Layouts: Create Commands

Three command buttons appear in the main menu when the focus is on a layout window.  These allow us to show or hide frame margins, to choose the cursor / command mode, and to choose alignment commands.  See the Layouts topic and Legends topic in addition to this topic.

This topic provides a reference guide to commands in the cursor mode button, used to create new frames in a layout.

To create a new frame in a layout:

1. In the Cursor / command mode button, choose the desired Create...  command.
2. Click the layout where the new frame is to appear.
3. A new frame appears, using default format for the frame, default style for the sample (if it is a sample frame) and text.
4. Alt-click the frame to pick it as the active frame.  That opens the Info pane with controls for formatting, Style and text.
5. As desired, alter the format of the frame, the Style of the sample, and the text.
6. Press the Update button to apply changes.
7. Reposition and resize the frame as desired.

 After using a Create command, do not forget to quickly choose the Default command, to reset the cursor back to default navigation and picking mode.  Alt-clicking or Ctrl-clicking will also reset the cursor back to default mode.

Four Ways to Create Frames in a Layout

We have four ways to add a frame to a layout:

• Drag and drop a component from the Project pane into the layout - This is how we create a layout frame that shows the contents of a component, such as a map.   We can drag and drop the same component into a layout multiple times to create multiple frames, each of which shows that same component, and each of which can be panned and zoomed to show a different view of that component.

• Use the Create Text command to add a frame - Text frames are a blank frame with a default text caption, which can be deleted if we want a totally blank frame.  Use text frames to add captions, or, with text deleted, to create rectangular frames for backgrounds and borders.   

• Use a Create ... Sample command to add a frame - Sample frames are used in static legends that are composed from many individual frames.  A sample frame's formatting automatically provides a symbology sample as well as a text caption.  The various Create ... Sample commands allow us to individually create sample frames for colors, areas, lines, points, and text labels.   These are useful for simple legends, or to add extra frames to automatically-created legends.

• Use the Create Legend command to automatically create a dynamic legend - The Create Legend command can create a dynamic legend frame, which is a single frame that shows a legend for all layers in a map.   This is usually the best way to start creating a legend.  See the Legends topic for more on legends.

This topic discusses use of Create Text and the various Create ... Sample commands.  See the Layouts topic for adding frames by dragging and dropping components, and the Legends topic for automatically creating legends.

Create Text

In the Cursor / command mode button, choose the Create Text command and then click into the Layout where the frame should be created.

A default text frame is created, with default text.   Text frames have no samples, just text.  The text can be deleted to produce an empty frame, useful for creating rectangular frames of background color or borders.  For example, the base frame created by default by the Create Legend command is simply a text frame with no text, a white background, and a medium gray border.

Alt-clicking the text frame will pop open the Info pane with formatting and style controls.   Format controls are simpler than for sample frames, since there is no sample.  

Style controls for the text sample are the same as for labels in drawings.

Multiline Text

Just as with labels in drawings, we can create multiline text in frames.  

We Alt-click a frame with text to pick the frame.  The Info pane opens, showing us format, style and text controls.  The text control has the default text string, Text.

We edit the text to use multiple lines and the press the Update button.  Multiline text will not fit in the original size of the frame, so we use the edit handles to increase the frame's height to make room for the additional text.  We also use edit handles to reduce the frame's width, eliminating unneeded blank space.

Smart Double-Click Select

The text pane supports smart double-click select so we can highlight an entire word by double-clicking that word.  We can also highlight all text with a Ctrl-A.   

We can double-click anywhere in the Facilities word, and that will highlight the entire word.  This is much quicker than highlighting words in the usual way, clicking and dragging the mouse cursor across the word.

We can then quickly change the word as desired, pressing the Update button to apply changes.

Unpicking the frame shows what it will look like.  We have used black border color to show a border for the frame.

Bracket Matching

Bracket matching is a standard feature in all Manifold multiline text editing settings.  Although it is most used when editing queries and scripts, bracket matching can be handy for text in layouts as well.  

Using Ctrl-] and Shift-Ctrl-] keyboard shortcuts we can quickly find matching brackets and select between brackets.  These keyboard shortcuts are available when cursor is next to a bracket.  With the cursor next to a bracket, Ctrl-] jumps to the closing bracket, and Shift-Ctrl-] jumps to the closing bracket and also highlights all characters in between.

We start with text that uses square [ ] brackets in multiline text.

Positioning the cursor next to the first bracket, we press Shift-Ctrl-].  That highlights all text to the closing bracket, including the brackets, and it does so across multiple lines.

We can delete the highlighted text to simplify the text.

Unpicking the frame shows the final result, without edit handles and border.   

Bracket matching will match < >, [ ], ( ), and { } brackets across lines.  Brackets using  #, ' and " characters will match only within the same line.

Create Legend

Open the layout and click on the Create Legend tool in the cursor mode button in the main toolbar.   The Create Legend tool is used to add a dynamic legend to a layout, which automatically provides legend entries in a single frame for the topmost map frame beneath the legend frame in the Layers pane display stack.

In the layout we click approximately where we would like the legend frame to appear.

A small legend frame of default size appears at the clicked spot, using the default legend style.   The legend takes its contents from whatever is the topmost map frame below the legend frame in the Layers pane display stack.   If the legend frame appears in the Layers pane below all map frames, the legend takes its contents from whatever is the topmost map frame in the Layers pane display stack.

The legend frame is already picked for editing, as if we had Alt-clicked the frame.  The Info pane will automatically be brought to the foreground, ready for any changes to the legend frame or to launch the Legend dialog.  

Zooming into the layout window, we can see the default style used for the legend.

In the Layers pane for the layout, a new Legend frame appears as well:

The Info pane pops open with the default styling for the legend frame.  

The Info pane launches with a light blue background by default in the preview pane for the grid.  The default light blue background makes it easy to see legends that use white or other light colors.   We can change the background color for the preview pane as desired by clicking the square color well box in the upper right corner of the preview pane.

The preview pane shows a schematic example of the overall style used for the legend.   We can change the style of the frame that contains the legend by adjusting the Background or Border color, width, and padding for the frame.   For simple legends, we rarely want to make such changes, and instead we will want to change simple characteristics of the legend itself.

Configure parameters for the legend by clicking the [...] browse button, and then in the Legend dialog choosing different parameters.

For example, we can change the font used for the Text line at the top of the legend to a bold font.   Press OK to accept changes in the dialog.

Back in the Info pane, press the Update Frame button to apply the changes.

Create Color Sample

In the Cursor / command mode button, choose the Create Color Sample command and then click into the Layout where the frame should be created.  Color sample frames are used when manually creating individual frames for static legends.

A default color sample frame is created, with a rectangular color sample and default text.

Alt-clicking the color sample frame will pop open the Info pane with formatting and style controls.   Format controls are the same for other sample frames.  Sample shapes are the same as for area sample frames.   

Style controls provide full Style options for text.  The only Style control for the color sample is the color it contains, by default a light gray color.  If the color for the sample is set to transparent color, the color sample will disappear.

Create Area Sample

In the Cursor / command mode button, choose the Create Area Sample command and then click into the Layout where the frame should be created.    Area sample frames are used when manually creating individual frames for static legends.

A default area sample frame is created, with a Triangle Skewed area sample and default text.

Alt-clicking the area sample frame will pop open the Info pane with formatting and style controls.   Format controls are the same for other sample frames.  See the discussion below for examples of sample shapes.  

Style controls for the area sample are the same as for area objects in drawings.   Style controls provide full Style options for text.  

Create Line Sample

In the Cursor / command mode button, choose the Create Line Sample command and then click into the Layout where the frame should be created.    Line sample frames are used when manually creating individual frames for static legends.

A default line sample frame is created, with a Horizontal line sample and default text.

Alt-clicking the line sample frame will pop open the Info pane with formatting and style controls.   Format controls are the same for other sample frames.  See the discussion below for examples of sample shapes.  

Style controls for the line sample are the same as for line objects in drawings.   Style controls provide full Style options for text.  

Create Point Sample

In the Cursor / command mode button, choose the Create Point Sample command and then click into the Layout where the frame should be created.    Point sample frames are used when manually creating individual frames for static legends.

A default point sample frame is created, with a Center point sample and default text.

Alt-clicking the point sample frame will pop open the Info pane with formatting and style controls.   Format controls are the same for other sample frames.  See the discussion below for examples of sample shapes.  

Style controls for the point sample are the same as for point objects in drawings.   Style controls provide full Style options for text.  

Create Text Sample

In the Cursor / command mode button, choose the Create Text Sample command and then click into the Layout where the frame should be created.    Text sample frames are used when manually creating individual frames for static legends.

A default text sample frame is created, with an Abc text sample and default text.

Alt-clicking the text sample frame will pop open the Info pane with formatting and style controls.   Format controls are the same for other sample frames.  The sample text can be changed from Abc by entering text desired into the Sample text box.   The Sample width parameter does not "stretch" the sample text, but widens the space allotted for the sample, so a longer sample text can be used.

Style controls for the text sample are the same as for labels in drawings.   Style controls provide full Style options for text.  

Sample Frames

Sample frames consist of a sample plus a string of text within a frame that has a border.    The sample automatically resizes to try to make room for the text when the frame is resized.  If there is no text, the sample can fill the entire frame.  Sample frames are used when manually creating individual frames for static legends.

The sample is a symbol to show what an area, a line, or a point looks like.  The string text is just the word Text, by default.  That word can be deleted, if desired, to create a sample frame with just the sample.   By default the border color is transparent, so no border is displayed.  The example above has footway for the text string and has had the format altered to show a black boarder and a beige background.  See also the examples in the Layouts: Alignment Commands topic.

 For example, within the Cursor / command mode button menu choose Create Area Sample and click into the layout to create a default area sample frame:

Alt-clicking a sample frame will pick it as the active frame, launching the Info pane to show formatting parameters for the frame and style parameters for the sample used in the frame.

Format parameters, which control the appearance, padding, arrangement, and size of the frame itself appear in the upper part of the Info pane:

Style parameters, which control the symbology of the sample and the content and appearance of text, appear in the lower part of the Info pane:

These are exactly the same Style controls for objects and text that appear in Style for drawings and in Style for labels.   See those topics for information on those controls.

We can style the area sample and also the text using the full range of style controls for objects and text.   For example, in the illustrations below we have used a text style that incorporates an icon as part of the text, in this case the icon being an ambulance icon from the built-in Glyphs collection.  The area sample has been styled with a blue and white hatch pattern, rotated 30 degrees.

The illustration at right shows the Info pane settings for format and style that were used.

Sample Shapes

The Sample shape control in sample frames specifies the outline or placement of area, line, or point samples, with the Style used for the sample taken either from the originating drawing layer (when created automatically for a legend frame, for example, that shows thematic formatting) or from the Style parameter boxes that pop open in the Info pane when the sample frame is Alt-clicked.

Areas use the outline specified, such as a Diamond or Triangle, by the Sample shape parameter, with colors, and other style parameters as set by the Style controls.   Lines and points use the orientation, such as Diagonal or Horizontal, specified by the Sample shape parameter, with colors, and other style parameters as set by the Style controls.

For example, in the above samples the hexagon has had inner borders added in red and in black dashed lines, the square has inner fill using a wood texture, and the rounded rectangle has had a checkerboard hatch pattern applied with light yellow fill color.   

The full repertoire of Style parameter combinations can be applied for endless effects.   We can use any combination of style parameters we like, including bitmap fills, to style samples in sample frames.  Any way to represent an area, as seen in the illustration at right from the Style: Drawings topic, will work.  

Sample shapes for areas, lines, and points, using bordered line styles for lines and a star glyph for points:

The Sample width parameter sets the width of the sample shape.  It is normally set in % percent, the default, but can be a number without the % percent sign, meaning a width in points.  The system will widen the shape as much as the frame and any text in the frame permit.   Changing Sample width from 100% (the default) to 150% to 200% for an Ellipse sample shape, as seen at right, changes the shape from a circle to an increasingly wider ellipse.

By default, samples are created using 100% width, so they are as wide as they are tall.  Sample width cannot go below 100%, to ensure a sample is always as least as wide as it is tall.

Example: Editing Frames

We can stack frames to create legend frames that appear to be a single sample frame that has with multiple samples.    We will create what appears to be a single frame that has three area samples in it.

Using Create Area Sample, we create three area sample frames, all of which use, for now, default formatting and style.

We Alt-click one of them to pick it as the active frame.    That pops open the Info pane to enable us to alter the format, style and text in the frame.

In the Info pane, we delete the text for that frame.   When a sample frame has no text in it, we can resize the frame without altering the size of the sample.

Using the width edit handles, we resize the frame to be not much wider than the sample.  If we had not deleted the text, as we reduced the width of the frame the area sample would have been reduced in size as the edge of the frame drew nearer to the sample.

We Alt-click another of the frames to pick it as the active frame.

In the Info pane we delete the text for that frame.

We would like to match the width of that frame to the first, smaller frame.  We Ctrl-click it to select it, and then we Alt-click the first frame to pick it as the active frame.

 In the Alignment toolbar button, we choose the Same Width command.

That immediately applies the width of the active frame to all selected frames.   Now, both frames are the same width.   We drag the active frame so it is adjacent to the third frame.  If we drag it near to the third frame, it will automatically snap into position adjacent to the frame.

We Alt-click the other, smaller frame, and then we drag it into position adjacent to the other frames.

Next, we would like to create a border around all three of the frames.   The margin guidelines we see in the illustrations above will not appear when the legend is printed, as they are only virtual guidelines.

 We choose the Create Text command, and then we click into the layout to add a default text frame.

We Alt-click the text frame to select it, and then in the Info pane we delete the text.  We also change the Border color to black.   We Ctrl-drag with the mouse over the upper three frames to select them all.  We Alt-click the blank text frame to pick it as the active frame.

In the Alignment toolbar button, we choose Resize to Selected.   

That moves the active frame over the selected frames, and it resizes the active frame so it aligns exactly to surround all of the frames.  When we choose Edit - Select None to deselect all frames, and we click anywhere outside the frames to un-pick the active frame, we can see the composition at above right.  We have created what appears to be a single frame that has three area samples.

Using the Layers pane, we can make each of the frames active in turn so in the Info pane we can format them and style their samples as desired.  To create the illustration above we first picked the frame with text in it and we changed the text to Areas, using a larger, semi-bold, Nunito Sans font.  We chose a Triangle Skewed Top shape for the area sample, and chose orange-red fill color for the area sample.  We also used padding of 2 points.

Next, we make the other two frames active in turn and in the Info pane chose different shapes for the samples and different fill colors, using padding of 2 points.

Example: Combining Frames for Custom Samples

When creating legends automatically using Create Legend, we usually will turn off any image server layers, such as a Bing satellite or Bing streets layer, in the New Legend dialog, so a legend frame will not automatically be created for them.  Legend frames for images are fairly uninformative, since they simply provide the range of color values, usually just 0 to 255 for RGB images.  

If we would like to create a legend frame for a Bing layer, we can do that by manually using the Create Area Sample command together with a frame created from the map in which the Bing layer participates.   This same technique can be used to create a more photographic legend frame for any image.

In the Cursor / command mode button, choose the Create Area Sample command and then click into the Layout where the frame should be created.

A default area sample frame is created.  We resize the frame to make it larger, which automatically makes the sample larger

In the Info pane, we change the Sample shape to Rectangle, we change the Sample width to 200% to make the sample larger, and we choose right for the Sample position.   We press the Update button.

Next, we drag and drop the map which uses the desired Bing layer into the layout as a new frame.  We will call that new frame the "map frame."

We Alt-click the map frame to pick it as the active frame.  A blue border and edit handles appear, which enable us to resize the frame to a manageable size and to move it closer to the area sample frame.  

 It is an important step to create the map frame from a map that has other layers, and not just the Bing layer.  That is so the frame that is created will automatically be zoomed to the area of interest and not to the entire world.  If we created the map frame layer by dragging and dropping a Bing satellite image by itself into the map, we might not find it so convenient to pan and zoom that frame into our area of interest.   By dragging and dropping a map with other layers, we can use those other layers as a visual guide to pan and zoom more easily to the view we would like to use as our map sample.

Back in the Project pane, we double-click open the map that was used for the map frame, and we turn off all layers except the Bing layer.   We click the layout window to move the focus there, and then in the Layers pane we quickly turn any of the layout frames off and then on again.  

This is a quick move that causes the layout window to refresh all frames, thus updating the map frame to show the new arrangement of layers in the originating map component, with only the Bing satellite layer visible.  Another way to do the same thing is to use View - Refresh.  

Now that we see the Bing satellite layer in the map frame, we can double-click that frame to put it into pan and zoom mode, so we can choose an interesting view to use in our legend.

We pan and zoom the map frame to show an interesting view.    Next, we will move the map frame over the area sample frame.

We Ctrl-click the map frame to select it.  This colors it with red selection color and makes it easier to align manually.  We also Alt-click the map frame to pick it, which enables us to move it by dragging it.

We position the frame roughly centered onto the area sample in the area sample frame.  We will not use the area sample for any purpose other than to provide a rectangular reference for positioning and resizing the map frame, and for positioning text in the area sample frame so it does not overrun the map frame.   

In the illustration above we can see that the map frame is positioned lower than the area sample frame in the display stack.  We can quickly move it up in the Layers pane to be above the area sample frame.

We carefully resize the map frame so it covers the area sample in the area sample frame.  We can do that easily by zooming into the layout so dragging the edges of the map frame is easy to do.   When we choose Edit - Select None to deselect the map frame, and then click anywhere outside the frame to un-pick it, we can see the effect, as seen in the illustration at above right.  The map frame now looks like a photographic "area sample," stacked as it is above the area sample frame.

We Alt-click the area sample frame to pick it, and then alter the text to the caption we want.   We change the border color from transparent to black to create a border.  The composite effect of the map frame above the area sample frame can be used as a legend indicating the source of the photographic background that appears in the layout.

 The combined effect of the two frames stacked above each other depends upon them being moved together, if they are repositioned.   That is easy to so: select both frames with a Ctrl-drag mouse move, and then Alt-click one of them as the active frame.  When that active frame is then dragged to another position, the other selected frame will move precisely with it.

See Also

Cursor Mode

Selection

Project Pane

Layers Pane

Info Pane

Legends

Layouts

Layouts: Text Frames

Layouts: Legends

Layouts: North Arrows

Layouts: Scale Bars

Layouts: Grids

Layouts: Layers Pane

Layouts: Info Pane

Layouts: Alignment Commands

File - Page Setup

File - Print Preview

Example: Layout Properties - Editing properties which appear in the mfd_meta table for a layout changes the content of that layout.   We can exploit that effect to create standardized layouts which are then re-cycled for different content.