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There are three ways to open a file. The first and simplest method is to specify the filename(s) on the command line when starting the application. This will launch the application and open those files right away. The second method is to go to the File menu and choose the ``Open" option. This will launch a dialog (see Figure 4.1) which will allow selection of the desired file(s). The third method is to select a recently opened file from the ``Recents" submenu in the File menu. File opening operations can be halted if desired by clicking on the Stop button to the left of the progress bar at the bottom of the application.
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VIDA provides its own specialized file dialog which can be seen in Figure 4.1. However, there are situations where it may be preferable to use the system's native file dialog instead. To turn off the specialized file dialog, select the ``Use Native" opton in the ``Input/Output" section of the ``General" preferences (see chapter 12 for more details on preferences).
The provided file dialog should appear similar to a traditional file dialog, but with a number of additional features. In the middle of the dialog is a standard listing of all the files in the directory of interest. To the left of each filename is an icon depicting what type of file it is (icons for both grid and molecule files can be seen in Figure 4.1).
Immediately to the right of the central display is a preview of the contents of the highlighted file. The preview is capable of displaying a 2D depiction or the text contents of the file. The display mode can be controlled by selecting either the ``Text" or ``2D" options beneath the preview. The arrow buttons to the right of the display options allow scrolling through the contents of molecule files if there is more than one molecule in the file.
On the left-hand side of the dialog is a column containing directory shortcuts. By default, there are at least two predefined shortcuts. The first, ``Current Directory," always points to the directory that the application was started in. The other shortcuts vary between platforms. On Microsoft Windows, there will be two additional shortcuts, one to the current user's ``Desktop" and the other to the current user's ``My Documents" directory. On all other platforms, the additional shortcut points to the current user's ``Home" directory.
New shortcuts can be added by right-clicking in this column and choosing the ``Add Shortcut" option or by clicking the right-most button in the tool bar (the one with the open folder and arrow icon). Shortcuts can be easily renamed in place by clicking on the name of the shortcut and then typing in the new name. Shortcuts can be deleted by right-clicking on the shortcut and choosing the ``Delete" option.
On the right-hand side of the dialog is a column containing ``Advanced"
input options. This column can be hidden by clicking on the ``
" button at
the bottom. It can be reshown by clicking on that button again. The function of
these options are will be described in more detail in the Molecules section
(4.1.1) below.
At the bottom of the dialog is a pulldown menu which lists all of the supported file formats. Selecting one of these formats will filter the display to show only those files that match those formats. In addition, if there are any ``Advanced" options related to that format, the ``Advanced" column on the right-hand side of the dialog will be updated to reflect those options.
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