Spatial Manager Desktop™ - FAQs: Interface

Default layout

1.Maps workspaces

2.Workspaces tabs. Workspace navigation tools on the right side

3.Data tooltip of the feature under the cursor

4.Data grid panel. Navigation, information and other tools on the bottom

5.Status and information line

6.Properties panel. Content varies depending on the active focus (map, source, task, etc.)

7.Data sources and task manager panels (grouped in this picture)

8.Ribbon. Permanent and contextual tabs

9.Other tools (options and preferences, release information, etc.)

Contextual menus (mouse right-click)

1.Workspace

2.Workspaces tabs

3.Data grid panel

4.Data sources panel. Content varies depending on the selected data source

5.Task manager panel

Application panels

The different panels of the application (Data grid, Properties, Data sources and Task manager) can be arranged,

docked, undocked, grouped, self-collapsed, etc., and resized, depending on the preferences and needs of each user

or each job, by dragging its title bar, using the absolute or relative position arrows, double-clicking on its

title bar, etc.

These panels can also be closed. To reopen a closed panel, use the "Display" tab on the ribbon.

To quickly restore the default panel layout of the application, use the "Restore position" function from the

"Display" tab on the ribbon (the application must be restarted).

Ribbon

The functions available through the Ribbon are separated into tabs containing functional groups. These tabs can be

static ("Start", "Layers", etc.) or contextual, which are only available under some conditions; for example the

"Selection \ Tools" tab, when there are selected items.

Different groups in a tab can be found under its normal display (expanded, all icons and functions of the group

are visible on the screen) or compressed (a single symbol appears to dropdown the group), depending on the size of

the application window and the space available for the components of the ribbon. The expansion or compression of

the groups is fully automatic when the application window is resized.

The ribbon can be set as self-retractable by double-clicking over any of the tabs titles, to expand the space of

the application window dedicated to workspaces or the application panels; in this mode, selecting the title of a

tab will expand it to show all functions in the tab and will automatically retract it when you select a function.

To expand them back again, just double-click over these same tab titles.

First steps

Before starting the tutorial exercises, you should quickly review the components of the user interface of the

application, detailed earlier in this chapter. To do so, follow these steps:

• Start the application and open the map "RED.spm", included in the folder "C:\SPM Tutorial\Maps", using the "Open"

button on the "Start" tab of the ribbon

• • Note 1: when opening the map, you will see the evolution of the different map layers loading on the left side

of the status line

• • Note 2: "spm" is the extension for Spatial Manager Desktop™ map files

• Feel free to try out the components of the interface:
  • Note 3: DO NOT SAVE any voluntary or involuntary changes you may make when running the following tests. The

original versions of the map and the layers are used later in the development of the tutorial exercises

• • Move, dock and undock, group and ungroup or resize the panels of the application by dragging its title bar,

using the absolute or relative position arrows, by double-clicking on its title bar, etc.

• • • Note 4: reminder - use the "Restore position" function from the "Display" tab on the ribbon (the application

must be restarted) to quickly restore the default panels layout of the application.

• • Move the cursor over the map checking the tooltips of the features included in the layers of the map
  • In the "Layers" tab on the ribbon, turn the layers off and on again or choose the selected layer (checking its

effect on the Data grid)

• • Select features in the map or in the Data grid panel checking the different effects over these components
  • Review the contextual menus in the different components of the application
  • Check the Properties panel content when changing the focus on the application (workspace, selected features,

selected layer, etc.)