Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
A Create Features window may appear on the right side of your ArcMap window. If it does, dismiss it.
Then restore it by clicking on the Editor drop-down window and select Editing Windows > Create Features.
Dismiss the window again. Restore it with the Create Features icon on the Editor toolbar. The window
is divided into two sections. The top section contains a list of layers available to be edited. You should
only see Dig_Lines_shape (twice, actually). Click the name. The bottom section then lists different input
methods, called Construction Tools. Depending on which type of feature you are editing, you will see
different options. What construction Tools appear for editing Dig_Lines_shape?
______________, _________________, ___________________, _______________,
____________________.
Select Line. (If the Create Feature window covers up part of the image click Full Extent, followed by the Go
Back To Previous Extent arrow.) (If you don't have the correct Construction Tools, you should go back to
Step 2 and recreate the empty shapefile, paying close attention to the file type.)
9.
In the Editor toolbar drop-down menu, click Options. Select the General tab. Display
measurement using two (2) decimal places. Click Apply, then OK.
10.
In the Editor toolbar drop-down menu, click Snapping > Options. Set or confirm the snapping
tolerance set to 10 pixels. Make sure Show Tips is checked as well as Layer Name and Snap
Type. Click OK.
Snapping is a process that helps you connect parts of features (e.g., ends of lines) that need to be
connected. The word probably comes from the positive effect that occurs when the two parts of a snap
on a piece of clothing are pressed together correctly. In the case of putting the ends of lines together, it
means that when the cursor that is making a line comes within a preset distance of the end of another
line, it moves over exactly to the end of that line, allowing no gap or overlap. That preset distance is
specified as the snapping tolerance. You have set it to 10 pixels because that will provide for ease of
editing lines but will prevent ends being snapped together that shouldn't be.
11.
In the Editor menu, click Snapping > Snapping Toolbar. Find the Snapping toolbar on the
screen. Using ToolTips, determine the effects of the four icons on the toolbar: ______________,
_____________, ___________, ___________________ Activate the End Snapping mode, which
will cause the
ends
of the polylines of Dig_Lines_shape to snap together when you are editing.
Also, click the Snapping Toolbar's Snapping drop-down menu and activate (if it isn't already)
Snap To Sketch.
10
This will ensure that, as you draw a “sketch” consisting of lines, you can
snap the end of a polyline back to the beginning of that line, as when you have a single polyline
around a polygon. There is no Apply or OK here - just click a blank area in the T/C to lose
the menu. You can double check your settings by clicking the Snapping drop-down menu and
making sure “Snap To Sketch” has a check mark beside it. See Figure 5-3. (In the event that
red or green squares appear on the map it means that digitizing has started prematurely. To
erase the effects right-click on the Data Frame and choose Delete Sketch.)
12.
Move the cursor into the map window—it should appear as crosshairs. (If not, inspect the
Create Features window and make sure that Dig_Lines_shape is activated and Line is selected
under Construction Tools.) With the crosshairs cursor, you can begin to create polylines by
10
The term “Edit sketch” is a noun phrase, not an adjective followed by a noun, as you might suspect. An “Edit sketch”
is a graphic entity that you will work with.
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