New Sabrina Features and Features Under Development
This Millennium |
Major Enhancements |
New Commands |
Windows Changes |
Unix Changes |
Other Changes |
In Progress
*Assuming the popular but technically incorrect starting date for the new millennium as
January 1, 2000.
- MCNP4C and MCNP4C2 macrobodies implemented. The former so-called macrobodies are the RCC (Right Circualr Cylinder),
RHP (Right Hexagonal Prism), RPP (Right Parallelpiped), SPH (sphere), and BOX solid bodies.
The latter bodies include REC (Right Elliptical Cylinder), ELL (Ellipsoid), TRC (Truncated Right
Cone), WED (Right Angle Wedge), and ARB (Arbitrary Polyhedron).
Sabrina recognizes the macrobodies and cell descriptions referencing them and/or their individual
surfaces in MCNP input files. See an Example of the 4C bodies.
- Updated algorithms to handle cases where a plane of a filling universe is coincident with a plane of
the cell or lattice element that universe fills.
- Improved picking of cells by a right click in the graphics window.
- Implemented Background Bitmaps and enabled CLEAR color for Cells, Surfaces, Materials,
and Color Background. When an object is colored CLEAR, the background bitmap shows through.
When applied to the Color Background, the result is a background picture
(example).
When used with a clear Surface or Cell, a texture mapping effect is produced
(example).
- Added setting of color by Surface
- Fixed display of particle tracks in volumes occupied by cutter bodies.
See an example of tracks in cutter bodies space (left)
and excluded (right).
- PDF version of Manual now included with distribution.
- Fixed incorrect handling of transformations when both in line transformations
[such as
FILL = 1 (10 20 30)] and explicit TR cards are present in an MCNP input file.
- Increased number of digits written for SQ and GQ surfaces when writing an MCNP input file.
- PVM enhancements: Option to use host file or not, status bar messages, and host name in Stats report.
- Added choices for which boundaries to use in Etch pictures on the Options property page.
Etch lines can be drawn at any or call of color, surface, cell, and lattice element boundaries.
- Added Surface, Last Cell, and Last Material Items in the Graphics Window context menu.
The last cell and material are the transparent cell and its material encountered just before the
visible cell under the mouse position.
- Recognition of MCNP & continuation syntax
- Recognition of MCNPX particle types in cell card items
- Added logic in the ray tracing interpolation to recognize shadow boundaries,
thereby obviating the need for Super resolution when non-default light source positions
are used in Color pictures.
- Added ability to include Classification Labels for custom Windows versions.
The following commands are documented in the
Sabrina User's Guide.
Click on button at left for full description.
-
ACcept [ ]
- Read an Integrated Tiger Series (ITS) ACCEPT input file.
-
DA [ ]
- Write the geometry portion of an Integrated Tiger Series (ITS)
Accept input file.
-
GRaphics DIstort { ON | }
- The
DISTORT scaling mode
enables the use of a non-square graphics window while preserving
the aspect ratio of the image
-
ILumination ...
- Commands for defining light source positions.
Example
-
LAbel x y "string"
- Print the string at position (x, y) on the current plot.
Example
-
LEgend pos color_min color_max Fmin Fmax div width
- Write a legend for plots color-coded according to the value of
some quantity F.
Example
-
MIrror { ON | OFf}
- When
MIRROR mode
is ON, the image is reflected.
-
PD
- The Path length Distribution feature calculates the combined lengths
through materials in one or a number of paths.
-
POstscript ...
- Enable and set options for writing PostScript files.
- Newly Implemented in Windows
-
PVM ...
- Enable and set options for distributing Sabrina ray tracing
over multiple computers using PVM.
- Newly Implemented in Windows
-
REC N VX VY VZ HX HY HZ R1X R1Y R1Z R2X R2Y R2Z
- Body
N is a Right Elliptical Cylinder.
-
RESEt { SOFT | }
- A soft
RESET does not
change some current settings.
-
RLight N
- Retrieve light source position
N.
-
SLIce
- Draw a 2-dimensional geometry plot using the current settings.
Example.
Another example.
-
TORUS N VX VY VZ H1 H2 H3 R Rparallel Rperpendicular
- Body
N is a Torus with an axis
parallel to the vector (H1
H2 H3).
-
{ TX | TY | TZ } N VX VY VZ R Ra Rb
- Body
N is a Torus with an axis
parallel to the X, Y, or Z axis .
-
TRack COlor { Energy | Time | Weight } [ Range | Logrange ] A B
- Use a continuous color-coding for particle tracks based on their Energy, Time, or Range.
Example
-
TRack MEmory { ON | OFf }
- Retain the particle track data in Sabrina's memory or read through
the particle track file each time the tracks are displayed.
The In Memory mode is necessary to use the track pruning feature
and to write a filtered and/or pruned track file.
It also results in quicker drawing of the tracks.
-
TRack PRune ...
- Select the path in a history that leads from the source to a
given cell or surface, discarding all other branches.
Example
-
TRack WRite
- Write a particle track file in ASCII format.
-
VIewpoint Undefined { Ok | Notok }
- Permit ray tracing to proceed (or not) when the viewpoint is
in an undefined region of space.
-
ZBody
- Define Zones each consisting of a solid body.
Additions, Fixes, and Changes
- User Interface Changes
- The dialogs illustrated by the links in
this paragraph are from the Unix version. The Windows dialogs and
property pages are similar in appearance and function.
-
A Tool Bar and
Status Bar were recently introduced.
The Tool Bar replaces the Action Buttons that were along the
left edge of the main window.
In addition to equivalent buttons on the Tool Bar,
the functionality of the Action Buttons is available in the new Action Menu.
Most menus have been rearranged.
Most dialogs have been collected into two tabbed property sheets.
New property pages (equivalent to dialogs) include Define Colors,
Sounds,
Appearance (for window fonts and colors),
Assign Colors,
Label,
Legend,
Track Legend,
Options,
Slice (2-D plots) Options,
PostScript Options,
PVM Options,
Ray Tracing Resolution, and
Line Drawing Options.
- Preference and Initialization Information
-
We moved saving of preferences and other items from the sabrina.ini
initialization file to the Windows registry.
Other Changes
- Implemented distributed computing using
PVM and added a
property page for setting PVM options.
- Added the ability to play sounds, in the form of .WAV files,
on Sabrina startup and termination, after completion of various
types of pictures, and on error and warning messages,
and a property page to select and enable the sounds.
- Implemented
PostScript file writing and added a
property page for PostScript Options.
- Added context sensitive help popups to dialogs and property sheets.
- The focus returns to the Input Window after typing a LIST command.
- Removed blank page that sometimes comes when PRINTing.
- Updated printing commands.
Sabrina now saves and restores the user's selection for
orientation (landscape or portrait) and printer during a
Sabrina session.
- Linux Version
-
The Linux distribution comes with executables that use
either motif or lesstif for the user interface.
Both versions support
user-selectable dimensions for geometry arrays.
- User Interface Changes
-
A
Tool Bar and
Status Line were recently introduced.
The Tool Bar replaces the Action Buttons that were below the menu
in the main window. In addition to equivalent buttons on the Tool Bar,
the functionality of the Action Buttons is available in the new Action Menu.
Most menus have been rearranged. New dialogs include
Assign Colors,
Label,
Legend,
Track Legend,
Options,
Slice (2-D plots) Options,
PostScript Options,
PVM Options,
Ray Tracing Resolution, and
Line Drawing Options.
Other Changes
- Fixed recognition and implementation of resources
QPSetColors, QPSetOffset, and QPSetSlots on displays
with 8 or fewer color planes.
- Port of the Unix version to Linux.
- Added ForceBackingStore resource to make Sabrina take
care of repainting a damaged graphics window rather than
relying on the system to restore the window.
Sabrina must implement backing store internally for the
Label, Legend, and Axis preview features and Track Step
mode to work correctly.
Before enabling this resource, check to see if backing store
is handled correctly.
- Added ChangeColorMaps resource for displays with
8 color planes or less.
When this resource is enabled, the color map switches
between the original system map and Sabrina's color when
the cursor moves into and out of the graphics window.
This resource may prove helpful when Sabrina affects the
colors in other windows.
- Implemented a check for the existence of the
RGB_BEST_MAP color map on high color (> 8 color planes) displays.
If not found, Sabrina attempts to load it.
If not successful, Sabrina attempts to load the RGB_DEFAULT_MAP
color map. If Sabrina does not find RGB_BEST_MAP,
it may be possible to load it with the shell command
xstdcmap -best.
- Fixed functioning of LicenseKey when the node ID is in hexadecimal.
- Fixed (some?) false geometry errors when geometry
TESTing
in repeated structures.
- Enhanced input for and output from volume fraction
calculation (
VOLFR).
- Added the ability to
prune undesired branches on
a
particle track (Example)and
write filtered and pruned particle track files.
- Added
QPALET ET, AX, LI, LB, TE
commands to set colors for Etch, Axis, Line Drawing,
Line Drawing Background, and Text.
- Added
QPALET RESET 16 and QPALET RESET 8
commands to restore default colors.
- Implemented a preview mode for
text labels,
color legend bars, and the
axis.
- Fixed various inconsistencies when displaying particle tracks.
- A zoomed picture is now made in the same style as the original picture.
- The
Color/Etch
command draws a ray traced picture with edges outline
as if an Etch image were overlaid on a Color picture.
Example.
-
Zoom and
Query work for
2-D geometry plots.
2-D Example
- Enhanced calculation of initial extent and limits for
2-D Slice geometry plots.
Another 2-D Example
- Added
light source positions not at the viewpoint,
complete with shadows.
Example
- Added
popup context menu in the graphics window with
various action items on a right mouse click,
including the ability to change cell transparency.
Label Example
- Enhanced
LABELing by adding font and size choice.
Added ability to choose location with
mouse.
- Fixed the fuzzy torus problem.
Torii are now correctly rendered, regardless of the
distance from the viewpoint.
- Place Error, Warning, and Informational messages in the
transcript even if the messages
appear as popups.
- Removed the limit of 31 solid bodies in a zone description.
- Added the material ID to the
QUERY output.
- Increased input line length from 130 to 544 columns
and number of input fields from 24 to 100.
- Added backslash ( \ ) as a continuation character.
- When saving an edit file, Sabrina used to append the suffix .txt.
This errant behaviour has been corrected.
The suffix-or lack thereof-is now as the user specifes.
Added the menu entry Ignore Suffix to the File menu,
later moved to the Options Dialog.
When the entry is checked, Sabrina does not automatically display files with only .sab or .mcn suffixes in the file selection box in response to Read Sabrina or Read MCNP. Added a menu choice to raise the active window or not (UNIX version).
- The entries for Cells and Surfaces were reversed in the
Array Parameters Dialog.
They are now correct.
-
LIST STYPE c/z recognizes the surface type correctly and
does not treat the / as a field separator.
- Definition of the ViewPoint by angle in the
ViewPoint Dialog was fixed.
- A problem with multiple lattices in a geometry was corrected.
Example.
- Changed formatting to accommodate larger surface numbers
in the warning "ViewPoint is within eps of".
- LIST SURF accepts negative surface numbers
(effectively ignoring the '-'), permitting a list of
surfaces from a cell description to be pasted in.
- Slashes in LIST headers are changed to spaces.
Instead of LIST/SURF, for example, the header is
now LIST SURF.
- Added a limit on the number of errors/warning
reported when examining an MCNP input file.
Only the first few errors are reported directly.
- Fixed a problem when
LIST WINDOW encountered a number > 9999.
(Windows version)
- Added option CELL to the
ETCH command.
ETCH/CELL will draw a line between neighboring cells.
Without the CELL option, ETCH will not draw the line if
the cells are the same color and the boundary is on a common surface.
Example.
- Bypassed checking of cell descriptions, etc. before
ZOOM,
QUERY, and some
LIST commands when nothing has
changed in the model, thereby preventing a noticeable
lag when using these commands with large models.
- Fixed error when command
CAT errfile is given and errfile
does not exist.
Features and changes that we are considering adding to Sabrina include:
- Add a switch to use MCNP tracking algorithms for torii (the unmodified algorithm that results in a fuzzy torus when the torus is far from the viewpoint).
- A list of cells containing a given surface in their description.
- A LIST dialog box.
- User-selectable formatting, such as number of decimal places, in LIST output.
- Option to order the output of LIST/STYPE by the value of a surface coefficient. For example, list planes of type PX from highest to lowest x value.
- Enhance ray tracing when undefined space exists in a model, such as when the space outside a model is not defined.
- Provide more feedback on the size required for Sabrina's arrays.
- Add a Wait popup that appears when a (non-ignored) WAIT command is encountered.
- Add the ability to type ahead in the input window while Sabrina is busy making a picture.
- Provide separate windows for transcript and messages (Windows version).
- Add UNIX animation feature to Windows version.
- Add saving of graphics in GIF format (Windows version).
- Reading and Writing of JPEG images.
- Add graphical tool for setting ViewPoints.
- Permit the interactive ZOOM box to extend outside of the graphics window (Windows version).
- Add a Dialog box for Brightness (QB) commands.
- Expand the Tabular Body to primitive surfaces that MCNP understands on SAVEing.
- Add ability to change properties (such as transparency, color, etc.) from LIST output.
- Search & Replace in the edit window.
- Property pages for: Solid Bodies, Surfaces, QCELL, Print Options, Zoom.
- Make non-default light source positions work correctly with cutter bodies and lattices.
- Implement alpha model for transparency.
Last modified: September, 2004
Kenneth A. Van Riper /
email
