Menu Bar
The menu bar is the complete inventory of everything Cygnus can do, organized by purpose into five menus: File, Ephemerides, Edit, View, and Help. Most items open or act on a feature documented elsewhere in this guide, so each menu below is presented as a reference table that links you to the page covering that command.
On Windows the menu bar is drawn inside the window, immediately above the toolbar, and each menu has an access key you can press with Alt. On macOS the equivalent menus appear in the native menu bar at the top of the screen.
Every menu item carries the icon of the command it invokes, so the menus and the Toolbar are easy to match up.
The in-window menu on Windows does not print keyboard shortcuts beside its items, but Ctrl+N, Ctrl+O, and Ctrl+S still work as window-level shortcuts. The macOS menus do print their Cmd+N, Cmd+O, and Cmd+S gestures.
Open the File Menu
The File menu holds the workspace commands: starting, opening, and saving a workspace, and leaving the application.
To open it:
- Click File on the menu bar. On Windows you can press Alt+F instead.
| Command | Description | Details |
|---|---|---|
| New | Start a fresh, empty workspace, discarding the studies currently loaded. | New Workspace |
| Open | Load a workspace from a .cygnus file. | Open Workspace |
| Save | Write the workspace back to the file it came from. | Save Workspace |
| Save As | Write the workspace to a file you choose and rename it to match. | Save Workspace |
| Exit | Close Cygnus, offering to save unsaved changes first. | Exit Application |
Open the Ephemerides Menu
The Ephemerides menu creates studies. It lists the nine study types in three separated groups: the three standard ephemerides, the three aspect ephemerides, and the three graphic ephemerides.
To open it:
- Click Ephemerides on the menu bar. On Windows you can press Alt+E instead.
| Command | Description | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Geocentric Ephemeris | Tabulate positions measured from the center of the Earth. | Geocentric Ephemeris Study |
| Topocentric Ephemeris | Tabulate positions as observed from a point on the Earth's surface. | Topocentric Ephemeris Study |
| Heliocentric Ephemeris | Tabulate positions measured from the center of the Sun. | Heliocentric Ephemeris Study |
| Geocentric Aspect Ephemeris | Tabulate geocentric positions plus the angles between body pairs. | Geocentric Aspect Ephemeris Study |
| Topocentric Aspect Ephemeris | Tabulate topocentric positions plus the angles between body pairs. | Topocentric Aspect Ephemeris Study |
| Heliocentric Aspect Ephemeris | Tabulate heliocentric positions plus the angles between body pairs. | Heliocentric Aspect Ephemeris Study |
| Geocentric Graphic Ephemeris | Plot geocentric positions as time-series curves. | Geocentric Graphic Ephemeris Study |
| Topocentric Graphic Ephemeris | Plot topocentric positions as time-series curves. | Topocentric Graphic Ephemeris Study |
| Heliocentric Graphic Ephemeris | Plot heliocentric positions as time-series curves. | Heliocentric Graphic Ephemeris Study |
For the gesture that creates a study of any of these types, see Create Study.
Open the Edit Menu
The Edit menu holds the commands that act on the selected study and the shortcuts to the shared reference data and settings editors.
To open it:
- Click Edit on the menu bar. On Windows you can press Alt+D instead.
| Command | Description | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Copy Study | Duplicate the selected study with all of its configuration. | Copy Study |
| Delete Study | Remove the selected study after a confirmation prompt. | Delete Study |
| Locations | Open the Locations Editor, where the shared list of places is maintained. | Locations Editor |
| Default Settings | Open the editor for the Application Defaults and the workspace defaults. | Default Settings |
| Graph Settings | Open the editor for the line color assigned to each celestial body. | Graph Settings |
Open the View Menu
The View menu holds the display commands.
To open it:
- Click View on the menu bar. On Windows you can press Alt+V instead.
| Command | Description | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle Theme | Switch the interface between the Light and Dark themes. | Toggle Theme |
Open the Help Menu
The Help menu leads to the version and license information and to the online documentation.
To open it:
- Click Help on the menu bar. On Windows you can press Alt+H instead.
| Command | Description | Details |
|---|---|---|
| About Dialog | Show the installed version number and the license status. | About Dialog |
| Documentation | Open the Cygnus online documentation in your web browser. | Open Documentation |
On macOS the first Help entry reads About rather than About Dialog, and it opens the same dialog.
