The Enter Key Does Not Work on This Screen

FLASH GAUGES

Logging in

If you forget your username and/or password, you may contact your database administrator to look it up for you. Type in your username and password and use your mouse to click the arrow.

The enter key does not work on this screen.

Note: IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER to use the navigation buttons provided in the gauges application and not your browser buttons. A link back to Skillsource is provided here because your browser’s back/forward buttons will not affect the flash application – only the sites you’ve visited. So if you press the back button it will go back to the last known site and you will be taken out of the gauges application.

If you have trouble logging in, please contact your gauges administrator.

Gauges Screen

The first screen you come to is for building, manipulating and saving gauges.

When you first enter your account, there should be a pre-existing folder called “UNFILED” (top right corner) and the gauge in the center is a basic example to start with.

Manipulating folders

Folders (top left drop-down) are provided to help organize your gauges. Folder cannot be nested in this application. The UNFILED folder is required and cannot be edited or removed. However, you can add as many new folders as you like.

To add a folder, press the plus sign (+) that appears to the right of the drop down.

You will see a small box in which you can enter a name and press “OK”. The new folder should immediately appear in the drop-down. To edit the name of the folder, press on the small pencil between the plus sign and the drop-down, edit the name and press “OK”. To remove a folder, press the minus sign (-) to the right of the plus sign.

Saving Gauges

The second drop-down at the top is the gauges drop down. If the folder that is selected does not have any gauges in it, the drop-down will just say “[empty]”.

To add a gauge, press the plus sign (+) that appears to the right of the drop down. You will see a small box in which you can choose a folder and enter a gauge name. Press “OK” when finished. The new gauge name should immediately appear in the drop-down. To edit the name of the gauge or the folder the gauge resides in, press on the small pencil between the plus sign and the gauge drop-down. You will see the same small box and you may select a new folder or change the name and press “OK”. To remove a gauge press the minus sign (-) to the right of the plus sign.

“Save Gauge” button

This button is provided to be a quick way to save your gauge as you make changes to it using the tools provided. If the gauge has not already been saved, it will use the name that is found in the top left corner under the folders drop-down. You can change this name at any time by pressing the pencil icon that is to the left of this gauge name and then pressing the disk icon to set the name. NOTE: You must press the “save gauge” or the “save gauge as” button to actually save the gauge to the database.

“Save Gauge As” button

This button is most helpful when you want to save a duplicate version of a gauge under a different name. When you press this button you will see a small box to select the folder and give it a name. Press “OK” when finished.

“A” button (admin only)

This button is only available for the administrative account. When pressed, you will get a utility to manage accounts, account access or see usage information about a given account.

Building Gauges

To “build” a gauge, use the tabbed panels below the gauge. Each panel provides ways to change values, colors, settings, and/or add features to the gauge. All of the panels have a short set of directions on the right side of the panel.

The Gauge Range and Needles

The range you choose for the gauge is determined by a starting value (greater than zero) entered in the first box and an ending value enter in the second box (up to 9999). Once you finish entering these values, the application will “suggest” a primary interval (the large lines) and a secondary interval (the smaller lines between the large lines). You may change these values to whatever you wish as long as the primary interval is at least 5 and not more than the ending range value divided by two (in this case -> 100/2 = 50). Also, the secondary interval must be less than the primary interval.

You may also choose whether or not to show the numbers and/or lines that are generated by these values. Press “redraw” when you are ready to apply the changes.

Every gauge defaults to having one needle. You may change the actual value in the box next to “needle one”. You may change its color by using the color picker. The “key” is the label this needle will have when the key is generated. If you would like to have two needles, you can check the box next to “needle two” and enter the information for needle two. Press the “redraw” button when you are ready to apply the changes.

Gauge Colors and Text Options

This panel allows you to customize the colors and text of this gauge. To change the color of an item, select it in the list and use the color picker to choose a new color. And since this panel applies “auto change,” the color change will be immediately applied to the gauge. If the item you are wanting to color is not showing, a small message will appear to indicate that.

To change the font size of the numbers or gauge text, select the item from the box on the left and choose the new font size from the size drop-down.

The gauge label is the text that appears inside the gauge. As you type you should see the text changing in the gauge. To add extra space between words, you may use the enter key. Then use the arrows to position the text within the gauge to your liking. You may press and hold an arrow until the text is where you want it. The “reset label position” can be pressed to set the text back to the default position under the black center of the gauge.

Color Bands

A “color band” is a strip of color that runs along the perimeter of the gauge. The “inner band” (default) runs within the space between the larger primary lines. And “outer band” (checkbox) will show just outside the primary lines.

A “color range” has a beginning and ending value that correspond to the numbers on the gauge. You must also select a color for the range and a label for the generated key. When you have set these values, press the “add” button and you should see the change on the gauge immediately.

To update a given range select it in the list, change the values and press the “update” button. To remove a range, select it in the list and press “remove.” Feel free to play with these to get a feel for how they work. Although adding and editing the ranges is manual, you do not have to press a “redraw gauge” button to see the changes, which is why this panel is also noted as “auto change”.

DON’T FORGET

When you are finished getting the gauge to look the way you want, don’t forget to press the “SAVE GAUGE” button to apply the changes.

If you want to start over with the default values, press the “reset gauge” button to the bottom right of the gauge, just above the editing panels. If you press this by accident, you can simply select a different gauge from the gauge drop-down and then reselect the gauge you want and it will refresh to the way it was.

It is recommended that you build all your gauges before going to “gauge presentations.” You can always come back to edit gauges, but you cannot build presentations unless you have at least one gauge built and saved.

Gauge Presentations

To work with the gauge presentations, press the “go to presentations” button.

NOTE: To come back and edit the gauges DO NOT PRESS THE BACK BUTTON on your browser. This will refresh the application and cause you to re-login. Instead use the “edit gauges” button to get back to the gauges screen.

The presentations component is useful in building presentations using the gauges you have already built and saved. The drop-down on the top-left is for selecting existing presentations.

New Presentations

To add a new presentation, press the “create new presentation” button.

You will see what is called the “Gauge Presentation Wizard.” This wizard will take you through step by step to create a new presentation.

The first step is to give the presentation a name and select the gauges you wish to use.

You may type any letters, spaces or numbers in the presentation name.

To select the gauges, first decide if you would like to select them from a complete list, or just choose a folder that has gauges in it.

To select the gauges by folder, press the second radio button and choose the folder from the drop-down that appears.

To select from the gauge list, click on the first radio button and then press the “select” button. You will see a box with two large lists and between them, an add button, a small preview gauge and a remove button. The list of the left will have all the gauges that have been saved in this account. To add the gauge to the presentation, select it from the list on the left and press the “add” button. To remove a gauge from a presentation, select the gauge from the list on the right and press the “remove” button. To set the order of the gauges use the blue up and down arrows above the list on the right. When you are finished, press the “finished” button.

When you have finished selecting the gauges, press the “next” button.

On this step, simply select a layout and press “next.” The wizard does not check to make sure you have the right number of gauges. So make sure you choose appropriately to avoid getting strange looking presentations. (Of course, on the other hand, you can get “secret” layouts by mixing and matching layouts and gauges – give it a try, you might have fun.)

When you’re finished, press the “next” button.

The final step gives you the option of showing the presentation title (same title you chose back on step one), showing a presentation key (more on that later), and finally whether or not to show a description. Simply check the ones you want, type in a description if desired, and press the “finish” button to save the presentation.

When the presentation has been saved, you should see a confirmation message like the one below. Press the “close” button to get back to the presentations screen.

To view your presentation, select it from the drop down on the presentations screen. Here is a sample presentation:

Setting the key in a presentation

If you opted to have the presentation “show gauge keys”, a key will appear in the top right corner of the presentation. In most cases a presentation will include gauges that all have the same or similar keys – but just in case you wanted to pick the key, you may click on any of the gauges in the presentation to change the key. It will automatically default to the key for the first gauge in the presentation.

Editing a Presentation

To edit a presentation, select it from the drop-down and press the “pencil” icon. You will see the presentation wizard again and can traverse through the steps and make the changes you want.

Removing a Presentation

To remove a presentation, select it from the drop-down and press the minus (-) sign.

Printing a Presentation

To print a presentation, select it from the drop down and allow the time for it to load. Then press the “print” button. NOTE: MAKE SURE YOU SELECT “LAYOUT” FOR THE PAGE SETUP TO ENSURE THE LARGEST SIZE PRESENTATION FOR PRINT.

The little text box:

For a dynamic view of the different layouts, you can select a presentation, let it load and then use the small field next to the “create presentation” button to change the layout. Enter any number from 1 through 8 and press enter to see the presentation change layout. Note: This won’t change the presentation that has been saved. If you want to permanently change the layout you must use the wizard and re-save the presentation.

Other important notes

*Keep your presentations and change your gauges as needed!

Because presentations use gauge numbers in the database, once a gauge has been incorporated in a presentation and then is changed and re-saved, the presentation will show the updated gauge automatically. This is a feature, not a bug.

*The gauge presentations are best printed on color printer in “landscape” layout

*Features or bug reports can be sent to Renée D Henderson at

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