Editing Network Object Geometry
The geometry of network objects can be edited either on the GeoPlan Window, the Network Object Grid Windows or the Property Window.
This topic also describes the tools available to adjust the coordinates of a selection of objects and to reverse the direction of a selection of links.
Editing Object Geometry on the GeoPlan
To edit the geometry of a network object on the GeoPlan:
- Click on the Edit Geometry button
on the GeoPlan Tools Toolbar to turn on Edit Geometry mode. - Click on the object to be edited in the GeoPlan. Details on how to edit the different object types are given below.
Moving a Single Node or Point
Using the Edit Geometry tool click on the Node or Point object. The object turns red to indicate that it is selected. Click on the object again, hold down the mouse button and move the cursor to where the object is to be moved. Release the mouse button to complete the move.
Moving a Link
The ends of a link can be moved by moving nodes attached to the link (see Moving a Single Node or Point above).
Internal bends in the link can be moved by editing the link vertices (see Editing Link, Line and Polygon Vertices below).
Editing Link, Line and Polygon Vertices
Using the Edit Geometry tool click on the Link, Line or Polygon object. The object vertices are displayed as red squares.
Moving a Vertex
To move a vertex, move the cursor over the vertex to be moved. A cross will appear over the vertex when the cursor is locked on that point. Hold down the left mouse button and move the mouse to drag the vertex to a new position to reshape the object. If the snapping mode is switched on, then when the vertex being moved becomes close to another object that it can snap to, the vertices in the adjacent object will also be highlighted. This helps position the vertex being moved more precisely.
(Moving a node attached to a link will also move the end vertex of a link.)
If two or more vertices are snapped together, the behaviour varies depending on whether snapping mode is switched on.
- with snapping mode on, all snapped vertices are moved together
- with snapping mode off, all vertices are treated as being independent. Only the vertex from the currently highlighted object will be moved.
Adding a Vertex
To add a vertex between existing vertices, press CTRL and click the left mouse button on the line at the position of the new vertex.
To extend a line by adding a vertex to the end of the line, press CTRL and click the left mouse button off the line at the position of the new vertex. A new vertex will be added to the beginning or the end of the line, depending on whether the nearest vertex to the click location is the first or last existing vertex. Note that a new vertex will only be added if the click location is closer to the first/last existing vertex than any other vertex on the line.
Deleting a Vertex
To delete a vertex, move the cursor over the vertex to be deleted. A cross will appear over the vertex when the cursor is locked on that point. Hold down ALT and click the left mouse button.
Snapping Polygon Vertices
The vertices of different polygon objects can be snapped together. Once the objects are snapped, the shared vertices can be moved as if they are a single vertex, as long as snapping mode is switched on.
To snap vertices together, ensure snapping mode is switched on, move the cursor over the vertex to be moved. A cross will appear over the vertex when the cursor is locked on that point. Hold down the left mouse button and move the mouse to drag the vertex. When close enough to another object, the vertices on the other object will also be highlighted. When close enough to snap the points together, a dotted cross will be displayed on the vertex being moved towards. Release the mouse button to snap the two points together.
To unsnap vertices, simply switch off snapping mode. With snapping mode off, all vertices are treated as being independent, even if they share the same location. When moving or deleting a vertex, only the vertex currently highlighted will be edited.
Editing Object Geometry on the Network Grid Window or Property Window
X and Y coordinates for nodes can be edited by typing or pasting new values into the grid or property sheet.
The grid data manipulation tools - Adjust Cell Value and Set New Cell Value -may also be used to adjust coordinates for a group of nodes. See Editing Data in the Network Object Grid Window for more information.
Reversing Selected Links
To reverse the direction of a selection of links:
- Select the links to be reversed.
- From the Selection menu, choose Selection operations | Reverse Links or click the link reversal tool
on the Selection Toolbar.
The operation only switches the upstream and downstream nodes. It makes no other changes to the link.
This tool is particularly useful if you are having problems using the Network Trace or the Pipe Direction Trace tools to trace the route to an outfall.
Moving Selected Objects
To move a selection of network objects:
- Select the objects to be moved.
- From the Selection menu, choose Selection operations | Geographically adjust selection.
- The Geographical Adjustment of Selection dialog is displayed. The scale for the X or Y co-ordinates of the object can be changed or the items can be moved relative to their current position.
Alternatively:
- Select the objects to be moved.
- Click the Move Selection tool
on the More GeoPlan Tools Toolbar (keyboard shortcut CTRL+F8). - Left click on the GeoPlan and holding the mouse button down, drag the current selection of objects to a new location. Release the mouse button to drop the objects at the new location.
For both methods above: when a node is moved, the positions of any links attached to the node are also updated.
The only position information held for pipes is the position of any intermediate points. The position of the pipe ends is defined by the attached nodes. If attached nodes are not selected with a pipe, only the intermediate points (if any) will be moved. The position of the nodes will remain unchanged.
Expanding Short Links
Objects that are modelled as links in InfoWorks ICM may be stored as point objects in GIS. These point objects can be imported as links into InfoWorks ICM via the Open Data Import Centre. The imported links have zero length and coincident connecting nodes, which makes viewing the connectivity and orientation of these links on the GeoPlan Window difficult.
The Expand Short Links tool can be used to expand the geometry of links with length below a specified value, improving the display and ability to interact with the link objects on the GeoPlan.
See Expanding Short Links for details.
