Aetria Designer
User Guide
Version Number 1.1
Introduction
Projects
Aetria Designer is a tool that enables users to design Aetria based control room envir-
onments simply and easily. The software allows users to design video walls and operator
workstations, deciding which screen technology to use for each location and how each
one will connect to the various sources and feeds the project may require.
Once the design has been completed a recommended Bill of Materials is generated detail-
ing the minimum system requirements based on the users wall design in order to assist in
any purchasing decisions. Optional devices may be added to the Bill of Materials for
example wall controllers, capture and graphics cards.
As projects are designed, each one can be saved, exported and printed for future ref-
erence.
Menu
The Menu located at the top left of the "Displays" work area allows the user to quickly
access common project commands throughout the design process.
An introduction video presentation (in English), is available:
Getting Started - Creating a New Project
This help topic provides the user with a quick summary on the stages required to create a
new Aetria Designer project.
After logging on the user is directed to the Projects dialog. Click on New Project at the
bottom left and give your new project a name.
Enter a name for the Location. A location may be a collection of walls and workstations
that are connected to a single network manager. The maximum number of characters for
any name is 50.
Place the cursor on the Display layout grid and select the required layout of the displays
by clicking and dragging the cursor over the grid, each cell represents a display.
Once the layout of the displays is confirmed, choose a Physical Wall Type – this confirms
the type of hardware to drive your displays. To find out more about the different hardware
available for driving the displays, visit: www.datapath.co.uk.
Next, type a unique name for the Wall and select the model and manufacturer of your dis-
plays. If the required display is not listed click on Add a Display and the Add a New Dis-
play dialog is opened. It is recommended entering the details of the display using the
display manufacturer specifications, normally found on the manufacturers website, data-
sheet or in the display user guide.
If required, set the angle and spacing for the displays.
Once the layout is decided, click on Add Wall. This directs the user to the "Displays" work
area, showing the current wall. From here you can build on your project.
To add other walls to the design click on New at the top of the page and select either mul-
tiple walls or single displays. Then input the details of the new wall(s).
Once added walls can be moved around the "Displays" work area by clicking on the wall
name and moving the cursor. You can also select multiple walls and then align them using
the Alignment panel on the right.
Under Wall Configuration in the right hand panel, users can change the type of hardware
required to drive each of the walls.
Click on Show Connected Devices at the top of the work area to view how the physical
connections will be made.
As each wall and displays are added, the system requirements are calculated.
Click on System Requirements at the top of the "Displays" work area to open the system
requirements dialog. Select Click to Recommend on the right to generate a suggested
list of the minimum devices required to create the design.
On the left is a list of all devices that can be added to Bill of Materials for example a video
wall controller can be added to drive a control wall. Video capture cards can be added if
there is a requirement to capture and display real time video.
Click on Add to select additional devices for the project.
Click on Print and the system requirements can be printed or saved as a PDF
Once the design is complete it can be saved and exported as a .adf file using the menu
dropdown list located top left on the "Displays" work area. The exported file can be impor-
ted into the Aetria Command Center application or forwarded to Datapath for validation.
Getting Started - Import a Project
Aetria Designer allows projects to be imported, these may be projects that have been
shared with other users and updated or simply projects created by other users and sent
for review. Files may be imported from a local directory or across a network.
To import a project, click on Import Project from the Project page and the import project
dialog is displayed. Use the browse function to locate the required project file then click on
Import.
Problem Importing Projects
If a project with the same name already exists within the design environment a warning is
displayed stating there is a duplication. This can occur if the project has been worked on
previously and shared with other users for updates.
Three options are offered in this case:
Keep Original - This selection will override the imported file and open the project stored
locally.
Keep New - This selection will open the imported project and overwrite the project stored
locally.
Keep Both - This selection will save both files locally annotating the imported project with
a bracketed copy number.
Click on the selection required and the project will open on the "Displays" work area.
Open a Project
Projects that have already been created and saved or imported are displayed in a list. The
Recent list displays the last 5 projects that have been worked on. The All list displays
every available project stored locally on the machine. A search function is available to
quickly locate the required project.
From the list, select the required project and click on Open Project and the "Displays"
work area is opened.
"Displays" Work Area
The "Displays" work area is where you can view, manage and develop your projects. A loc-
ation refers to groups of displays and walls, which are connected together by a single Net-
work Manager. A location can be used to group a number of walls and workstations in
one connected environment.
By right clicking on a wall name in the design area, the user will be presented with the con-
text menu with options to move, rotate or remove the wall. By right clicking on a display
within a wall, the user can move, rotate or remove an individual display within a wall.
When a single display is selected, its properties are displayed in the Attributes panel on
the right.
The display work area can be moved around by pressing the Shift key and left mouse but-
ton at the same time whilst using the mouse to drag the display work area to the required
position. Use the mouse scroll button to zoom in and out of the work area grid. When hov-
ering the mouse over the wall name a tooltip is displayed
Menu
A menu is located top left of the display grid enabling quick access to a number of com-
monly used functions:
New Project - Create a new project. It should be noted that this will remove any existing
unsaved project in progress.
Open Project - Open an existing project.
Copy Project - Copies the existing project allowing you to make changes to a duplicate
whilst maintaining the original.
Import Project - Import a Project from another user. Note that Import only supports Aetria
Designer Files (*.adf).
Export Project - Creates an Aetria Design file (*.adf) that can be sent to other users.
Print - Select print and a print dialog is displayed showing the full project in printed
format. Using the print destination dropdown menu users are able to select a specific prin-
ted format including saving as a .pdf. Prior to printing, users can click on Show Connected
Devices to include a wiring plan on the print of the display walls.
Settings
A settings icon is located in the top left of the application window, here you can set the pre-
ferred unit of measurement and language. The Snap to Grid function, allows automatic
and accurate alignment of displays.
Content Tree
On the left of the work area grid is the content tree which displays the current project, and
the locations and walls within the projects. When a user creates a project or imports an
existing project, the locations and walls will be displayed here. The properties of each item
in the content tree are displayed to the right of the work area grid in the properties panel
when a group or wall is selected. To view individual display properties, select the location
prior to selecting the individual display.
The content tree can be fully opened or retracted using the + or - icons located at the top,
right hand side of the content tree panel.
Content Tree Menu
Right clicking on a location within the content tree presents the user with options to add
new walls (multiple and single display), rename (maximum of 50 characters), delete and
print groups.
Right clicking on a wall presents the user with options to rename the wall, delete the wall,
make a copy the wall to add to the same group or export it to any other group. This is use-
ful if walls of the same specification are required within a group.
Visualize Walls
Select Visualize from the wall context menu and a representation of the wall is displayed.
Users can select an overlay to be displayed on the wall representation and a background
image to show how the wall may look when installed. A bezel correction feature is also
available for the overlays.
Users can upload preferred background images (.jpeg); for instance the control room
where the wall is to be located can be photographed in imported to create a realistic view
of the project.
The wall displayed in the visual representation can be resized by hovering the cursor over
the representation and use the mouse scroll button to resize. The wall can also be moved
around within the representation by left clicking on it and dragging it to a preferred loc-
ation.
The visualization can be printed if required.
Location/Wall Tools
The Location/Wall tools panel is located to the right of the display work area and contains
alignment tools, wall and display attributes and a wall configuration function. The tools
panel can be displayed or hidden by clicking on the three horizontal lines located top right
of the "Displays" work area.
Alignment
The alignment icons are only active when a group or a wall is selected. Selecting an icon
aligns all displays within the selected wall to the right, center or left of the rectangular dis-
play boundary.
Set the distance of the of the wall from the vertical axis (x) or the horizontal axis (y). Unit
of measurement can be set in the Settings Panel.
Attributes
The attributes panel displays wall attributes and display attributes:
Wall Attributes
Select a wall either in the content tree or by clicking on the wall name on the "displays"
work area and the attributes panel will display the name of the wall selected, the man-
ufacturer of the displays that make up the wall and the whole display area of the wall in
millimetres or inches depending on the preferred unit of measurement.
Display Attributes
To view the attributes of a single display, select the location in the content tree and then
click on a display. The attributes panel will display the manufacturer, the model, resolution
refresh rate, display area and the width of each bezel.
Wall Configuration
A location may have multiple walls, for example it may have a main display wall com-
prising of multiple displays. It could also have a number of smaller walls acting as work-
stations. The Aetria software is able to distinguish which devices are connected to specific
walls. For instance workstations may be connected to an Arqa or Aligo whereas the main
display wall could be connected to a VSN wall controller running Image4K graphics cards.
Each wall created in the group can be connected to a specific device. Select a wall by click-
ing on the wall name on the work area grid or by clicking on the wall in the content tree.
When selected the wall representation will be become a shade lighter making it easy to
identify which wall is selected. Choose the required physical wall type by clicking on the
Physical Wall Type dropdown list located in the Wall Configuration panel on the right
hand side of the display work area.
Once the connection device has been chosen, an output mode is assigned as follows:
l Arqa - HD.
l Aligo - 4K providing the displays in the wall support it, otherwise HD.
l Image 4K - 4K providing the displays in the wall support it, otherwise HD via IQS4
When all the walls within the location have been allocated devices, click on the Show Con-
nected Devices tool located at the top of the work area grid and a recommended wiring
plan is displayed.
"Displays" Tools
Along the top of the Display work area are tools allowing the user to add a new item,
show measurements and show connected devices.
New
Click on New and the user is presented with a choice of opening a new location, adding
multiple displays or adding a single display to the design.
Selecting Location will open the Add a New Location dialog, enter a location name (max-
imum of 50 characters) and click on Create Location. The new location will be added to
the content tree.
To add a wall to a location, select the location in the content tree, click on New and choose
the type of wall you require either multiple displays or a single display. The Add a New
Wall dialog is displayed.
Show Measurements
When a location is selected, clicking once on Show Measurements will display the meas-
urements of the total area of the location including gaps. Click a second time and the meas-
urement of each display within the group is shown.
Select a wall and the measurements are only displayed for that particular wall. The unit of
measurement is determined in the settings panel which can be opened by clicking on the
settings wheel icon located at the top right corner of the application.
Show Connected Devices
When Show Connected Devices is selected each display shows the connected device alloc-
ated to it. When selected the Location layout can be printed using the print function on the
Location or Wall in the content tree on the left, to print details of the displays and con-
nected device.
Connected devices can be amended using the Wall Configuration panel on the right when
a wall is selected.
System Requirements
When walls have been created within the group, and devices have been configured to
them using the Physical Wall Type tool the next step it to allocate the hardware to fulfil
the requirement.
Click on System Requirements at the top of the "Displays" work area to open the system
requirements dialog. Select “Click to Recommend” on the right to generate a suggested
list of the minimum devices required to create your design.
On the left is a list of all devices that can be added to Bill of Materials for example a video
wall controller can be added to drive a wall control wall. Video capture cards can be added
if there is a requirement to capture and display real time video.
Click on Add to select additional devices for the project.
Click on Print and the system requirements can be printed or saved as a PDF.
Once all the devices have been selected, click on save and close.
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