Finding Objects on the GeoPlan
This topic details how to find network objects and objects in background GIS layers in InfoWorks ICM.
See the Selecting Network Objects topic for more information on creating a selection.
The Zoom to network option lets you to zoom out on the GeoPlan Window to display the full extents of your network. It may be that you:
- have zoomed in to a high degree
- are unsure of the full extents of the network
- have simply lost the network by panning too far
This is a useful tool to use to check whether the network contains any nodes without geographical coordinates. These will be placed at (0, 0) in the current coordinate system.
To find the network, right-click on the GeoPlan and choose Zoom to network from the popup menu.
You may have selected network objects using a number of methods. You can zoom the GeoPlan Window in or out to show all the selected objects by right-clicking on the view and choosing Zoom to selection from the popup menu.
If no objects are selected the command has no effect. If one object is selected the view pans until centred on that object.
The following sections detail the possible searches that can be carried out from the GeoPlan Find dialog. The dialog is displayed when you click Find in GeoPlan () on the
You can search for network objects using a string that contains wildcard characters. A valid search string can contain the following wildcard characters:
* - zero or more characters
? - exactly one character
For example, if you use node names made up of coordinate values, with four figures for each coordinate, then you could use the following strings to search:
55??99?? would find all nodes in the given grid square (55, 99)
55??99* would find all nodes and links in the grid square
55??99*.? would find all links in the grid square
It is quite valid to use non-alphanumeric characters when defining Network Object IDs. However, it might become confusing, when doing wildcard searches, if you use the wildcard characters as part of a Network Object ID. We strongly recommend that you stick to alphanumeric characters when defining IDs.
You can select some or all of the objects found by your search on the network views. The available options for selecting objects can be found below:
- you can simply select all found objects by clicking the Asterisk (*) button.
- select one or more of the found items by clicking on them, or click using the CTRL or SHIFT keys to make multiple selections. This will select the object(s) and zoom to the object(s) on the GeoPlan Window.
You can also find a location on the GeoPlan using a selected web mapping service and a full or partial address.
See the GeoPlan Find dialog topic for screenshots of the different views corresponding to the different search types.
This is a useful option if you know exactly which object(s) you are looking for.
- Type in the full or partial object name in the Name box.
- Click Find.
If only one result is returned, the corresponding object is selected and zoomed in on the GeoPlan Window.
If there are more results meeting the search criteria, the Find button becomes a Find Next button.
- Click Find Next to go through each of the results. Every time, the corresponding object is selected on the GeoPlan Window and the network is zoomed on the object. (The selection colour of found objects can be changed in the Visual page of the GeoPlan Properties dialog.)
A message is displayed when the search is finished (the search is set back to the start).
A location can be found using a web map application to find a full or partial address. Access to the online map application must have been setup using the Online Find Options (Geocoding) dialog.
- Click on the name of the online map application in the GeoPlan Find dialog.
- Type in a full or partial address in the search field.
- Click Find.
The results of the search will be displayed in the box at the bottom of the dialog. Click on an address and this will zoom to the location on the GeoPlan Window.
Click the Street Find option in the GeoPlan Find dialog. The Street Find tool is used to search for a GIS object in a background layer. A search is carried out in a single specified field in the GIS table.
- Click Edit Layer Settings to specify the GIS background layer and field that the search is to be carried out on.
- Type in a full or partial street name in the Name box.
- If required, specify the maximum number of results to be returned. The search will stop once this limit has been reached.
- Click Find.
It is possible to save or edit layer settings (Layer and Field) by using the Save Layer Settings and then the Edit Layer Settings button.
The results of the search will be displayed in the box at the bottom of the dialog. Select one or more of the found items by clicking on them, or clicking using the CTRL or SHIFT keys to make multiple selections. This will select the object(s) and zoom to the object(s) on the GeoPlan Window. The selection colour of the found objects can be changed in the Visual page of the GeoPlan Properties dialog.
Click the Advanced Find option in the GeoPlan Find dialog.
To carry out a search:
- Enter a string to define your search term in the Name field.
- Choose what types of network object are to be searched for from the Type dropdown.
- Decide whether the search should find matching Names (i.e.Object IDs) or Asset IDs. If you search for Asset ID, InfoWorks ICM will use the Name instead if the object's Asset ID is blank. The default is Both.
- If required, select the maximum number of results to be returned. The search will stop once this limit has been reached.
- Click Find.
The results of the search will be displayed in the box at the bottom of the dialog. The display includes the icon for the object type to make searching easier.
Select one or more of the found items by clicking on them, or clicking using the CTRL or SHIFT keys to make multiple selections. This will select the object(s) and zoom to the object(s) on the GeoPlan Window. The selection colour of the found objects can be changed in the Visual page of the GeoPlan Properties dialog.
Click the GIS Find option in the Quick Find dialog.
Use this option to locate objects in a GIS layer by matching text in GIS layer fields.
See the GeoPlan Find dialog topic for further details on the boxes and fields of the GIS Find view.
To carry out a search on a GIS layer:
- Select a GIS layer to search from the Layer dropdown list. All additional GIS layers currently loaded in the GeoPlan Window that can be searched will be available from this list.
- Select a field to be searched from the Fieldname One dropdown.
- Enter value to be searched for. Fields displayed will depend on the type of field selected from the Fieldname One dropdown:
- Text field: enter text to be searched for in the Expression box. A search will be made for all entries in the GIS layer table where the Expression text occurs. The search is not case-sensitive.
- * - zero or more characters
- ? - exactly one character
- Integer field: enter a range of values to be searched for in the Integer Min and Max fields. A search will be made for all entries in the GIS layer table with a value between and including the specified Min and Max. If only a Min value is entered, only objects with the exact value specified will be listed in the search results.
- Floating Point field: enter a range of values to be searched for in the Floating Min and Max fields. A search will be made for all entries in the GIS layer table with a value between and including the specified Min and Max.
- Use Fieldname Two to specify a second field and expression/range if required.
- If required, select an upper limit on objects found. The search will stop once this limit has been reached.
- Click Find.
Expressions can contain the following wildcard characters:
The results of the search will be displayed in the box at the bottom of the dialog. Select one or more of the found items by clicking on them, or clicking using the CTRL or SHIFT keys to make multiple selections. This will select the object(s) and zoom to the object(s) on the GeoPlan Window. The selection colour of the found objects can be changed in the Visual page of the GeoPlan Properties dialog.
If expression/numerical values for both Fieldname One and Fieldname Two have been defined, both search terms must be satisfied to produce a result.