D Tutorial

I
S
P
L

Displaying
A
Y
I
N
G

Geospatial Data

with

TNTmips
TNTedit
TNTview
Displaying Geospatial Data

Before Getting Started

This tutorial booklet introduces you to the TNT products from MicroImages, Inc.
You may be a professional with years of experience, or you may be a student
taking your first GIS or Image Processing course. Whatever your situation, this
booklet will help you get started with the TNT products. We recommend that
your next tutorial be Navigating. Once you learn the basics of TNT with these
first two booklets, you will be ready to branch off in any direction to explore the
many powerful features TNT offers.
Sample Data The exercises presented in this booklet use sample data that is
distributed with the TNT products. If you do not have access to a TNT products
CD, you can download the data from MicroImages web site. In particular, this
booklet uses objects in the CB_DATA, BLACKBRN, EDITRAST, and MAPLO data collec-
tions.
More Documentation This booklet is designed as the first in the tutorial series.
Further general system information is provided in the Navigating tutorial, which
covers the X Server and many TNT interface conventions. After you complete
the exercises in these two booklets, you will have the basic skills you need to pick
up any of the other tutorial booklets. Refer also to the TNT reference manual (see
page 31), which contains over 300 pages on the display and visualization of
geospatial data.
TNTmips and TNTlite TNTmips (The Map and Image Processing System)
comes in two versions: The professional version of TNTmips, and the free TNTlite
version. Both versions run exactly the same code from the TNT products CD-
ROMs and have exactly the same features. If you did not purchase the profes-
sional version (which requires a software license key), then TNTmips operates in
TNTlite mode, which limits the size of your project materials.
This booklet refers to TNTmips, TNTedit, TNTlite, and TNTview as TNT. Since
the display features in all four products are essentially the same, you will be able
to follow these exercises no matter which product you have.
Keith Ghormley, 26 April 2006

It may be difficult to identify the important points in some illustrations without

a color copy of this booklet. You can print or read this booklet in color from
MicroImages web site. The web site is also your source for the newest
tutorial and application booklets on other topics. You can download an
installation guide, sample data, and the latest version of TNTlite:
http://www.microimages.com

page 2
 Displaying Geospatial Data

Install TNT
Install the TNT products from the CD-ROMs. An
Installation and Setup Guide in Adobe PDF format
is provided in the root directory of the TNT Prod-
ucts CD-ROM. You can also download the installa-
tion booklets from MicroImages Web site. Use the
free Adobe Acrobat Reader and refer to the booklet
install.pdf. Windows computers begin
each TNT session with the
Sample Data The exercises in this booklet use the MicroImages splash screen.
sample data distributed
with the TNT Products. Use
the option in the install pro-
cess to copy the sample
data to your hard drive (do
not use it from the CD). You
can also download the
sample data from
MicroImages Web site.
The Web site has TNT
product information, tuto-
rial and application book-
lets, a directory of resellers
for the TNT products, and instructions for down-
loading the newest version of TNTlite.
The geospatial data display process is common to
TNTmips, TNTedit, and TNTview. It also is at the
core of the free TNTatlas product.
TNTview contains the display process, the Spa-
tial Manipulation Language and the import pro-
cess.
TNTedit is TNTview plus the geodata editor, The exercises in this
booklet on pages 4 - 9
georeferencing, and full export capability.
introduce basic object and
TNTmips is the complete suite of TNT display, display concepts. Pages 10
editing, processing, and support processes. - 20 introduce each type of
spatial data object. More
The exercises in this book describe the display pro- complex visualization and
cess as it appears in the TNTmips / TNTlite product. output features are covered
Only slight differences in the way you launch the on pages 21-31.
process appear in TNTedit and TNTview.

page 3
Displaying Geospatial Data
Start TNTmips
2006:72
The tutorial booklets refer to
menu choices with a menu
path notation. For example,
choosing Display from the
Main menu is indicated
with the menu path Main /
Display.
STEPS
; launch TNT from the
desktop
; select Main / Display
; expose the ToolTip for
each icon button in turn
on the Display Manager
toolbar
; click the New icon
button and select
Empty 2D from its menu
You can always tell what an icon button does by exposing its ToolTip: hold your
cursor over an icon button for a moment to see a description of the buttons function.
Launch TNT for Windows and Mac computers by
double-clicking on the TNT program icon created
by the installation process. The system starts the X
Server, which provides the operating environment
for TNT. (On Linux and UNIX computers, X should
already be running.)
TNT displays its main menu with the items Main,
Raster, Geometric, Convert, Script, Tools, and Help.
This booklet uses the Display process to introduce
the main types of geospatial objects used in the
TNT products: rasters,
vectors, CAD, TIN,
and database. The ex-
ercises show you how to display both simple and
multi-object / multi-layer views.
Launch the display process by selecting Display
from the Main menu. TNT Opens a Display Man-
ager window. Icon buttons on the toolbar give you
quick access to frequently-used functions. Let your
cursor pause over each icon button in turn to ex-
pose the ToolTip for that icon button. For these
introductory exercises, we will use the simplest form:
a 2D display group. Click the
New icon button on the toolbar
and select Empty 2D from its
menu.
When you are finished with a
TNT session, close each active
TNT process. You exit Display
Spatial Data by selecting Exit
from the Display menu in the
Display Manager. You exit TNT-
mips by selecting Exit from the
Main menu in the main menu bar.
page 4
 Displaying Geospatial Data

Display Group View and Manager

The display process opens a Display Group 1 View 1
STEPS
window and lists Display Group 1 in the Display
; inspect the interface
Manager window. components of the
Display Group View
Examine the Display Group 1 View 1 window (Here-
window
after called the View window). It contains menus, ; click on the main menus
icon tool buttons, a large canvas area, a LegendView in each window to
pane, and other status and position readouts (blank survey the drop-down
selections
for now). The View window displays the objects in
; right-click on the Display
a group and offers zoom, pan, and measurement Group 1 item in the
tools. Display Manager list and
select Close Group from
The Display Manager window lets you add and re- its menu. (On a Mac,
move display groups and layers, and lets you exam- use command-click for
ine the attributes associated with each object by the right-click function.)
manipulating the expandable list of
objects in each group.
The display process lets you simultaneously open
multiple View and Manager windows, plus 3D groups,
display layouts, and hardcopy layouts. This book-
let introduces the Group Display for 2D groups.
Other tutorial booklets treat 3D Perspective and Ste-
reo visualization, and using hardcopy layout groups
for map and poster design.

The LegendView pane shows

a layer list with legends for the
geodata in the View pane. The View pane of the
Group View window
shows a multilayer
display of your
geospatial project
materials.

The companion Display

Manager window provides
tools to add, remove, and
examine each layer in the view.

page 5
Displaying Geospatial Data

File and Object Selection

Most processes open a standard Select Objects dia-
STEPS log so you can navigate through drives, directories,
; select 2D Display from and Project Files to locate the input and output
the New icon menu
project materials you want. In the exercises on this
; examine the Select
Object dialog that opens page and the next, you will select several objects for
2D display from the TNT sample data. For pur-
poses of illustration, we assume your sample data
is on drive C: in /TNTDATA. (Sample data is copied to
your computer by the installation process.)
First, select 2D Display from the New icon menu in
the Display Manager. TNT opens a Select Objects
dialog that shows Project Files and the objects they
contain. Single-click on items in the list to open them
(folders and Project Files) or to select them (objects).
(You will complete the process of selecting objects
for this display group in the next exercise.)
A Project File is the TNT data structure for all raster, vector, CAD,
TIN, database, and text materials, as well as associated subobjects
(such as georeference control and display characteristics).
Project Files have an .RVC file extension.
Select your
Jump to a Select folders, files, and objects from the object list. DRIVE or
directory, other
Project File, storage device
or Folder by by clicking on
clicking on the Go To icon
the Look In: button.
option button.
A Project File may contain
many different types of
An icon objects, but the list shows
shows the only the types selectable in
type of each the current operation.
item in the
list.

Grayed-out
interface
elements are not (The Project File Overview
active in the dialog is described later in
current context. this booklet)

page 6
 Displaying Geospatial Data

Select Display Objects

; Select drive C: from the Go To icon button
above the object list; the object list will
show you the directories in drive C.
; Select the /TNTDATA/BLACKBRN directory from the Keep this display group on
object list; TNT shows you the Project Files (file the screen for the next
extension .RVC) in that directory. exercise.
; Select the BLACKBRN Project File from the object
list; TNT shows you a list of objects and folders
inside the Project File.
; Click the Add All button to add all select-
If you do not find the
able objects to the selection list. sample data on your
; Click the [OK] button to complete your selection computer, go back and run
and close the Select Objects dialog. TNT auto- the TNT products installa-
matically displays the selected objects in the View tion process, specifying the
option to install the sample
window. data (see page 2).
When you complete these steps, your View and
Manager windows should look like those illustrated
on pages 8 and 9.

Click the Go To icon button to select Geospatial

the DRIVE or other storage device; Objects
in this example, drive C.
A Project File or a Folder
may contain several
Once you have selected the / objects. For this exercise,
TNTDATA/BLACKBRN directory, select a
you will select all the
Project File from the object list; in selectable objects in the list.
this example, BLACKBRN.

A Project File may be logically organized

to include one or more Folders.
Observe the DISPLAYGROUPS folder in the
object list (but do not
select it).

The TNT system always LOCKS a Project File while you are
using it so that only one user or process can access it at a
time. If your computer shuts down abnormally while a Project
File is locked, you can unlock it by deleting the .LOK file (such
as BLACKBRN.LOK) located in the same directory.

page 7
Displaying Geospatial Data

Using the View Window

In the previous ex-
ercise, you selected
all the displayable
objects in the root of
A show/hide checkbox the BLACKBRN
determines the visibility
Project File. Now
for each layer.
your group contains
eight layers, includ-
ing: AERIAL (a raster
object airphoto),
scale and position readouts are
updated as you change the FOOTPRINT (CAD
view zoom and cursor position outlines of build-
ings), and P ARCEL
BOUNDARIES (vector
polygons).
STEPS When you complete the selection process, TNT
; click Zoom In to closes the Select Objects dialog, updates the layer
magnify the display list in the Manager window, and displays the group
; click Zoom Out to
return to 1x in the View window.
; click the Zoom box Icon buttons across the top of the View window
to draw a zoom
area present many display control features. Click the
; Zoom to Maxi- Zoom In button to enlarge the view. Click Zoom
mum Detail Out to reduce the view. Select the Zoom box and
matches raster draw an elastic box on the display image. When
cells to screen
pixels you finish drawing the box, the display zooms to
; Full fits the whole the extents of the box. Click the Maximum Detail
group to the window icon to return to a 1x view (1:1 raster cell to dis-
if the behavior of the zoom play pixel). Click Full View to fit the whole group to
box has been redefined on the current window size.
your computer (see p. 30),
you may need to click the Notice that the scale and position readouts at the
right mouse button after bottom of the window update each time you change
drawing a zoom box to
trigger the redraw. the zoom level.
Redraw Add-Layer Zoom Zoom Zoom to GeoLock Previous / Zoom GeoToolbox
Stop Full in out Max Detail Snapshot Next Marked Box View-in-View

Redraw after
Previous Zoom to Zoom to Mark Toggle Unmark Select Multi-View
any change
Active Layer Location Exclusive Marked All Recenter Locator

page 8
 Displaying Geospatial Data

Using the Manager Window

The Manager window gives you access to features STEPS
related to the display objects. Each primary row in ; click the expand/
the Manager window corresponds to one layer in collapse boxes for the
Parcel Boundaries layer
the View window. and its 214 polygons
The layer list is presented with expandable tree con- ; turn on the show/
hide checkbox for
trols. You can access secondary rows of subordi- the AUDITOR table
nate information and controls for a layer by clicking ; select Expand All
its expand/collapse box. You can expand the entire Layers from the right-
list for a group by selecting Expand All Layers from button menu for Display
Group 1
the right-button mouse menu for ; click the object icon
the group. for the Parcel
Boundaries layer and
An object icon for each layer survey the Vector Layer
shows the object type (raster, Controls dialog that
vector, CAD, TIN, ... more on ob- opens
ject types later). Click on an ob- ; click Cancel to close the
Vector Layer Controls
ject icon to open an object con- ; inspect the right-button
trols dialog that offers display menu for several layer
controls and options for that layer. types
; select Close Group from
A right-button mouse menu for the right-button menu
each layer offers functions appropriate for that layer. for Display Group 1 to
prepare for the next
Compare the right-button menus for the top two lay-
exercise
ers in the list.
Command+click on a one-button
Mac substitutes for the right-button
mouse click.

Explore the right

mouse button
Above: one row for each layer. menu for each
Right: the layer tree has been layer type
expanded to reveal the
hierarchical presentation of
features and information.

page 9
Displaying Geospatial Data

Add a Raster from the LegendView

A raster is a geospatial data ob-
ject that may contain an image,
such as a digital photo, a satellite
image, or a scanned map. A raster
The Select Objects dialog is logically a two-dimensional ar-
adapts to the type of selection ray of cells, like a spreadsheet. If
you are making. (Compare this you have ever used paint or photo-
form to that on page 6.)
editing software, you may be fa-
miliar with common raster formats
like TIFF, BMP, JPEG, and GIF.
An 8-bit composite color raster
You can also uses a color table to map each
select objects by raster cell value to a discrete dis-
clicking their
thumbnails in the
play color. Click on the Add
Overview dialog. Layer icon button in the View
window, and select Quick Add
STEPS from its menu. In the Select Objects dialog, open
; click Add Layer /
Quick Add in the
the CB_DATA directory, the CB_COMP Project File, and
View window the _8_BIT raster object. When you complete the
; select CB_DATA / CB_COMP / selection, the View window shows the composite
_8_BIT color raster, and the LegendView shows a single
; right-click the layer
name in the
layer. Right-click on the layer name in the
LegendView to see the LegendView and examine the drop-down menu that
layer menu for _8_BIT opens. The selections on that menu apply to the 8-
; select Delete Layer from BIT raster layer.
_8_BITs LegendView
layer menu Survey the selections on the drop-down layer menu.
When you are finished, remove the
_8_BIT raster object from the group by
selecting Delete Layer from the layers
drop down menu in the LegendView.

_8_BIT is a composite color TM (Thematic

Click the right mouse button on
the layer name in the
LegendView and examine this
drop-down layer menu.
Mapper) satellite image of the Crow
Butte 7.5-minute map quadrangle in
Nebraska. 8-bit color is inferior to 16-bit
and the more common 24-bit color, but
was common in the early days of digital
imagery when display memory and file
storage were very expensive.

page 10
 Displaying Geospatial Data

Select a Three-Raster RGB Set

A color image can be created
from three separate raster objects
when each raster object is used
to control one color component:
one raster object provides the red
component, one the green, and
one blue. Use component color
raster display for viewing se-
lected bands from multispectral
image sources, such as 7-band
TM satellite images. By assign-
ing various bands to the RGB
components, you can view and analyze false-color To select RGB rasters, click
images. (Other multiple-component raster display a raster on the left to add it
in the current position on
modes use input rasters for hue, intensity, and satu- the right.
ration (HIS), or as hue, brightness, and saturation
(HBS) components.)
STEPS
Click the Add Layer icon button in the View window, ; select Raster /
and select Raster / Quick-Add RGB from its menu Quick-Add RGB
from the Add Layer icon
cascade. In the Select Object dialog, select the CB_TM button menu
Project File, which contains 7 co-registered raster ; select TM_5, PHOTO_IR,
objects of the 7 bands of TM imagery for Crow Butte. and RED from CB_DATA /
CB_TM
Click on the TM_5 raster object to move it to the list
; select Delete Layer
on the right for the Red component. Then select from the layer menu in
PHOTO_IR for Green and RED for Blue. Click [OK] to the View window
complete the selection and look at the false-color
image in the View window.
If your computer is in a 24-bit color dis-
play mode, you will see a true 24-bit color
image (each of the component raster ob- You can resize the View
window by dragging on
jects provides 8 bits of information). If the bottom or side edges
your computer is in a 16-bit or 8-bit dis- of the window.
play mode (not recommended), the dis-
play process automatically reduces the
24-bit color information from the RGB
raster objects into an optimally chosen
palette with the appropriate number of
colors.

page 11
Displaying Geospatial Data
Vector Display
A vector is a spatial data
object containing point, line,
and polygon data. Vector
objects often contain
features with associated
database values, such as
agricultural fields and
crop information,
political districts and
population data,
well locations and
pumping capacity, and
highway segments and
paving type.
STEPS
; select Quick-Add
from the Add Layer
icon menu
; select the /TNTDATA/
BLACKBRN directory, the
BLACKBRN Project File, and
the PARCEL vector object
; select Controls from
PARCELs right mouse
button layer menu in the
LegendView
; in the Polygons tab,
select Style: By Attribute
Select the Polygons tab.
Be sure
Style: says
By Attribute.
Enable
Polygon
Filling.
This exercise introduces the second major type of
geospatial data object: the vector object. Vector ob-
jects contain point, line, and polygon elements with
associated database records. A sample vector ob-
ject from the Blackburn neighborhood in Columbus
Ohio shows property parcels and associated tabu-
lar data from the County Assessor.
Click the Add Layer icon button in the View window
and select Quick-Add from its menu. In the Select
Objects dialog, select the drive and directory where
you have your sample data. Select the BLACKBRN
Project File, and the PARCEL vector object in it. When
you click [OK], TNT adds PARCEL to the layer list in
the Manager window and to the LegendView, and
automatically redraws the display.
Open the Vector Layer Controls dialog by selecting
Controls from the LegendViews right mouse but-
ton menu. Click the Polygons tab and be sure the
Style: button says By Attribute and select one of
the Enable options from the Polygon Filling option
button. Visit the Object tab. When you click [OK],
the PARCEL vector object should appear in the style
illustrated here.
Click the right mouse
button on the layer
name and select
Controls from the
layer menu.
Keep the PARCEL object on screen for the next exercise.
page 12
 Displaying Geospatial Data

Vector Attribute Display

You can select elements on the dis-
play to see database attributes of vec-
tor, CAD, TIN, and raster objects.
Expand the layer tree in the Manager Select and
open multiple
window until it shows the tables for
attribute
polygons in the Parcel layer. Click tables from
the hide/show checkbox to open the the Manager
AUDITOR table. window.

In the View window, click on the Se-

lect Tool. Then click on one of the parcels in the STEPS
display, and TNT shows the corresponding record ; expand the
in the AUDITOR table. Manager's tree list until
it shows the tables for
Vector elements may have any number of different polygons in the Parcel
attribute tables. You can open as many as you want layer
simultaneously by clicking each table's hide/show ; open the AUDITOR
table
checkbox. ; click on the Select
When viewing a table, you can switch from single- tool in the View
window
record view (illustrated here) to a tabular view by ; click on a polygon in the
selecting Switch to Tabular View from the Table menu View window
in the database window. ; examine the related
database record in the
database window

Click the Select tool.

Click on an element in the

display to view its attached
The LegendView shows the drawing database record.
style for each type of polygon.

page 13
Displaying Geospatial Data

CAD Display
A CAD object contains
point, line, polygon, shape,
and block elements with
their associated database
records. CAD objects
differ from vector objects in
that CAD objects do not
have the rigorous spatial
topology of vector
objects. A CAD object
allows for overlapping
elements in a layered
drawing order, whereas in
a vector object, all elements
are always in one layer.
STEPS
; click the Add
Objects icon button
in the Manager window
; select the FOOTPRINT CAD
object in the BLACKBRN
Project File
; click the FOOTPRINT
layer icon in the layer
list of the Manager
window
; select the Elements
panel in the CAD Layer
Controls dialog and
change Style to By
Attribute
This exercise introduces the third major type of ob-
ject: the CAD object. CAD objects contain point,
line, polygon, shape, and block elements with asso-
ciated databases. CAD objects are used for inter-
pretation and annotation layers, as well as for over-
lapping, layered spatial elements, such as lines that
lie in front of or behind polygons.
The FOOTPRINT CAD object in the BLACKBRN Project
File contains outlines of the buildings in the study
site. Add a layer from the Manager window by click-
ing the Add Objects icon button, or from the View
window by selecting Quick Add from the Add Layer
icon menu. Select FOOTPRINT from the BLACKBRN
Project File. The building footprints may display in
a single line style. To use line styles, open the CAD
Layer Controls dialog (either click on the FOOTPRINT
layer icon in the Manager window or select Con-
trols from the layer drop-down menu in the
LegendView), and then change the Style: option but-
ton from [All Same] to [By Attribute]. When TNT
redraws the display, the lines show in colored styles.
If you click on Specify... in the CAD Layer Controls
dialog, you can change the style assignments.

You can change line style

assignments by clicking on
a style and pressing the
Assign button.

page 14
 Displaying Geospatial Data

Database Pinmap Display

This exercise introduces the fourth major type of TNT can link to external
spatial data object: the Database object. Database database files in several
formats, or use its own
objects contain records of numeric, text, and logical internal database format.
fields that have some spatial quality. A database
record may be related to a spatial coordinate system STEPS
in two ways: (1) each record may contain explicit ; click the Add
Database Table
coordinate values, or (2) each record may contain Pinmap icon in the
attributes that act as key fields that are linked to Manager window
other types of geospatial objects. ; select the CRIME
database object in the
When database records contain map coordinate BLACKBRN Project File
values, TNT can create a pinmap from the data- ; click [OK] to accept
base records. The BLACKBRN Project File includes a default display controls
in the Pinmap Layer
database of police calls with such map coordinates. Controls dialog
; open the CRIME table
Click the Add Database Table Pinmap icon button in
for the pinmap layer
the Manager window. Then select the CRIME data- expanding the
base object from the BLACKBRN Project File. TNT pinmap layer in the
opens a tabbed Pinmap Layer Controls dialog so Manager as you did on
page 13
you can change various pinmap symbols and con-
; use the Select tool
trol parameters. For this exercise, accept the default in the View
settings by clicking the [OK] button. TNT returns window to click on a
to the View window and automatically redraws the pinmap symbol
display.

Use the Select tool to click

on a pinmap symbol and
view its associated
database record.

page 15
Displaying Geospatial Data
Theme Mapping
Theme Mapping applies
selected values in a
database to the drawing
styles used for elements in
vector and TIN objects.
STEPS
; click the PARCEL
object icon to open
the Vector Layer
Controls dialog
; select the Polygon tab
and change Style: to [By
Theme]
; click [OK] to initiate a
redisplay
; close this display Group
by selecting Close
Group from the right-
button menu for Group 1
in the Manager
If you click [Specify...] next
to Style: By Theme in the
Vector Layer Controls
dialog, TNT opens the
Theme Mapping Controls
window. You can select
the database, theme field,
number of themes, and
color spread for drawing
styles.
Vector and TIN objects can be displayed By
Theme so that selected values in associated data-
base tables control the display style of the elements.
For example, a Flow_Capacity field associated
with pipeline line elements could be used to deter-
mine the display color and style for all the pipeline
elements in a vector object.
In this exercise the TX_LAND_VA (land tax value) field
from the county AUDITOR database is used to con-
trol the polygon display style of the PARCEL poly-
gons. A color spread from yellow to red has been
created so that churches, public buildings, and par-
cels with no buildings (zero tax value) display in
yellow, and parcels with the highest tax values dis-
play in red. Intermediate tax values are green, blue,
and purple.
The PARCEL vector object should already be on your
display from the previous exercise. Click on the
PARCEL object icon in the Manager window to open
the Vector Layer Controls dialog. Select the Poly-
gon tab and change the Style: to [By Theme]. When
you click [OK] to complete the operation, TNT
redisplays the PARCEL vectors in the style illustrated
here.
Values in the
TX_LAND_VA field are
used to control the
display style of the
PARCEL polygons.
page 16
 Displaying Geospatial Data

TIN Display and DataTips

This exercise introduces the final major type of A TIN object defines a 3-D
geodata: the TIN (Triangulated Irregular Network) surface with a network of
object. TIN objects consist of a network of triangles node, edge, and triangle
elements.
formed from a set of x,y,z coordinate nodes in 3-D
space connected by line segments. TIN objects pro- STEPS
vide benefits of speed and efficiency for processes ; click the Open
that deal with 3-D surfaces. Display icon in the
Manager
Click the Open Display icon in the Manager, and ; select the SF_DATA data
collection and the TINLITE
select the TINLITE Project File in SF_DATA. From the
Project File
TINLITE Project File, select the TINGROUP object, which ; select the TINGROUP
contains three layers: USGS_DEM, RIGHTLITE, and object
TINLITE. USGS_DEM was extracted from a full-quad ; select the View
windows Options /
elevation raster. RIGHTLITE is a reduced section of an
DataTips menu cascade
airphoto. TINLITE was extracted from a stereo pair of and turn on the
airphotos in the Photogrammetric Modeling process, Maximum toggle
and represents the derived elevation surface. ; pause your cursor over
a TIN node to expose a
TINGROUP is defined so that a DataTip shows values DataTip
from two of the three layers in the group. Compare ; select Setup DataTips
from the right-button
the DataTip you see when your cursor pauses over
menu for a layer in the
the image with the DataTip definitions for each layer LegendView
(select Setup DataTips from each layers right-but-
ton menu in the LegendView).

A DEM (Digital Elevation Raster layers can show an

Model) is a raster object image sample or color spread
whose cells contain elevation in the LegendView.
values for a surface.

Pause your cursor over the

image to expose a DataTip
Define a DataTip by selecting that may give information
a data attribute, prefix, and from several layers.
suffix for each layer.
For information on the 3D display of TINs, see the tutorial booklet 3D Perspective
Visualization. To see how TINs are used in Stereo-to-DEM and surface modeling, see
the booklets, Making DEMs and Orthophotos and Surface Modeling).

page 17
Displaying Geospatial Data

Multi-Layer Display
One of the most powerful
This exercise builds a complex display from Raster,
visualization features of Vector, CAD, and Database objects. Create a new
TNT is the way it so easily group and add these layers:
integrates geospatial data Raster: BLACKBRN / AERIAL
objects of all types and map
projections.
Vector: BLACKBRN / STREETS
Vector: BLACKBRN / PARCEL

STEPS
CAD: BLACKBRN / FOOTPRINT

; in the Manager Database: BLACKBRN / CRIME

window, click Add
Objects and Add
First use the Add Objects icon button in the Man-
Database Table ager window to add the raster, vector, and CAD ob-
Pinmap and select the jects. Then use the Add Database Table Pinmap icon
objects listed button to select the database object.
; click on each layers
object icon in the Whenever you select multiple objects for display,
Manager window and be sure each one is registered to some spatial coor-
adjust its display
controls
dinate system, as they are in this sample data. TNT
automatically reconciles different map projections
and coordinate systems, but if one object has no
Several multi-object layout map registration, then you will get unpredictable
objects are included with the display results. (To add map registration to an ob-
TNTlite sample data. Click Open
Display in the Manager and browse ject that has none, refer to the tutorial
through the LAYOUTS Project File Georeferencing.) Objects must also share a rea-
in / BEREA , / BLACKBRN , / CB _ DATA ,
and /SF _DATA.
sonable spatial proximity. A raster in Texas and a
vector in Japan may be selected together, but a full
display would zoom out
so far that the objects
would be too small to
see.
In this illustration, the The transparency effect
PARCEL legend has been
for the polygons in the
hidden in the PARCEL layer is achieved
LegendView (select Hide in the Polygons tab of
Legend from the layers the Vector Layer
drop-down menu) Controls dialog. Set Style
to By Attribute (the pre-
defined styles for these
polygons specify 90%
transparency), and
select one of the Enable
options in the Polygon
Filling option button.

page 18
 Displaying Geospatial Data

Customizing the LegendView

You can customize many aspects of the LegendView,
STEPS
including the position and level of detail it shows. ; open the layout
You can even turn off the LegendView in order to CB_DATA / LAYOUTS /

maximize the area on your screen for map and image PAGE25
; move the LegendView
display, especially when you are working with sev-
to the left side with
eral view windows at the same time. LegendView / Show /
Left
Open the PAGE25 group in the CB_DATA / LAYOUTS
; drag the separator
Project File. The group opens with the LegendView between the panes to
on the left side of the View window, and legends for adjust the width of the
all four layers showing. Apply these customizations LegendView
; click the expand/
to the view:
collapse box for the
Turn on the Left toggle in the LegendView / soil layer to hide its
legend
Show menu cascade. ; turn off the
Drag the separator between the panes to adjust LegendView with
the width of the LegendView. LegendView / Show /
Click the expand / collapse box for the soil layer None
to hide its legend.
Turn on the None toggle in the LegendView /
Show menu cascade.
Explore other options on the LegendView and drop-
down layer menus, and consider how they might be
useful. Adjust the width of the
LegendView by
dragging the separator
between the panels.

LegendView off

LegendView on the LegendView on the

left; all legends show right; one legend hidden

page 19
Displaying Geospatial Data

GeoFormula Layers
A GeoFormula is a computed display layer that uses
STEPS
; Select New / Empty one or more input objects to derive a layer for dis-
2D in the Manager play. It gives you a way to combine objects on the
; select Add Layer / fly rather than preparing objects for display ahead
GeoFormula / Add of time with preliminary processing. A GeoFormula
GeoFormula Layer in the
View window is a dynamic display layer that contains a virtual
; select Formula / Open in object. The GeoFormula layer does not create an
the GeoFormula Layer output object that is saved in a Project File. In-
Controls dialog stead, it creates a display layer that releases all its
; use the standard Select
File process to select system resources (such as disk space and memory)
GEOFRMLA / STRETCH2.GSF when you are finished with it.
; in the Select Objects
dialog, select RED, GREEN, In the exercise on page 11, you used three raster
and BLUE from CB_DATA/ objects for component color from CB_DATA / CB_TM.
CB_TM as prompted Create an empty 2D display group and follow the
; click [OK] to close the
GeoFormula Layer
step list on this page. When you are prompted for
Controls dialog input raster objects, select the CB_TM Project File,
this time adding the RED, GREEN, and BLUE rasters. If
you are familiar with a programming
language, such as C or BASIC, you
should get a sense of how a
GeoFormula works by examining
the script illustrated below.

This GeoFormula applies a color

transformation to increase color
saturation. It translates the RGB
components to Hue-Intensity-
Saturation (HIS) equivalents and
applies a saturation stretch.

Creating and applying GeoFormulas

is an advanced skill in TNT. Begin by
working through the tutorial booklets
Spatial Manipulation Language and
Using Geospatial Formulas.

page 20
 Displaying Geospatial Data

Multiple Views with GeoLocking

The GeoLock tool links the position and scale be-
tween multiple View windows so that scroll and zoom
actions applied to one view automatically adjust the STEPS
linked views. You can optionally turn off GeoLocking ; create a New / 2D
in one or more Views in order to adjust viewpoint Display and select
CB_DATA / CB_COMP / _8_BIT
and zoom levels independently. A tracking cursor
; create another New /
echoes the position of your mouse cursor in all View 2D Display and
windows that share some geospatial extent. select all the
objects in CB_DATA /
In this exercise you will view the GeoLock tool at CB_DLG
work in two views of data from the cb_data collec- ; verify that the
tion. In this geodata, which has been prepared to GeoLock tool is
active in both Views
work in the size limits of TNTlite, you can see how
; apply zoom and scroll
the GeoLock tool works. But the real value of using operations and observe
GeoLock with multiple views comes when you are the linked view behavior
using large-extent project materials in the profes- ; turn off the
GeoLock tool and
sional versions of the TNT products. If one view
observe the effect on
contains a mosaic of several thousand airphotos zoom and scroll
and another view contains an array of scanned to- operations
pographic maps of the same region, finding the same
location in both views would be tedious without the
GeoLock tool.

A tracking cursor echoes the position of

the cursor from another window that
shares some geographical extent.

page 21
Displaying Geospatial Data

View-in-View
When your display group contains several layers,
STEPS
; open the group the layers on top may sometimes completely hide the
SF_DATA / LAYOUTS / layers below. The View-in-View tool provides one
PAGE26 way to hide one or more top layers in order to show
; select the View-in-
the hidden layers. In a complex, multi-layer view,
View tool in the
View window you can use the Show / Hide checkbox for each layer
; notice that when the to select the layers you want the tool to expose. The
View-in-View tool is View-in-View tool displays the show layers in-
active, a new Show/
side the box, and the original view elsewhere. The
Hide checkbox is
available in the View-in-View tool gives you an excellent visual-
LegendView ization method for comparing multiple layers of
; draw a View-in-View geodata.
box on the image
; slide the box to a The View-in-View tool is an elastic box that you can
different place and use resize or move around as you compare different areas
the elastic box resizing
tools
of the layers.
; right-click anywhere on For this exercise, open the PAGE26 display group from
the image to reverse the
inside/outside View-in- the SF_DATA / LAYOUTS Project File. The top layer is
View rendering a scanned topo map of Castro Valley. The bottom
layer is the Hayward DEM. Select the View-in-View
tool and notice that new Show/Hide check boxes in
The LegendView's View- the LegendView indicate that the topo layer is to be
in-View checkbox controls
which layers the tool hides hidden, and the DEM layer shown. Thus, when you
draw a View-in-View box on the display, the box
shows the DEM layer.

Draw a View-in-
View box and slide
it around to see a
layer that is hidden right-click anywhere in
below other layers. the display to reverse the
view-in-view layers

page 22
 Displaying Geospatial Data

Zooming with Hotkeys

The display process provides a set of keyboard
STEPS
hotkeys for quick display manipulations. These
; open a new view
hotkeys apply center, zoom, and pan operations at with SF_DATA /
the location of the mouse cursor. AIRPHOTO / CIR146A
; position the mouse on a
For example, to zoom in on a feature, you could se- feature of interest and
lect the Zoom Box tool (see page 8), and draw a press the + hotkey
zoom box around the feature. But with the hotkey ; position the mouse in
the corner of the view
alternative, you simply move the mouse cursor to
and press the - hotkey
the feature and press the + key on the keyboard. ; experiment with the 0,
1, 2, 3, and 4 hotkeys
The hotkeys all center the view at the mouse cursor: ; recenter the view
+ zoom in several times at the
- zoom out current zoom with the
0 full view spacebar hotkey
1, 2, 3, 4 zoom 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x
spacebar recenter (pan) at current zoom The numeric hotkeys work
at a set zoom level. For
Hotkeys save some steps when you would other- example, from any other
wise need to switch between several tools. For ex- zoom factor, the 4 hotkey
jumps to a 4x zoom level.
ample, you can press the - hotkey to zoom out and But if the view is already at
center the view over a selected feature. The equiva- a 4x zoom level, the 4
lent operation with the display tools would require hotkey has the same effect
clicking the Zoom Out icon tool button, and adjust- as the spacebar hotkey: it
recenters the view at the
ing the scroll bars. cursor position without
changing the zoom level.

... and the display

zooms to 2x, centering
on the mouse position.

Position the mouse cursor at the

east end of the lake and press
the 2 hotkey ...

page 23
Displaying Geospatial Data

Complex Display Layouts

STEPS The exercise on page 21 introduced the capability of
; select Open Display using several related View windows in a single group.
in the Manager Another level of visualization complexity is offered
; select the BLACKBRN data by the layout feature. The Display / New / Display
collection, the LAYOUTS
Project File, and the Layout process and the Display / New / Page Lay-
PAGE24 layout out process let you combine multiple objects and
; select Expand All groups in views of higher complexity.
Groups from the right-
button menu of the For this exercise, a sample Display Layout has been
PAGE24 layout in the prepared. Click the Open Display icon in the Dis-
Manager play Manager. Use the Select Object process to
; move the cursor
between the groups choose PAGE24 from the LAYOUTS Project File in the
and note the Position BLACKBRN data collection.
Report coordinates
Two groups are listed in the Display Manager win-
Vocabulary dow. Click the expand button for each group to
A Group can contain many expose their layer lists. Each layer list is the same as
layers and be presented
in many View windows.
the layer list that
A Layout can contain appears in the
multiple groups as well simple 2D Group
as legends, annotations, process we have
scale bars, and other
complex layout elements.
been using.

A layout can accommodate

differences in location, map
scale, and projection.

For more information on making and using layouts, see

the tutorial booklet Making Map Layouts.

page 24
 Displaying Geospatial Data

Save Groups and Layouts

If you use the display process to view the same A layout is an object in a
spatial data many times during the life of a project, Project File that records the
you should take advantage of saved groups and display specifications for a
group of objects. A layout
layouts. Layout and group definitions can be saved
may include scale bar, map
as objects in Project Files. They contain a record of grid, legends, and other
all your layers, objects, and display options, so that annotations.
you can return quickly to a complex view rather than
STEPS
adding each component, object by object, every time
; select Open Display
you want to view the materials. The layout and in the Manager
group objects work even if your project materials ; choose CB_DATA / LAYOUTS
have been modified: if your raster objects have been / PAGE25
; click Add Objects in
processed, or if your vector overlays have been ed-
the Manager and
ited, or if your database has been updated. Thus add several layers from
you can view dynamically changing project materi- CB_DLG

als quickly and easily, as long as the object names ; adjust the scale, layer
order, styles, and other
remain the same and the Project Files remain in the
view controls
same drive and directory. ; select Display / Save
As... in the Manager and
Select Open Display in the Manager. Choose save your layout under
CB_DATA / LAYOUTS / PAGE25, and then add several a new name
vector layers from the CB_DLG Project File. Adjust ; open your newly saved
the zoom level and any other viewing options, and layout to view the
changes
Display / Save As... in the Manager. Use the Select
Object process to create a new
layout object.

A layer's right-
mouse button menu
lets you move it up
or down in the
drawing order.

page 25
Displaying Geospatial Data

Measuring with the GeoToolbox

STEPS This lesson introduces a powerful and richly fea-
; reload the layout tured tool in the display process: the GeoToolbox. In
CB_DATA / LAYOUTS /
this exercise, you will draw a simple measurement
PAGE25
; select the line. Refer to the companion tutorial booklet Sketch-
GeoToobox tool in ing and Measuring.
the View window
; click the Measure The GeoToolbox window offers a row of tools and
tab in the related tabbed panels. The measurement tools let
GeoToolbox window you draw lines and shapes of all kinds and reports a
and select the Ruler tool
; draw an elastic
complete set of statistics for each measurement.
measurement line on the Click on the Ruler tool and select the Measure tab.
image
; slide the line to a Draw an elastic measurement segment in the View
different place and use window. You can adjust its length and drag it to a
line resizing techniques new position. Each time you manipulate the mea-
to change its length surement line, the statistics in the Measure panel
; inspect the measure-
ment statistics in the update to show the new values. You can change the
Measure panel measurement units from the Measurement Units
; change the length units dialog that opens with the Options / Measure /
in the Measurement Units... menu cascade.
Units dialog that opens
with the Options / You can record the measurement statistics to a text
Measure / Units... menu
file by selecting File / Measurement Record... in the
cascade
GeoToolbox window.

For a much
more complete
survey of the
tools in the
GeoToolbox,
refer to the
The GeoToolbox provides a large selection tutorial booklet
of measurement and sketching tools. Sketching and
Measuring.

page 26
 Displaying Geospatial Data

Selecting Elements with Regions

Region objects are composed of vector polygons
STEPS
and are used primarily for element selection opera- ; select Open View in
tions. Your regions may represent things like prop- the Manager
erty boundaries, watersheds, or feature polygons. ; select CB_DATA / LAYOUTS /
PAGE_27
You can use regions to select point, line, or polygon
; select the
elements that lie inside the region, outside the re- GeoToolbox tool
gion, partially inside, or partially outside. ; click the Add button
in the Region tab
In this exercise, a region is used to find all the wind- ; select the CB_WELLS /
mills within 100 yards of any stream. The region HYDROBUFFER region object

object is a 100-yard buffer zone created around the ; select the Region
tool in the
Crow Butte hydrology. This buffer zone is applied
GeoToolbox
in an element selection operation on the WELLS ob- ; choose the Select tab in
ject from CB_WELLS, which contains point elements. the GeoToolbox, and
click Select Elements
Follow the step list on this page to open the PAGE_27 ; change the "which are"
group and select the HYDROBUFFER region object. In option button to
the Select tab of the GeoToolbox, apply a few differ- Completely Outside and
click Select Elements
ent kinds of region selections and inspect the re- again
sults. (Since point elements have a location but no
length or area, there is no possibility of a point ele-
ment being partially in-
side or outside a selec-
tion region.)

A buffer zone can

serve as a region
to select windmill
point elements
within 100 yards
of any stream.

Four different types of element

selection are offered in the Select
Elements option button.

page 27
Displaying Geospatial Data
Printing and Snapshots
STEPS
; setup your printer with
Tools / System / Printers
on the main menu bar
; open BLACKBRN /
LAYOUTS / PARKING
; select Display / Print... in
the Manager
; select Options / View
Options in the Manager
and observe the
location of the Quick-
Save Folder in the
Snapshot tab
When you click the
Quick Snapshot
button in the View window,
TNT creates a folder
containing a .JPG file of the
view contents, plus two
associated files with map
projection and coordinate
information.
A red boundary
line shows the
extents of the
paper.
To use the advanced composition and layout tools,
select Page Layout from the Manager's New icon
menu. The Page Layout window offers the same
tools and features as the Display Layout process
(refer to pages 24-25). You can add map grids, scale
bars, and annotations for color printers of any size
and resolution.
For quick and simple printing tasks, you can use the
Quick Snapshot icon button in the View window.
Quick Snapshot creates a .JPG of the contents of
the View panel that you can place and use other
software programs. It also creates two associated
files of map projection and coordinate information.
Of course printing screen shots limits your output
to screen resolution and image size, but in some
circumstances, that may be all you need.
To specify the location of the folders that Quick
Snapshot creates, select Options / View Options in
the Manager. Select the Snapshot tab in the Op-
tions dialog where you can designate the Quick-
Save Folder and other Snapshot options. (See also
page 30.)
You can load the layout
illustrated here by
selecting the PARKING layout
from BLACKBRN / LAYOUTS.
For more information on
layouts and printing, see
the tutorial booklets
Printing and Making Map
Layouts.
page 28
 Displaying Geospatial Data

Using Styles
Point, Line, and Polygon elements can be rendered
in a wide variety of drawing styles. In several previ- STEPS
; click Add Objects
ous exercises you have applied predefined styles to and select MAPLO /
the vector and CAD objects that you have displayed. MILLNGTN /
In this exercise you will examine the selection of line ROADSANDSTREAMS
styles associated with the ROADSANDSTREAMS CAD ; click the object icon
in the Manager list to
object in the MILLNGTN Project File. open the CAD Layer
Style objects are independent from particular geodata Controls dialog
; select the Elements tab
objects, so one style object can be used by many ; click the [Specify...]
different geodata objects. This helps you standard- button for Style:
ize your symbology and ensure that all your project ; examine the Assign
materials follow the same style rules. Styles by Attribute dialog
(but do not make any
Styles can be automatically selected according to changes)
the attributes of each geospatial element. At the ; click [Cancel] to close
the Assign Styles by
simplest level that means "roads" will have a differ- Attribute dialog
ent drawing style than "rivers." But even more use- ; click [Cancel] to close
ful is the kind of differentiation between classes of the CAD Layer Controls
roads and classes of rivers, as illustrated. dialog

ROADSANDSTREAM's
CLASS.Class
attribute is
associated
with the
styles in
CADSTYLE.

The Assign Styles by Attribute dialog

for the ROADSANDSTREAMS object shows
the styles in the CADSTYLE object.

For more information on using

point, line, and polygon drawing
styles, see the tutorial booklet
Creating and Using Styles.

page 29
Displaying Geospatial Data

Select Display Options

The display process offers a number of control set-
tings that let you customize the behavior of the pro-
cess. Thus, if you share a TNT installation with
STEPS others in your department, or if your TNT installa-
; select Options / View
Options in the Manager
tion is controlled by a system administrator, some
; explore the tabbed of the default behavior you experience may be dif-
panels for default ferent than what you see in this booklet.
program behaviors
; click [OK] to close the Select View Options from the Options menu in the
Options dialog Display Manager. TNT opens the Options dialog
illustrated below. Each tabbed panel in the Options
dialog offers controls that let you customize certain
behaviors in the display process.

Tabbed panels in the

The Display tab lets you choose default behaviors
Options dialog let you set of the process. For example, if you do a lot of work
default behaviors for the with multiple View windows and characteristically
display process. want the Views GeoLocked (see page 21), you could
save yourself the steps of turning
on the GeoLock tool button in your
View windows every time by turn-
ing on the checkbox in the Display
tab to "Automatically GeoLock
multiple views."

page 30
 Displaying Geospatial Data

Online Reference and Help

The TNT Products
CD provides 2500
pages of reference
material in the Online Reference Manual, plus over
1700 pages of tutorial and application booklets. The
Reference Manual can be installed to your hard
drive with TNTmips as an option during the instal-
lation process. Also install the Acrobat Reader,
which you must have to view the documentation. STEPS
; select Help / Reference
If you install the Reference Manual, you can launch Manual... from the main
the Reference Manual by selecting Help / Refer- menu bar to open the
ence Manual from TNTs main menu bar. If you Acrobat Reader
; click Basic System
choose not to install the Reference Manual, then
Operations in the initial
the Reference Manual selection on the Display menu Volume Index view
is disabled, and you can browse the manual directly ; select RVC Project File
on the TNT Products CD by opening REFMAN.PDF in in the bookmark panel in
the next view and read
the Reference Manual directory.
the description of the
To access the series of tutorial and application book- logical TNT Project File
structure
lets, open an index screen by selecting Help / Tuto-
rials / Overview on the main TNT menu
bar. Then select any booklet by clicking
on its title. Check the MicroImages web
site for new and revised booklets at
www.microimages.com.

In the initial Volume Index window,

select Basic System Operations to
open that document.

Then click the table of contents bookmark

for RVC Project File, and read about the
structure and organization of the unique
TNT Project File.

page 31
 Advanced Software for Geospatial Analysis
D
I
MicroImages, Inc. publishes a complete line of professional software for advanced geospatial data S
visualization, analysis, and publishing. Contact us or visit our web site for detailed product P
information. L
TNTmips TNTmips is a professional system for fully integrated GIS, image analysis, CAD, A
TIN, desktop cartography, and geospatial database management. Y
I
TNTedit TNTedit provides interactive tools to create, georeference, and edit vector, image, N
CAD, TIN, and relational database project materials in a wide variety of formats. G
TNTview TNTview has the same powerful display features as TNTmips and is perfect for
those who do not need the technical processing and preparation features of TNTmips.
TNTatlas TNTatlas lets you publish and distribute your spatial project materials on CD-
ROM at low cost. TNTatlas CDs can be used on any popular computing platform.
TNTserver TNTserver lets you publish TNTatlases on the Internet or on your intranet.
Navigate through geodata atlases with your web browser and the free TNTclient.
TNTlite TNTlite is a free version of TNTmips for students and professionals with small
projects. You can download TNTlite from MicroImages web site, or you can order
TNTlite on CD-ROM.
Index
Attribute tables ................................. 13 Measuring ........................................ 26
Buffer zones .................................... 27 Multiple views ................................. 21
CAD objects .................................... 14 Object selection .............................. 6, 7
Color ................................................ 11 Page layout ................................. 24, 28
Color transformation ....................... 20 Pinmaps ........................................... 15
Database .................................... 13, 15 Printing ............................................ 28
Datatips ........................................... 17 Project File ......................................... 7
Display group .................................... 7 Regions ............................................ 27
Display Manager window .............. 5, 9 RGB rasters ..................................... 11
Display View window ................... 5, 8 Sample data ........................................ 3
Expanding layers ................................ 9 Scripts ............................................. 20
GeoFormula ..................................... 20 Selecting elements ...................... 15, 27
GeoLocking ..................................... 21 Snapshots ......................................... 28
Georeferencing ................................. 18 Styles ............................. 12, 13, 14, 29
GeoToolbox ..................................... 26 Theme mapping ................................ 16
Help ................................................. 31 TIN objects ...................................... 17
Hotkeys ............................................ 23 ToolTips ............................................. 4
Layouts ................................ 24, 25, 28 Transparency .............................. 12, 18
LegendView ........................... 5, 10, 19 View-in-View .................................. 22
Map projections ............................... 18

MicroImages, Inc.
11th Floor Sharp Tower
206 South 13th Street
Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-2010 USA
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