Color Palettes
Color palettes are library objects which are referred to when defining the appearance of the grid and of objects. In a color palette, single values and intervals of values are addressed to a certain color.
An independent color palette management enables to use different color palettes for the grid appearance and for the coloring of objects. Moreover, it is possible to assign individual color palettes to the four evaluation parameters and to the ground via the dialog Grid|Appearance.
Defining a new Color Palette
New color palettes are defined via the menu Tables|Libraries (local/ global)|Color Palettes. The handling of the table Color Palette occurs - as usually in CadnaA - via it’s context menu. A new color palette is defined by inserting a new line. Double-clicking into the new line opens the edit dialog Color palette.
Dialog Color Palette
Example
In this example a color palette shall be defined using progressive colors from 40 to 80 dB with a class width of 10 dB. The predefined settings for „Single Value“, „Interval“ and „Precision“ are kept.
- Enter a suitable Name and ID.
- Insert five new lines (for the level range from 40 to 80 dB, class width 10 dB) into the lower table, either via its context menu or by pressing INS key.
- Double click into the first row of this table.
Dialog Palette Entry
Via the dialog Palette Entry the color, the line type and the limiting value for each value range is defined.
- Select for the first value range a yellow color via the button „Color“. The line type (full line) is kept.
- Enter for „Value“ the lower limit of 40 for the range to be displayed.
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Move to the next column row by clicking the right-arrow button (>>) to enter the next value range.
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Select for the second value range a orange color via the button „Color“. The line type (full line) is kept.
- Enter for „Value“ the lower limit of 50 for the range to be displayed.
- Complete the definitions of the further ranges accordingly. Use different colors or the remaining level ranges (e.g. red, blue, black).
- When having defined the value range for 80 dB close the dialog Palette Entry.
Subsequently, CadnaA displays the resulting legend texts for single values and for intervals in the dialog Color Palette automatically. These legend definitions will be made use of when displaying grid legends. The single values refer to lines of equal sound level and the intervals to areas of equal sound level (see Defining Grid Legends).
Color palette with five value ranges
- Close the dialog Color Palette and the table Color Palette (local).
A color palette defined in this way can be selected as grid legend for an evaluation parameter (via menu Grid|Appearance, see Grid Appearance) or a color palette when coloring objects (via menu Options|Appearance, see Object Appearance).
Dialog options
Name/ID
Name and ID of a palette. 
gives access to the dialog Memo-Window
Option „Progressive Colors“
When this option is active, progressive colors are used for intermediate grid values based on the defined color classes resulting in a smooth color transition. Otherwise, only the defined colors are used. Thus, the setting for „Progressive Colors" is characteristic of the color palette itself.
Options „No Lower Limit“ & „No Upper Limit“
With this option is activated level below the lower limit or above the upper limit will be displayed as well.
Example
- Activate for the color palette in the preceding example the option „No Lower Limit“.
Subsequently, the lower limit of the first range in the table is changed from „40<= ... <50“ to „<50“.
- Activate the option „No Upper Limit“ in addition.
The upper limit of the last range in the table is changed from the empty status to „80<= ...“. An empty cell means that with the option „No Upper Limit“ deactivated this color will not be used at all, but is just required to define the upper limit of the pre-last range. When the option „No Upper Limit“ is activated, however, the color of the last range is used.
Value range (column „text interval)“ with activated options „No Lower Limit“ and „No Upper Limit“
Option „Interval Border to Lower Interval“
By the option „Interval Border to Lower Interval (lo < xxx <= hi)“ it is specified whether the lower or the upper range limit „val“ is included when selecting the option „VAL1 < … < VAL2“.
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Note
When the option „Interval Border to Lower Interval“ is activated, the resulting representation corresponds to the level range definition used in CadnaA until now. This former definition always included the upper limit of a level range.
Defining Grid Legends
In the "Text" section of the Library Color Palette dialog, the legend texts for single values and intervals are defined based on the input values for each range.
List Box „Single Value“
This list box is used to select which legend text is displayed for single values. The following options are available:
| Option | Remarks |
| (manual) | The value of the variable „text value“ in the definition table can be edited manually. The legend text for each row of the table can now be edited individually. |
| VAL | The entered value is displayed. |
| = VAL | The entered value with a preceding equal sign is displayed. |
| > VAL | The entered value with a preceding larger-than-sign is displayed. |
Example
Based on the preceding example four color palette definitions for lines of equal sound level are generated using the options as above. The result for the four resulting grid legends is displayed below.
Grid legends for single values
List Box „Intervals“
Select from list box which legend text shall be displayed for intervals. The following options are available:
| Option | Remarks |
| (manual) | The value of the variable „text interval“ in the definition table can be edited manually. The legend text for each row of the table can now be edited individually. |
| VAL1 < ... < VAL2 | The lower and the upper limit of each interval in conjunction with the smaller-than-sign is displayed. The settings for the options „No Lower Limit“ and „No Upper Limit“ determine whether the lower and the upper limits of the value range are included. |
| VAL1 ... VAL2 | The lower and the upper limit of each interval in conjunction with the periods is displayed. The settings for the options „No Lower Limit“ and „No Upper Limit“ determine whether the lower and the upper limits of the value range are included. |
| > VAL1 | The lower and the upper limit of each interval in conjunction with the larger-than-sign is displayed. The settings for the options „No Lower Limit“ and „No Upper Limit“ determine whether the lower and the upper limits of the value range are included. |
Example
Based on the preceding example four color palette definitions for areas of equal sound level are generated using the options as above. The result for the four resulting grid legends is displayed below.
Grid legends for intervals
Sub-Table
As conventional, table columns data can be modified using the context menu command Change Column.
Column „val“
The lower limit of a value range is entered in table column „val“. Alternatively, after a double-click into a column cell, the value can be entered on dialog Palette Entry.
Column „Auto“
The auto-scaling ensures that even in cases where the resulting grid values are hard to predict (e.g. with results from ObjectScan, or concentrations for air pollutants, or results from grid arithmetics) a suitable grid legend is displayed.
With the option „Auto“ set on the definition table (or via dialog Palette Entry, option „Auto“) the limiting values for the grid legend are generated automatically based on the value range on the grid. The margin between the value ranges (val) depends on the number of ranges and on the maximum and minimum value of the grid. Those values will be updated when selecting this palette from the dialog Grid Appearance.
In the definition table the auto-scaling is activated be entering the letter „x“, and deactivated by entering a space. Via the context menu (command Modify Column) the setting can be changed for multiple rows at once.
Example
On a grid, the minimum and maximum values are:
minimum value: 39.4 dB(A)
maximum value: 129.0 dB(A)
For example, with five value ranges the margin between the range classes is:
margin = (max_value - min_value)/(number_of_ranges - 1) = 22.4 dB
Color palette using auto-scaling for all value ranges
Columns "text single" & "text interval"
On the two columns "text single" and "text interval" the text is shown which will later be displayed when using the object „Symbol“ with the grid legend of the actual grid selected. The grid legend can either be entered manually or be generated automatically via the list boxes „single values“ and „intervals“ (as discussed in the preceding sections). Updating of the definition table occurs upon selection of a predefined option.
Precision
The number of decimals can be specified for legends generated automatically.
Button „Individual“
The dialog Individual Color Classes enables to define color classes used using the actual number of existing classes of the palette.
Options
- Lower limit and Intervals: enter the lower limit and intervals
- Upper limit and Intervals: enter the upper limit and intervals
- Upper and Lower Limit: enter upper and lower limit
- Option „Class with> -99“: With this option activated a further class for levels/values below the lowest class will be generated.
- Option „Prefer integer values“: This option is available with the option „Upper and Lower Limit“ only. In this case, the class limits are generated as integer values.
- Upper Limit/Lower Limit/Intervals: values in dB (to one decimal)
Importing Color Palettes
The Library-Manager offers to import color palettes from CadnaA-files or from DAT-files.
see Library Manager