When you start up LEGION Simulator and open project files, the Timeline appears underneath the workspace area. The following illustration points out the main features of the Timeline when a LEGION Model file (*.lgm) is loaded with a LEGION Simulator file (*.ora). Note that it contains only four of the track types available in LEGION Simulator ('Screen Camera' and 'Record Entity Positions' tracks are not created, by default).

Playback toolbar

This component was described earlier; please see Playing back a simulation for full details.

Time-track

This strip along the top of the Timeline reflects the time-range contained within a loaded LEGION Simulator (*.ora), or LEGION Simulation Results (*.res) file. Wherever you move the cursor in the space beneath the Time-track, a red ToolTip will display the exact time of that point along the track. This is useful when you want to place an event on a Track at a specific moment.

Time-pointer

The vertical, green Time-pointer crosses all tracks and indicates where you are, temporally, within the simulation. Before playback begins, it is positioned at the start of the simulation time at the left-hand side of the Timeline. When you start a playback, it moves to the right, one time-step at a time, until it reaches the centre of the display, where it remains while events scroll past it to the left. As a playback approaches the end of its time, the Time-track moves to the right of the display, where it stops if the simulation runs to its end.

Tracks and Events

Tracks are the components of the Timeline that carry the events you want to occur during a simulation. An event may be, for example, the recording of simulation results or an animated file, or the saving of graph data.

Before you can add and specify an event, you need to add an appropriate track. There are six track types available within LEGION Simulator's Timeline:

• Maps - save or clear generated Maps at defined points within a simulation and customise the appearance of map output.
• Graphs - save graph data and images at defined points within a simulation and customise the appearance of image output.
• Screen Camera - change cameras during playback and also save 'snapshot' images of the simulation at defined points.
• Record .AVI - record Audio Video Interleave (*.avi) files for the whole or part of a simulation and customise the appearance of visual output.
• Record .RES - record LEGION Simulation Results (*.res) files for the whole or part of a simulation.
• Record Entity Positions - record Entity Positions for all or parts of a simulation in an Extensible Markup Language (*.xml) file.

Playing and recording using the Timeline

Once you have set up tracks and events on the Timeline you can start the Timeline running by pressing either 'Play' or 'Record'. The two operations achieve different results.

When you press Play the Timeline simply plays back the simulation, reflecting any camera events you may have set up and generating maps and graphs corresponding to your tracks and events, without saving them.

When you press Record the Timeline plays back the simulation as above but also saves any Record .AVI or Record .RES events you may have set up, as well as saving images, graphs, maps and data.