The menus can be accessed from the menu bar in the control window:

or by right clicking on the legend label:

File Menu

The File menu allows to remove, save or reload the this control. Each display control may have a different set of entries under this menu, depending on the type of data being displayed.

• Remove Display
  Use this item to remove the display from the View Window. You can also remove the display by clicking on the trash can icon () in the side legend or at the bottom of the control in the Dashboard.
• Save→Save Data in Cache...
  This menu item allows you to save the currently loaded field in a data cache. This is useful for saving the results of a complicated formula for future displays or even for use in another formula.
• Save→Export Displayed Data...
  Some controls allow you to export the displayed data to a disk file. Depending on the control, the output could be a netCDF or a comma-separated value (CSV) file.
• Save→Save as Parameter Defaults
  Allows you to save current properties (e.g., color table, contour information, display unit) of this parameter as the default for other displays of this parameter.
• Save→Save Display as Favorite...
  Allows you to save this display as a special template that can be applied to other parameters of a similar type.
• Save→Save Display as Bundle...
  This menu item allows you to save the display as a bundle that you can then associate with a new data source.
• Reload Data
  This menu item allows you to reload the data in the control. It is useful if the underlying data source has changed.

Edit Menu

The Edit menu allows you to edit some of the properties of the display. Each display control may have a different set of entries (or none) under this menu, depending on the type of data being displayed.

• Levels
  For displays that have a multiple vertical levels, this menu allows you to select a particular level.
• Color Table
  For displays that have a color table this menu allows you to edit the color table, change the range, choose a new color table, etc.
• Change Parameter...
  Some displays allow you to change the data parameter that is being used
• Change Display Unit...
  Some displays allow you to change the unit that is used in the display, e.g., changing temperature plots in Kelvin to Celsius.
• Sharing→Sharing On
  Use this checkbox menu item to share some of the properties of this display with similar display types in the same share group.
• Display Settings...
  Use this menu to bring up the Display Settings dialog. You can use that to save some of the controls settings as a favorite Display Setting or apply them to other controls in the view window. The use of this dialog is covered in a subsequent exercise.
• Properties
  Use this menu to bring up the Display Control Properties editor.

Display Control Properties

• Display Category
  You can change the display category for this control. You can select from existing categories, or type in a new one. The display category, is used to group displays within the side legend.
• Legend Label
  You can change the label that describes this display and is shown in the legend. You can add in plain text or insert some pre-defined macros using the Add Macro button. You can also use this button to save the configuration for other displays of this type.
• Extra Legend Labels
  You can add extra labels to the legend by entering them here.
• Display Label
  You can change the formatting of the label in the main display similar to changing the Legend Label.

You can use the checkboxes in the dialog to change other properties. Some common choices are:

• Lock Visibility Toggle
  This locks/unlocks the toggling of visibility for this display. .
• Use Fast Rendering
  This option will render data without checking for projection seams. It increases the rendering speed at the expense of accuracy.
• Remove on Remove All
  This checkbox lets you control when a display is removed if the user selects Remove All Displays. For example, the default map display has this turned off.
• Show in Display List
  This checkbox lets you control whether a display is shown in the display list.
• Use Times in Animation
  If this display has times associated with it, this option tells the IDV whether they should be used in setting the animation steps.
• Show Note Text
  Use this item to show a note entry box where you can make annotations for this display:

  
  

Try these changes:

1. Change the display's category - Bring up the Display Control Properties dialog. Change the category to "Derived Parameters" and then click the OK button.
2. Change the name of the display - Right click on the name and select the Edit→Properties menu. In the text field, type "My cool dewpoint display" then click the OK button. Try different combinations of the macros to see their effect.
3. Change the display label - Bring up the Display Control Properties dialog. Highlight and delete the %displayname% macro in the Display Label field. Click the Add Macro button and select the Level macro. Click the OK button and see the change in the display.
4. Add a color scale - Bring up the Display Control Properties dialog. Select the Color Scale tab in the dialog. Check the Visible checkbox, set the Position to Left, and set the Label Color to white, then click the OK button and see the change in the display.

View Menu

The View menu allows you to change the way the view works. Each display control may have a different set of entries under this menu, depending on the type of data being displayed.

• Visible
  Use this checkbox menu item to toggle the visibility of the display in the View Window.
• Times→Use Times in Animation
  If this display has times associated with it, this option tells the IDV whether they should be used in setting the animation steps.
• Times→Drive Times with this Display
  If this display has times associated with it, this option tells the IDV whether times of this display are used to drive the time selection of other displays.
• Times→Uses Time Driver Times
  If this display has times associated with it, this option tells the IDV whether to use the time driver times to drive the time selection of this display.
• Display List
  This will Allows you to set the visibility and the color of the label for this control in the display list.
• Bring to Front
  This will reorder the displays to put this in the foreground of other displays at the same vertical level. It is useful when displays have transparent color tables.
• Use Data Projection
  This menu item sets the projection in the currently active view window to that of the data used by this control.
• Enable Adaptive Resolution
  This menu item allows the IDV to calculate the resolution of the map view window, dynamically sets the data sampling, and loads sufficient data to generate the image.
• Match Display Region
  This menu item allows the IDV to spatially subset the data based on the map view area of the active view window.
• Dock in/Undock from Dashboard
  This menu item allows you to dock or undock the display control window in/from the Dashboard.

Help Menu

The Help menu allows you to get more information on using the control and what data is being displayed.

• Details...
  Use this menu item to get more detail on the parameter being displayed:

  
  
• User's Guide
  Use this menu item to access the IDV User's Guide section pertaining to the particular display control.

Unidata IDV Workshop for version 6.2u2 > Accessing and Displaying Data > Working with Gridded Data