset

Copying objects from a ruleset to another

Object inter-rulesets copy/pasting works exactly in the same way as the "intra-ruleset" case (use the object right-click popup menu, or select the object with a left-click, then paste with a middle-click).

Inter-ruleset objects copying

What if the object you paste has the same name as an existing object ? You tell isba what to do in the Objects tab in the Preferences window:

Resolving objects conflicts

Resolving objects copy/paste conflicts: set your preferences

Copying rules from a ruleset to another

Like for objects, rules inter-rulesets copy/pasting works in the same way as the intra-ruleset case. You can copy a rule in a ruleset, then paste it in another ruleset.

Inter-ruleset rules copying

This is a convenient but dangerous feature:

the rule you paste contains references to object names. In the destination ruleset, these objects may exist and have the same value, or they may exist and have a different value, or they may not exist at all. In the last case, isba creates unvalued objects on the fly. Double-check these objects !
the rule you paste may belong to a group or even be a group head rule. Double-check the group and head numbers in the pasted rule !