Maptitude Help / Creating and Using Layouts / Moving, Editing, and Arranging Layout Items

Moving, Editing, and Arranging Layout Items

As you see a layout taking shape, you may want to change the position or contents of individual items. To edit, move, resize, delete, or align items in a layout, you must first select them with the Pointer tool. When you select an item in the layout, square blocks appear at the corners and sides of the item. These blocks are called editing handles. Text and symbol items also have a rotation handle, which you use to rotate the item.

For a video tutorial see: (Internet connection required) • Creating Layouts in Maptitude

To Select Items in a Layout

1. Click on the Standard toolbar to activate the Pointer tool.
2. Select items as shown in the table:

To Move Layout Items

Items in a layout can be moved individually or in groups. To move layout items:

1. Click on the Standard toolbar to activate the Pointer tool, and select one or more items.
2. Position the cursor over one of the selected items (but not on one of the handles).
3. Press and hold down the mouse button. Borders appear around all the selected items.
4. Drag the items to a new location, and release the mouse button.

Maptitude draws the items in their new location.

   To Change the Size of a Layout Item

1. Click on the Standard toolbar to activate the Pointer tool, and select one or more items.
2. Position the cursor over one of the editing handles.

TIP: The ratio of width to height is not fixed for rectangle and circle freehand items. Hold the Shift key while resizing these items if you want to keep the aspect ratio.

3. Press and hold down the mouse button on the handle. A border appears around the item.
4. Drag the handle until the border is the correct size, and release the mouse button.

Maptitude draws the item in the new size.

To Rotate a Text or Symbol Item

Text and symbol items can be rotated to any desired angle. To rotate a text or symbol item:

1. Click on the Standard toolbar to activate the Pointer tool, and click on an item to select it.
2. Position the cursor over the rotation handle.
3. Press and hold down the mouse button on the handle. A border appears around the item.
4. Drag the handle until the border is shown at the desired angle, and release the mouse button.

Rotated items normally align themselves to the nearest 5-degree angle. This automatic alignment makes it easy to place text vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. To rotate items more precisely, hold the Ctrl key while dragging the rotation handle.

Maptitude draws the item in its new location.

To Edit Freehand Items in a Layout

1. Click  on the Standard toolbar to activate the Pointer tool, select one or more freehand items, and double-click on any of the selected items to display a dialog box for editing the items. The contents of the dialog box depend on the type of items that are selected.

—OR—

Right-click on a freehand item and choose Properties to display a dialog box for editing the items. The contents of the dialog box depend on the type of items that are selected.

2. Change the settings according to the following table:

3. Click OK.

Maptitude draws the items with the changes.

TIP: To edit several items in one step, all must be of a similar type. For example, you can edit the style of two rectangles and a circle in a single step, but you cannot edit the style of a text item and two circles in a single step.

To Delete Items from a Layout

1. Right-click on a freehand item and choose Delete. Maptitude displays a dialog box to confirm the deletion.
2. Click Yes to delete the freehand item or No to cancel the deletion.

—OR—

1. Click on the Standard toolbar to activate the Pointer tool, and select one or more items.
2. Press the Del key, or choose Edit>Drawing>Delete and click Yes to confirm the deletion.

Maptitude deletes the selected items from the layout.

To Align Layout Items

1. Click  on the Standard toolbar to activate the Pointer tool, and select one or more items. If you will be aligning items, they will be aligned with respect to the first item that you select.
2. Choose a command from the Edit menu, click a button on the Standard toolbar, or right-click on one of the selected items and choose the command from the menu as described in the following table:

When you use the Distribute command or the distribute tools, the spacing between items is normally set to one-quarter inch. You can change the default spacing of layout items using the Edit>Preferences command and choosing the Freehand/Layout tab in the User Preferences dialog box.

 

©2026 Caliper Corporation