[Xastir] Working with CAD Polygons

[Curt, WE7U]

On Wed, 2 Jul 2008, Jim Tolbert wrote:

> I am using Xastir on openSUSE 10.2.

You know openSuSE-11.0 is out, right?


> I have been able to put in the CAD polygons, but the labels are yellow text on
> a gray background and them seem to be small and blend into the topo map
> details.

The latest Xastir CVS code has added the ability to change the font
and font sizes for the menus and the map text.  I've been changing
the station text to display on a black background, so it is very
high contrast and shows up on the map well.

    Map->Configure->Station Text Style->Text on Black


> I was looking for a why to
> shade the areas that were of current interest ( high POS or new Intel) or
> shading sectors that have hit a high POD and no long of search interest.

I'd love that too, but it's not implemented in Xastir at this point.


> The mouse pointer menu has the Area Object with lots of options including
> bright colors and fills.....  I can put in various things, but not an object
> that covers are particular area.


> How are these Area Objects different from the CAD Polygons?

Area Objects are in the APRS spec and are somewhat limited.  You can
see examples of some of these here:

    http://wetnet.net/~we7u/xastir/SAR.html

CAD Polygons are entirely our own invention and not part of the APRS
spec, in fact they're not transmitted either.  They are just local
information and for local display.  They can be drawn to depict any
type of shape easily.


> No matter what I
> do, the object appears as a red dot with a title.

    Object/Item Create

Press the Area Object button.  This changes the dialog to give more
options at the bottom.

Name it and select the various options at the bottom.  Hit Create
New Object or Create New Item and you should see it show up.  Each
one has a "handle" you can use to drag it around or modify it later.


> What would be really cool is if the CAD polygons and signposts could pull data
> from a cell in OOCalc, for example!!!! and then with conditional formating,
> when values hit thresholds, they could change the appearance and information
> in the object.

I don't know OOCalc, but yea, that's the kind of thing I'd like to
eventually aim for.  If we're the right tool for the job at that
point.

-- 
Curt, WE7U.				archer at eskimo dot com
http://www.eskimo.com/~archer
  Lotto:  A tax on people who are bad at math. - unknown
Windows:  Microsoft's tax on computer illiterates. - WE7U.
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