Tools

In the toolbar you can choose from the following tools:

Basic Tools

	Zoom - Left-click the mouse button to zoom in, right-click to zoom out. You can also zoom in and out using a scroll-wheel on your mouse - this works while you are using any of the tools below.
	Hand - Press the left button and drag the chart. While using any of the other basic tools this tool can be temporarily selected by holding down the Ctrl key.
	Ruler - Use it to measure distance and course (if the wind grid is loaded it will calculate boat speed, track time and recommended sail, using the polars).
	Route designer - Use it to draw routes. Right click the last point to finish and give the new route a name. Routes are simple lines drawn on the chart, like pencil lines on a real chart. Use for plotting laylines, finsh lines, setting out constant TWA curves, etc.
	Track designer - Use to draw tracks. Tracks are similar to routes, but are linked to the underlying weather. If winds are loaded, the program will calculate date/time for each point on the track. While designing the track, when you advance across each 12-hour interval the wind forecast used to calculate the track data changes automatically.
	Marks - Use to add marks to the chart. Choose a name and icon for your mark. Useful for marking all sorts of point annotations on the chart, such as turning marks, boat positions, action reminders on tracks for course changes & weather updates, etc.
	Circle - Use to draw a circle or a set of concentric circles centred on the clicked location. Good for marking clearances around marks, range circles around a destination point, etc.
	Pointer - Use to select things in the desktop. It will show the associated text (mark name, track point text, wind speed etc).

	Latitude/Longitude - Displays the chart latitude/longitude of the tool.
	Forecast Selector - Use to select the active forecast. The currently active forecast is displayed on the chart and is used by the tools to calculate boat speed, select sails, etc. The forecast advances automatically as a track is laid.

	Show/hide the Tracks/Winds/Boats/Others control panel tabs. The various control panels on these tabs are described in the next section.
	Show/hide the Boat Attitude panel.

Control Panel Tabs

	Tracks Tab - Contains the following control panels: Chart Visibility - Manages which elements appear on the chart. Tracks and Routes - Manages the appearance and display of individual Tracks and Routes on the chart. Points - Presents a selected Track or Route in table form, allowing editing and deletion of individual points. Marks, Circles, Wind Fields - Let you move directly to any Mark or Circle on the chart, and modify or delete them. The controls on the Tracks Tab are explained in detail here.
	Winds Tab - Contains the following control panels: Winds - These settings control how the wind is displayed on the chart. Wind Grids - This panel gives details of the currently loaded weather GRIBs and the forecasts contained in each GRIB. You can also select which GRIB to use when multiple GRIBs are loaded. Polars Database - Identifies the polars file to be used for Track calculations and routing. Provides access to the Polar Database editing module, where the selected polar curves can be edited. Regatta Settings - Wind Interpolation - Sets the method used by VRTool to interpolate wind speeds and directions at intermediate positions between the GRIB ordinates. The interpolated wind field can be overlaid the chart for visual inspection. The controls on the Winds Tab are explained in detail here.
	Boats Tab - Contains the following control panels: Boat Data - This where you set up and manage a link to retrieve boat information from a game server. Remote Boats -
	Other Tab - Contains the following control panels: Track Designer Settings - This very important control panel is used to correctly align the timing of Track calculations with the underlying weather forecasts. Global Settings - Raster Chart Images - Monochrome Bitmap -

Advanced Tools

	NOAA - Starts the NOAA import module, used to configure the download of weather forecast GRIB files directly from the NOAA weather server.
	Winds - A one-click method to update NOAA weather forecast GRIB files.
	Routing - Starts the Weather Routing module.
	Regatta - Starts the Regatta Runner module.
	Webserver - Starts the Web Server module.
	Leg Calculator - Used to generate Great Circle and Rhumb Line routes for display on the chart.
	GPS Interface - Provides real-time input of NMEA GPS and AIS data from a COM port or TCP/IP data stream. Data can come from on-board navigation systems or from game servers via a TCP/IP proxy.
	3D - Opens the 3D View window.
	Collision Detection - Opens the Land Collision Detection window.
	Firefox Import - Opens the Firefox Import Data window.