Dynamic Activity Instance Naming via Simulation

[ewferg]

Checked for duplicates

Yes - I've already checked

Alternatives considered

Yes - and alternatives don't suffice

Related problems

It is often valuable for the name of an activity instance to highlight some attributes related to the activity that are only computed after simulation or are a function of one or more parameters. Although an activity instance name can be changed in the user interface, there is no ability to programmatically specify the name of an instance within the mission model. This has been a valuable feature of other planning tools to provide situational awareness within the timeline UI without forcing the user to individually click on activity instances to see the values of their parameters and computed attributes.

A few examples where this could immediately be valuable:

• If you have a generic DSN_Pass activity type and would like to know what DSN station that pass is associated with. The DSN station ID might be a parameter to that activity type and you might want the activity instance name to be "DSS-XX_PASS" for more situational awareness
• Geometry activities in other planning tools often had names that included some additional context about the activity. Periapsis activities had names that included the periapsis distance and the body to which the periapsis was relative. Eclipse activities often noted which body was the eclipsing body.

Describe the feature request

Provide an interface within the mission model to set the name of an activity instance based on attributes computed as part of simulation or based on values of activity parameters. One potential solution to this feature would be to designate a special computed attribute that is associated with the activity instance name and by default has the value of the activity type's name. Note that this solution could be extended to include other special computed attributes that give more information to the UI (e.g. instructions on how to render the activity and alter its color, size, etc.), but that specific ask is not part of the scope of this request.