NAME
gis.m
DESCRIPTION
The GRASS GIS Manager
provides an interactive graphical interface to GRASS commands. By
default, it is started automatically with each GRASS session. The GIS
Manager can be quit by selecting the 'File->Exit'
menu item. The GIS Manager can be restarted from the GRASS command line
shell by typing "gis.m &".
The GIS Manager includes a set of pull-down menus for many GIS
functions (analysis, file I/O, GIS configuration and management), two
rows of buttons that manage display layers, an upper window in
which layers to display are organized, a row of display monitor control
buttons along the left side of the layer tree window, and a lower
window which contains options panels for layers in the layer tree.
The top left button opens a new map display window. Each map display
has a unique set of layers to display and region setting (zoom). Other
buttons add layers of different types for display in the selected map
display window. There are additional buttons for saving or opening
group display file, starting NVIZ
(n-dimensional visualization) or XGANIM (display animator) display
interfaces, and digitizing. Mouse-over help
is available for all buttons.
Map layers are organized as a layer tree, in the window below the
buttons. Layers can include raster and vector maps, text, map
enhancements (scale and north arrow, grids, and frames), and commands
(where any GRASS command be written). Layers are displayed in as arranged
in the layer tree: the bottom layer
is displayed first and the top is displayed last, as if
layers are a series of stacked overlays. Any layer can be
renamed by double clicking on its name and typing a new name.
The check box to the left of each layer makes it active for display.
Active layers are only displayed/redisplayed when the display button is
pressed. Layers can be organized into groups; entire groups can be
activated or deactivated for display. Groups can be saved to a file and
opened in subsequent sessions, restoring all layers and their display
options.
When a layer is selected with the mouse, its options are shown in the
panel below the layer tree window. Help for each layer type can be
accessed by pressing the GRASS button in the option panel.
Each map display has a unique layer tree and region setting (zoom).
Buttons on each map display manage the map in the display (zoom and
pan), provide tools for query and distance measurement, and exporting
or printing the display. The geographic coordinates under the cursor
are displayed in the indicator window (lower right window frame).
A separate console window shows all commands issued and all command
output (upper window). GRASS commands (and any other unix/linux
commands) can be run from the console (lower window).
GIS MANAGER BUTTON FUNCTIONS
Top Row
Open new map display
Open a new map display and resets layer tree.
Add raster layer
Adds a raster map to the layer tree. Raster display options include:
displaying a selected subset of raster cells, defined by their cat
values; draping (or "fusing") a second map over the base map; and
displaying legends for the base map and draped map. See d.rast and d.his (for draping/fusing).
Add RGB or HIS raster layer
Combines and displays three raster maps defined as red, green, and blue
channels; or combines and displays two or three raster maps defined as
hue, intensity, and (optionally) saturation channels. See d.rgb and d.his.
Add histogram layer
Adds a layer to display histogram of a raster map or image. See d.histogram.
Add cell values layer
Adds map of raster cells with cell values printed inside. Only works when <10,000 cells are displayed. See d.rast.num.
Add raster arrows layer
Adds map of raster cells with directional arrows drawn. arrow direction
and length determined by separate aspect/directional map and
slope/intensity map. See d.rast.arrow.
Add raster legend
Adds a legend for a single raster map to the layer tree. Multiple options for formatting the legend are available. See d.legend.
Add vector layer
Adds a vector map to the layer tree. A large number of options are
available for displaying the vector map, including: outline and fill
color, icon type and size for points, line widths for all vector types,
automatic labeling using an attribute column, querying cats or
attributes to limit vectors displayed, and restricting vector display
depending on region size. See d.vect.
Add thematic map layer (for all vector types)
Adds layer for thematic display values from a numeric attribute column
associated with a vector map. Options include: thematic display type
(graduated colors or point sizes), methods for creating display
intervals, SQL query of attribute column to limit vector objects to
display, control of point icon types and sizes, control of thematic
color schemes, creation of legend for thematic map, and saving the
results of thematic mapping to a ps.map instructions file for later
printing. See d.vect.thematic.
Add thematic charts layer (for vector points)
Adds layer in which pie or bar charts can be automatically created at
vector point locations. Charts display values from selected
columns in the associated attribute table. Options include: chart type,
layer and attributes to chart, chart colors, and chart size (fixed or
based on attribute column). See d.vect.chart.
Add raster labels layer for vector objects (from existing labels file)
Add raster text layer from a labels file for vector objects created with v.label
command (accessed from button in options panel). A labels file can also be
created with a text editor.
See d.labels.
Add postscript labels layer for vector objects (from existing labels file)
Add postscript text layer from a labels file for vector objects created with v.label
command (accessed from button in options panel). A labels file can also be
created with a text editor.
See d.labels.
Add postscript text layer
Adds layer to display a line of postscript text. Options include: text
placement by coordinates (geographic or screen); text
alignment, font and line spacing; and text size, bolding,
and color.
Add text layer
Adds layer to display a line of text using default GRASS font (selected with d.font). Options include: text placement (screen coordinates); and text size, bolding, and color. See d.text.
Bottom Row
Add scalebar and north arrow layer
Adds layer to display a combined scalebar and north arrow. Options
include scalebar placement (using screen coordinates or a mouse),
scalebar format, and scalebar colors. See d.barscale.
Overlay grids and lines
Adds layer to display regular grid (for all locations), or geodesic and
rhumblines (for latitude/longitude locations only). Grid options
include: grid and border colors, grid origin, and grid line spacing.
Geodesic and rhumbline options include: line color, and xy coordinates
(geographic) of line endpoints. See d.grid, d.geodesic, and d.rhumbline.
Add command layer
Adds a layer defined by a GRASS GIS command or command list. For a command list use the pipe symbol as
"|" as separator.
E.g.: d.rast soils | d.rast -o roads | d.vect streams col=blue
Note that when an option of the command contains spaces, you need to escape them with the backslash ('\') character, e.g.:
d.text.freetype text=Population\ density
Add group
Adds an empty layer group. Layers can then be added to the group.
Duplicate selected layer or group
Adds a new layer that duplicates the selected layer.
Cut selected layer or group
Deletes the selected group or layer.
Erase all layers and create a new group
Removes all layers in the layer tree and creates a new, empty group to which new layers can be added.
Open an existing group file
Opens an previously saved group file, containing a set of display layers and their option settings.
Save layers to group file
Saves current set of layers and their options to a group file.
NVIZ
Starts the NVIZ, n-dimensional visualization module and interactive graphical interface. See nviz.
Fly through path for NVIZ
Starts a GRASS module for interactive creation of a fly-through path to be animated in NVIZ. See d.nviz.
Animate raster map series
Starts the XGANIM interactive interface to display a series of raster maps as an animation. See xganim.
Digitize raster or vector maps
Starts the raster digitizing or vector digitizing module, depending on
whether a raster or vector map is selected. Raster digitizing always
creates a new map. Vector digitizing will either edit an existing map
(if an existing vector map is selected in the layer tree) or create a
new vector map (if the name of the new vector to be created is entered
in the 'vector name' field of the options panel for a vector map
layer). See r.digit and v.digit.
MAP DISPLAY BUTTON FUNCTIONS
Display active layers (current region)
Displays all active layers at current resolution and region extents for that map display window.
Redisplay all active layers and zoom to current region
Resets the region to
the resolution and extents to the values set with g.region; forces redisplay and re-rendering
all active layers. See g.region.
NVIZ
Starts the NVIZ, n-dimensional visualization module and interactive
graphical interface. All active raster and vector layers in the layer
tree will be displayed in NVIZ. See nviz.
Erase to white
Erases the currently selected monitor to a white background; also removes all frames. See d.erase and d.frame -e.
Arrow cursor
Select arrow cursor for map display.
Zoom in
Interactive zooming with the mouse in the active display monitor.
Drawing a box with the mouse (left button) and zoom-in cursor causes
the display to zoom in so that the area defined by the box fills the
display. The map resolution is not changed. Clicking with the zoom-in
cursor causes the display to zoom in by 30%, centered on the point
where the mouse is clicked. Zooming resets the region extents (both
size and location of area
displayed). See g.region.
Zoom out
Interactive zooming with the mouse in the active display monitor.
Drawing a box with the mouse (left button) and zoom-out cursor causes the display to
zoom in so that the area displayed shrinks to fill the area defined by the box. The map
resolution is not changed. Clicking with the zoom-out cursor causes the
display to zoom out by 30%, centered on the point where the mouse is
clicked. Zooming resets the region extents (both size and location of
area
displayed). See g.region.
Pan
Interactive selection of a new
center of view in the active display monitor. Drag the pan cursor while
pressing the left mouse button to pan. Panning changes the
location of the region extents but not the size of the area displayed
or the resolution. See g.region.
Query (select map first)
Query selected raster (only the base map of a draped map will be
queried), RGB raster map (all three map channels will be queried), or
vector map using the mouse. A map must be
selected before query.
Vector charts and thematic vector maps cannot be queried. The
results of the query will be displayed in the console window. See r.what and v.what.
Measure lengths
Interactive measurement of lengths defined with the mouse. The length
of each segment and the cumulative length of all segments measuered is
displayed in the console window. Lengths are
measured in the current measurement unit. See also d.measure.
Return to previous zoom
Resets the region to the region extents in effect prior to zooming in or out, or panning.
Display active layers (saved region)
Opens a dialog to select a saved region setting. Resets the region to
the resolution and extents of the selected saved region, and displays
all active layers. See g.region.
Display active layers (default region)
Resets the region to the default resolution and extents, and displays all
active layers. See g.region -d.
Print map
Prints map on lpr printer or postscript device; saves visible map
display (including postscript text and labels) to PDF or EPS file.
Requires ghostscript for all output except EPS.
Export map display
Exports visible map display to different raster file formats. Exported map does not include postscript text or postscript labels.
Strict draw mode
Selects strict draw mode. In strict mode the aspect ratio and resolution from the last zoom are used when drawing the maps. The map will show only the area and resolution selected. It will not usually fill the screen. Strict mode only shows what is asked for.
Explore draw mode
Selects explore draw mode. In explore mode the region from the last zoom is expanded to fill the entire screen. The resolution is adjusted to match the screen resolution. Explore mode shows as much as possible.
Configuration: changing fonts
Fonts used in gis.m can be changed as follows:
- Source code: edit file 'lib/gtcltk/options.tcl' and compile gtcltk
- Runtime: edit file '$GISBASE/etc/gtcltk/options.tcl'
Georectify tool
The unrectified (scanned/CAD etc.) map is imported into a XY location. Then
start GRASS with the location/mapset where you want the georectified map to END
UP (i.e., the projected TARGET location). Open any map display (or displays)
that you want to use for getting geographic coordinates.
Select Georectify from the File menu
In the Georectify startup, you must:
- select if you want to geocode a raster or vector map,
- select the source (XY) location/mapset of the map to be georectified,
- create a group to georectify. Target is automatically
set to the current location and mapset,
- select the group to georectify,
- select the raster map to display for interactive georectification
(normally a raster in the group you want to georectify),
- click on georectification button to start the search for ground
control points.
You will have a map display with the map to georectify and a GCP (ground
control point) manager window.
- Click in an xy entry box in the GCP manager,
- Click on the xy map you want to georectify to put xy coordinates in
the entry box. The focus will shift to the corresponding geographic entry
box in the GCP manager,
- Click on a point in a georectified map to get geographic coordinates
(use Pointer icon),
- Repeat until you have enough xy and geographic coordinate pairs.
NOTE: you can edit/enter any point by typing. You can also edit
existing points by clicking on a new spot in the display.
- Click the button to save the points to a POINTS file.
Before running the rectification, it is important to set the target region
and resolution properly. The georectifier tool gets the region setting from
running g.region -gp. The display is set to "explore mode" and
doesn't bother with resolution or extents set with g.region --
beyond determining initial extents when you start it.
To change extents, you can
- zoom interactively and then pick "set region"
from the display pull-down or
- use g.region (Configure -> SetRegion) to set the extents and pick set
display from region in the pull-down. To set the resolution, use
"Configure" -> "Set Region"; it will have no effect on the display but
should affect the underlying i.rectify.
Click on the georectify button to select the type of georectification
you want (polynomial order). After some computations, the map will be geocoded.
SEE ALSO
d.m
AUTHORS
Michael Barton, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
Last changed: $Date: 2007/07/26 19:08:34 $
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