Getting the most out of OPG

The following information will be helpful to first time users of OPG.

Intermixing offline and online

It is recommended that you do not mix and match online and offline plan layout and diagram generation as the different software will cause changes to layout to occur as you move from one platform to the other. If you do intermix, you will need to recheck all pages and make consequential adjustments to label positions etc.

When you have imported an offline plan, do not use the online Plan Generation functionality, i.e. do not enter online:

  • Define Diagrams
  • Layout Plan Sheets
  • Maintain Diagram Layers
  • select Complete button, or
  • tick the Prepare Layout checkbox.

Any of these actions will result in the online functionality regenerating the plan causing you further work as described above.

To check your plan layout after performing an import, simply click on the 'Complete OPG' button. This will generate plan images, which will be sent to your My Messages folder.

Note: The 'Complete OPG' button calls the same PlanGen batch function as the 'Complete' button in online Layout Plan Sheets, however, all diagram images already exist so the process will be relatively fast.

Operating system tips

  • OPG will operate better if you limit the number of applications open at the time of use – every open application steals more memory and CPU.
  • Disable the Aero desktop option if using Windows Vista or Windows 7 – disabling this option while using OPG will dramatically improve the speed of text rotation. Refer to the instructions in Appendix A: OPG installation information (pdf 286KB) (pages 79-82) of the OPG User Guide.
  • File management – when you are working with a plan, it is recommended that you access OPG Plan database files (ie .sdf files) from your PC's hard drive rather than from a network drive, portable drive or USB stick. Only use these for file transfer and/or storage of backups.

Speed differences between offline and online

  • Online performance – in Landonline, your PC has little to do other than maintain the Citrix connection, monitor your keyboard and mouse activity, and refresh the screen as required. You can easily interact with Landonline with a relatively old PC, and have as many other applications open as your PC will allow without affecting performance as most of the CPU intensive processing is done within the Landonline environment.
  • Offline performance – when you are disconnected from Landonline, your PC has to do all the work in OPG. If your PC is not up to the recommended specifications, you may experience performance degradation. Your PC requires a CPU of at least 3Ghz, and 2GB of memory for optimal performance. The ideal is a PC that is multi–core with a speed of over 2.5 Ghz and memory in excess of 2GB.

    OPG is a based on underlying GIS software rather than a graphics editing tool so there will be some actions that are slower in OPG than when doing the equivalent task online, e.g. a pause when selecting a label or performing a screen refresh by zooming and panning.

New or different functionality

OPG looks similar, but is fundamentally different to online Plan Generation functionality. Many similarities exist however, if you use OPG the same way you currently use online, you may miss the additional benefits of OPG.

  • Label selection may be slower than online at times, however you can work ahead of the label selection process.  You don't have to wait until the label is visibly selected before dragging it to your preferred location – just click on it and drag, then move to the next label.  The speed of label selection and all screen refreshes can be improved by zooming in a little, i.e. avoid working with the whole page displayed on your screen. This is particularly true when you have many diagrams on the page, or a lower specification PC.
  • Zooming using the mouse wheel – the zoom in/out toolbar buttons are faster than the zoom functionality available via the new mouse wheel. However, you will find that once you become used to it, the mouse wheel functionality is actually more efficient. Read Appendix C: Mouse wheel functionality (pdf 286KB) (pages 86-87) in the OPG User Guide and try to use all the mouse wheel functions to gain familiarity.
  • Zoom by rectangle – zoom mode functionality behaves differently to online and may take time to get used to. It doesn't matter if you are in Zoom In or Zoom Out mode, dragging a rectangle from top left to bottom right will zoom in. Dragging in any other direction will usually zoom out. Note that the Ctrl key can be used to temporarily reverse the Zoom In or Zoom Out modes, but this key will have no effect on the zoom by rectangle function.
  • Panning using the left mouse button – this is far quicker than using any of the other pan options. Simply click in an open area of the screen and drag the mouse to perform a pan. Hold down the Shift or Ctrl key while doing this if you have something selected and do not wish to lose the selection
  • Generic select tool – in Layout Plan Sheet, use the generic select tool in preference to the Label, Line and Coordinate selection tools. This will always select the closest object and saves having to repeatedly change your selection tools. Use the other tools only when you wish to constrain the selection to a specific object type.
  • Selecting multiple items – when selecting multiple items, note the difference between the Ctrl key and the Shift key. The Shift key always appends the selected item to an existing selection whereas the Ctrl key allows modification of an existing selection, i.e. appends an item if it is not already selected, and deselects an item if already selected. (Note that the same functionality exists online.)
  • Adding a carriage return – select inside the text and then press either Ctrl, Shift or Alt to add a carriage return when editing User Added text on screen.
  • Delete key – if you have a deletable item selected, you can use your delete key.
  • The rotate label function – this has a subtle acceleration feature, i.e. roll your mouse wheel slowly for fine adjustment and faster to achieve large rotation angles.

Preferences

  • Window layout – most of your window layout preferences will be remembered the next time you open OPG, so take the time to set it up the way you like it.
  • Directory preferences for packages – set your preferred directories for packages and your OPG plan databases in Tools/Options so that you don't have to hunt for these.

Other functionality

  • Moving toolbars – you can move toolbars to preferred locations – refer Appendix E: Reposition and float Toolbars (pdf 286KB) (page 89) of the OPG User Guide. If you decide you don't like the changes, simply select the Windows/Reset Toolbars option to get back to the default settings.
  • Inserting new pages – in OPG, you can insert new pages wherever you want within a Plan Sheet, and you can also renumber existing pages. Find this functionality on the toolbar. It is also located under the View/Sheets menu option, but is not as quick to access. You can also delete existing pages.
  • Side panels – in Layout Plan Sheets, the side panel provides similar functionality to online. However, side panels are not necessary as most of the functions exist on the toolbar. If you still want the diagram preview window, resize it to the shape you prefer then detach it by clicking on the blue pin in its title. Close all other side panels and use the toolbar instead. Both the side panel and tool bar functions are very similar –the advantage of removing the side panel is more screen space for your plan.