2 The Files Panel of The Plan City MBS App

The files panel in the Plan.City MBS app is the main control center for organizing, categorizing, and displaying analysis results, distinguishing it from the study panels which primarily handle visualization. The panel is divided into four main areas: Scenarios, Colors and Thresholds, Settings, and Materials. The Scenarios section manages a "scenario", defined as a full set of exported MBS results encompassing geometry and analysis data. Users start with a base scenario but can add up to four active scenarios to compare different design proposals side by side. Functionality includes switching the active scenario, importing new scenarios via the add scenario button, adjusting result file paths and model visibility in the work area, and removing supplementary scenarios. The base scenario is permanent unless the app is restarted with a new import. The Colors and Thresholds area allows users to override default MBS export values to better communicate results, making it one of the app’s most powerful sections. Users can save and load custom color schemes. This includes customizing standard colors used across multiple studies (e.g., fatal, neutral, gains/loss tones). Crucially, the app creates study-specific categories for imported analyses like VSC, APSH, and SDA, where users can modify colors, adjust threshold values, rename categories, or create custom categories from scratch. Changes to threshold values update the display in real time, allowing flexibility in emphasizing specific performance bands or borderline cases. The Settings area controls specific app behavior via three categories. The 3D models materials category lists groups (proposed, existing, surrounding) where users can modify shaders and material appearance. Transparency keywords dictate which surrounding model layers automatically become transparent when toggled, preventing elements like terrain from disappearing unintentionally; this list is user-editable based on model naming conventions. The habitable room keywords section is essential for studies like sunlight exposure, as the app uses these keywords to classify rooms as habitable, which determines the assessment assigned to the entire unit. Finally, the Material section provides granular control over the 3D models’ shaders and visual presentation. Users can expand model groups, select individual or multiple materials, and use the adjust selected materials button to edit properties. Buttons at the bottom include Update material preferences to save settings, Apply accuracy colors to use preset colors based on model naming, and the Use raw file values button to restore original imported values. Overall, the files panel ensures users can fine-tune every aspect of their models and analysis presentation.