Primitives

Visionary provides the following primitive objects.

Icon	Description
	A text object, with or without word-wrapping, in an invisible bounding frame.
	A special Visionary object that links two scenes and can carry context information (parameters) from the source scene through to the destination scene.
	A straight line segment connecting two points.
	A series of line segments connecting vertices.
	A series of line segments connecting vertices with a final segment connecting the first and last vertices.
	A standard rectangle.
	A rectangle with rounded edges.
	A standard ellipse.
	An object that represents a graphic file. The picture object is used in conjunction with stock images or graphic files contained in a database. For more information about stock images, see Chapter 11, "Adding Resources and Global Parameters to a World."

See Appendix A, "Object Properties Reference," for information about primitive objects and their properties. For information about graphic objects that are linked to data in a database, see Chapter 5, "Displaying Data in a Scene."

To insert a primitive object into a scene

1. In the Scenes panel, double-click the scene into which you want to insert a primitive object.

2. Choose Insert Primitive to display a cascading menu of primitive objects.

3. Select the object you want to insert. The object appears in the center of the Scene Editor display.

4. Drag the object to the desired location.

5. Right-click the object and select Properties to display the Properties page of the Object Inspector.

6. In the Properties page of the Object Inspector, modify object properties to make the primitive object appear the way you want it to.

For example, for the Text object, enter your desired text, in quotes, in the Text cell in the Properties page of the Object Inspector, as illustrated in Figure 6-1.

Figure 6-1 Entering a Text Value

For complete information about properties for primitive objects, see Appendix A, "Object Properties Reference."

Tip: You can also insert a primitive object by clicking the object in the Primitives panel of the World Manager and then clicking the point in the Scene Editor where you want the object to appear.

Data Symbols

You can also use a data symbol directly in a scene-for example, to make a legend that explains what the symbols in a graph represent.

To add a data symbol to a scene

1. In the Scenes panel, double-click the scene to which you want to add the data symbol.

2. Choose Insert Data Symbol to display a cascading menu of data symbols.

3. Select the data symbol you want to insert. The data symbol appears in the center of the Scene Editor display.

4. Drag the data symbol to the desired location.

5. Right-click the data symbol and select Properties to display the Properties page of the Object Inspector.

6. In the Properties page of the Object Inspector, modify object properties to make the data symbol appear the way you want it to.

Tip: You can also insert a data symbol by clicking it in the Data Symbols panel of the World Manager and then clicking the point in the Scene Editor where you want the object to appear.

Connectors

To add a connector to a scene

1. In the Scenes panel, double-click the scene to which you want to add the connector.

2. Choose Insert Connector to display a cascading menu of connectors.

3. Select the connector you want to insert. The connector appears in the center of the Scene Editor display.

4. Right-click the connector and select Properties to display the Properties page of the Object Inspector.

Figure 6-2 shows two rectangles (Rectangle1 and Rectangle2) connected with a spline connector.

Figure 6-2 Connector Properties

For complete information about connector properties, see Appendix A, "Object Properties Reference."

Tip: You can also insert a connector by double-clicking it in the Connectors panel of the World Manager.