Object Manager

The Object Manager contains a list of the objects and layers in the map. The objects can be selected and arranged in the Object Manager. Changes made in the Object Manager are reflected in the map window and vice versa.

Object Manager Contents

Column

Contents

Layer

Displays the layer name, map type, layer visibility, graticule, and locked state.

Object

Displays the object type, such as polygons, polylines, and rectangles. This field also shows whether or not an object is visible. See Object Visibility below.

Opening and Closing the Object Manager

The Object Manager is opened and closed with the View | Managers | Object Manager check box . The Object Manager can be opened or closed by right-clicking in the Object Manager or plot window and selecting Managers | Object Manager in the context menu. Click the button in the title bar of the Object Manager to close the window.

Changing the Object Manager Location

The Object Manager can be docked on the edge of the MapViewer window or floated as a pop-up window. To change the position of the Object Manager, click on the title bar and drag it to a new location. While dragging the manager to a new location, the docking interface is shown on the screen. You can double-click on the title bar to toggle between floating and docked modes. You can drag the sides of the Object Manager to change the size of the window.

Selecting Objects

Click on the button next to a layer name to expand the layer. When a layer is expanded the objects on the layer are shown in the Object Manager. Click the button next to a layer name to collapse the layer. Use the Expand All Layers and Collapse All Layers to expand or collapse all layers in the Object Manager at once. Click on an object to select it in the Object Manager and in the plot window. If you select an object in the map window it is also selected in the Object Manager. Use CTRL+click to select multiple objects. Use SHIFT+click to select multiple contiguous objects. The arrow keys can also be used to select objects in the Object Manager. The LEFT ARROW and RIGHT ARROW keys collapse and expand the current layer, respectively. Press the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW to move up and down in the Object Manager. SHIFT+ PAGE UP selects everything from the current item to the beginning of the list. SHIFT + PAGE DOWN selects everything from the current item to the bottom of the list. Hold SHIFT and press the UP ARROW to select the item above the current selection, and hold SHIFT and press the DOWN ARROW to select the object below the current selection. Hold CTRL and press the UP or DOWN ARROW to select multiple objects.

Naming Objects

Objects and layers are named in the Object Manager by clicking once on the selected the object or layer. Layers do not have PIDs and are only named in the Object Manager. The name in the Object Manager is the object type when objects are created with a draw command or imported without PIDs. When a PID is assigned to the object in the Property Manager Info page, with the MultiAssign command, or with the Redefine command, the name in the Object Manager is updated to the new PID.

Editing Properties

After selecting an object or layer in the Object Manager, object or layer properties are edited in the Property Manager.

Object Visibility

Each row in the list consists of an icon indicating the type of object or layer and a text label for the object or layer. All objects and layers also have an eye icon that indicates if the object is visible. A fully colored eye $image\visible.gif$ indicates that the object is visible and a partially transparent eye indicates that the object is not visible. To change the visible status of an object, click on the eye to the left of the object icon. Invisible objects do not appear in the map window and do not appear on printed output. Invisible objects can be selected in the Object Manager but they cannot be selected in the map window.

Map and Object Type

The images immediately left of the layer and object names indicate the map type for layers or object type for objects. The map layer images are small versions of the Map | Create command buttons. The object type images are the same image as in the Draw | Shape command buttons.

Graticule Placement and Lock State

The layer containing the graticules is indicated by a graticule symbol in the upper right corner of the visibility eye . Locked layers and objects are indicated with a lock in the lower right corner of the eye .

Arranging Objects

To change the display order of the objects with the mouse, select an object and drag it to a new position in the list above or below an object. The pointer changes to a black right arrow if the object can be moved to the pointer location or a black circle with a diagonal line if the object cannot be moved to the indicated location. The objects can also be moved with Arrange | Move | To Front, To Back, Forward, and Backward options.

Sorting the Object Manager

Objects can be sorted in each layer with the Sort Objects command. Objects can be sorted by Object type, PID, SID, Vertex count, Length, Area, Polygon directions, Number of subpolygons, Hyperlink, or Attribute.

Creating Reports

See Object Property Report for more information on creating a report of the Object Manager information.