Focus, Selection and Navigation

Focused Record

The focus is the one row currently being inspected. Clicking a point, choosing a table row or using record navigation can update the focus.

Panels such as Record Browser, Image Viewer and Spectra can react to the same focus state through context.selection.

Selection Set

The active selection set contains a group of row identifiers from one dataset. It is commonly created with a box, lasso, table selection, filter or workflow.

The set can then be:

• inspected by selection-aware panels and tools;

• used as the input to an action;

• converted into a derived dataset;

• passed to review or active-learning workflows.

By default, creating a selection set also creates a selection.ids artifact describing that selection.

Why They are Separate

You may want to inspect one row inside a larger selected group. Changing focus does not clear the active selection set.

active selection = 250 rows
current focus    = one row

When a new selection set is created with the default focus policy, AstronomicAL preserves the existing focus if it is already inside that set; otherwise focus moves to the first selected row.

Navigation

Record navigation can step through the complete active dataset or through the active selection set. The application toolbar also lets the focused row be added to or removed from the active selection.

Clearing State

Clearing focus removes the currently inspected row. Clearing the selection set removes the group. These are separate operations and publish separate selection events.