INTRODUCTION TO THE DATASLATE TOOLS

 Discover an outstanding feature of DataSlate: Start Channel 2 for River City. Move the re-sizeable box around. Click on the 'forward arrow' for Channel 2 and explore the different layers. Compare and contrast the different layers.

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Ruler

The Ruler - The Movie!
(7 MB, requires QT 4 or better)

Angle/Bearing

Movie-8MB

GPS

Movie - 2MB

Magnifier

Movie-3MB

Pushpin

Movie-4MB

DataSlate opens with a sampler selection screen. Select one of the data sets by clicking on its browse image. DataSlate will load the image file and other information needed by the tools ("metadata" such as coordinate system information).

The tool menu is invoked by clicking on the button labeled 'Tools.' The tool icons are then displayed in a panel along the left side of the slate. Select a tool by clicking on its icon; the tool panel then goes away.



The TOOL LED (the light above the tool button) is used to turn off a tool.
Right clicking in the image (control click on a Mac) brings up a pop-up OPTIONS menu for the tools and other DataSlate features.
Use the BROWSE button to go back to the data set selection screen.


Current Tools: 

Magnifier - Enlarges a selected area. Provides yellow box (the Magnifier) which encompasses the area to be magnified.

After selecting this tool:

  1. Select any point on an image.
  2. Right click in the image (control click on a Mac) menu to select magnification choices (2x, 3x, 4x, 8x, 16x). The default is 2x.
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 Ruler Tool - Measures the distance between two or more points.

Perimeter and area values can also be determined by connecting a set of points around a shape.

After selecting this tool:

  1. Measuring between two points:
    Right click in the image (control click on a Mac) if you'd like to change the units from pixels to kilometers, meters, miles, or feet . Click on a location within an image and drag the cursor to the next point.
  2. Measuring a route:
    Click and drag multiple times to compute the length of a route.
  3. Measuring perimeter and area:
    Click and drag around an area to be measured; click back on the origin to compute the perimeter and area. Some data sets will be measured in pixels only.

Use "clear points" in the OPTIONS menu to erase the current set of points.

If the Ruler is used with data sets which have not been calibrated in the 'lbl' file, the user will be prompted to supply a value for the pixel size for the images. The user should cancel the dialog box, which will cause the tool display to show the units of measurement in pixels.

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GPS (Global Positioning System) - Displays latitude and longitude of any point within an image. This tool will provide an x,y coordinate system if latitude and longitude are not available. (The 'lbl' file has not been calibrated.)

After selecting this tool:

  1. Measuring Latitude and Longitude or using an x,y coorindate system:
    Select any point on an image.
  2. Right click in the image (control click on a Mac) menu to choose between degrees in decimal format (xxx.xxx) or deg-min-sec format (xxx xx xx).

If the image set you selected has Latitude and Longitude coordinates, the Angle/Bearing tool will provide a bearing in degrees from true north.

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Angle/Bearing Tool - Measures angles from the top of an image.

After selecting this tool:

  1. If the image set has been aligned, the top of the image is north. To determine if an image is aligned, use the GPS tool. If the GPS tool reports Latitude and Longitude, then the top of the image is north.
  2. Measuring bearing (direction):
    Click and drag to measure bearing. The top of all images will read 0 degrees - even for those aligned with Latitude and Longitude.
  3. Measuring an angle:
    Right click in the image (control click on a Mac), menu to choose "angle". Click and drag to delineate the sides of the angle.

Right click in the image (control click on a Mac), menu to choose a radian read-out if desired.

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Pushpins - Mark unique features on an image. Pins will appear on images for which they have been created.

After selecting this tool:

  1. Pushpins will appear IF they have already been created for this data set.
    Move the mouse over the pushpin to display its title.
    Click on the pushpin to view its description.
    If a "show image" button appears below the description, click it to view another image associated with that location.
  2. If you would like to create your own pushpins, DataSlate can create a ".dat" file on your hard drive - if you, and only if you are running DataSlate from your hard drive rather than the CD. This file will contain your newly created pushpins. You will have to move this file to each different computer you use otherwise the pushpin links will be lost.

How to Make Push-pin: Open the 'Tool' Box. Click on the push-pin tool. Double-click on the location you wish your pin to be placed. A blue pin will appear, ready for you to 'Edit'.

A Procedure for Making Pushpins for Any CPU (and not lose them!):

 

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If you want 'lbl file' information, try this.