Views, Sheets and Overlays

When moving from one display window to another (e.g. 3D window to Plots window) you will see different types of views of the same data. Not only that, you will also observe that the Plots window is tabbed to provide access to more than just the one plot. Some of these plot "sheets" also have more than one representation of the data on them (different "projections"), and this layering of view containers forms the basis of the view hierarchy which is common to most display windows.

The display of data is based on some fundamental concepts which, once grasped, will make the task of formatting easy.

Principles

Data must be loaded into memory before it can be viewed in a display window.
When a file is loaded into memory the data becomes an object, and separate files become separate objects.
If an object has a spatial context (i.e. it has form and a specific location in space) it is a 3D object (e.g. points, strings, wireframes etc.), otherwise it is referred to as a 'table'.
3D objects are represented in the display windows by "overlays". A single 3D object can be represented by many overlays but a single overlay can only represent one 3D object.
When 3D data is loaded into memory a 3D object is created which has a default overlay in each of the display views.
Each display window contains at least one sheet and each sheet has at least one projection.
All overlays are displayed at the projection level of this container hierarchy and this is reflected in the tree structure of the Sheets control bar.
Table objects cannot be viewed graphically in a display window, but the Tables, Logs and Reports windows are designed to show this 2D data.

The Container Hierarchy

Your application adopts a common model for all its display windows, which is based on the requirements of the Plots window, the most complex of the display windows in terms of comparative viewing hierarchies.

The Plots window, which is principally for producing printed output, requires the concept of the printable sheet, and for most kinds of work it requires many sheets. Furthermore, some sheets are often required to show more than one section or plan (projection) so the concept of multiple projections per sheet has been built in.

Windows

Within the application, the window is the top level of the display hierarchy. All windows provide a view of data in memory: some are for viewing table data whereas others are for viewing 3D objects.

2D/3D data viewing windows:

3D window - The primary data editing/design window. It is used for the editing of data, creation of simulated worlds, and visualization and simulation of real-world objects, textures and movement. More...
Plots window - Create and edit plot views of your data with the insertion of plot items, multiple sections and other plot-enhancing functionality. More...