3. Application Menu

The application menu bar provides access to all operations in Fast DDS Monitor Pro. It is divided into five groups: File, Add, Edit, View, and Help.

../../../_images/application_menu_pro.png

3.1. File

The File menu contains actions for starting and stopping monitors, exporting data, saving and restoring workspaces, and closing the application.

Initialize DDS Monitor

Opens a dialog to start monitoring a DDS Domain by number (0–232). Once started, the monitor discovers all DDS entities in that domain and collects their connections, configuration, and statistical data in real time. See Monitor Domain for a full explanation. Attempting to initialize a domain that is already being monitored shows an error and adds an entry to the Issues Panel; select Retry to choose a different domain.

Initialize Discovery Server Monitor

Opens a dialog to start monitoring a DDS network via one or more Fast DDS Discovery Servers. Enter the server addresses as a semicolon-separated list of ip:port pairs. The monitor connects to the servers and collects all discovery information for the entities communicating through them. See Monitor Domain for full details. Starting a monitor on an already-initialized Discovery Server shows an error and an entry in the Issues Panel.

Initialize DDS Monitor with Profile

Opens a dialog to start monitoring using a DDS XML profiles file. Select the XML file and then choose the profile that defines the DDS configuration to use. See DDS XML Profile configured Monitor for step-by-step instructions.

Save Workspace Pro

Save the current session using the Save Workspace button, Ctrl+S, or File -> Save Workspace. See Workspace Save and Restore for the full workspace documentation including what gets saved.

Load Workspace Pro

Restore a previously saved session. Go to File -> Load Workspace and select a .fdmw file. See Workspace Save and Restore for details on the restore behavior.

Export Charts to CSV

Exports chart data from the current session to a CSV file. Three export scopes are available:

  • Single series - export from the series context menu inside the Chartbox.

  • All series in a Chartbox - export from the Chart menu of the Chartbox.

  • All series in all Chartboxes - export via this menu item (exports everything at once).

The exported CSV file uses the following structure:

<DataKind>

<Chartbox name>

ms

<DataKind units>

UnixTime

<Series name>

<unix_time>

<data_value>
Dump

Dumps the full contents of the statistics database to a JSON file without modifying the stored data. Useful for taking a snapshot of the session for offline analysis or archiving. The JSON file preserves all entity statistics collected since the session started.

Dump and Clear

Same as Dump, but also clears all accumulated statistics data for every entity after saving. Use this to reset statistics while preserving a record of the session - useful for long-running sessions where periodic snapshots are needed without growing the in-memory database indefinitely.

Quit

Closes the application.

3.2. Edit

The Edit menu contains actions for managing the data in the current session - cleaning up entities, clearing statistics, configuring alerts, scheduling maintenance tasks, and resetting the display.

Delete Inactive Entities

Removes all entities that are no longer active from the database. Inactive entities are those that have stopped publishing or have been undiscovered. This frees memory and cleans up the entity lists.

Delete Statistics Data

Clears all accumulated statistics data for every entity without removing the entities themselves. The entities remain visible but all their historical statistics are reset.

Scheduler Configuration

Opens a dialog to configure a recurring schedule for automatic database dumps, statistics data removal, and/or inactive-entity cleanup. Useful for long-running monitoring sessions where periodic housekeeping is needed.

Alerts Configuration

Opens a dialog to configure the pooling time for alerts.

Refresh

Resets the currently selected entity and rebuilds the entity models from the current database state. Use this if entities appear to be missing from the Explorer Panel or the display seems out of sync.

Clear Log

Clears all entries from the callbacks log in the Log Sub-Panel. This does not affect the underlying data, only the log display.

Clear Issues

Clears all entries from the Issues Panel. This does not resolve the underlying issues, only removes them from the panel.

3.3. Add Pro

The Add menu contains all actions that open new panes or views in the workspace. Every item here creates a panel that can be docked, split, or floated anywhere in the layout.

Add Topic Live Chart Pro

Opens a new Time Series Chart pane that plots raw numeric values from any user-defined DDS topic directly against time, updated live as samples arrive. Multiple series from different topics can be overlaid on the same chart. XY (scatter) mode is available from within the chart configuration. See Topic Charts for full documentation.

Add Statistics Chart

Opens a new statistics Chartbox for plotting pre-computed DDS metrics such as latency, throughput, and packet counts. After opening, choose between a historical chart (past time range) or a real-time chart (live updates as samples arrive). See Historic Data for historical configuration and Real-Time Data for real-time.

Add Spy Topic View

Opens a new Dockable Spy Pane that subscribes to a selected DDS topic and shows each incoming sample as an expandable field tree in real time. Useful for verifying message content and inspecting raw field values as they are published. See Dockable Pane Workspace for details.

Add Topic Type View (IDL)

Opens a pane showing the full IDL type definition of a selected DDS topic, including the complete struct hierarchy, field names, and type annotations. The IDL text can be copied to the clipboard. ROS 2 types are shown demangled by default (toggle with View → Revert ROS 2 Demangling).

Add Image View Pro

Opens a new Image Pane that renders live image or video data streamed over a DDS topic directly inside the monitor. Supports ROS 2 sensor_msgs/Image and generic OMG IDL image types. See Image Pane for details.

Add Publisher View Pro

Opens a new Publisher Pane for composing and publishing DDS samples on any discovered topic. The form is generated automatically from the topic’s dynamic type and supports both one-shot and continuous publishing modes. See Publisher Pane for details.

Create Alert

Opens the alert creation dialog to define a new alert rule based on a DDS statistic threshold. Once created, the alert appears in the Alerts Panel and triggers notifications when the configured condition is met.

3.4. View

The View menu controls the visibility and appearance of entities and panels in the application, including entity filters, sidebar layout, theming, and the shortcuts toolbar.

Hide/Show Proxy Entities

Toggles the display of proxy entities - entities from other DDS domains whose statistics messages are reaching the monitor’s domain. When hidden, proxy entities are completely unavailable in the application, including in charts. Proxy entities are hidden by default.

Hide/Show Inactive Entities

Toggles the display of inactive entities - entities that have been discovered but are no longer active in the DDS network. When hidden, inactive entities are unavailable in the application, including in charts.

Hide/Show Metatraffic

Toggles the display of metatraffic entities. Metatraffic entities include Fast DDS Statistics module topics, ROS discovery topics, and all endpoints bound to them. They are hidden by default. When hidden, metatraffic entities are completely unavailable in the application.

Revert/Perform ROS 2 Demangling

By default, ROS 2 type names and IDL representations are demangled to match the original ROS 2 type definitions and improve compatibility with Fast DDS Gen. Demangled IDL views are marked with a badge in the corner. This option toggles the demangling on or off for all IDL views.

Theme Pro

Opens the theme settings to switch between light and dark palettes or configure a custom theme. The selected theme is applied consistently across all panels, charts, icons, and dialogs. See Dark Mode for details.

Hide/Show Shortcuts Toolbar

Hides or reveals the shortcuts toolbar at the top of the window.

Customize Shortcuts Toolbar

Opens a dialog to independently show or hide each button in the shortcuts toolbar. This toolbar exposes shortcuts to buttons with the main functionality to interact with the Fast DDS Monitor Pro application.

The meaning of each of the icons available in the shortcut bar is explained below:

  • Display Historical Data - Display historical data.

  • Display Real-Time Data - Display real-time data.

  • Create Alert - Open the create alerts panel.

  • Refresh - Refresh Fast DDS Monitor.

  • Clear Log - Clear the list of logs.

  • Clear Issues - Clear the issues panel.

Hide/Show Left Sidebar

Hides or reveals the entire left sidebar.

Customize Left Sidebar

Opens a dialog to independently show or hide each panel within the Explorer Panel.

3.5. Help

The Help menu provides links to documentation, release notes, community resources, and application information.

Documentation

Opens this documentation in the default browser.

Release Notes

Opens the Releases page of the GitHub Fast DDS Monitor repository in the default browser.

Join Us on LinkedIn

Opens the eProsima LinkedIn page in the default browser.

Search Feature Requests

Opens the Issues section of the GitHub Fast DDS Monitor repository to search for or browse existing feature requests and bug reports.

Report Issue

Opens a new issue form in the Issues section of the GitHub Fast DDS Monitor repository to report a bug or request a feature.

About

Displays a dialog with general information about the currently running Fast DDS Monitor Pro application, including the version number and license information.