.. _synoptics:

Synoptics
=========

Synoptic widgets provide a graphical interface to control equipment. They may
show realistic or schematic graphical elements, some of which may be
interactive or display updated values and changing colors.

.. figure:: /_static/synoptic01.png
  :align: center

  Example of a synoptic representing a beam line. Some active elements are
  marked with red squares and one has been selected, which is shown by a blue
  ellipse.

Synoptics are commonly used in TaurusGUI applications to provide a visual
representation of the controlled hardware and a convenient way of navigating
between related panels. See :doc:`taurusgui` for the role of synoptic panels in
TaurusGUI applications and :ref:`taurusgui_add_synoptic` for instructions on
adding one to an existing application. For a minimal SVG-based example, see
:doc:`../howto/svg_synoptics`.