MakeUp, the graphical interface for SKIRT parameter files

Introduction

The MakeUp utility is an optional component of the SKIRT project that requires installation of the Qt libraries. Assuming you have built MakeUp (see Installation Guide), you can create and edit parameter files for SKIRT through a graphical wizard-like user interface.

MakeUp is built as a separate program, so it does not need to run on the same computer as the SKIRT command line program. The consecutive wizard panes follow the same pattern as the Q&A session driven by the command-line program (see Interactive mode), with important benefits offered by the graphical user interface:

• You can modify existing SKIRT parameter files (ski files) without having to open them in a text editor and manually changing values. Sometimes changing a certain parameter requires other additional parameters to be set or others to be deleted from the parameter file, which is not easily done by hand. The MakeUp interface will automatically adapt its questions after you change such a parameter.
• You can go back to the preceding wizard panes. With the command line Q&A session, when you enter an incorrect value, you either have to abort the session and start over, or you have to remember to change the value once the parameter file has been created. And when you select a parameter value that influences the course of the session (e.g. you add the wrong type of geometry), you have no other choice than to start over.
• When adding components to a list (instruments, geometries, stellar or dust components), you get a visualization of the components already added. You also have the option to edit any component in the list, or to remove one.
• You can get context-sensitive help on the items and properties being configured through built-in links to the SKIRT web site.

Using MakeUp

Once the SKIRT project has been built with the appropriate build options (see Installation Guide), the executable for MakeUp can be found in a directory called ~/SKIRT/release/MakeUp/main. On some platforms, such as macOS, you can double-click the application icon to launch MakeUp. On other platforms, it has to be launched from the command line. In any case, there are no command line options.

After MakeUp has been launched, the following window appears:

In this window, MakeUp offers the possibility of creating a new parameter file for SKIRT or editing an existing one. Selecting one of the options and pressing "Continue" will take you into a wizard session that follows the same pattern as the command line interface invoked by launching SKIRT in a terminal window without command line arguments. For example, when adding an instrument that records IFU data cubes, the wizard pane may look like this:

In the configuration pane for a particular property, there are two noteworthy user-assistance features:

• When you right-click on the text describing a property or option, MakeUp displays a context-sensitive popup menu with a list of help options. Selecting one of these options opens the corresponding online SKIRT documentation in your default web browser.
• The lower left corner of the MakeUp window shows the name and "path" of the property being configured as it would appear in a ski file. This can help locating the property in ski files for manual editing.

At the end of the session, a final wizard pane asks the user to save the new or adjusted configuration in a parameter file on disk.