Polyline

A polyline is represented by a line in a Didger project, and can have up to 256 associated attributes. Polylines are composed of straight-line segments defined by nodes and vertices.

This is a polyline object with

line properties and vertex

tolerance circles.

Drawing a Polyline

To draw a polyline:

Click the Draw | Polyline command, click the button, or press CTRL+L on the keyboard to begin drawing a polyline.
The cursor changes to a cross hair cursor to indicate drawing mode.
Enter any information about the polyline, such as the ID, in the Property Manager.
Move the cursor over the location for the start of the polyline and click the left mouse button.
Move the cursor to the next position along the line and click again.
Continue this procedure until you click at the final point for the line. Press the ENTER key.
To end drawing mode, click on another tool button or press the ESC key on your keyboard.

Editing Polyline Properties

The polyline can be edited by clicking once on the polyline to select it. Polyline object properties can be modified through the Property Manager. Polyline properties include:

Polyline Item Properties

Data Attributes

Line Properties

Label Properties

Default Properties

The default line properties are set by clicking the Tools | Project Settings command and clicking on the Line Properties tab.

Using a Digitizing Tablet

When using the tablet pointer to digitize a polygon,

Calibrate the tablet by clicking the Draw | Tablet | Tablet Calibration command, or by clicking the $image\calibrate.png$ button.
Activate the tablet by pressing F9 on the keyboard, clicking the $image\activate.png$ button, or clicking the Draw | Tablet | Activate Tablet command.

Drawing Tips

Click the endpoints of the line to draw a straight line, or click several points to create an irregularly shaped line.
Click the right mouse button to remove the last drawn point. This can be done repeatedly.
Click and hold the left mouse button to create a continuous stream of points.
When creating a continuous stream, the minimum distance between vertices is controlled by the Vertex Tolerance.
If the CTRL key is pressed while clicking points, the created vertex is snapped to the nearest vertex on an existing polyline or polygon. You can also use the Button Settings Snap Vertex option to simulate this action.
If the ALT key is pressed while clicking points, the created vertex is snapped to the nearest position along a line segment of an existing polyline or polygon. This point is not necessarily at the position of a vertex along the existing line, just the closest position along that line. You can also use the Button Settings Snap Line Segment option to simulate this action.
If the CTRL key and SHIFT key are pressed while clicking points, lines are constrained to 45-degree angles.
Double-click the left mouse button or press the ENTER key to end the line.
To cancel drawing the line, press the ESC key before ending the line.
Edit the shape of the line using Draw | Reshape.
Edit the line style and color by clicking on the line in the plot window or in the Data Manager.
Set default line properties with the Tools | Project Settings command.
Zoom while in drawing mode by scrolling the mouse wheel. Alternatively, press the NUMLOCK key on the keyboard to ensure Number Lock is on. Then, use the + and - keys on the numeric keypad to zoom in and out.
Scroll while in drawing mode by pressing the mouse wheel down and panning the screen. Alternatively, press the NUMLOCK key on the keyboard to ensure Number Lock is on. Then, use the 4, 8, 6, and 2 keys to scroll left, up, right, and down.