The Options dialog is where you can configure numerous settings for the Map Suite GIS Editor. These include user interface preferences, style defaults, how the application updates itself, and more. Configuration items in the Options dialog are divided into a variety of pages. To change which page of options you are looking at, select a page from the list on the left side of the dialog.

The General page covers general options that affect the overall GIS Editor application.

• Color scheme

  Sets the color scheme for the GIS Editor's user interface. Results in mostly subtle changes to the backgrounds and borders around windows.

• Mouse coordinates display

  When your mouse cursor is inside the map window, the GIS Editor displays the world coordinates of its location in real time. This option configures how you want those coordinates to be displayed. Options include:

  • Default - Displays two sets of mouse coordinates separated by a pipe character. The first set is the X/Y coordinates in the local coordinate system of the map's current projection. The second set is shown in Degrees Minutes Seconds.
  • Longitude/Latitude - Displays the current coordinates in Decimal Degrees, longitude first.
  • Latitude/Longitude - Displays the current coordinates in Decimal Degrees, latitude first.
  • Degrees Minutes Seconds - Displays the current coordinates in Degrees Minutes Seconds.

• Language

  Sets the user interface language, which controls the text that appears on toolbars, wizards, dialogs and other areas throughout the application. By default it will match the language you have chosen for your Windows operating system, and will fall back to English if your language is not available in the GIS Editor.

• Save auto-recover information

  When this checkbox is checked, the GIS Editor will save auto-recover information about your project every x minutes, where x is the number you enter in the provided text box. Auto-recover information can be used to reconstruct an unsaved project if the GIS Editor closes or your computer shuts down unexpectedly. This option does not automatically save over your project file as you work, so you do not need to worry about it saving changes that you don't intend to keep.

• Reset “Did You Know?” Dialogs

  From time to time, the GIS Editor may display a “Did You Know?” tip when you choose a particular tool or start a particular feature. These tips make you aware of special ways to use that tool or feature. By default, when you dismiss a “Did You Know?” tip, it will not appear again. If you want the tips to appear again, click the reset button here.

The Updates page configures the GIS Editor's self-updater, which can deliver new features and bug fixes for the application.

The automatic updater can check over the Internet for an updated version of the GIS Editor each time you start the application.

• Automatically check for updates when the GIS Editor starts

  When enabled, the GIS Editor will check online for a new version each time it starts up.

• When updates are found…

  Specifies what to do if the automatic updater finds a new version of the GIS Editor online.

  • Ask me what to do - Notifies you that a new version exists and lets you choose whether to download and install it. This is the default selection.
  • Automatically download - If a new version is found, automatically download it without notifying you. |

The Update Channel decides from where you want to receive application updates and what kind of updates you want.

• Production

  The Production channel will deliver only major new releases of the GIS Editor, or bug fixes that have been thoroughly tested. This is the default setting, and is ideal for most users.

• Developer

  The Developer channel will deliver daily updates containing the latest bugfixes and newest features, even if they have not yet been thoroughly tested. Ideal for users who are testing cutting-edge features or who need bug fixes as quickly as possible. Please note that updates delivered through the Developer channel may cause application instability or prevent you from opening saved projects.

This section allows you to apply an update package manually, without downloading it from a web-based update server. You will most likely not need to use these controls unless directed to do so by ThinkGeo support.

The Plugins page allows you to choose directories to store custom plugins for the GIS Editor. The Editor will automatically collect plugins that are stored in the set directories when it launches. You can add directories by using that “Add” button and browsing to the folder where your plugins are stored. Any plugins the Editor picks up will then be stored in the Plugin Manager. These directories can later be removed by selecting the folder in the list, and using the “Remove” button.

The Quick Access Toolbar page allows you to configure which buttons are shown on your Quick Access Toolbar. This toolbar is a row of small icons that appears at the very top of the GIS Editor main window. They are always visible no matter what area of the GIS Editor you're working in, making this toolbar a good place to put shortcuts to features that you use often.

The list on the left shows you all of the features and functions that you can put on your Quick Access Toolbar. To add a feature to the toolbar, select it in the list on the left, then click the “Add»” button.

The list on the right shows you the contents of your Quick Access Toolbar. To remove a button from the toolbar, select it from this list, then click the “«Remove” button. You can also use the “Up” and “Down” buttons to change the order in which the buttons will appear on your Quick Access Toolbar.

To reset your Quick Access Toolbar to its default contents, click the “Reset” button.

The Content page offers options for your map and how you interact with it.

• Limit the number of features drawn

  When enabled, this will limit the total number of features drawn per layer on each tile of the map to the number specified in the dropdown menu. When the GIS Editor draws a map, it divides it into a grid of square tiles to make rendering more efficient. Limiting the number of features drawn per tile can greatly speed up drawing in high-density scenarios where you have a lot of detailed data to display, but don't necessarily need to see the full resolution of that data when you are zoomed out very far. By default this option is disabled; however, you may want to enable it if you find drawing performance to be very slow in your scenario. See the Map Tiles section below for more options regarding map tiles.

• Zoom to the extent of new layers when they are added

  When enabled, this will automatically pan and/or zoom the map to fit the entire contents of a layer on your screen as soon as you add the layer to your map. Disabled by default.

• Enable cache

  Allows the GIS Editor to temporarily store map tile images on your computer for faster redrawing later. The cache gets cleared automatically when the GIS Editor shuts down. Enabled by default and highly recommended. See the Map Tiles section below for more options regarding the tile cache.

• Always show Style Wizard when a new layer is added

  When enabled, each time you add a layer to your map, the Style Wizard will appear and prompt you to style the layer. Enabled by default. Once you are familiar with how the GIS Editor's styling system works, you will most likely want to disable this. As a shortcut, you can also enable or disable this option from the Style Wizard itself.

• When adding layers manually, prompt to create a corresponding item in the Data Repository

  When you add a new layer by clicking the “Add Layers” button on the GIS Editor's ribbon bar and this option is enabled, you will be asked if you want to add the layer's parent folder to your Data Repository for quicker access later. Enabled by default.

• Show the Pan/Zoom controls on the map

  Selects whether you want to show the Pan/Zoom Controls on the map, which include the circular control pad and zoom bar. Enabled by default and highly recommended.

• Use high quality map rendering mode

  When enabled, anti-aliases vector features on the map to provide a smooth, high-quality appearance. Enabled by default. As this may cause a very slight performance decrease on some systems, you might try disabling this option if you want maximum map drawing speed.

When the GIS Editor draws a map, it divides it into a grid of square tiles to make rendering more efficient. These options let you control the settings for the map tiles as well as the tile cache.

• Tile size

  Lets you set the size of the map tiles that the GIS Editor draws. Defaults to 256 pixels square.

• Clear tile cache

  The next section shows you the current size of the tile cache, which contains stored copies of map tiles that the GIS Editor has previously rendered so that they can be drawn again very quickly in the future. Click the “Clear all cache” button to clear the tile cache immediately and reclaim the disk space it was using.

The Edit page lets you configure options for the GIS Editor's suite of editing tools.

• Prompt for attribute data whenever a new shape is created

  When you draw a new shape (feature) on your map and this option is enabled, you'll be prompted to fill in the attribute data for that feature when you finish drawing. Because this information can be filled in later using the Edit Data window, you may want to disable this option so that you can draw multiple features uninterrupted.

The Measurement page controls options for the GIS Editor's measuring tools.

• Distance unit

  Selects the unit of measure you want to use to label distance measurements (line shapes). Defaults to Meters.

• Area unit

  Selects the unit of measure you want to use to label area measurements (polygon shapes). Defaults to Square Meters.

• Show measurements in the Layer List

  When enabled, each measurement you draw will appear as a separate bar on the Layer List. Enabled by default.

The Error Report page lets you control the built-in error reporting system, which lets you inform ThinkGeo of problems with the GIS Editor and helps improve the application.

• Always show dialog for unexpected errors.

  When enabled, each time the GIS Editor encounters an unexpected error, it will display a message and allow you to submit the error report to ThinkGeo for analysis. You can provide ThinkGeo with details about what happened when the error occurred, or simply click the Send button to send the report without adding additional information. Enabled by default and highly recommended.

If you have disabled the “Always show Style Wizard when a new layer is added” option on the Content page, then the styles that you configure on the Default Styles page will be used automatically whenever you add a layer. You can configure a separate default style for point, line and area-based layers.

For more information about configuring these styles, see the articles on Point Styles, Line Styles and Area Styles.

• Use random colors

  When this checkbox is enabled, the color for the layer will be chosen at random when it is loaded onto your map. This randomizes the fill color for point- and area-based layers, and the line color for line-based layers. Enabled by default.