Graphic Editor – MIDAS Support

Function

Midas Graphic Editor linked to MIDAS Family Program is a vector-based graphic editor, which is readily used to edit and print various types of Graphic files. Graphic Editor can freely add or edit all types of statements in BMP or EMF (enhanced metafile) files created by midas Civil. It enables the user to prepare refined presentation documents. In addition, Graphic Editor can be used analogous to the drawing functions of MS-Powerpoint and Word.

Drawing

Similar to the majority of graphic editors, midas Graphic editor supports a variety of drawing functions.

Straight line
Polygon
Rectangle
Curve
Closed curve
Ellipse (Circle)
Character
Bitmap image
Windows Enhanced Metafile (EMF) image

Editing

Midas Graphic editor provides a variety of editing functions to manipulate drawn images and figures.

Select
Move
Rotate
Change Size
Point Edit
Align
Cut, Copy, Paste
Grouping/ Ungrouping (Grouping/ Ungrouping)
Stacking Order, Z-Order

Call

From main menu, select [Apps] tab > [Editor] group > [Graphic Editor]

Input

Drawing

Function	Directions
Draw Straight Line	Click & Draw Line. Then, left-click the start point and drag the mouse to the desired position.
Draw Continuous Poly Line	Click & Draw Poly line. Then, click consecutively the points to draw connecting lines. Double-click the last point to finish. If the mouse is right-clicked along the way, the drawing will be cancelled.
Draw Rectangle	Click & Draw Rectangle. Then, click the top-left corner of the rectangle and drag the mouse to the bottom-right corner.
Draw Polygon	Click & Draw Polygon. Then, click the corners of the polygon and double-click the last point to finish. If the mouse is right-clicked along the way, the drawing will be cancelled.
Draw Continuous Poly Curve	Click & Draw Poly Curve. Then, click the control points of the curve and double-click the last point. A single curve is formed by the end points, which passes through two intermediate control points. If the mouse is right-clicked along the way, the drawing will be cancelled.
Draw Closed Curve	Click & raw Closed Curve. Then, click the control points of the closed curve and double-click the last point. A single curve is formed by the end points, which passes through two intermediate control points. If the mouse is right-clicked along the way, the drawing will be cancelled. The surface of the closed curve can be filled in with a desired color.
Draw Ellipse	Click & Draw Ellipse. Then, click the top-left corner of the rectangle on the circumference of the ellipse and drag the mouse to the bottom-right corner.
Insert Text	Click & Insert Text. Then, click the desired position with the mouse. "TEXT" character appears. Double-click the character and type in the text. Right-click the mouse and select [Properties...] from the menu to setup the font and borders.
Insert Image	Click & Insert Image. Then the Open File dialog box appears. Select the image file and click the insert position. Once the image is inserted, the size and position can be adjusted.

When a particular element is to be drawn to the same proportion or orthogonally, hold down [Shift] and draw the element.

Editing

Select

By default, the Graphic Editor is in the selection mode. If it is not in the selection mode, click on "Selection" to set it to the selection mode. When in the selection mode, clicking on an object will select that object. To select multiple objects, either drag the mouse while holding down the left button or click on each object while holding down the [Ctrl] key. The last selected object becomes the "reference" object and is distinguished by a gray selection handle. This "reference" object is used as the reference point in alignment functions. If you want to change the "reference" object, simply click on the new reference object while holding down the [Ctrl] key. To prevent a specific object from being selected among multiple objects, hold down the [Shift] key and click on that particular object.

Move

If the cursor is moved to the center part of the object selected in the Select mode, the cursor switches to the Move mode. At this time, left-click and drag the mouse to move the object to a desired position. If the Grid Snap option is active, the motion follows the snapped grids.

If an object is to be moved precisely, it may be effective to use the motion icons. Clicking a relevant icon once moves the object by 1 unit. Clicking an icon while holding down [Shift] moves the object by 5 units.

Align

Objects can be easily arranged by the Align functions. If several objects are selected, the 'reference' object with gray handles becomes the aligning reference.

: Align relative to top

: Align relative to horizontal center

: Align relative to bottom

: Align relative to left

: Align relative to vertical center

: Align relative to right

The regular spacing icons arrange the selected objects at a regular spacing.

: Equal horizontal spacing

: Equal vertical spacing

The Size Align icons fit all the selected objects to identical dimensions. If several objects are selected, the 'reference' object with gray handles becomes the fitting reference.

: Fit horizontal size

: Fit vertical size

: Fit horizontal / vertical sizes

Rotate

Click the Rotate icons to rotate selected object(s).

The Rotate icons feature "Free Rotation", "Rotate 90¡Æ to left", "Rotate 90¡Æ to right", "Horizontally Symmetric Rotation" and "Vertically Symmetric Rotation" functions. When "Free Rotation" is to be selected, move the cursor to the selected object then the cursor transforms into an icon. At this time, keep the mouse left-clicked and move the mouse to freely rotate the object(s).

Change Size

To find out if the size of the selected object can be changed, place the pointer on a handle of the object then the pointer will transform into a double-arrow signaling that the size of the object can be changed. The size can be changed left/rightward, vertically or left/right/vertically depending on the selected handle.

Grouping/Ungrouping

Select several objects and click Grouping to combine the selected objects into one object.
When the grouping is to be released, click Ungrouping. Based on the order of Grouping, Ungrouping starts one-by-one from the last Grouping in a reverse order.
Grouping/Ungrouping can also be accessed from the Context Menu displayed by right-clicking the mouse on the object(s).

Stacking Order

Overlapping objects are displayed in a particular stacking order, called Z-order. The object with the highest order positions itself at the top of stack. Lower order objects are underlain by higher order objects. This order is basically established by the order in which the objects were created. To change the order, select the objects and click the Stacking Order icons.

The Stacking Order functions are "To the top", "To the bottom", "One-step forward" and "One-step backward". Stacking Order can also be accessed from the Context Menu displayed by right-clicking the mouse on the object.

Point Edit

Click Point Edit to switch to the Point Edit mode. Each handle moves to the points constituting the object.

Point Move

In the Point Edit mode, move the mouse to a handle then the cursor shape transforms to signal that motion is allowed. Left-click and drag the mouse to move the point constituting the object.

Point Insert

If [Ctrl] is pressed with the cursor between the points, the cursor transforms into the Insert state. Then, left-click the mouse to insert a point. This is applicable only for objects, which can be constituted by an unlimited number of points, such as a curve and a continuous line.

Point Delete

If [Ctrl] is pressed on a point, the cursor transforms into an 'X'-shape signaling the Delete state, then left-click the mouse to delete the point. This is applicable only for objects, which can be constituted by an unlimited number of points, such as a curve and a continuous line.

Change Component Properties

Select the object for which properties are to be changed and click Change Component Properties. Or, right-click on the object and select [Properties...] in the context menu to display the Change Component Properties dialog box. Then, setup the detailed properties related to the object. The displayed properties (color and width of line, color of surface, etc.) can then be selected or changed.

Change Componeent Properties dialog box

Other Functions

Undo/Redo

Undo/Redo restores / re-executes one-by-one from the most recent change in Graphic Editor.

Grid View and Grid Snap

Click the Grid View icon to display or hide the grid. Click Grid Snap to snap all the created nodes to contiguous grid points.

Zoom, Fit to Window, Fit to Range

Zoom

Click Zoom to magnify a part of the window. When the cursor transforms into a magnifying glass, left-click to magnify the drawing by a certain proportion. If an area is assigned by left-clicking and dragging the mouse, the area is magnified to fit the window.

Fit to Window

Magnify/reduce all the current objects in the window so that they are viewed as large as possible without being cut.

Fit to Range

Magnify/reduce the currently selected objects so that they are viewed as large as possible without being cut.

Functions related to File

New

Create a new blank drawing.

Open

Open a drawing file. MGF (MIDAS Graphic Format), BMP and EMF formats can be opened.

Save

Save the created drawing in a file. The formats that can be saved are MGF (MIDAS Graphic Format), BMP, EMF.

Printer Setup

Setup the printer, margins, type and direction of document etc.

Print Preview

Preview the printing form prior to hard-printing.

Print

Hard-print the drawing.