Serge NOEL
114 lines
7.3 KiB
Plaintext
114 lines
7.3 KiB
Plaintext
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<title>JMRI: Using Trackers</title>
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<meta name="author" content="Pete Cressman">
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<h1>Train Trackers</h1>
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A <strong>Tracker</strong> is a means to to see the movement of trains on your layout panel.
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A Tracker has a marker identifying a train moving on your panel layout diagram following
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wherever an operator drives his train on your layout. The position of each tracked train and
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the time is spends occupying a block is displayed in a window. A status log is kept of the
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progress of the trackers.
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<h2>What's Needed to Have a Tracker</h2>
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Trackers function on the same foundation as Warrants. That is, track occupation detection is
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by <strong>OBlocks</strong> and the directions trains move by <strong>Portals</strong> and
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<strong>Paths</strong>. For detailed information about what these objects are and how to make
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them see <a href="../display/CircuitBuilder.shtml">Circuit Builder</a> or <a href=
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"OBlockTable.shtml">Occupancy Block Tables</a>.
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<p>Next, your panel layout diagram must done with Indicator Track icons. These icons display
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the status of the block they represent with colors and can show names. If your diagram has
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already been created using regular track icons, they can easily be converted to Indicator
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Track icons with <strong><a href="../display/CircuitBuilder.shtml">Circuit
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Builder</a></strong>. The <a href="../display/ItemPalette.shtml">Item Palette help</a>
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provides more information about Indicator Track icons.</p>
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<p>All the track of your layout should be represented with OBlocks, even the sections with no
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sensors. Although Tracker cannot detect when such a "dark block" is entered, it is smart
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enough to know when a train has passed through one. So it is beneficial to configure them
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when there is a path through them connecting one occupancy block with another.</p>
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<p>The last requirement is each block should have at least one Indicator Track icon
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configured to display names. The popup window displayed when the <em>Edit Icon</em> menu item
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is selected has a checkbox labeled "<em>Display Train Name when occupied</em>". (You must
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edit with <a href="../display/ControlPanelEditor.shtml">Control Panel Editor</a> to get this
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window.) Check this box to show the current location of a tracked train.</p>
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<h2>How to Make a Tracker</h2>
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The <strong>Warrants</strong> menu has a <em>Train Trackers</em> item that opens the
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<strong>Tracker Table</strong> window. The table has a <strong>New Tracker...</strong> button
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that displays a Create Tracker dialog. Enter the name of the train and the block that it
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occupies to make a tracker for the train. The name will appear on the track icon selected for
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display in every block the train occupies. As train moves track icons change colors and show
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the name of the tracker
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<h3>An Easier Way to Make a Tracker</h3>
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A much easier way to make a Tracker is simply to drag and drop a <strong>Marker</strong> icon
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onto the block the train occupies. This opens the <strong>Tracker Table</strong> window
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automatically and creates a Tracker with the text and color of the marker. When a tracker is
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made this way, the marker will return to its docking position. A marker's docking position
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can be set from its popup menu. Markers have a popup menu to configure them when not in an
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editing mode, but setting the docking position must be done in an editing mode.
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<h2>The Tracker Table</h2>
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The Tracker Table window consists of a list of the active trackers with their current status.
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Each line shows the block the train is currently occupying the longest and the elapsed time
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it has been there. A <strong>Stop</strong> button on each row will terminate the tracker.
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<p>Below the list is the <strong>Last Event</strong> status window. The events shown are:
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when a trains enters a block, leaves a block and any error or warning message. When leaving a
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block the elapsed time the block was occupied is recorded. A mouse click on the window drops
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down a record of the last 20 events.</p>
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<p>Below the status window are two buttons; the <strong>New Tracker...</strong> button which
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was mentioned above, and the <strong>Refresh Tracker Info</strong> button. This button
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updates the elapsed time each tracker has spent in its current block.</p>
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<h3>The Tracking Options Menu</h3>
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The <strong>Tracking Options</strong> menu has three items:
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<ul>
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<li><strong>Multiple Trackers Ranking</strong> applies only when several trackers are
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running. It is an advanced feature discussed below.</li>
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<li><strong>OBlock Pick List</strong> opens a OBlock table window. The items can be dragged
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to the New Tracker dialog.</li>
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<li><strong>Open Session Log</strong> opens a dialog to create a session log. All Tracker
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events and Warrant events are logged to this file. The default directory of this file is
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the <em>File Location</em> directory you specified in Preferences.</li>
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</ul>
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<h2>When Multiple Trackers Are Active</h2>
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A tracker posts an identifying label on all the blocks that its train currently occupies. Any
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block adjacent to the head or tail of its train becoming occupied is assumed to be the move
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of the train. However, when two or more trackers have adjacent blocks in common and a common
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block becomes occupied, which tracker has actually made the move is indeterminate. When this
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happens a dialog is displayed for the panel user to determine which tracked train occupies
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contested the block.
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<h3>Filtering Multiple Trackers</h3>
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When multiple trackers "compete" for occupation of a block there is no way to guarantee the
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selection of the train actually entering the block. However, the Tracker Table can make an
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educated guess. The <strong>Multiple Trackers Ranking</strong> menu item <em>Only Show Most
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Likely Trackers</em> activates this feature. Note that unlike warrants which always set
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turnouts to be paths in a block, manual operators can throw switches that don't configure a
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path. This "Most Likely" option is based on the following logic:
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<p>A tracker that has both a path set to exit its current block and a path set to enter the
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newly occupied block is chosen over a tracker having only one path exiting or entering the
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block. The latter such tracker has precedence over a tracker with neither an exit nor an
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entrance path set.</p>
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<p>This could be useful in situations where the panel operator does not have full view of the
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layout. Should ties occur in the ranking, the dialog to pick the tracker is displayed.</p>
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