Maptitude^® On-Line Training

Maps

• Grouped into layers, stored in geographic files
• Layer can be points or lines or areas
• Layers can be visible or not
• Visible layers are dreawn in order
• Working layer is the one shown in the drop-down list on the toolbar

For a map to be clear and easy to read, it must contain the right amount of information. When a map contains too much information, it is confusing and hard to read. When a map contains too little information, it is difficult to tell what the map is trying to show.

To help you manage the information in your maps, Maptitude organizes map features into layers. You control the amount of information that is shown on a map by choosing which layers to display.

A layer is a group of features of the same type. Every geographic file contains at least one layer of information, and every layer has a name that describes the features within it. The layers are drawn one at a time. This means that when a layer is drawn, features in that layer may hide or obscure features from an earlier layer. To help you out, the names of all the visible layers in a map appear in the order they will draw in a drop-down list on the toolbar.

The status bar at the bottom of the screen shows you the name of each layer as it is drawn. You can interrupt the drawing of any layer and skip to the next layer by clicking on the status bar. You can also stop the map from drawing at any time by clicking on the status bar or by pressing the Esc key.

The Maptitude commands that set colors, styles, thematic map settings, and labels operate on one layer at a time. This layer is called the working layer. The name of the working layer is shown in the layer list on the toolbar. You change the working layer by choosing one of the visible layers in a map from the drop-down list.