AVS Modules						        animated string
Lawewnce Berkeley Laboratory                                       Feb 21, 1991

NAME
     animated string - send a stream of strings to a module's parameter port

SUMMARY
     Name	   animate string

     Type	   data	coroutine

     Inputs	   none

     Outputs	   string

     Parameters	   Name		   Type		  Default	 Min	   Max
		   StringFile	   browser	  none
		   sleep	   switch	  on
		   restart	   switch	  off

DESCRIPTION

     The animated string module automatically sends string parameters.
     Unlike the "animated integer" and "animated float" modules, which
     compute their respective output value, the animated string module
     requires the user to supply a file containing the strings which
     are sent to downstream modules.

     The "frame	rate" (speed) of the animation depends upon how	compute-
     intensive the downstream modules are.  With a compute-bound module
     like tracer, the animation	will be	quite slow. With simple	modules, it
     will more closely resemble	continuous motion.  There is no	direct way
     to	regulate the speed at which animated float executes.

     Before you	can connect animated string to the receiving module, you
     must make that receiving module's parameter port visible.	To make	a
     parameter port visible, call up the module's Editor Window	panel by
     pressing the middle or right mouse	button on the module icon dimple.
     Next, look	under the "Parameters" list to find the	parameter you want
     to	plug into.  Position the mouse cursor over that	parameter's button
     and press any mouse button.  When the Parameter Editor appears, click
     any mouse button on its "Port Visible" switch.  A black (string) parameter
     port should appear	on the module icon.  Connect this parameter port to
     the animated string module icon in the usual way.

     If	you bring up the receiving module's control panel, you can watch
     the parameter values change.

     animated string can be connected to multiple modules.

     The file format for the "StringFile" is simply one string per line.
     In other words, the strings are delimited by newline characters.
     There is no limit on the length of each individual string.

PARAMETERS

     StringFile
	  The name of the file containing the list of newline-delimited
	  strings to be sent, one-at-a-time, to downstream modules.

     sleep
	  A toggle switch that turns animated string on and off.  It is off
	  by default.  When you	turn off the stream of strings
	  by pressing sleep, some number of additional strings may
	  continue to flow through the network before animated string
	  actually goes	to sleep.

     restart
	  A toggle switch which will cause the Strings File to be
	  be "rewound", essentially restarting the module without
	  having to kill then reinstantiate the module.

OUTPUTS

     string
	  A string to be passed to the parameter port of some
	  receiving module.

EXAMPLE	

	The following network illustrates the use of animated string
	to set the file name parameter of the read field module.
	In this network, a new datafile is read in after each 
	time the network executes.

        ANIMATED STRING
            |
	READ FIELD
            |
        ISOSURFACE
            |
        RENDER GEOMETRY
            |
       DISPLAY PIXMAP


RELATED	MODULES
     Modules that can process animated string output:

	  any module with a string parameter (typically data file
	  reading modules).

     See also animate integer and animated float.

AVS Modules						        animated string
Lawewnce Berkeley Laboratory                                       Feb 21, 1991