Program Settings
The settings dialog of VICUS: paths to external tools and the elevation-data service, color scheme and scene colors, automatic saving, database directory, solver timeout and further options
Overview
The Settings dialog bundles the program-wide (project-independent) preferences of VICUS: paths to external tools, the color scheme of the interface and the 3D scene, as well as various behavior options. On the left you switch between three pages: Tools/Services, Style/Theme and Miscellaneous.
The dialog has no OK or Apply button: all changes are applied and saved immediately. Some options (theme, scaling, native dialogs, database directory) only take full effect after a restart of VICUS – the dialog then points this out with a message.
Opening
- Menu Edit > Settings…
Page »Tools/Services«
External Tools
Here the paths to the external helper programs that VICUS starts when needed are stored. Each row has an input field with a button for browsing the file system.
| Tool | Use |
|---|---|
| PostProc 2: | Result visualization (post-processing), see Evaluation and export |
| Text editor: | Opens project and log files in the text editor (e.g. via Edit > Open project in text editor) |
| 7-Zip: | Packing and unpacking tool |
| CCM Editor: | External climate editor, see Climate data |
| DWD climate processor: | Preparation of DWD climate data |
| MasterSim: | Tool for co-simulations (FMI) |
On Windows and macOS, each row additionally provides the button Automatic detection, which searches for the respective tool at the usual installation locations. On Linux it is omitted – there it is assumed that the tools are reachable via the system path (PATH).
Elevation Data
The selection box Service: determines the online service through which terrain elevations are queried (see Elevation query). Available is Mapy.com API. Switching the service discards the cached elevation values, so that subsequent queries are executed anew.
Page »Style/Theme«
Color Scheme
Two buttons switch the interface theme: light and Dark. The active theme is highlighted.
After switching, the note appears to restart VICUS for the theme to be fully applied.
High-DPI Options
The checkbox Use scaling for high-resolution displays activates the interface scaling on high-resolution monitors. The change only takes effect after a restart.
Color Scheme Settings
Four color buttons adjust the appearance of the 3D scene. The colors are stored separately per theme and take effect immediately:
| Element | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Background color of the scene: | Background of the 3D view |
| Color of the major grid line: | Color of the main lines of the ground grid |
| Color of the minor grid line: | Color of the intermediate lines of the ground grid |
| Selected object color: | Coloring of selected objects |
The button Reset restores the four colors to the default values of the current theme.
Page »Miscellaneous«
File Dialog
Do not use native file/color dialogs – switches to the Qt-native file and color selection dialogs. Helpful if problems occur with the system-native dialogs. The change requires a restart.
Automatic Saving
Enable automatic saving activates periodic backups of the project; the field Interval [min]: (1 – 300) sets the time interval. The backup files are placed next to the project file with the extension .vicus~.
Directories
Via the selection box, an alternative directory for the user database can be specified, e.g. a network drive for shared use within a team; when VICUS is closed, the user-DB elements are written there. The button Reset to default values restores the built-in directory. Both changes require a restart. See Database concept.
In practice:
A shared database directory on a network drive is worthwhile when the team is to work with uniform pipe, fluid and plant definitions. This way all editors maintain the same inventory instead of building up their own entries. Note that the elements are only written when VICUS is closed – so changes become available to colleagues after your next program exit.
Reset Settings
Reset all “Do not show again” dialog confirmations re-activates all notice and confirmation dialogs previously suppressed via Do not show again.
Display
Hide information labels hides the shown information notes (small info labels) in dialogs and the interface.
Selection
Use additive selection mode (Ctrl+click for single selection) permanently reverses the selection behavior: every click then toggles the selection additively, while Ctrl+click selects a single object exclusively. See Keyboard and mouse.
Steady-State Network Calculation
Solver timeout: (10 – 3600 s) limits the maximum computation time per solver run of the steady-state calculation, see Performing the calculation.