> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://wiki.inels.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://wiki.inels.com/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/the-idm3-main-window.md). # The iDM3 main window *Part 1 — Understand the system.* *** You do not need to memorise this chapter. Read it once so the tutorials make sense, then come back when you cannot find something. *** ## The layout iDM3 uses a **ribbon,** the same style as Microsoft Office. There are three separate places things live, and beginners often confuse them: ``` ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ [☰] Project │ Controls │ Functions │ Managers ← RIBBON TABS │ ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ [Set] [Device manager] [Add floor] [Edit] [Delete] ← ribbon buttons│ │ for the selected tab │ ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ │ │ THE WORKSPACE — your floor plan and devices │ │ │ │ │ ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Design │ Groups │ Function │ Simulation ← WORKSPACE TABS │ ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Information console — timestamped events Connected │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ [☰] = the application menu button, top-left. File operations live here. ```
| Part | What it is for | | -------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Application menu** `[☰]` | Opening, saving, and uploading projects; program-wide settings | | **Ribbon tabs** | *Tools* — grouped by what you are doing | | **Workspace tabs** | *Modes* — how the workspace behaves and what you can click | | **Information console** | A running log of what iDM3 just did | The distinction that matters: **ribbon tabs change the buttons; workspace tabs change the workspace.** They are independent of each other. *** ## The application menu `[☰]` Click the button in the top-left corner. Everything to do with the project as a *file* is here.
| Item | What it does | | ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------ | | **New Project** | An empty project | | **New project from default template** | A new project based on the factory default | | **New project from user default template** | A new project based on *your* saved default | | **Open** | Open an existing `.elp` file | | **Save** | Save to the same file | | **Save as** | Save under a new name | | **Export IMM** | Export for the iNELS Multimedia / visualisation system | | **Load from central unit** | **Download** the project currently running on the CU | | **Save to central unit** | **Upload** your project to the CU and make it live | | **Download Unit Firmware** | Fetch unit firmware | | **CU configuration** | Network, time, cloud and MQTT settings on the CU | | **Modules** | Optional program modules | | **Settings** | Program settings — language, connection, appearance | | **Prefernces** | Project resource counts and limits | | **About** | Version and registration | | **Close iDM3** | Exit | The menu also lists **Recent projects** for quick reopening. > **Save and Save to central unit are two different things.** **Save** writes the `.elp` on your PC. **Save to central unit** uploads it to the CU. Saving on your PC changes nothing in the building until you upload. This trips up almost every new user once. > **Note the spelling.** The menu really does read *"Prefernces"* in this version. It is a typo in the software, not in this manual. *** ## The ribbon tabs ### Project Everything about the project as a whole. | Group | Buttons | | ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Informations** | **Set** — project name, version, author · **Device manager** — add and address units · **Save as default** | | **Floors** | **Add floor** · **Edit floor** · **Delete floor** | | *(uploading)* | **Load from central unit** · **Save to central unit** · **Compile error** | **Device manager** is the button you will use most in the early stages — it is where units get added ([Chapter 16](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/idm3-device-manager-reference.md)). **Compile error** lights up when iDM3 cannot turn your project into something the CU can run. Click it to see what is wrong. See [Chapter 30](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/troubleshooting-idm3.md). ### Controls Not buttons — a **gallery of control icons that you drag onto the floor plan**. This is how devices get onto your plans in the first place. Right-click the **Controls** tab header to choose which category of controls the gallery shows.
> **Controls is only available on the Design and Groups workspace tabs.** Switch the workspace to **Function** or **Simulation** and the Controls tab greys out — there is nothing to place in those modes. If the tab looks dead, check which workspace tab you are on. ### Functions Where you **create the rules**. This is the tab you will live in.
| Button | What it does | | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Add connection** | Toggle on, then click an actor and a consumer to create a **wire** | | **Use selected macro** | When ticked, new wires get the selected macro applied | | **Wire manager** | Every wire in the project, in one list | | **Function manager** | Reusable user-defined functions | | **Macro manager** | Saved bundles of functions | | **Function block manager** | Function-block templates | > **"Add connection" is how you make a wire.** It is a toggle: click it, then click the actor, then click the consumer. It stays on until you click it again. ### Managers Six buttons, and this is the complete list in version 3.5.3:
| Button | Chapter | | ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Group manager** | [8](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/tutorial-groups-and-scenes.md) | | **System manager** | [20](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/idm3-system-manager-reference.md) | | **Persons manager** | [19](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/idm3-managers-reference.md) | | **Communication centrum** | [13](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/tutorial-alarms-and-sms-messaging.md) | | **Dali manager** | [21](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/idm3-dali-manager-reference.md) | | **Monitor** | [26](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/idm3-simulation-and-monitor.md) | > **Where are the other managers?** Older documentation mentions a *Program manager*, *Alarm manager*, *Message manager*, *Periodic action manager*, *User manager* and *Heat cool program manager* as separate buttons. **They are not separate buttons in 3.5.3.** Those features moved inside **System manager** — time programs live on its *System programs* tab, heating on its *Heat/Cool areas* tab, and so on. If you are following older material and cannot find a button, this is why. *** ## The workspace tabs These four change what the workspace *is*. | Tab | What you do here | | -------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Design** | Lay out the building — floor plans, and devices placed on them | | **Groups** | Build and see groups of consumers | | **Function** | See and edit the wires — the rules | | **Simulation** | Try the logic without hardware | **Simulation** deserves a mention now: it lets you click a button on the plan and watch what your rules do, with no central unit and no wiring. It will not catch every problem, but it catches logic mistakes cheaply. See [Chapter 26](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/idm3-simulation-and-monitor.md). *** ## Floors Above the workspace you will find one tab per **floor**. A floor is a plan of part of the building — a storey, a flat, a zone — with a background image and your devices arranged on it. Floors are organisational, not electrical. Putting a device on the "First floor" plan changes nothing about how it works; it changes how easily you can find it six months later. On a project with 200 devices, that matters more than it sounds. Add, rename and delete floors from the **Project** ribbon tab. See [Chapter 17](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/idm3-floors-and-the-design-tab.md). *** ## The information console The strip along the bottom logs what iDM3 is doing, each entry timestamped: connections, uploads, errors. When an operation seems to have done nothing, look here first. At the right-hand end is the **connection state**: | State | Meaning | | ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | | `Disconnected` | Not connected to a central unit | | `Connecting` | Trying | | `Connected` | Connected — you can upload and monitor | | `Disconnecting` | Closing the connection | | `BadPassword` | Wrong CU password | | `UpdateRequired` | The CU firmware is too old for this version of iDM3 | | `Error` | The connection failed | *** ## Finding things fast | I want to… | Go to | | ----------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Add a unit | **Project** → Device manager | | Put a device on a floor plan | **Design** workspace tab → **Controls** ribbon tab → drag an icon out | | Define a reusable function | **Functions** → Function manager | | Make a button do something | **Functions** → Add connection, then Wire manager | | See every rule I have made | **Functions** → Wire manager | | Control several lights at once | **Managers** → Group manager | | Set up heating | **Managers** → System manager → Heat/Cool areas | | Make something happen at a set time | **Managers** → System manager → System programs | | Test without hardware | **Simulation** workspace tab | | Watch live values | **Managers** → Monitor | | Send it to the central unit | `[☰]` → Save to central unit | | Change the CU's IP address | `[☰]` → CU configuration | | Change iDM3's language | `[☰]` → Settings | The complete map of every menu item and button is in [Appendix C](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/idm3-menu-and-button-reference.md). *** **Next:** [Chapter 5 — Tutorial 1: your first working project](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/tutorial-your-first-idm3-project.md). Time to build something. *** ### Also on this wiki * [Main Screen Components](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/introduction-to-the-idm-inels-design-manager/main-screen-components.md)