Layer Editor Tab

Edited Layer marked with a red asterisk

The content of the Layer Editor tab will vary depending upon which type of file you are editing. Non-relevant tools for particular file types are hidden to avoid confusion. This section will detail all of the functions available in this toolbar tab (but all of these tools will never be seen together at the same time.

File Tool Group

The File Tool Group contains basic operations to save and stop editing the layer.

• The 'Stop Edit' button closes the editing mode of the layer. If there are unsaved changes you will be prompted to save them. Alternatively right click on the edited layer (in the Layers Tab) and select 'Stop Edit'.
  
• The 'Save' button saves the changes made to the layer while in the edit mode. Once saved, the changes cannot be undone.
• The Save As button saves a copy of the current file with a new name, while keeping the original file in an unchanged form. The new file is automatically added into the Layers Panel and Map View instead of the original file.

Selection Tool Group

The Selection Tool Group contains options to select, delete or unselect features.

• The 'Select' button allows you to select features e.g. cross sections for editing. The selected features will be highlighted in blue. To select an area, click and drag your cursor over the area to create dashed rectangle. When released, the features within or partially within the rectangle will be selected.

• 

• The 'Delete Selected' button deletes all currently selected features.
• The 'Clear Selection' button allows you to unselect all selected features.

Draw Tool Group

Draw menu - This menu provides access to a range of drawing tools. When in drawing mode, the cursor turns into a pencil icon. Depending on the type of the layer file being created, a number of drawing options will be presented. Available commands will be shown in colour while those not available will be greyed out.

 The Point button allows you to add points to Point and PointZ file types only. Select the button and click where you want to add a point, the area will be highlighted with a blue dotted square, click elsewhere on the map view and the new point will appear. Right click and select cancel if you want to cancel adding the point

The Line button is available while editing PolyLineZ and PolyLine shapefile types only. It allows to add a line to the current shapefile. Each left click on the map view adds a new vertex to the line. A double-click ends drawing of the line. A right-click on the viewport (while drawing the line) displays a menu that allows you to undo the last vertex, cancel drawing of the whole line or finish the shape (the same functionality as a double click of the mouse).

The Polygon button is available only for Polygon type files. It allows you to add polygons. Each left click on the map view adds a new vertex to the polygon, while a double-click ends drawing of the polygon. A right-click on the viewport (while drawing the polygon) displays a menu that allows you to undo the last point, cancel drawing of the whole polygon or finish the shape (the same functionality as a double click of the mouse).

The Triangle button is available only for TIN file types. It allows you to add triangles to the TIN file. Select the Triangle button and start adding the triangles by clicking on the desired location on the Map view, every three clicks will create a triangle.

The Cross Section button is available for model data files (.DAT) only. It allows you to add cross sections to the model. To add a cross section, click on the button and draw a new cross section by clicking on the desired location in the Map view. A double-click ends drawing of the cross section; a right-click on the viewport (while drawing the cross section) displays a menu that allows you to undo the last vertex, cancel drawing of the whole cross section or finish the shape (the same functionality as a double click of the mouse).

The Extend Left button is available for the following file types: PolyLineZ and PolyLine shapefiles, Polygon shapefiles and model data files (.DAT) . It enables the quick extension of individual polylines and polygons. The command can be used only when a feature is selected. When activated, the extended line is snapped to the first point of the currently highlighted feature. Left clicking adds segments which have a set number of vertexes as defined in the Extended Settings. Double clicking ends the command.

The Extend Right button is available for the following file types: PolyLineZ and PolyLine shapefiles, Polygon shapefiles and model data files (.DAT) . It enables the quick extension of individual polylines and polygons. The command can be used only when a feature is selected. When activated the extended line is snapped to the end point of the currently highlighted feature. Left clicking adds segments which have a set number of vertexes as defined in the Extended Settings. Double clicking ends the command.

The Extend Setting button allows you to set a number of points to be added to the selected polyline between each click and the minimum distance between points. This command is available for following file types: PolyLineZ and PolyLine shapefiles, Polygon shapefiles and model data files (.DAT).

Edit Features Tool Group

The Edit Features Tool group has a range of commands for vertex and shape manipulation. The commands become active when a feature is selected, and depending on the type of a file, different buttons will become available.

The 'Add Vertex' button is available for Polygon, Model (.dat), PolyLine and PolyLineZ file types. To add a vertex, select the feature first, then click on the Add Vertex command. Every left click adds a vertex, to cancel right click and select 'Cancel' from the drop-down menu.

The 'Move Vertex' button is available for Polygon, Model (.dat), PolyLine, PolyLineZ and TIN file types. To move a Vertex, select the feature first, then click on the 'Move Vertex' command. Hover over the Vertex that you would like to move, than drag and drop it to the desired location. To cancel the current move, right click and select 'Cancel' from the drop-down menu.

The 'Delete Vertex' button is available for Polygon, Model (.dat), PolyLine, PolyLineZ and TIN file types. To delete a Vertex, select the feature first, click on the Delete Vertex command. Hover over the Vertex that you want to delete and then click. To cancel the current delete operation right click and select 'Cancel' from the drop-down menu.

The 'Move Shape' button is available for Polygon, Model (.dat), PolyLine, PolyLineZ and TIN file types. To move a shape, select the feature first, click on the 'Move Shape' command, than drag and drop the shape. To cancel the current move operation right click and select 'Cancel' from the drop-down menu.

The 'Reverse' button reverses the direction of the shape. It switches the start point with the end point of the shape or vice versa. First select the feature, than lick on the 'Reverse' command.

The 'Rotate' button allows you to rotate features. First select the feature to rotate then click on the command. A window with a rotation setting will appear. You can change the setting and see a live preview of how the feature changes.

If you have loaded a .sec file as a GIS Layer into the Map View and opened the file in the Editing mode, then upon clicking on the Rotate button, you will see a slightly different Rotate Feature window (see below). The only difference will be the availability of the tick box to enable protection of model data. If the tickbox is ticked then when you will not be able to rotate the part of the cross section, which is marked as a surveyed data. This is particularly important if you operate with an extended cross section, which consists of a surveyed part (which should not be changed) and an extended part (which can be rotated if needed, i.e. to avoid intersecting with another cross section etc).

Properties Tool Group

The Properties Tool Group provides tools to set the snapping properties and view detailed attributes of your selected features.

The 'Attribute Window' button opens a new window, which shows in detail the features ('attributes) that are present in your selected file, and a range of properties connected to these features. When in edit mode you can edit attribute values in this table simply by clicking on a cell and typing in a new value.

The 'Snapping' button opens an additional window with snapping options. You can chose which layer the snapping settings should apply to, and which points your layer will snap to: First Point, End Point, Both Ends Points or All Points.

History Tool Group

The History Tool Group has only two commands: Undo and Redo.

The Undo button enables you to undo the last operation. However it cannot undo changes which have already been saved.

The Redo button enables you to redo an operation which has been undone. However it cannot redo any changes once the file has been saved.