This tutorial takes you step-by-step through creating a nanodevice
design, including creating a NanoFile, adding nanoscale components,
editing those components and saving the design.
The Design Perspective is the home of many of the Views and Editors
that you will use during the design process, so start this tutorial by
opening it, if it is not already open.
There are two ways to open the Design Perspective. The fastest way
is to use the perspective menu located toward the upper right hand
corner of the workspace. Alternatively, select Design from the Open Perspective menu item under the application's Window menu.
The Design Perspective is the default perspective of nanoXplorer IDE.
The Workspace View shows you the resources that you have in your
workspace. In particular it is able to look inside NanoFiles
(nanodevice design files) and see their contents. It also serves as a
sort of control panel for the design process so let's open that, if it
is not already visible, by selecting Window > Show View > Workspace.
Projects are a convenient way to organize nanodevice designs and
related files. While the workspace includes a default project, create a
new one for this tutorial.
Select File > New > Project... from the main application menu.
Use the New Project Wizard to name and create the new project.
A NanoFile is a special file that contains nanodevice designs and
related information. Create a new NanoFile so that you can begin
creating a new nanodevice design.
There are two ways to create a new NanoFile:
Use the File > New > Other...menu command from nanoXplorer IDE's main menu bar.
Select the NanoFile wizard in the dialog.
Select a name and parent for the new NanoFile and press the Finish button.
or
Open the Design Perspective.
Open the Workspace View, if necessary.
Press the New NanoFile button () on the Workspace View toolbar.
Select a name and parent for the new NanoFile and press the Finish button.
Both of these actions will create a new NanoFile and place it in the
workspace at the specified location. If the Workspace View is open, the
NanoFile will be immediately visible in the project, folder and file
hierarchy.
You created a NanoFile in the previous step; now you would like to open it for editing.
Simply locate the Nanofile in the Workspace View and double-click on
it. This will open the NanoFile Editor for that NanoFile. Be patient;
it may take a few moments for the Editor window to come up as it needs
to load the advanced three-dimensional interactive environment.
The NanoFile Editor, once visible, will show empty space because you haven't added anything yet.
To keep this basic tutorial simple, you will only add one component
to the NanoFile. In a real design process, of course, this is where
most of the hard work would take place. Selecting, modifying,
positioning, orienting, and connecting components with atomistic
precision could take days for a complex nanodevice design.
Double-click the Nanotube widget in the Widgets View. This should
open the New Nanotube Wizard. If you want to try and set parameters for
the nanotube, go ahead and do so, however, for the tutorial all you
need to do is press "Finish" to create the default nanotube.
For just a taste of the editing capabilites at your
disposal, try moving the nanotube (grab the nanotube with left mouse
button and drag it somewhere). Or you can change the orientation by
dragging with the right mouse button.
If you want to change your viewpoint, drag on the scene background.
Try to bring up the context menu (right-click on Windows and Linux) for some of the atoms and bonds in the nanotube.
More comprehensive information about the NanoFile Editor is offered outside this tutorial.
Now that you have edited the NanoFile, you may want to save the
changes. Make sure the NanoFile Editor has focus (for example, by
clicking on its tab) and press the save button on the main application
toolbar.
Close the editor window and open the NanoFile a second time. The nanotube should be there just as you left it.
The promise of nanotechnology is that someday we'll be able to
create a myriad of nanoscale devices that can do everything from
prevent disease to clean our environment to suffuse our surroundings
with massive computing power... and all that would make possible.
Manufacturing technology will have to come a long way before such
things are possible. However, designing such nanodevices is possible
today, if one does not worry about the hard problems involved in going
from blueprint to real world and the mass production that would have to
be available for nanoscale devices to make any meaningful impact.
Moreover, some simpler real world nanotechnology applications are
available today and enhancing actual products, such as nanoparticle
coatings, nanofibers in textiles and nanoscale electronic components.
Clearly we are at the beginning of a technological revolution that will
transform the world, but the scientists and engineers who are trying to
turn these possibilities into realities need tools to help them.
The process of nanoscale device design is similar to aircraft
design, automobile design and even, in some respects, software design.
It requires hierarchical organization, libraries of reusable parts,
advanced visualization and interactivity, teams working together,
subsystems of varying complexity and the interfaces between them, and a
file format for capturing the design, among many other things.
nanoXplorer IDE sits at the cross-section of chemistry and
engineering, providing all the tools to do realistic work with
nanoscale components while preserving the function of macroscale
computer-aided design systems. It enables teams to work with nanoscale
device designs efficiently and powerfully, supporting the design
process from the very first inkling of an idea all the way to
full-fledged complex design that has been simulated in its target
environment and is ready for real world prototyping by some yet to be
realized desktop nanoscale device factory.
A nanodevice may be defined as "molecules with a purpose." It is a
device in the sense that it can be used for something (whether simple
or complex) and it is "nano" in the sense that it is characterized by
parts that are best measured in nanometers (one billionth of a meter,
about the size of a small molecule). The term usually implies that
human engineering has played some part in its conception, though some
interesting nanodevices are also found in nature. This definition
encompasses everything from simple nanowires that do nothing but
conduct electricity to complex "nanobots" that are perhaps mobile,
autonomous and capable of various functions. Thus nanodevices are both
routinely available in today's labs and speculative engineering that
will unfold over decades to come. nanoXplorer IDE enables design of the
full range of nanodevices.
nanoXplorer models
nanodevices as a hierarchical collection of nanosystems, connections, molecular
devices, interfaces, device components, molecular components and spatial components.
Each is described below:
Nanosystem - the top-most level of the hierarchy, contains subsystems and subdevices
Molecular Device - consists of device components
Device Component - consists of molecules and volumes
Molecule -
small or large
Volume - region
of space with particular properties and appearance
Interface (not shown) - a nanodevice component may include any number of interfaces
Connection (not shown) - a connection between two nanodevice component interfaces
A nanosystem is a nanodevice able to perform some number of
functions or fulfill some number of purposes and is typically
characterized by at least two distinguishable subcomponents, either
subsystems or component molecular devices. Nanosystems represent
complex nanodevices and because they can recursively contain
nanosystems as subcomponents, their potential complexity is unbounded.
An example of a nanosystem would be a nanobot, with subsystems for communication, computation, locomotion and power.
Nanosystems sit atop the nanodevice component hierarchy and can only have other nanosystems or NanoFiles as parents.
A molecular device is a nanodevice with a single primary
functionality or purpose. It may consist of any number of device
components and itself may be part of a larger nanosystem.
An example of a molecular device would be a nanodiode. The nanodiode
would perform a single primary function (regulating current flow) but
would consist of a number of uniquely identifiable components (such as
the anode and cathode). In turn the diode could be part of a larger
system, such as a nanotransistor or nanocircuit.
Device components occupy a middle level of the nanodevice hierarchy,
bridging the gap between molecules and functional molecular devices.
Devices typically consist of a number of identifiable pieces and this
is the role of device components, to group related molecules and
volumes together as desired for easier manipulation and to facilitate
an intuitive conceptual model for design.
Examples of device components would be the anode and cathode of a
nanodiode. The nanodiode itself rises to the level of molecular device
since it has a specific functionality (regulating current flow), while
the anode and cathode are identifiable pieces of that device.
Molecules (a.k.a. molecular components) occupy the lowest level of
the nanodevice component hierarchy. Any number of molecules (and
volumes) may be included in a single device component. For pieces of a
nanodevice design that need to be atomically precise, molecular
components must be used.
The term "molecule" is a bit misleading as it is not required that
all of the constituent atoms be bonded together. The preferred term is
"molecular component"; molecular components are understood to contain atomic systems, which in turn could actually contain more than one molecule.
Volumes, like molecular components, occupy the lowest level of the
nanodevice component hierarchy. Unlike molecular components however,
volumes are used to represent components whose atomistic detail is
either unknown or unimportant. This facilitates development of large
nanodevice designs and models with atomistic precision only where
necessary. A number of primitive volume shapes are available (such as
sphere, box, pyramid, etc), which can be combined to make more complex
volumes.
Any nanodevice component may contain interfaces. An interface
indicates that the component may be connected to other components in
some way. Interfaces can only be connected to compatible interfaces.
For example, a chemical interface will identify particular atoms
that are available for bonding with outside components. Other types of
interfaces are possible, such as electromagnetic. physical and remote.
Two nanodevice components may be connected. This connection must occur between two compatible interfaces.
Connections are useful when a close relationship exists between two
identifiable components and the components will not be merged into a
single component for design or any other reasons. The connection may be
chemical in nature and represent bonds between atoms in the two
components. The two connected components will remain distinct however,
which can aide the design process as each component can still be
positioned, oriented and edited individually.
Chemical connections are only one example type of connection. Other
connections may be physical, electromagnetic or remote in nature.
The Workspace View is the main control center in the Design
Perspective. The workspace is where you will keep your projects,
folders, NanoFiles and other files.
A widget is any component that can be added to a NanoFile. These
include the standard components of the nanodevice hierarchy
(nanosystem, molecular device, device component, molecular component
and volume), but also include specialized components such as nanotubes,
DNA, and buckyballs. Available widgets are found in the Widgets View.
Typically, a widget will have an associated wizard--launched by
double-clicking on the widget in the Widgets View or dragging the
Widget icon to the Workspace and dropping it at the desired place in
the component hierarchy--that will aid the customization of the
component.
Custom widgets can be added to nanoXplorer IDE through the extensibility mechanism.
The NanoFile is the main working product of the nanodevice design
process in nanoXplorer IDE. A NanoFile holds a collection of top-level
nanodevices and/or nanodevice components, each of which may have any
number of subcomponents.
NanoFiles have the extension ".nano". NanoFiles are actual files
that reside on your computer and can be manipulated like any other
file. NanoFiles consists of a single nanoML
entry that describes the nanodevices and nanodevice components and any
number of data files all zipped together into a single file. Due to the
compression and the separation of description from data, NanoFiles are
an efficent and flexible storage solution for nanodevice designs.
The first step when designing a new nanodevice is to create a new NanoFile, the permanent container for that nanodevice design. Then components can be added to the NanoFile
A shared NanoFile is a NanoFile that has been "published." Multiple
networked users can connect to a shared NanoFile, enabling
collaborative design and engineering of nanoscale devices.
Any user can publish a NanoFile from his or her workspace.
nanoML is a markup language--used to represent nanodevice designs
and related information--developed by nanoTITAN and placed in the
public domain. It has enjoyed widespread application in the
nanotechnology community for capturing and communicating information
about nanodevices. It is used internally by nanoXplorer IDE as part of
the NanoFile specification to store nanodevice information.
An atomic system is like a molecule, only more generalized. Atomic
systems contain nuclei at specific positions and bonds between them.
Unlike a molecule, however, not all of the nuclei are necessarily
bonded into a single entity.
In nanoXplorer IDE molecular components contain atomic systems
rather than molecules to take advantage of this increased flexibility.
The data for atomic systems is kept in an ".ash5" file (a contraction of atomic system and h5, which is the standard extension for Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) files).
The coordinate system used throughout nanoXplorer IDE is a
right-handed orthogonal coordinate system with the x-axis to the right,
the y-axis straight up and the z-axis toward the viewer as pictured
below. The design universe, the viewer and all nanodevice components
have their own associated coordinate systems.
The Design Perspective contains a default set of views and editors useful for performing nanoscale device design.
There are two ways to open the Design Perspective. The fastest way
is to use the perspective menu located toward the upper right hand
corner of the workspace. Alternatively, select Design from the Open Perspective menu item under the application's Window menu.
Use the File > New > Other...menu command from nanoXplorer IDE's main menu bar.
Select the NanoFile wizard in the dialog.
Select a name and parent for the new NanoFile and press the Finish button.
or
Open the Design Perspective.
Open the Workspace View, if necessary.
Press the New NanoFile button () on the Workspace View toolbar.
Select a name and parent for the new NanoFile and press the Finish button.
Both of these actions will create a new NanoFile and place it in the
workspace at the specified location. If the Workspace View is open, the
NanoFile will be immediately visible in the project, folder and file
hierarchy.
Double-click on the NanoFile (or any of its components) in the Workspace View, or
Select Open from the NanoFile's popup context menu (right mouse click on most operating systems).
Using the NanoFile Editor
The NanoFile Editor consists of a number of tabs that enable looking
at and editing the NanoFile's contents in various ways. The nVisualizer
tab presents the powerful interactive 3D visualization and editing
environment where most editing will likely occur.
Open the Design Perspective, if necessary. (Window > Open Perspective > Design).
Open the Widgets View, if necessary (Window > Show View > Widgets).
Double-click on the desired component widget in the Widgets View or drag the widget to the desired location in Workspace View.
Select a name and parent for the new component.
Set parameters as necessary in the component's creation wizard. Each component's creation wizard will be unique.
The newly created nanodevice component will be immediately visible
in the Workspace View. If the associated NanoFile editor is open then
the newly created component will be selected.
Open the Design Perspective, if necessary. (Window > Open Perspective > Design).
Open the Workspace View, if necessary (Window > Show View > Workspace ).
Double-click
on the component in the Workspace View. This will open the editor for
the parent NanoFile and select the component.
Edit the component with the nVisualizer editor.
Editing nanodevice components with the nVisualizer Editor
The nVisualizer editor (available by selecting the nVisualizer tab
of the NanoFile Editor) provides an advanced interactive 3D environment
where nanodevice components can be positioned, oriented and modified
enabling atomically precise designs.
Open the Design Perspective, if necessary. (Window > Open Perspective > Design).
Open the Workspace View, if necessary (Window > Show View > Workspace ).
Double-click
on the molecular component in the Workspace View. This will open the
editor for the parent NanoFile and select the molecular component.
Edit the molecular component with the nVisualizer editor.
Editing molecular components with the nVisualizer Editor
The nVisualizer editor (available by selecting the nVisualizer tab
of the NanoFile Editor) provides an advanced interactive 3D environment
where molecular components can be positioned, oriented and modified,
enabling atomically precise designs.
Special editing capabilities for molecular components include:
positioning individual atoms
editing atom types
adding and removing individual atoms; merging atoms
To establish a collaborative session for viewing and editing a NanoFile over a network, follow these steps:
Open the Design Perspective.
Open an existing NanoFile (so that its NanoFile Editor is displayed).
- double-click on a NanoFile in the Workspace View, or
- open the context menu for a NanoFile (typically by right-clicking) and select "Open"
Press the Publish NanoFile button () in the application toolbar to open the Share NanoFile Wizard (shown below).
The Share NanoFile Wizard
Select a name for the shared NanoFile; this is the name that
subscribers will see. Also select a port over which the collaborative
communication will be established. The network will have to allow
traffic between the computers on the specified port; if necessary,
contact your network administrator for assistance as some router and/or
firewall setting might have to be adjusted.
Make selections
for client editing and locking the client view. Enabling client editing
means that the NanoFile can be modified by any subscribers, a truly
collaborative design environment. Locking the client view means that
subscribers are forced to see the same view as the current owner's
view; otherwise they are free to navigate on their own.
Press Finish. If the NanoFile is successfully shared, you should see a message like this:
The NanoFile's icon will change in the Workspace View to indicate that the NanoFile is currently being shared.
Owners of NanoFiles can publish them so that others can work with
them collaboratively over a network. To subscribe to a published
NanoFile:
Open the Design Perspective, if necessary.
Open the Workspace View, if necessary.
Press the New NanoFile Button () on the Workspace View. This will open the New NanoFile Wizard.
Enter a name for the new NanoFile.
Press the "Subscribe>>" button near the bottom of the new NanoFile Wizard.
Example New NanoFile Wizard with subscription enabled
Enter the IP address or host name of the computer from
which the NanoFile was published. Also enter the port number on which
the NanoFile was published. This information will have to be provided
by the person who shared the NanoFile.
Press the "Connect"
button. After a few seconds the application will indicate either a
successful connection or that the published NanoFile was not found.
Once
a successful connection has been made, press "Finish." The NanoFile
Editor for the shared NanoFile will open and the shared NanoFile will
be added to your workspace. Your ability to view and edit the shared
NanoFile is controlled by the publisher.
The NanoFile Editor is a multi-page editor for manipulating content
of NanoFiles, nanodevice design specifications. The main page
(nVisualizer Editor) presents an advanced 3D interactive environment in
which to design a nanodevice with atomic precision. Additional pages
provide supporting information and editing capabilities, such as the
nanoML editor that allows direct editing of the internal nanodevice
representation.
An asterisk in the tab title indicates that the NanoFile has been edited and should be saved.
The NanoFile multi-page editor includes the following single-page editors:
nVisualizer Editor
nanoML Editor
The NanoFile Editor is a multi-page editor; select a tab on the bottom to go to the desired editor
The nVisualizer Editor, part of the NanoFile multi-page editor,
provides an advanced three-dimensional interactive environment for
nanodevice design.
Toolbar
Menus
Interactivity
Scale
Outline View
Reference coordinate system
The nVisualizer Editor provides an advanced 3D interactive environment for nanodevice design
Toolbar
When the nVisualizer Editor is active, the following buttons are available on the application toolbar.
Button
Description
Toggle
selection highlights; when pressed the selected components will be
fully illuminated in the 3D scene while other components will be more
dimly lit.
Return
to the "home" view. The home view is, by default, a view of all the
components from the front, however the home view can be set by the user
(via the scene's pop up menu).
Zoom in on and center the scene's components.
Center the scene's components.
View the scene's components from the front.
View the scene's components from the back.
View the scene's components from the top.
View the scene's components from the bottom.
View the scene's components from the left.
View the scene's components from the right.
Menus
Scene Menu
The scene menu can be displayed by right-clicking on scene background (where there are no components).
Atom Menu
The atom menu can be displayed by right-clicking on a nucleus.
Add Atom
Adds a new atom of the same type as the selected atom
and bonds it to the selected atom. The new atom's type may be changed
via its Property Dialog.
Set Origin Component
Sets the selected atom as the origin of its parent
molecular component. Component rotations and translation will
thereafter be relative to the selected atom's location.
Delete Atom
Removes the atom from its parent molecular component.
Molecular Component
Displays the molecular component menu.
Properties
Opens the Property Dialog for the atom.
Bond Menu
The bond menu can be displayed by right-clicking on a bond.
Set Bond Length to Default
For a bond with two members, sets the bond's length to the default length of a bond between two atoms of the associated types.
Delete Bond
Removes the bond from the molecular component.
Molecular Component
Displays the molecular component menu.
Properties
Opens the Property Dialog for the bond.
Nanodevice Component Menu
The nanodevice component menu can be displayed by
right-clicking on an atom or bond and then selecting the menu item for
its parent molecular component (which will contain a menu item for its
parent and so on). The options available may vary for different
component types, but the following menu is typical:
Delete
Delete the component.
Select/Deselect
Select or deselect the component.
Center
Center the component in the view.
Zoom
Center and zoom in on the component in the view.
Properties
Open the Property Dialog for the component.
Interactivity
The following tables summarize the mouse and keyboard interactivity available through the nVisualizer Editor:
Nanodevice component interactivity
Molecular component interactivity
Nanodevice component interactivity
Interactivity
Mouse/Keyboard Action
Translate a component
in the current view's x-direction only
in thecurrent view's y-direction only
in the current view's z-direction only
in the current view's xy-plane
in the current view's xz-plane
in the current view's yz-plane
<Mouse LEFT DRAG>
<Mouse LEFT DRAG> + <Press 'x'>
<Mouse LEFT DRAG> + <Press 'y'>
<Mouse LEFT DRAG> + <Press 'z'>
<Mouse LEFT DRAG> + <Press 'x'> + <Press 'y'>
<Mouse LEFT DRAG> + <Press 'x'> + <Press 'z'>
<Mouse LEFT DRAG> + <Press 'y'> + <Press 'z'>
Orient a component
around the current view's x-axis
around the current view's y-axis
around the current view's z-axis
<Mouse RIGHT DRAG>
<Mouse RIGHT DRAG> + <Press 'x'>
<Mouse RIGHT DRAG> + <Press 'y'>
<Mouse RIGHT DRAG> + <Press 'z'>
Pop up/context menu
<Mouse RIGHT>
Select
<Mouse LEFT CLICK>
Extend Select
<Mouse LEFT CLICK> + <SHIFT>
Toggle Select
<Mouse LEFT CLICK> + <CTRL>
Molecular component interactivity
Molecular components include all of the interactivity described above and also all of the following:
<Mouse LEFT DRAG> + <SHIFT> + <CTRL> between two nuclei
Show atom/bond context menu
<Mouse RIGHT CLICK> over nucleus/bond
Open atom/bond Property Dialog
<Mouse LEFT DOUBLE-CLICK> over nucleus/bond
Scale
The scale slider enables quick control over the design length scale,
in powers of ten from Ã?ngstroms to meters. The default scale is
nanometers. The scale uses the following symbols and icons:
Symbol/Icon
Description
Ã?
Ã?ngstrom; 1x10-10 m or one tenth of a nanometer. Bond lengths between atoms are typically about an Ã?ngstrom in length.
nm
nanometer; 1x10-9 m or one billionth of a meter. The size of small molecules can be conveniently measured in nanometers.
10 nm; 1x10-8 m. About the size of a small DNA molecule.
100 nm; 1x10-7 m. About the size of some viruses.
µm
micrometer; 1x10-6 m or one millionth of a meter. Also called "microns."
10 µm; 1x10-5 m. Approximately the size of a neuron cell.
100 µm; 1x10-4 m. Seeing anything smaller than this typically requires a microscope. Approximately the diameter of a human hair.
mm
millimeter; 1x10-3 m or one thousandth of a meter.
cm
centimeter; 1x10-2 m or one hundredth of a meter.
decimeter; 1x10-1 m or one tenth of a meter. About the size of a human brain.
m
meter; a bit more than three feet.
Outline View
The nVisualizer Editor provides an enhanced version of standard Outline View.
Enhanced Outline View
Toolbar
Hide/Show Component
Toggles the visibility of the selected component in the nVisualizer Editor.
Menu
Refresh
Makes sure the outline is up to date with any outside changes.
The Workspace View displays the projects, folders and files in your
current workspace. It shows the components inside of NanoFiles and is
designed to facilitate the design process.
Icons
Toolbar
Menus
An example Workspace View
Icons
The following icons are used to represent content in the Workspace View:
Icon
Description
A project, which can hold any number of files and folders
A folder, which can contain any number of files and subfolders
NanoFile
Nanosystem
Molecular device
Device component
Molecular component or molecule
Volume
Component interface
Component connection
File
Additional icons may be used, such as those added by nanodevice component and widget extensions.
Toolbar
Collapse all
Show only the projects in the workspace.
New NanoFile
Opens the New NanoFile Wizard.
Menus:
Toolbar Menu
Refresh
Updates the Workspace View contents to match the local filesystem.
This can be useful when changes are made outside of nanoXplorer IDE.
Context Menu
The items in the pop up context menu depend upon the type of the
content selected in the Workspace View. The following commands may be
available:
Open
Launches an editor for the selected content.
Copy
Copies the selected content to the clipboard.
Cut
Removes the selected content from the workspace and places it on the clipboard.
Paste
Adds any content in the clipboard to the selected component (or its first appropriate ancestor).
Rename
Provide a new name for the selected content.
Delete
Remove the selected content (and any children) from the workspace.
Properties
Open the Properties Dialog for the selected content.
The Widgets View presents all of the components available for
creation. Double-click an icon to launch the associated "New Wizard" or
drag and drop the icon to the desired place in the content hierarchy in
the Workspace View (or directly on to the nVisualizer Editor).
An example Widgets View
Widget Sets
Widgets are displayed according to the selected widget set. The
p[ull down menu enables selction of a particular widget set or managing
widget sets with a dialog.
The New NanoFile Wizard creates a new NanoFile with a user-specified
name and in a user-specified project or folder in the current workspace.
Example New NanoFile Wizard
It also allows subscribing to a published NanoFile.
Join a collaborative session by pressing the "Subscribe >>"
button and then specifying the IP address of the host that has
published the NanoFile, as well as the port on which the NanoFile was
shared. This information will need to be provided by the person who
published the NanoFile..
Subscribe to a published NanoFile to enter a collaborative session
The Export Scene Wizard enables capturing an image of the current
scene or saving the current scene graph to a file. A pull down menu
presents the supported image formats. Pressing "Finish" will open the
standard Save Dialog so that the exported file can be named and located
as desired.
The Create Video Wizard presents a two step process for generating a video.
Scripting the Camera
The first step is to define the path and orientation of the camera
(or viewpoint) through the scene. This is done by adding nodes along a
timeline; each node represents a specific view.
Timeline toolbar
Timeline
Scene
Script the camera's movements on the first page of the Create Video Wizard
Timeline Toolbar
Duration
Set the duration of the video by choosing from among predefined durations or by adding a custom duration.
Play
Simulates what the video will look like with the current setting by performing a camera "fly-through."
Loop
If selected and the timeline is playing, then the fly-through will repeat once it reaches the end of the timeline.
Add Node
Adds a new node, having the current view (as displayed
by the scene preview), at the current time (as set by the slider on the
timeline).
Copy Node
Copies a selected node to the clipboard.
Paste Node
Pastes a node from the clipboard on to the timeline at the current time.
Delete Node
Removes the selected node from the timeline.
Timeline
Time Thumb
The current working time is controlled by the thumb
slider in the timeline. Drag the time thumb left or right to change the
current working time. The scene will render the view at that specific
time. The current working time is displayed just above the thumb.
Nodes
Nodes represent specific viewpoints (camera positions
and orientations) and are drawn as circles with lines down to the
timeline. Their specific place along the timeline indicates that the
associated viewpoint used at the specific time.
Add a node at the current time by pressing the Add Node button () on the timeline toolbar.
Nodes can be dragged and dropped to any time along the timeline.
Select a node by clicking on it. Selected nodes can be
copied, cut and deleted. Selecting a node causes the current working
time to be changed to the node's time.
Scene
The scene reflects the view (camera position and
orientation) at the current time selected on the timeline. To enter a
new view, navigate in the scene to the desired view and then add a node for that view.
Defining the output
The second step to create a video is to define its
output parameters, including its name and location, format, dimensions,
and frames per second.
Set video name and parameters on the Create Video Wizard's creation page
File name
Name of the new video file.
Output folder
Location of the new video file.
Format
Format of the new video. QuickTime recommended for best results.
Image quality
Quality of the images used to generate the video. Higher quality will look better but generate a larger vide file.
Video dimensions
The desired size of the new video, which need not be the same as the size of the scene window.
Frames per second
Higher frames per second leads to less flicker and smoother
animation, but also longer processing time and a larger video file. For
reference, 20-30 frames per second will usually yield acceptable
results.
Disable editing during frame capture
If selected, disallows and edits to the scene while images are being captured.
Delete frame files after video creation
If selected, temporary image files are deleted, leaving only the new video file.
) on the Workspace View toolbar.
) in the application toolbar to open the Share NanoFile Wizard (shown below).
) on the Workspace View. This will open the New NanoFile Wizard. 
) on the timeline toolbar. 