[APBeta] Observation Sessions

[Steve Barkes]

Ok I¹ve played with this some more.  The Show Observation Database
functionality gives me what I would expect when looking at previous
sessions.

But adding an observation after the fact is still too cumbersome.  The
Calendar/Clock interface doesn¹t work well for entering items from several
weeks or months ago.

Here are some ways it might could work:

How about, from the Observation tab, if you right-click on an object in the
Object list you get a menu item like Add Observation to Session...  Clicking
this brings up a list of sessions which you can select form and populates
the time and general session info.

Or, allow a Fix Date to a Session Time..., so all new observations default
to the time of the desired session.

Or... Add a + to the observations list in the Observation Database Window
that would close the Observation Database Window, update the general
observing session data, and allow you to click on an object from the Object
list to create a new observations.

Or something else if it works better ;-)

Steve


On 6/22/09 7:52 AM, "Paul Rodman" <paul at ilanga.com> wrote:

> 
> On Jun 17, 2009, at 9:14 AM, Steve Barkes wrote:
> 
>>   Ok, I guess I¹m confused.  I¹m struggling to try and enter multiple
>> observations for a session that I had back in December of last year.
>>  
>>   If I right-click on an object from the observation tab, the Make
>> Observation option is always greyed out.  It works from the Objects tab.
> 
> Sounds like a bug.
> 
>> If I create an observation from the Observation menu, or by clicking + in
>> Observations list, I have no way to select what session to put the
>> observation in.  I can only select the ³Currently Open Session² which makes
>> no sense in that It always has the current date/time.  If the session is
>> currently open, I should be able to close it, or change to an existing
>> session.  The other options are  create a ³New Session² which I don¹t want to
>> do, and the ³Recent Sessions² is always blank and greyed out.  What about a
>> All Sessions in addition to Recent Sessions?
> 
> Check the Observation preferences. At the top-left is the "New Observation
> Date/Time Source" option. I assume you have that set to "Computer". This
> setting assumes you are logging at the telescope and defaults the date/time to
> the current date/time. You probably want the "Ask user" setting, which will
> always ask for a date/time before deciding what session to add the observation
> to.
> 
>> It appears the only way to move an observation into a particular session is
>> to edit the date and time of the observation.  Then I get an option to add it
>> to an older session.  But this is way too cumbersome, especially if I¹m
>> adding a dozen observations.
>>  
>>  Shouldn¹t there be a way to Set the current session, possibly to a session
>> date/time in the past, and then have all new observations go into that
>> session until I change it, or create a new one?
> 
> See below - all you need to do is change the date/time and the session
> management is automatic.
> 
>> Shouldn¹t I be able to see a list of all my sessions? And shouldn¹t it be
>> clear looking at the interface that the correct session has been selected?
>> How do I see a list of all objects associated with a particular session?
> 
> There is no connection between an observation and a session. A session is
> defined as a start and end date/time, and an observation has a date/time. If
> the observation date time falls in the session date/time range it is assumed
> to be part of that session. It is done that way to make session management
> largely automatic.
> 
> However, there are some problems in the current implementation, e.g you can't
> have overlapping sessions (e.g. multiple observers using the same installation
> of AP, or a single observer at multiple sites (e.g. multiple remote telescopes
> being used simultaneously). I'll be looking at fixing these problems.
> 
> Paul R.
> 
> 
> 
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