GATE WORK

SCHOOL OF PLANNING AND ARCHIRECTURE, NEW DELHI

Megha

[REFERENCE GUIDE TO CUBE BASE]

SUBMITTED AS GATE WORK FOR JUNE JULY, 2011

Starting Cube from Windows

Cube and Viper may be started like any other Windows program by using the shortcut on the desktop or using the icon/listing in the Start menu tree. Once Cube or Viper has been started, project and data files may be opened by using the Open command on the File menu, the open button , or selecting one of the most recently used files on the File menu. During start up, the program will play a musical wave file called CubeViper.Wav if such a file exists in the same directory as the Cube or Viper program. If one or more file names are supplied as parameters when Cube is started (via the command line in a command window or the shortcut setting), Cube will automatically open all the files in the appropriate windows. If the parameter contains a catalog file, Cube will open the catalog file and also the first application file in the catalog in a Application Manager window. For Cube only, an optional Welcome screen or File Center screen can be displayed automatically during program startup. This option is specified in the File Center screen accessible from the File menu at any time.

The Welcome screen (shown above) is an easy to use interface that allows the user to open an existing Scenario Manager catalog or create a new Scenario Manager catalog. It also provides quick links to the help system, a list of tutorials and access to the File Center.

The File Center screen (shown above) is a comprehensive control screen that allows the user to create new files and open existing files on various supported file types. The Prompt before Closing Program check box can be used to enable a prompt before closing the program. This option is used to eliminate the problem of accidentally closing the program when there are many windows open on the workspace. This option does not change the operation of the file save prompts when files are changed.

Importing Data
This software recognizes data stored in Cube Voyager and TP+ as a native data file format. Cube Voyager and TP+ have defined file formats that are used to store network and matrix data. A variety of existing file formats are also supported by this software. Data in other file formats can be imported seamless with no conversion step. A brief discussion of the various data types that can be imported follows.

Network Data
This software can read and write network data stored in files of type: Cube Voyager TP+ TRIPS TRANPLAN (PC & UNIX formats) MINUTP FSUTMSFSUTMS_Network_Files (a special version of TRANPLAN format utilized in Florida)

No conversion is necessary to read data in these file formats. Network data such as node and link data may also be stored in ASCII files and dBase compatible database files. To use data stored in these formats, the Cube Voyager or TP+ network processor will be used to read these files and write a Cube Voyager or TP+ network.

Matrix Data
This software can read matrix data stored in the following file types: Cube Voyager TP+ TRIPS TRANPLAN (PC format) MINUTP

No conversion is necessary to read data in these file formats.

GIS Data
This software can read GIS data in ArcGIS Shape file format, an open format published by ESRI. Each attribute type stored in a Shape file is composed of three separate files. The files are denoted by their extensions: *.SHP -- contains the geographic attribute data for each entity *.DBF -- contains the associated data for each geographic entity *.SHX -- an index file linking the SHP and DBF files

This software can read and display both geographic data as well as the associated data in the database file.

Database Files
Database files can be used throughout the system. Currently the only supported database file format is the dBASE format (DBF). DBF files must be created with dBASE or other compatible programs (e.g. Microsoft Excel).

Program Toolbar
The Program Toolbar provides one-click access to most commonly used functions. When a network file is loaded in the current window, the toolbar will look like the following:

Computation and Selection Expressions

Expressions are used throughout this software to compute new values and perform selection criteria. Expressions are used extensively in the color and style setting for display as well as global attribute calculations. There are two types of expressions: 1. Computation expressions resulting in numeric or string values. 2. Selection expressions resulting in true or false conditions. These expressions can contain imbedded computation expressions.

Computation Expressions
Computation expressions are written as traditional formulas and contain operands separated by operators. Standard mathematical hierarchy rules are followed; computation is performed from left to right, and expressions within (..) are evaluated to a single value. The hierarchy table for operators is as follows (with importance increasing in level): Operator Addition Subtraction Multiplication Division Modular Exponentiation Concatenation Symbol + * / % ^ + Level 1 1 2 2 2 3 Work with strings only

Operators are preceded and followed by operands that may be numeric constants, character constants, variables, functions with their associated arguments enclosed within (...), and sub-computation expressions enclosed within parentheses (...). Numeric constants are entered as standard floating point numbers in the format: [sn][ddd] [.] [ddd] [fmt[sn]ddd] [sn] [ddd] [.] [fmt[sn]ddd] abs(x) CmpNumRetNum(V1,OP,V2,R1,R2) sign (+ or -) optional digits (0 9) optional decimal point optional engineering notation, start with e or E, e.g. 123.4E-56 absolute value Compare number V1 to number V2 based on OP and return R1 if result is true and R2 if result is false. Valid operators OP are strings and can have any of the following values: Equal to: '=' or '==' Not Equal to: '!=' or '<>' Less than or equal to: '<='

Greater than or equal to: '>=' Less than: '<' Greater than: '>' exp(x) inlist(x,str) int(x) ln(x) log(x) max(x,y,...) min(x,y,...) pow(x,y) rand() random(x) exponential e to the x ( 103 < x < 88) return 1 if the value x is in the range list, return 0 if it is not truncated integer value natural logarithm ( x > 0 ) common logarithm ( x > 0 ) maximum value from the list minimum value from the list power (x=base, y=exponent) return a random floating point number between 0 and < 1 return a random integer between 0 and x-1, where x is an integer between 1 and 2147483647 initialize the random number generator with x so a repeatable series of random numbers can be generated from the rand() and random() functions rounded integer value square root ( x > 0 ) return the numeric value contained in str return the length of str return the position of substr in str, return 0 if substr not in str delete trailing spaces from str delete leading spaces from str duplicate str n times; result must be less than 100 characters convert the variable v to a string that is n characters long, with d decimal places. n must be less than 30, d less than n2 convert the string str to all upper case convert the string str to all lower case extract a substring from str, beginning at position b, and continuing for n characters. b must be greater than 0

randseed(x)

round(x) sqrt(x) val(str) strlen(str) strpos(substr,str) TRIM(str) LTRIM(str) DUPSTR(str,n) STR(v,n,d)

STRUPPER(str) STRLOWER(str) SUBSTR(str,b,n)

Selection Expressions
Selection expressions are used to specify criteria for selecting some entities. The expression results in a single true or false value. The syntax is similar to standard C language with some exceptions. The expression may contain nested comparisons and/or a series of comparisons. The following comparison operators are used to determine the relationship between the expressions on either side of the operator (the left expression is A, and the right expression is B): A=B A == B A != B A <> B A >= B A <= B A>B A<B A equals B. A equals B. A differs from B. A differs from B. A is greater than or equals to B. A is less than or equals to B. A is greater than B. A is less than B.

With the = operator, B may be expressed as a series of values, and/or ranges. For

File System Shape Files

This software can display information stored in Geographic Information System (GIS) files. Currently, only the ESRI Shape file format is supported. ESRI Shape files are a platform independent format introduced by ESRI and used with the ArcGIS family of products. Each attribute type stored in a Shape file is composed of three separate files. The files are denoted by their extensions: *.SHP -- contains the geographic attribute data for each entity *.DBF -- contains the associated data for each geographic entity *.SHX -- an index file linking the .SHP and .DBF files

The records in the three files have a one-to-one relationship and must be in the same order. Three types of features are supported in the Shape file: 1. Points each shape (record) is a single point with x and y coordinates and attached attributes. 2. Lines each shape (record) contains one or more polylines (a series of connecting lines) 3. Boundaries each shape (record) contains one or more polygons (a closed, non-selfintersecting loop make up of line segments) This software requires only the main file to display the shapes in a network window layer; however, if the dBASE file is available, the shapes on screen can be selected to view and edit the shape attributes and specify display colors according to the attribute value. Each of the three features is displayed in a separate layer.

Image Files
This software can display background images in separate network window layers. The file can be acquired from many sources for display in this software. A common use for these images is to provide additional annotations to an important window in the network. Satellite photographs or scanned images can also provide a means to check the accuracy of the network in a focused area. The image files can be in any supported image format. Bitmap files tend to be memory intensive so available memory is an important consideration when working with large bitmap files. Supported image formats include BMP, CLP, CMP, CUT, EMF, EPS, EXF, FPX, IFF, JPG, PCX, PNG, PPM, PSD, RAS, SGI, TGA, TIF, XPM, ECW, and MrSid. For image files that contains the same image in multiple resolutions (such as MrSid format), the user will need to select one of the resolution to use in the layer. Since image files do not have build-in georeferencing information, the base point and scale information must be specified in an image layer for it to align with the other layers. This information may be specified manually in the layer parameter screen or the GIS Tools option Layer Alignment can be used to visually align the layers. The software will also use an ArcGIS world file if it is available when the image is opened. The world file must use the following naming convention. If the file name has a 3character extension (e.g. image.jpg), the world file has the same name followed by an extension containing the first and last letters of the extension with a 'w' as the last letter (e.g. image.jgw). If the extension has more or less than 3 characters, then the world file name is simply the image file name with a w appended to it.

Drawing Files
The drawing files contain various graphical objects that are used mainly for annotation purpose in the network window. The following list of graphical objects can be placed in a drawing file and utilize in a drawing layer: Symbol standard and specialized symbols such as circles, rectangles, stars, freeway signs etc. Line a single line Polyline a series of connecting lines Polygon a closed multi-line shape Image a bitmap image

Each object can be placed anywhere on the coordinate system or at a fixed location on the display/printed page. The user has full control over the width, height, line color, line width, fill color, fill type and rotation of each object. In addition, a text label can be included with each object at one of the nine placement points around the object. The user also has full control over the font, size, color, background color, alignment and rotation of each label.

Database Files
This software can display records in a database file in the database window. Currently only dBASE files are supported. Data can be modified in the database window. This software has a live linkage to the database file, so modifications are posted back to the file as soon as the user finishes with the record and it is not possible to undo the changes once the record is posted back to the file.

Network Display Layers

The network window displays the transportation network and support spatial data in a graphical view in a multi-layer system. The layering system allows the user to turn individual layers on and off as well as to specify the order to draw the layers. Seven different layer types are supported in this software. The layers can be turned on/off, open/close, moved up/down, and modified via the Layer Control dialog box. This dialog box is shown below:

1. Highway Network from the highway network file, links and nodes are displayed as lines and points/symbols 2. Transit Network from the transit network file(s), links are displayed as offsetting lines to the highway network 3. Point Shapes from a point shape file, points are displayed as symbols with userspecified color, style and size 4. Line Shapes from a line (polyline/arc) shape file, the lines are displayed with userspecified color, style and size 5. Boundary Shapes from a polygon shape file, the areas are displayed with userspecified boundary and fill color 6. Image from an image file, a bitmap image is displayed on the screen according to the specified scale and offset 7. Drawing from a drawing file, various drawing objects are displayed on this layer There can be only one highway network layer (with one network file) and one transit network layer (with multiple transit files) in a network window, but there can be up to

1,000 shape (point/line/polygon), image and drawing layers in any combination in the same network window. Seven layers, one for each layer type, are pre-created for each network window. Additional shape, image and drawing layers are added with the New Layer button. Layers can be arranged in any order and the software draws each layer in the specified order (from bottom to top). In general, layers with solid fill colors (such as the image layer and the boundary layer) should not be on top of other layers since they will obscure the layers underneath them. The top layer is the active layer in which the user can query the layer entities, as well as edit the graphical (in the case of highway network, transit network, and the drawing objects) and tabular attribute data. There is one exception to the drawing order rule. The Drawing Layers Always On Top check box in the Page Setup screen can be used to force the drawing of all Drawing layers to be on top of all the other layers, regardless of their order in the layer list. The layer order can be changed through the Layer Control dialog box by dragging and dropping a layer bar to a different location. The Move Up, Move Down, Move to Top, and Move to Bottom buttons can be used to move the highlighted layer up one, down one, up to the top, and down to the bottom in the layer list. The layer order can also be modified by using the Layer Control drop-down box located on the toolbar. Selecting a layer from the drop-down box will immediately bring the selected layer to the top. This is shown below.

The layer parameter dialog box allows changes to be made to the selected layer. Changes can be made to the file name, scales, base point, current color/style specification and current selection specification. This dialog is invoked by pressing the Layer Properties button, double clicking on a layer, or turning on the check box of an unopened layer on the Layer Control dialog box. Below is an example of the Highway layer parameters dialog box. This example shows the name of the network that is currently loaded into the window and other information about display settings. To change the color settings for the node or link display, press the Change button to view the color setting dialog box.

The network window operates with a global coordinate system; each layer can have its own coordinate system but is translated to the global system during display. Additional information on the top layer is available on the Layer Information screen, accessed through the View-Layer Information menu item or the F8 key. The Layer Information screen contains statistics on the data file associated with the current layer: size, date, format, and the number of entities in the file. For layers that contain data attributes with the entities, statistics on the sum, average, minimum, and maximum values for each attribute will be presented. The column widths can be resized by dragging the column divider. A Copy to Clipboard button is provided to copy the layer statistics to the Windows clipboard so that it can be pasted back in another application. A sample of Layer Information screen is shown below.

Network Options
The network option dialog box permits the user to specify the operating options of the network window. These include the distance calculation scale and option, search and display sizes, default color and style and other editing options. All the options are saved in the network windows project file and they are loaded when the user opens the project file. The Edit-Option menu item is used to edit the current options. A sample display of this dialog box is shown below.

Each option is described below: Distance Calculation Scale Distance Recalculation Option Search Tolerance Default Transit Link Width Transit Link Gap Maximum Transit Link Draw Path Trace Width Centroids Size Nodes Size Centroid Connectors Size Links Size Screen Color Link Boundary Color Centroid Color and Style Nodes Color and Style

Centroid Connector Color and Style This is the default color and style for a zone centroid connector. The line style is selected through a drop down combo box. After a style is selected, a Color dialog box appears for color selection by the user. Links Color and Style This is the default color and style for a regular link. The line style is selected through a drop down combo box. After a style is selected, a Color dialog box appears for color selection by the user. Prompt Before Undo Option With this option on, the user is prompted before performing each undo; otherwise this software will perform the undo operation without any prompting. Transparent Link Posting Background With this option on, link posting is done with a transparent background instead of a white background. Transparent Node Posting Background With this option on, node posting is done with a transparent background instead of a white background. Highest Zone Number Changes the highest zone number in the network. This number represents the highest node number that will be considered to be a zone. Maximum Number of Blinks When an entity is selected, it is shown as blinking. This option specifies how many times the selected entity will blink. Any number over 99 means the entity will blink continually after it is selected. Left Hand Drive With this option on, all posting, drawing, bandwidth, selections, and true shape display are set for left-hand drive networks. If the input network file is in Cube Voyager, TP+, or TRIPS format, the network file header may contain Left Hand Drive setting information which will override the setting in the network project (VPR) file. Changing this setting and saving the network file will change the setting in the file header for the above formats. Ignore Project File Expression Errors With this option on, expression errors from a project file (.VPR file) are ignored when the project file is first opened. This option is mainly used to bypass the error messages when the file is opened with color setting expressions referencing attributes that are not in the current network. Restore Last View on Open With this option on, the view area on screen when the project file is saved will be restored when the project file is opened again. Save Configuration to Disk Pressing this button saves the current options permanently in the project file; otherwise, all changes are only active until the window is closed down.

Layer Management
The various types of display data in this software are arranged in layers that are drawn in a specific order controlled by the user. Each layer can also be individually turned on and off. Layer management is done through the Layer Control dialog and the layer drop-down box on the toolbar. The Layer Control button on the toolbar or the View-Layer Control menu item is used to bring up the Layer Control dialog. There are three major functions available for managing the layers: 1. Turning a layer on and off Although up to 1,000 layers can be displayed simultaneously, it is often desirable to turn off one, or more, layers to improve readability and refresh speed. The layers are turned on and off through the layer control dialog box. The dialog box contains a list of the open layers with each layer having a check box to indicate on/off status, a label showing the current file name for that layer. Selecting the check box will turn the layer on and off, respectively. 2. Re-arrange the drawing order The layer drawing order is important in this software because the user can only edit/query the top layer. Some layer may also be obscured by another layer if the order is not set properly. In general, the image layer and the boundary layer should be on the bottom with highway network layer on top. The drawing order can be specified through the Layer Control dialog. The items in the layer list of the Layer Control dialog can be moved to rearrange the drawing order. Using the mouse, click and hold the left mouse button while the cursor is pointing at a layer and drag that layer to a new position. Releasing the mouse button will drop the panel at the new location. The program will automatically rearrange all the layers to insert the moved layer. The Move Up, Move Down, Move to Top, and Move to Bottom buttons can be used to move the highlighted layer up one, down one, up to the top, and down to the bottom in the layer list. A layer can also be moved to the top quickly by selecting that layer in the layer drop-down box on the toolbar. There is one exception to the drawing order rule. The Drawing Layers Always On Top check box in the Page Setup screen can be used to force the drawing of all Drawing layers to be on top of all the other layers, regardless of their order in the layer list. 1. Changing the layer parameters Each layer in the network window has a set of parameters to control the layer display: shifting and scaling of the coordinate system, line/link and node/point display color and style, and selective display. Clicking on the Layer Properties button brings up the Layer Parameter dialog for the highlighted layer. Double clicking on a layer or turning on the check box of an unopened layer will also bring up the Layer Parameter dialog. 2. Opening and Closing Layers Use the New Layer button to open additional shape, image and drawing layers. Use the Close Layer button to close layers that are no longer needed. The Layer Control dialog looks like the following:

Layer Parameters
The layer parameter dialog controls all aspects of the layer display. This dialog box is accessed through the layer control dialog. This process is similar for all layer types; however, not all options are applicable to all layer type. A sample of the dialog is shown below.

The following fields are on the layer parameter dialog: File Name the file name for the layer. Depending on the layer type, it could be a highway network file, one, or more, transit line files, a transit network file (DBF), a

shape file or an image file. The user can enter the file name and press the tab key to move to the next field and open the specified file or press the Browse button to pick a file from the file open dialog box. Blanking out the file name will close the specific file. Base Point the base point (x,y) for the current layer. Because the different layers may not be in the same coordinate system, this option is provided along with the Scale option described below to align the various layers. The x and y coordinate specified in these fields are the location of the 0,0 point of the current layer in the global coordinate system. Scale the scale to translate the layer coordinate system to the global coordinate system. The X and the Y scale can be different, although they would generally be the same. Bounding the bounding box of the current layer. These are read only information, and represent the minimum and maximum values for the X and the Y axis. Scale Range to Show Layer the scale range to use to determine the visibility of the layer. The layer will be visible if the current display scale is within the scale range. Link Posting posting selection for the link/line entities in the layer. If the posting mode is currently on, clicking on the posting check box turns posting off. If posting is off, clicking on the check box turns posting on and pops up the post variable selection dialog. For the highway network layer, the check box can have a gray check mark, which indicates partial posting through the post single link option. Link Color Check Box the link color check box controls the link color setting. If the check box is on, the current link color set is used to determine the link color. If the check box is off, the default link colors (set with Edit-Options menu item) are used to display the layer. This parameter works in conjunction with the color set selection box and the color change button discussed below. Link Color Set Selection Box a drop-down box to pick a pre-defined color set. Sixteen color sets are allowed for each layer for links. These color sets are stored in the project file and can be retrieved with this option. For each color set, there can be up to sixteen different criteria to determine the color of a link. The color settings are defined in the color and style setting dialog. Link Color Setting Change Button the button to access the color and style setting dialog to set the link color and style. Scale Range to Show Link Posting the scale range to use to determine the visibility of the link/line posting for the layer. The posting will be visible if the current display scale is within the scale range. Node Posting posting selection for the node/point/area entities in the layer. If posting is currently on, clicking on the posting check box turns posting off. If posting is off, clicking on the check box turns posting on and pops up the post variable selection dialog. For the highway network layer, the check box can have a gray check mark, which indicates partial posting through the post single node option. Node Color Check Box the node color check box controls the node color setting. If the check box is on, the current node color set is used to determine the node color. If the check box is off, the default node colors (set with Edit-Options menu item) are used to display the layer. This parameter works in conjunction with the color set selection box and the color change button discussed below.

Node Color Set Selection Box a drop-down box to pick a pre-defined color set. Sixteen color sets are allowed for each layer for nodes. These color sets are stored in the project file and can be retrieved with this option. For each color set, there can be up to sixteen different criteria to determine the color of a node. The color settings are defined in the color and style setting dialog. Node Color Setting Change Button the button to access the color and style setting dialog to set the node color and style. Scale Range to Show Node Posting the scale range to use to determine the visibility of the node/point posting for the layer. The posting will be visible if the current display scale is within the scale range. Entity Selection Check Box the entity selection check box controls the entity selection setting. If the check box is on, the current selection is applied and only the entities meeting the selection criteria are displayed. If the check box is off, all entities are displayed. Depending on the layer, an entity can be a line, a point or an area. This parameter works in conjunction with the select set selection box and the selection change button discussed below. Select Set Selection Box a drop-down box selects a pre-defined selection set. Sixteen sets are allowed for each layer. These sets are stored in the project file and can be retrieved with this option. Entity Selection Change Button provides access to the entity selection dialog to set the entity selection. All Done Button closes the layer parameter dialog and the layer control dialog at the same time. It provides a quick way to implement the changes made in the dialog boxes and return to the network display. Return to Previous Button closes the layer parameter dialog and returns to the layer control dialog box.

Color and Style Settings

0An example of a link color setting dialog is shown below.

There are four data items for each criteria line: 1. Style - The display style of the entity. For line/link entities, it can be Solid, Dash, Dot, DashDot, DashDotDot, Freeway, and two railroad styles. For node/point entities, it can be one of a list of standard symbols such as Circle, Square, Triangle, Pentagon, Star, Signal Head etc. in both Solid and Hollow style. Due to a limitation in the Windows graphic system, lines with size greater than one pixel will be displayed as Solid only. 2. Color - After a style is chosen, the system will automatically bring up the color selection dialog box for the user to choose the display color. To access the color dialog, a style must be chosen, even if it is the same as the previously selected style. Standard colors and custom colors can be specified with the dialog box; however, graphic systems which can not support 24-bit true color may not be able to display all custom color selections. 3. Size - The thickness of the line or the size of the symbol in pixels. Any entities with a size of 0 will not be displayed. In all practical cases, a size of 1 for a symbol will be too small to draw on the screen. 4. Criteria - The criteria for the line. The criteria are in the form of an "if" statement and data attributes for the entities in a layer are tested based upon the criteria. The result of evaluating the criteria is a true or false answer. If the answer is true, then the style, color and size specification in the current line is applied to the entity. All criteria are evaluated in the first to last order; the last true criteria will be applied if an entity meets more than one criterion. The syntax of the criteria is similar to the C computer language, with = or == for equal, != or <> for not equal, and <, <=, >, >= for less than, less than or equal to, greater than, and greater than or equal to, respectively, as the relational operators. Each pair of comparisons can be combined with the & (and), | (or) logical operators. A special multi-range

relational operator has been set up to make multi-range testing easier, the syntax is: attribute=xxx,xxx,xxx-xxx. Parenthesis ( ) can be used to control the order of evaluation. When the cursor is in the criteria field, the F3 key or the right mouse button can be used to pop up a list of the available attributes for the current layer. The following is an example of a criterion for highway network links: (speed > 30 & linktype = 1-3,6) | (capacity > 2000 & linktype <> 7) A comment can be added to the end criteria field by separating it with the ";" character. The comment will be displayed in the legend line for automatic legend and also will be included if the specification is copied into a manual legend.

The following menu options are available on this screen. Most of the options operate on the current line, which is identified with a red dot on the left edge. Close close the screen and retain the new specifications (this is the same as pressing the close button). Insert insert a new blank line at the current position for new input. Append append a new blank line at the end of the current list. Delete delete the current line. All Done this menu option is only available when the color dialog is accessed through the layer parameter dialog. It closes the current screen and all previous dialog screens (layer parameter and layer control) and updates the display with the new specifications. Move Up - move the current line up one position. Move Down - move the current line down one position. Append From - append the lines from a color set (including the current set). Cancel close the screen and ignore any changes in the screen.

System Functions
A number of system functions are available to the user to perform certain operations, such as looking up the speed or the capacity of a link based upon the area and facility type coding on the link and deleting entities. These functions are available for use in calculation expressions or selection criteria. Care should be used in the application of these functions, because some of them have the same name but perform different function depending on the number of parameters given. The available functions are: _SpeedFor(lane,area,facility) applicable to link database only; this function selects a speed value from the speed table based on the supplied parameters. The FSUTMS speed information can be accessed through this function. The speed and capacity tables are built from a speed/capacity file in FSUTMS format. This file is read in through the Link-Read Spd/Cap Table menu item. _SpeedFor(lane,speedclass) applicable to link database only; this function selects a speed value from the speed table based on the supplied parameters. The Cube Voyager and TP+ speed tables can be accessed through this function. The speed table is contained in the Cube Voyager or TP+ network file and can only be modified through the HIGHWAY module of Voyager or the HwyNet module of TP+. _CapacityFor(lane,area,facility) applicable to link database only; this function selects a capacity value from the capacity table based on the supplied parameters. The FSUTMS capacity information can be accessed through this function. The speed and capacity tables are built from a speed/capacity file in FSUTMS format. This file is read in through the Link-Read Spd/Cap Table menu item. The result is the total capacity for the link, which is the product of the capacity value from the lookup table and the number of lanes. _CapacityFor(lane,capacityclass) applicable to link database only; this function selects a capacity value from the capacity table based on the supplied parameters. The Cube Voyager and TP+ capacity tables can be accessed through this function. The capacity table is contained in the Cube Voyager and TP+ networks file and can only be modified through the HIGHWAY module of Voyager or HwyNet module of TP+. The result is the total capacity for the link, which is the product of the capacity value from the lookup table and the number of lanes. $DELETE=T applicable to both link and node database; this function can only be used in calculation expressions. It deletes those entities that meet the selection criteria. This allows global deletion of links and nodes. The $delete function should not be applied with other calculation expressions since the entities are going to be deleted. If other calculation expressions are also applied and the $delete function is the first expression, the other expressions will be ignored. If the $delete function is not the first expression, an error message will be issued.

Attribute Posting
Attribute values attached to entities can be posted on the display. There are two types of posting: node/point and link/line. The node/point postings are drawn horizontally centered on the node/point location. If there is a symbol specified for the node/point, the postings are drawn offset from the symbol if there is not enough space to hold the posting text inside the symbol. The link/line postings are drawn with the same angle as the link/line and only appear if the length of the link is long enough to accommodate the posting characters. For all layers except the highway layer, the posting text has the same color as the respective node/link entity. The posting font is selected with the font selection dialog. This dialog can be activated from the toolbar by pressing the Change Font speed button. Only True Type fonts are available for posting because they support rotation. The posted attribute is selected from a popup list which shows the available attributes for that layer. In general, postings are controlled by the check boxes on the layer parameter dialog box and a single attribute is selected from a popup list. For highway networks, a multiple post selection dialog box is used to specify up to four post attributes as well as select the posting color and rounding control for each attribute and to specify a condition where postings should appear. Rounding on numeric attributes can be from the nearest 0.0001 to the nearest 10000. For example, the value 1234.5678 will become 1234.568 when rounding to the nearest 0.001. It will become 1200 when rounding to the nearest 100. For the highway network layer only, up to 16 sets of post settings can be saved in the project (VPR) file for later use. A scale range specified in the Layer Parameter screen can also control the visibility of postings. Four buttons are setup on the toolbar to facilitate highway network posting. These additional buttons can also be accessed from the Post menu. The four buttons are: Post one node selectively post nodes. The program enters into node posting mode with a special cursor. The desired nodes are then selected (by clicking with the left mouse button) and the program posts the node attributes for those nodes. Clicking on the pointer button on the toolbar or pressing the Esc key ends the node posting mode and returns to the pointer mode. Post one link selectively post links. The program enters into link posting mode with a special cursor. The desired links are then selected (by clicking with the left mouse button) and the program posts the link attributes for those links. Clicking on the pointer button on the toolbar or pressing the Esc key ends the link posting mode and returns to the pointer mode. Post all nodes post the attribute values on all the nodes. After the attributes to be posted are selected from the post selection dialog box, the program posts on all the nodes in the network subject to the post condition specified in the post selection dialog box. The drop down arrow next to the button will display a list of the posting sets and allow the user to select a different set as well as turn off the posting.

Post all links post the attribute values on all the links. After the attributes to be posted are selected from the post selection dialog box, the program posts the attributes on all the visible links in the network subject to the post condition specified in the post selection dialog box. Postings are only shown on links when the length of the posting is less than the length of the link. The drop down arrow next to the button will display a list of the posting sets and allow the user to select a different set as well as turn off the posting. Postings are persistent in the network display window. This means that node and link postings remain on the screen when the view is changed by zooming, panning, or redrawing, etc.

Drawing Layer Overview

The drawing layer contains various graphical objects that are used mainly for annotation purpose in the network window. The following list of graphical objects can be placed in a drawing layer: Symbol standard and specialized symbols such as circles, rectangles, stars, freeway signs etc. Line a single line Polyline a series of connecting lines Polygon a closed multi-line shape Image a bitmap image

Each object can be placed anywhere on the coordinate system or at a fixed location on the display/printed page. The user has full control over the width, height, line color, line width, fill color, fill type and rotation of each object. In addition, a text label can be included with each object at one of the nine placement points around the object. The user also has full control over the font, size, color, background color, alignment and rotation of each label. All the objects in a drawing layer are stored in a drawing file. The drawing file is opened or created on layer control/layer parameter screen. File saving is done through the Save File and Save File As sub-menus of the Drawing menu. All drawing layer functions are accessible from in the Drawing menu, the Edit menu, or the Edit buttons on the tool bar. The following is a list of the drawing functions on the Drawing menu: Save File save the current drawing data back to the drawing file Save File As save the current drawing data to a new file Pick Object select an object from the object list, since an object can be completely covered by another object, sometime the only way to select an object for editing is through the Pick Object function New Object add a new object to the current drawing layer, there are sub-menus to select the type of objects (symbol, line, polyline, polygon, image) to add Delete Object delete the selected object Edit Object modify the selected object through the object properties screen Bring to Front bring the selected object to the bottom of the object list so it will be displayed in front of all other objects in the same layer

Send to Back send the selected object to the top of the object list so it will be displayed behind all the other objects in the same layer

Add a Drawing Object

The Drawing-New Object menu item is used to add an object to the top layer when the top layer is a drawing layer. There are five sub-menus for the user to select what type of objects to add: 1. Symbol add a standard geometric symbol or a specialized symbol to the layer. Standard symbols include circle/ellipse, rectangle, triangle, diamond, regular pentagon, straight-side pentagon (house shape), hexagon, octagon, 5-point star, regular polygon, multi-point star and pie slice. Specialized symbols include starshape north arrow, simple north arrow, scale bar, scale line, interstate sign, highway sign, California highway sign, Florida Toll Shell sign, Florida TurnPike sign, and traffic signal. 2. Line add a line object to the layer. A line object is very similar to a symbol object and a line object can be changed to a symbol object and vice versa in the object properties screen. 3. Polyline add a polyline object to the layer. A polyline is made up of a series of connecting lines. 4. Polygon - add a polygon object to the layer. A polygon is closed shape made up of a series of connecting lines. 5. Image add an image object to the layer. Image objects are bit-map images such as photographs and scan images. When the program is in one of the object add modes, the cursor changes to the cross hair style. The add mode continues until the program is switched to another operating mode such as the pointer mode by pressing on the pointer tool button or by pressing the Esc key on the keyboard. Each object in the drawing layer can have a name associated with it. They do not need to be unique and they are used straightly for identification purpose only. When adding an object, the default object name is Object###, where ### is a sequential number. It is recommended that the user changes it to a more meaningful name and also try to make each name unique. This way it will be much easier to identify the object from a list. All objects are added with location, size and font size in coordinate units. When changing the location type to fixed location, be sure to also change the X and Y value so that the object will be visible on the screen. Otherwise the object may be permanently off the screen regardless of the zoom level and be forever "lost" in the view. The only way to select such an object is to use the Drawing-Pick Object menu.

Modify a Drawing Object

An objects size and properties can be modified at any time. To modify an object on a drawing layer, the drawing layer must be the top layer. First select the object by clicking anywhere within the bounding box of the object or from the Drawing-Pick Object menu. Once an object is selected, eight sizing handles (small black squares) will be displayed around the object and one moving handle (small black square with gray outline) will be displayed at the center of the object. The sizing handles are placed at the four corners and the four mid-points of the four sides of the object bounding box. Even if an object is rotated, the bounding box is always shown in the non-rotated state. There are two ways to change the size of an object. One is to use drag and drop on the sizing handles. The other is to change the width and height values on the object properties screen. To modify other properties of an object, double click on a selected object or use the Drawing-Edit Object menu to bring up the object properties screen (shown below).

The following is the descriptions of each of the object properties: Name a name that is assigned to the object. It can be any text string but it is limited to 30 characters long. Its does not need to be unique among all the objects and it is used straightly for identification purpose only. When adding an object, the default object name is Object###, where ### is a sequential number. It is recommended that a more meaningful and unique name be used for each object. This way it will be much easier to identify the object from a list.

Database Overview
A database file can be viewed and edited in a grid format with each cell representing a field in a record of the database. This grid view of a database file presents the data in a tabular format and is designed to allow a convenient browsing mechanism. The same database file can also be presented in a form view where only one record of the database is displayed on the form at a time. Database files in dBase III+ and IV can be opened and viewed in this window.

Opening a Database File

A database file can be opened for viewing and editing by selecting the file from the file open dialog box. Use the File-Open menu item or the Open File speed button to display the dialog box. While in the file open dialog box, navigate to the directory where the database file is located and select the file. After a file is selected, the database window will appear on the desktop. Open File speed button This process can be repeated to display multiple database files.

The information is presented in a table format with the following columns: Old Name this is the original field names in the DBF, this column can not be changed. New Name this is the new name of the field, it defaults to the same as the Old Name. To rename a field, change this field to the new name desired. A field name can be up to 10 characters and must start with the character A-Z. The rest of the name must contain only A-Z, 0-9, and the _ character. Some software packages allow names up to 11 characters and Cube will allow this will a warning. DBF files with 11 character names may not work in all software that can work with DBF. Type this is the field type, it can be N (numeric), F (float, similar to numeric), C (character), L (logical), and D (date). Be careful about changing the field type, since some types are not compatible and the original values could be lost.

Width this is the field width, for type L and D, Cube automatically set the width to 1 and 8 respectively and the user-entered values will be ignored. For type N and F, the maximum field width is 20. For type C, the maximum field width is 254. Decimals this is the number of decimal places to carry for numeric types (N and F). It must be at least 2 less than the field width. Append a Field this adds a new field at the end of the current list. Insert a Field this adds a new field in front of the current position. Remove a Field this removes the current field. Move Up move the current field up one position. Move Down move the current field down one position.

There are five tool bar options:

Press the Update button to update the DBF. Press the Cancel button to cancel the changes. All data records will be copied to the new database structure and data will be converted to the new type if possible. Please note that database structure changes are not reversible but the original file will be renamed to .DBK for backup purposes.

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