Selecting Attributes from the Edit Menu brings up the Attributes Window. This is where station attributes can be created, mapped to specific characters, turned On/Off, etc. The Attributes Window can also be accessed by pressing the "Attributes" button on the Lineplot Options Window.
The Attributes Window works much like the Sections Window. The Ok and Cancel buttons both exit the Attributes Window, and return to wherever you entered from, either the Main Menu or the Plot Screen.
What is an Attribute
An attribute is a user determined quality or feature, which can be attached to survey stations or vectors. These attributes can then be used to determine how various stations are plotted, colored, or turned “On” or “Off”, etc.
The drawing of attribute data is essentially one way or the other. If a station "Has" the selected attributes it is drawn one way, and if it "Does Not Have" the selected attributes it is drawn another way.
In addition to the attribute boolean logic, a station must also be turned "On" in its Section assignment to be drawn at all using attributes. To view all of the stations, regardless of Section assignments, select the "All Black" button on the More Options Window, accessed from the Lineplot Options Window.
How are Attributes and Section Different?
Attributes are similar to Sections, but have several important differences. Sections are not Attributes, Attributes are not Sections, and both serve different purposes. While a station can belong to only 3 sections, and can really only "use" 1 section at a time, that same station can have (or belong to) all, some, or none of the 60 available attributes.
Each Section can have its own color, plot style, etc. on the lineplot. For attributes, the lineplot has only 2 colors: namely those with, and those without, the selected attributes. The reason for this is that it allows much more powerful processing of the attribute information.
