After downloading and unzipping the distribution .zip file, make sure that the location of the java interpreter is in your path. If your path is set correctly, the provided parvis.bat should work (under windows). Alternatively, you have to start your java interpreter with the commandline java -classpath parvis0.3.jar org.mediavirus.parvis.ParvisMain (which is exactly the content of the .bat file), modify the paths for java and or parvisX.X.jar according to your installation.
After successfully starting, you see the main parvis UI as shown below.
You can alternatively type an url into the location bar, or select "File/Open File..." from the menu. Parvis currently reads .stf files, a format which is documented somewhere in the API docs. Some sample data files can be downloaded here. The file contents are read, and an initial display is rendered.
The topmost toolbar offers you the 4 basis interaction tools to interact with the display:
Furthermore, by right clicking on the main display you can bring up a context menu that allows you to add and remove axes to/from the display. Note that when adding an axis, it is significant where you click the mouse, because between the two axes your mouse pointer is located the new axis will be inserted.
In brush mode, you can drag along an axis, and all records inside the area you dragged your mouse over will be highlighted. Furthermore, you can add records to your current brush by holding down the Shift key before you start dragging (additive mode), you can remove records from the current brush by holding down Alt before dragging (subtract mode), or you can intersect your current selection with a new selection by holding down Ctrl before you start making the new selection.
The "Brush fuzziness" setting in the lower right corner determines if and how much the border of a brush should be "fuzzy", i.e. the selection fades out at its border instead of ending sharply. The percentage value means that the fuzzy region will extend your brush x% in each direction.
Brushes can be saved in the brush list window, by typing a name for the brush and pressing Enter (or the "Save" button) Brushes in the brush list can be re-displayed by clicking on their name on the list. You can also use the modifier keys discussed above to add, subtract or intersect saved brushes with the current brush. This enables you to perform very complex boolean queries in the display.
