Info Pane: Coordinates

The Coordinates tab in the Info pane appears for drawing and labels layers and when viewing the coordinates of a Geom in a drawing's table.  It shows the coordinates of a picked object (area, line, or point), or label that is in coordinates editing mode.  The Coordinates tab also appears when drawing a path in any component.

Coordinates that are not read-only may be edited, which will edit the object, label position, or path.    The coordinates that define an object are also called the geometry of that object.

Coordinates shown by the tab will be the X and Y coordinate numbers for the object in whatever coordinate system is used by the drawing.  For example, if a drawing is in Latitude / Longitude projection, the coordinate numbers shown will be longitude (X) and latitude (Y) numbers in decimal degrees.   If a drawing is in Pseudo-Mercator, the coordinate numbers will be X and Y   coordinates in meters in the Pseudo-Mercator coordinate system.  If objects have Z values defined, the Z value for each vertex will be in whatever units of measure the coordinate system uses for Z values.  

When a path is drawn in an image or map, the coordinates reported for the vertices of the path will be X and Y coordinate numbers in whatever coordinate system is used by the image or by the active layer in the map.

Switching to the Coordinates Tab

The Info pane automatically launches with the Coordinates tab when drawing a path, for example, as when drawing a path to make measurements. To see the Coordinates tab for an object or label, pick an object or label by Alt-clicking it.  That launches the Info pane showing the Values tab.   Switch into coordinates editing mode to show the Coordinates tab with any of the following moves:

• In the Info pane, Click the Coordinates tab to switch to that tab.
• In the map window, Click on any vertex or line segment of the picked object.
• In the map window, Right-click anywhere in the window and choose Edit Coordinates.

 The Coordinates list format picker button allows switching the Coordinates tab display between XYZ values and traverse mode to show the geometry of lines and areas using traverses in a variety of popular formats.   Traverse format allows specifying line segments in terms of direction and distance, whether those line segments are used to define a line object or the boundaries of area objects.   

Although typically used to define traverses as used in surveying in the United States, traverse commands are very convenient in many other vector editing settings as well, for example, where we want to specify a line segment by specifying a bearing or angle and the length of the segment.

The traverses display can also be adjusted to use different formats for the traverse.   The example above shows use of DD (Direction + Distance) format, where a line segment is specified by the direction it should go and the distance (length) of the line segment.   See the Traverses topic for a tutorial introduction to traverses.

Coordinates Tab Controls

Pick an object in a drawing by Alt-clicking that object.   That will automatically launch the Info pane and bring it to the foreground if it is not already open and in the foreground.   The Info pane opens by default in the Values tab, to make it easy to edit attributes of objects.

To switch the Info pane to the Coordinates tab, either click on the Coordinates tab in the Info pane, or in the drawing, click on any vertex or segment in the picked object.

The Coordinates tab allows us to view and edit the coordinates that define the object or path, and to enable the object or path for interactive mouse editing in the map window.  The Coordinates tab also opens automatically whenever we begin creating a new object or path in a map window, for example, using the Create Area, the Draw Path, or other tool.

The coordinates tab shows a list of coordinates that define the picked object or path, using the coordinate system of the active layer.   An inverted T symbol in the right margin of the coordinates list marks the end coordinate of a branch.

Coordinates / Traverse

 The coordinate list format picker button allows us to choose between showing the coordinates that define a line or an area in either XY/XYZ format or in traverse format.   Traverses are a way of defining lines or areas, but not points, so there is no traverse format for a point.  The Show Traverse choice will be disabled if the context object is a point.

XY/XYZ format simply lists the X,Y or X,Y,Z (in the case of lines or areas with a Z value) numbers for each vertex or control point of a curved segment.   Traverse format describes lines or areas as they are described in surveying in the United States, for example, giving the direction and distance to each next vertex.  Esri traverse format is used in the coordinates list when we choose Show Traverse.  Other words used for traverse commands are COGO (coordinate geometry) descriptions, and metes and bounds.  

Do not fall for the misconception that traverse commands are only for surveying.   They are for any GIS use where it is convenient to describe a line by the bearing and length of the line, or where we want to draw an area by giving the bearings or angles and lengths of the segments making up the area.   See the example near the end of this topic.

Traverse Parameters

There are many different notation options for specifying traverses, for example, whether the direction uses North Azimuth, and whether degrees or some other angular units are used, and if degrees are uses whether they are decimal degrees or use degrees - minutes - seconds format.   The Traverse Parameters dialog allows us to choose desired options.  

 The Traverse Parameters choice in the coordinate list format button menu launches the Traverse Parameters dialog,

The Traverse Parameters dialog specifies the format used to show traverse numbers, allowing us to choose from various Esri formats for direction type and direction units.  

We can switch traverse parameters at any time, to display the coordinate list numbers as we like.

For example, if we switch from the default North azimuth and Degrees settings to Quadrant bearing and Degrees-minutes-seconds, the Coordinates list in traverse format will instantly switch to displaying numbers using the new formats.

The illustrations above show the before (left) and after (right) coordinate lists.   In the above lists, a DD value like 63.5836... in North Azimuth and Degrees format would become DD N63-35-0.99...E  in Quadrant bearing and Degrees-minutes-seconds format.

Tech tip:   Editing cells in the Coordinates tab display is the same as editing cells in a table.  Enter or double-click to begin editing a cell. Edit the cell and press Enter again. That shows a preview in blue preview color of the proposed edit.  More than one cell can be edited in that way.   Press Ctrl-Enter to commit the edits to the entire record, or Ctrl-Backspace to abandon.  

The Coordinates Tab and Drawings

Alt-clicking an object in a drawing to pick that drawing will launch the Info pane.   The Info pane launches with the Values tab by default.

When we Alt-click an object in a drawing to select it, the object is displayed in picked mode, showing the vertices that define it.

When we pick an object with an Alt-click the Info pane will launch and come to the foreground, showing the Values tab by default.  To switch to the Coordinates tab, we can either click the Coordinates tab in the Info pane, or in the drawing we can click any of the vertices or segments of the picked drawing.   

Clicking the Coordinates tab will show the list of coordinates that define the object.

The grid cursor (the dotted box surrounding a cell) will be positioned on the first row in the coordinates list if we clicked the Coordinates tab, or on the row for whatever vertex or segment was clicked in the drawing.

A larger edit handle box will appear on the vertex in the drawing that corresponds to the row in the Coordinates list on which the grid cursor is located.

An inverted "T" symbol marks the end of a branch.  Branches in area objects are used for the boundaries of holes or islands in area objects.  If we click on a row following the branch symbol to move the grid cursor to that row, the large editing handle will move to the appropriate coordinate of the branch.

For example, the area object in the illustration above has two branches.  The first branch defines the outer boundary of the area and the second branch defines the boundary of the hole in the area.  By clicking on the row for the first coordinate of the second branch, we move the cursor to that coordinate row in the Info pane grid, and the large editing handle moves to that coordinate in the drawing.

Circle, Ellipse, and Spine Segments

Manifold lines and area boundaries can be made up of a mix of straight line segments as well as curvilinear segments that can be circle segments, ellipse segments, and spline segments.   Curvilinear segments are defined by their beginning and end vertices, which are listed as XY coordinates like any vertex, as well as the curve coordinates in between the beginning and end vertices which define the circle, the ellipse, or the spline.   Clicking in the Coordinates tab any of the beginning or end vertices or any of the curve coordinates for a curvilinear segment will move the large editing handle in the drawing to that vertex or handle.

Consider the line shown at left above, with the line styled with a round dot at the beginning of the line and an arrowhead at the end of the line, to show the direction of the line.   We can pick the line by Alt-clicking it.  Picking the line shows it in picked mode, with small boxes or circles at all vertices and curve coordinates that define the segments of the line.  Picking also brings the Info pane to the foreground, loaded with the Values tab.

In the illustration at right above we have clicked the first vertex of the line to put it into edit mode, displaying it as a large editing handle.   Clicking any of the vertices, curve coordinates, or segments of a line puts the line into coordinate editing mode, and switches the Info pane to the Coordinates tab.

From the drawing and from the Coordinates tab we can see that the line consists of five segments: a spline segment followed by a straight line segment, a circle segment, another straight line segment, and finally an ellipse segment.

The grid cursor in the Coordinates list is positioned in the first row, the row for the first vertex, because that is the vertex we clicked to put the line into coordinates editing mode.    We can click on a cell in any other row to move the grid cursor to that row.   For example, we can click into a cell in the forth row to move the grid cursor to that cell and row.    We could also click on a vertex or segment in the drawing to move the grid cursor to the corresponding row.

 Note that the row we clicked is marked with a spline segment symbol.  That tells us that the coordinates in the row are curve coordinates that define the spline segment, together with the other spline segment curve coordinates and the beginning and end vertex of the spline segment.

Clicking that row in the Coordinates list to move the grid cursor onto that row also immediately moves the big square edit handle to the corresponding curve coordinate in the drawing.  Note how the edit handle is not positioned on the line but is one of the spline coordinates that define the curve of the spline in between the beginning and end vertices of the spline, which are marked by small square edit handles.   Curve coordinates for curvilinear components are shown as small round dots when the object is picked.  

To move the grid cursor to a row in the Coordinates list, we can click any of the cells in that row, or the row handle, or one of the symbols.   For example, to move the grid cursor to the curve coordinate for the circle segment we could click on the circle segment symbol.

That instantly moves the big square edit handle onto the corresponding curve coordinate in the drawing.   Circle segments are defined by the beginning and end vertices of the circle, plus a single circle coordinate that positions the circle in the desired direction.  

To mark a coordinate with the big square edit handle in the drawing and to position the grid cursor on the corresponding row in the Coordinates list, we can click either on a row in the Coordinates list or we can click on a vertex or curve coordinate in the drawing.

For example, we can click on one of the curve coordinates that define the ellipse segment.

That instantly marks the clicked coordinate with a big square edit handle.  

It also instantly moves the grid cursor to the row for that ellipse coordinate in the Coordinates list.   If the Coordinates list is too long to show at once in the Info pane, the list will automatically scroll to bring the grid cursor for the clicked coordinate into view.

The Coordinates Tab and Tables

Alt-clicking a record in a table launches the Values tab in the Info Pane.   The Info pane with tables does not show the Coordinates tab; however, if we want to see the coordinates of a Geom value, we can do so by right-clicking the geometry cell in the Values tab list and choosing View Coordinates.

We open a table that includes a Geom geometry value for each record.   We Alt-click one of the records to pick it.

The record appears as a picked record, with a triangle icon in the row handle.  

The record appears in the Values tab of the Info pane.   We right-click the geometry value for the Geom field.

Choose View Coordinates from the menu.

The Coordinates tab appears in the Info pane, with coordinates for the geometry field.   The Coordinates display is read only for tables.  To edit coordinates, open the table's drawing (creating a drawing if there is not already a drawing for the table, and then edit the coordinates list by picking the object in the drawing.

Formats for Saving and Reading Coordinate Lists

The Info pane can read from a file or save to a file a coordinates list in either Manifold Coordinates format or Esri Traverse format.  Whichever format is displayed when we press the Save button will be the format used for the text file that is created.  Manifold Coordinates format saves coordinates as X Y numbers, adding a third Z number if the object has a Z value.  Esri Traverse format saves coordinate geometry in standard Esri traverse file format.   See the Traverses topic for information on Esri traverse file format.

• When reading coordinate lists from text files, case is not important and additional whitespace, apart from line ends, is not important. Line ends can be CRLF, LF, or CR.  The system validates all data after loading a coordinate list from a file and removes invalid curves or branches.  Text encoding is detected automatically.   Supported encodings are ANSI, UTF8, UTF16 BE, and UTF16 LE.  The file can contain empty lines, which will be ignored. The file can contain comment lines with comments starting with #.  Comment lines are also ignored.

• When saving coordinates lists to a text file, Manifold keeps things simple, using single spaces, uppercase letters and no comments.

Manifold Coordinates Format

Manifold coordinates format closely matches what is displayed in the list and preserves all data.  

The first line contains a single character specifying the type of object: P for point, L for line, or A for area.  Lines following the first line contain coordinates, with each line beginning with a C, CC, CE, CS, or E code indicating the nature of the coordinate:

C <x> <y> [<z>] - coordinate.

CC <x> <y> [<z>] - circle arc coordinate.

CE <x> <y> [<z>] - ellipse arc coordinate.

CS <x> <y> [<z>] - spline coordinate.

E <x> <y> [<z>] - coordinate that ends a branch.

Coordinate values are separated by one or more whitespace characters.

Example: A text file saving coordinates for an area with four vertices might contain:

A

C 826590.1661996043 5425098.995517982

C 826608.2333529602 5425149.516990494

C 826635.595683797 5425139.733152165

C 826630.820077642 5425126.359355299

C 826617.5285304413 5425089.211733231

E 826590.1661996043 5425098.995517982

The area above has no Z value, so just X Y coordinates are listed.

Copying Coordinates

We can  right-click onto a coordinate row to either Copy that single coordinate or to Copy Coordinate List, to copy the entire list of coordinates for the object.

We will work with a drawing called buildings, which shows building footprints in Monaco as area objects.

We Alt-click a building of interest, and then in the Info pane we switch to the Coordinates tab.   The first coordinate is shown in the drawing window as a larger editing handle, and in the Coordinates list it appears with a darker edit handle, the first row.

To copy any of the X or Y coordinates, we right-click the cell desired and we choose Copy.   That copies the coordinate as a text value into the Windows clipboard.  We can then Paste it where we want:

826435.0981489292

We can copy the entire coordinate list if we want.

Right-click any cell in the coordinates list and choose Copy Coordinate List.   That copies all of the coordinates to the Windows clipboard using Manifold format.

We can Paste the coordinates list:

A

C 826435.0981489292 5424037.430645572

C 826449.1355367184 5424041.081813897

C 826452.4417255949 5424032.131062059

C 826496.4240564073 5424042.853478372

C 826520.7362331965 5423986.360657816

C 826457.4399707315 5423960.078596306

E 826435.0981489292 5424037.430645572

C 826457.6514777641 5424010.824918336

C 826463.406695438 5423992.338065611

C 826468.9392741303 5423994.202154915

C 826469.852093955 5423999.517122354

C 826487.8413236671 5424005.756435864

C 826490.8580818677 5424001.612298764

C 826495.0325627723 5424003.014218543

C 826486.5166217268 5424021.069731846

E 826457.6514777641 5424010.824918336

Copying Traverses

Copy and Copy Coordinate List also works when coordinates are shown in traverse format.   Whatever format is displayed will be copied.

 Using the coordinate list format picker button we switch to traverse format, which uses DD format by default.

Right-clicking any row and choosing Copy will copy that row's traverse command to the Windows clipboard as plain text.   Pasting it, we see we have copied:

DD 75.42024985018784 14.504457455641425

We can copy the entire coordinate list in traverse format:

Right-click any row in the coordinates list and choose Copy Coordinate List.   That copies all of the traverse rows to the Windows clipboard using Esri traverse format.

We can paste from the Clipboard to see what was copied:

DT NA

DU DD

SP 826435.0981489292 5424037.430645572

EP 826435.0981489292 5424037.430645572

DD 75.42024985018784 14.504457455641425

DD 159.72700281493383 9.541846957351323

DD 76.29916412030833 45.27047200202614

DD 156.71495254886483 61.50220089257601

DD 247.45065298480898 68.53585630337115

DD 343.88953915590065 80.51395237531338

SP 826457.6514777641 5424010.824918336

EP 826457.6514777641 5424010.824918336

DD 162.70789888824018 19.36197960308958

DD 71.37980793465422 5.838172309767734

DD 9.745197822842863 5.392783967074161

DD 70.87160998604611 19.040520441955927

DD 143.94695067627083 5.125885517582794

DD 71.43635656987976 4.403597380321702

DD 334.74894053735807 19.96303615563394

DD 250.45921440113085 30.62927912708347

Whatever traverse format was used in the Coordinates list is what will be copied.  

 For example, we can click the coordinate list format picker button and choose Traverse Parameters to change the format used.

We can choose to use Degrees-minutes-seconds format for angular direction units.

The traverse commands in the coordinates list immediately switch from using decimal degrees to degrees-minutes-seconds format for directions.    We can right-click any row and choose Copy Coordinate List.  

Pasting from the Clipboard, we see what was copied:

DT NA

DU DMS

SP 826435.0981489292 5424037.430645572

EP 826435.0981489292 5424037.430645572

DD 75-25-12.899460676237595 14.504457455641425

DD 159-43-37.21013376177325 9.541846957351323

DD 76-17-56.99083310999981 45.27047200202614

DD 156-42-53.829175913385825 61.50220089257601

DD 247-27-2.3507453123374944 68.53585630337115

DD 343-53-22.34096124233929 80.51395237531338

SP 826457.6514777641 5424010.824918336

EP 826457.6514777641 5424010.824918336

DD 162-42-28.435997664648767 19.36197960308958

DD 71-22-47.30856475520568 5.838172309767734

DD 9-44-42.71216223430784 5.392783967074161

DD 70-52-17.79594976599583 19.040520441955927

DD 143-56-49.02243457499026 5.125885517582794

DD 71-26-10.883651567146444 4.403597380321702

DD 334-44-56.18593448903994 19.96303615563394

DD 250-27-33.17184407106197 30.62927912708347

The coordinates list was copied using the new format, using degrees-minutes-seconds format for angular directions.

Example: Using Traverse Commands for General Purpose Editing

A common misconception is that traverse commands are only for surveying.  In fact, they are extremely useful anytime we want to draw lines or area boundaries by specifying a direction and a distance for a line segment.   

For example, if we want to create a drawing like the above, entering a few traverse commands in the Info pane is a great way to draw eight lines radially outward from a central point to a desired distance, with the lines bearing North, Northeast, East, and so on.

We begin with a drawing that uses some linear units, such as meters or feet, as the units of measure.  The example drawing using default Pseudo-Mercator, which uses units of meters.

 We begin by choosing the Create Line command in the cursor mode button on the main toolbar.

We click where we want the beginning of the line to start, and then we click approximately due North at approximately the distance desired.   Precision is unimportant since we will enter the exact direction and distance we want in the Info pane.

 If the coordinates tab is not already in traverse command mode, we use the coordinates list format picker button to switch the tab into showing traverse commands.  We then double-click the provisional traverse command row for the line segment, to open it for editing.   We enter 0 as the direction and 200 as the distance, that is, the length of the line segment.   

Press Enter to accept the edit.

Press Add Record to add the line.

That creates a line pointing directly North, that is a length of 200 units in the coordinate system of the drawing.   The Radial Lines drawing has been styled to use a blue dot at the beginning of the line and a red arrowhead at the end of the line.

 The cursor is still in Create Line mode, so we click where we want to start the line, using snap to place that click exactly on the starting spot of the first line.  We click again  approximately where we want to place the end of the line.   As before, there is no need for precision since we will specify the direction and distance of the line in the Coordinates tab of the Info pane.

We double-click into the traverse command specifying the line, and we change the direction to 45 and the distance to 200.

Press Add Record.

That adds another line, which extends from the starting location in a 45 degree direction for a distance of 200 units.

We continue in this way, adding six more lines in the approximate radial directions and distances we want, editing their traverse commands to be exactly what we want, using commands like DD 90 200, DD 135 200, DD 180 200, DD 225 200, DD 270 200, and DD 315 200.    Note that since Direction + Distance (DD) format uses compass-style directions, we write the desired direction as positive numbers from 0 to 359.999...  We do not have to use integers, but could enter floating point numbers if that is what we wanted.

The end result is a drawing with eight lines, each of which is 200 units in length, and each of which is oriented in the desired direction.  

To create the map above, we added a labels layer called Radial Labels.   To create that labels layer, we first added a computed field to the drawing's table called Bearing360 that reports the direction of the line using 0 to 360 positive numbers:

The computed field uses an expression:

(GeomBearing([Geom]) + 360) MOD 360

to convert the +/- 0 to 180 numbers reported by the GeomBearing function into a zero to 360 range as used by directions.

We then created labels for the lines, using the Bearing360 field for the label text.

How did we get the effect of label text interrupting the line?   We used a simple hack as illustrated above.   The labels are styled to use a halo that is the same color as the background color of the map.  We used the color picker tool to set the color of the halo exactly the same as the background of the map.

The illustrations above show the map using a background color of white at above left, so the color and size of the label halos are evident, and a background color of gray at above right, to show how the label halos blend in to make it look like the label has interrupted the line.

Notes

Coordinate systems - The Coordinates tab reports values in the coordinate system of the active layer.   That might be confusing if we expect to see latitude and longitude decimal values and the layer uses some other coordinate system, such as Pseudo-Mercator, for which the coordinate values will be reported as long numbers in a meter based coordinate system.    When drawing paths to make measurements, to see coordinates reported as latitude and longitude decimal values the active layer must use the Latitude / Longitude coordinate system.

If we want to measure in a map in a layer that does not use Latitude / Longitude coordinate system, we can simply create a new, blank drawing using the Latitude / Longitude coordinate system, and then drag and drop that drawing into the map as a layer.   With the focus on that layer tab, we can use the Draw Path tool and the Coordinate tab will report values as latitude and longitude decimal values.

See Also

Info Pane

Info Pane: Component

Info Pane: Values

Info Pane: Style

Info Pane: Related

Info Pane: Pixels

Info Pane: Position

Info Pane and Images

Getting Started

User Interface Basics

Project Pane

Layers Pane

Style Pane

Transform Pane

Traverses

Maps

Drawings

Images

Labels

Selection

Style

Assign Initial Coordinate System

Repair Initial Coordinate System

Reproject Component

Traverses

Example: Edit Coordinates While Creating an Object - When creating an object in a map using a tool such as Create Area, right in the middle of the process we can edit coordinates in the Info pane Coordinates tab.   This example shows the step by step process.

Example: Edit Attributes and Move a Point - We look at the attributes for a point in a drawing layer and edit one of the attributes using a more expanded Edit dialog.  We then move the point to a new location. Easy!

Example: Edit Attributes, Larger Text, IME for Asian Languages - A tour showing how to edit attributes in a drawing using the Info pane Values tab and the expanded Edit dialog, including advanced Unicode facilities and use of the built in Input Method Editor (IME) to input text in Japanese language.

Example: Assign Initial Coordinate System - Use the Info pane to manually assign an initial coordinate system when importing from a format that does not specify the coordinate system.

Example: Change Projection of an Image - Use the Reproject Component command to change the projection of an image, raster data showing terrain elevations in a region of Florida, from Latitude / Longitude to Orthographic centered on Florida.

Example: Create Parcels from Traverse Files - Traverse files using Esri traverse file format are widely used by surveyors and government organizations in the US to define parcels and lines by describing a sequence of directions, distances and curves from a starting point.  Manifold automatically handles both tangent and non-tangent curves in Esri traverse file format as well as the full variety of options used to specify angles, distances and curves.  This video shows how it's easy to create a parcel from a traverse file.