Elements of the Main Window

The main window of the program contains the following elements:

  • Main Menu,
  • Toolbar,
  • Tableau,
  • Status Bar.

Main menu

The main menu contains control items, invoked from drop-down submenus.

The main menu can be optionally displayed or dispensed with, depending on the "Main menu" setting in General Settings. If the main menu is not displayed, you can use the Toolbar and 'hot-keys'.

The Toolbar

The Toolbar panel contains several buttons, which invoke operations directly or via a submenu. The appearance of the Toolbar depends on the current tableau (Chart, Cosmos, Sky, etc).

The buttons have popup hints, which appear when the mouse pointer is paused over them.

The Toolbar can be optionally displayed or removed , depending on the "Toolbar" setting in General Settings. It can also be set to work in auto-hide mode, i.e. to appear only when the mouse pointer is moved to the upper border of the window.

Tableau

The tableau is the main information part of the window. The program has the following tableaux. All the tableaux are connected thru having the same 'current time', i.e. the time and date of the Event Data window.

  • Chart (astrological, natal),
  • Cosmos (astro-planetarium),
  • Sky (celestial sphere),
  • N-Chart (polar projection of the constellations),
  • Geographical Map,
  • Blank (mandala graphic).

Select the desired tableau using the main menu, or the Toolbar buttons, or hot-keys. Ordinarily ZET 8 displays one tableau at a time. You can, however, view multiple connected tableaux by starting new instances of the program, and synchronizing them to operate in Joint mode, so that they share the current time (see Event Data).

Chart, Cosmos, and Geographical Map tableaux have their own popup menus of options.

Status bar

The Status bar is located at the bottom of the window, and is used for displaying important settings, and for operational messages. Items on the Status bar which have info tooltips also function as control buttons (from left to right):

  • Current configuration indicator/button - the name of the current configuration which forms the basis for current settings. If this field is clicked with the mouse, the General Configuration menu is displayed.
  • Aspects control information indicator/button - the ring(s) of the chart currently selected for aspecting, and the orb table currently in use. When clicked with the mouse, the orb table window is displayed.
  • Current program status message - messages are displayed for 5 seconds.
  • Star precession indicator/button - see Stars.
  • Real-time Clock indicator/button - click with the mouse to switch ON (or OFF) the 'real-time clock' mode (operative when the Chart tableau does not contain a named single chart). When activated, tableaux are dynamically updated in real-time using the system time and date, and the current location of the event data, i.e. real-time tableaux for anywhere in the world.
  • Repository of shortcuts buttons - charts can be saved here for rapid retrieval using the Chart tableau's "Create Shortcut" popup menu option, and restored using the repository popup menu or by drag-and-drop onto the Chart tableau. You can save up to 6 chart shortcuts.
  • Asc/Age indicator/button - a dual-purpose indicator. In Asc mode, it displays the real-time ascendant at the user's location. In Age mode, it displays the time difference between the natal or event data and the current system date/time (for single charts), and the time difference between the core and background data (for dual charts). Click the indicator with the mouse to toggle between Asc and Age modes.
  • Current universal (GMT) time indicator.