3D Graphics Properties - Vector

On this properties page, you can control the display of geometric elements related to:

the Earth or another central body in the selected 3D Graphics window
the selected object in the Object Browser

Depending on the object or window for which Vector properties are being defined, you will see tabs for one or more of the following geometric elements available for display:

Angles

Axes

Points

Vectors

Planes

Each of the tabs has the following general display properties.

Property	Description
Name	This is a read-only name of a specific element type (e.g., Sun Vector, Body Axes) of a given geometric element.
Show	Select this check box to have a specific element type appear in the 3D Graphics window.
Color	Choose the color for the element type.

Element-specific display options

Use these options to further define the display of geometric element types in the 3D Graphics window. To edit the properties of a geometric element type, select it and select its Show check box. The properties for the selected element appear underneath and to the right of the element types table.

Option	Description	Available for...
Display Times	Click this to access the Vector Geometry Components Display Times window. This window enables you to control the time periods when geometric elements appear.	All elements
Show RA-Dec	Select this check box to show the right-ascension (RA) and declination (Dec) values for the selected vector, where RA specifies the dihedral angle about the Z axis from the X axis to the vector and Dec specifies the angle from the vector to the X-Y plane, positive toward the +Z axis. The X, Y, and Z axes refer to the Axes associated with this vector as specified in this topic (see Axes/System in this table). The X-Y plane refers to the X-Y quadrant of the selected Axes type. You can choose any axes in the Vector Geometry Tool, with the default being Body Axes. Select a unit from the drop-down menu.	Vectors
Show Magnitude	If you select this check box, the magnitude value appears on the selected geometric element. Select a unit from the drop-down menu.	Vectors
Show Label	Select this check box to have a text label appear with the selected geometric element.	All elements
Axes / System	Click to access the Reference Axes/System Selection dialog box, in which you can choose the axes/system that defines the coordinate frame to which the display options are applied.	Axes, Points, Vectors
Draw at Central Body/Object	Select this check box to have STK draw the element at the central body or selected object. This is only available for geometric elements relating to an object.	All elements
Draw at point	Select this check box to have STK draw at a point. Click to access the Select Origin Point dialog box, in which you can choose the point at which STK will draw the element. When you select this option, STK ignores Level of Detail (LOD) values.	Axes, Vectors
Thickness	Specify the thickness of the element lines.	Axes, Vectors
Show axis labels	Select this check box to have STK display the label for each axis.	Planes
Size	Specify the display size of the selected element.	Points, Planes
Translucent plane	Select this check box to have the plane be transparent at the percentage you set using the slider or text box, where 100 percent is completely invisible. If you leave the check box clear, the plane will be opaque.	Planes
Show Distance	Select this check box to have STK show the distance of a point from the axes' origin. You can select the units.	Points
Show Cartesian	Select this check box to have STK display the cartesian orbital values for the selected point.	Points
Show Angle Value	Select this check box to have STK display the value of the angle in the units you choose.	Angles
Show dihedral angle supporting arcs	Select this check box to have STK display the supporting arcs for a dihedral angle.	Angles (if dihedral)
Use true scale	Select this check box to have STK display vectors at their true length.	Vectors (if in distance units)
Trajectory	Choose one of the following graphics to represent the trajectory of the point over time. Point. Displays a point at the current animation time. Trace. Displays a sampled trajectory of a point. This sampled trajectory displays where the point is over time without animating the scenario. Line. Displays a line connecting all sampled points in the trajectory and displays lines from each sampled point in the trajectory to the center of the reference coordinate system in which the trajectory is computed.	Points

Persistence

Use the options in this area to control the way in which geometric elements appear in the 3D Graphics window as animation time elapses and the position of those elements change. These options are available for Axes and Vectors.

Option	Description
Show	Select this check box to have STK successively display geometric elements over the specified duration.
Fade	If you select this check box, earlier occurrences of a geometric element display fade over time so that it is drawn as completely filled at the most recent animation time and fades as the animation moves forward.
Duration	Specify the length of time during which the geometric element is visible.
Connect	Choose the method that STK will use for connecting geometric elements. Sweep - A continuous band of color represents the path of the element. Line - A line is drawn at every time step representing the position of the element. Trace - A single-line arc represents the path of the element.

Plane Grid

For Planes, the default is to have no grid. If you want a grid, you can select the check box for either a rectangular grid or a circular grid. If you select to display a grid, you can also specify the spacing between grid points.

Adding and deleting element types

If you do not see an element type you want for a certain element tab, click Add to add that type to the list of available types for that tab. If you want to remove a specific type from one of the lists, select it and click Delete.

Common Options

STK applies certain options to all geometric elements; you cannot set these individually.

Component Size

In this area, you can set the size of geometric elements in the 3D Graphics window. The options available for sizing geometric elements relating to certain objects are slightly different than those available for geometric elements related to the Earth or other central bodies. If the geometric elements are related to the Earth or other central bodies, Scale is the only option available. If the geometric elements are related to an object, additional options may be available.

This setting has no effect on the display size of B-Planes.

Option	Description
Scale to Attitude Sphere	If you select this check box, STK scales the size of the vector to correspond to the size of the attitude sphere.
Scale Relative to Model	If you select this check box, the vector scale is tied to the model scale. This means that if you change the value of the model scale, STK automatically updates the value of the vector scale with a value proportionate to the model scale value. The size of the vector will go up and down as you increase and decrease the size of the model. You can still change the value of the vector scale using the slider or the textbox. This is only available for vectors relating to objects. If you do not select this option, you can use Scale to set the size of the vectors independent of the model scale.

Option

Description

Scale to Attitude Sphere

If you select this check box, STK scales the size of the vector to correspond to the size of the attitude sphere.

Scale Relative to Model

If you select this check box, the vector scale is tied to the model scale. This means that if you change the value of the model scale, STK automatically updates the value of the vector scale with a value proportionate to the model scale value. The size of the vector will go up and down as you increase and decrease the size of the model. You can still change the value of the vector scale using the slider or the textbox. This is only available for vectors relating to objects.

If you do not select this option, you can use Scale to set the size of the vectors independent of the model scale.

Angle Size

Use the text box or slider to set the scale of angles relative to vectors in the 3D Graphics window. The scale is linear. The angle size is multiplied by the vector scale. For example, if you set the angle size to 1, the angle will be the same size as the vector. If you set the angle size to 2, the angle size will be twice the size of the vector.