Landscape Editor - Canvas

Overview
The Canvas can display four types of information: sample point heights, water, terrain polygons and a background bitmap.

It is possible to disable the display of any of these items using the check list on Layers page of the Parameter Display area.

Sample points
These are usually displayed as small solid squares. The precise size of the square will vary depending on the display size of the map canvas area and the magnification being used, but should be optimized to display a large enough square for the colour to be apparent whilst remaining small enough so as not to obscure any background bitmap - although this may not be possible with larger maps. No squares are shown for undefined heights, and sample points at sea level (zero meters or feet) are always shown as single points. At high magnifications a numeric value is displayed instead of the solid square.

GenesisII uses a graduated range of colors to indicate the height of a sample points. You may adjust the total displayed range using the Display Parameters tool - points falling outside the range will be drawn with the maximum or minimum height color as appropriate. The scale self-adjusts when loading, importing, or interpolating data, but otherwise should be explicitly refreshed.

To manipulate heights select the heights/water layer using the current layer control on the Parameter Display area. This enables the height manipulation and water tools.

Water
Water is displayed as a solid blue area. To manipulate water select the heights/water layer using the current layer control on the Parameter Display area. This enables the height manipulation and water tools.

Terrains
These are drawn as hatched polygons in the first primary color for that layer. To manipulate terrain polygons select a terrain layer using the current layer control on the Parameter Display area. This enables the terrain tools on the toolbar and allows the vertexes of polygons for the current layer to be selected.

Background Bitmaps
A background bitmap is used when creating a map from a scanned image. A windows bitmap (.bmp) file is placed 'behind' the canvas and used as a guide for designating heights and terrains. The image is always stretched to exactly fit the canvas window. To select a background click the Set Background button in the Parameter Display area. Backgrounds can be turned on/off using the check list on Layers page of the Parameter Display area.