HDMapper™ Range Steps
Q: Is there an easy way to set a range of levels for a layer in HDMapper?
A: With TAP6.0.2154 or later and a Maintenance Subscription date of February 28, 2007, or later, you can use the “Set Range Levels” function in the Layer form of HDMapper.
Note that all values in this example are for demonstration purposes only. You should determine appropriate settings for your application.
For example, suppose you have a map of a coverage study created from HDCoverage:
The map shows two levels of signal, one below the computed required field value for the mobile configuration used in the study, and one showing locations where the field strength exceeds that minimum required value. In HDMapper you can assign other levels that you want to display on the map using the Add button to add levels.
If you wanted to see more gradation in the coverage area, you can use the Range Step function to automatically add more levels. Double click the coverage layer in the legend in HDMapper to display the Layer form for that layer:
Click the Tools menu and select Add Range Steps:
Then enter the value where you want to start the gradation, such as the required field level for the study, as a starting point. Enter the maximum level in the file for the stopping value. Finally, enter the step value for the amount of detail you want in the gradient:
When you press the Continue button, if the range and step values you have entered will produce more than ten levels, a confirmation form is displayed:
The Range Colors form is displayed to assign a range of colors to use for the new levels. (The colors assigned for new levels are created based on an algorithm to ensure unique values for each level.)
You can change the settings for the “Low” and “High” end of the gradient by clicking the Low or High label.
When you have set both the High and Low ends to create a gradient you want, click the Continue button.
The color gradient is assigned to the levels on the Layer form:
Note that the previous level settings are still on the form. You can edit, or delete, or change the color settings for any of the levels.
Click the Continue button on the Layers form. The new color settings are applied to the map layer:
The map shows the areas with a signal strength below the computed Required Field value in red, but now the areas with a signal strength that exceeds that required minimum are shaded with the selected color gradient. The shading enables you to get a better idea of the relative strength of the signal in these areas where the minimum Required Field is met.
The same kind of a gradient can be assigned to the areas with insufficient field strength to show how “bad” the signal level is. Double-click the layer legend entry again to display the Layers form:
Click the Tools menu and the Set Range Steps item:
Set a range of values:
Set the colors for that range:
The new ranges and color gradient is shown in the Layer form:
Click the Continue button on the Layers form to apply the ranges to the map:
Now the map shows the areas of coverage for the specified mobile required field. Both the areas of service and non-service show the relative values of field strength with a color gradient.
When the color gradient is applied, all of the levels are shown in the HDMapper legend:
In this example there are over 100 levels in the two color gradients applied. This is not usually a useful configuration. You can right-click on the legend entry to display a pop-up menu:
Click the Show Legend Details menu item to un-check it. The legend for that layer is collapsed:
The same process can be used to add numerous range steps and color gradients to show different signal levels that may be useful in your work:
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Copyright 2007 by SoftWright LLC