The Basic Concepts of

Manifold System: An
Overview

The Manifold System 8.0

Manifold is a Geographic Information System (GIS) software

package.
Manifold System products are available in native, 64-bit editions
for use in x64 Windows operating systems.
Manifold is a "word processor for maps" that will let you create
new maps or edit existing maps.
It is also a "database system for maps" that will allow you to
embed database information into a map so that the map can be
used as a visual interface into the data.
It may be used to create new applications to work with maps,
images, surfaces and databases.

Key Ideas in Manifold

Although the functional areas covered by Manifold
capabilities are very broad, they have been
implemented in Manifold System using a common
set of user interfaces and a common set of key
ideas.
The key to mastering Manifold is to understand those
key ideas as follows:
1. Manifold requires Microsoft Windows fluency.
2. Manifold uses context sensitive windows, toolbars and panes.
3. Projects are the "documents" of Manifold.
4. The differences between drawings and images.
5. Formatting determines the appearance of drawings.

Key Ideas in Manifold

The key to mastering Manifold is to understand those
key ideas as follows:
6. Selection
7. Maps and Layers
8. Databases and Maps
9. Use the Transform toolbar for simple tasks
10. Use Layouts for printing

Manifold Main Window

Manifold launches a main window that becomes
populated with subsidiary windows as we open
projects and components of projects.

Manifold Main Window

Application Window

Menu Bar

Active
Window

Toolbars
Buttons
Project
Pane
Toolbars

Status
Bar

The Active Window

Only one window at a time is the active window in Microsoft Windows.

Clicking into a window or touching it in some way activates it to make it the
active window.
The active window is also said in some contexts to have the focus. When a
window is active its title bar changes to the highlighted color specified for
active windows.

The Project

Projects are the Manifold's main documents which use Manifold .map
project file format.
Components of projects are images, drawings, tables, labels, charts, maps
and other items.

The Project Components

Drawings consist of points, lines and areas and are normally imported from
"vector" file formats like .dxf, .shp, .mid/mif, .mfd/mdb and other formats.

The Project Components

Tables show data organized into rows and columns. Every row in a table is
a record. Every column in a table is a field. We will use the words "row"
and "record" interchangeably. We will also use the words "column" and
"field" interchangeably.

Table

The Project Components

Images are photographs or scanned data composed of pixels and normally
imported from "raster" file formats like .bmp, .gif, .jpg and similar.

The Project Components

Surfaces are like images in that they consist of pixels. Surfaces are used
to represent continuously varying data such as terrain elevation data and
are imported from a variety of formats such as DEM, SDTS and similar.

The Project Components

Terrains are 3D views of surfaces. Whenever Manifold imports or
creates a surface it will automatically create a terrain for that surface as
well.

The Project Components

Labels are components that contain text annotations that can be
manually created or automatically created from the information in a
drawing's table.

The Project Components

Map displays one or more drawings, images, surfaces or labels stacked
up as layers.

Are we ready for the

main topics?
I think so . . . .
Enjoy and Explore with Energy!!!
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