User Reference

This chapter collects the current command names, shortcuts, status fields, exchange formats, common diagnostics, and terminology. Earlier chapters explain the workflows and their safeguards in context.

Menu Commands

File

Command	Availability and effect
New	Starts an untitled project after protecting dirty work.
Open	Selects and transactionally opens one Automata Lab JSON project.
Save	Writes the current persistable project to its association or download fallback.
Save As	Requests one new JSON destination and associates it when supported.
Close	Closes the client project without deleting local or hosted data.
Validate State Machine	Reports complete model validation for the open project.
Pull Model from Server	Replaces the client project with the current valid hosted document.
Push Model to Server	Compare-and-set hosts the current complete valid project.
Import from CSV	Imports one selected collection as an atomic project command.
Export to CSV	Exports one selected collection without changing the project.
Connect to Server	Connects to the configured server URL.
Disconnect from Server	Closes the client connection while preserving a live built-in worker.
Test Server	Runs handshake, liveness, and readiness checks.
Page Setup	Edits paper, orientation, margins, and included report sections.
Print	Composes the current project revision and opens the browser print dialog.
Settings	Opens Application Settings for global browser preferences.

CSV submenus offer Model Metadata, States, Events, Actions, State Actions, Transition Table, Solver Observation Sequence, and Simulator Event Sequence. A selected Solver or Simulator sequence is required for those sequence exports.

Edit

Command	Effect
Cut	Uses the native edit operation in the active editable context.
Copy	Uses the native edit operation or copies a supported focused row.
Paste	Uses the native edit operation in the active editable context.
Undo	Reverses the newest application document command.
Redo	Reapplies the newest undone application document command.

Text-control undo can remain local while a field is being edited. After a valid edit commits, application Undo treats the accepted change as one document command.

View

Command	Effect
Editor, Chart, Solver, Simulator	Selects the corresponding main workspace.
Expand All, Collapse All	Expands or collapses the Editor branch in the Model tree.
Clear	Deletes retained in-memory Console entries only.
Console	Shows or hides the Console region.
Expand Chart States	Toggles the open project's persisted Chart expansion setting.
Theme → Light, Dark	Selects and persists the application theme.

Help

Command	Effect
Documentation	Opens the documentation home page in a new browser context.
About Automata Lab	Shows application identity, a GitHub repository link, licences, and release notes.

The About heading places the application icon beside the name and version, with the description below. Select GitHub - Automata Lab beneath the description to open the project repository in a separate browser tab or window. The link is keyboard accessible.

Licences opens by default. Release Notes shows the shipped history in a scrollable text box, with lines wrapped at 79 characters and 79-hyphen release separators. The desktop text box fits 80 monospace characters without horizontal scrolling, and switching tabs preserves the dialog height.

Toolbar Commands

The toolbar mirrors frequent menu commands and uses the same enablement rules.

Group	Commands
Project files	New, Open, Save, Save As
Server revision	Pull Model from Server, Push Model to Server
History	Undo, Redo
Workspace	Editor, Chart, Solver, Simulator
Chart display	Expand Chart States
Appearance	Theme

At narrow widths, trailing commands move into the accessible More menu without changing their behavior. Arrow keys move among enabled toolbar controls after the toolbar receives focus.

Application Colors is available through File → Settings → Appearance, with independent Title Bar Color and Application Buttons (both Blue by default), plus Console Message Buttons (Gray by default). Match Console Message Color defaults checked and uses the shared darker Green message, Blue warning, and Red error palettes. See Application Settings for choices and excluded controls.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Application shortcuts

Shortcut	Command
Ctrl+N	New
Ctrl+O	Open
Ctrl+S	Save
Ctrl+P	Print
Ctrl+X	Cut in the active editable context
Ctrl+C	Copy in the active context or focused supported row
Ctrl+V	Paste in the active editable context
Ctrl+Z	Undo
Ctrl+Y	Redo
Alt or F10	Enter the menu bar

Use the equivalent Command-key editing shortcuts on macOS where the browser and operating system provide them. A text control may consume a shortcut for native editing before the application command layer sees it.

Common composite controls

Context	Keys
Menus	Arrow keys, Enter or Space, Escape
Toolbar	Arrow keys among enabled controls
Model tree	Up/Down, Left/Right, Home/End, type-ahead, Enter or Space
Tabs and lists	Arrow keys; Enter or Space where activation is available
Grids and Console	Arrow keys, Home/End, native selection and scrolling keys
Splitters	Arrow keys to resize within announced limits
Dialogs	Tab/Shift+Tab, Enter where accepted, Escape to cancel

Chart shortcuts

Shortcut	Chart effect
Enter or Space	Edits a focused state, draft, semantic transition, or terminal connection.
Shift+Enter	Quick-connects eligible Chart items; selecting the primary state again creates a self-transition.
Delete or Backspace	Immediately deletes the Chart selection through the shared command planner.
Arrow keys	Moves selected items or a focused draft endpoint; pans when no item consumes the key.
Shift+Arrow	Uses the larger movement step.
Alt+Up/Down	Resizes selected expanded states; Shift adds the larger step.
Plus or Equals	Zooms in.
Minus	Zooms out.
Fit Chart button	Fits the editable Chart; Home has no fitting action.

Palette State, Initial Indicator, Terminal Indicator, and Transition controls are drag-only. Click, Enter, and Space do not place an item; complete semantic creation remains available in Editor and dialogs. Each glyph is a smooth 32-by-32 SVG with an equally sized icon-only drag image.

A successful Open or Server Pull fits the diagram once on its first editable Chart visit. Automatic Layout also fits its result. Ordinary edits, Palette drops, and navigation away from and back to Chart preserve the working viewport; a new empty file starts at 100 percent.

Status-Bar Fields

Field	Meaning
Initial State	Current semantic initial state, or N/A when unset or no project is open.
States	Declared state count.
Events	Declared event count.
Declared Actions	Reusable action count.
Entry Actions	Ordered entry-assignment count, including duplicates.
Exit Actions	Ordered exit-assignment count, including duplicates.
Transitions	Semantic transition-table row count.
Server	Connected, Connecting, or Disconnected with text and symbol cues.
Chart Elements Selected	Active-Chart selection count; omitted when zero or another page is active.
Chart export status	Successful filename or browser download-location limitation while Chart is active.
Simulator State	Current state of the active Simulator session.
Session Stale	Indicates that the session remains pinned to an older hosted revision.

Durable failures, warnings, operation outcomes, and remedies belong in Console. The status bar scrolls horizontally when its fields do not fit the available width.

File and CSV Formats

An Automata Lab JSON file is UTF-8, has file_id: "automata-lab-state-machine", accepts file versions 1.0.0, 1.1.0, 1.2.0, 1.3.0, and 1.4.0, and requires settings, state_machine, chart, solver, and simulator. Save always writes 1.4.0 with explicit state terminal flags, deterministic two-space JSON and a trailing newline. See Files and Data Exchange for migration, CSV flag rules and strict-reader behavior.

Canonical CSV columns are:

Collection	Header
Model Metadata	name,description,version,initial_state
States	name,description,terminal_state
Events	name,description
Actions	name,description
State Actions	state,action,schedule
Transition Table	state,event,next_state
Solver Observation Sequence	name,type
Simulator Event Sequence	name

CSV input is UTF-8, accepts quoted fields and embedded newlines, matches required headers without case or surrounding whitespace, and ignores unknown columns. Export uses canonical column order, RFC 4180 escaping, CRLF records, and one final CRLF. An invalid applicable row rejects the entire import; Model Metadata only applies its first non-empty data row and warns when extra records are ignored.

Common Diagnostic Codes

Code	Meaning or next action
SHELL_READY	Application startup completed.
VALIDATION_PASSED	The current model passed complete validation.
STATE_DEFINITIONS_MISSING	Add at least one state before strict operations.
INITIAL_STATE_REQUIRED	Choose an initial state before strict operations.
JSON_MALFORMED	Correct JSON syntax before Open.
DUPLICATE_JSON_MEMBER	Keep one occurrence of each JSON object member.
FILE_ID_INVALID	Use the exact Automata Lab file identity.
FILE_VERSION_UNSUPPORTED	Open with a release supporting that file version or convert explicitly.
FILE_TOO_LARGE or CSV_FILE_TOO_LARGE	Reduce input below 5 MiB.
FILE_OPENED	Open transaction committed successfully.
FILE_SAVED	Canonical JSON write or download completed.
FILE_BACKUP_SKIPPED	Current Save succeeded without the optional sibling backup.
CSV_IMPORT_COMPLETED	The complete selected collection import committed.
CSV_HEADER_MISSING	Add every required canonical header.
CSV_REFERENCE_INVALID	Declare the referenced model elements or correct the names.
DIAGNOSTICS_TRUNCATED	More diagnostics exist than the bounded Console publication shows.
CHART_ROUTING_FALLBACK	A relation remains visible without a proved normal route; inspect Chart geometry.
CHART_IMAGE_EXPORTED	Image save or download completed.
NO_OBSERVATIONS	No samples constrained the one-state candidate; add observations before relying on it.
SOLVER_CANDIDATE_READY	A reviewable candidate was produced.
SOLVER_CANDIDATE_STALE	Solve again against the current document and observations.
SOLVER_CANCELLED	The requested solve stopped without project mutation.
SERVER_CONNECTED	Server handshake and connection completed.
HOSTED_MODEL_CONFLICT	Hosted revision changed; Pull and reconcile before another Push.
HOSTED_MODEL_PUSHED	The complete client project became the hosted head.
SIMULATION_SESSION_STALE	Close the old session and start a new one to use the latest hosted model. Reset keeps the pinned revision.
UNKNOWN_EVENT	Event was consumed without state change or transition actions; Run continues.
NO_TRANSITION	Declared event had no transition from the current state; Run continues.
PREFERENCE_CORRUPT	Invalid stored preferences were replaced with safe defaults.
PRINT_FAILED	Browser handoff or report composition failed; project state is unchanged.

Console supplies the authoritative message and remedy for the actual occurrence. Codes are stable identifiers, not a substitute for the associated context.

Glossary

Term	Meaning
Action	Inert reusable name reported during state entry or exit; never executable code.
Authoring draft	Editable project. Save and Open permit missing states or initialization, while other integrity failures remain blocking.
Canonical document	Strict deterministic file 1.4.0 with explicit state terminal flags.
Chart draft	Visual transition with coordinates, optional state/indicator attachments and event memory; no runtime effect until configured or restored.
Complete model	Valid model containing at least one state and a declared initial state.
Entry action	Action reported after entering a destination state or on the first execution after Reset.
Event	Input symbol consumed by the deterministic transition function.
Exit action	Action reported before leaving a source state, including a self-transition.
Hosted revision	Immutable canonical project snapshot identified by server revision.
Initial indicator	Sole UML filled dot whose optional visual attachment follows initial-state rules.
Initial state	Semantic state selected when a Simulator session starts or resets.
Observation	Typed partial evidence supplied to the Solver.
Partial transition table	Deterministic mapping in which some state-and-event pairs may be undefined.
Pinned session	Simulator session that continues using the hosted revision on which it started.
Revision conflict	Compare-and-set rejection because the hosted baseline changed unexpectedly.
Solver candidate	Immutable inferred model available for review before an explicit Apply.
Stale candidate	Candidate whose source document or observation revision changed.
Stale session	Pinned session whose semantic revision differs from the current hosted head.
State	Named runtime condition with ordered entry and exit action lists.
Terminal indicator	UML final notation synchronized with connected states' terminal flags.
Terminal state	State that stops enabled execution after its entry actions complete.
Transition	Deterministic destination selected by one source-state and event pair.

Previous: Limits, Privacy, and Security

Next: Developer Guide