Totalistic rules are those for which the transition depends only upon the sum of the states of the cells in the neighborhood, but not upon their arrangement. Only a small fraction of the possible rules have this form, nevertheless just that reduction makes it possible to select rules for very large neighborhoods or large state sets. Otherwise too many transitions have to be specified to fit on the screen, or for their definition to be conveniently remembered.
Depending on the space available, the totalistic rule will either appear in the upper left hand corner of the main menu, or in the right central portion, to one side of the line panel. Cursor movements and state definitions are available in all such mini-menus; other options vary from automaton to automaton.