Editing GIS Features
Note
Coming in Spatial Integration version 3.
You can create new GIS files, draw points, lines and polygons in 3D, move and delete vertices, and edit attribute values, all directly in the scene. Edits are written back to the layer's own file, so they can be used straight away in QGIS or any other GIS.
Creating a new GIS file
To start a layer from scratch, hover over the GIS icon in the left flyout and click New GIS .... The New GIS File dialog creates a GeoPackage with one layer (table):
- File: Type a path, or click the magnifier button to choose where to save it.
- Table Name: The name of the layer inside the file. It follows the file name until you change it.
- Geometry: Point, Line or Polygon. Every GIS file Spatial Integration creates stores a height (Z) with each vertex, so features keep their true 3D position.
- CRS: Starts as the CRS of the view. Click the CRS button to choose another.
- Fields: The attributes each feature will carry. Type a name, choose a type (Text, Integer, Real, Boolean or Date) and, for text, an optional maximum length (0 for no limit), then click Add. Use the delete button on a row to remove a field.
Click OK to create the file. The new layer is added to the GIS flyout, ready for editing. If the file already exists you are asked whether to Add Layer to it, as a new table alongside those already there, or Overwrite File with a new, empty GeoPackage.
Existing GIS layers can be edited too, provided their file format allows Spatial Integration to write to it. GeoPackage is recommended.
Turning editing on
Editing is switched on in two places:
- For each layer: click the edit (pencil) button on the layer's row in the GIS flyout. Several layers can be in edit mode at once. Click it again to stop editing that layer.
- For the tool: click Edit in the Tool flyout on the right. This opens the Edit dialog and shows the move handle (gizmo) in the scene. Closing the dialog, or clicking Edit again, turns the tool off. The layers you put in edit mode stay that way for next time.
Very large point layers that are drawn from a spatial index cannot be edited, and have no edit button.
The Edit dialog
The buttons along the top choose what a click in the scene does. Hover over a button to see what it does; a greyed out button tells you what it needs.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Select objects | Click a feature to select it. Hold CTRL or SHIFT and click to add features to the selection, or to take a selected one out. Selection is from one layer at a time |
| Show/edit feature information | Click a feature to see its attributes. In a layer that is in edit mode the values can be changed |
| Delete selected | Appears when something is selected. Deletes the selected points, lines or polygons |
| Add a new point | Click to place a point |
| Draw a new line | Left click to add each vertex, right click to finish the line |
| Draw a new polygon | Left click to add each corner, right click to finish. The polygon is closed for you |
| Edit nodes | Move vertices, and add new ones between existing vertices |
| Delete nodes | Click a vertex to remove it. The vertex under the pointer is shown in red |
New Features chooses the layer that new points, lines or polygons are added to. Only layers in edit mode are listed, and the drawing buttons are only available when the chosen layer has the matching geometry type.
When a selection is made, the Selection section shows how many objects are selected and in which layer. Clear empties the selection, and when a single object is selected Attributes opens its attribute values.
Drawing new features
- Put the target layer in edit mode and choose it under New Features.
- Choose at least one way of placing points under Snapping / Clamping (see below). Without one, a warning reads No Clamp Selected and nothing can be placed.
- Click Add a new point, Draw a new line or Draw a new polygon.
- Click in the scene to place each vertex. The segment to the pointer is drawn as you move, so you can see where the next vertex will go. Right click to finish a line or polygon.
- The Attributes dialog opens so you can enter the new feature's values. Leave a box empty for a null value. Click OK to keep the feature, or Cancel to discard it.
Dragging with the mouse still rotates the view while you draw: only a click places a vertex. Press Escape to abandon a line or polygon part way through.
Moving and adding vertices
Choose Edit nodes and move the pointer over a feature in a layer that is in edit mode. Its vertices are marked, and the move handle jumps to the vertex nearest the pointer.
- Click a vertex to pick it up, move the pointer, and click again to put it down.
- Or drag one of the handle's arrows to move the vertex along that axis only, or drag its centre to move it freely.
- Hold X, Y or Z while moving to keep the vertex on that axis.
- A + marker sits halfway along each segment. Click it to insert a new vertex there, then place it as above.
- Press Escape to put a vertex back where it was picked up.
Every change can be undone with CTRL + Z and redone with CTRL + Y.
Snapping and clamping
Snapping / Clamping decides where a vertex lands as you draw or move it. Tick as many options as you like; they are tried from the top down, and the first one that finds a position is used.
| Option | Places the vertex |
|---|---|
| Self | On a vertex of the layer being edited, when the pointer is close to one |
| Layer | On a vertex of the chosen visualisation of another layer, for example the end of an existing line or a drill collar |
| Drape | On the chosen surface, under the pointer |
| Fixed | At a fixed value of X, Y or Z. For example Z at 250 keeps every vertex at an RL of 250 m |
| Clip Object | On the plane of the chosen clip object, so you can digitise on a section |
| View Plane | On a plane through the vertex facing the screen. Only used when moving an existing vertex |
When a snap is found a marker shows where the vertex will go.
Editing attributes
Open a feature's attributes with Show/edit feature information or with the Attributes button. Each field is listed with its value; type new values and click OK to apply them, or Cancel to leave them unchanged. An empty box is a null value. For a point, its X, Y and Z coordinates are also shown. In a layer that is not in edit mode the values are read only, but can still be selected and copied.
Saving edits
Edits are kept in Spatial Integration until you save them to the layer's file. A layer with unsaved edits shows a save button on its row in the GIS flyout; click it to write the changes. Saving the project does not save layer edits, but you are reminded of any unsaved layers when you close the project or exit. See Saving a Project.