With what we've learned so far, we can build some simple nets. Then we'll return for more discussion about fundamentals.

Start OpenDX as you did earlier when we played with the sample programs. This time, instead of clicking the Samples… button, hit New Visual Program… to launch the DX editor.

Take a look at the layout of this programming environment. There are menus across the top. Feel free to pull them down and see what they contain. The two to especially note are Execute (3rd from left) and Help (on the far right).

On the left side of the Visual Program Editor (or VPE) window, there are two lists: Categories and Tools. Click once on any of the items in the Category list and the Tools list will show the items that are in that Category (go ahead, try it). Both lists are always in alphabetic order. Note that the first Category "(ALL)" contains all the Tools in DX, so if you prefer not to hunt through the individual Categories, you can always find the desired Tool listed under the (ALL) Category.

Optional: View this Technical Aside if you want more detail on this subject; the information is not required to understand the upcoming material.

The large empty space is called the "canvas" and that's where we build the program. The tab labeled "Untitled" refers to the current page we are looking at. As our programs grow in size, it's possible to move portions of the program to newly created pages, then name the pages to keep things straight. The entire VPE window can be resized if the current page is too small to see the modules. If you place more modules than can fit on your monitor, even with the canvas stretched to full size, scroll bars will appear on the edges of the VPE so you can move around and see the whole program.