Syntax2D Manual (Beta)

Version1.2 6.01.07 Forquestions,corrections,ormoreinformation: Pleaseemailusats2dinfo<at>umich.edu

Introduction
Syntax2DisanopensourcespatialanalysisprogramdevelopedattheUniversityofMichigan.Itis intendedasaplatformforSpaceSyntaxresearchthatwillevolveovertimetobetterservethe community.Syntax2DfeaturesIsovist,grid,andaxialanalysisaswellaspathanalysisand countingfeaturesintendedtoassistwithfieldresearch. Usersarefreetodownloadtheprogramandthesourcecodefromourwebsite (http://www.tcaup.umich.edu/archdoc/syntax2d/),providedtheyadheretothesoftwarelicense agreement.

System Requirements
Syntax2DrequiresaWindowsPC. TherearecurrentlynoplansforaMacversion. Syntax2DhasnotbeentestedonIntelMacsrunningvirtualization. Basicrequirementsareminimal(essentiallytherequirementsoftheOS): 500MHzprocessor 128MBRAM SVGADisplay Threebuttonmouse 2MBHarddrivespace(moreforsourcefiles) Syntax2Dreliesonsomecomputationallyintensiveroutines,somoreprocessingpowerandRAM willimproveperformanceandarerecommended.

Installation
Syntax2Dcurrentlyhasnoinstaller,buttheprocessisnotdifficult.Simplydownloadthefilefrom thewebsite,unziptoanewfolder,andrunthefileS2D.EXE

Import a File
File Requirements: Syntax2DcurrentlyrequiresAutoCAD2000.DXFformattedfiles. From these files, Syntax2D imports only line and polyline entities (including shapes). External references,hatches,orotherproprietarydatatypeswillnotbeimported. Prior to importing, all drawings should have a boundary line. This surrounds the drawing area andindicatestheextentsoftheanalysis.Theboundaryshouldbeaclosedpolylineonitsown layer (default: BOUNDARY) and no larger than is necessary. Interior walls or other partitions separate from the boundary line should be on a separate layer (default: WALLS). Finally, referencelinesmaybeplacedonalayer(default:GLINES)iftheuserwantstohavevisiblelines whichdonotcontributetothespatialanalysis. NOTES: Overlappinglineswithintheboundarylineorwalllinescancauseproblemsfortheanalysis.Be suretocleanupyourfilebeforeimporting. Pathsmustbepolylines.Pathscanalsobeimportedintoadrawingfromexternalfiles. Instructions: Toimportafile,gotoFile,Import,.DXF

Navigation
Zoom TherearemanydifferentwaystozoominSyntax2D.Theeasiestistousethescrollwheelonthe mouse.Scrolluptozoomin,scrolldowntozoomout.Thisissimilartohowthescrollworksin AutoCAD. YoucanalsoZoomusingtheZoomExtentsbutton Pan PanningisaccomplishedwiththearrowkeysorthePanbutton . orView,ZoomExtents.

Isovist
1. TocreateapointIsovist,clickinthespacewhereyouwantittoappear.Alternately,youcan alsogotoIsovist,PointIsovistAtandenterincoordinates.Youshouldseeablackvisibility polygonextendingfromthepoint.

IfanIsovistdoesnotappear,checkthefollowing: 2. ToobtaindatafromtheIsovist,gotoIsovist,PointIsovistProperties. atthetopchecked?) AreIsovistsvisible?(isthecheckbox Isthereaboundarylinearoundthedrawing?

Grid Isovist (visibility graph analysis)

1. 2. Torestrictthegridtoaspecificarea,usetheOffsetboxtodefinecoordinates. IMPORTANT:Ifyouwantallgraphmeasuresintheanalysis,youmustcheckthebox. YoumayalsoedittheIntegrationdepthhere. AdjusttheSpanSizeorX/YCounttoseethenumberofcellsthatwillbecreated.Morecells willincreasetheresolutionoftheresults,butwillalsoincreasetheprocessingtime. PriortocreatingaGridIsovist,thegridparametersmustbesetup.GotoGrid,GridSetup/ Options.

3.

WhenyouaresatisfiedwiththeGridOptions,gotoGrid,InitializeGrid.Thiswilldrawthe gridtothescreen.Ifyouareunsatisfiedwithhowitlooks,youcangobacktotheGridSetup andrepeattheprocess. Whenyouareready,gotoGrid,CreateGridIsovist.Syntax2Dwillnowprocessthegrid;this maytakeawhileifyouhaveCalculateGraphMeasureschecked.

4.

 5.

TovisualizeaGridmeasure,gotoGrid,ShowGridProperties.

6.

When the program is finished, you can export the data using Grid, Export, Comma SeparatedValues.Excelshouldbeabletoreadthisfiletypeandconvertittoaspreadsheet. Tocheckthemeasuresofanindividualcell,clickonacellwiththeleftmousebuttonandgo toGrid,IsovistProperties.NOTE:ThisscreenwillnotshowdataonPathorPointCounts unlessananalysiswasrunwiththisinformation.

Path Isovist
Setup Pathsmustbepolylinescontainedin.DXFfiles.Youcanimportthemalongwithyourdrawingor laterfromanexternalfile. ItisadvisabletoputyourpathsonalayercalledPATHorsomethingeasytoremember.Upon import, all polylines on layers called PATH will be converted to numbered path objects. Otherwise,youcanimportthemfromPath,ImportPath. Processing 1. LikeaGridIsovist,youneedtosetyouroptionsfirst.Todothis,gotoPath,PathOptions. FromtheCurrentpathdropdown,chosethepathyouwanttoprocess.

2.

Next,gotoPath,CreateObservationPoints.ThiswillsetthepointsfromwhichIsovistwill be generated. You can do this for a set number of points or derive points from a spacing interval.Ifyouwanttochangethepointspacing,gobacktoPath,PathOptions.

 3.

Nowyouarereadytoprocessthepath.GotoIsovist,CreatePathIsovist(thismaytakea while).

4.

Toviewthepropertiesofeachpoint,gotoIsovist,ShowPointProperties,andthenchoose themeasureyouwanttoview. UsingPath,PathOptions,youcanchangeoptionsofthevisualization.

5.

You can also view this data as a table by going to Isovist, View Path Data. To export this data, go to Isovist, Export (the one next to the other path functions), Comma Separated Values.

Path Count
Path Count is a useful feature for correlating the movement of people with other spatial measures. For example, recording the tracings of pedestrians in a plaza in relation to the Integrationofthespace.PathcountisfoundundertheGridIsovistmenu. Note:PathCountdoesnottakeintoaccountdirectionitonlycalculatespathsinacell.Ifpath crossesoveritself,itwillbecountedagainwithinthatcell. RefertotheCADrequirementsfortheproperwaytoconstructpathsforSyntax2D. If you have already loaded a file with Paths and have created a Grid Isovist, go to Path Count underShowGridProperties. Otherwise,followthisprocedure: 1. LoadafilethatcontainspathsorgotoPath,ImportPathstoaddthemtoafilethatis alreadyopen.

2. 3. UnderGrid,ShowGridProperties,gotoPathCount.

Next,createaGridIsovist.(asabove:Grid,GridSetup;InitializeGrid,CreateGridIsovist)

Point Count
Point count is used to correlate the number of points in cells against other spatial data. For example,pointscanbeusedtosamplethelocationsofpeoplestandinginaroom. Syntax2D defines a point as the center of a circle CAD objectradius doesnt factor into the calculation.PlaceallpointsonalayerseparatefromotherSyntax2Delements(i.e.alayercalled POINTS). PointcountworkssimilarlytoPathCount,usingtheGridIsovist. 1. First, load your drawing file. Then load the points into your file using Grid, Import CustomPoints.

2. 3.

SetupandruntheGridIsovist(seeabovesection). UnderGrid,ShowGridProperties,gotoPointCount.

PointCountcanbesavedandcomparedwithotherGridIsovistdatausingGrid,Export,Comma SeparatedValuesorbyselectingacellandusingGrid,IsovistProperties.

Axial Line Analysis

DrawyouraxiallinesinaCADprogram.Theyshouldallbeonthesamelayerseparatefromtheother objecttypesinthefile. 1. Loadyourfile.GotoAxial,ImportAxialLinestoaddthemtothefile.

2. Next,gotoAxial,RunAnalysis.

 3. Tovisualizetheanalysis,gotoAxial,ShowAxialLineProperties.