Basic Structure of the Forms
In principle, the forms consist of two levels: outer and inner form pages, so-called notebooks, which can be selected via tabs and sub-tabs (see the following figure).
The following figure shows essential elements of the component forms: the component name, the identifiers, the fields for expressions, values, and units, and the buttons for time series and the menu.
The forms are structured column by column. On the far left are the identifiers.
The middle column contains expression fields, in which formulas with units (in square brackets), mathematical formula symbols, and short notes (in quotation marks) can be entered.
On the right are the fields for the value and the unit.
To the right of the unit is the 
button with the Add time series tooltip. This button opens the Engineering Time Series Analyzer (ETA), which allows you to add a time series. If a time series has already been stored for this parameter, the 
Plot preview button is used to display the time series in TOP-Energy instead of the Add button (without reopening the ETA). A circular red sign with a white minus sign in it 
indicates that the component can be removed.
If the 
menu button has a blue link icon, the parameter is linked to the master data.
Selection fields (so-called options) with drop-down lists are available in various positions of the forms (see the following figure).
Parts of the forms (so-called captions) can be expanded 
and collapsed 
to Show or Hide content (see the following slider).
Use the 
plus icon to add component parts.
Context Menu / Pop-Up Menu
The context menu of the identifier can be opened by right-clicking on the identifier or as a pop-up menu via the menu button 
or at the end of the line (see following figure).
Depending on the context, the menu items vary. For example, you can define the link to the master data, add parameters to the Watchlist, and switch between global or local use of the value.
Two entries in the context menu are marked with a tick in front of them when activated: Calculated value specifies that this value is not specified, but is determined in the simulation. To output the parameter in the data report, select Add to report.
Rename
The 
Rename menu item opens a window for renaming the identifier for the German and English language settings (see following figure).
Besides the identifier (Description) the Definition can be changed. This is displayed as a tooltip of the identifier in the form. The identifiers and their tooltips are then displayed in German or English, depending on the selected display language.
Calculated and Given Values
If the values are displayed in blue font, they are values calculated by TOP-Energy. These can usually be found in the Output data (see following figure).
If typical Input data are to be calculated, this must be set via the context menu of the respective identifier. If the Calculated value entry is preceded by a check mark, this is a calculated value displayed in blue. With a click, the check mark is removed, the value is displayed in black and can be specified. In order to specify Output data under certain circumstances, the modeling mode must be activated.
Forms of the Components
The component forms have the following typical structure:
The forms of the global instances of the components, which are invoked by left-clicking on the component in the Component library in the Project explorer, contain only the numbers of the version and the last revision of the component. Because the local input values may differ in the different variants, the forms of the local instances of a component cannot be opened from the component library, but only directly from each local component under its scheme node.
