The Basic Concepts of Manifold System: An

Overview

• Manifold is a Geographic Information System (GIS) software package.

• Manifold System products are available in native, 64-bit editions for use in x64 Windows operating systems.

• Manifold is a "word processor for maps" that will let you create new maps or edit existing maps.

• It is also a "database system for maps" that will allow you to embed database information into a map so that the map can be used as a visual interface into the data.

• It may be used to create new applications to work with maps, images, surfaces and databases.

The Manifold System 8.0

“Although the functional areas covered by Manifold capabilities are very broad, they have been implemented in Manifold System using a common set of user interfaces and a common set of key ideas.”

The key to mastering Manifold is to understand those key ideas as follows:

1. Manifold requires Microsoft Windows fluency.

2. Manifold uses context sensitive windows, toolbars and panes.

3. Projects are the "documents" of Manifold.

4. The differences between drawings and images.

5. Formatting determines the appearance of drawings.

Key Ideas in Manifold

The key to mastering Manifold is to understand those key ideas as follows:

6. Selection

7. Maps and Layers

8. Databases and Maps

9. Use the Transform toolbar for simple tasks

10. Use Layouts for printing

Key Ideas in Manifold

Manifold Main Window

Manifold launches a main window that becomes populated with subsidiary windows as we open projects and components of projects.

Active Window

Status Bar

Menu Bar

Project Pane

Toolbars

Application Window

Manifold Main Window

Toolbars Buttons

The Active Window

• Only one window at a time is the active window in Microsoft Windows. Clicking into a window or touching it in some way activates it to make it the active window.

• The active window is also said in some contexts to have the focus. When a window is active its title bar changes to the highlighted color specified for active windows.

The Project

• Projects are the Manifold's main documents which use Manifold .map project file format.

• Components of projects are images, drawings, tables, labels, charts, maps and other items.

The Project Components

Drawings consist of points, lines and areas and are normally imported from "vector" file formats like .dxf, .shp, .mid/mif, .mfd/mdb and other formats.

The Project Components

Tables show data organized into rows and columns. Every row in a table is a record. Every column in a table is a field. We will use the words "row" and "record" interchangeably. We will also use the words "column" and "field" interchangeably.

Table

The Project Components

Images are photographs or scanned data composed of pixels and normally imported from "raster" file formats like .bmp, .gif, .jpg and similar.

The Project Components

Surfaces are like images in that they consist of pixels. Surfaces are used to represent continuously varying data such as terrain elevation data and are imported from a variety of formats such as DEM, SDTS and similar.

The Project Components

Terrains are 3D views of surfaces. Whenever Manifold imports or creates a surface it will automatically create a terrain for that surface as well.

The Project Components

Labels are components that contain text annotations that can be manually created or automatically created from the information in a drawing's table.

The Project Components

Map displays one or more drawings, images, surfaces or labels stacked up as layers.

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Are we ready for the main topics?

Are we ready for the main topics?

I think so . . . .I think so . . . .

Enjoy and Explore with Energy!!!