Introduction to CELLmicrocosmos CellExplorer Educational Edition (CE3)

Welcome to the CELLmicrocosmos CellExplorer (CmCX). This tool enables the visualization and exploration of biological cells. In addition it is possible to create tours through a cell to illustrate cytological studies.

In this manual the basic functionalities of CmCX are explained. Moreover, a workflow is presented to show the way a simple tour can be generated and additional supporting functionalities of CmCX will be shown.


1) The Guide

The Guide window shows basic information about the currently selected window. Of course, this information is rudimentary. More sophisticated are included in this manual.


2) The Question Button

Almost every window of the GUI contains a button with a "?". By clicking this question mark with the left mouse button, the manual is opened and the page concerning the corresponding window is shown. Therefore, all interesting information are directly accessible.


3) The Popup Menu

By clicking the right mouse button, a menu is invoked. This menu can be toggled in different windows. All window elements marked in 4) with an asterix support a popup menu. For example, by invoking the popup in the CellUniverse (clicking on an empty place), the view and the zoom can be reset. In addition, the full screen mode of the CellUniverse can be toggled. If special elements are right-clicked - a cell component or a node - special options are provided which will be explained in the corresponding context.


4) The GUI

The image shows the following six elements (in parentheses the corresponding chapters):