Launching COSMOS and Basic Functions

Author: Hirohisa Mori / joshua at globalbase.org + [Transrate]Reiko Inoue Bendtsen c/o Suzaku Translations / (http://www.suzaku-translations.com/) +

* Abstract
* [Step 1] Launching COSMOS
* [Step 2] COSMOS Main Browser Window
* [Step 3] Browser Window Menus, Warp Menu, in Particular
* [Step 4] Warp Menu Functions
* [Step 5] Other Information in the Browser Window

Abstract

This page explains how to launch the COSMOS viewer and describes simple operations performed in the main window.

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[Step 1] Launching COSMOS

COSMOS is launched in different ways depending on the operation system.

In Case of Windows

Select COSMOS from the Start menu. Alternatively, double-click the short-cut that was created on the desktop immediately after the installation.

In Case of MacOSX

Double-click the COSMOS application.

In Case of Posix Type the following command in a terminal or the Run Application dialog.
% cosmos v

The startup window is the same for all types of operation systems.

Figure Launching the COSMOS Browser

[MEMO] Please note that it may take some time after the startup window disappears before the main window opens.

[ATTENTION] In case of networks with firewall, access to the internet may not be possible. In this case, launch COSMOS and set the proxy ( see " Proxy Setting (HTTP Proxy)") in the Preferences dialog.

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[Step 2] COSMOS Main Browser Window

The main window is the browser window shown in Fig.(Browser Window) . Refer to Fig.(Name of Each Component of the Browser Window) for the name of each component in the browser window. Refer to Window (Browser Window)for the detailed explanation.

Figure Browser Window

Figure Name of Each Component of the Browser Window

The central part of the browser window is the browsing panel; this is where maps are displayed. If you click within this panel, the display positions of the maps change. Several buttons are arranged along the top of the panel. With the Grab and Rotate buttons, you can control how maps are moved/rotated when you click and drag them with the mouse. The History buttons are convenient for going back to a map position displayed previously. Furthermore, if the URL of a map is known, you may enter the URL in the Warp box and click the Warp button to jump to the map.

To the right of the browsing panel is the information display panel. If you place the mouse on a map, the attributes of the object under the mouse are displayed in this panel. Below the browsing panel, you find the @Search Conditions@ and Displayed Coordinates tabs, which are used for controlling search conditions and displayed coordinates, respectively. You can change the size of each panel by placing the mouse on the appropriate panel boundary and drag the boundary until the panel has the desired size.

Figure Closing the Information Display Panel

By closing panels, it is possible to see more of the map in the browsing panel. As an example, Fig.(Closing the Information Display Panel) shows the COSMOS viewer with the Information Display panel closed. Moreover, Fig.(Closing the Information Display Panel) shows the viewer with all panels other than the browsing panel closed.

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[Step 3] Browser Window Menus, Warp Menu, in Particular

There are five menus available in the browser window as shown in "Basic Reference Manual": File, Edit, Warp, Window and Help. If you select New from the File menu of the browser window, a new browser window opens. The Warp menu is unique to COSMOS. You can consider items in the Warp menu as being equivalent to bookmarks in WWW browsers. For instance, if you select Birth Place of GB from the Warp menu, you can jump directly to the corresponding location.

Figure Cascaded Warp Menu

Fig.(Network Warp Group) shows an example where some of the warp point menus are made available on the network. In this case, the location URL is shown as [Loading...URL]. Select this menu item, wait for a while, then open the menu again to reload the menu contents from the network, as shown in Fig.(Network Warp Group (after Loading)) . Once a network warp group is loaded, the information is saved on the disk, and the menu is reloaded from the same location when COSMOS is started the next time. This means that the network warp group is replaced with the newest version every time COSMOS is launched.

Figure Network Warp Group

Figure Network Warp Group (after Loading)

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[Step 4] Warp Menu Functions

This section explains how to use the menu items available in the Warp menu.

Figure Warp Menu

Add Warp Points

If you select this menu item, the location currently displayed in the window is added in the menu as a new warp point. The title of the coordinate system used as the base map at this point is used as the menu title. If you want to change the title, open the Edit window by clicking the Edit Warp Point menu item and edit the title Window (Warp Menu Edit window).

Set Home Position

If you select this menu item, the location currently displayed is set as the initial location displayed when a new browser window is opened, e.g. by clicking the New menu item or when launching the application. To do so, the Using warp radio button must be enabled in the @Define Home Position@ panel in the Home URL tab of the Preferences window.

Replace Mode/Insert Mode

These menu items can be toggled, i.e., only one of them can be selected at a time. These two modes determine how currently displayed maps are handled when the display jumps to a certain location via a warp point menu.

If the Replace Mode is selected, the displayed location as well as all the search conditions are replaced with new ones when jumping to a new location. This implies that all information displayed previously is lost. The Insert Mode, on the other hand, employs a jumping method where new search conditions are added to the search conditions of the previously displayed map and the new display coordinates are overlapped on top of the previous ones.

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[Step 5] Other Information in the Browser Window

Version Check

You can check your version of COSMOS via the About COSMOS... menu item of the COSMOS menu in case of MacOS and the Help menu in case of other operating systems. To close the About COSMOS... dialog, click the Close box.

Figure Version Information (about COSMOS...)

Authentication Processing

Some contents may require authentication. As shown in Fig.(Authentication Icon) , the Authentication button appears to the left of the displayed coordinate system in the Displayed Coordinates tab. Click the button to perform authentication processing. Refer to Window (Authentication Dialog)for the detailed explanation about authentication processing.

Figure Authentication Icon

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