VO Primitive

Define and modify programmable graphics primitives.

Syntax

VO <ScenarioPath> Primitive {Add | Modify | Delete | Import | Export} {PrimitiveID} [Type {PrimitiveType}] ({PrimitiveOption} <Value>)...

Related Commands

• VO_R Primitive

Description

Each primitive must be defined by a unique ID number. This number can be negative, 0, or positive. No two primitives can share the same ID. The {PrimitiveID} can be specified by one of the following methods:

When adding a primitive use the VO_R Primitive command to request that STK generate, and return, a unique ID.

Valid values for {PrimitiveType} are as follows:

Note: The Type {PrimitiveType} is required if the action is Add.

Note: Options that define a primitive are required if action is Add.

The following tables describe the {PrimitiveOption} <Value> pairs are used to define or modify any type of primitive.

Import and Export

These options can be used to create a file containing the Primitives defined in the current scenario and then loading those primitives into another Scenario.

The format for these options is: VO <ScenarioPath> Primitive {Import | Export} "<FilePath>"

When Exporting, the specified directory must already exist. If the file exists it will be overwritten, otherwise it will be created.

Note: When importing, please be aware of the following issues:

• Primitives with duplicate IDs will not be imported.
• If an imported primitive is attached to a BodyFrame and the body frame object does not exist in the scenario then the primitive will not be displayed.
• If an imported primitive includes time intervals and the time intervals are outside the scenario's analysis period then the primitive will not be displayed.

The following are examples using the Import and Export options.

VO * Primitive Export "C:\Documents and Settings\My Documents\STK 9\Prims6509.txt"

VO * Primitive Import "C:\Documents and Settings\My Documents\STK 9\Prims6509.txt"

Common Primitive Options

The following options are valid for all primitive types (except as noted).

Line Primitive Options

The Line primitive is defined using Points. Options available for Line {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

Example

Draw a green arrow at the surface for Aircraft airArrow:

VO * Primitive Add ID 20 Type Line Bodyframe Aircraft/airArrow Color Green LineWidth 2 Points 8 XYSurface -1500 -500 1000 -500 1000 -1500 2000 0 1000 1500 1000 500 -1500 500 -1500 -500

Arc Primitive Options

The Arc primitive is defined using Points. Options available for Arc {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

RhumbLine Primitive Options

The RhumbLine primitive is defined using Points. Options available for RhumbLine {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

Polygon Primitive Options

The Polygon primitive is defined using Points. Options available for Polygon {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

Note: The Polygon primitive must have at least three points defined.

ArcPolygon Primitive Options

The ArcPolygon primitive is defined using Points. Options available for ArcPolygon {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

Note: The ArcPolygon primitive must have at least three points defined.

Example

Add an ArcPolygon primitive:

VO * Primitive Add ID 10 Type ArcPolygon Points 4 LL 50 0 60 0 60 10 50 10 BoundaryType RhumbLine LineStyle Dotted

SurfacePolygon Primitive Options

The SurfacePolygon primitive is defined using Points, and conforms to terrain. Options available for SurfacePolygon {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

Note: The BodyFrame option is not valid for the SurfacePolygon primitive type.

Note: The SurfacePolygon primitive must have at least three points defined.

Example

Add a SurfacePolygon primitive:

VO * Primitive Add ID 12 Type SurfacePolygon Points 4 LL 50 0 60 0 60 10 50 10 LineWidth 2

Model Primitive Options

The Model primitive is defined by a single Position and model Filename. Options available for Model {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

Example

Show the 747 airplane model under Satellite1:

VO * Primitive Add ID 22 Type Model Bodyframe Satellite/Satellite1 Position XYZ 0 0 120000 ScaleLog 3 FileName "c:\747.mdl" YPR 0 0 30

Ellipse Primitive Options

The Ellipse primitive is defined by a Center point, MajorAxis, MinorAxis and Bearing. Options available for Ellipse {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

Example

Define an Ellipse primitive:

VO * Primitive Add ID 1 Type Ellipse Center LLA 40 -100 75000 MajorAxis 55000 MinorAxis 40000 Bearing 30 Show On Color green

SurfaceEllipse Primitive Options

The SurfaceEllipse primitive is defined by a Center point, MajorAxis, MinorAxis and Bearing and conforms to terrain. Options available for SurfaceEllipse {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

Note: The BodyFrame option is not valid for the SurfaceEllipse primitive type.

Example

Define a SurfaceEllipse primitive:

VO * Primitive Add ID 1 Type SurfaceEllipse Center LL 40 -100 MajorAxis 55000 MinorAxis 40000 Bearing 30 Show On Color green

Circle Primitive Options

The Circle primitive is defined by a Center point and Radius. Options available for Circle {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

Example

Define a Circle primitive:

VO * Primitive Add ID 1 Type Circle Center LL 40 -80 Radius 75000

SurfaceCircle Primitive Options

The SurfaceCircle primitive is defined by a Center point and Radius and conforms to terrain. Options available for SurfaceCircle {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

Note: The BodyFrame option is not valid for the SurfaceCircle primitive type.

Example

Define a SurfaceCircle primitive:

VO * Primitive Add ID 1 Type SurfaceCircle Center LL 40 -80 Radius 75000

Rectangle Primitive Options

The Rectangle primitive is defined by a Center point, Length, Width and Bearing. Options available for Rectangle {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

Example

Define a Rectangle primitive:

VO * Primitive Add ID 3 Type Rectangle ShowLine On ShowPoints On Color Red Translucency 40 Length 250000 Width 85000 Bearing 90 Center XYSurface 95000 0 Bodyframe "Aircraft/Aircraft1"

SurfaceRectangle Primitive Options

The SurfaceRectangle primitive is defined by a Center point, Length, Width and Bearing and conforms to terrain. Options available for SurfaceRectangle {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

Note: The BodyFrame option is not valid for the SurfaceRectangle primitive type.

Example

Define a SurfaceRectangle primitive:

VO * Primitive Add ID 3 Type SurfaceRectangle ShowLine On Color Red Translucency 40 Length 100000 Width 10000 Bearing 30 Center LL 44 -120

Sector Primitive Options

The Sector primitive is defined by a Center point, InnerRadius, OuterRadius, Bearing and EndBearing. Options available for Sector {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

Example

Define a Sector primitive:

VO * Primitive Add ID 71 Type Sector Bodyframe "Aircraft/Aircraft2" Center XYZ 0 0 0 InnerRadius 0 OuterRadius 2500 Bearing 45 EndBearing 90

SurfaceSector Primitive Options

The SurfaceSector primitive is defined by a Center point, InnerRadius, OuterRadius, Bearing and EndBearing and conforms to terrain. Options available for SurfaceSector {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

Note: The BodyFrame option is not valid for the SurfaceSector primitive type.

Example

Define a SurfaceSector primitive:

VO * Primitive Add ID 71 Type SurfaceSector Center LL 44 -120 InnerRadius 10000 OuterRadius 250000 Bearing 45 EndBearing 90

Corridor Primitive Options

The Corridor primitive is defined using Points and a Width. Options available for Corridor {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

Example

Add a Corridor primitive to the scenario:

VO * Primitive Add ID 1 Type Corridor Points 3 LL 40 -100 45 -95 40 -90 Width 35000 BoundaryType RhumbLine

Wall Primitive Options

The Wall primitive is defined using an existing primitive (SrcPrimID). Options available for Wall {PrimitiveType} are described in the following table.

See also Common Primitive options above.

Note: The BodyFrame option is not valid for the Wall primitive type.

Example

Define a Circle primitive and define a Wall on that Circle, then delete the original Circle primitive:

VO * Primitive Add ID 1 Type Circle Center LL 40 -80 Radius 75000

VO * Primitive Add ID 2 Type Wall SrcPrimID 1 TopAlt 40000 BotAlt 20000

Point Type Options

If the primitive is not attached to a BodyFrame the following {PointType} options are valid:

If the primitive is attached to a BodyFrame the following {PointType} options are valid:

Technical Notes for Primitives on Terrain

This information is in regard to the DrawType OnTerrain option.

LineStyle is ignored when a primitive is on terrain.

Picking is not supported when a primitive is on terrain.

If ShowPoints is on and the primitive is on terrain, the points are not drawn on terrain.

Using the OnTerrain DrawType is not as fast as Surface so it is only recommended to use OnTerrain when terrain is present.

It is only recommended to use the Line primitive when the end points are within a degree of each other. If it does not display correctly, use an Arc primitive instead. Do not set the Granularity for Arc or RhumbLine above their default for proper behavior.

Notes on Debugging

If a VO * Primitive command fails (due to invalid syntax, invalid primitive ID, etc), a NACK is returned. By default, primitive debugging is turned off. To get extended debugging information, enable primitive debugging with the following command:

VO * Primitive Debug On

When debugging is enabled and a VO * Primitive command NACKs, debugging information is displayed in the message viewer (In STK, go to View -> Message Viewer). This information will help you pinpoint what is wrong with the command. To disable primitive debugging use:

VO * Primitive Debug Off

Note that the debugging state is not saved with the scenario, so it needs to be turned on before it is used.

Notes on Performance

If several VO * Primitive commands are sent in a row, use batch graphics to avoid redrawing between each command. See BatchGraphics.

Since line primitives are line strips, it is better to create one line with several points than several lines with only two points each.

Primitives drawn in fixed lat lon space tend to be the fastest, while primitives attached to an object, drawn as great arcs on the surface, tend to be the slowest.

Avoid drawing attached line primitives as great arc. If the line is short enough a great arc isn't needed.

If a primitive is no longer needed, delete it using VO * Primitive Delete, instead of just hiding it with VO * Modify ... Show Off.

Identifying Primitives

The ID of a primitive can be determined using asynchronous 3D picking. When asynchronous 3D picking is enabled, double clicking on a primitive will return a string, via Connect, that includes the primitive ID. See Async3DPick for more information.

Example

The following series of commands will create two line primitives, add intervals to both, and modify the intervals to change the line color and width over time:

Define the first primitive:

VO * Primitive Add ID 40 Type Line Bodyframe Aircraft/airGA Points 2 XYZ -30000 -15000 5000 -30000 15000 5000

Define the second primitive:

VO * Primitive Add ID 41 Type Line Bodyframe Aircraft/airGA Points 2 XYZ -25000 -17000 3400 -25000 17000 3400

Modify both primitives to draw using the great arc:

VO * Primitive Modify StartID 40 EndID 41 ShowPoints On Color Red DrawType GreatArc GreatArcInc .1

Add 3 intervals to both primitives:

VO * Primitive Modify StartID 40 EndID 41 AddIntervals 3 "1 Jun 2004 12:00:00" "1 Jun 2004 12:10:00" "1 Jun 2004 12:10:00" "1 Jun 2004 12:20:00" "1 Jun 2004 12:20:00" "1 Jun 2004 12:30:00"

Modify the primitives to be red, with a width of 1 during the first interval:

VO * Primitive Modify StartID 40 EndID 41 ModifyInterval "1 Jun 2004 12:00:00" "1 Jun 2004 12:10:00" Color Red LineWidth 1

Modify the primitives to be white, with a width of 2 during the second interval:

VO * Primitive Modify StartID 40 EndID 41 ModifyInterval "1 Jun 2004 12:10:00" "1 Jun 2004 12:20:00" Color White LineWidth 2

Modify the primitives to be blue, with a width of 3 during the third interval:

VO * Primitive Modify StartID 40 EndID 41 ModifyInterval "1 Jun 2004 12:20:00" "1 Jun 2004 12:30:00" Color Blue LineWidth 3

Example

Define a Circle primitive and define a Wall on that Circle, then delete the original Circle primitive:

VO * Primitive Add ID 1 Type Circle Center LL 40 -80 Radius 75000

VO * Primitive Add ID 2 Type Wall SrcPrimID 1 TopAlt 40000 BotAlt 20000

VO * Primitive Delete ID 1

ReturnMessage

If activated, Connect returns an acknowledgement message.

Group Membership

This command belongs to the following group(s):

VO

VO Window

Version

9.2.2

STK Programming Interface 11.0.1