How to get started using CPN Tools
This page explains some of the basic steps to using CPN Tools. If
you've never used CPN Tools before, this is a good place to begin. On
the main help page, you can find more detailed information about the various aspects of the tool.
If you have problems starting up the tool or installing it, read the hardware requirements page, or report your problems to our technical support.
The Interface
When you open CPN Tools, the first thing you see is a window, containing an index on the left side and a workspace on the right.
If you do not see this, but in stead a gray or green windows or nothing
at all, the problem may be your graphics adaptor. Please check the FAQ
for further details.
Each of the cursors is controlled with its own separate input device,
such as a mouse, a pen, or a trackball. Multiple cursors can be
controlled by one or more users at the same time. In the following, we
will assume that you use a mouse in your right hand as your primary
input device, and write "the hand", "the mouse", "the cursor", etc. for
this. The interactions are, however, just the same for the left hand
and/or another two-button input device.
To get started working on a CP-net, you can either load an existing net or create a new one.
Loading and Creating Nets
To load an existing net, move the cursor to the workspace or to an
empty part of the index. Press with the right button of the mouse and
keep the button pressed. A circular menu appears - this is the workspace marking menu. (Read more about these menus on the Marking menus page).
Keep the button pressed and move the cursor to the Load Net entry in the menu. The entries will highlight when the cursor moves over them - release the button when the Load Net entry is highlighted.
A file dialog appears from which you can select the net you wish to
load. When you have selected a net and clicked OK, the dialog
disappears, and the net appears in the index at the left side in the
CPN Tools window. After a net has been loaded, the name of the net
appears as an entry in the index.
Alternatively, you can create a new net by bringing up the workspace marking menu and selecting the New Net entry.
Remember to keep the right button pressed as you move the cursor around in the marking menus.
If you release the button when no entry is highlighted, the menu
disappears and no command is invoked. Press down the right button to
bring the menu up again.
The Index
The index is located in the left side of the CPN Tools window:
The index contains:
- Tool box: A list of all the tools available in CPN Tools. See the Tool box entry below for more information.
- Help: Links to Help, Homepage, Report Bug and other webpages. See the Help entry below for more information.
- Options: Various options for, e.g. simulation
- The nets that are currently open in the tool
A blue triangle to the left of an entry in the
index indicates that the entry can be opened to reveal more details
about the entry. Click the triangle to open and close an index entry.
Overview of a Net
The index contains an entry for each net that is opened in the tool.
If the net was loaded from a file, then the net entry in the index is
labelled with the name of the net. In the figure below, the net named
"hier.cpn" has been loaded. If a new net was created, the net entry is
labelled "New net.cpn".
To start working on a page in the net, the net entry in the index must
be opened. Click on the triangle next to the name to open the entry, if
it is not already opened.
A net entry contains:
- History: the list of commands that have been performed on the net
- Step: the number of steps that have executed in a simulation
- Time: the current model time
- Declarations: the declarations of colour sets, functions, constant values, etc. All declarations are written in the CPN ML language.
- Page entries for pages in the net
Read more about how to add/edit declarations and about simulating nets.
All pages in a net are accessible through the index. The
hierarchical structure of a net is reflected in the index. The entry
for a subpage appears under the entry for its superpage. Subpage
entries are visible in the index when the corresponding superpage entry
has been opened.