Creating Annotations on the Map

You can create annotations such as drawings or text on the map, which can be saved in PDF format along with the map.

The Annotations Panel

The Annotations panel contains the drawing tools available in the application.

1. Click to open the Annotations panel. The icon changes color.

   

   1	Tools for creating different types of annotations.
   2	Select Button to select annotations. Delete Button to delete annotations.
   3	Fill Tools to select the fill color and transparency of polygon-type annotations. The Fill section provides details.
   4	Line Tools to set the thickness, color, and transparency of lines. The Line section provides details.
   5	Text Tools to set the size, rotation, and color of text. The Text section provides details.
   6	Snap tool Check the box to activate it.
   7	Available layers Layers available in the project to snap drawings to. Select the layer whose features will be used to snap drawings.
   8	Help for creating annotations.

2. Click the tool of your choice to activate it. The Drawing Tools section details their characteristics and how to use them.

3. Create the desired drawings. You can switch tools to create other types of drawings. Drawings remain until you delete them.

Drawing Tools

Several tools are available for creating annotations:

	Point Click to activate the tool. Click at the desired location to draw a point. The appearance of a point is determined in the Fill and Line sections. You can select the characteristics before drawing the points. You can also modify the appearance of one or more points after they are created.
	Line Click to activate the tool. Click at the desired location to draw the first point of the line. Click at another location to add a vertex to the line. When you have drawn the line, double-click to finish it. The appearance is determined in the Line section. You can select the characteristics before drawing the line. You can also modify the appearance of one or more lines after they are created.
	Circle Click to activate the tool. Click at the desired location to draw the center of the circle. Drag the cursor to draw the circle. Click to finish the circle. The appearance of the circle is determined in the Fill and Line sections. You can select the characteristics before drawing the circle. You can also modify the appearance of one or more circles after they are created.
	Rectangle Click to activate the tool. Click at the desired location to draw the first vertex of the rectangle. Drag the cursor to draw the rectangle. Click to draw the opposite vertex and finish the rectangle. The appearance of the rectangle is determined in the Fill and Line sections. You can select the characteristics before drawing the rectangle. You can also modify the appearance of one or more rectangles after they are created.
	Polygon Click to activate the tool. Click at the desired location to draw the first vertex of the polygon. Click to draw the polygon vertices. Double-click to draw the last vertex and finish the polygon. The appearance of the polygon is determined in the Fill and Line sections. You can select the characteristics before drawing the polygon. You can also modify the appearance of one or more polygons after they are created.
	Text Click to activate the tool. Click at the desired location to place the text. The text input interface opens. Enter the text. Click OK to save the text or Cancel to close the interface without saving. The appearance of the text is determined in the Text section. You can select the characteristics before writing the text. You can also modify the appearance of one or more text annotations after they are created.

Annotation Style

Fill

This section defines the fill color and transparency for points, circles, rectangles, and polygons.

1	Color swatch Displays the selected color with its transparency level. Click the swatch to open the fill color selection tool. This tool allows you to define the color in several ways.
2	Visual tools Visual tools for selecting the color. Select the color in the color bar by dragging the slider. Select the shade in the color field by dragging the point. The selected color is displayed in the Hex, RGB fields and in the color swatch.
3	Hexadecimal code (Hex) Hexadecimal code of the selected color. Enter the hexadecimal code in the Hex field. The entered color is displayed in the swatch, the color bar, the color field, and the RGB indicators. The hexadecimal code is always displayed in the Fill section.
4	RGB code The color can also be defined using the RGB code. Enter the R, G, and B values of the desired color. All color indicators display the selected color.
5	Opacity level Opacity level of the fill. Select the fill opacity level in the second bar by dragging the slider. Maximum opacity is on the right and maximum transparency is on the left. You can also enter the value directly in the A field. The opacity percentage is always displayed in the Fill section.
6	History The most recently selected colors are kept in memory.

Line

This section defines the appearance of lines for linear drawings as well as the outlines of circles, polygons, rectangles, and points.

1	Thickness To define the line thickness, select the value from the dropdown list.
2	Color swatch Displays the selected line color with its transparency level. Click the swatch to open the line color selection tool.
3	Visual tools Visual tools for selecting the color. Select the color in the color bar by dragging the slider. Select the shade in the color field by dragging the point. The selected color is displayed in the Hex, RGB fields and in the color swatch.
4	Hexadecimal code (Hex) Enter the hexadecimal code in the Hex field. The entered color is displayed in the swatch, the color bar, the color field, and the RGB indicators. The hexadecimal code is always displayed in the Line section.
5	RGB code Enter the R, G, and B values of the desired color. All color indicators display the selected color.
6	Opacity level Opacity level of the line. Select the line opacity level in the second bar by dragging the slider. Maximum opacity is on the right and maximum transparency is on the left. You can also enter the value directly in the A field. The opacity percentage is always displayed in the Line section.
7	History The most recently selected colors are kept in memory.

Text

This section defines the appearance of text annotations.

1	Size To define the font size, select the value from the dropdown list.
2	Rotation Enter the rotation angle to apply to the text.
3	Color swatch Displays the selected text color. Click the swatch to open the text color selection tool.
4	Visual tools Visual tools for selecting the color. Select the color in the color bar by dragging the slider. Select the shade in the color field by dragging the point. The selected color is displayed in the Hex, RGB fields and in the color swatch.
5	Hexadecimal code (Hex) Enter the hexadecimal code in the Hex field. The entered color is displayed in the swatch, the color bar, the color field, and the RGB indicators. The hexadecimal code is always displayed in the Text section.
6	RGB code Enter the R, G, and B values of the desired color. All color indicators display the selected color.
7	History The most recently selected colors are kept in memory.

Modifying Annotations

You can modify drawings. You can modify the shape of one drawing at a time. You can modify the appearance, location, apply rotation, or delete multiple drawings simultaneously.

Modifying the Appearance of Drawings or Text

1. Click Select to select the drawings or text to modify.

2. Click on a text or drawing to select it. The drawing's lines change appearance and the text stroke becomes bold, indicating the annotation is selected.

3. Hold down SHIFT and click on another text or drawing to add it to the selection. You can select multiple texts or multiple drawings (circles, points, rectangles, or polygons). You cannot select text and drawings together.

4. Depending on the type of annotation in your selection, use the Fill, Line, and Text tools to modify the appearance of the annotations. The changes are visible on the map.

5. Click on another annotation or on the map to deselect the annotations.

Modifying the Shape of a Drawing

1. Click Select to select the drawings to modify.

2. Click on a drawing to select it. The drawing's vertices are displayed.

3. Click on a vertex to select it. It turns black. New vertices colored orange appear between the original vertices.

4. Drag the selected vertex to the desired position. The drawing changes accordingly.

5. Make modifications by selecting the vertices to work with.

6. Click on another annotation or on the map to deselect the annotation.

Modifying the Location of Annotations

You can modify the location of annotations. You can move one text at a time, but you can move multiple drawings together.

Moving a text

1. Click Select to select the text to move.

2. Click on a text to select it. The text stroke becomes bold, indicating the text is selected.

3. Using the hand-shaped cursor, grab the text and drag it to the desired position.

4. Drop the text there.

5. Click on another annotation or on the map to deselect the text.

Moving drawings

1. Click Select to select the drawings to move.

2. Click a drawing to select it. The drawing's lines change appearance, indicating it is selected.

3. Hold down SHIFT and click another drawing to add it to the selection.

4. Using the hand-shaped cursor when hovering over one of the drawings, drag the drawings to the desired position.

5. Drop the drawings there.

6. Click another annotation or the map to deselect the drawings.

Rotating Annotations

You can apply rotation to a selection of drawings or a selection of text. You cannot apply rotation to a mixed selection of drawings and text.

1. Click Select to select the drawings or text to rotate.

2. Click a drawing or text to select it. The drawing's lines or text appearance change, indicating it is selected. The Rotate (1) button appears, indicating one element to rotate.

3. Hold down SHIFT and click on another drawing/text to add it to the selection. The Rotate() button displays in parentheses the number of selected elements.

4. Click Rotate. An interface opens allowing you to enter the rotation angle (between -360° and +360°) to apply to the selected drawings/text.

5. Click OK. The drawings/text are displayed with the applied rotation.

Deleting Annotations

1. Click Select to select the drawings or text to delete.

2. Click a text or drawing to select it. The drawing's lines change appearance and the text stroke becomes bold, indicating the annotation is selected.

3. Hold down SHIFT and click on another text or drawing to add it to the selection. You can select multiple texts or multiple drawings (circles, points, rectangles, or polygons). You cannot select text and drawings together. The Delete button indicates the number of selected annotations.

4. Click Delete to erase the selected annotations.