The NASIS “Look and Feel”

The NASIS software was developed using the X Window system, a network-based graphics window system. Like the Microsoft Windows applications you may be familiar with, the X Window system supports a graphical user interface (GUI). A graphical user interface allow you to manipulate the application by means of graphical objects, such as buttons, scroll bars, icons, and so forth. A pointing device, typically a mouse, is used. And because this is a windows environment, you can run several different processes at the same time; each appearing in a separate window on the screen.

When you use NASIS, what you'll see is actually a series of “cascading” or overlapping windows which mirror the hierarchical structure of the data in the soil database:

If you have used a windows system before, you’ll recognize how the NASIS interface works. If you are new to using a mouse, you’ll soon wonder why anyone would use anything else. The combination of the mouse and the graphical interface allows you to move around in NASIS quickly and easily, without having to enter commands manually.