The Polyline Attributes window is used to define or to modify the location, size, layer, and appearance for multi-segmented lines, called "polylines". This window is displayed when you edit an existing polyline or insert a new polyline into a map or diagram. Polylines can represent contour lines, profile lines, log curves, etc.
Window Options
Appearance Options
- Line Style: Click on the line box to select the color, line style and line thickness for the polyline.
- Smoothing: Click on this item to define the number of times the polyline should be smoothed. The program smoothes the polylines by constructing triangles out of the line segments and computing new vertices. Polylines may be smoothed in one or more passes, resulting in pleasing-looking lines. But, smoothed polylines may not always honor the control points. Set the value to "0" for no smoothing. Set the smoothing factor to "1" to run the polyline through the "smoother" once. Enter "2" to run the smoother twice, etc. Below is an example of how a polyline that represents a contour line would be smoothed.
- Labeling Options
- Caption: Here you can type in a short label to be placed at intervals along the polyline, as you might do for a contour line. This can be left blank for no labels.
- Font Color: Click on the color box to choose a color for the label.
- Font Size: The size that's displayed represents actual diagram or map units for the height of the label characters. (This is not how the font size is established back in the RockWorks menu; the program translates a relative font size to an actual size in map units as the diagram is being generated.) For example, if you see a size of "22", that means the text height is 22 map/diagram units. You can make the text larger or smaller by increasing or decreasing this value.
- Opaque: Insert a check here if the label is to be plotted on top of a solid background color. If activated, click on the color box to choose the background color. If left unchecked, the text will have a transparent background, so that any underlying items will show through.
- Spacing: Here you can specify the spacing of the labels along the contour lines, in map or diagram units. For example, to have a label drawn along a contour line every 200 feet, you would enter "200."
- Note that even a small spacing setting may not result in labels on polylines with tight curves. The program looks for relatively straight areas to put labels. Sometimes increasing the smoothing, above, can increase the availability of good label locations along the polyline.
- This is not how the spacing is established back in the RockWorks menu; the program translates a relative spacing, as a percent of the map/diagram dimensions to an actual size in map/diagram units as the image is being generated.
Vertex Options
- Embellishments: Choose from the drop-down list any special styles to apply to the polyline:
- Hatchures: Left, Right, Centered: Choose one of these items to show hatchure marks along the polyline.
- Size: Specify the size of the hatchure marks, in your map units.
- Spacing: Specify the spacing of the marks along the polyline, in your map/diagram units.
- Triangles: Left, Right, Forward, Reverse: Choose one of these items to show triangles along the polyline.
- Size: Specify the size of the triangular symbols, in your map units.
- Spacing: Specify the spacing of the triangles along the polyline, in your map/diagram units.
- Symbols: Choose this option to show symbols along the polyline.
- Size: Specify the size of the symbols, in your map units.
- Spacing: Specify the spacing of the symbols along the polyline, in your map/diagram units.
- Symbol: Click on the sample picture to select a symbol to display along the polyline.
Location Options
- Layer: Use this setting to select the layer to which the polyline is to be associated. See Working with Layers for more information.
- To move any of the vertices of the polyline itself, see Editing Vertices.
General Options
- Visible: Insert a check in this box for the polyline to be visible in the drawing or map. Remove the check-mark to hide the polyline.
See also
Back to Editing Tools
