About the Dataflow Toolbox

Opening the Dataflow Toolbox
Create a dataflow object
Dataflow Toolbox sections

Search field
Menu pane
Description pane

See also

The Dataflow Toolbox is part of the Dataflow window and provides an interface for discovering and placing new virtual variables, virtual lines, virtual surfaces, exporters, and other dataflow objects.

Toolbox items are grouped into categories. Many of these categories reflect the typical stages of an acoustic data processing workflow (e.g., Create and Explore, Calibrate). Others are organized by the type of object or function they represent (e.g., Exporters, Lines and Surfaces). These objects are displayed in the Dataflow Toolbox menu pane according to their category, and there is a text box for you to search for dataflow operators by name. Displayed items may appear in more than one category.

Opening the Dataflow Toolbox

The Dataflow Toolbox is displayed within the Dataflow window. To view the Dataflow Toolbox, open the Dataflow window, then do one of the following:

On the Windows and dialog boxes toolbar, click the Dataflow Toolbox icon , or
On the View menu, select Dataflow Toolbox, or
Right-click anywhere in the Dataflow window, then click Dataflow Toolbox (Ctrl+T).

Use the Dataflow Toolbox toolbar button, menu item, or keyboard shortcut to show or hide the panel. You can also close the panel using the X on its title bar. A similar action may be used with the Dataflow window Objects List . Closing the Dataflow window also closes the Dataflow Toolbox.

Create a dataflow object

Ensure the Dataflow Toolbox is visible.
On the Dataflow Toolbox, the displayed operators are filtered by the existing objects in the EV file, by pre-selected object(s), and by the search text.
Select an item from the menu pane and drag and drop it into the Dataflow window. A new object is created. If dataflow window objects are pre-selected, they are connected as operands when an operator or exporter is dropped onto the Dataflow window. It may be useful to review the suitability of the connected operands for the new virtual variable or object.
When there are no pre-selected objects, a virtual variable or dataflow object is created without connected operands. To specify an operand(s) and object properties, right-click the new object and on the Shortcut menu select the object Properties item.
Supported object Properties dialog boxes include:
Exporter Properties dialog box,

Variable Properties dialog box,

Time Series Properties dialog box,

Surface Properties dialog box,

Platform Properties dialog box,

Scene Properties dialog box,

Sticky Note Properties,

Transducer Properties dialog box, or

Transect Group Properties dialog box.

Notes:

New acoustic variables inherit some settings from their operand(s) at the time that they are created. See Inheritance of properties for more information.
When multiple raw variables are selected in the Dataflow window, use the All category in the Toolbox to display only the objects that can use those variables together as operands. If you drag one of the Toolbox objects into the Dataflow window, it is automatically connected to all of the selected compatible variables.
Raw and virtual variables and many dataflow objects may be affected by the requirements of name uniqueness.
Valid names contain supported characters.
Echoview does not support the creation of new objects from unavailable objects.
See also Creating and deleting virtual variables.
Here is the alternative process to create a new virtual line/time series or new surface or new analysis exporter while using a suitable active echogram.
When an editable line is created via the Toolbox, Echoview uses the current Dataflow selection to prefill the New Editable Line dialog box. If a depth/range line is selected, it is preselected as the basis for the new line. If an acoustic variable is selected, Pick from current variable is preselected. If no relevant selection is made, the dialog remembers the last-used option.

Dataflow Toolbox sections

Search field

When you enter search text, only the All category is shown and automatically expanded. Matching results from any category are listed together. Categories with no matching items are hidden during search. You can search for operator items in the Dataflow Toolbox by operator name, Echoview module name, or category.

Menu pane

The categories respond to local or global controls: Expand all and Collapse all . The categories also expand or collapse when you click the category name.

Expand the category to reveal the associated objects, operators and exporters. Items displayed in black text are suitable to use with the dataflow objects in the current EV file. Items in grey are unavailable. If you have selected a variable in the Dataflow window, only items which can be used with that variable are displayed. Many categories represent common data processing stages or other useful functional groups.

A selected item will display information under the Description pane.

Each category groups operators or objects based on function, workflow stage, or object type. The same item may appear in multiple categories. This table outlines the current category structure.

Menu category	Description
Favorites	Right-click any item and click Add to Favorites to save it to this menu.
Recently Used	View a list of six items most recently created with either the Dataflow Toolbox or the New variable dialog box.
Create and Explore	Displays a list of operators suited to data exploration.
Calibrate	Displays a list of operators suited to data calibration.
Clean	Displays a list of operators suited to data cleaning.
Detect	Displays a list of operators suited to target detection and tracking.
Classify	Displays a list of operators suited to target classification.
Characterize	Displays a list of operators suited to target characterization.
Arithmetic and Logic	Operators that offer simple arithmetic or logic operations.
Lines and Surfaces	Line operators and Surface operators. Lines are time series in the depth or range domain.
Exporters	Supported export object types.
Other Operators	Operators that do not appear in any categories. May display conversion, copy and (bitmap based) select operators.
Other Objects	Editable line, Platform, Scene, Sticky note, Surface pick from current variable, Transducer and Transect group items.
All	Displays an alphabetical list of all operators and objects.
New	Displays a list of new operators and objects.

Shortcut menu

The Dataflow Toolbox right-click Shortcut menu includes:

Menu item	Description
Add to Favorites	Adds the selected Toolbox object to the Favorites category.
Help	Opens the Help file page for the selected Toolbox object.
Why Is This Not Available?	Explains why the selected dataflow object is unavailable (greyed out) in the current context.

Description pane

Select any item from the menu pane to read a short description, view the dataflow categories it belongs to, and check any licensing requirements.