Point Code groups allow you to group similar point codes together in the Point Codes Manager. Each group has a unique group name and can have any number of point codes in it. TPC supplies some initial groups for you like Bridges, Buildings, Roads, Vegetation, and others plus you can add your own.
Once your point codes are in groups, you can rearrange the groups, expand or collapse them, hide or show them, or select the group name and all the point codes in it are selected automatically.
Organizing your point codes into groups is all about making it easier to manage your survey data. See Grouping Data.
Point Code Group Intro (1:46) You can group point codes just like you can traverses and drawings, making them easier to work with.
Displaying Groups
To display groups choose Tools | Point Code Groups | Show Groups. This a toggle, so selecting it will either turn groups on or off.
In this screen shot, we've turned groups on and collapsed all but the Buildings group.
Moving Point Codes Into Groups
To place point codes into a group, select (highlight) the point codes you want in the Point Codes Manager, then choose Tools | Point Code Groups | Move Selected Point Codes to Group. TPC displays the Point Code Groups dialog. The dialog title will say, Move 3 point codes to a group indicating that you have selected 3 point codes. The number will change to reflect the number of point codes selected upon entering the dialog.
Select an existing group from the list or type in the name of a new group (TPC will ask if you want to create the new group) then choose OK. TPC will place the selected point codes into the group and re-display the Survey View.
Group Sequence
Point Code Groups are displayed in the Point Codes Manager based on their group sequence. You can change the sequence by moving groups up or down one group at a time or sending them all the way to the top or bottom of the view. You will probably use group sequence in conjunction with Collapsing or Hiding groups as explained below. Combining these group tools makes working with lots of point codes a breeze.
Managing Point Code Groups
To manage groups, choose Tools | Point Code Groups | Edit Groups... Or you can choose Tools | View | Format View then select the Groups tab. TPC displays the Point Code Groups dialog.
You can add and delete groups, change the group sequence, save your groups as the default and more.
You can collapse and expand groups. Collapsing a group hides any point codes in the group but leaves the group name displayed in the Point Codes Manager. A small chevron (V) to the right of the group name indicates whether the group is expanded (points up) or collapsed (points down). Clicking on the chevron expands or collapses the group.
This convention is used throughout Windows Vista. Just open Explorer and choose View | Groups. You'll see what we mean.
Commands related to collapsing groups can be found in the View | Point Code Groups | Collapse / Expand Groups pop-up menu.
Collapse / Expand Commands
•Collapse This Group - collapse just the selected groups.
•Collapse All Groups But This - collapse all groups except the selected on. If more than one traverse is selected, only the last traverse selected is left expanded.
•Collapse All Groups - collapses all the groups. You can then expand groups as needed using the chevron (V) to the right of the group name.
•Expand All Groups - expands all the groups.
Hiding Groups
You can hide groups. Hidden groups do not display the group name in the Point Codes Manager. You can turn groups on and off in the Groups dialog by checking the group name in the list. Groups without a check mark in the box are hidden.
Other Hide / Show commands are:
•Hide This Group - hides this group so that it is no longer visible in the Point Codes Manager.
•Hide All Groups But This - hides all the other groups, leaving the selected group visible.
•Show All Groups - show all the hidden groups again in the Point Codes Manager.
Selecting Point Codes via Groups
You can select all of the point codes in a group by selecting the group name. Just left click a group name and watch as all the traverses in the group get selected automatically. You can then right click the group name and select an operation to perform on all the traverses in the group.
This is handy for tagging and untagging point codes as a group. Once the group has selected all the point codes, just click the check box next to the point code name to tag or untag all the point codes in the group.
