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 data 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 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.

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 Open Time Slider Window 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.
   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.