As a result, VIS uses the function keys F5, F6, F7, and F8 to quickly jump you to those modes so the mouse can do most of the work. These modes can also set using the mode buttons on the toolbar, or by selecting a particular function (i.e. selecting the Line operation automatically puts you into Draw mode.)
The VIS modes are:
F5 - Movie Mode. Movie mode turns the mouse into a movie controller so that you can play the movie and set key frames - all with the mouse. When the mouse cursor is in the window, the left mouse button increments the movie backward a frame per click, the right mouse button increments the movie forward one frame per click, and a thumbwheel (if available on your mouse) will scroll backward an forward through the movie. When the mouse cursor is over the play bar along the bottom of the movie window, the left button jumps the movie to any clicked spot on the play bar, and the right button toggles key frames on and off.
F6 - Draw Mode. Draw mode turns the mouse into a drawing cursor. You can select the type of drawing you want to do (i.e. lines, circles, or infinite lines) by toggling through the drawing types. You can toggle by either pressing the spacebar or continuing to press F6. With the mouse in Draw mode, the C key will toggle the drawing color, and the V key will toggle the line width.
F7 - Measure Mode. Measure mode turns the mouse into the pointer used to indicate points for measuring angles and line lengths, defining paths, and setting up grids. You can select the type of measurement you want to make by toggling through the measurement types. You can toggle by either pressing the spacebar or continuing to press F7. Note that you are prompted for the point to pick in the lower left hand corner of the main VIS window.
F8 - Window Mode. Window mode allows you to zoom in and out and to pan when the movie image is bigger than the window size. With the mouse in Window mode, you toggle the mouse between zoom, pan up/down, and pan left/right by pressing the spacebar or continuing to press F8. With the mouse in zoom mode (the cursor looks like a magnifying glass), you can make the image bigger by clicking the left mouse button and make it smaller by clicking the right mouse button. In zoom, a mouse thumbwheel will scroll the image right/left.
VIS can be used in Normal mode or Full Screen mode. With these two modes, you can set up two distinct screen configurations that you can quickly switch between by pressing the F12 key as a toggle between Normal and Full Screen.
The controls and menus that show in each mode are set under the File/Setup menu under the Screen tab. Typically, you would set-up Normal mode to show any menus and toolbars that you commonly use and configure the Full Screen mode with a minimum of toolbars and system interface. Full Screen mode can be used to focus the students attention on the skill being performed and your instruction.
In Full Screen mode, you interact with VIS from the keyboard using pre-programmed shortcut keys and the mouse. Although VIS has many features, you typically use only few functions and can easily learn the shortcuts once you have a routing. You can return to full menu functionality with just a keystroke by pressing the F12 key to toggle back to the Normal screen.
