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In this video you will learn how to take existing shapes and move them, edit them or delete them.
Also, you will learn some more advanced drawing techniques.
We will start out by selecting an object. You can select the record in the browser by
clicking in the box to the left of the first column. Since that row in the browser is linked to
an object on the map, that object also gets selected. It is sometimes easier to work in
the opposite direction, by selecting the object on the map. You can see that the
corresponding row in the browser also gets selected.
In order to make any changes to an object, the layer must be editable first. In this case it
already is.
To move an object, click and drag it from one place to another.
You can also reshape an object. Select a single object with the Select tool and five edit
handles appear. There is one at each corner and a fifth just beyond the bottom-right corner.
You can click and drag that fifth handle to rotate an object or one of the other four to make
the object smaller or larger.
You can also move the object in very small increments by using the arrow keys and the control
and shift keys on your keyboard. Select the object you wish to move, hold down the control key
and press one of the arrow keys. The object will move 1 pixel at a time in whatever direction you
clicked. You can also hold down control and shift and then press an arrow key to move the object
10 pixels at a time.
If necessary, you can also change the object’s style by double-clicking on it. You can
also get to the same style dialog box by selecting an object and clicking the
appropriate style button on the toolbar.
Delete an object by selecting it and pressing Delete on your keyboard. You can also delete
directly from the browser by selecting a record and pressing delete. Since each row in the
browser is linked to an individual object on the map, deleting from one also deletes
from the other.
Next we’ll show you some advanced drawing tips. First, we’ll clear the map and close
the browser, and use the airplane symbol as a point of reference.
Using the line tool to draw a line from the symbol in the middle of the map window, it is
just a simple click and drag. You can see here that we’re holding the mouse button down as
we rotate the line around the symbol. That behavior changes when you hold down the shift key
on your keyboard at the same time. Your line is restricted to only draw on 45 degree
angles.
If you draw a line while holding down the control key on your keyboard, the line draws in both
directions, relative to your starting point.
The control and shift keys affect other objects as well. When drawing an ellipse, the
shift key forces it to be a perfect circle.
The control key will draw it in only one direction as you click and drag.
When drawing a rectangle, the shift key forces it to be a perfect square.
The control key will draw it in both directions, relative to your starting point.
When using the polyline tool, the shift key works in the same way as it does with the line
tool – it locks the polyline to a 45 degree angle.
The control key works a bit differently. Draw one segment of the polyline at an angle that
is not a 45 degree angle. While you are drawing the next segment of the polyline, hold down the
control key. Any subsequent segments will be drawn at a 45 degree angle, relative to the
previous segment. This is an easy way to draw parallel lines or right-angles if your first
segment isn’t an easy angle.
The polygon tool also functions in the same way when using the control and shift keys. Shift
will lock the segments you draw to a 45 degree angle. Control will lock the current segment to
a 45 degree angle relative to the previous segment.
The only place this will not work is when you double-click to close the polygon – it doesn’t
take into account any angles.