Maptitude Help / Filters, Queries, and Selection Sets / Asking Questions

Asking Questions

Maptitude lets you ask many types of questions about the features in a map and the data in a dataview. When you ask a question, Maptitude answers it by creating a selection set, which is simply a filtered list of records in a single map layer or dataview.

There are many ways to create selection sets:

• Use tools to select features from a map or dataview
• Select features in one layer based on the location of features in other layers
• Create a condition to select records based on the values of one or more fields
• Select all of the features in a layer that are visible in a map
• Create selection sets from a theme
• Select features in one layer based on the level of adjacency to other features in the layer
• Select features by combining other selection sets

Displaying Answers on a Map

There are four ways to illustrate the answer to a question on a map:

• Highlight selected features on a map by displaying them in a different color or with a different style
• Hide all the features in the layer that are not in the selection set, so the selected features stand out
• Label selected features differently from features that are not in the selection set
• Zoom in on the features in the selection set

Unless you indicate differently, Maptitude highlights features in a selection set using a distinctive style or color. Whenever you select features in a map layer, any map or dataview containing that layer is updated automatically. For more information, see Showing Selection Sets on a Map.

Displaying Answers in a Dataview

There are two ways to illustrate the answer to a question in a dataview:

• Mark all the records in a selection set with a symbol
• Change the dataview so it shows only the records in a selection set

Unless you indicate differently, Maptitude highlights selected features in a dataview by marking the selected records with a symbol of a distinctive style or color. These symbols match the ones that are used to show the selected features on the map. Whenever you select records, any dataview containing those records is updated automatically to show the selected records. For more information, see Showing Selection Sets in a Dataview.

Saving Selection Sets

You don’t need to do anything special to save a selection set. When you save a map, dataview, or workspace that includes one or more selection sets, the selection sets are stored in the file so you can use them again when the file is opened.

 

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