Property Manager

The Property Manager allows you to edit the properties of a selected object. The Property Manager contains a list of all properties of the selected object. The Property Manager can be left open so that the properties of the selected object are always visible.

 

When the Property Manager is hidden or closed, double-clicking on an object opens the Property Manager with the properties for the selected object displayed.

 

For information on a specific feature or property that is shown in the Property Manager, refer to the help page for that feature. For instance, if you are interested in determining how to set the fill opacity for a rectangle or how to assign a primary ID to an object, refer to the specific pages for fill properties or data attributes.

 

Show or Hide Manager

Use the View | Toolbars/Managers command to show or hide the Property Manager. A check mark is displayed next to visible managers. To show a manager, click on the manager name to place a checkmark next to the manager and make the manager visible. Uncheck the manager to hide it.

This is an example of polygon properties displayed in the Property Manager.

 

Expand and Collapse Features

Features with multiple options appear with a plus (+) or minus (-) to the left of the name. To expand a group, click on the icon. To collapse the group, click on the icon. For example, the expanded Fill Properties section contains several options, including Pattern.

 

Object Properties

The Property Manager is divided into property sections based on the object type. For example, if the object type is a polygon, Polygon Item Properties, Data Attributes, Line Properties, Fill Properties and Label Properties are the names displayed for each section.

 

Changing Properties

The Property Manager displays the properties for selected objects. To change a property, click the property's value and select a new property from the popup box, scroll to a new number using the buttons, select a new value from a list or palette, or type a property value. The property access depends on the property type.  For example, a selected polyline would use line properties and has Style, Color, Width, Opacity, Start Style, End Style, and Scale properties. Changing the Color requires clicking the current color and selecting a new color from the color palette. Changing the Width requires typing a new number or scrolling to a new number and then pressing ENTER on your keyboard or clicking somewhere in the Property Manager to make the change permanent.

 

Occasionally, properties are dependent on other selections. For example, in the fill properties there is a Scale option. This option is disabled (grayed out) unless you have selected a vector or picture fill type as the Pattern.

 

Note: if multiple objects are selected, only features common to all objects appear in the Property Manager.

 

Applying Property Changes

Didger makes changes instantaneously to some object properties like Color and Style, while input fields like Primary ID or Width require pressing ENTER on your keyboard or clicking somewhere else in the Property Manager to make a change. Click the ESC key while a field is still active to cancel a change.

 

Keyboard Commands

When working with the Property Manager, the up and down ARROW keys move up and down in the Property Manager list. The ENTER key activates the highlighted property. The right arrow key expands collapsed sections (i.e. Fill Properties) and the left arrow collapses the section.

 

Property Defaults

Use the Tools | Project Settings command to change the default settings. Default settings for line, fill, text, and symbols controlling each object type can be set from the Project Settings dialog.

 

 

See Also

Changing the Layout

Selecting Objects

Coordinate Manager

Layer Manager

Data Manager

User Interface Style

Fill Properties

Line Properties

Symbol Properties

Text Properties