RockWorks | Utilities | EarthApps | Polygons | Polygons | Single
This program:
- Reads a listing of XY points from the Datasheet Editor.
- Creates a KML output file with a closed polygon drawn along these vertices using a fixed color. The polygon can be clamped to the ground, plotted at an elevation relative to the ground, or at an absolute elevation. Side panels can be "extruded" from elevation to the ground.
- Creates a KMZ (zip) output file, containing the KML file.
- Loads the KMZ file in Google Earth.
See also: Google Earth Polygon Maps - Multiple
Menu Options
Step-by-Step Summary
Menu Options
- Input Columns: The prompts along the left side of the window tell RockWorks which columns in the input datasheet contain what data.
Click on an existing name to select a different name from the drop-down list. See a sample data layout below.
- X: Column that contains the X coordinates for the polygon vertices.
These can be Eastings in meters or feet, decimal longitudes, etc. See Defining your Datasheet Coordinates for more information.
- Y: Column that contains the Y coordinates for the polygon vertices.
- Polyline/Perimeter: Insert a check here to include a perimeter line around the polygon. Expand this heading if necessary to access the options.
- Color: Defines the color for the polyline. The current color is displayed to the right. To change the color, click on the color sample and choose a new color from the drop-down list.
- Thickness (pixels): Defines the thickness for the polyline. Click on the displayed value to type in a preferred pixel thickness.
- Fill Polygon (Area) / Extruded Border: Inser a check here for the polygon and extruded border (if any) to be filled with a solid color.
- Color: Defines the color for the fill. The current color is displayed to the right. To change the color, click on the color sample and choose a new color from the drop-down list.
- Opacity: Defines the opacity for the filled polygon and/or panels. Click on the displayed value to type in a preferred opacity value (0 = completely transparent, 100 = completely opaque).
- Altitude Mode: These settings determine the vertical placement of the polygon.
- Clamp to Ground: Choose this for the polygon to lie along the ground topography.
- Relative to Ground: Choose this for the polygon vertices to plot a specified distance above ground. The elevations above ground are read from the Altitude setting, below.
- Absolute: Choose this to float the polygon vertices at a specific elevation regardless of the ground surface. The absolute elevations is defined below.
- Altitude: Use this setting to define the altitude above ground (if Relative, above) or the absolute elevation (if Absolute) for the polygon.
- Extrude: Check this option if you've selected above-ground display of the polygon (Relative or Absolute, above) and want to display the segments as extruded panels coming up from ground level, giving an appearance of a fence. The fill color is defined by the Fill Polygon setting, above.
Step-by-Step Summary
- Access the Utilities program tab.
- Create a new datasheet and enter or import your polygon vertex coordinates into the datasheet.
Or, open one of the sample files and replace that data with your own. (In this example, the sample file = "RockWorks17 Data\EarthApps Samples\Polygon_Single_01.rwDat")
Longitude and latitude coordinates must be in decimal format. If you're using another coordinate system, be sure you've specified the Units and the Projection Settings as appropriate.
- Select the RockWorks | Utilities | EarthApps | Polygons | Polygons | Single menu option.
- Enter the menu options as described above.
! Tip: If you're working with one of the sample .rwDat files, you can load its specific menu settings by (1) clicking on the Menu button at the top of the window, (2) clicking Load from RCL, and (3) browsing for the .rcl file with the same name as the .rwDat file you're working with.
- Click the Process button to continue.
The program will create a KML file with a closed polygon drawn between the coordinate pairs, in the color, opacity, and elevation mode you specified. It will create a KMZ (zip) file containing the KML file. The Google Earth KML and KMZ file names will be assigned automatically.
- If RockWorks displays the KMZ name in a popup window for your reference, you can confirm:
- Automatically load file into Google Earth: Be sure this is checked if you want to display the output at this time.
- Show this message every time a KMZ File is Created: If checked, this window will be displayed each time a Google Earth output is created. Uncheck this if you prefer not to see this window in the future.
(Both of these settings are also available via the Preferences menu.)
- Click OK to continue or Cancel to cancel the operation.
The resulting map will be displayed in Google Earth, if requested.
Back to Polygon Maps Summary
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