Is there a "find" for an observing target list? [Answered: Not a feature.]

[EmeraldHillsSkies]

Suppose I have an observing list with 400 objects and I suddenly have an interest in one particular object - but primary designations are all mixed up using common names and designations. Is there something equivalent to ctrl-F to "find" a target in the active list?

[theskyhound]

First, allow me to point out that you have complete control over the designations, which should really help with this. For instance, of you set up NGC as the second identifier and IC as the third, the Alternative ID column will display NGC/IC for most objects, and you can sort on it to easily find the one you want.

To customize the designations, select Preferences from the top-level Setup menu and then the Designations tab. See the help for how it works. This is a very powerful feature.

Regarding locating targets in the list, this is something I have gently pushed back against because it isn't necessary to the function of the tool and there are already a dizzying array of options for people to confuse. The way the Nightly Planner is designed to be used is this: take a list of objects, filter it, sort it (or generate a plan) and then go out and observe them. Other than during list building (if you want to see if an object is in the list or not) there is little advantage to finding the object in the list.

Allow me to suggest an alternative: use the Designation Search Tool to look up the object instead. Then open the Object Information for it. The Nightly Planner is for lists of objects, but whenever you are interested in a single object, the Object Information has all of the same information in it and much more. Click the Observing Lists tab of the Object Information and it will even tell you which lists it is assigned to.

[EmeraldHillsSkies]

First, allow me to point out that you have complete control over the designations, which should really help with this. For instance, of you set up NGC as the second identifier and IC as the third, the Alternative ID column will display NGC/IC for most objects, and you can sort on it to easily find the one you want.

To customize the designations, select Preferences from the top-level Setup menu and then the Designations tab. See the help for how it works. This is a very powerful feature.

Regarding locating targets in the list, this is something I have gently pushed back against because it isn't necessary to the function of the tool and there are  already a dizzying array of options for people to confuse. The way the Nightly Planner is designed to be used is this: take a list of objects, filter it, sort it (or generate a plan) and then go out and observe them. Other than during list building (if you want to see if an object is in the list or not) there is little advantage to finding the object in the list.

Allow me to suggest an alternative: use the Designation Search Tool to look up the object instead. Then open the Object Information for it. The Nightly Planner is for lists of objects, but whenever you are interested in a single object, the Object Information has all of the same information in it and much more. Click the Observing Lists tab of the Object Information and it will even tell you which lists it is assigned to.

That Designations customization list box is indeed very powerful. I hadn't even noticed we could "move up" and move down. I just saw the checkmarks. Thanks.

As for a "control-F" to be able to find things in a list, I'm sure it's just a matter of personal preference. It's your design - and you are a genius at so much of it, we are left only to have deep respect for you, Greg. And I mean that. But with the *deepest* respect possible, in a larger list like the Herschel List (which stands on its own for multiple nights), it's a really great feature that I used a lot in AstroPlanner. If you don't want to add it, I'm sure I'll get by without it. But I used it a lot, for whatever that's worth. Just a personal preference. In any event, thanks for the answer.

[theskyhound]

As for a "control-F" to be able to find things in a list, I'm sure it's just a matter of personal preference. It's your design - and you are a genius at so much of it, we are left only to have deep respect for you, Greg. And I mean that. But with the *deepest* respect possible, in a larger list like the Herschel List (which stands on its own for multiple nights), it's a really great feature that I used a lot in AstroPlanner. If you don't want to add it, I'm sure I'll get by without it. But I used it a lot, for whatever that's worth. Just a personal preference. In any event, thanks for the answer.

I get it. People want things to work the way they are used to. But in my (possibly warped) mind there are different tools because they have different intended uses and the different tools are optimized for those different uses. Its usually a bad design to start mixing their use.

The Nightly Planner is not a spreadsheet as it is in other software. It is for comparing and choosing from many objects. The Object Info is a deep dive into a single object. Humor me, and the next time to want to look an object up in your list-for any reason, try looking it up in the Designation Search and then opening the Object Info instead. That may not be what you are used to, but it amounts to the same thing, and I think you will find its actually much more powerful. The Object Info is the most powerful tool in SkyTools, and whenever you have a single object, it not only tells you everything possible about it, but serves as a jumping off point to the other tools.