Routes
A route may be created by plotting it by hand on a chart, editing it's points
in the Waypoint/Route Editor, or by recording a boat's track.
Although routes are plotted and displayed on charts,
they are not specific to a particular chart. It is possible to begin plotting a
route on one chart and then continue on to another.
To begin plotting a route you should select from the
Routes submenu either Plan route or Measure route. The difference
between these options is that Measure route will not save
the route when it is complete. This option is used to measure the distance
without creating a route file.
When a route is being drawn you may click on any point on a chart to draw the
route. You may also drag the mouse.
- If you wish to delete the last point plotted on the
current route press Alt+E or select Delete last entered point on
route from the Routes menu or the toolbar (the pencil eraser).
- To stop recording a route press Alt+Enter or select Pointer
from the Tools menu or from the toolbar.
As a route is being drawn the lower left hand corner of the main Mariner window
will display the current coordinates of the mouse pointer and the route length.
When a route is complete it is either discarded (if you selected "measure route") or
it is loaded.
An existing route may be loaded at any time with the
Load existing route option from the Mariner Tools menu. When a route is loaded
it will be automatically loaded into all currently loaded
charts. To see what routes are loaded by the system, you may select Loaded
routes from the Mariner Tools menu. This option will display the list of all loaded
routes in their colors. Selecting any of the routes will display
a menu with the following options:
- Information will display the latitude/longitude coordinates of
the starting and ending points of the route as well as its length.
- Edit... will open the Route/Waypoint Editor that will allow you to change
any aspect of the route.
- Unload will unload the route from the system and all charts. The
route can be reloaded in the Route/Waypoint Editor.
Modifying a route in a Chart viewer window
- To see the name of the route, simply hover the mouse pointer over any part of the route (you don't need to click on it)
- To move any point of the route, press the left mouse button while the mouse is over that vertex and drag it.
The vertex selected will be highlighted with a small circle.
- To edit other properties of the route
(it's description, color, or the positions of it's vertices) double click any portion of the route.