Link Points

Link Points finds routes from a single point to all points on a selected overlay.

Select Applications > Points > Link Points.

This opens the Link From Single Point options:

The From point can be the current selected point or chosen from a list based on a selected overlay. The From point can be on the same overlay as the To points (or on a different overlay) so it is possible to determine how far it is from one feature to all others.

From: Overlay

  1. If a point item has been selected, the Use Selected Point tickbox will become active. Check this to display the associated overlay in the drop-down box. You can now proceed to the To: Overlay step below.
  2. If no point item has been selected, the Use Selected Point tickbox will be greyed out.
    To proceed, simply select an option from the Overlay dropdown menu.
  3. This will open the Select the point to link From window.

    4. Note: The overlays must be visible to appear in the From or To Overlay drop-down boxes in the Link From Single Point dialog.

  4. The columns displayed in this selection window are defined by the schema of the selected overlay.
  5. Select the required From item from the list and click OK.
  6. Control will now be returned to the Link From Single Point dialog.
  7. Select the required To: Overlay from the Link From Single Point dialog drop-down box.
  8. Select the required Measurement Option. These options are described in the Measurement Options topic.
  9. Click OK.

The route will now be calculated, a progress bar will be displayed, followed by a confirmation message stating the number of routes that have been created.

1. Creating routes (Example)

This example uses an SWD with four overlays:

  • Road network
  • Head Office
  • Regional Offices
  • Depots

In this example, select the Point item (Head Office) in the Head Office overlay.

  1. Click Link Points.
  2. This opens the Link From Single Point dialog.
  3. Check the Use Selected Point tickbox and the associated overlay will be shown in the From:Overlay drop-down box.
  4. Select the Depots overlay from the To: Overlay drop-down box.
  5. Select the required Measurement Option and click OK.

The following diagrams show the results obtained with different Measurement Options.

Note: The Road network overlay has been made invisible in these diagrams for clarity.

  • Using Shortest Distance measurement option:
  • Using Highways Speeds expression measurement option:
  • Using None - draw straight lines between end-points measurement option:

2. Applying Attributes to the Link-point route (Example)

This example draws a straight line between the North-East Regional Office and the Head Office with attributes applied to the resulting line:

  1. Start Link Points.
  2. In the Link From Single Point dialog select the first overlay; Regional Offices in this example.
  3. Select the point to link From; North-East in this example.
  1. Select the overlay to link to Head Office in this example.
  2. Select the required Measurement Option.
  3. Click the Line Attributes button. 
  4. The Match-line attributes dialog will be displayed:
  5. Check the tickbox for the District and Regional_Office attributes in the From overlay.
  6. Check the tickbox for the Region attribute in the To overlay.
  7. Click OK.
  • The created line with Match-line attributes applied:
  • The created line without Match-line attributes applied: