Diamond Version 5 User Manual: Working with Diamond

Recent Pictures

Access the latest viewed and/or edited structure pictures

- Applies to pictures from current as well as earlier Diamond sessions.
- "Recent pictures" docking window: contains latest edited structure pictures of open document as well as of recently closed documents (files).
- "View/Last pictures": Access to latest edited pictures of current open document (also available from toolbar).
- Direct access (toolbar button) to latest edited picture, so you can swap between two pictures of interest.
- Clear Recent Pictures Buffer command to delete all recent picture informations.

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To demonstrate the "Recent Pictures" facilities, we open a sample file containing multiple pictures: "PCD-VxOy.diamdoc". This file was exported from an answer set in Pearson's Crystal Data (PCD) containing 20 binary V-O compounds and post-processed and saved with Diamond version 3.2. When we open that file -- and guess you have worked with file "Na3PS4-10-pictures.diamdoc" in a previous Diamond session, then the screen may look like this:

Note: Screenshots are made with version 4 and using tabs. For tabs read the article "Side-by-side Structure Picture Editing".

Screenshot of Diamond with 'PCD-VxOy.diamdoc' opened and 'Recent Pictures' docking window open (Full size image ...)

If your "Recent Pictures" docking window is not visible, it may be hidden or collapsed at the left side of the Diamond application window (so that only the title in vertical text is visible). To show the "Recent Pictures" docking window, run the "Recent Pictures" command from the "View" menu. Maybe that the docking window just floats over the left part of the Diamond screen, that means covering left parts of structure table and pictures view. Then use the pin symbol in the docking window's title bar to dock ("pin") the docking window at the left side of the Diamond application window. Structure table and pictures view automatically adjust to the right, so the docking window not longer covers these views.

'Recent Pictures' docking window hovering over (and covering) left parts of structure table and pictures view

"Picture 1" of #1252235 (VO2 in P4/ncc) is the last edited structure picture (when the document was saved), so at the beginning row for data set "1252235" is highlighted in the structure table, and the thumbnail of "1252235::Picture 1" appears at the top of the recent pictures list. Below (in this example) are the latest edited or viewed structure pictures: "Unit cell with PO4 polyhdra" and "Super cell 2x2x2 [...]" from "Na3PS4-10-pictures.diamdoc". These thumbnails show a different frame to indicate that the document is not open. And the frame color goes from green (for recently used pictures) to yellow-brownish for older pictures.

When you now -- in that order -- click on the rows for PCD data sets #1252236, #1252234, #1250679, and #1250180 (so now "Picture 1" of #1250180, VO2 in C12/m1 is in picture edit view), the screen may look like this:

To easily return to a recently viewed/edited picture, you can also use the sub-menu "Back To Picture" from the "View" menu or the drop-down menu from the main toolbar, as in the following screenshot. Please note: Both "Back To Picture" and drop-down menu only show the pictures viewed/edited during the current Diamond session.

To switch easily between two pictures back and forth, directly click on the clock symbol with the green arrow left of the drop-down menu button. This feature can be used as a kind of flip-flop change between two important pictures in your multiple picture document.

Clear Recent Pictures Buffer
The Clear Recent Pictures Buffer command is available in the context menu of the "Recent Pictures" docking window and can be used to delete all recent picture informations. Note that this only affects the recent picture informations.
When you clear all recent picture informations, all DAT files and associated BMP files will be deleted from the folder mentioned under note 1. This does not affect the referenced document files, which means none of the document files will be deleted nor will any of the referenced "recent" pictures be removed from their document files.
Note: You cannot make this clearing of the recent picture buffer "undone", the command Edit -> Undo (main menu) does not work for the Clear Recent Pictures Buffer command. The deleted DAT and BMP files cannot be restored in this way.

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