Jump to content

Building KStars QA page

From KDE TechBase

List of expected behaviors for KStars 4.6.

Please test these behaviors, and indicate whether it works correctly or not. Once a behavior has been tested, attach one of the following codes to the beginning of the line to indicate its status.

  • No symbol or Black: behavior not yet tested
  • * or Red: behavior causes KStars to crash
  • X or Orange: behavior is broken
  • B or Yellow: behavior sort-of works, or is buggy
  • U or Cyan: Usability issue
  • C or Green: behavior works correctly

Mouse Navigation

  • Moving the mouse shows the current sky coordinates of the mouse in the statusbar. [1]
  • Clicking the mouse identifies the nearest object in the statusbar; the object's "long name" is shown
  • Hovering the mouse attaches a temporary label to the nearest object.
  • Hover labels fade out when the mouse moves
  • Hover labels only appear when the map is not in motion
  • Double-clicking attaches a label to the nearest object, centers it in the display, and engages tracking. [2]
  • The double-click label is removed when the object is no longer centered
  • Click-and-drag moves the map such that the cursor remains roughly in the same place in the sky.
  • Dragging the sky disengages tracking
  • Dragging the sky to one of the poles does not cause odd behavior
  • Click-and-drag with Ctrl pressed draws a rectangle in the map that defines a new area to be displayed when the mouse button is released [12]
  • Click-and-drag with the middle mouse button zooms in and out according to the vertical motion of the mouse
  • Scrolling the mouse wheel zooms in and out.
  • Scrolling the mouse wheel while holding down Shift / Ctrl decreases the amount of zooming in / out.
  • Right-click opens a context-sensitive popup menu for the object nearest the mouse cursor. [1]

Keyboard commands

  • Arrow keys: scroll the display. Holding Shift increases the speed
  • [0-9] center on a major solar system body (0 is the sun, 3 is the moon; the rest are planets in order from Mercury to Pluto)
  • [<,>] Advance clock forward/backward by one time step (clock will be paused if it isn't already) [3]

Object Actions:

  • C: Track object
  • D: Open the Details window
  • L: Attach/Remove the label
  • O: Add object to Observing List
  • T: Attach/remove trail (solar system only)
  • Pressing Shift targets action on the focused object, rather than the clicked object

Menu functions and keyboard shortcuts

If a menu action opens a window, the window's behavior is listed elsewhere. Just check to see if it opens here.

File Menu

  • Download new data [Ctrl+D]
  • Save Sky image [Ctrl+I]
  • Run script [Ctrl+R]
  • Print [Ctrl+P] (print dialog opens)
  • Quit [Ctrl+Q]

Time Menu

  • Set time to now [Ctrl+E]
  • Set time [Ctrl+S]
  • Start/Stop clock

Pointing Menu

  • Zenith [Z]
  • North [N]
  • East [E]
  • South [S]
  • West [W]
  • Set focus manually [Ctrl+M]
  • Find object [Ctrl+F]
  • Engage/Stop tracking [Ctrl+T]

View Menu

  • Zoom in [Ctrl++]
  • Zoom out [Ctrl+-]
  • Default zoom [Ctrl+Z]
  • Zoom to angular size [Ctrl+Shift+Z] [4]
  • Full-screen mode [Ctrl+Shift+F]
  • Horizontal/Equatorial Coordinates [Space]
  • Projections sub-menu (test switching only here)

Devices Menu

[NOTE: These features require that KStars be compiled with INDI support]

Telescope wizard
  • Help button displays KStars hand book.
  • Next/Back buttons work.
  • Listed telescopes reflect system + user added telescopes.
  • Setting Time and Location open the appropriate dialog boxes and perform the correct time or location updates.
  • Setting port name initiate a scan for that specific port, whereas leaving the port empty initiates a complete auto port scan. Both actions can be canceled at any time.
  • Automatic port scan.
Telescope properties
  • Telescope list reflect system & user added telescope.
  • Selecting a telescope update all property fields.
  • Removing a telescope shows a confirmation box.
  • Saving updated properties works.
Device manager
INDI Control panel
Capture image sequence
  • Capture image sequence is automatically enabled when a new capturing device is connected via INDI.
  • Prefix, count, and ISO time stamp is incorporated into the filename when selected.
  • Filter selection.
Configure INDI

Tools Menu (test opening tools only here)

  • Calculator [Ctrl+C]
  • Observing List [Ctrl+L]
  • AAVSO Light Curves [Ctrl+V]
  • Altitude vs. Time [Ctrl+A]
  • What's Up Tonight [Ctrl+U]
  • Glossary [Ctrl+K] <<disabled>>
  • Script Builder [Ctrl+B]
  • Solar System [Ctrl+Y]
  • Jupiter's Moons [Ctrl+J]

Settings Menu

  • Infoboxes Display toggles
  • Toolbar display toggles [5]
  • Toolbar customization [6]
  • Statusbar display toggles [7]
  • Color scheme toggles
  • Field-of-view (FOV) Symbol selector
  • FOV Editor
  • Geographic Location [Ctrl+G]
  • Configure KStars [8]
  • Startup Wizard

Help Menu

  • KStars Handbook [F1]
  • What's this? [9]
  • Report Bug
  • About KStars
  • About KDE

Toolbars

Main toolbar

  • Zoom in/out
  • Find object...
  • Stop/Start clock [3]
  • Timestep widget

View toolbar

  • Show stars
  • Show deep-sky [10]
  • Show solar system
  • Show constellation lines
  • Show constellation names
  • Show constellation boundaries
  • Show Milky Way
  • Show coordinate grid
  • Show opaque ground [11]

Centering and tracking

  • Center+Track on object (double-click, popup menu, click then press "C")
  • Center+Track on empty sky (double-click, popup menu)
  • If requested position moves display below horizon, confirm dialog is shown
  • If startup position is below horizon, recenter dialog is shown
  • Information in "Focus" InfoBox updates correctly when recentering

Info boxes

  • Displayed with semi-transparent backgound
  • Highlight color on click
  • "Shade" on double-click
  • Move on drag
  • Collision avoidance works
  • "Stick" to screen edges
  • Remember position and shade-state on restart

Color schemes

  • Show all available schemes, incl. predefined and custom
  • All color settings change upon selecting a new scheme
  • Color settings persistent on reload
  • Custom scheme appears in menu after creating in in the Configure dialog
  • Custom scheme is removed from menu if it is removed in the Configure dialog

Dialogs

Download new data

  • Dialog displays all available download items (Steinicke NGC catalog, Ephemerides, Messier catalog thumbnails, Thumbnails for details window, updated DST rules)
  • Each item gets downloaded and installed correctly

FITS viewer

  • File open dialog displays only FITS files.
  • FITS image is opened and displayed properly.
  • Image coordinates, pixel value, image dimensions, and zoom value are displayed in status bar.
  • Undo/Redo work[3]
  • Zoom in/out, Default zoom
  • Statistics
  • FITS header
  • Closing without save issues a warning dialog[3]
  • Save and Save As work
Histogram tool
  • Range of pixel values can be updated with edit boxes or by dragging the blue/red symbols: red symbol not draggable in initial position

Save sky image

  • Saves image to file: Doesn't seem to save GIF
  • Image matches screen display (without FOV or infobox overlays)

Run script

  • Executes the selected script.
  • Statusbar messages indicate script is running/finished.

Print

  • Prints image of current skymap (without infoboxes or FOV symbols)
  • Ask to reset color scheme if background is not white
  • Color scheme is properly reset for printing, and reverted afterward

Set time

  • Simulation clock is set to selected time
  • Selected date displayed properly in calendar widget
  • It is not possible to select an invalid date

Set focus manually

  • Setting RA/Dec coordinates works
  • Setting Az/Alt coordinates works

Find object

  • Filter by name works
  • Filter by type works
  • Highlighted object is centered in map when user hits return or presses Ok
  • Dialog message when a match fails; window does not close
  • Up/Down arrow keys navigate the list of objects

Zoom to angular size

  • Zoom is set to display the angle entered
  • Min/max values make sense

FOV symbol editor

  • Selected symbol is shown in preview pane
  • Creating a new symbol works
  • Editing an existing symbol works
  • Removing a symbol works (if this symbol is currently in use, what should happen?)

Geographic location

Startup Wizard

  • Set Geographic location works
  • Download Extra Data works

Object Details (from popup menu)

Image viewer (from popup menu)

  • Selected image is shown; window is sized to fit image
  • Authorship and copyright in statusbar
  • Save button works

Popup menu

Tools

Calculator

Note: changes in the modules are not reflected until the widget loses input focus. This may not be ideal, but doing immediate updates doesn't work. Consider the JD module. Let's say I want to clear the current number and enter a new one. As soon as I delete the text, it would try to process the blank line as a date. Then if I typed a "2", it would try to use that. Basically, there needs to be a way to indicate that you are done editing.

  • Julian Day calculator works correctly, both ways.
  • Sidereal Time Calculator works correctly, both ways.
  • Information displayed in the Almanac seems correct.
  • Equinoxes and Solstices displayed are correct
  • Equatorial to Galactic Coords conversion works
  • Conversion from Equatorial to Horizontal coordinates is accurate[2]
  • Horizontal Coordinates UI
  • Ecliptic Coordinates tool UI
  • Data shown in the ecliptic coordinates tool seems accurate
  • Angular distance tool UI works as expected
  • Angular distances reported seem accurate
  • Geodetic coordinates UI works as expected
  • Data displayed by Geodetic coordinates tool seems correct
  • LSR Velocity tool UI works as expected
  • LSR Velocity tool seems to produce correct results
  • Planet Coordinates tool UI behaves as expected
  • Planet coordinates shown seem accurate
  • Conjunctions tool UI behaves as expected
  • Conjunctions tool reports all conjunctions correctly

Observing List

  • Removing an object named "star"
  • Selecting by magnitude in wizard [count not updated properly]

AAVSO light curves

  • Star name and designation lists are synchronized properly.
  • Downloading new list from AAVSO updates the stars lists.
  • Retrieve Curve buttons downloads and displays the light curve correctly.

Altitude vs. time

What's up tonight

  • Almanac data are correct
  • Displays objects that are visible on the given date, from the given location
  • Changing the Date works, and updates the list of objects and almanac
  • Changing the Location works, and updates the list of objects and almanac
  • Selecting Evening/Morning/All Night works, and updates the list of objects
  • Selected object is displayed in right panel correctly
  • The Rise/Set/Transit data are correct
  • Center Object button works
  • Details button works

Script builder

Solar system

Jupiter's moons

Details window

  • Displays object information
  • Testing Resource links works
  • Editing Resource links works
  • Removing resource links works
  • Interacting with online databases works

Thumbnail Picker

  • Displays list of images found via Google image search
  • Selecting an image from the list displays it in the viewer
  • Editing the image works
  • Closing the window places the selected image in the Details window
  • KIO jobs are terminated in the console after quitting KStars

INDI

Configuration window

Sky Projections

  • Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area
  • Azimuthal Equidistant
  • Orthographic
  • Equirectangular [mouse nav broken; arrow keys work]
  • Streographic
  • Gnomonic [cpu 100% at low zoom, eventually crashes]



Discovered issues:

Use this section to add issues discovered while testing the program that are not listed above.

  • KStars doesn't know my city's coordinates, while Marble does. Could not they share the a common datasheet with cities' positions?

A: Will bring in Marble Widget eventually



Footnotes

Add footnotes describing issues noted in the main list here.

[1]: Does not work at high zoom when refraction corrections are enabled. Possibly because the RefractCorr1 array is not the exact "inverse" map of RefractCorr2 array. The bug is in objectNearest and thus other features are affected too.

[2]: Tracking at high zoom sometimes "shakes" the display periodically. This has nothing to do with atmospheric refraction.

[3]: FIXED [897451]The clock is paused if it is running, but the icon in the toolbar doesn't change state

[4]: The display in the status bar shows a different field of view (possibly the minor axis) from what is entered

[5]: Why are there 2 "Main Toolbar"s? Is this a bug that only I am experiencing?

[6]: What are those blank actions?

[7]: TODO: Check if the altitude / azimuth shown are the real altitude and azimuth and not the back-refracted ones.

[8]: Disable / don't show the faint magnitude zoomed in / zoomed out spin boxes under the catalogs tab

[9]: CAN'T FIX BEFORE 4.2 DUE TO STRING FREEZEA lot of widgets have undefined what's this help.

[10]: Tracking doesn't lock on the location of a DSO (found using the find dialog) if DSOs are disabled.

[11]: Ground fills up even when show ground is disabled, or horizon polygon disappears when the horizon is close to the top of the screen in Gnomonic Projection

[12]: KStars can behave incorrectly if the rectangle extends sufficiently into the "blank" region outside the map.