Users can select objects in the 3D scene.

Make sure the pointer cursor is active (select the pointer button on the right-hand edge of the window, or press the Esc key). Move the pointer over different objects (bars or base planes) in the scene. Metric information and values concerning the current object under the cursor are displayed in the metric information text box (located beneath the menu bar).

Click (with the left mouse button) on a bar to select it. The selected bar will have a red-wire frame drawn around it. When a bar has been selected in this way, the metric information for this object is always displayed in the metric information text box, irrespective of where the mouse pointer is. (See the selected bar in Figure 1-4).

The metric information text box is updated whenever the scene is updated with the latest value for the metric of current interest. This description includes the source, name and instance of the metric, the current value and units, and the value as a percentage of the expected maximum value.

Clicking the left-mouse button on another bar will change the selection to the new bar. Doing a shift-click operation on another bar (when one bar is already selected) will add the new bar to the selections, so that more than one object is selected. The text box now reverts to the original behavior of describing the object beneath the cursor.

Clicking the left-mouse button on a base plane will select all the bars on that base plane.

Clicking the left-mouse button on the black background will deselect any selected objects.

Selected metrics may affect the behavior of the tools that are launched from the “The Tool Launch Menu”.