Setting a time window

Specifying a time window allows you to visualize temporal data within the specified window or time period. This can be thought of as a moving window in time within which temporal data is displayed. For example, for a dataset collected on a daily interval, if you set the Time Slider window's time-step interval to 1 day and the time window to 0 days, moving the Time Slider Control by one day (time-step interval) will display data for that time stamp. However, if you change the time slider's time window to 1 day, moving the Time Slider Control by one day (time-step interval) will display the data for the entire time window, that is, for the last two days (that day and the previous day). If you change the time window to 3 days, the data will be displayed for the past four days although the time slider will move by only one day (time-step interval).

For example, in the illustration below, the points representing the location of a hurricane on a daily basis are being visualized using a time-step interval of 1 day and time window of 0 days. One point feature representing the hurricane location on a specific day is displayed.

However, for the same point data, if a time-step interval of 1 day and a time window of 3 days are specified, as shown in the illustration below, the hurricane locations for four days (that day and the past three days) will be displayed. By default, the data for the entire time window is displayed. This means that any time-enabled data that lies on or between the start and end time of the time window is displayed. You can choose to exclude the start time or the end time of the time window by specifying the time window options on the Time Display tab of the Time Slider Options dialog box.

Note:

When viewing temporal data using a time window, the time on the Time Slider window is displayed as a time range. However, if no time window is specified, the time on the Time Slider window is reported as a time stamp or time instant.

Steps:

1. Open the Time Slider window by clicking the Time Slider button on the Tools toolbar.
2. Click the Options button to open the Time Slider Options dialog box and click the Time Display tab.
3. Set the desired values for Time window.
4. Using the Time window options, specify the way you want to visualize the data that is displayed in the chosen time window.

   Display data for entire time window	Use this default option to display all the time-enabled data that overlaps the entire time window, including the start and end time. All time-enabled data that is valid at and within the start time and end time of the time window is displayed. The basic query used to display the time-enabled data in this case is: Display data that is greater than or equal to the start time of the time window and that is less than or equal to the end time of the time window. Note: Using this option, time-enabled data valid at the start time and time of the time window will be displayed twice in consecutive time windows.
   Exclude data at the start of the time window	Use this option to display all the time-enabled data in the time window excluding the data valid at the start time. All time-enabled data that is within the start time and end time of the time window, along with the data valid at the end time of the time window, is displayed using this option. The basic query used to display the time-enabled data in this case is: Display data that is greater than the start time of the time window and that is less than or equal to the end time of the time window.
   Exclude data at the end of the time window	Use this option to display all the time-enabled data in the time window, excluding the data valid at the end time. All time-enabled data that is within the start time and end time of the time window, along with the data valid at the end time of the time window, is displayed using this option. The basic query used to display the time-enabled data in this case is: Display data that is greater than or equal to the start time of the time window and that is less than the end time of the time window.

   Note:

   • Time window units are the same as those of the time-step interval.
   • Clicking the Restore Default button does not reset the time window.