Unravel Options

The Unravel Options dialog allows the user to set a number of options that affect the running of the program. Options that users are likely to wish to change are included in this dialog whereas options which users are unlikely to wish to change are included in the Program Settings dialog.

The Unravel Options dialog is included in the sequence used when Auto mode is selected. In Auto mode it will appear before the Cube Size dialog opens but at other times it will appear after the Cube Size dialog closes. Ideally, any changes to the scroll or marked centres options should be made before the Cube Size dialog opens. In Menu mode backtracking is simple but in Auto mode the user will have to proceed via the Command Sequence input dialog to the Select Exit Option dialog and select Begin to enable this dialog to be opened again.

Three categories of options apply: Display Options, Macro Load Options and Marked Centre Cubie Options.

Display Options

In the main, the effect of the display options is readily observable as it can be immediately seen. In application program mode, any change in the display options relative to start-up will be recorded in the urvstart.ini file on shut-down. Details on the display options are provided in the following table.

Display option Detail
Allow part of cubes of large size to be scrolled out of view When not set, all cube facelets are in view all the time unless the user manually resizes the cube display. When set, part or all of the bottom face can be out of view when the cube display opens if a cube size limit is exceeded.
Show cube picture (at left of client area) When not set, a text box containing "Unravel" is displayed.
Show elapsed time from scrambled state start Setting or clearing this option does not affect the running of the elapsed time clock. When set, the time display is enabled.
Set "Finish Time" to blink for solved cube "Finish Time" is always displayed. When this option is not set, these words do not blink.
Update cube display after each command When this option is set, the Update flag is set and the cube display will be updated whenever a changed valid command sequence is detected. When not set, updating of the display occurs when "OK" is selected or the <enter> key is pressed.
Show grid lines (for cube size greater than 5) When this option is set, a grid is superimposed on the cube display to help cubie position identification. Either full or dotted grid lines may be selected.

Macro Load Options

The effects of an option change, as shown in the following table, are experienced when the next macro loading action takes place.

Macro load option Detail
Use default macros When set, the program's default macros are used and external storage of macro files on the user's computer is excluded. Even if this option is not set it will always be adopted when operating in applet mode.
Read macro files from user's computer When set, the program looks for a file urvcmdnny.txt (where "nn" represents cube size and "y" represents an identifier that is added if marked centres are in use). If found, macros are loaded from it. If the file is not found, the user is given the option to load the default macros and store the macro file on the user's computer. This option must be chosen if user-defined macros are in use.
Enable on-line macro editing When set, a window opens and allows the user to edit the urvcmdnny.txt file. Except when operating in applet mode, the edited file will be automatically stored on the user's computer.

If the "Use default macros" option is selected on program exit, Boolean parameter "Use default macros and omit file storage" in the urvstart.ini file will be set true. On the next entry to the program, "Use default macros" will be checked if the saved parameter were set true or "Read macro files from user's computer" will be checked if the saved parameter were set false.

Marked Centre Cubie Options

Three options relating to marked centres can be changed on-line. They can be changed at start-up before the Cube Size dialog opens when Auto mode is selected. When the Cube Size dialog opens, the set state is always selected even if no change in size is requested. Implementing a change in the first or third of these options can occur only if the cube is in the set state. The second option can be changed at any time during the unscrambling process. The effect of an option selection is shown in the table.

Marked centre cubie options Detail
Enable marking for cubes from size 3 to computer-dependent limit When a setting change occurs, centre cubie marking will appear or disappear immediately according to the selection.
Use corner marking in lieu of numbers for absolute centre cubies A change in this option is possible only when the "Enable marking" option is checked. This option applies only to cubes which have odd size within the range applicable for numerical marking. All odd size cubes have a single absolute centre cubie. When unchecked this option provides numerical marking (1 to 4) and when checked corner marking (the default setting) is used. For cube sizes in excess of the numerical marking limit, corner marking is adopted for all marked cubies for cubes having size within the corner marking extension range.
Allow single centre cubie rotation simulation for cubes of odd size When set, a dialog, that asks whether the user wants to simulate a marked absolute centre cubie, appears. If the user answers "Yes", the next size up cube size with movement restrictions will be selected. The default is to have this option unchecked. This special one-size-up setting can be changed only when selecting an odd cube size in the Cube Size dialog.

Other

The Unravel Options dialog has a Help button which when clicked opens an Unravel Options Dialog Help dialog which provides immediate help mainly relating to the "Scroll" Display Option and Marked Centre Cubies Options.

The values for the Unravel Options are stored in the urvstart.ini file on exit and their status will be retrieved on program entry.