2.2 Main session window

This window contains a list of all participating users together with their status and host address. The status field indicates if the particular user is currently logging into the session or not. This field displays either logged in or offline depending on the user's status.

  

Figure 2.2: The main session window.

The following commands may be selected from the main window's menu system:

• Load image: Loads a new image from the user's local file system. The file name is entered or selected via a file dialog box. The image file formats GIF, JPG and PNG are supported. The loaded image will be inserted into the session and displayed in an image window.

• Load Image from URL: This is another way to insert an image into the session. In this case, the image can be retrieved from the World Wide Web instead of the users file system. The user is asked to enter the URL of the image, which is then loaded and displayed in a new image window. This function supports only downloading of GIF and JPEG images.

• Store Session: This function can be used to archive the current state of the session. The session, including all its shared objects, will be stored on the server. The user is asked for a name under which the session is stored.

• Restore Session: An earlier stored session can be reloaded with this function. The desired session must be selected from a list box, which displays all sessions stored on the server. Note that all currently existing session elements will be deleted and replaced by the new session. This function can only be executed by super users and the session creator.

• Save session local: This is similar to the Store Session function, except that it stores the session onto the local file system of the user. The file name under which the session is saved has to be specified via a file selector dialog. This function is executable by all users and can be used to save a session even if the connection to the server has been lost or if the server machine has crashed. The saved session can be added to a set of archived sessions on the server by an administrator. This way, the session can be recovered and continued.

• Close Session: This command terminates the running session. The session will not be carried on the server anymore from that moment on. Nevertheless, clients which are currently connected to this session continue to see and use the session, but it is not possible for users to interact with other session members any longer. The clients are from now on in offline mode. That means that users can still work with images as well as load and save images, but the performed activities are local and are not shared among the users. The session, as seen by users, is no longer synchronized. Only super users and the creator of the particular session are allowed to execute this function.

• Exit session: The user can leave the session by selecting this command. Once the user has left the session, the main window of all other users will indicate this by displaying offline in the users status field. The user can however still join the session again at a later time. All his rights will be restored, e.g. objects created by him will still belong to him, so the user can continue where he left off.