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Deep-Sky Document

The Deep-Sky Document allows you to search deep-sky catalogs by using a variety of search properties and produce a tabular report. Times are accurate for the observer's location. Times and equatorial position values and are given in the format selected in Preferences.

Information about the Deep-Sky Report

The document contains three adjustable panes.

▪The document settings pane allows you to specify search criteria and how the ephemeris calculations are done.

▪The lower left report pane displays the results of the most recent search and calculations.

▪The lower right detail pane displays graphical and extended textual information for the selected object.

Document Settings Pane

Document settings are grouped logically into 9 tabbed pages. Some tabs may be disabled for certain catalog selections if the settings on the tab do not pertain to the catalog(s). When a filter tab has at least one filter set that excludes any objects from a report, the tab area shows the [] filtered icon. This helps you identify at a glance any filter settings that are applied when the database is searched.

Quick links to the tabs follow:

Report Pane

Search initiates the search and ultimately produces a report. The status of the search and creation of the report are shown while these tasks are being performed. You can terminate the formatting of the report by pressing the Cancel button in the status box. If you terminate, no report is displayed.

Clear allows you to erase the report text. Report text is automatically erased before a new report is created.

Fit Columns and Show Columns provide control over report content and layout. These functions are discussed in Working with Reports.

Help allows you to open online help to this page.

A recessed status box appears beside the Help button. It shows the number of objects included in the search result. If the text in the status box is grayed then the settings in the document have been changed and the report has not been refreshed by Search.

Get DSS Images opens the DSS Download Status dialog box where you can use the Smart DSS Download™ feature. Please see DSS Download Status for details.

Deep-Sky Report contains the report text that results from the most recent search. Click here to see a description of the deep-sky report. The text in the report can be scrolled horizontally and vertically by using cursor keys or by clicking the scroll bars.

The report window has a context menu that can be accessed by right-clicking in the window. The context menu contains:

▪the designation of the selected object

▪all common names for the object in the database. The information icon [] indicates a common name for the object.

▪all cross references for the object in the database. The live lookup icon [] indicates that you can lookup and view essential catalog information for the cross referenced object by clicking the menu item.

▪object-specific functions

▪Preferences

▪Report Style Browser

Detail Pane

The Detail Pane is a multi-tabbed pane that contains graphical or extended textual content for a selected object. Currently, these tabbed pages include:

What about?

Speed buttons representing each individual catalog are available, and a drop down speed button that contains a menu of buttons for each catalog is also available. Once a speed button is placed on the tool bar, a single click opens a Deep-Sky document with the desired catalog pre-selected and the appropriate object designation type pre-selected.

Because the report can be very wide, you can adjust the width of columns - see Working with Reports. These adjustments work for viewing and printing. Note that printouts may have adjacent columns of data printed over one another if your column adjustments are too narrow. You can check for that problem with File | Print Preview.

Additional Information:

▪Accuracy of deep-sky ephemeris calculations

▪Saving a report to CSV

▪Saving a report to HTML

▪Saving a report to Text

▪Printing a document

▪Saving a document

▪Setting default values for a new deep-sky document