Console Display

The Console Display is a powerful tool that allows you to run Lua scripts within the system:inmation environment, without having to create an object to hold the script (for example an ActionItem or Generic Item). To open a Console display, go to the Open menu and select Open Console (shortcut Ctrl+Shift+U).

The Console display has similar structure to a script editor window and is made up of 4 parts:

Menu Bar
Input Pane
Output Pane
Status Bar

The Menu Bar

In the Menu Bar you find the following icons:

Table 1. Console Display - Menu Bar Options
Element	Shortcut	Action
	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`S`	Save the contents of the Input Pane as a (.lua-)file
	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`O`	Load a (.lua-)file into the Script Editor
	`Ctrl`+`X`	Cut the selected part from the Input Pane to the Clipboard
	`Ctrl`+`C`	Copy the selected part from the Input Pane to the Clipboard
	`Ctrl`+`V`	Paste the contents of the Clipboard into the Input Pane at the position of the cursor.
		Open the Search Dialog
		Open the Replace Dialog
	`Ctrl`+`Z`	Undo your latest edit
	`Ctrl`+`Y`	Undo your latest 'Undo'
		Switch the LuaSense helper tool on / off LuaSense provides suggestions based on the code being entered and displays information for functions including the necessary parameters and code examples.
		Comment out the selected lines
		Uncomment the selected lines
		Switch Output pane invisible / visible
	`F5`	You can only 'run' scripts which belong to objects and are executable (no library). Running a script automatically applies the latest version of the script the Script Property of the Object.
		Advanced features for running Lua scripts in the Persistent Environment.

The Input pane

Lua code is entered into the Input pane and executed by clicking the "Execute" icon in the menu bar (or by pressing F5). Comments can be added and removed, and the LuaSense suggestions can be toggled on /off using the buttons on the menu bar.

The Output Pane

Returned values are displayed in the Output pane and the depth of content (Nils, Qualities and Timestamps) of the Output pane can also be configured by adjusting the slider at the top.

The Status Bar

The Status bar contains information regarding the following information:

Current state of the script (is it running or idle)
The duration of the current/last transaction
Memory used by persistent and run environments
Counter of the number of transactions run by that Console display
Line and Column position of the cursor in the input window

The Lua Environments

The Console offers two different environments, for basic and advanced use.

The Run Environment

In the Run Environment the Lua state is reset after the execution of the script. This is the default environment for the Console.

The Persistent Environment

In the Persistent Environment after the execution of a script the Lua state is retained until it is reset in the 'Advanced' section of the Menu Bar.