What do All of Those Icons on Mobile Apps and Websites Mean? Google Will Start Penalizing Your Website on Mobile if You Don’t Stop Doing This | 2016 As more and more people are using mobile devices to run their lives and businesses, the people who develop applications for these devices face a challenge. Smaller screens mean less space to use words that instruct the user where to go and how to use the mobile website or app. For that reason, a whole new visual language of small symbols called “icons” is evolving. These icons are supposed to convey to the user what will happen when they tap onto or click the image. The only problem is, sometimes Developer A and Developer B use the same image for various things, or different images for the same thing. For instance, what does and “i” in a circle mean? How is it different from a “?” in a circle? Or, for that matter, an “!”? (We included that last one, as it’s an on-going debate we have among ourselves at SmallBusiness.com.) Here are some common icons and what will likely happen when you click or tap on them.

The following icons are from the folks at Font Awesome who have open-sourced them as part of development framework called Bootstrap that was created at Twitter and became an open-source project in 2011. Cog, Widget or Gear We started with this one because it demonstrates some of the confusion. First off, it’s a symbol that goes by different names. In the real-world, the symbol can mean “widget,” a word that has a meaning among developers that has nothing to do with that real-world meaning. On an app or website, it typically means “settings.” Click it and you can adjust something. Wrench This, also, is what we mean by a confusing icon, as it can, like the cog-gear-widget, also mean “settings.” For example, Google Apps used to have a wrench icon for settings but now uses a “cog-gear-widget.” Envelope An envelope should mean email, right? It may. Or it may have a broader meaning, like “click on this to contact us.” Look for one on SmallBusiness.com and click it and the latter will happen. Right Swirving Arrow This means share.

Click on it and you’ll likely see a list of ways to post the content you’re seeing onto social media sites or email it to friends or co-workers. Another Sharing Icon Perhaps we didn’t mention that the internet has no governing board that controls how many symbols can mean the same thing, as this one means “share” also., but wait, there’s more. Yet, Another Sharing Symbol We feel certain there are some nuance differences in the two previous sharing icons and this one, but on SmallBusiness.com, we’ve narrowed it down to the middle one. This one is especially confusing because it can also mean “print.” One day, this will all be worked out by the UN. Exclamation Point The exclamation point in a circle means, “take note and watch out.” If it’s in a triangle, it means “TAKE NOTE and WATCH OUT.” Or, if it’s part of the logo of SmallBusiness.com, it means, “here’s your answer!” Home This should be obvious. It means, click here to play a game of Monopoly. Ellipsis Sometimes (say, if you use Google+), you may even see a stack of ellipses.

We’re guessing this icon is a visual pun that means “the stuff we couldn’t…fit here.” Clicking or tapping on the icon will reveal options related to what you are currently viewing. (Coincidentally, the next icon means and does about the same.) Parallel Bars (or a stack of hotdogs) When used as a navigational icon, either of these two “lists” mean there are lots of things the app or website couldn’t fit on a tiny screen. Typically, if you click or tap on them, some form of navigational bar will slide in from the side or top. Pencil This means “edit” pretty much anywhere you see it. Triangle in a Circle This is a play button icon. That, or a cattle ranch brand. Circle Arrow This means refresh. Refresh means stay on the same page, but try to make it work, this time. A Dot with Two Curved Lines This is an RSS icon. It’s a magical tool that far too few people use. If you want others to be more informed than you, ignore it. Magnifying glass This means “search.” Even if you don’t see a search box, click on it.

In fact, you can test what we mean by looking for one at the top of this screen (depending on the device you are using). Tap or click on it. We promise a search box will appear. Icons and the FOSS desktop » Linux Magazine Icons and the FOSS desktop Off the Beat: Bruce Byfield's Blog May 31, 2010 GMT Bruce Byfield Icons have always intimidated me. Except for the mouseover help, two-thirds of the time I would have no idea what function they represent. Shrink them so that they fit on a toolbar, and the obscurity is compounded by illegibility. On the free and open source software (FOSS) desktop, icons seem to be one of the last holdouts against usability, with neither of the two main strategies for designing icons being particularly successful. Admittedly, icons on the FOSS desktop have come a long way since the early years of this century, when GNOME's logout button looked like an illustration from Goodnight Moon, or possibly a sign indicating an outhouse.

That icon disappeared when the first usability study showed that people had no idea what it indicated, to be replaced (more sensibly) in many distributions with an open door and an arrow or a person passing through it to suggest to leaving. Similarly, when I open up the copy of OpenOffice.org that comes with Debian, I see icons for font weights, alignment and indentation whose functions are obvious at a glance. Other icons, such as the letters ABC above a check mark for spellchecking, or binoculars for search, are less immediately identifiable, but still more or less decipherable. However, such improvements seem to be only the most obvious and most easily iconified features in any applications. Open any application, and you are likely to stumble across icons whose connections to the features they invoke is either obscure, or recognizable only after a moments' thought. For instance, what connection do the developers of VirtualBox imagine between a cog and Settings? Why does the Krita team use three overlapping circles for Paint with Filters or the maintainers of KDE's System Settings between what looks like a pad of paper with a diagonal slash through it for Appearance? It gets worse, too.

I have yet to decipher what the icon for Browse represents in Okular, or the one for Properties in digiKam. And these are not necessarily the worst offenders -- just random examples taken from the applications I run regularly. Nor are these examples meant to condemn a particular desktop or application, although I have noticed that newer GNOME applications tend to have more easily identifiable icons than most. Regardless of the desktops or applications, I suspect that a lot of people are like me, and only work with some of these icons by remembering their position on the toolbar -- especially in applications like The GIMP, with its thirty sub-microscopic icons. Clearly, there is not only rooms, but entire country estates left for improvement. Abstract reductions One way that designers have tried to address the usability problem is by simplifying the icons to a few basic shapes. This tactic has the advantage of producing clear images even at small sizes yet by itself is not enough to produce usable icons. For instance, in the latest Ubuntu, the Internet applet on the panel is two arrows, one pointing up and one pointing down.

Command line users will recognize the design as a reference to the ifup and ifdown commands used to configure ethernet connections, but, to the desktop users that Ubuntu targets, the reference will be meaningless. The same is true of the orange starburst update icon in the notification of Fedora and several other distributions. The icon suggests a matter of urgency (which usually it is not; at least, not a matter that must be attended to this very second), but what is so urgent is not conveyed at all. The same lack of identifiable purpose is visible in the rectangle and a plus sign to mean Open in several newer applications such as GNOME's Simple Scan. Simplification is a worthwhile goal in a media as limited as icons, but if the design is over-simplified, then all the designer has found is a new way to be obscure. Nostalgic references The second major tactic in icon design is to refer back to older technologies. For instance, the floppy drive has been dying slowly for over a decade, and has been not used as a main store device for twenty years. So why is it still being used in many applications for the save icon?

I see that the latest version of Ubuntu has tried to update this icon by showing an external drive, but it is harder to depict clearly in a few dozen pixels than a floppy drive, and the reference is weakened by the fact that an external drive is what most people use for back ups, not for saving files. In the same way, the Lancelot menu in KDE (to use another random example) uses three obsolete cultural references for its top level menus. Computer is indicated appropriately enough by a laptop, but Applications are indicated by a CD leaning against a box -- never mind that this is free software, and applications rarely come in boxes. Lancelot also uses a stack of letters for Contacts, and a typewriter for documents. Some of these same icons can be found in other KDE applications as well. Such cultural references may be tempting to designers, because they seem a quick way to solve the problem of how to produce a recognizable icon. But the trouble with such references is that, as time passes, they become less and less meaningful. I am old enough to remember (and bless!) the transition from typewriters to word processors, but today I do not immediately associate typewriters with documents.

Nor does snail mail come to my mind when I think of an address book. These days when I use the word "address," I usually mean an URL or email address. When I want to refer to a postal address, I usually qualify it as a street address. If such icons hold such little meaning for me, how much less can they mean to a twenty something who has never used a typewriter, and possibly never seen one in person? For young adults, even a recently obsolete technology like floppy drives may not carry much meaning. And when, as in the GNOME desktop of the latest Ubuntu, an envelope represents not only email, but also messaging, the analog is so remote to many users that it might as well not be used. What seems at first to be a convenient shortcut on second glance becomes only slightly less arbitrary than a randomly selected symbol. Rethinking icons Compared to the task of improving functionality, developing meaningful icons might seem trivial. Part of me must agree, since, despite all the complaints I make here, I still manage to accomplish my necessary tasks. All the same, if usability needs to be a priority if the FOSS desktop is to become widely used, then icons are one of the obvious starting points.

Right now, I can find very few applications which have a complete set of default icons that are usable. Firefox does. Brassero very nearly does, except that the common element of a disc is far larger than the unique element that defines each function. However, most applications have a mixture of clear, distinct icons and ones that fail for one reason or the other. In fact, modern applications, proprietary and FOSS alike, seem to me explicit admissions that icons do not work very well. Many applications provide mouseover help to help users identify the icons. The KDE desktop goes one step further, offering thumbnails to help you see what each icon does or contains. If icons worked the way they are supposed to, then why would these supporting structures even exist? Many icons are simply inherited, like a man page that passes from operating system to operating system without being updated. Yet it seems to me that the FOSS community either needs to get even more serious about icon design that it currently is, replacing the icons that fail to convey information, or else consider if icons are worth having at all. True, icons contribute strongly to the look of a desktop or an application, and doing without them would seem strange.

But they are redundant, since the same functions are available from the menu or via keyboard shortcuts. So, if most of them are not functional, why keep them simply for the sake of tradition? Icons may have been originally designed to help users navigate, but, if so many of them are unreliable markers, then either they need to be seriously improved, or perhaps eliminated altogether. Lesson 1 -- Creating the First Paradigm and Model Creating the First Paradigm and Model 1.4 Enhancing the metamodel and the model icons Introduction to Lesson 1 In this first lesson, you will configure GME to allow the drawing of basic diagrams for a specific application domain. Later lessons will show you how to extend the project with more advanced features. The application domain throughout this tutorial is that of networking systems: routers, networked computers, and other devices, as well as the connections between these devices. Your application domain is probably quite different from this one, but looking at a specific domain as an example is probably the best way to help you identify the main steps of modeling and learn the techniques of customizing GME.

There are some sections that describe the details of networking, and serve as "theoretical backgrounds" for accomplishing a certain task in GME in a particular way. Those sections appear in red italics. If you are not familiar with networking, you may find them irrelevant or hard to understand. Feel free to skim or even skip them, and focus on the rest of the tutorial, which deals with the more practical aspects of GME. This tutorial provides enough information to give the average user a well-developed understanding of GME, without having to rely on extra documentation. Of course, to gain a deeper understanding of GME and to learn all of its features, you will need to consult the GME Users Manual as well. 1.1 GME and the modeling process GME is a generic, configurable modeling environment. In other words, the configuration of GME is not an option; it is the first step that must be taken before anything meaningful can be done with it. The configuration process itself is also a form of modeling - the modeling of a modeling process. This is called metamodeling. The output of the metamodeling process is a compiled set of rules, the paradigm, that configures GME for a specific application domain.

Does everyone need to be a metamodeling expert to use GME? Of course not. Normally, only a few people participate in the metamodeling process. By contrast, there are numerous users of the configured environment. The users do not need to know much about metamodeling; what they see is a graphical tool with editing capabilities that is already customized for their domain. The main advantage of model-integrated computing is that the work of the users is guided by the modeling environment. This tutorial is written for those who are interested in metamodeling and customization. The majority of the tutorial deals specifically with metamodeling issues; examples of customized environments are usually explained in much less detail. Remember, the metamodeling environment itself is also based on GME. So while acting as a metamodeler, you are also a user of the customized environment of GME, based on its meta-paradigm. By the time you begin to build models, you will have already had plenty of practice simply by using the metamodeling environment! 1.1.1 Problem specification The first thing that a metamodeling expert needs is a specification (or at least some vague idea) of the modeling application to be implemented. This typically comes in a natural-language description.

As an example, the proposed network modeling application is described below: "We want to create networking diagrams. The diagrams will contain routers. Each router has several router-ports. We also have hosts (e.g. servers). We want to connect router-ports and hosts to form networks. "Routers are identified by name and family. Name is a string, family is one of the following: "C16xx", "C25xx", "C36xx", or "Linux" [i.e. we have Cisco and Linux routers]. Ports are identified by portname, IP address, speed (in kbps), and type (which is either "HDLC", "PPP" or "Ethernet"). "Hosts are identified by name and address (for now, they all have a single Ethernet port). Networks are identified by a network address and a netmask." 1.1.2 The modeling approach We now have a description of the concepts to be modeled using the GME metamodeling environment. The modeling technique we are using is the well-known and widely accepted Unified Modeling Technology, especially a specific subset called UML Class Diagrams.

The most basic step in the metamodeling process consists of determining two things: the entities used by the model, and the relations between them. Information used to identify and qualify certain entities and relations will be assigned to them as attributes. Metamodeling, in a nutshell, is the mapping of specification concepts onto entities, relations and attributes. We have been given the specification. Now let's describe the modeling paradigm: "Router", "network", and "host" can easily be modeled as entities. "Router-port" is also an entity, one that is always associated with (i.e. contained by) a router. The model will contain two different types of relations: one that represents connections between a network and a router-port or host (association), and one that links a router to its router-ports (containment). The main difference between containment and association is that contained entities are "owned" by their containers, and the contained entity cannot exist without its container. Certain entities have specific attributes. All of the attributes are mentioned in the specification, such as "name" and "family" for the "router" entity. Luckily for us, the networking specification in this example turned out to be brief and fairly precise.

It often takes much more to extract the essence of the customer's ideas. 1.1.3 Generic modeling concepts in GME GME supports a set of generic modeling concepts that are variations of the UMT entities, relationships, and attributes. The differences reside partly in the nomenclature and partly in additional features, semantics, and constraints which are expected to guide and simplify the metamodeling process. Atoms are a basic, limited type of entity. The name "atom" indicates that it has no internal structure (i.e. contained objects). Every feature of an atom that can be represented in a model is contained in the atom's name, attributes, and the relations it participates in. Models, the second generic type of entity, are very similar to atoms. The main difference lies in the ability of models to contain atoms, other models, and other types of objects. Thus, models have internal structure. When viewed together, they form tree-like containment hierarchies of entities. Models can be opened, showing a diagram of their internal structure (Fig 1.2).

* Please note that - mostly for historical reasons - the term model has a double meaning in GME: it denotes either the full description of something (the artifact of a modeling project) or a model entity located somewhere in a containment hierarchy of entities. Connections are the primary concepts that represent relationships. Connections normally describe a relation between two objects, and this relation is represented as a line in a particular color and style connecting the two objects. Connections can also have their own attributes. There are two other important generic concepts, references and sets. A reference is an entity with a built-in association for a single object. This association allows it to act like a pointer or an alias for that object. A set forms an association between several similar objects. Sets are often thought of as collections or categories. Both references and sets are introduced later, in Lesson 4 . The concepts listed above form the core of the GME concepts used to represent entities and relations. They are commonly called First Class Objects, or FCOs, emphasizing their central role in any modeling project. Other important GME concepts are listed below: Attributes correspond to the UMT attribute concept. Attributes are "bound" to FCOs and are used to store information in an FCO.

In GME, attributes can contain text, integers, real numbers, or boolean values. Folders are containers for different sections of a modeling project, just like a directory structure in a file system. Folders are auxiliary objects (compared with models, which are considered "true" modeling concepts), and are used merely for organization. Each modeling project contains at least one folder, called the root folder, located at the very top of the hierarchy. For the purposes of this tutorial, we will use only the root folder until Lesson 5 , where a detailed introduction to folders is provided. Aspects represent different "views" of the structure of a model. It is not always beneficial to present every object contained in a model all at once; aspects allow us to choose what we want to see. A model with several aspects will display different subsets of its contained entities depending on the aspect selected. See Lesson 5 for details. Constraints are validity rules applied to a model. They are expressed in OCL, a predicate language. Constraints differ from the declarative composition rules that result from the paradigm definition, but both must be satisfied in a model. Constraints can be checked on-line (while the model is being built), or in on-demand mode.

For more information on constraints, read Lesson 6 . During the metamodeling process, a suitable GME concept (FCO) is chosen to represent each of the real-world concepts that appear in the specification. A set of GME meta-datatypes, or kinds, are established. Each defines a set of attributes, composition rules, association options, constraints, etc. The generic GME FCO (model, reference, etc.) that is selected for an entity or association kind (such as a router, or network connection) is called its stereotype. 1.2 Creating a metamodel Now that the theoretical process of metamodeling has been described, let us see how the process is conducted in practice. You can follow the instructions below to create a metamodel for the networking application example, or you can adapt the instructions for a separate modeling problem and begin implementing your own customized GME environment. 1.2.1 Creating a new metamodeling project Start GME, and select "File/New Project...". A dialog box pops up to let you choose the paradigm the new project will be based on. Since we are creating a metamodel, the paradigm will be "MetaGME". Select it and press the "Create New..." button.

The next dialog asks you to specify the data storage. Simple models are usually stored in project files. After clicking "Next", a file dialog asks you to name a project file. The standard extension is ".mga". Specify a name (like "networking.mga") and press OK. GME has now created and opened an empty project. The project is named "networking" and is associated with the MetaGME paradigm, the GME built-in metamodeling paradigm that configures the environment for use as a metamodeling tool. Note that the project is not completely empty: it contains a root folder, also named "networking". 1.2.2 Creating a paradigm sheet. Right click on the root folder in the Browser window (the one usually docked at the right side), and select the single option "ParadigmSheet" within the "Insert New Model" option. A new object named NewParadigmSheet is created under the root. Double click to open it. A white window appears in the user area (Fig 1.1). This window displays the empty contents of the NewParadigmSheet model, which serves as the all-enclosing drawing board for your class (i.e. entity) diagram.

The header of the window contains the following: An editable field for the name of the model, showing its kindname as a default. The kindname (in this case, ParadigmSheet). A selection list with all valid aspects for the model, The current aspect is displayed. The base type of the model, if any (see Lesson 5 for details). For a while, this will be the only paradigm sheet of the metamodel, so doubleclick its header to maximize it. Fig 1.1 GME metamodel with an empty paradigm sheet 1.2.3 Defining entities. Make sure the current aspect is "ClassDiagram". The Part Browser, a small window in the lower left portion of the program, displays the selection of objects that can be inserted into the model in its current aspect. Drag a "Model" from the Part Browser onto the main window. This will be the entity that represents a router. Give it the name "Router" by selecting it and clicking the topmost input field in the Attributes/Preferences/Properties window (located in the lower right section of the program). The generic GME concept "model" - indicated by <<Model>> in the defining class - is the stereotype for routers.

Therefore, since routers are models, they can contain other objects (i.e. router-ports). Now create three <<Atom>> classes, and name them "Port", "Host" and "Network". The relations will be represented by connection entities, so create a <<Connection>> object and let it keep the default name "Connection". (This is an example of an overloaded name: a connection entity represents a relationship which happens to be called "Connection" in the networking paradigm.) We have created five entities so far, but we still need a couple more. First, we must add something to act as a base container for the routers, networks, hosts, and their relations. This will be a <<Model>> named "NetDiagram"; add it to the metamodel. Now we need just one more class: a generic entity that represents "anything that can be directly connected to a network" (i.e. router-ports and hosts). The modeling environment should not allow this object to be directly created. Therefore, it must take the form of an abstract baseclass for router-ports and hosts. Create it as an <<FCO>> and name it "NetInterface", because it essentially represents anything that incorporates a network interface.

Our paradigm sheet now contains all seven necessary entities: two models, three atoms, a connection, and an FCO. 1.2.4 Generalization, containment, and association. The next step is to indicate relationships between entities. Relationships are represented by lines, so switch the editor mode to "Add Connection" ( ). Let us start with NetInterface. We want to show that Ports and Hosts are NetInterfaces; in other words, they implement NetInterface. The UML notation for this is a line connecting the subclasses to the baseclass, passing through a small triangle that points to the baseclass. In the Part Browser, locate a small triangle named "Inheritance" and drag it onto the user area. Since we won't refer to this object directly it does not need to have a specific name. Click NetInterface, and make sure the cursor is changed to . Click the triangle, and VOILA! - the first connection is drawn! Now connect the triangle to the subclasses. Do this by clicking the triangle first; this tells GME which object is the base class and which are the derived classes in the inheritance. We now have a UML generalization relationship, just like the one shown in Fig 1.2.

Routers contain ports; this will be the second type of relationship we implement. The UML notation for containment is a line connecting an object to its container, with a small black diamond on the "container" end of the line. Containment is easier to draw than inheritance; no triangles are involved. Just click the contained object first (remain in "Add Connection" mode, ), and the container second. Whenever your coursor is above an object that can be a candidate for a connection, the border of the object gets red. Moreover, when the cursor is near one of the side lines of the box, a little red square will appear in the midpoint of the line. This indicates that the user is able to enforce the location of the connection line attached to the box. If you chose one of the side lines to create the connection, GME will always draw the connection from that side, even if the object is moved from its place. If you simply click in the middle of the object, GME will always try to find the best routing for drawing the line representing the connection. Near the end connected to the contained class, the multiplicity "0..*" is displayed. We will leave this alone for now.

Do not forget that there are more containment relationships to be defined: Routers, Hosts, and Networks are contained by NetDiagrams. GME also requires that relationships (or connections) are contained somewhere, so add a containment relationship between Connections and NetDiagrams as well. If the containment lines in our metamodel look like those in Fig 1.2, we are ready to move on to the third and final type of relationship: associations. We have already defined the association class, "Connection", but we still need to indicate what objects this relationship can associate. This is a ternary relation between the association class and the two endpoints of the association, so another helping object, a small black dot ( ), must be used. Drag it onto the diagram from the Part Browser. The connection source will be router-ports and hosts. Only one source can be specified for each connection, but we can get around this by using the common baseclass, NetInterface, to represent both sources. Connect NetInterface to the connector dot. The line displays "src" as the role, and "0..*" as the multiplicity at its NetInterface end.. Now specify the destination: first click the connector dot, and then the "Network" class.

The association class, "Connection", is the third leg of the association relationship. When you connect this class to the connector dot (in any order), GME displays a window asking you to clarify the role of this relation. Select "Association Class" here. We have now defined all three basic UML relations: generalization, containment and association (Fig 1.2). Fig 1.2 Class diagram with entities and relationships 1.2.5 A visit to the "Attributes" window The UML class diagram looks ready, but there is still one more thing to do. The Attributes/PreferencesProperties window is located in the lower right corner of the screen, and shows the attributes, user preferences and properties of the currently selected object. This window has three panes; select the "Attributes" tab to expose the attributes. Here is a quick list of the metaparadigm entity attributes we will encounter: Abstract? (Boolean): Abstract entities are only used as generalizations of other (non-abstract) entities. They cannot be instantiated as objects in the models and are only used for metamodeling purposes. We have already created an abstract entity, NetInterface.

Entities with an <<FCO>> stereotype must be set always abstract, because an FCO ("First Class Object") itself is an abstract generalization of models, atoms, connections, references, and sets. In root folder? (Boolean): The root folder can contain models (and other folders, as we will see later). Normally, not all of the models in a metamodel will be contained in a folder. In this case, we only want to place NetDiagrams in the root folder. Routers should not be placed there, because they must always be assigned to a NetDiagram. General preferences (text field): This is a "catch-all" place, where we can specify all kinds of additional options. Examples will be mentioned in later lessons. Icon name/Port icon name (strings): Atoms and models can have a customized bitmap icon that is displayed in the modeling environment. Furthermore, "ports" (a contained object that can be connected to entities outside its container) are displayed as miniature icons atop the parent icon when viewed from the "grandparent" model. These are the "port icons" and are specified as a separate attribute. Name position (list of options): The default physical location of the name of the object, in relation to its icon.

Note: Connections have several additional attributes concerning line styles and labels. See the Users Manual for details. Attributes have a default value that is defined in the model's paradigm (in this case, the metamodeling paradigm). The default value is enabled if nothing else is expressly set. The name of the attribute and the value of it are displayed gray until the user changes them indicating that the attribute's default value is used. Fortunately, most default values are appropriate at this point. To practice working with attributes, we will change only one: the "In root folder?" option in the "NetDiagram" entity. We want to indicate that network diagrams can be directly created in the root folder. Follow these steps (see Fig 1.3): Click on the "NetDiagram" entity to display its attributes in the "Attributes" pane. Locate the "In root folder?" attribute, select it and click the arrow on the right side of the box. A list will appear where you can select "True" or "False". Select "True". The attribute will be displayed black, indicating that the attribute will now contain its own value instead of the paradigm-wide default. Resume work on the metamodel by leaving the attributes pane; the changes are automatically recorded.

Fig 1.3 The Attributes dialog pane As mentioned above, relation entities can also possess attributes. Although this feature is seldom used, our metamodel happens to require attributes for a particular containment relationship. The Attribute pane for a connection may be opened by selecting "Attributes" from its context menu (make sure you point exactly at the connection line). Open the Attribute pane for the "Composition" line between Router and Port. Change the value of the "Object is a port?" attribute to "True". This tells GME to treat Port objects as ports of Routers; they are visible and accessible from outside the parent model. The Attribute pane for relations also controls the association endpoint names and multiplicities, or cardinalities. (The latter will be explained in Lesson 6 ). The metamodel's UML Class Diagram part is now complete, but the rest of the metamodel needs further adjustments. The remaining information can be entered using the other three aspects of the NewParadigmSheet: Visualization, Constraints, and Attributes. (Constraints will not be defined at this point in the tutorial, so this aspect will be skipped for now.) 1.2.6 Creating an Aspect A model must contain at least one aspect. Switch to the "Visualization" aspect of the metamodel.

(This is a good place to point out a key difference between the metamodel and the model: the visualization aspect in the metamodel allows us to define aspects for our application.) Drag an "Aspect" onto the paradigm sheet. Name it "Connectivity" to distinguish it from other aspects that we will create later. Aspects are a type of set: the objects contained in this aspect are known as its members. Switch to "Set Edit" editor mode ( ). Right-click the new aspect, and then include all other entities in the diagram by left-clicking them. The result is shown in Fig 1.4.(You could include the NetInterface abstract base class, thus you would not be required to include the classes derived from it.) Fig 1.4 Defining and populating an aspect in your metamodel Membership in the aspect set indicates that every instance of a given meta-entity is visible in this aspect. We must also show that this aspect is contained in both of the models. A containment relationship will accomplish this; switch to "Add Connection" mode, and create containment connections from the aspect to both the Router and NetDiagram models. We have succesfully created an aspect!

Since the model contains only one aspect, it might be difficult to understand why this step is even necessary. In Lesson 5 , we will learn more about aspects and how they function in a model. 1.2.7 Specify attributes This is the last major step! Switch to the "Attributes" aspect. (As stated earlier, constraints are not used in this lesson). Attributes are data fields of entities. The data fields are mentioned in the specification ; some examples are name, type, IP address, and speed. In the configured network modeling environment, attributes for objects will be accessed in much the same way as Fig 1.3, which shows the attributes of a UML class in the metamodel. (Make sure you understand the difference between attributes of entities that are used in the metamodel, and attributes of entities that your metamodel is expected to define!) In standard UML class diagrams, attributes are defined in the lower half of the class rectangle. GME also displays attributes on the class diagram, but they are defined in a separate aspect. A connection relationship (which visually resembles UML containment) is used to assign attributes to classes.

Let's start by creating attributes for the Router entity: According to the specification, Router has two attributes: Name and Family. In GME, all objects have an automatically generated string property called "Name". This is a built-in attribute, typically used as the primary and individual (sometimes explicitly unique) identifier of the entity. In this case, the name of the router satisfies these criteria. Therefore, only one attribute, "Family", should be explicitly specified. The specification provides an enumerated set of options for Family, so this attribute will be an <<EnumAttribute>>. Drag this object onto the paradigm sheet and name it "Family". Through the context menu, open the Attributes dialog (i.e. the Attributes of an EnumAttribute meta-entity). All options shown in the dialog are listed below with brief descriptions and, if needed, the proper value for the "Family" attribute: Viewable? (Boolean): This specifies whether the attribute is visible in the attribute dialog. Normally it remains listed as the default value, true. Global Scope? (Boolean): Most attributes are defined in the global scope. Sometimes (with huge metamodels, for example) entity-specific attributes are preferred. This is not the case now, so the default value - true - is appropriate.

Prompt (string): This states the prompt displayed in the attribute dialog. In the default case, when nothing is specified, the prompt will be the name of the meta-entity. This is the best choice for "Family". Help (string): The string specified will be shown in the status bar of the Attribute window, when the user selects or edits this attribute. Menu items (multiline string): This option only applies to <<EnumAttribute>>s. The valid options of the attribute are listed here. Enter the choices from the specification ("C16xx", "C25xx", "C36xx" and "Linux") in the text area. Make sure each option is entered on a new line. You can add an additional option "Other", for unlisted types. DefaultMenuItem (string): The default value for this <<EnumAttribute>> is listed here. Set it to "Other". The other two types of attributes, <<FieldAttribute>> and <<BooleanAttribute>>, have the following extra options: Data type (enumeration): String, Integer, or Double Default (string): The default value for the attribute Number of lines (integer): The height of the input space (always set to 1 for Integers and Doubles) Default = 'True'?

(Boolean): The default value setting for a <<BooleanAttribute>> The Family attribute has now been perfectly defined, but it still must be associated with the meta-entity (or meta-entities) that will use it. Switch to "Add Connection" mode ( ) and connect the new attribute to the Router entity. An attribute can be used in several entities by drawing multiple connections. This particular attribute is only used by Routers. We can now define the other attributes in a similar fashion. Generally, most settings may be left in the default state, except for the data type of <<FieldAttribute>>s, menu item fields of <<EnumAttribute>>s, and default values for all attributes. Create the following: Data type: String Default value: 0.0.0.0 Connected to the Port and Host meta-entities (Alternately, we could make use of the generalization relationship by connecting IPAddress to the NetInterface meta-entity.

This would add the attribute to both Port and Host.) a <<FieldAttribute>> named "IFSpeed" Prompt: "Speed (kbps)" (This will indicate the proper units to the user.) Data type: Double Connected to the Port meta-entity an <<EnumAttribute>> named "IFType" Menu items: "Ethernet", "HDLC", and "PPP" Default value: any of the above Connected to the Port metaentity two <<FieldAttribute>>s named "NetworkAddress" and "NetMask" Data type: String Connected to the Network meta-entity Networking people usually mangle this information together in the form "192.168.2.80/255.255.255.240" or "192.168.22.80/28", and this provides the name of the network. For now, ignore the rest of the attribute options. Later, we will automatically generate the network name with an addon (see Lesson 10). The attribute aspect of the metamodel should resemble Fig 1.5.

Fig 1.5 The Attributes aspect of this metamodel 1.2.8 Interpret the metamodel and install the new paradigm Now we will convert the metamodel into a GME paradigm. Click the button with the cogwheel icon ( ) in the toolbar. Click "OK" on the "Configure Aspect Mapping" dialog. The next dialog selects the location of the paradigm XML file. If there are no errors in the metamodel, the final dialog reports that the paradigm has been generated, and asks if it is to be registered. Before they are used, paradigms must be registered (the name and properties must be entered into a specific part of the Windows registry), so select "OK". Although theoretically unnecessary, it is a good idea to save your work (with "File/Save Project") before testing the paradigm. If you are working from a database, this step is not needed, since all edits immediately persist. If you are working on file-based models, GME automatically offers to save your work when you quit the program. However, system crashes and other unforeseeable problems may still cause data loss. 1.3 Creating the first model Select "File/New Project..." from the menu to start a new GME project.

The familiar series of dialogs appear. (This is a key feature of GME; users need only learn one process for both modeling and metamodeling.) The newly installed paradigm, "networking", should be visible in the paradigm list. Select this paradigm and choose an appropriate filename, like "mynetwork". The screen of the new model looks just like Fig 1.1, except that the root object is now "mynetwork" or whatever name you used for the file. Right click the root object; the model available for insertion is NetDiagram. This is the first sign of customization! Insert a NewNetDiagram, and open it. The part browser now shows Host, Network, and Router, just as it should. Create a Host and a Network. Give them names like "mailhost" and "localnet", respectively. Test the connections: in Add Connection mode ( ), connect "mailhost" to "localnet". Now test the attributes: mailhost has an IP Address, localnet has a Network Address and a NetMask. The configured modeling environment really knows what to do! Now let's see how Routers behave in the model. Create a router and name it "inetgw".

Set its Family attribute to one of the four options: "C25xx", for example. The router needs ports, so double-click it to access its internal structure. We can now add ports from the part browser. Add three ports to this router; name them E0, E1, and S0. Place E0 and E1 on the left side of the window and S0 on the right side. Close the inetgw window; the router now has three ports. Connect E1 to "localnet". Let's try to trick GME. Connect E0 to "mailhost". It does not work; this type of connection is not allowed by the paradigm. We cannot even connect Networks to Hosts because connections are directed by default, and connections in the reverse direction (from Network to NetInterface) are not specified. We do not yet have any objects to connect E0 and S0 to, so leave them unconnected for now. Our first model, built for our first paradigm, looks like the one in Fig 1.6.

Fig 1.6 The first version of the network model 1.4 Enhancing the metamodel and the model icons So far, the capabilities of the customized modeling environment are hardly enough to justify the amount of work invested in the metamodel. This is because the beginning is usually the hardest part; what typically follows is the incremental enhancement of the metamodel and the example projects. This enhancement is repeated many times, forming a cycle which includes the following steps: editing the metamodel Step 1: Create a Benchmark Group – Fathom July 13, 2016 05:50 Step 1: Creating a Benchmark Group Fathom enables you to undertake your own benchmark studies. A benchmark group is a peer group defined for the purpose of comparative analysis. Typically this represents a franchise group or a group of related companies. For advisers a benchmark group may represent a group of clients which operate in a specific industry vertical (ie. retailers). A benchmark group may also represents all the clients of a firm. To create a benchmark group, go to 'Create a group' > 'Create a benchmark group' located in the 'My Companies' screen.

To setup a group: Step 1: Create a name for the benchmark group Step 2: Click on '+' to add companies to the group Step 3: Save Changes Note: you can create as many benchmark groups as you wish. A company can exist in multiple benchmark groups. You can access the setup for your Benchmark groups in the 'My Companies' screen. Simply click the 'Setup' button (see the cog icon) next to this Benchmark group. After creating a benchmark group, proceed to setup group segmentation and/or setting up access permissions. You can also select which KPIs to include and exclude from display in the compare and rank tools. A PDF guide to benchmarking in Fathom is available for donwload here: Benchmarking in Fathom When you have finished adding companies to a benchmark group, please proceed to ‘Step 2’ of the benchmark group setup. Related articles Tips - Guild Wars 2 Wiki (GW2W) Tips This page is a collection of tips submitted by players. Contents 10 Miscellaneous What is the Fastest Way to ...?[ edit ] Ask 100 different players and you are likely to get 100 different answers because there are so many ways to succeed.

However, there are a few highlights that most agree upon, presented in no particular order: Level-up Work on your personal story . Every level or two there is a new episode with appropriate rewards. A new chapter is unlocked every 10 levels beginning at level 10 and continuing through to level 80. Complete Renown Hearts in starter areas. Participate in dynamic events when they are announced. Crafting Keep your equipment upgraded to maximize your power. Adventure with others in a party . You receive the same rewards as when you go solo, but completing tasks is faster when you work together. Using a Tome of Knowledge will instantly grant you one level. Using a Writ of Experience gives a small amount of experience (5% of current level). Summoned allies may increase effective DPS and distract hostile NPCs. Join a guild that maintains the +5% kill experience buff and other benefits .

Use as many inexpensive experience boosters as you can: Food: Strawberry Ghost 15% for 45 minutes Firework that grants Ram's Reward or Monkey's Gift 5% Ascended Amulet infused with Experienced Infusion 20% Laurel Experience Booster (masterwork) 50% for 1 laurel Beginning at level 18, adventure in WvW . At level 30, do Dungeons and use your Trait points. Stay in areas just below current level and remember there are similar low level starter areas for each playable race . Mastery Level-up To raise your Mastery level, you will need to collect Mastery Points. First levels require small amounts of Mastery Points but the more you advance the more you need. In Central Tyria only way to acquire Mastery Points is to complete specific Achievements which have red Mastery icon after them. Heart of Maguuma Mastery Points can simply be collected around the Heart of Maguuma maps (similary to hero points) & like in Central Tyria earn them by completing specific Achievments which in this case have green Mastery icon after them. WvW Level-up Get Rich Completing daily achievements doubles your reward for different activities each day.

Get equipment from personal story and loot drops rather than buying from merchants or at trading post until reaching level 80. Trading Post if you buy low, sell high and are patient. Selling Gathered resources on Trading post. Beginning at level 15, World bosses appear on a regular schedule and at level 30, do Dungeons . At level 80, Champion farming . Lower level champion farming has been retired. Lost bandit chest train. Doing major events such as the Tarir event in Auric Basin also gives a lot of rares and exotics in chests, which can be salvaged for ectos or sold. Get Trinkets Level 2 accessories (earrings) are available from Renown Heart vendors in starter areas after completing the associated tasks. Level 15 amulet, a Jeweled Broach from one of two different merchants in Kessex Hills . Get more / larger bags Bag space is at a premium at low levels, but most guilds have high level players that will happily gift lower level members unneeded bags when asked courteously. However, begging for gold is considered rude by most. Also, start buying 20-slot bags from the Trading Post at Level 80.

Level 2nd Character If you have one high-level character then level up of another is easier. Use previously acquired consumables Writ of Experience (+5% of a level). Ineffable equipment is account bound when crafted, is of Exotic rarity, and has stats boosted by 6 levels above the required level. Though weapon swap is only unlocked at character level 15, entering PvP mode allows equipping of a second weapon set. This can be used to unofficially unlock weapon swapping at level 2. Items, drops, and vendors[ edit ] When at a vendor, you have the option "sell junk" in your bags (in the bottom right), it will automatically sell all useless non-salvageable items that are not in Invisible bags, which stop items from showing up on the sell interface. Jute drops reliably from bandits and skritt . It is also easily salvageable from low level cloth gear. The price in the lower right-hand corner of an item's tool-tip is what a vendor will pay you for it. However, you can sell any item that is not account bound or soul bound above or below this suggested price on the trading post .

Be aware that excessively low listings like these will be a detriment to one's gold, losing money in the process. Remember the trading post has a listing fee, which means you will actually lose coin when selling it for 1 or 2 above the merchant value. When you go to a merchant to sell, you don't have to use the merchant's window to sell. You can go to your inventory bags and right-click the items you wish to sell individually. You do, however, need to have the merchant's "Sell" interface open or this option will not appear. The Mystic Forge is a unique object that can take several combinations of items to produce new ones. Throwing four items of the same rarity will produce a new item of the same, or greater, rarity. See the Mystic Forge page for a more in-depth list of recipes. Primary article: bag Press the cog icon in the top right corner of your inventory, to open a mini menu with which you can press "Deposit all collectibles" to put all crafting materials into the bank (which later can be accessed from the crafting interface from a crafting station ). Minis will not be automatically deposited and will require manual deposit via right-click menu.

Press hide/show bags to hide the names of the individual bags, to make it appear as one bag instead of separate bags. To split a stack you drag the stack to another slot while holding down the Alt key. You will get a pop-up in which you can enter the number of items to split. You can move your bags around to organize your inventory easily. Just drag your current bags into different slots. Items within the moved bag will remain. Certain types of bags have useful special features . Upgrades To upgrade your bags, simply drag the new (bigger) bag over the smaller bag. Any items inside the previous bag will automatically transfer to the new bag. You may add new bag slots for individual characters by purchasing a Bag Slot Expansion . You may get a Free (almost) 20-Slot Bag Gathering, salvaging, recipes, and crafting[ edit ] Purchase your gathering items as soon as possible. A pick , an axe and a sickle only cost a few coppers each and allow you to loot resource nodes . You don't need the bank to access your bank items. Any crafting station functions as a bank, too. You can do every single crafting profession in the game. You can have two active at a time.

It costs some coin to switch them out and the fee depends on how many recipes you have. You don't lose the recipes you have when you switch. To save money, it is therefore cheaper to create a total of 4 different characters, maxing two disciplines per character to avoid this fee altogether. Try not to pass up on a harvesting spot. It takes a few seconds, it's free experience, and you never know if you'll want to take up a discipline that uses it later. You can also sell the materials at the trading post. Mid-level materials are especially valuable as fewer people visit mid-level zones. When you start crafting, be absolutely sure to discover recipes that your materials allow after mass-producing one item. When a refinement is new to a crafting level, it generates a lot of experience, whereas in later stages this experience is minimal. At that point discoveries of levels close to your current level will progress the discipline's level a lot faster than refinement will. You can craft bags that will make their contents invisible to vendors, will not allow their crafting materials to be deposited via the cog icon, and will not be affected by automatic sorting when you use "compact" to push your items into the first available slots.

If you have trouble with accidentally selling gear that you actually want to use, get yourself one of those bags to avoid these minor frustrations. Also remember that every vendor has a buy-back option, which will contain all the items you have sold to a vendor within the zone, as long as you don't log out, change characters, or zone out. Better salvage kits give you a chance to get the runes or sigils on DMasterwork and higher quality gear, including ERare, FExotic, and HLegendary. It is not possible to salvage GAscended materials without an ascended salvage kit. CFine and BBasic items are more abundant and can serve was quick salvage items or sold in bulk to merchants if the resulting materials are not desirable. Refer to the trading post if you want to see which materials are worth the most and least. Chat, emotes, and chat commands[ edit ] Type "/?" to pull up the hint interface, just in case you forget something. Type in "/wiki" to open the official Guild Wars 2 wiki. You can also search the wiki from the in-game chat directly. Type "/wiki (whatever you're looking for)" to browse directly to the article you might be looking for.

Per example: "/wiki condition damage" will bring up the article condition damage . Also note that many Guild Wars 2 wiki articles may be case sensitive. Type "/age" to see how much time you have invested in your current character, and into your account. You can "/kneel" in front of certain statues and idols to receive the assorted effect . You can synchronize your emote with others by typing the desired emote followed by a space and an asterisk ( *). Ex "/dance *". See emote for more info. You can direct your emotes at your current target by adding a space and an at sign ( @) at the end of it. Ex. "/point @". Remember that you can always report a bug using /bug command. Leveling, hearts, and dynamic events[ edit ] After you finish a , go to the 's NPC and check their wares. Some of these NPCs might be able to sell you items you need (especially accessories ), items with more stats than others (like Modniir weapons ), items with unique skins, or even items that allow you to use mechanics your profession is not able to use. Never simply run away once you've completed a dynamic event .

Try to talk to the NPCs around you and try to follow any of the conversations NPC's may have. There may just be one or more events coming up that were accessed by completing the previous one. If you find yourself in an area with enemies that are too difficult for you to take on alone, but you've done all the other events in that zone, you will likely have a more pleasant experience by travelling to the other races' areas. You get scaled down to match the levels in those zones and can do all of their renown hearts and events, while still earning experience and items to match your own level! Do note that event rewards are appropriate for the level of the event, unless the event is more than 30 levels below your character's actual level, in which case you will receive rewards for that level (a level 70 character in a level 25 event will receive a level 30 reward for the level 25 event). You don't need to be nearby when an event ends in order to get credit for it. However, you do need to be in the same zone. Leaving the zone cancels your participation, even if it was a disconnect or client crash.

Stick around after a dynamic event, certain NPCs may turn into karma vendors or regular vendors, just like renown heart NPCs turn into karma vendors. If you want to level up faster, you can try crafting. It is currently the fastest known method to gain experience. Each crafting discipline leveled from 0 to 400 will give 7 actual levels for your character, disregarding starting level. The best experience yield is thus at level 73, which means you will have hit level 80 after you progressed a discipline from 0 to 400 (or sooner, in the event of bonus experience). Farming is subjected to diminishing returns . This means farming the same monsters or events will start to generate less and less items as time goes on. This is due an anti-farm code. See also Anti-farm code on the Guild Wars (1) wiki for more information. For dynamic events, it is advised to use as much area of effect damage as possible. Damaging multiple enemies sufficiently will allow for more chances of loot. Combat and abilities[ edit ] There's an option "Melee Attack Assist" that prohibits you from walking through enemies (this makes it easier to stay in melee range).

It might be better to turn it off, depending on your preference. The very first skill on your skill bar is your default auto-attack . This means your character will use the skill on cooldown (the first weapon skills do not have a cooldown). Most skills can be designated as your auto-attack, but will still respect their individual cooldowns before activating again. If you're being chased by a ranged enemy, you can use another enemy (a neutral one (these have yellow names) like a boar would work well) to obstruct the projectiles . This will anger the neutral monster towards the enemy attacking it, which causes a fight between the two. This lets you escape more easily. There is a range indicator on your skills. There's a red bar below the skill if you're out of range. When you're downed, try to select a target with low health (you can also use the Tab key to shuffle through available targets in your field of vision), as it'll give you a better chance of rallying before you are defeated . Don't spam your dodge , as you will have 1 second of invulnerability whenever you rally or are resurrected . You want to avoid incoming damage at all costs until your healing skill is off of its cooldown.

If you happen to be defeated, don't immediately travel to a waypoint , either. Waypoints cost you coin, and other players can still revive you. If the area's busy it might be quicker to wait for someone to come along than to walk back from the waypoint. However, during WvW or difficult boss fights and events, you will notice a lack of players resurrecting you. This means that they expect you to either wait the end of the battle or waypoint (reviving from defeated state is long and basically neutralizes another player, and in most cases will cause the reviver to get downed/defeated himself as both players and AI react aggressively to reviving). Holding down the Ctrl key + clicking an enemy will call them out to your group, putting a targeting reticle over their head. If someone else calls a target, T will target that enemy so your team can focus on particular enemies first. This feature is usable even without a group. When fighting a champion or other strong enemy, a good strategy is to hit some of the enemies nearby, bringing them to low enough health for easier rallying when you are downed.

Similarly, when fighting in a group and you see someone near you who is downed, killing a monster they have hit before will also rally these downed players. This ensures both the rally and the damage that would've been lost if all players had started to rally this downed player directly. In WvW fights, focusing on defeating downed enemies can both ensure that your downed allies will rally and that these enemies will not; provided you are not downed yourself in the process. PvP[ edit ] The trebuchet in the Battle of Kyhlo is strong. It deals about 9-11k area of effect damage and you can reach it from the start of the match, shooting before enemies take their first base (windmill/mansion). You are most vulnerable while using the trebuchet. Keep an eye on your surroundings. A lot of the map is destructible. The trebuchet can clear away much of the surrounding area and open new paths. The Skyhammer Cannon on Skyhammer is a key target in controlling the map, due to its massive damage capabilities. The cannon is pivotal in team fights. Skyhammer greatest danger are the ledges and platforms that shatter.

Use this to your advantage by utilizing skills that Keep an eye on the platforms. If they shatter randomly with no one around, someone is setting you up for a quick kill. Stability is an important boon to have on this map. You can access the Heart of the Mists from anywhere by clicking the two crossed swords icon in the top left of your UI, then clicking "Enter Heart of the Mists." in the menu that appears. User interface and keybindings[ edit ] When playing on a foreign client you can instantly translate any game-text into English by pressing the right-hand Ctrl key. You can adjust your mouse turning speed with the slider in the general options (first or default tab in the options menu). Adjust your camera rotation speed to very high to remove any sluggish experience when you turn your camera. There are no mail boxes. You can send items away with a right-click, and collect them through the mail icon in the top left of your UI. You don't need to go to the trading post NPC unless you are picking up bought items or coin. You can sell items, browse the trading post, and buy items from anywhere by pressing the O key. Hold Alt and click any spot on your map to place a personal waypoint.

Alt-click it again to remove it. Hold shift and click on the map to ping points for teammates or draw lines on the minimap like you did in Guild Wars. You can turn the default double tapping of movement keys to dodge off when you want to do a jumping puzzle. You can also bind dodge to a key if you want, which can make it feel more natural when you use it, since you won't have to pick up the key you're using to move. Holding down the Ctrl key highlights all enemies (including friendly and neutral enemies, and gather nodes) in the direction you are facing. It is suggested to turn on autoloot in the options. This will skip the loot window when looting items, and will place all the items directly into your inventory (unless your inventory is full, which will trigger a loot window). If you don't like autoloot you can press F twice and it will pick everything up (that way you wont miss any upgrades and always know what you have picked up, without checking the icons to the right-hand side).

You can even bind a key to AoE loot on keyboard settings, with this you can loot all mobs within your AoE with just a key and without having to walk near the mobs in order to loot. Very useful in big and rushed events with several mobs, like Ulgoth per example. You can switch the A key and D key with the Q key and E key respectively to allow for easier strafing (if you prefer). You can also use the default settings and hold down the right mouse button to strafe with A and D . You can dye your armor in your hero panel by clicking the pipet (dropper) icon for free. The more dyes you unlock, the more dye options you will have. Dyes are activated per account. Exploring[ edit ] You can travel to every racial capital from Lion's Arch , by using the associated asura gate . If you need to travel to a city , or even just outside one, and wish to spend as little as possible, you can do so by traveling through the Heart of the Mists or a World versus World map. Each of these maps has an asura gate leading to Lion's Arch , from which you can take another gate to each of the racial capitals.

Heart of the Mists is accessed by opening the PvP window (click the crossed-swords icon in the top-left menu), then clicking "Go to the Heart of the Mists." World versus World is accessed by opening the WvW window (shortcut key B or click the tower icon in the top-left menu) and selecting Eternal Battlegrounds or one of the borderlands . Note that these maps often have a queue for entry. Exploring a zone in full may allow you to encounter special areas you would have missed otherwise. Often these areas include jumping puzzles , achievements , and events. Finishing any non-city zone (100% completion in that zone) rewards you with 2 pieces of equipment , crafting materials, and Transmutation Stones , scaled to meet the maximum level of the zone. Note that this equipment disregards your profession . Miscellaneous[ edit ] You can edit your own music into the game and have it play during different times as explained here . Using waypoint within a city is free. The higher your level, the more waypoints cost. Waypoints also come with a base travel fee (as high as 1 39 at level 80). You can have two different type of nourishment effects simultaneously (the icons are different).

These effects persist in defeated state. You can reset your traits, any time you are out of combat, for free in your Hero Panel. You can walk in Guild Wars 2. Go to options and click the tab Control Options (mouse icon). In the movement section (the first section), you can assign any unused key to "Walk" to toggle walking. NPCs are usually affected by boons you inflict on them, such as swiftness to improve their movement speed. Help Nav

Question: A cogwheel icon typically represents what on many websites/apps?
Answer: Settings