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Drawing Controls
Overview

The drawing controls consists of a drawing editor that supports polygons, lines, shapes and text. This tool allows you to create and move graphics in the Main Display window. Drawing and selecting in 3D can be difficult and sometimes it is best to be in the main overhead view. This feature can be found in the Main Display window in the Display->Draw Freely menu item.

The Drawing Control window consists of three tabs: Controls, Style, and Shapes.

The Controls tab is used to draw features in the Main Display window:

Image 1: Controls Tab of the Drawing Controls Dialog
Image 1: Controls Tab of the Drawing Control Dialog
Properties

The Style tab controls the style that the drawings take in the Main Display window:

Image 2: Style Tab of the Drawing Control Dialog
Image 2: Style Tab of the Drawing Control Dialog
Properties

These menu options apply to the shapes listed in the Controls tab, excluding the High/Low pressures/fronts. Once modifications have been made in this tab, they will be applied to the next shape you make in the Main Display window, without changing any shapes already created.

The Shapes tab lists all of the graphical elements:

Image 3: Shapes Tab of the Drawing Control Dialog
Image 3: Shapes Tab of the Drawing Control Dialog
Properties

This tab lists out the different shapes drawn in the Main Display window from the Controls tab, as well as other information about them.

Double-clicking on an element in the Shapes tab will open its Properties Editor, which consists of two tabs: Properties and Points.

The Properties tab gives general information about each shape:

Image 4: Properties Tab of the Properties Dialog
Image 4: Properties Tab of the Properties Dialog

This tab allows you to control many aspects of the individual shapes. After making any modifications to this window, click Apply or OK, and the changes will be applied to the shape in the Main Display window. Note: The different types of shapes will have different menu options.

Properties

The Points tab gives general information about each shape:

Image 5: Points Tab of the Properties Dialog
Image 5: Points Tab of the Properties Dialog

This tab lists out location coordinates of your shape. The points listed can be seen in the Main Display window, and are represented by the pink squares along the boundaries of the shape. These values can be changed by double clicking on a coordinate, and typing in a new value. Once you click on a different coordinate, and then press Apply or OK, the change will be made in the Main Display window.

Properties
Menus

Many of the menu items seen utilizing this display are standard options that can be found in the Menus section of the Layer Controls page. However, there are several options that are unique to this display.

The File menu has these unique options:

The Edit menu has these unique options:


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