Plugin Profile

You can define COM component plugins to use search algorithms that are not included in Astrogator. To learn about creating a plugin search profile, see STK AgSearch. See the Plugins section of the Python Programming Guide for help with setting up a Python Search Plugin. You can select a registered plugin search profile whenever you add a profile to a target sequence.

The plugin search profile dialog box comprises five tabs:

Variables

There are two types of variables in a plugin search profile:

  • control parameters (independent variables)
  • results (dependent variables)

The control parameters and results that are selected for the target sequence are displayed on the Variables tab. Double-click a property of a control parameter or result to edit its value.

Control parameters (independent variables)

Any element of a nested MCS segment or linked component that you can use as an independent variable is marked by a target icon, . To select an element as an independent variable, click its target icon. A check mark appears over the target. Click the target again to clear the selection of that element.

You can select independent variables in multiple nested segments. In each segment, you can select as many independent variables as you want. Plugins publish their inputs to Astrogator, so you can also select these inputs as independent variables. To target an input, you may need to double-click it to open its properties dialog box. The target icon will be displayed next to any field that you can select.

The Restore nominal values as soon as target sequence completes MCS Option isolates changes in value. If the independent variable is an element of a linked component, this option has an important effect. Astrogator will only apply the changed value of the element to subsequent segments within the same target sequence. Segments that are outside the target sequence will use the value of the element at the beginning of the MCS. If you apply corrections after running the MCS, then on the next run all segments in the MCS will use the value produced by the target sequence.

Each independent variable that you select is listed in the Controls area, along with the following information:

Variable Description
Name Displays the name of the element.
Initial Value Shows the nominal value of the element.
Current Value This is the element's final value from the last run of the profile. If the profile hasn't run, this value is the same as the initial value.
Object This is the segment or component that the element belongs to.
Custom Display Unit Select this option to use a custom unit for the element in the status window and graphs.
Display Unit

This is the unit to be displayed if you selected the Custom Display Unit check box.

Graphs cannot display DMS or HMS angle units and will use the scenario unit instead.

If you have two or more independent variables, select the Hide Inactive check box to hide the variables that are not selected.

Results (dependent variables)

Dependent variables are defined in terms of Calculation Objects. To select dependent variables for a nested MCS segment, select the segment and then click Results.... In the User-Selected Results dialog box, select the Calculation Objects to use.

Each dependent variable that you select is listed in the Available Results area, along with the following information:

Variable Description
Name Displays the name of the element.
Current Value This is the element's final value from the last run of the profile. If the profile hasn't run, this value is the same as the initial value.
Object This is the segment or component that the element belongs to.
Custom Display Unit Select this option to use a custom unit for the element in the status window and graphs.
Display Unit

This is the unit to be displayed if you selected the Custom Display Unit check box.

Graphs cannot display DMS or HMS angle units and will use the scenario unit instead.

If you have two or more dependent variables, select Hide Inactive to hide the variables that are not selected.

Plugin properties

The Plugin Properties tab displays the properties that have been registered for the plugin. Double-click a property to edit its value.

Select the Reset controls before each run check box to reset the profile's controls each time that Astrogator runs it. The profile will discard information that was computed the last time it was run.

If you are using a Python plugin profile, you must set the Filename property to the location of the Python script prior to using the profile.

Log

You can configure a plugin search profile to write to a log file generated by Astrogator. The File name field displays the path and name of the log file, if one is being used by the profile. The log information — the raw output of the profile — appears below the file name. It can be useful for debugging or troubleshooting.

Graphs

The Graphs tab comprises controls that you can use to create and view graphs of the profile's performance. The upper pane contains a table of the graphs defined for the profile. The Graph Properties pane displays the collection of properties that you can use to define each graph. Select a graph in the table in the upper pane to view and define its properties here.

Graphs table

Using the toolbar, you can create new graphs or cut, copy, paste, or delete them.

Button Name Function
New... Insert a new graph with default properties settings.
Cut Move the selected graph from the list to the clipboard.
Copy Copy the selected graph to the clipboard.
Paste Insert a copy of the graph that is on the clipboard.
Delete Delete the selected graph.

The graphs table displays the name and description of each graph. Select Generate on run if you want Astrogator to generate the graph each time that it runs the MCS. You can right-click a graph to select the same commands that are available in the toolbar.

Graph properties

Each graph can display the values of any number of the active Controls and Results defined for the profile against an X axis of the number of iterations performed or any single active Control or Result defined for the profile.

The Independent variable field defines the X axis of the graph. If the X axis is an active Control or Result, select Label Iterations if you want to label the points on the graph by their iteration numbers. If the X axis is one of the active Results and the profile results have a DesiredValue property, you can select Show Desired Value to display its goal. Likewise, if the results have a Tolerance property, you can select Show Tolerance Band to display the tolerance for the Desired Value.

The active Controls defined for the profile are listed in a table. You can customize how they are displayed in the graph by directly clicking the property fields.

Property Field Description
Name This is the name of the element within the object.
Object Identifies the segment or component that the element belongs to.
Graph Value Select this option to include the value.
Line Color The color of line that will be used to represent the control's value.
Point Style The style of marker used to represent iteration points along the control's line.
Y Axis Select Y1 or Y2 to display a range of values suitable to the control on the left or right side, respectively, of the graph.

The active Results defined for the profile are also listed in a table. You can customize how they are displayed in the graph by directly clicking the property fields.

Property Field Description
Name This is the name of the Calculation Object selected as a result item.
Object Identifies the segment or component that the result item belongs to.
Graph Option Select this option to include the value.
Show Desired Value If the result has a DesiredValue property, select this option to display the result's desired value.
Line Color The color of line that will be used to represent the control's value.
Point Style The style of marker used to represent iteration points along the control's line.
Y Axis Select Y1 or Y2 to display a range of values suitable to the control on the left or right side, respectively, of the graph.
Show Tolerance Band If the result has a Tolerance property, select this option to display the tolerance for the result's desired value.

Click Generate Graph to produce the selected graph. To produce a report of the graph data, click Generate Report.

Scripting

The Scripting tab contains an embedded instance of the Scripting Tool. If you enter a script here, Astrogator will execute it before running the sequence each time Astrogator runs the sequence. You can use parameters that are defined in the Scripting Tool as controls by the profile.