Layer

An object of type plane represents a certain number of similar elements in a map.

Inserting and creating layers

The elements can:

  • originate from a base map (e.g. areas, area labels, borders, lines, city points)
  • be generated by a Analysis (e.g. diagrams, symbols)
  • originate from a self defined territory structure (e.g. territory areas, territory labels, territory locations, point level)

When inserting a layer, easymap automatically assigns a name based on the name of the displayed elements and the displayed aspect (e.g. federal state areas or postal code area labeling). You can rename the layers if necessary.

In many cases easymap creates several layers in the map (e.g. areas, borders and texts) for one layer from the base map or for one territory layer. This gives you the possibility to influence the character sequences more specifically. The components of topographic layers (lines, areas, labels and symbols) are only visible in the Properties of the layers.

Selecting a level

A layer cannot be marked in the map directly by clicking on it (the elements of the layer already are). To call the Properties and commands of a layer, either use the control window Contents, or select an element of the layer in the map and select the submenu with the name of the layer in its context menu.

Commands

A right mouse click on a map layer in the content window opens the context menu for the clicked layer. The commands in this context menu and the corresponding properties refer to the layer as a whole, i.e. to all map elements contained in the layer.

Transfer Selection to

Transfers the current selection geographically to another object. Details...
Visible

Shows whether the object is visible and allows switching the visibility.
Order

Here you can change the selected element in the character sequence. Another option is to drag and drop the selected element within the content view.
Align Not available for levels in the Contents control window.

Display table

Show Results Table

Displays the table of the selected level.
Place Elements

This command is only available for area-related levels and area labels.

With the help of this command, you can automatically place the elements of a layer optimally in the area. Three options are available: to central point, align to other elements and optimally place in area. More information can be found here.

Find...

Starts a new search for texts or areas in this layer.
Restore defaults

Undoes all manual changes to this layer.
Restore scale range

Resets the visibility area to the default from the base map.
Restore Original Position

Executing this command places all moved texts or symbols at their original position.
Show this Level’s Layers only

Switches all other layers in this map invisible, except those based on the same geographical objects (e.g. circle surfaces, circle labels and circle boundaries).
clip map (only ...)

Here you can define a different clip map for the analysis.
clip map (map ...)

Provides commands to create and delete a clip map on this map.
Copy layout /Paste layout

This function is only available for levels with area texts.

Transfers display settings from one layer to another. The levels must be of the same type.
Copy

Copy the object (if necessary with all subobjects) to the clipboard to paste it elsewhere. The object can be inserted in other applications as a graphic, or inserted in EasyMap as a copy of this object using the Insert command.
Paste

Pastes the contents of the clipboard into this object as a child object.
Delete

Deletes the selected element. (See also: delete objects)
Rename

Changes the content view to an edit mode to give the object a new name. (This can also be achieved by clicking on an object that has already been marked.)
Properties...

Opens a properties dialog in which you can edit the Properties of the selected object. If several objects are selected, many properties can also be changed simultaneously for these objects.

Properties of levels from base maps and territory organization

Although the elements contained can be very different, the layer objects are very similar with their properties. A layer must always be within a map.

The properties of a layer can vary greatly depending on the type of element. The following areas may exist. The references lead to detailed information:

Properties of the total layer available for all layers (e.g. the name of the layer in the table of contents, the visibility and the base map).

Surfaces always have a filling. The display of shadow is only possible for areas, but not for lakes, for example. For area layers, the fill color set here is the base color of the areas. If a surface coloring analysis is used in addition to the fill color (area coloring, area hatching, data mountains, Boston Grid, grid), the arrangement of the layers in the control window content one above the other determines whether the basic color of the areas or the area coloring from the analysis is visible. Please note the possibility to create area colors transparent!

Only for layers that represent boundaries or lines - line display properties.

For boundary planes, the lines contained in this plane are grouped together according to their meaning to form representation types. The available display types are listed in the upper area. For boundaries of territories from the area organization, two different representation types are automatically created: outer boundaries and inner boundaries. In the lower part the settings of the display types selected above are displayed. You can edit these in their properties.

With other line objects (line shapes, motorways, rivers, etc.) it is not possible to add further display types or change the assignment of elements to display types.

Only for layers that represent point-shaped objects (e.g. city points) - Symbol display properties.

Symbols can also be grouped in display types. The main properties of the symbol display types are the name and visibility, the display and effects. New display types can be added to symbols. The assignment of a single element to a display type can be changed via the properties of the element.

Only for text levels: Specify the text display such as font type, size, color, and so on.

As with lines and symbols, there may also be different display types for labels, especially for area labels. This allows, for example, the font size to be varied depending on the available area. You can change the name, visibility, font, font effects, and text box for each display type. It is also possible to add new display types. The assignment of an individual element to a display type can be changed using the properties of the element.

Only for text levels: Define the wording of the texts of this level (e.g. data-dependent area texts)