Using Simulink

Contents Pane

The Contents pane displays either of two tabular views selectable by tabs. The Contents tab displays the contents of the object selected in the Model Hierarchy pane. The Search Results tab displays the results of a search operation (see Search Bar) .

In both views, the table rows correspond to objects (e.g., blocks or states); the table columns, to object properties (e.g., name and type). The table cells display the values of the properties of the objects contained by the object selected in the Model Hierarchy pane or found by a search operation.

The objects and properties displayed in the Contents pane depend on the type of object (e.g., subsystem, chart, or configuration set) selected in the Model Hierarchy pane. For example, if the object selected in the Model Hierarchy pane is a model or subsystem, the Contents pane by default displays the name and type of the top-level blocks contained by that model or subsystem. If the selected object is a Stateflow chart or state, the Contents pane by default shows the name, scope, and other properties of the events and data that make up the chart or state.

Customizing the Contents Pane

The Model Explorer's View menu allows you to control the type of objects and properties displayed in the Contents pane.

• To display only object names in the Contents pane, uncheck the Show Properties item on the View menu.
• To customize the set or properties displayed in the Contents pane, select Customize Contents from the View menu or click the Customize Contents button on the Model Explorer's main toolbar (see Main Toolbar). The Customize Contents pane appears. Use the pane to select the properties you want the Contents pane to display.
• To specify the types of subsystem or chart contents displayed in the Contents pane, select List View Options from the View menu. A menu of object types appears. Check the types that you want to be displayed (e.g., Blocks and Named Signals/Connections or All Simulink Objects for models and subsystems).

Reordering the Contents Pane

The Contents pane by default displays its contents in ascending order by name. To order the contents in ascending order by any other displayed property, click the head of the column that displays the property. To change the order from ascending to descending, or vice versa, click the head of the property column that determines the current order.

Customize Contents Pane

The Customize Contents pane allows you to select the properties that the Contents pane displays for the object selected in the Model Hierarchy pane. When visible, the pane appears in the lower left corner of the Model Explorer window.

A splitter divides the Customize Contents pane from the Model Hierarchy pane above it. Drag the splitter up or down to adjust the relative size of the two panes.

The Customize Contents pane contains a tree-structured property list. The list's top-level nodes group object properties into the following categories:

• Current Properties

• Properties that the Contents pane currently displays.

• Suggested Properties

• Properties that Simulink suggests that the Contents pane should display, based on the type of object selected in the Model Hierarchy pane and the contents of the selected object.

• All Properties

• Properties of the contents of all models displayed in the Model Explorer thus far in this session.

• Fixed Point Properties

• Fixed-point properties of blocks.

By default, the properties currently displayed in the Contents pane are the suggested properties for the currently selected model. The Customize Contents pane allows you to perform the following customizations:

• To display additional properties of the selected model, expand the All Properties node, if necessary, and check the desired properties.
• To delete some but not all properties from the Contents pane, expand the Current Properties node, if necessary, and uncheck the properties that you do not want to appear in the Contents pane.
• To delete all properties from the Contents pane (except the selected object's name), uncheck Current Properties.
• To restore the properties suggested for the current model, uncheck Current Properties and check Suggested Properties.
• To add or remove fixed-point block properties from the Contents pane, check or uncheck Fixed Point Properties.

Marking Nonexistent Properties

Some of the properties that the Contents pane is configured to display may not apply to all the objects currently listed in the Contents pane. You can configure the Model Explorer to indicate the inapplicable properties.

To do this, select Mark Nonexistent Properties from the Model Explorer's View menu. The Model Explorer now displays dashes for the values of properties that do not apply to the objects displayed in the Contents pane.

Changing Property Values

You can change modifiable properties displayed in the Contents pane (e.g., a block's name) by editing the displayed value. To edit a displayed value, first select the row that contains it. Then click the value. An edit control replaces the displayed value (e.g., an edit field for text values or a pull-down list for a range of values). Use the edit control to change the value of the selected property.

To assign the same property value to multiple objects displayed in the Contents pane, select the objects and then change one of the selected objects to have the new property value. The Model Explorer assigns the new property value to the other selected objects as well.

Model Hierarchy Pane

Dialog Pane

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