To Create Point/Line/Polygon Data Onscreen

1. Within the view where you want to add the vector data, choose View/New Theme; next choose point, line or polygon; press OK and navigate to a location to store the new theme, preferably your directory.

2. A new theme will appear. Notice that it has a dashed line around its "check" box. This means that you are currently editing (or creating) that theme.

You can click on the "Open Theme Table" icon to see what data are included in your table -- not much if it is a new one -- here you can "add fields" such as "label" (be sure to set it as "string" if you want it to be text).

3. If you chose point, you simply choose the "Draw Point" icon and start digitizing points in the view. You can add a label to each point as you go by opening the Theme Table and entering text into the new field that you created in the previous step (you have to choose the "Edit" icon).

4. When finished, choose Theme/Stop Editing and save edits.

5. If you choose line, you have two options: make a line or split a line into two parts. Lines are created by repeatedly pressing the left mouse button as you move the mouse on screen; each press of the button adds a "node" and allows the line to change direction. You can add a text label field to the data table for each line as described above.

6. If you choose polygon, you have many options: rectangle, circle, polygon, split polygon, append polygon; all are mostly self-explanatory. The "append" option is the one that allows you to create adjacent polygons that share common boundaries (no "slivers"). You can add a text label field to the data table for each polygon as described above.

Note: Complex polygon maps such as geology, soil type or vegetation classes can be a challenge to digitize properly. There are functions available under the "Edit" menu that can be applied to multiply selected polygons. You will have to experiment with these as needed, or contact K. Urbanczyk for details.