Maps Menu
To access the Maps Menu with a mouse move the pointer to the Maps section of the menu bar and click with the left hand button on the mouse. You can also access the Maps menu by clicking on the shortcut icon on the button bar.
You can access the Reports Menu without a mouse by pressing the ALT KEY and M.
NOTE: ALT Keys & Highlight work on the menu bar. Once the menu options are displayed, press the LETTER that is UNDERLINED and that option will be activated.
Selecting this option takes you into the Maps Program and activates the following screen.
This screen is actually divided into four parts. The top part is the title bar which tells you that you are in the Maps Program. The title bar also includes the windows tools on the far right for shrinking the screen, expanding the screen, or closing the program.
The next section is the Farm indicator and Menu button bar which allows you to access different sections of the program to input information or create maps.
| FARM NAME | Select the farm for which you want to create maps. Notice the pull down button to the right of the Farm section. This allows you to select a farm that has already been entered into FIELD MANAGER. |
| BUTTON BAR | There are four buttons to the right of the farm section that allow you to do the following: |
| View Farm | The first icon is for viewing a specific farm. |
| View Field | The second icon allows you to view a specific field. |
| Edit (Draw) Map | The third icon allows you to draw, edit, or work on a new map. |
| Close Current Window | The fourth icon closes the current window. |
The third section is the task button bar, which consist of shortcuts for the main tasks in the mapping program.
| SCANNER | Clicking on this button accesses your scanner for inputing arial photos or plot maps. |
| OPEN FILE | Clicking on this button will provide a list of files previously saved that you can open and edit. |
| SAVE | This shortcut will save your file to your hard disk or a floppy disk. |
| Selecting this button will activate the printer dialog box for printing the map currently on the screen. | |
| FIT TO WIDTH | Selecting this button will expand the screen to fit the width of the screen. |
| FIT TO HEIGHT | Selecting this button will expand the screen to fit the height of the screen. |
| FIT IN WINDOW | Selecting this button will resize the map to fit in the available window. |
| FIT RELEASE | Selecting this button will return the map to its original size. |
| ROTATE 90 DEGREES | This editing shortcut will rotate your map 90 degrees |
| ROTATE 270 DEGREES | This editing shortcut will rotate your map 270 degrees. |
| ROTATE 180 DEGREES | This editing shortcut will rotate your map 180 degrees. |
| FLIP HORIZONTAL | Flip map horizonally |
| FLIP VERTICAL | Flip map vertically. |
| CROP | This editing step allows you to crop the image or cut it down. |
| ZOOM IN (+) | Selecting this shortcut allows you to take an enlarged look at a specific section of your map. |
| ZOOM OUT (-) | Selecting this shortcut allows you to return to a normal look at your map. |
| COLOR OPERATIONS | This shortcut activate the Color dialog box and allows you to select colors for different sections of your map. |
| IMAGE INFO | This selection activates a dialog box with image information on original image and the current image. |
Edit/Draw Maps Option (Second Major Screen Area)
Selecting the Edit/Draw option takes you into the second major screen area, and a blank screen is activated which is the same as the screen on the preceding page. The following is an explanation of the button bar for this screen.
| New Image | Opens a new screen . |
| Open | Opens an existing file. |
| Save | Saves your work to disk. |
| Print (with Legends) | Print the map with legends. |
| Cut (scissors) | Cut the map for pasting into another area. |
| Copy | Copy the map for pasting into another area. |
| Paste | Paste a cut or copied map into a specific area. |
| Undo | Undo the last task and restore to previous condition. |
| Create Legends | Create legends for the maps. |
| Read Scale | The scale of the map. |
| Paste from File | Paste from a file to existing map. |
| Resize | Resize the map. |
| Select | Clicking on this icon selects a portion of the screen to work with. |
| Erase | Select this icon to erase a drawing or painted area. |
| Border Fill | Select this icon to paint soft-edged strokes using the foreground color. |
| Line | Select this icon to use the line tool to draw a straight line. |
| Rectangle | Select this icon to draw a rectangle shape. |
| Polygon | Select this icon to draw a polygon shape. |
| Square | Select this icon to draw a square shape. |
| Draw | Select this icon to freehand draw. |
| Surface Fill | Select this icon to lay down a diffused spray of the foreground color on an image within the borders of the selected area. |
| Text | Select this icon to type text on the map. |
| Ellipse | Select this icon to draw an ellipse shape. |
| Round Rect. | Select this icon to draw a round rectangle shape. |
| Circle | Select this icon to draw a circle shape. |
| Round Circle | Select this icon to draw a round circle shape. |
| Measure | Select this icon to measure a distance using one of the ? icons below. |
| ? Line | This icon will measure a line distance. |
| ? Box | This icon will measure a box area. |
| ? Circle | This icon will measure a circle area. |
| ? Polygon | This icon will measure a polygon area. |
| End | Selecting this icon will end the polygon drawing of the previous icon. |
This box identifies the length of a pixel in the map you are working with. It will remain blank until you measure a field or area.
| Solid Line | Select to use a solid line. |
| Dot Line | Select to use a dotted line. |
| Dash Line | Select to use a dash line. |
| Dash Dot Line | Select to use a dash dot line. |
| Dash Dot Dot Line | Select to use a dash dot dot line. |
| Clear Line | Select to use a clear line |
.AREA FILLS
| Solid | Select to use a solid fill. |
| Clear | Select to use a clear fill. |
| Horizontal Line | Select to use a horizontal line fill. |
| Vertical Line | Select to use a vertical line fill. |
| Back Diagonal Line | Select to use a back diagonal line fill. |
| Forward Diagonal Line | Select to use a forward diagonal line fill. |
| Cross Line | Select to use a cross line fill. |
| Cross Hatch | Select to use a cross hatch line fill. |
| Fallow | Select to indicate fallow ground on a map |
| Orchard 20 x 10 | Select to indicate orchard spacing 20 x 10 on a map |
| Orchard 18 x 8 | Select to indicate orchard spacing 18 x 8 on a map |
| Orchard 16 x 8 | Select to indicate orchard spacing 16 x 8 on a map |
| Orchard 14 x 6 | Select to indicate orchard spacing 14 x 6 on a map |
| Horizontal Rows | Select to indicate horizontal rows on a map |
| Vertical Rows | Select to indicate vertical rows on a map |
Back Diag RowsSelect to indicate back diagonal rows on a map
| Forward Diag Rows | Select to indicate forward diagonal rows |
| Chemicals | Select to indicate chemicals applied to a map |
| Fertilizers | Select to indicate fertilizers applied to a map |
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LINE SIZES
There are eight line widths available when drawing lines in the mapping program. Each box represents a specific. Select a line width by clicking on the box and a representation of the line width that will be displayed in the right hand box.
CUSTOMIZE LINE WIDTH
To the right of the eight line options is a window with an up arrrow and a down arrow bar. After selecting one of the eight line options to the left, that line is displayed in the box area. By moving the up or down indicator the width of the line will change in size
COLOR OPTIONS
Sixteen color are available in the mapping program. In addition two additional options are available:
FG--Fore-ground color
BG--Back-ground color
Scanning of Maps
Images can be brought into the Mapping Program of Field Manager by scanning a map, a photograph, or a drawn image. You can import an image document from another drawing program.
The Mapping Program, in conjuction with certain brands of scanners, allows you to control the process through which an image is converted into a digitized image. The program supports the TWAIN standard for image acquizition, to allow scanning from any device that supports the TWAIN interface.
To scan an image click on the scanner icon and follow your software instructions. Save the image in a BMP format. The next step is to open the BMP file on the EDIT/DRAW section of the mapping program.
Adjust the size of the imported image to fit your needs.
Marking and Coloring of Scanned Maps
Once the image is in the edit section and appropriately sized you can use the editing tools to highlight features on your map such as, roads, ponds, rivers, tree breaks, utilities, buildings, fence lines. To identify fields and their particular crops use the editing tools to indicate orchards, terraces, strips, fallow ground, etc.
Use the select or area fill tools to color different sections of the map. These tools include square, rectangle, circle, elipse, and polygon. Each of these tools will drraw or allow a color fill for a specific size or shape.
Use the text tool to type in information on the map. Another approach is to create legends.
Drawing of Maps
To draw a map use the line, or shape tools on the editing bar and draw your map.
There are eight different line widths available. Select the appropriate width by clicking on the line box.
Saving files
When you have finished you can save your file by clicking on the save icon at the top of the screen. A dialog box will appear asking which drive you want to save to, and the name of the file.
Printing of Maps
To print a map simply click on the printer icon at the top of the screen. A printer dialog box will appear giving you different options. Select print and your map will be printed.