P - Icon in the Target Selection Tab

[theskyhound]

Hello,

I think that there may be a basic misunderstanding. The Target Selection tool looks like a basic spreadsheet where you can keep track of everything, but that's not really what its about. It is common for people to mistake it for the main part of the program. But it is merely the first step in imaging:

1. Select an appropriate target (Target Selection tool + other tools)
2. Create an Imaging project that sets goals for your project (Smart Project Builder, Imaging Project tools)
3. Schedule your projects (and track your progress) using the Scheduler

The idea is that once you are on to step 3 you are essentially finished with step 1. The Scheduler is the where you can track the progress of your projects. Make sense?

On the Target Selection tool there is a column to keep track of the status of your projects, but to tell you the truth, its primarily there as a hold over from SkyTools Visual. Because it can be useful, I included it here. Its a sort of side cheat that people may want to use. For example, in my project to image more narrow band targets in order to extend the narrow band database, I use this column to keep track of whether or not I have imaged a project. I also make use of the Notes and Notes brief columns to keep track. This is a big project that includes a lot of targets, and there are steps outside of observing, such as reducing the data. But its not a progress column, and it is not tied to the progress of your project. Its more of a status column: Not yet Observed, Observed, and Re-observe. This is the Observation Status column: right click in the column and on the column heading to see how it works.


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Yeah- I know I just said that the Target Selection Tool isn't meant to be used in that way.

I suppose I could just bite the bullet and include an actual progress column, but on the other hand, what's wrong with tracking progress on the Scheduler?