Item

Item is the root or base class for all other item classes. Item properties are valid for all Item sub-classes.

Properties

  • Alignment: _text_align&
    The combined horizontal and vertical alignment of text about its digitised position. The values have the same meaning as the Win32 function SetTextAlign(), with the addition of Middle alignment.

    Valid values are:
    SIS_TOP_LEFT
    SIS_TOP_RIGHT
    SIS_TOP_CENTRE
    SIS_BOTTOM_LEFT
    SIS_BOTTOM_RIGHT
    SIS_BOTTOM_CENTRE
    SIS_BASE_LEFT
    SIS_BASE_RIGHT
    SIS_BASE_CENTRE
    SIS_MIDDLE_LEFT
    SIS_MIDDLE_RIGHT
    SIS_MIDDLE_CENTRE

  • Bold: _text_bold&
    Is the text bold?

  • Box: _text_box&
    Should a box be drawn around BoxText characters?

  • Brush: _brush$
    The Brush used to cover any Polygon covered by the item.

  • Class name: _class$
    The class of the item. Use this value in API methods which require an item class, e.g. the formula$ argument in CreateClassTreeFilter.

  • Dataset: _dataset$
    The name of the item's dataset.

  • Description: _DESC$
    A textual description of the item. MapTips™ often display the description.

  • Dimension: _dimension&
    The dimension (or 'order') of an Item.
    A Point has dimension = 0
    A LineString has dimension = 1
    An Polygon has dimension = 2

  • Feature code: _FC&
    The feature code for the item. If an item has a feature code then its Pen, Brush, Symbol, etc. are taken from a Feature Table. You will not be able to change many of the item's properties until you remove the feature code. You can remove a feature code by clearing the item's Feature table property.

  • Feature table: _featureTable$
    The Feature Table which an item uses to get information about a feature code.

  • Font: _font$
    The font used to draw the text. SIS will look for a True-Type font which has the same name.

  • Horizontal: _bHorizontal&
    Should point geometry within this item force any Symbol to be drawn horizontally?

  • Horizontal alignment: _text_alignH&
    The horizontal alignment of text about its digitised position.

    Valid values are:
    SIS_LEFT
    SIS_CENTRE
    SIS_RIGHT

  • Italic: _text_italic&
    Is the text drawn italic?

  • Item class: _classLocal$
    The item's class. Every item has a class, which determines its appearance.

  • Item ID: _id&
    The ID of the item. Every item is automatically allocated an ID number which is unique within its dataset. The ID number for an item will stay the same for the lifetime of the item.

    Note: For cursor based datasets if the dataset is refreshed, for example when using pan or zoom or carrying out a Regenerate command, item ID numbers will be re-allocated and will therefore change.

  • Layer: _layer$
    The layer attribute of an item. You can enter any layer name on editable items. Layers can then be turned on an off using the session window. The concept of layers is used in many CAD systems, and in the AutoCAD DXF and DWG formats.

  • Length: _length#
    The length of the geometry in metres.

  • Level: _level&
    The level within an overlay that an item is drawn on. If lots of items are in one overlay, then you can control the order in which they are drawn by setting their levels.

  • Line Spacing: _line_spacing#

  • Maximum scale: _scalemax#
    The highest reproduction scale at which an item will be drawn. If you set this value to 1000, and then zoom out to 1:2000 the item will become invisible.

    This value is stored internally using a low precision byte. The value you enter will be rounded to the nearest valid value automatically.

  • Minimum scale: _scalemin#
    The lowest reproduction scale at which an item will be drawn. If you set this value to 100, and then zoom out to 1:50 the item will become invisible.

    This value is stored internally using a low precision byte. The value you enter will be rounded to the nearest valid value automatically.

  • Opaque: _text_opaque&
    Should text be drawn with an opaque background? If you make text opaque then the Text item's brush is used to colour in the space around the letters. This is useful to ensure that text is legible when it is drawn on top of complicated graphics.

  • Origin Latitude: _oLat#
    The latitude origin, in degrees.

  • Origin Latitude WGS84: _oLatWGS84#
    The latitude WGS84 origin, in degrees.

  • Origin Longitude: _oLon#
    The longitude origin, in degrees.

  • Origin Longitude WGS84: _oLonWGS84#

    The longitude WGS84 origin, in degrees.

  • Origin X: _ox#
    The X coordinate of the item's origin in metres from the dataset origin.

  • Origin Y: _oy#
    The Y coordinate of the item's origin in metres from the dataset origin.

  • Origin Z: _oz#
    The Z coordinate of the item's origin in metres from the dataset origin.

  • Outline: _text_outline&
    Is the Text to be drawn with an outline.

    The Brush property affects the outline colour and the Pen is used to colour the text.

  • Parent feature code: _parent_FC&
    The parent feature code.

  • Pen: _pen$
    The Pen used to draw the item.

  • Point height: _point_height&
    The height of the text in "points". Since SIS mapping data can be printed at any scale, the item's dataset scale is used to determine how big a "point" is in the real world. (You can use negative point sizes to fix the size of the text relative to the screen instead of relative to the real world.)

  • Scale: _scale#
    The scale of the Symbol. When Symbol objects are defined in a Named Object Library they are measured in paper units. You can use this scale property to make the Symbol larger or smaller that its designed size.

    Since SIS mapping data can be printed at any scale, the item's dataset scale is also used to scale the Symbol. (You can use negative point sizes to fix the size of the Symbol objects relative to the screen instead of relative to the real world.)

  • Symbol: _shape$
    The Symbol used to draw the point item.

  • Simple: _bSimple&
    Is the item simple?

  • Size in X: _sx#
    The width of the item in metres.

  • Size in Y: _sy#
    The height of the item in metres.

  • Size in Z: _sz#
    The depth of the item in metres.

  • Straight: _straight&
    Is the geometry completely made up of straight LineString item segments. In mapping datasets, most LineString items will be straight. But many CAD style drawings use curved geometry like circles, arcs and Beziers.

  • Thin in X: _thinX&
    Does all geometry in the item have the same X coordinate? This can be used in the initial stages of a data cleaning operation, to filter out LineString items which are horizontal (and are therefore probably Y grid lines).

  • Thin in Y: _thinY&
    Does all geometry in the item have the same Y coordinate? This can be used in the initial stages of a data cleaning operation, to filter out LineString items which are horizontal (and are therefore probably X grid lines).

  • Thin in Z: _thinZ&
    Does all geometry in the item have the same Z coordinate? This can be used to filter items which are completely on the XY plane (or on a parallel plane.) This is most likely to be used in the initial stages of a data cleaning operation.

  • Underlined: _text_underlined&
    Is the text underlined?

  • Upright: _text_upright&
    Are the Text letters always drawn upright? You can use this property to ensure that the Text letters are drawn and printed upright, even if the Text or the view is rotated.

  • URI (Hyperlink): _URI$
    The Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) associated with an item, which allows you to link to an object. This object could be a web page, an image file, or an application.

  • Vertical alignment: _text_alignV&
    The vertical alignment of the text about its digitised position.

    Valid values are:
    SIS_TOP
    SIS_MIDDLE
    SIS_BASELINE
    SIS_BOTTOM