System Options Overview

F9	System→System Options
Key board	Main Menu	Toolbar

System Option provides access to all configuration settings for Geomet. These settings control the behavior of Geomet and is the one source for all feature control. The System Options is divided into Headers for better grouping of common tasks and settings, see figure 1.

figure 1, System Options Home Page

Collapse / Expand All Headers

The System Options data list contains hundreds of settings broken down into common sections, or Headers. When the System Options is first launched, all headers are expanded showing all associated settings.

Searching for a single setting can be a daunting task if you are to search through every header, one at a time.

One method to reduce individual settings is by left-clicking on the button:

<Collapse All Headers>

All settings associated to a Header will collapse leaving only the basic Headers shown. The button you pressed will change to:

<Expand All Headers>

to provide a return to showing all settings.

Once the Headers have been collapsed, you can now view the settings associated to a single Header by left-clicking on the Header. The left-click is a toggle state mode. It toggles between expanding and collapsing the settings associated to that Header.
 

Quick Search Filters

Locating a setting can be quickly done by entering all or a portion of the setting name into the Quick Search data cell.

As you enter a search term, the System Options tool automatically reduces the setting being shown to match your entry. In our example here, the search term "dro" was entered and the result shows all settings that have the consecutive letters "dro" anywhere in the setting name.

For all practical use, this is the preferred method to quickly locate a setting.

To clear the search term that has been entered, click on <Clear Filter>.

Changing the Setting Value

To change the value associated to any Setting can be done by a simple left-click. When you left-click on a Setting a change tool will appear. This change tool will be configured for the type of data associated with the setting.

In this example, we show a change tool that controls the value of the setting as "True" or "False".

All change tools present the current setting, followed by a range of acceptable values if required. There is also a option to reset the setting to the Factory Default. This can be accomplished by applying a left-click on the button <Set to Default>.

All changes made to the System Options, will appear in the list highlighted in yellow and in the "Status" data column, the text "Changed" will appear.

System Options - Validation and Saving Changes

The System Options tool utilizes a database file with the name Geomet.gso. This file can be found in the folder where the Geomet.exe program file is located. The database file can not be edited with other files tools as it is a proprietary format.

Geomet maintains tools to self-diagnose and repair the gso database. Should the database become corrupted, the tool will automatically attempt a recover and if not successful, a new database is created based on default values.

Validations

Many setting in the System Options are tested before adding them to the gso database. Should one of the tested values fail the validation test, it will be highlighted with red in the list and the Status column will be tagged as "Error".

To view the reason for failure on a specific item, disable the automatic left-click change tools by pressing the button <Disable Click-n-Edit>.

Left-click on the red highlight and a reason for fail message will be displayed. In most cases, the reason is a result of a relationship between different settings. An example would be to set the default value for a SPC study at 7, then change the minimum requirement to 9. As individual settings, these did not fail the validations, only at the time of closing were they tested.

Apply and Quick Save

While making many changes it is a good practice to save the changes periodically. Press the button <Apply and Quick Save> which will validate your current changes and if no errors are found, it will write the changes to the gso database. The System Options tool will remain open.

Closing the System Options Tool

Pressing either the <Ok> or <Cancel> button will close the System Options tool. If no changes are pending, the Cancel option will close the tool immediately. Should there be any pending changes, a message will appear, as shown here.

Pressing the <Ok> button will instruct the System Options tool to first validate all pending changes and if no errors are found, will update the gso database and close the tool.

Data Change Types

State Change

Some settings require that only a choice between two values. These values are:

On / Off

Yes / No

True / False

Installed / Not Installed

To change the current setting, left-click on the radio button next to your selection and press the <Ok> button.

Integer or Whole Number Change

A large number of settings use integer numbers. Settings such as decimal place precision, minimum number of data points required for a feature just to name two.

In this change tool, you will see the current value and the acceptable range. Enter a new value and press the <Ok> button.

Real Numbers

Real Numbers include all of the measuring numbers with a decimal place precision. Many setting require the use of Real Numbers. These include motion parameters, reference sphere size and tolerance limits just to name a few.

In this change tool, you will see the current value and the acceptable range. Enter a new value and press the <Ok> button.

Data Selection

Certain System Option settings require the selection of preset choices. To display the available selection, left-click the down arrow button, to show the available choices. In the example here, the choice is between three settings:

Report Values

Tolerance Deviation Bar Graphs

+/- Symbols

The example shows the selection for "Tolerance Deviation Bar Graphs" has been made.

Highlight the selection and press the <Ok> button.

Text Entry

Settings that require text entry such as messages and identifications are edited through the use the text editor shown here.

There are no validation checks with the text editor. Enter your changes and press the <Ok> button to set.

File Locations

Geomet provides the basic paths required for all operations, however, you can override these choices on a as-needed basis.

Geomet utilizes a Windows Folder Browser tool with provides the functionality to navigate your drive and locate the desired folder. Highlight the folder you wish to set and press the <Ok> button.

NOTE: Using the Windows standard browse tool does not provide for a Geomet style set default button.

System Colors

Geomet provides access to many colors used in display, reporting and graphics. In the System Options tool, all color settings show the current color as a color swatch, see example.

Changing system colors are provided through the use of a standard Windows Color Selector. Within the color selector there are tools to set the current color and to create new default colors which can be saved as a custom color.

To choose a new color there are 3 basic methods:

Basis Color: To select one of these pre-defined colors, left-click on the color of choice.

Color Chart: In the main color area, left-click on the base color you want to use. Once that has been done, left-click on the narrow color gradient scale and the color will display in the Color/Solid sample swath.

Enter Method: If you know the desired color, enter the values directly in the Red/Green/Blue or Hue/Set/Lum cells.

Commit the change to System Options by pressing the <Ok> button.

Add to Custom Colors

Creating and saving custom colors for the System Options setting can be accomplished using the Color Tool. There are 16 possible custom colors that can be saved. Geomet always populates the first choice with the default value.

To create a custom color start by first selecting a cell by left-clicking on the color cell. By doing this you are instructing the color tool to place a new color in the cell. NOTE: When you click on a color cell, that color will first move into the Color/Solid cell and any color you previously created will be displaced.

The next step is to create the new color using one of the three methods listed above. When the color has been created, press the <Add to Custom Colors> button to save the color.

Commit the change to System Options by pressing the <Ok> button.

Tolerance Preset Values

Geomet maintains several Tolerance Preset Page records. When tolerance is applied to a feature attribute, you can select which tolerance page to use. For more information regarding the application of Tolerance Pages, see Introduction to Tolerance.

The System Options Tolerance change tool updates many values associated with the tolerance page. This includes decimal precision depth, All Bi-Lateral, Uni-Lateral and GDT default values.

On the change tool there are two buttons, <Previous> and <Next> that moves through the various tolerance pages.