User manual

scroll through the already submitted commands in order to re-edit them, modify them
or execute them again.
Tip: Be careful always write after the “Command>” prompt. If it is not displayed, press
the Enter key to get a new line.
Alternative to the console
To rapidly give a command without opening the console, it is possible to type it directly
in the location field used by Aladin to indicate the current position under the mouse.
Please refer to the “Aladin by script” section (see 7.1, below) for more information on the
control of Aladin in script mode.
6 Additional Tools
Aladin provides access to a number of supplemental tools:
 The Simbad pointer for automatic SIMBAD identification of objects of interest
 A capability for using macros for repetitive tasks
 A mechanism for interacting with other astronomy tools compatible with Virtual
Observatory messaging standards
 A tool for extracting sources from images : S-extractor
 A labels generator
Each of these tools is briefly described below.
6.1 Simbad Pointer
Menu : Tools => Simbad automatic pointer
To aid the exploration of an image, activate the Simbad pointer
which starts a continuous connection with the Simbad database.
When your mouse remains over the same location in the image for
a few moments, Aladin queries the Simbad database and returns a
short list of information about objects at that position (the
principle identifier, the object type, the spectral type...). The
criteria used in selecting information from the database is based
on the number of bibliographic references.
Note: If a Simbad has already been performed with the result is available as a catalogue
plane, then Aladin will use this information to avoid multiple queries to Simbad.
72