How to customize PTP links using Link Formatting Rules

Link Formatting Rules in LINKPlanner

 

LINKPlanner supports additional formatting settings for PTP Links using “Link Formatting Rules”. The rules can be used to control the style and visibility of PTP links when exporting to different formats or when viewing the PTP Links in the project or map.

They can also be used to exclude links from reports and project exports e.g. Google Earth (kmz/kml) files. Each rule is tested against the links in the project, if the rule evaluates to “true” for the link, then the rule actions are applied. The rules are applied in the order that they are defined in the Link Formatting List. To change the order of the items, drag and drop them at the new location.

 

Creating a Rule

To create a new rule click the Link Formatting node in the Navigation Tree and then click on the image002.png button. The Rule Editor will appear.

 

 

Basic Rule Settings

 

Option

Description

Name

The rule name.

 

Description

 

A description of the rule behaviour (optional).

 

Stop executing when true?

 

If ticked, then any rules that come after this rule in the formatting rules list will not be tested against the link.

 

Disable rule?

If ticked then the rule is not tested against any links in the project.

 

Rule Groups and Expressions

 

The rule can consist of a number of Expression Groups. Each group can contain one or more Rule Expressions. Within a group you can choose to test that:

  • All of the expressions are successful (boolean AND)
  • Any of the expressions are successful (boolean OR)

You can also choose to test that All or Any of the Expression Groups are successful.

Click on the + or - buttons to add and remove the Rule Expressions and Expression Groups.

The individual expressions are used to test properties of the link. The Rule Expressions consists of the link property, a predicate and a value to test against.

image004.png 

The property list contains many of the link and site attributes that can be viewed in the PTP Links panel. Where possible, the test value is converted to a number before the rule is evaluated. All text-based comparisons are case-sensitive.

When the rule expressions are modified, the rule is tested against the links in the project. Any links that match the rule conditions are displayed in the Links affected by the rule list.

Several different actions can be set for links that match the rule.

Rule Actions

 

Option

Description

Format link?

Apply additional formatting to the link

Color

The color of the link. If the color is set to white then the default color will be used.

Line thickness

 

The thickness of the link line on the offline map. If left blank then the default line thickness will be used.

Line Style

 

The line style used when displaying the link in the offline map. If left blank then the default line style is used.

Exclude link from reports and exports?

Links will not appear in the reports or in any export formats (e.g. Google Earth kml/kmz)

Hide link on map views?

Links will not appear in any of the maps

 

 

Copying Link Formatting Rules

 

One or more formatting rules can be copied from the Link Formatting list. Select one or more rules that you wish to copy:

  • On Windows, hold the Ctrl key when selecting.
  • On OSX, hold the Command key when selecting (on some Apple keyboards, this key also has an apple logo).

Once you have selected the rule, right-click in the Link Formatting list and choose Copy from the Formatting Rules Pop-up Menu.

 

 

Pasting Link Formatting Rules

 

If the clipboard contains any link formatting rules then the paste commands will be enabled. Click image006.png or Edit - Paste to paste the formatting rules into the current project.

Example Rules

 

The following example highlights how formatting rules can be applied to a project to aid link planning. The example project has a mix of PTP 650 and 11 GHz links. Some of the links are Non-Line-of-Sight.

 

 

In the following map all PTP links share the same graphical properties. The default style for all links can be changed through the user preferences, but the link formatting rules allow the style of individual links to be altered.

 

 

Non-Line-of-Sight Link Formatting Rule

 

Non-Line-of-Sight links will have Excess Path Loss greater than zero.

Navigate to Project Configuration tree -> Link Formatting and click on New Rule.

In the Rule popup window choose the Excess Path Loss (dB) in Property drop down and select greater than in Predicate and put numeric zero in the value field.

Affected links will be listed in Links affected by the rule section, tick the Format link? box and set the graphical properties.

 

 

Press Ok and then navigate to map to see the changes.

 

11 GHz Link Formatting Rule

 

Create a new rule and select Band in the Property dropdown, then set the predicate to equal to and put the value as 11.

Affected links will be listed in Links affected by the rule section, tick the Format link? box and set the graphical properties.

 

 

 

This rule has also altered the NLOS link, because the NLOS link is also using the 11 GHz Band. Link formatting rules execute as per their order in Link Formatting table. In this case the 11 GHz rule is after the “not LOS” rule.

 

The order of the execution can be changed by selecting the specific rule row with mouse click and moving it up and down.

 

 

PTP 650 Link Formatting Rule

 

Link formatting rules can be also created for specific products by selecting Product in the Property dropdown.

 



NOTE – Line Thickness and Line Style will not affect the graphics in Google Maps and Google Earth

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