Galaxy: Basics

The Galaxy window displays when you initially open the dataset from the Dataset Editor.

The Galaxy window has two panels: The uppermost panel is the galaxy view, a plot of all of the documents in the dataset, and shows the topical relationship between them. Each document is represented by a dot, and the closer together two documents are plotted, the more similar their topical content. The lower panel is the Outliers Panel. This page describes the upper panel; the Outliers Panel is described in Outliers.

Understanding the Galaxy Symbols

Inside the Galaxy display, various symbols are used to indicate the status of the documents in the dataset.

 

Unselected Document

Unselected document in the Galaxy.

Selected Document

Selected document in the Galaxy.

Document in Document Viewer

Document selected in Galaxy is currently visible in the Document Viewer.

Document Viewed

Document that has been previously viewed in the Document Viewer.

Grouped Documents

Documents that have been grouped with the Groups tool.  Group colors will vary.

Document Title

Document title or file name shown by selecting document with the Titles tool.

Peak Labels

Peak labels.

Cluster Centroid

Cluster centroid.

Probe Tool and Label

Probe arrow and resulting label.

 

Note:  Colors of many IN-SPIRE system items can be adjusted to suit your preferences and may vary from the examples shown above.

Interacting with the Galaxy

To work with the galaxy visualization, you can use the IN-SPIRE toolbar, the Galaxy toolbar, and the Color Chooser menu (for display options).

 

To see helpful information about how to use a cursor, tool, or menu item, click on the button or select the item from the menu. Information displays in the Help panel at the bottom of the Galaxy window.

Galaxy Toolbar

Galaxy Toolbar

Selecting and Viewing Documents

Select Document Button and Cursor

To select documents individually
Use the +S cursor. Ctrl-click documents to add documents to the selected set.
Ctrl-Shift-click on a document to remove it from the selected set.

To select all documents in an area
Use the +S cursor. Click and drag a rectangle around the documents you want to select.
Ctrl-Shift-drag a rectangle around a document or documents you want to remove from the selected set.

To select only documents belonging to Groups
Alt-click and drag a rectangle around them.

View a Document Button and Cursor

To view a document
Select the document(s) using the +S cursor, then use the +V cursor to click on one of the selected document dots. The Document Viewer opens. All of the selected documents are listed; the document clicked on with the +V cursor is visible.
Note: Select the document first; clicking on it with the +V cursor does not automatically select it.

Clear Selection Button

To deselect all selected documents
Click the Clear Selection (CLR SEL) button, or, with the S+ cursor, Shift-click anywhere in the galaxy. All the selected documents will be deselected in the Galaxy and all tools (no documents will be selected).

Reverse Selection Button

To select the inverse of the documents currently selected
Click the Reverse Selection (REV SEL) button. Documents that are selected will be unselected. Documents that are not selected will be selected.

contrast button

To make selected documents stand out from the background
Click the Contrast button, or choose View > Contrast.

 

To show Grouped documents in their group colors
Highlight the groups in the Groups Tool.

To group some documents
First select the documents, then open the Groups Tool or use the Queries tool. For a discussion of all the ways to create and modify groups by adding and subtracting members, see the Groups Tool.

 

 

Showing Document Titles

Show Document Titles Button

To show/hide document titles individually in both the Galaxy and Outliers panel, select the +Ti cursor and click on a document point in the Galaxy.

Note: This does not toggle titles on and off; to see the same titles again, you will have to turn them on again one-by-one.

To clear (hide) a document title
Click on it using the +Ti cursor.

To see the titles of all outlier documents
Choose View > Outlier Titles. Outlier documents are drawn in a vertical list, showing the title of each.

Reset Button

To hide all document titles

Click Reset All.

Showing What Terms Occur in an Area of the Galaxy

Galaxy Button - Summary

Use the Summary button to display the contributions of various terms to the ranking of selected documents in the dataset.

Probe Button and Cursor

To see a list of terms and their frequency of occurrence in a particular area
Use the Probe Cursor to click on the Galaxy, or the ThemeView, in the area of interest. For more information, see Probe Tool.

Working with Clusters

Cluster Centroids Menu

Cluster centroids represent the mathematical center of all the documents in a cluster. To get oriented in a new dataset, it may be helpful to turn on cluster centroids.

To show/hide cluster centroids
From the Galaxy toolbar, select View > Cluster Centroids. The centroids will display as small circles.  
Cluster Centroids Example
To turn off centroids, select Cluster Centroids again.  

Moving the mouse over a cluster centroid will display the cluster membership without selecting the documents. To add the documents in the cluster to the selected document set, Ctrl-click on a cluster centroid. To remove the documents from the selected document set, Ctrl-Shift-Click on a cluster centroid.

Homing In On Areas of Interest

Zoom Button and Cursor

To zoom in
Click anywhere in the Galaxy dataset display using the Zoom cursor. Each time you click, the view zooms in a little more.

To enlarge an area of the Galaxy
Using the Zoom cursor, click and drag a rectangle around the area of interest. Release the mouse button.

To zoom out
Ctrl-click with the Zoom cursor. Each time you Ctrl-click, the view zooms out a little more.

To reset to the original magnification, selections, or titles
Ctrl-Shift-click with the Zoom cursor.

Reset Button

To revert to the default view options
Click the Reset All button.

Pan Cursor and Button

To pan the view
Using the Pan cursor, click and drag the Galaxy view.

To reset to original view coordinates, without affecting selections, or titles
Ctrl-Shift-click anywhere in the Galaxy.

Changing the View

To change the color of most objects
From the IN-SPIRE main window, select Tools > Choose Colors. For more details, see Color Chooser.

 

To show the ThemeClouds on the Galaxy
ThemeClouds are on by default.  If the ThemeClouds view has been turned off, from the Galaxy View menu select ThemeClouds to turn it on.  A check Checkbox - Option is On will display next to the option when it is turned on.

 

To show peak labels on the Galaxy
Peak labels will be turned on by default.  If the Peak Labels view has been turned off, from the Galaxy View menu select Peak Labels to turn it on.  A check Checkbox - Option is On will display next to the option when it is turned on.

Selecting Peak Label Settings

The Peak Label settings affect the document labels and the display of centroids in the Galaxy.  You can display

 

 

Outlier titles show the title of each document moved into the Outliers area of the Galaxy window.  Cluster centroids indicate the central area of a topic cluster.

 
  1. From the Galaxy menu, select View > Peak Label Settings > Outlier Titles.  The document titles will display for all Outliers.

  2. From the Galaxy menu, select View > Peak Label Settings > Cluster Centroids.  The Cluster Centroids will display in the Galaxy.

 

 

 

3/21/06