Polygon

A polygon is represented by a closed shape in a Didger project, and can have up to 256 associated IDs. Polygons are composed of straight-line segments defined by vertices, in which the starting and ending vertex is the same. Polygons are shown with a combination of line style, line color, fill pattern, fill color, and Primary ID label. Polygons must have at least three vertices.

This is a polygon object with

line and fill properties.

Drawing a Polygon

To draw a polygon:

Click the Draw | Polygon command, click the button, or press CTRL+G on the keyboard.
The cursor changes to a cross hair cursor to indicate drawing mode.
Enter any information about the polygon, such as the ID, in the Property Manager.
Move the cursor over the location for the start of the polygon 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 the final point. Then press the ENTER key.
The first and last points are automatically connected and the new polygon is drawn. To end draw polygon mode, click on another toolbar button or press the ESC key on your keyboard.

Polygons can also be created from polylines using some of the commands in the Draw | Change Boundary Type and Draw | Edit Boundaries sections.

Editing Polygon Properties

The polygon can be edited by clicking once on the polygon to select it. Polygon object properties are displayed in the Property Manager. Polygon object properties include:

Polygon Item Properties

Default Properties

The default line and fill properties are set by clicking the Tools | Project Settings command and clicking on the Line Properties or Fill Properties tabs.

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 points on the page to draw a polygon, or click and hold the left mouse button and drag the cursor to draw a continuous stream of points.
When creating a continuous stream, the minimum distance between vertices is controlled by the Vertex Tolerance.
Click the right mouse button to remove the last drawn point. This can be done repeatedly.
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 close the polygon.
To cancel drawing a polygon, press the ESC key before closing the polygon.
Edit the polygon shape by using Draw | Reshape.
Edit polygons by clicking on the polygon in the plot window or in the Data Manager.
Set default line and fill 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.