Debrief User Documentation
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8.2. Viewing narrative data

8.2.1. Getting started

So, to have a go at working with narrative data, open Debrief and load your sample tracks: boat1.rep and boat2.rep from the Debrief directory. Also in the Debrief directory you should find your sample narrative data; narrative.rep. Have a quick look at this file in Notepad if you want to, then drag it into the current Debrief session to add it to your two tracks. Debrief won't show any immediate change since narrative data doesn't have a graphic representation.

8.2.2. Opening the narrative viewer

To view the narrative data, first you have to open its viewer. Start by opening up the Layer Manager using its icon on the Stepper Control.

From the Layer Manager you can see a new layer named "Narratives" which contains 19 narrative entries.

Figure 8-2. Narratives from the Layer Manager

To open the narrative viewer, double-click on the Narratives text.

The narrative viewer will now open

Figure 8-3. Viewing a narrative

8.2.3. Analysing narrative data

So, now that you have all of your data in Debrief, you will simulate its use in analysis. First of all, configure the Debrief time limits by pressing Auto Generate from the Tote panel.

Now switch to the narrative viewer, and double-click on the entry titled DISABLE SYSTEM DELTA. You will see the white rectangle on the plot jump to the time 120614. Now double-click on the entries either side, to see the plot highlight move backwards and forwards. The points where track CARPET changes colour should now become clear, we're using them to mark different sensor states.

Also have a play with changing the time format from ddHHmm to HHmm. The DTG column will now shrink, allowing more space for the Entry column. To show even more narrative entries, click on the First line only checkbox - only the first line of each entry is now shown.

To stop the narrative from following the current Tote time, clear the Follow time checkbox - this will leave the narrative at the current point irrespective of the Tote time. Initially this checkbox may not be visible, just widen the properties window as required to see it.

To give yourself a larger view of the narrative data, the narrative viewer can be "popped out" from Debrief. To do this, pick up the Narrative viewer panel at the very top of the dotted strip (the black square in the screenshot).

Figure 8-4. Resizing the narrative window

Now arrange the Debrief windows so that the narrative window is to the left of the screen, with Debrief itself to the right:

Figure 8-5. Re-arranging the Narrative windows

This layout enables us to simultaneously view both the narrative and the Tote. So, switch to the Tote panel in Debrief, then continue double-clicking on narrative entries - you will see both the Tote time and the calculated values updating after each click.

Alternatively experiment with stepping forwards and backwards through the Tote, you will see the "current" entry highlighted in the narrative viewer as you step through. Step forwards and backwards in large steps to see the most movement.