NVTOOLS
DESCRIPTION OF FUNCTIONS
(see farther below for Release
History)
PROJECT WINDOW:
Fit Project to Screen: quickly resize a project and all its windows to fit one of several standard screen sizes equal to or smaller than the current screen size.
Facilitates frequent porting of projects between systems with different display sizes.
Custom Resize Window(s): quickly minimize, maximize, or resize to several pre-set percentages of the current screen size, all or selected document windows in the current project, either horizontally, vertically, or both.
About NVTools v4.0:
Extensions... (+ icon): implements the standard File, Extensions... functionality as a button for easier access.
- implements the standard Edit, Delete... functionality as a button for easier access.
Remove Document(s) (X icon):
Save Project As... (down-arrow copy icon): implements the standard File, Save Project As... functionality as a button for easier access.
Quit ArcView (Q icon): implements the standard File, Exit functionality as a button for easier access.
VIEW WINDOW:
Theme(s) To Bottom: send any and all currently selected (active)
Themes to the bottom of the Table of Contents, and thus of the display sequence, of the current View, maintaining their relative sequence among themselves. Facilitates rapid movement of
Themes within large Tables of Contents.
Theme(s) To Top: send any and all currently selected (active)
Themes to the top of the Table of Contents Reverse Themes: reverse the relative sequence of any and all currently selected (active)
Themes within the Table of Contents Sort Themes By Name: Sort by Theme name (ascending order, case INsensitive) the relative sequence of any and all currently selected (active)
Themes within the Table of Contents
Select All Themes: select (makes active) all Themes in the Table of Contents of the View. To deselect all
Themes, follow by Switch Selected Themes, or click then shift-click on any
Theme.
Switch Selected Themes: toggle selected (active) and unselected
Themes in the View to their opposite conditions.
Switch Selected Features:
new at version 4.0 (9/2006). Toggle
the Features selected in the currently active (or all) Theme(s). Formerly, this
could only be done via the Attribute Table, using Edit, Switch Selection.
NOTE: to select all Features, first press the Clear Selection (blank
page) button, then run Switch Selected Features. Clear Selection again to
select none.
Select Visible Theme(s): select (make active) only the
Themes currently being displayed in the View Toggle Display of Selected Theme(s): switch between visible (displayed) and invisible states for each selected (active)
Theme in the View. Display Off for Selected Theme(s):
turn off the display of (makes invisible) each selected (active) Theme in the
View. To turn on the display of each active Theme
Center on Selected: pan the display to re-center on the selected Feature(s) of the active Theme(s), without zooming or changing scale. When an active Theme has no Features selected, or is an Image or Grid Theme, the ENTIRE Theme is used for centering. NOTE: if the aggregate extent of the active selected Features exceeds the current display extent, it is possible that no Features, selected or not, will appear in the display after re-centering. This sometimes happens accidentally when more Themes and/or Features than intended were left selected.
Refresh Display:
force the current View to be completely re-drawn on the Display. Some standard ArcView® functions do not always update the display as
they should, and changes to Feature attributes can sometimes change which
Features are displayed. This function allows the user to refresh the View manually.
Copy View:
Default Coordinate Display:
display the View coordinates (right end of tool bar) in the View's current map units and projection.
Not available in unprojected Views unless the map (data) units are decimal
degrees. (This is already the default in unprojected Views.)
D-M-S Coordinate Display: display the View coordinates (right end of tool bar) in the degrees, minutes, and seconds. 2 Decimals in Default Coordinates: display two decimals in the default View coordinates (right end of tool bar). 7 Decimals in Default Coordinates:
display seven decimals in the default View coordinates (right end of tool bar).
About NVTools v4.0:
Replace/Convert Shapes/Attributes: new at version 4.0 (9/2006). Replace the selected Shape(s) and/or attribute(s) of the active or editable target Theme with a single selected View Graphic, or with a single selected Shape and/or its matching attributes from a source Theme, or with multiple Points (and/or matching attributes of the first Point), converting (when different) the Shapes, and/or all visible attributes of the same name, to the data type(s) in the target Theme. Otherwise operates similarly to the Append/Convert function above. If there is more than one View Graphic, and the user wishes to select one as a source, it must be selected without any Theme in edit mode, and the destination Theme (and only that Theme) must be active but not in edit mode when this function is invoked (otherwise, Theme Feature(s) will be selected instead of a Graphic). If the user does not use a Graphic and there are multiple eligible source Themes, the user is asked to choose a source Theme. Multiple selected source Points will replace destination Point Feature(s) with the average coordinates of the source Points. The user chooses whether to replace Shapes only, Shapes and attributes, or attributes only. This can be very useful in updating or restoring Shapes or attributes only without affecting the other, or in transferring and attaching separate tabular data to shapefile records. NOTE: the ability to replace Polygon(s) with a buffered Line or Point is not yet implemented in this function -- for now, you will have to use Append/Convert With Attributes to an intermediate Theme instead, then Replace/Convert with that Theme as the source.
Calculate Areas:
compute the areas of all or selected Polygons in all selected (active) and
editable Polygon Themes in a View, in square map units, acres, and hectares.
Requires a View with at least one active Polygon Theme with write permission.
Stores the results in Fields called Area, Acres, and Hectares, respectively, and
creates these Fields if necessary. CAUTION: non-numeric Fields of the same name will be deleted and replaced without warning!
The current map units must be set to a linear unit other than Decimal Degrees. The factor used for converting units is 1 meter = 39.37 inches. To ensure accurate area calculations, set your
View to a projection that creates minimal distortion for the region being displayed. Also consider using the
Clean/Generalize/Snap Feature(s) function first to ensure accurate results. Rerun this function if you change the View's projection to one using different units. Themes NEED NOT be in edit mode, and will be left in their current edit state. Changes can be reversed using the Undo Edits function,
or by abandoning edits, ONLY for the Theme currently being edited, if any.
Calculate Perimeters / Lengths: compute and store the lengths or perimeters of all or the selected
Lines or Polygons, respectively, in all selected (active) and editable Themes in a View, in the current map units of the View
Calculate Point Coordinates:
new at version 4.0 (9/2006). Compute and store the projected and/or unprojected X and Y
coordinates of all or the selected Points in all selected (active) and editable
Point Themes in a View, creating or recreating the needed Fields as necessary.
Requires a View with at least one active Point Theme with write permission. If Points are stored as projected coordinates, populates numeric
Fields Xcoord
and Ycoord with the coordinates of each Point. If Points are stored as
unprojected (decimal degree) coordinates, populates string Fields X_DMS and
Y_DMS with the unprojected coordinates of each Point, converted to degrees,
minutes, and seconds. Additionally, if the current View is projected, populates
numeric Fields X_proj and Y_proj with the projected coordinates of each Point.
CAUTION: Fields of the same name but different data type will be deleted and
replaced without warning! Rerun the function if you change the projection of the
View. Calculate From Grid (Requires Spatial Analyst extension): compute
and store the interpolated or cellular values of all or the selected Point
Features, or the maximum, minimum, and mean interpolated or cellular values of all or the selected
Line and Polygon Features, in all selected (active) vector Themes, from the
active (or only) Grid Theme in a View.
Plot Vector: display for optional editing the X and Y coordinates (in projected units, if any) of the start Point of a Line, and the great-circle distance (in the View's current distance units) and initial bearing (in degrees East of North) to the end Point of the Line, ignoring any intermediate vertices. If changes are entered to any of these parameters, the Line is updated accordingly. Also displays, but does not allow edits of, the Rhumb Line distance and constant bearing between the start and end Points. Similar to the Edit/Measure Vector tool, this function becomes available when there is a Line Theme in edit mode with a single selected Line Feature, or otherwise when a single Line Graphic is selected in the View. Changes to Line Features resulting from use of this tool may be reversed with the Undo Edits function, or by abandoning edits when done. Changes to Graphic Lines can be undone if the Graphics Select tool is active during any changes. NOTE: works only with projected or unprojected decimal-degree data! NOTE: vector calculations are based on the Spheroid currently in use by the View (if any, or on the Clarke 1866 Spheroid by default), and DO NOT take into account the elevations of the end Points. Calculations may become somewhat inaccurate, and changes less repeatable, at very long distances and with data based on other Spheroids. This tool is therefore NOT SUITABLE for precise survey applications. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I am indebted to Ed Williams' Aviation Formulary v1.38 (http://williams.best.vwh.net/avform.htm, accessed 21 May 2003) for the formulas implemented in this function.
Analyze Segment Lengths: replaced at version 4.0 (9/2006). Report statistics on the segment lengths between vertices of all or selected Lines or Polygons in all active Themes, in support of the Average/Smooth Selected Feature(s) function below. Statistics include minimum, maximum, and average segment lengths between consecutive vertices within each arc of a Feature (not between arcs or between Features), total numbers of Themes, Shapes, and vertices analyzed, and the number of vertices determined to be coincident. Coincident vertices are EXCLUDED from the minimum and average segment length statistics, and are reported as a separate total. Coincident vertices are considered to be those separated by a distance of 0.0000001 map units or less. NOTE: replaces the old Minimum Uncleanable Distances function, which was used with the old Clean Features function.
Average/Smooth Selected Feature(s):
new at version 4.0
(9/2006). Move/reshape selected Features of the editable or active
Theme to the average position or "best-fit" smoothed path, distance-weighted within a user-specified averaging radius. The coordinates of each Point
or vertex of each selected Feature are averaged with all other Points
or vertices of selected Feature(s) within the user's averaging radius, on a root-distance-weighted basis
(Points at or past maximum radius have 0 weight, at 1/2 radius about 0.71, at
1/4 radius about 0.87, and at same position 1 weight) to create a replacement Point or
vertex. New averaged vertices are retained or added when they are at least the user's minimum
segment length from the preceding vertex; otherwise they are dropped (weeded).
Replaced Point Features less than the user's minimum distance from the preceding
replaced Point will be SNAPPED to the coordinates of the preceding replaced
Point. (General Snapping itself is, however, DISABLED during the averaging and
smoothing process. The selected Features
may be snapped later by using the Clean/Generalize/Snap Feature(s) function.) Each
Feature is cleaned at highest quality, and
contiguous PolyLine segments are connected, prior to averaging (see
Clean/Generalize/Snap Feature(s) function). NOTE: when a
single Polygon is selected to average with itself, the resulting replacement
Polygon is resized and repositioned to occupy the same area and center as the
original. (This counteracts shrinkage of Polygons due to the algorithm's
tendency to move curved paths toward their concave sides.) NOTE: Polygon and
PolyLine vertices are densified to half (0.5) the user's minimum segment
length
before averaging, to improve smoothing results. Depending on the minimum
segment length specified, therefore, the replaced Features may contain fewer or
more vertices than the originals. In general, the minimum segment length should be
set to the smallest meaningful distance between vertices in the original data;
superfluous densified vertices may be removed later by using the
Clean/Generalize/Snap Feature(s) function with a
small weeding tolerance. HOWEVER,
smaller minimum distance settings also dramatically increase processing times,
especially for Features with large path lengths! RECOMMENDATIONS: Useful for generating approximate "best fits" to relatively
noisy and/or low-resolution spatial data representing curved or coincident paths
or Points, such as
those generated by recreational-grade GPS equipment or by hand-digitizing
without snapping. In general, for
Line/Polygon data with relatively uniform segment lengths (average 1-3x the
minimum), start with an averaging radius no less than 75% of the average
segment length (see Analyze Segment Lengths
function), and a minimum distance no less than 50% of the average segment
length, to
produce results with about the same number of vertices as the original data.
For data with a wider range of segment lengths, use a minimum segment length no less
than the minimum "significant" segment length in the original data (again see
Analyze Segment Lengths function), and an averaging radius no less than
150% of that length. This will usually increase the number of vertices
(sometimes greatly so, with long processing times) between the larger intervals;
use the Clean/Generalize/Snap Feature(s) function, with a
Weeding Tolerance
of about 10-15% of the minimum "significant" interval, to then remove the
superfluous vertices. In either case, try to keep the ratio of the
averaging radius to minimum segment length at about 3:2. Also useful for
generalizing/densifying Line/Polygon data to a consistent segment length:
enter averaging radius of 0, and desired segment length. Also useful for
averaging Point data: just select an averaging radius guaranteed to include
all desired Points, and a minimum distance of 0, then delete all but one of the
replaced Points. Clean/Generalize/Snap Feature(s):
Reverse Line(s): new at version 4.0 (9/2006). Reverse the order of vertices in all or selected Line Features of a single editable or active theme. (Grayed out if no Line Theme is selected.) If general snapping is enabled, all or the selected features will be snapped based on the currently set General Snapping Tolerance (some features may be lost due to snapping). NOTE: The changes resulting from this function may be reversed with the Undo Edits function, or by abandoning edits when done. RECOMMENDATION: useful when Lines are to be connected (Unioned, then Cleaned) as one Feature, but one or more component Line(s) have opposite directional sequences. Use this function to give the same direction to all component Lines prior to connecting.
Fill In Hole(s):
new at version
4.0
(9/2006). Fill and remove hole(s) in all or selected Polygons (or
PolyLine representations thereof) in the editable or active Theme. Line
Features are converted to Polygons, any resulting hole(s) removed, then
converted back to Line Features. If general snapping is enabled, all or the
selected features will be snapped based on the currently set General Snapping
Tolerance (some features may be lost due to snapping). NOTE:
The changes resulting from this function may be reversed with the Undo Edits
function, or by abandoning edits when done. Detach Multiple Features:
Surround Shape(s) With Polygon/Graphic: new at version 4.0 (9/2006). Create the minimum convex Polygon or Line (minimum-perimeter convex hull) surrounding all selected (only) Feature(s) of ALL active Theme(s). Only active Themes with selected Features will be included; Themes without selected Features are ignored. If a Polygon or PolyLine Theme is in edit mode, the resulting Feature is added to the editable Theme with no attributes. Otherwise, the resulting Polygon is added as the only selected Graphic on the View. RECOMMENDATION: this function may be used on any number and combination of Features and Themes, and is thus a versatile tool for creating collective and/or generalized boundaries for Feature(s) of interest.
Resize/Scale Feature(s)/Graphic(s):
new at version
4.0
(9/2006). Proportionally resize all or selected Features of a single
editable or active Theme, OR all selected View Graphic Feature(s). If no
Theme is currently being edited, any selected View Graphic(s) are used instead.
If there are no selected View Graphic(s), any single active Theme becomes the
editable Theme for resizing. General Snapping is DISabled during resizing.
Resizing is specified either by an average positive or negative distance (in
current Map Units) or by a percentage of current size(s). Any non-zero average
distance entered takes precedence over any percentage entered. When more than
one non-point Feature is available, the user also chooses whether to apply the
requested resizing to the collective group of Features also, or only to each
individual Feature. (Points may ONLY be resized as a group, and a single Point
may not be resized.) If group resizing is requested, a specified distance
applies to the group ONLY; Feature(s) included in the group are resized by the
same proportion (and thus by smaller distances) as the group. When a percentage
is specified, group resizing changes both the group AND all included Features by
that same percentage. Negative distances shrink Features or groups; positive
distances expand them. Percentages between -100% and 100% shrink groups and/or
Features; percentages greater than 100% expand them. 100 is added to any
negative percentage; i.e., -20% is the same as requesting 80% of current size.
ANY ZERO-SIZE FEATURES RESULTING FROM RESIZING ARE DROPPED FROM THE DATA. NOTE:
The changes resulting from this function may be reversed with the Undo Edits
function, or by abandoning edits when done. NOTE: distances specified are
averages because Features maintain their same proportions when resized. Resized
distances will be greater than requested in the longer dimension, and lesser in
the shorter dimension, for any Feature, unless it is a circle or other equi-dimensional
Shape. About NVTools v4.0:
Start Editing (pencil/paper write icon):
Stop Editing (hand icon):
Union Features/Graphics (U icon):
Save Edits (check-mark icon):
Undo Edits (arrow undo icon):
Cut Features/Graphics (scissors cut icon): implements the standard Edit, Cut
Features/Graphics functionality as a button for easier access. Copy Features/Graphics (page
copy icon): Paste Features/Graphics (clipboard paste icon):
Center (boxed dot icon): implements the Center on Selected function from the NVTools-View menu for easier access.
Refresh (refresh arrows icon): implements the Refresh Display function from the NVTools-View menu for easier access.
Coordinate Display Tool:
Default Coordinate Display (D icon)
D-M-S Coordinate Display (M icon)
2 Decimals in Default Coordinates (2 icon)
7 Decimals in Default Coordinates (7 icon)
Edit/Measure Vector Tool ( / icon): edit a Line Feature or Line Graphic, followed by a display of the new starting Point coordinates (unprojected), great-circle distance (in current distance units), initial bearing (degrees East of North), compass direction to the end Point of the Line (ignoring any intermediate vertices), Rhumb Line distance, and constant bearing between the start and end Points. Similar to the Plot Vector function, this tool becomes available when there is a Line Theme in edit mode with a single selected Line Feature, or otherwise when a single Line Graphic is selected in the View. Functions like the standard Vertex Edit tool for a Line, except that after each edit, the information dialog pops up. After dismissing the dialog, the selected Line Feature or Graphic remains available for further vertex editing and further vector displays. If this tool is used to render all Lines unselected, the tool immediately becomes inactive and no longer functions. You must then re-select a Line Feature or Graphic with one of the standard selection tools before the Edit/Display Vector tool becomes available again. Changes resulting from use of this tool may be reversed with the Undo Edits function, or by abandoning Feature edits when done. NOTE: works only with projected or unprojected decimal-degree data! NOTE: vector calculations are based on the Spheroid currently in use by the View (if any, or on the Clarke 1866 Spheroid by default), and DO NOT take into account the elevations of the end Points. Calculations may become somewhat inaccurate at very long distances and with data based on other Spheroids. This tool is therefore NOT SUITABLE for precise survey applications. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I am indebted to Ed Williams' Aviation Formulary v1.38 (http://williams.best.vwh.net/avform.htm, accessed 21 May 2003) for the formulas implemented in this tool.
Feature Count Tool (N icon): new at version 4.0 (9/2006). Click this tool to display count(s) of the total (and selected, if any) number of records in any single active or editable Feature Theme. This information can otherwise be obtained only by visiting the Attribute Table for that Theme. If the Theme has a definition in effect resulting in fewer available records than in the source file, also displays the total number of records in the source (this information cannot be obtained elsewhere). If more than one Theme, and/or a raster or other non-Feature Theme, is active, the tool is grayed out and displays a count of the View Graphics (if any), along with information on counting a Theme. NOTE: this tool must be clicked each time it is used with a Theme; merely hovering over the tool may display an outdated count if a new selection on the currently active Theme was just performed. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: enhanced from from a similar button implemented in the Mapper® module of NatureServe's® Biotics® 4 software.
Change Interactive Snapping Theme:
Change Interactive Snapping Distance: new at version 4.0 (9/2006). Enter a new Interactive Snapping Tolerance distance. Not available unless Interactive Snapping is enabled in the editable Polygon or Line Theme. Eliminates the need to stop a Feature edit process in order to enter or draw a new tolerance.
Lock Snap-to Mode ON / UNLock Snap-to Mode: new at version 4.0 (9/2006). Keep the preceding interactive Snap-to choice ON for consecutive vertices until UNLocked or the interactive snapping Theme is changed. Not available unless Interactive Snapping is enabled in the editable Polygon or Line Theme. Facilitates multiple consecutive snaps of the same kind without having to reselect the type before clicking each new vertex. Locking must occur immediately after selecting a snap-to mode (vertex, boundary, intersection, or endpoint) from the Pop-up Menu; otherwise all snap-to modes are canceled again. Once locked, all Snap-to mode choices remain hidden in the Pop-up Menu until UNLocked again. Unlocking occurs automatically at the conclusion of the current Feature edit, or when the interactive snapping Theme is changed (see above).
TABLE WINDOW:
Add/Copy Record(s): Add a user-specified number of records, up to 9,999 at a time, to the current Table when in Edit mode. When a single record in the Table is currently selected, the user may choose to copy the values of the visible Fields from this record into each new record, and this is done automatically when the record comprises a Shape and its attributes in a Feature Attribute Table. (To exclude data in any Field, first modify the Table's properties to hide that Field.) Otherwise, only blank records are added, and only if the Table is not a Feature Attribute Table (otherwise, null Shapes would be added to the shapefile). The added record(s) become the new set of selected records in the Table, for ease of further processing. The changes resulting from this function may be reversed with the Undo Edits function, or by abandoning edits when done.
Append From Table: add all or selected record(s) of next open Table (as in the ArcView® Join function) to the bottom of the current Table when in Edit mode, leaving the source Table open. The destination Table CANNOT be a shapefile; the source Table MAY be a shapefile. (To append Shapes with their attributes, see the Append/Convert With Attributes function of a View's NVTools-Theme menu). Data from all visible non-Shape Fields of the same name, and with compatible or convertible data types, are transferred to the new records. (To exclude or protect data in any Field, first modify the destination Table's properties to hide that Field. To force data into a Field, first ensure it has the same name or alias in both Tables.) All data conversions except those between date and logical (Boolean) Fields will be attempted. If multiple Fields of the same name exist in the source Table, only data from the last (farthest right) such Field with convertible data type will be used. Hidden Fields and Fields without compatible names and data types are left blank in the new record(s). Any and all records added become the new set of selected records in the destination Table, for ease of further processing. The changes resulting from this function may be reversed with the Undo Edits function, or by abandoning edits when done.
Replace with Joined Fields: populate visible permanent Fields, in all or selected records of a Table in edit mode, with values from joined Fields of the same name, converting between data types as necessary. To exclude data from any Field, modify the Table's properties to hide that Field. All data conversions except those between date and logical (Boolean) Fields will be attempted. If multiple joined Fields of the same name exist, only data from the last (farthest right) joined Field with convertible data type will be used. Hidden Fields and Fields without a compatible joined Field are left unchanged. The joined Fields remain attached until the user explicitly Removes All Joins. The changes resulting from this function may be reversed with the Undo Edits function, or by abandoning edits when done. NOTE: the desired matching Field names or aliases must exist PRIOR to joining them, since ArcView® will not allow the user to create duplicate Field aliases in the same Table interactively.
Populate RecordID Field: Replace all or selected zero or null values in the RecordID Field, in the current Table, with sequential numbers starting after the highest number already present in the RecordID Field (in all records of the Table). If the Field does not already exist, it is created and added to the Table, and all records are populated regardless of the currently selected records. If the Field exists but is not numeric, no changes are permitted. The Table NEED NOT be in edit mode, and will be left in its current edit state. Changes can be reversed using the Undo Edits function, or by abandoning edits, ONLY if the Table was already in edit mode.
Go To Theme: new at version 4.0 (9/2006). Open the View window containing the Theme associated with the current Table, making that Theme the only active Theme in the View. Provides functionality the reverse of the standard Open Theme Table function in Views. RECOMMENDATION: to ensure data integrity, Tables representing Theme attributes should be opened and closed for editing ONLY by editing and saving the Theme through its View document (except for Event Themes). If the "T" Button (next to the Start Editing Button) is available (not grayed out), this indicates that there is an associated Theme that should be edited instead. (A future release of NVTools will force this to occur.)
About NVTools v4.0: Displays information about the NVTools extension.
Field Properties: display the properties and other attributes of the currently selected Field. (Yes, strangely enough, the standard ArcView® interface does not provide such a function!) The user must click on a Field heading in a Table before this function becomes available. NOTE: this function is also implemented as a button (using the property sheet icon) for easier access (see below).
Hide/Unhide Fields: new at version 4.0 (9/2006). Hide, unhide, or toggle the visible states of all Fields in a Table. At least one Field (the Shape or other first Field by default) will always remain visible. This can be useful for initiating visibility changes in a Table with numerous Fields, after which visibility can be fine-tuned through the Table, Properties interface.
Copy Field(s) as New: new at version 4.0 (9/2006). Add new blank permanent Fields to the Table currently being edited, from all or the selected field(s) of next open table (as in the ArcView® Join function). Copies the name and format, but NOT the data, from the source Field(s). Fields with the same Alias or disk names as those in the destination Table, hidden fields, and the Shape field (if any), are not available for copying. If an active Field (header clicked) exists in the source Table and is available, only that Field will be made available for copying. Otherwise, the user must first deactivate (click header again) that Field to make other Fields in the source Table available. UNLIKE in the ArcView® Join function, the source table is NOT automatically closed after the field(s) are copied.
About NVTools v4.0: Displays information about the NVTools extension.
Link (tables link icon):
Field Properties (property sheet icon): implements the Field Properties function from the NVTools-Field menu for easier access.
Go To Theme (T icon): new at version
4.0
(9/2006). Implements the Go To Theme function
from the NVTools-Table menu for easier access. Start Editing (pencil/paper write icon): Stop Editing (hand icon):
Save Edits (check-mark icon): implements the standard Table, Save Edits functionality as a button for easier access.
Undo Edits (arrow undo icon): implements the standard Edit, Undo Edit functionality as a button for easier access.
Cut From Cell (scissors cut icon):
Copy Cell Value (page copy icon):
new at version
4.0
(9/2006). Click on any Table cell to copy its contents to the System
Clipboard. Available anytime! - edit mode not required. Clicking on another
cell overwrites the previously copied value on the Clipboard. Results of each
Copy click are displayed in the Status Bar at the bottom of the ArcView® window.
RECOMMENDATION: EXTREMELY HELPFUL for quickly copying tabular ArcView®
data, both within ArcView® and to other applications. Previously the Table would
first have to be placed in edit mode, the Edit, Copy (or Ctrl-C) chosen, to
accomplish the same task. Paste To Cell (clipboard paste icon):
SCRIPT WINDOW:
Find (binoculars find icon): implements the standard Script, Edit, Find functionality as a button for easier access.
Find Next (binoculars arrow icon): implements the standard Script, Edit, Find Next functionality as a button for easier access.
Replace (A/B arrows replace icon): implements the standard Script, Edit, Replace functionality as a button for easier access.
Version 4.0: public release of earlier major upgrades, 20 September 2006
Added four Buttons to the Project window, for more convenient access to certain standard functions.
Added the ability to Switch Selected Features from the View, NVTools-View menu. Selected sets of records in multiple active Themes may now be inverted quickly and easily without needing to visit the attribute Table of each Theme.
Added a Copy View function to the NVTools-View menu, to permit an entire View document to be replicated in a Project.
Added several new and useful functions to the NVTools-Theme menu, including Calculate Point Coordinates, Replace/Convert Shapes/Attributes, Average/Smooth Selected Feature(s), Reverse Line(s), Fill In Hole(s), Surround Shape(s) with Polygon/Graphic, and Resize/Scale Feature(s)/Graphic(s). See the linked function descriptions for more information.
Renamed the Copy/Convert with Attributes feature (View, NVTools-Theme menu) to Append/Convert with Attributes to better describe its function, and added further versatility when converting between different Shape types. Multiple source Points may now be buffered and appended as Polygons, or may be used (in source sequence, selected or not) as the vertices of an appended Polygon or PolyLine. Source PolyLine(s) may now be buffered and appended as Polygon(s), or converted directly to Polygon(s) as before. Polygons and PolyLines will now optionally convert to multiple vertex Points, or to centroid Points as before. As before, visible attributes of the same name will be appended along with their Shape(s), and attributes of matching names but different data types will convert to the destination data type whenever logically possible. Also, improved display performance with large data sets by not automatically selecting and displaying appended Features.
Replaced and renamed the Analyze Segment Lengths function (formerly Minimum Uncleanable Distances) in the NVTools-Theme menu to support the Average/Smooth Selected Feature(s) function.
Replaced and renamed the Clean/Generalize/Snap Feature(s) function in the NVTools-Theme menu with a simpler and more robust algorithm incorporating the Douglas - Peucker method.
Modified several of the Shape copying/editing functions in the NVTools-Theme menu so that, when a single Theme in edit mode is required and not present, but a single editable Feature Theme is active, that Theme is automatically placed (and left) in edit mode.
Added a Feature Count tool to the View Tools, for easy display of numbers of selected and total Features or Graphics.
Added three items to the View Editing Context (Pop-up) Menu (right-click during Feature editing) to enhance ease and versatility of Interactive Snapping during Feature editing. See Change Interactive Snapping Theme, Change Interactive Snapping Distance, and Lock/Unlock Snap-to Mode for details.
Created a new NVTools-Field Menu on the Table interface, transferred the Field Properties function to that Menu, and added two new Field-related functions. See Hide/Unhide Fields and Copy Field(s) as New for details.
Add a Go To Theme function to the NVTools-Table Menu and to the Table Buttons (opposite of the standard Open Theme Table).
Added three tools to the Table Tools for enhanced access to/from the Clipboard for tabular data. See Cut From Cell, Copy Cell Value, and Paste To Cell for details. Copy Cell Value is especially handy since the Table need not be in edit mode for it to work.
Changed NVTools functions that operate between two Tables so as NOT to close the source Table after completion.
Added or improved progress bars and user-interruption capabilities in several functions prone to long processing times.
Fixed bugs in some functions that prevented correct operation with projected data sets and/or unprojected Views.
Reorganized and standardized formatting of this Documentation for better access and readability.
Versions 3.32-3.41: undocumented internal upgrade/maintenance releases, including most of the v4.0 changes, 2003-2006
Version 3.31: maintenance release, 22 August 2003
Added three new Buttons to the Script interface to more conveniently implement the standard Find, Find Next, and Replace functions.
Clarified (through help and process messages) the conditions that must be met before certain functions can be performed (edit mode, appropriate Themes or Features selected, etc.), and what actions certain of the more versatile functions (such as Append/Convert with Attributes and Add/Copy Records) are about to perform.
Created a more familiar icon for the Refresh button on the View interface.
Version 3.3: 21 August 2003.
Added a new Center on Selected function to the NVTools-View menu, and implemented the same function as a new Button on the View interface. See above for full description.
Added a new Refresh Display function to the NVTools-View menu, and implemented the same function as a new Button on the View interface. See above for full description.
Rearranged Buttons on the View interface so that the most useful ones would fit and remain visible on monitors 800 or fewer pixels wide. All buttons should still be visible on monitors 1024 or more pixels wide (unless they are crowded out by other installed extensions).
Version 3.21: maintenance release, 3 June 2003
Added a Field Properties display function to the NVTools-Table menu, and implemented the same function as a new Button on the Table interface.
Version 3.2: 2 June 2003.
Added a new NVTools-Table menu to the Table interface, and moved the Add/Copy Records and RecordID functions (formerly available as buttons) to this menu.
Added an Append From Table function to the NVTools-Table menu. See above for full description.
Added a Copy/Paste Joined Fields function to the NVTools-Table menu. See above for full description.
Modified a script (NVTools.RecordCopy) that various functions use to copy Field data between (or within) Table records so that only Fields currently visible to the user are copied or pasted into, and so that when multiple source Fields of the same name or alias exist in the same source Table, only data from the last such source Field (displaying farthest to the right) with a convertible data type are copied to the destination Field . This affects the following functions: Append/Convert With Attributes, Detach Multiple Features, Add/Copy Record(s), Append From Table, and Copy/Paste Joined Fields.
Version 3.11: maintenance release, 28 May 2003.
Added display of distance and constant bearing along a Rhumb Line to the Plot Vector function and the Edit/Measure Vector tool.
Version 3.1: 21 May 2003.
Added the Plot Vector function to the NVTools-Theme menu, and the Edit/Measure Vector tool (with line icon) to the Toolbar, of the View interface. See above for full description.
Version 3.02: maintenance release, 13 March 2003.
Renamed the Copy/Paste with Attributes feature (View, NVTools-Theme menu) to Copy/Convert with Attributes, and enhanced the feature for more versatility when converting between different Shape types and attribute data types. Copying Line or Polygon Features to a Point Theme will now generate centroid Point records for those Features, retaining all convertible attributes with the same Field name or alias. As before, copying Polygons to a Line Theme or vice versa will also perform the appropriate Shape conversion. And as before, copying data between Fields of the same name but different data types will convert the data to the destination data type whenever logically possible.
Version 3.01: maintenance release, 17 January 2003.
Enhanced Shape-editing functions (Append/Convert with Attributes, Clean Features, Detach Multiple Features) to ensure that existing or newly-created empty, null, or zero-size Polygons and PolyLines (resulting from General Snapping or other causes) would never be added to shapefiles, to improve information reporting before and after these processes, and to ensure that Clean Features would remove all such Features found or created within the user's scope (selected or all records).
Improved display quality of the on-line documentation.
Version 3.0: initial public release, 14 January 2003.
(last updated 20 September 2006)