Working with Sessions

Dragonfly supports session management. This means that you can save the current state of the workspace — including all imported datasets, processed objects, as well as the layout and settings of the scenes in the workspace and the keyframes in a Movie Maker timeline — and then quickly resume your work at a later time by loading the saved session. You can also open a saved session to collaborate with colleagues or to present a training scenario. You should note that the current session is indicated on the title bar, as shown below.

Dragonfly title bar

ORS Session files (*.ORSSession) are self-contained binary files. Datasets and objects included in a session are saved within the session file itself. A distinct advantage of this arrangement is that session files do not just reference datasets and objects and can therefore be shared easily. However, a disadvantage of this arrangement is that session files, by nature, include duplicated data and can be very large.

In some cases, it may not be possible to fully recreate a session created in a previous version of Dragonfly. For example, a session created in version 2.0 may not be initially displayed in exactly the same manner in version 3.0. If you have any difficulty loading an old session, or any other session, you can still import the objects in the saved session (see Importing Objects from Session Files).

Whenever you start Dragonfly, a new session is created automatically. You can also start a new session before beginning a new workflow.

A new session cannot be started if the current session contains unsaved data, such as a new or modified dataset. You must either save the current session, save the new or modified objects, or delete the data before you can start a new session.
  • Choose File > New Session on the menu bar.
  • Click the New Session button on the Status bar.

If Dragonfly is configured in multi-user mode, you can lock the application without closing the current session. You will then need to enter the password of the current user in the Login screen to unlock the application.

  • Click the Lock Session button on the Status bar.

You should note that the datasets and objects available in the Data Properties and Settings panel are saved within the session file itself. You should account for anticipated sizes when you select a save location.

  • Choose File > Save Session on the menu bar to save the session to the current session file.
  • Choose File > Save Session As on the menu bar to save the session to a new session file.

You can load a saved session to continue your workflow or to review your findings with colleagues.

A message box will appear onscreen if a session is already open. Clearing the current session will remove all unsaved data. If you need to save the current session, click No and then save the session. Click Yes if you do not need to save the current session.
  • Choose File > Load Session on the menu bar. Navigate to and select the required session file in the Open dialog.
  • Choose File > Recent Sessions on the menu bar. Choose the required session in the corresponding submenu.

For cases in which it is not be possible to fully recreate a session, or if a session file cannot be loaded, you can import all of the objects in the session file. Imported data will appear in the Data Properties and Settings panel.

  1. Click the Import button on the Data Properties and Settings panel.

    The Import Object(s) from File dialog opens.

  2. Choose ORS Session Files (*.ORSSession) as the file type.

  3. Select the required session file and then click Open.

    All of the objects in the saved session file are added to the Data Properties and Settings panel.