WebShots viewer help

What are CommunityViz WebShots?
CommunityViz® software is a land-use planning tool that helps people make informed, collaborative decisions about the future of their communities and their land. The software works on individual desktop computers, and people who use it create their own projects, or "analyses," to visualize, analyze and communicate about particular places and decisions. CommunityViz WebShots capture some of the results of a CommunityViz analysis and display them in a web browser for anyone to view and explore. The analysis is usually displayed as a combination of color-coded maps, charts, variable inputs we call "assumptions," alternatives we call "scenarios," and numeric results we call "indicators." Depending on how the WebShots have been set up, you can either page through a "slide show" that shows a series of pre-selected screens with particular settings, or explore for yourself by changing inputs and scenarios, or both.
WebShots display analyses that have been set up by someone using CommunityViz. CommunityViz is a flexible, multi-purpose analysis environment that lets people create a huge variety of studies. The software does not have any pre-set results or hidden models. If you are interested in learning more about the analysis than the WebShots can tell you, we encourage you to contact the WebShots author. To learn more about CommunityViz, visit www.communityviz.org.
 

How to use CommunityViz WebShots

First, you may want to look around the screen and familiarize yourself with the various elements of the display. You can resize the overall window and the rectangular panels or "panes" within the window by dragging their edges with your mouse. (Move your cursor over the border until it turns into a two-head left/right arrow. Hold down the left mouse button and drag it to a new position.) Use the small and buttons next to panel titles to make the panels expand or collapse. Use the Expand All and Collapse All  buttons to affect the elements within each panel.
 
Second, look at the Control Panel in the upper left. Click on the small circle next to Slide Show or Explore for yourself to choose how you would like to see the WebShots. You can move back and forth between them as much as you want. Depending on how the WebShots were created, though, it’s possible that one or the other option is not available. If you are viewing a Slide Show, use the left- and right-arrow keys to move through the show. Notice that as you change slides, there may be changes in Scenarios, Charts, Indicators, Assumptions and the map. If you are choosing to Explore for yourself, try changing Scenarios and then Assumption values listed below. As you change them, Charts, Indicators, Assumptions, and the map may change accordingly.
For detailed instructions on using other components of WebShots, look through the rest of this Help document.
 
Map/Zoom/Pan
The map you are looking at is a snapshot of the one being used by the CommunityViz user who created these WebShots. You can use the controls in the upper-left corner of the map to zoom in or out and move around.
To zoom in or out: Click once on the button to zoom farther in on the map (enlarge it). Each time you click you will move another step farther in toward the center of the part of the map that is showing. Click on the button to zoom out in the same way. Click once on the buttons in between to move to a specific zoom level. You can read the scale of the map by looking at the scale bar at the bottom left of the map. The bar shows its own length in meters and feet. The scale changes as you change your zoom level.
To move left, right, up or down (pan): Click on the arrow keys pointing in the appropriate direction ( ), or "grab" the map by clicking and holding down the left mouse button and dragging the map to a new position.
To recenter the map: Click the center button between the arrow keys:
To find map coordinates: As you move your cursor over the map, X and Y coordinates will be displayed in the "status bar" at the bottom of your browser window. The units and coordinate system are those used in the original map from CommunityViz.
 
Slide Show Navigation
To view a slide show, click on the small circle next to Slide Show. (There may be a slight delay before you see a change.) Click on the single right arrow button to advance to the next slide. Use the left arrow button to go back one slide, and use the double-arrow buttons ( ) to jump to the start or end of the show. The number of the slide you are viewing is displayed in the center of the arrows. To display a particular slide, highlight the number that is currently showing, type the number you want to view, and click the Enter key on your keyboard.
As you move from slide to slide, you can read comments about each one (if the WebShots creator provided them) at the top of the screen in the description window. You can also look for changes in the scenario being displayed and the values and variable assumptions (listed at the top left), and changes in Chart values and Indicator values. The assumption values displayed in the Assumptions panel are fixed for a given scenario, but they are provided for your reference.
 
Explore for yourself
"Exploring" the analysis means choosing which scenario you want to view and experimenting with different settings for variable assumptions. As you change these settings, the map, charts and indicators may change accordingly. You can keep making as many changes as you like.
To explore an analysis for yourself, click on the small circle next to Explore for yourself at the top left of your screen below the Slide Show heading. (There may be a slight delay before you see a change.) If you don’t see the Explore for yourself heading, make the Control Panel larger by dragging its bottom border lower on the screen. The author may have provided a description or summary of the analysis that will appear in the description window at the top of the screen.
Next choose a scenario you want to view by placing a check in the box next to the scenario’s name. In CommunityViz, a scenario is a basic alternative or broad set of choices regarding future plans. For example, if you are considering several different land-use plans for a community, each different plan proposal would be a scenario. There may be one or more scenarios for you to explore. Scenarios often look different on the map, and they may also have different sets of underlying assumptions. Once you choose a scenario, a corresponding map and default values for charts, indicators and fixed assumptions will be displayed.
Once you have chosen a scenario, you may have the option to try changing the values of one or more variable assumptions (inputs) to the analysis. Choose an assumption you want to change by placing a check in its box, then choose a value for that assumption from the options provided. The various displays will update accordingly based on the analysis the WebShots author has created. For example, a change in an assumption about population growth might change charts and indicators relating to numbers of school children, amount of traffic, and taxes, and it might also result in changes to the map such as number of house points displayed or the color code for population density in a given area.
 
Tips and Notes
Additional information or instructions regarding particular items on the screen are sometimes available. Hold your cursor for a moment ("hover") over an item such as the name of variable assumption, and the cursor will change shape. Depending on your browser, the information may display as a yellow-highlighted "tooltip" over the screen, or it may appear at the bottom of your browser window in the "status bar."
 
Legend (Map Legend)
The Legend gives information about the symbols and color codes used on the map. It is for reference only and does not change within a WebShots display. Legend settings were determined by the WebShots author and cannot be changed here. Also, the "layers" on the map are fixed and cannot be turned on and off. However, what you see on the map may change as you move through a slide show or explore an analysis for yourself. This is because different scenarios and different assumption settings can have an effect on the information the map is displaying. For example, you may see roads or houses appear in different places, or you may see color codes change as the values they are representing (such as, for example, population density) change.
 
Map Scale
The scale of the map can be determined by looking at the scale bar at the bottom of the map display. Based on the zoom level currently being used, the bar shows its own length in meters or kilometers and feet or miles depending on the current scale.
 
Charts
If charts are not showing:
The charts you see display values of indicators and/or assumptions in the analysis. They give a graphic representation of data that may also be available in table form in the Indicators and/or Assumptions panels. The charts are for display only; you cannot change their values directly. As you move through a slide show or explore an analysis for yourself, you may see that chart values change in response to other changes being made in the analysis. The title of each chart appears directly above the chart. You can hide or expand charts by clicking on the or button next to the title. If you hold your cursor for a moment ("hover") over a chart, more information about it may display in a tooltip or in the "status bar" at the bottom of your browser.
  1. Make sure the Data Pane is open (if not, click the Open Data Pane button near the top of the window).
  2. Click the sign, if there is one, next to the title Charts at the top of the Data Pane.
  3. Make sure there is enough room to show charts in the charts pane. Try dragging the border below the Charts title toward the bottom of the screen.
 
 
Indicators
If indicators are not showing:
The charts you see display values of indicators and/or assumptions in the analysis. Indicators are impact or performance measures that help people choose alternatives that best match their objectives or desired outcomes. An indicator is a calculated value that represents the impacts or outcomes of a scenario and its associated assumptions; you might call it an intermediate "result" in an analysis. An indicator might be used to evaluate costs, revenues, average household size, "community benefit", or total daily auto trips.
Indicators are displayed in the table in the Indicators panel. The first column gives the name of the indicator, the next column gives its value, and the third column gives the units. If the WebShots author has provided descriptions of the indicators, you can read them by clicking on the indicator’s name or on the sign next to the indicator’s name. The description will appear in a box below the indicator.
  1. Make sure the Data Pane is open (if not, click the Open Data Pane button near the top of the window).
  2. Click the sign, if there is one, next to the title Indicators in the middle of the Data Pane.
  3. Make sure there is enough room to show indicators in the indicators pane. Try dragging the border below the Indicators title toward the bottom of the screen.
 
Assumptions
If assumptions are not showing:
An assumption is a value that is used as input to an analysis. Assumptions may be changeable, and they may have different values for different scenarios. Assumptions can be a way to frame choices, to explore uncertainties or disagreements about particular values, or to capture subjective inputs such as how much weighting to give to a particular decision factor.
In CommunityViz, most assumptions are variable, and they can take on a wide range of values. In WebShots, the author chooses no more than few assumptions that will be variable and only allows a few different values for each one. When one particular assumption is being changed, all other assumptions from the analysis are set to default values. You can see the assumptions’ settings by looking at the assumptions display.
Assumptions are displayed in the table in the Assumptions panel. The first column gives the name of the assumption, the next column gives its value, and the third column gives the units. If the WebShots author has provided descriptions of the assumptions, you can read them by clicking on the assumption’s name or on the sign next to the assumption’s name. The description will appear in a box below the assumption.
  1. Make sure the Data Pane is open (if not, click the Open Data Pane button near the top of the window).
  2. Click the sign, if there is one, next to the title Assumptions at the bottom of the Data Pane.
  3. Make sure there is enough room to show assumptions in the assumptions pane. Try dragging the border below the Assumptions title toward the bottom of the screen.
 
 

Scenarios

An assumption is a value that is used as input to an analysis. Assumptions may be An analysis contains one or more scenarios. Each scenario represents a different decision-making alternative. The first scenario in your analysis is called the base scenario. It can represent existing conditions, the primary proposal under evaluation, business as usual, or the first of several alternatives you wish to compare in an analysis.

 

Data Pane

The Data Pane is a section of the WebShots screen display. It contains sections that show Charts, Indicators, and Assumptions. When open, it appears to the right of the Control Panel and to the left of the map. You can make it narrower or wider by dragging on its right-hand border. (Move your cursor over the border until it turns into a two-head left/right arrow. Hold down the left mouse button and drag it to a new position.) You can open or close the Data Pane using the Open Data Pane or Close Data Pane button at the top right of your screen.

 

Reports

In addition to the WebShots displayed in this screen, the author may have provided links to additional on-line reports or links. To see a list of available reports or links, click the Reports button at the top right of your screen. Click on the name of one or more reports or place a check next to the reports you wish to view, then click the Open Selected Reports button. Each report you chose will open in a new window.

 

Help

You can open or close the window contain this documentation by clicking on the question-mark Help button at the top right of the WebShots screen. If you are authoring WebShots using CommunityViz, use the CommunityViz help for information on creating WebShots. More information is available at the CommunityViz support site at http://www.placeways.com/support.

 

Viewing WebShots

WebShots are created as HTML documents with associated folders and files. If you have access to a WebShots folder, you will find a file called "index.htm" and another called "WebShots.htm." Double-clicking on either one of these will open up WebShots in your default browser. The difference is that "index.htm" uses a "splash screen." The splash screen opens up immediately and then loads the rest of the WebShots data in the background. This makes for smoother navigation between screens once the main application opens. "WebShots.htm" opens the main application immediately, but there may be delays in loading other screens as the viewer navigates through a slide show or explores the analysis. If you are adding the WebShots folder to a website, you only need to link to the pathname or address of the main folder; you do not need to include the name of the .htm file. For example, the address you use might be http:///AnalysisName/WebShots.

 

How do I turn on active content for WebShots?

Scenario 360 WebShots and reports may contain “active content.” This includes buttons that allow you to expand or collapse individual sections of the presentation, and information boxes that appear when you hover your mouse over a chart.
Active content uses Javascript code that may be blocked by your browser as a security precaution, so the active content in WebShots may be disabled when you open a WebShots presentation. You can usually tell when a browser is blocking active content by looking for a message. For example, Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7 display a message like this at the top of the browser window:
 
To persistently enable active content for all files stored on your computer (such as these WebShots), you can change your browser’s settings.

For Internet Explorer 6 and 7:
  1. Click the Tools menu, select Internet Options.
  2. Click the Advanced tab.
  3. Scroll down through the list of Settings to the Security section at the bottom of the list.
  4. Enable the “Allow active content to run in files on My Computer” option.
  5. Click OK.
For Mozilla FireFox 1.5 and 2.0:
  1. Click the Tools menu, and select Options.
  2. Click the Content button (which has a globe icon) at the top of the panel.
  3. Ensure the “Enable JavaScript” option is selected.
  4. Click the Advanced button next to “Enable JavaScript”.
  5. In the Advanced JavaScript Settings box, ensure the following options are selected: “Move or resize existing windows”, “Raise or lower windows” and “Change status bar text”.
  6. Click OK to exit both dialogs.
For Netscape Navigator 9:
(Note: The default settings for Netscape Navigator 8 already allow active content for these reports. However, if the settings have been changed and you wish to change them back, you may.)
To temporarily enable active content on these WebShots only, right-click on the information bar and choose “Allow blocked content.” You will need to perform this step each time you open these WebShots.
  1. Click the Tools menu, and select Options.
  2. In the Security and Privacy options panel on the right-hand side, click Site Controls.
  3. Click on the Site List tab.
  4. In the “Master Settings” list in the upper left, enable the “I’m Not Sure” option.
  5. Ensure Enable JavaScript / VBScript is enabled in the Web Features list on the right-hand side.
  6. Under “Master Settings”, enable the “I’m Not Sure” option and confirm that “Enable JavaScript” is enabled for this setting as well.