Table of Contents Previous Chapter 23 The SDL Editor

23 The SDL Editor

Menu Bar

The menu bar provides commands available in menus and menu choices for editing diagrams and pages of diagrams. Most the functionality that the SDL Editor offers is contained within the commands from the menu bar.

The SDL Editor's menu bar provides the following menus:

The File menu

Figure 273 : The File Menu. 
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(fig)  
       
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The File menu supports the following commands on diagrams:

New

This command creates a new SDL diagram. Following the menu choice, the SDL Editor prompts to specify the name and type of the diagram to be created (see Figure 274).

Figure 274 : Creating a New Diagram. 
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(fig)  
       
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Open

This command opens an SDL diagram. A Standard File Selection Dialog is issued (see Figure 275). For a complete description of this dialog and how to take advantage of it, see the chapter The SDT Graphical User Interface. 

Figure 275 : Opening a Diagram. 
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(fig)  
       
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Filter Field and Button

The Filter field is set to *.s?? by default. This extension corresponds to the default file extensions that are applied to SDL diagrams. See "Save" on page 1189 for information about default file extensions.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:                                                                
SDT does not impose any specific file extension on SDL diagrams.     
If other file extensions than the ones suggested by SDT have been    
used when saving diagrams, a different filter than *.s?? should be   
applied                                                              
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Status Bar Information

As a file is selected in the Files list, relevant one-line information related to the file is displayed in the status bar at the foot of the SDL Editor window.

Save

This menu choice saves the current diagram. The menu choice reads Save (Not needed) if no changes have been done to the diagram since the last Save.

Save of newly created diagrams

When a newly created diagram is to be saved, a Standard File Selection Dialog is issued following the Save menu choice. The dialog prompts to specify what file to save the diagram on. 

Figure 276 : Save of a New Diagram. 
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(fig)  
       
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-------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  Default file names                                            
The default file name that the SDL Editor suggests consists of:      
·  <diagramname> appended with                                 
·  an enumerated integer value (1, 2, ..., N) if the 

               
<diagramname>/file extension already exists,                   
·  a default file extension (see Figure 276 and "Default File Exten  
sion", below). Reserving these default file extensions for SDL       
diagrams makes it easier to locate them in the file system.          
-------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------
Diagram Type      Default File Extension  
----------------------------------------
System            .ssy                    
Block             .sbk                    
Substructure      .ssu                    
Service           .ssv                    
Process           .spr                    
Procedure         .spd                    
System Type       .sst                    
Block Type        .sbt                    
Service Type      .svt                    
Process Type      .spt                    
Macro Definition  .smc                    
Operator          .sop                    
Package           .sun                    
Overview          .sov                    
----------------------------------------

Save As

This menu choice saves the SDL diagram currently being edited on a new file. The SDL Editor associates the diagram with the new file and the Organizer reconnects the diagram icon with the newly created file in order to maintain consistency.

The name of the new file is to be specified in a Standard File Selection Dialog. The SDL Editor suggests a default file name, using the same rules as for Save of newly created diagrams (see page 1190).

If the user changes the suggested file name to specify a file that already exists, the SDL Editor issues a confirmation dialog:

Figure 277 : The Save Confirm Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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Save a Copy As

This menu choice saves a copy of the current diagram on a new file.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:                                                                 
The SDL Editor window will hold the original file in its window,      
not the newly saved copy of the diagram. The diagram remains          
connected to the old file and the Organizer's structure is left unaf  
fected by the operation                                               
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The name of the new file is to be specified in a Standard File Selection Dialog. The SDL Editor suggests a default file name, using the same rules as for Save of newly created diagrams (see page 1190).

If the name of an already existing file is entered, the SDL Editor prompts the user to confirm the operation:

Figure 278 : The Save Confirm Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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Save All

This menu choice saves all modified SDL diagrams that are open in the SDL Editor. This menu choice is dimmed if no modifications have been made to any diagrams currently being edited.

Any new diagram that needs to be saved will cause a file section dialog to be issued (see "Save of newly created diagrams" on page 1190).

Close Diagram

This command closes the current SDL diagram and its associated window. If the diagram has been modified, the SDL Editor will prompt to save the changes before closing the diagram.

Figure 279 : The Close Diagram Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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Print

This menu choice invokes the SDL Editor print utility. Following the selection of this command, a Print dialog is issued in order to specify what to print and how to print it. 

Figure 280 : The SDL Editor Print Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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See page 1456 for further description.

Exit

This menu choice closes all SDL Editor windows that are open, and terminates the SDL Editor session. When Exit is selected, the following menu - see Figure 281 appears for each of the diagrams open which have been modified. 

Figure 281 : The Exit Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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The Edit menu

Figure 282 : The Edit Menu. 
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(fig)  
       
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The Edit menu provides editing functions that can be performed on the objects in the drawing area. It is also possible adjust the actual drawing area.

The Edit menu functions that are available differ depending on the type of diagram being edited, either:

There is also an Undo feature which reverses the last action performed, and returns the SDL Editor status to the situation prior to the unwanted action which was performed. It is only available for operations on symbols, lines and text attributes. Text editing operations cannot be undone.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  Undo for Text editing                                        
An Undo function is available for text via the Grammar Help or Sig  
nal Dictionary functions. See page 1240 and page 1251.              
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Edit functions are as follows:

Undo

This command restores the content of the drawing area to its state prior to the most recently performed operation. The following operations can be undone:

Cut

This command removes the current selection from the drawing area, and saves it in the clipboard buffer. Cut is only valid if a selection is defined.

Copy

This command makes a copy of the current selection in the clipboard buffer. The content of the drawing area is not affected by this menu choice. Copy is only valid if a selection is defined.

Paste

This command inserts the contents of the clipboard buffer into the drawing area. Paste is only valid if a selection has previously ben cut or copied into the clipboard buffer.

The contents of the clipboard buffer is inserted in the same way as when inserting a symbol from the symbol menu (by clicking it and placing it on the drawing area). See "Appending Symbols" on page 76 in the chapter Editing SDL Diagrams. (No lines will be drawn between the pasted symbols and the symbols already present in the drawing area.)

---------------------------------------------------------------
Note:                                                            
The Paste operation can be interrupted by pressing <Esc>.  
---------------------------------------------------------------

Insert Paste

This function has the similar functionality as the Paste function, but is only available for flow pages. It inserts necessary space after the selected symbol before pasting the clipboard buffer and connecting the two flows.

The function requires that the clipboard is not empty and that exactly one symbol or line is selected. Otherwise, the menu choice is dimmed. The menu choice is also dimmed if connecting the two symbol flows would violate the Z.100 syntax rules.

Before inserting the selection, the SDL Editor allocates the necessary space by pushing the required objects downwards. If this is not possible, the following dialog is displayed:

Figure 283 : The Increase Page Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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Clear

This command removes the selected objects from the drawing area. The content of the clipboard buffer is not affected by this menu choice. Clear is only valid if a selection is defined.

Redirect

This command changes the direction of a selected channel, signal route or gate. The new direction is denoted by changing the orientation and position of the arrow, leaving the arrowhead pointing in the opposite direction. Subsequent redirections result in the signal list toggling between two directions. 

----------------------------------------------------------------
Note:                                                             
The only way to draw a channel from the environment to a symbol   
is to:                                                            
1.  draw a channel from that symbol to the environment, and then  
2.  redirect the channel.                                         
----------------------------------------------------------------

Bidirect

This command changes the selected channel, signal route or gate to be bidirectional. A new arrowhead and an empty signal list are generated. A bidirected channel or signal route is changed back into a single-directional object by clicking on the unwanted arrowhead and selecting the Clear function from the Edit menu.

Flip

This command creates a vertically symmetrical copy of the selected symbol(s). This command is valid on the following symbols only:

The flow lines connected to a mirrored text extension symbol or comment symbol are redrawn in order to reconnect them to the opposite side.

Dash/Undash

A dashed reference symbol is used in an SDL subtype when referring to an object that is defined elsewhere in one of the supertypes of the current subtype.

In a similar fashion, a dashed gate indicates that the gate is already defined in one of the supertypes in the inheritance chain.

Figure 284 : A Dashed Process Reference Symbol and 

a Dashed Gate. 
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(fig)  
       
       
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The Dash/Undash command is available on the following diagrams:

The Undash is a toggle command.

Drawing Size

This menu choice sets the size of the drawing area for the current SDL page. A dialog is issued, as shown in Figure 285.

Figure 285 : The Drawing Area Size Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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Select Tail

This command selects the currently selected symbol and all objects beneath it within the tree (following the flow lines).

Select All

This operation selects all objects within the drawing area.

The View menu

Figure 286 : The View Menu. 
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(fig)  
       
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The View menu provides rescaling functions and access to various options that affect the behavior of the SDL Editor.

The following choices are available beneath the View menu:

Set Scale

This menu choice issues a dialog where the scale can be adjusted (see Figure 287).

Figure 287 : The Scale Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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Window Options

This menu choice issues a dialog where to set the options that affect the window properties (see Figure 288). 

Figure 288 : The Window Options Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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The various window options are described below.

Diagram Options

This menu choice issues a dialog where to set the options that affect the editing properties applied on the current diagram.

Remote Diagram Options

The following dialog is displayed on remote diagrams:

Figure 289 : The Diagram Options Dialog (Remote Diagrams). 
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(fig)  
       
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Overview Diagram Options

The following dialog is displayed on overview diagrams:

Figure 290 : The Diagram Options Dialog (Overview Diagrams). 
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(fig)  
       
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Editor Options

This menu choice issues a dialog where the behavior of the SDL Editor can be customized. 

Figure 291 : The Editor Options Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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The options are controlled by toggle buttons. They are:

The Pages menu

Figure 292 : The Pages Menu. 
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(fig)  
       
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The pages menu holds commands that assist the user in navigating among the pages that are currently being edited in the SDL Editor. It also contains commands for adding, renaming, clearing pages as well as clipboard functions for copying, cutting and pasting entire pages.

The menu choices are:

Edit

This menu choice allows to Add, Rename, Clear, Cut, Copy and Paste an SDL Page. Following this menu choice, a dialog is issued:

Figure 293 : The Edit Pages Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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The meaning of the various components is as follows:

Page List

Presents a list with all SDL pages that are included in the SDL diagram. Clicking on a page in this list selects it and makes it the subject of the operation to follow.

Edit Button

Clicking this button opens the selected page and displays it in an SDL Editor window. The Edit Page dialog is closed

Done Button

Clicking this button closes the Edit Page dialog.

Cut Button

Clicking this button removes the selected SDL page from the diagram and saves it in the clipboard buffer.

This menu choice is dimmed if the currently selected object is not an SDL page. The information in the Organizer which is dependent on this page will also be removed.

Copy Button

Clicking this button copies the selected page into the clipboard buffer.

This menu choice is dimmed if the selected object is not an SDL page. The diagram is unaffected by the Copy operation.

Paste Button

Clicking this button pastes the page contained in the clipboard buffer into the current diagram.

The Paste menu choice will be dimmed in the following cases:

The SDL Editor checks that the contents of the page are syntactically correct and issues a warning if required.

Figure 294 : Warning about Syntax Error in Page. 
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(fig)  
       
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A new dialog is issued, in which the page must be assigned a new name. Also, the page can be inserted before or after the currently selected page (see Figure 295).

Figure 295 : The Paste Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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The dialog allows to specify:

Clear

This operation clears (removes) the selected SDL page from the diagram. 

Figure 296 : The Clear Page Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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To confirm the operation, click on Clear. Clicking on Cancel returns control to the Edit Page dialog without clearing the page. The SDL Editor will automatically rename autonumbered pages.

----------------------------------------------------------
Caution!                                                    
As stated in the dialog, Clear on a page cannot be undone.  
----------------------------------------------------------

Add

This command creates a new SDL page which is added to the current diagram. The page must be given a name which complies with SDL conventions. The default page name is Untitled. The new page can be inserted either before or after the current page. Also, an autonumbering facility is provided.

New pages are listed in the same order that they were added. 

Figure 297 : The Add Page Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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Rename

Clicking this button issues a dialog where the selected SDL page can be renamed. The SDL Editor prompts to enter the new name of the page (see Figure 300).

Figure 300 : The Rename Page Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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--------------------------------------------------------------
Note:                                                           
Autonumbered pages cannot be renamed. The autonumbered option   
must first be turned off.                                       
--------------------------------------------------------------

Autonumbered

Turning the Autonumbered option on applies a numeric name to the selected page (1, 2, etc...). The following dialog is issued:

Figure 301 : The Autonumber Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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Turning the Autonumbered option off, first the SDL Editor prompts to confirm the removal of autonumbering on that page (Figure 302).

Figure 302 : The Remove Autonumber Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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Open this page first

This toggle button designates what page to be opened first when opening an SDL diagram in the SDL Editor, without specifying any particular page. Only one page at the time can have this attribute set.

First

This menu choice opens the first page contained in the diagram. The first page is defined according to the order of appearance in the Edit Page dialog.

If the page is already opened, its window is simply popped up.

<Page Name>

Activating the Page menu presents up to four menu choices that consist of the names of the two pages that are sequentially immediately before and after the page being edited.

Selecting one of these page names opens or restores that page in the SDL Editor.

If the first page of the diagram is being edited, the next four sequential pages are shown. If the last page of the diagram is edited, the previous four pages are shown.

Last

This menu choice opens or simply pops up last page of a diagram. See "First" on page 1213 for more information.

Edit Reference Page

This menu choice opens (or, if already active, simply restores) the page in the parent diagram where the name of the current page is referred.

This menu choice is dimmed when the current page is one of the pages contained in the Organizer Root diagram (in which case there is no parent diagram).

The Diagrams menu

Figure 303 : The Diagrams Menu. 
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(fig)  
       
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The Diagrams menu records all diagrams and pages that are opened by the SDL Editor.

The available menu choices are:

<Diagram Name>

The last opened page always goes to the top of the list, and subsequently moves the other diagrams and pages down a position. A maximum of 9 open pages can be shown. A tenth one will be put at the top of the list, but any subsequent opening of a diagram or page will only show the last 9 to have been opened. Another option - List All (at the bottom of the list) is available to list all the open diagrams in the SDL Editor.

A diagram that is preceded by an asterisk (`*') denotes that it has been modified during the SDL Editor session.

List All

This menu choice becomes available when a maximum of 9 open pages has been surpassed. When List All is selected, it provides a dialog containing all diagrams and pages that are currently open in the SDL Editor (see Figure 304). 

Figure 304 : The List All Diagrams Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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The Windows menu

Figure 305 : The Windows Menu. 
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(fig)  
       
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The Windows menu contains the following menu choices:

New Window

This command opens a new window containing a new view on the SDL page contained in the source window from which this menu choice was operated. The SDL page can be edited in any window.

Close Window

This option closes the open window, but, not necessarily the diagram. All but the last open window can be closed, the last one must be closed from the File menu, possibly in conjunction with a Save of information (see "Close Diagram" on page 1193).

Grammar Help

This menu choice opens the Grammar Help Window, described on page 1237. Its purpose is to assist the user in editing SDL textual elements that are correct according to the SDL grammar.

Each SDL Editor window has its associated Grammar Help window.

The SDL Editor tries to open a file with grammar help templates when opening the Grammar Help window (which file to open by default may be specified as an SDL Editor preference). If the file cannot be located, the following dialog is issued:

Figure 306 : Prompting to Locating the Grammar Template File. 
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(fig)  
       
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Signal Dictionary

This menu choice opens the Signal Dictionary Window, described on page 1250. Its purpose is to assist the user in gaining fast access to information about what signals are defined in an SDL hierarchy - a signal dictionary.

Each SDL Editor window has its associated Signal Dictionary window.

The Tools menu

Figure 307 : The Tools Menu. 
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(fig)  
       
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The Tools menu contains the menu choices:

Tidy Up

This menu choice rearranges the graphical layout of the entire SDL diagram, using default layouting algorithms when calculating the location and size of graphical objects.

Following the activation of the menu choice, a confirmation dialog is issued:

Figure 308 : The Confirm Tidy Up Dialog. 
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(fig)  
       
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The algorithms that govern the impact of this function are described in "Automatic Layouting of Diagrams" on page 1269.

Show GR Reference

This command issues a message where the graphical reference for the currently selected object is displayed.

Figure 309 : The Show GR Reference Message. 
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(fig)  
       
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The syntax of the graphical references used in the SDT environment is described in chapter 41, References in SDT-3.

Show Organizer

This command pops-up the parent SDT Organizer Main Window, i.e. from where the SDL Editor was started.

The Help menu

The Help menu is described in chapter 21, The SDT Graphical User Interface, on page 1033.

Popup Menu

The popup menu is a activated by pressing the right mouse button. The popup menu remains active until the next mouse click or until the <ESC> key is typed.

The popup menu contains the most often performed menu-choices from the Edit menu; the exact content depends however on the type of diagram.The available menu-choices on the popup menu are:

Keyboard Accelerators

In addition to the standard keyboard accelerators, described in "Accelerators and Mnemonics" on page 1048, the SDL Editor features the following:

-----------------------------------------------------------
Accelerator     Command / functionality                      
-----------------------------------------------------------
ctrl-D          Next page in diagram (see page 1221)         
ctrl-I          Insert Paste (see page 1197)                 
ctrl-U          Previous page in diagram (see page 1221)     
<Delete>  Clear (i.e. remove, delete) (see page 1198)  
-----------------------------------------------------------

Quick Buttons

In addition to the generic Quick Buttons that exist in all SDT tools (see page 1035), the SDL Editor tool bar contains the following quick buttons:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(fig)  Text window on / off                                                      
       Toggle the Text Window between visible and hidden (the same as the        
       Text Window option, see page 1203).                                       
(fig)  Symbol menu on / off                                                      
       Toggle the Symbol Menu between visible and hidden (the same as the        
       Symbol Menu option, see page 1203).                                       
(fig)  Reference page                                                            
       Open previous page in flow (similar to Edit Reference Page, see page      
       1214)                                                                     
(fig)  Previous page                                                             
       Open previous page in flow (similar to <Page Name>, see page 1213)  
(fig)  Next page                                                                 
       Open previous page in flow (similar to <Page Name>, see page 1213)  
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