Pitney Bowes MapInfo Professional - Manual (Page 206)

You can delete the last node by pressing the Backspace key.
If there is only one node left in the object it will not be deleted. Note:
You can then use the Combine command to combine this region with another, reshape the region, etc.
Polylines are made up of multiple line segments that are treated as one object. Unlike lines created with
the Line tool, you can smooth polylines into a continuous curve using the Smooth command. Again, you
can delete the last node by pressing the Backspace key.
If there is only one node left in the object it will not be deleted. Note:
Drawing Orthogonal Polygons
You can draw orthogonal (right angle) polygon line segments when you press the Ctrl key. Using this
key you can draw the polygon at 45 degree increments relative to the slope of the last line segment.
This functionality works for Add Line, Add Polyline, the Ruler Tool, Custom Polyline and Custom Polygon
tools, and the Add Polygon operations.
This functionality is useful when you want to draw perpendicular lines at an angle rather than horizontal
to the map.
Snap and Autotrace functionality must be turned off to use this feature, because when these
features are activated, the Ctrl and Shift keys have other purposes. The Shift and Ctrl keys
also do not operate when you are using the Polygon Select tool. Note:
To see this functionality:
1. From the File menu, click Open and select a map to display.
2. Choose Map > Layer Control and click the Editable icon to make the layer editable.
3. Select the Polygon tool from the Drawing toolbar.
This works with any of the Line, Polyline, the Ruler Tool, Custom Polyline and Custom Polygon
tools as well, we are just using the Polygon tool as an example. Note:
1. Click and draw a single line in any direction other than horizontal following these directions:
• To draw the next segment perpendicular to the last segment, press Ctrl while dragging the cursor.
• To draw the next segment perpendicular to horizontal, press Shift while dragging the cursor.
Tracing Polylines and Polygons
When you are drawing a new polyline or polygon, you can use Autotrace to trace nodes from existing
polylines or polygons. The Autotrace tool is only in effect when you are using a polygeometric tool (Add
Polyline, Add Polygon, or Select Polygon) and Snap is on.
Use Autotrace to trace a boundary of an existing object and avoid creating splinter polygons trying to
trace a difficult line.
To trace the nodes of an existing polyline or polygon:
1. Press the S key to activate Snap Mode.
2. Press the T key to activate Autotrace (for information about autotrace, see Autotracing Objects ).
3. Click on the first node of the polyline/polygon you want to trace.
4. Move the mouse to another node of the same object. Follow the procedure below for the type of
object you are tracing:
• Polyline: Hold down the Shift key or the Ctrl key and click.
• Polygon: Hold down the Shift key for the shorter set of nodes or the Ctrl key for the longer set of
nodes and click.
Pressing the Shift or Ctrl keys highlights the trace path. Click to automatically trace the segments
between the nodes and add them to the polyline/polygon you are drawing.
MapInfo Professional 12.5 206
Drawing Polygons and Polylines