Executing Ruler tool will put Earthlight into measuring mode. In this mode you can draw line or polygon on a map to get a measurement of selected line/area. As you move around the length of the line will be displayed on a tool tip next to the mouse pointer. You can form a polygon simply by clicking on the first point of the linestring. If you do this the polygon will be drawn with a fill and the area will also be shown. The ruler can be included in prints. Ruler supports Snapping and Trace in order to help in measuring certain map features.
You can reposition the label by pressing the Left Mouse Button on it and dragging it to the new location. If you want to remove single measurement from the map please click the X button on its label.
To explain how to use this tool we will be using a prepared record.
Performing a length measurement
We’ll measure the length of rectangle’s A side. To start the measurement please pick the Ruler tool.
Now we have to set a measurement starting point. To do so, please click on the map while the Ruler tool is active. Because we want to measure the length of side A, we will click on the rectangle’s top-left corner.
We’ve set the measurement starting point. Now we have to select the location of the second measurement point. There is no limit of points in a single measurement. Because we want to measure the length of side A we need only one more point set in rectangle’s bottom-left corner.
To finish the measurement and get the length of the rectangle’s A side we have to Finish the operation. There are 2 methods to finish it:
- We can hold the mouse cursor in the last measurement point location and click again when a Finish tool-tip appears.
- We can open context menu and pick a Finish tool. To open the context menu please click the right mouse button on the map view.
Regardless of the chosen method, we will see the A side length presented in a small box.
The measurement result box by default is displayed next to the location where the measurement operation was finished. You can move the box to any location. To do so, please use the left mouse button to click and hold the box and then move it to new location.
Performing a perimeter and area measurement
To perform the measurement please select the Ruler tool and start the perimeter measurement process.
Now we have to finish the measurement operation. There are 2 methods to do that:
- First method is the same as in the case of standard length measure. We can hover the mouse cursor above the first measurement point location and click when a Finish tool-tip appears.
- In second method we can use a context menu. To open the context menu please click the right mouse button on the map view. Please click the & close button.
Regardless of the chosen method, the measured geometry will change its colour and the result will be presented in a small box.
- The first value shows the perimeter of measured geometry.
- The second value shows the area.
Changing the Unit types
We can change the unit type anytime. To do so, please click on the Units button next to the Ruler tool and pick a desired unit type from the drop-down lists.
- First box changes the unit of measurement length.
- Second box changes the unit of the area measurement.
Deleting measurement results.
There are 2 methods to delete the measurement results.
- We can click the X button next to the result to delete a single measurement.
- We can use the Clear tool to delete all measurements at once.
Using the context menu for Measure operations.
Because using the Ruler tool “by hand” can bring inaccurate result , we can use the context menu to make our measurements operations much easier and more precise. To open a context menu please click the right mouse button on the mapview. You can find a description of all context menu tools here: http://statmap.co.uk/?page_id=6446