USER MANUAL: IBERIAN EXPLORATION THROUGHT GIS
CHAPTER 1
1. SHAPE FILES
This chapter explains in detail how the developer or the user can create and modify shape files using the
Quantum GIS (QGIS) tool. Once the Shape files are created they can be easily included in the application,
MOJO Map Objects provides a set of predefined methods to add these map layers.
HOW TO CREATE SHAPEFILES
Quantum GIS (QGIS) is a free tool available which helps in creating shape files. All shape files in this
application were designed using this tool. We have already discussed on how to set up the QGIS tool,
Below is a short summary as to how shape files were created using the this tool .
CREATING SHAPE FILES

Open QGIS Desktop version 1.8

Create a new Project (File -> New Project)
Figure 1.1 Adding a new layer- To Create ShapeFile

Click on the new shape file icon as shown in Figure 1.1, and name the layer.

It opens a Dialogue which allows the user to add attributes into the attribute field for the shape
file being created.

As shown in Figure 8.2, we add a new attribute called name of type Text Data.
Figure 1.2 Adding a new Attribute
Figure 1.3 Toggle Editing (Edit Mode)

Now a new layer appears on the left panel.

Right click on the newly created layer and click on Toggle Editing. This will enable you to draw
point, polygon or line on the screen.

Now, Click on Add feature and click on points on the maps to get the desired output.

Once done drawing lines, right click on the
last
point. Now the layer will be saved and hence will prompt the user to enter id and name
attributes which were initially set in the attribute table. Enter them and save the shape file.
Figure 8.3 shows the same.
.
Figure 1.4 Entering values into Attribute table and save ShapeFile
EDITING/ADDING RECORDS IN SHAPEFILES
We use the QGIS tool to edit the attribute table. All the data will be stored in a .DBF file when a shape
file is created. We could either use DBFExplorer, ARC View 3.0 or the QGIS tool used to edit the existing
data or to add new data into the shape file. Since we have created all the shape files using the QGIS tool,
we will continue using the same to also edit and add new rows and columns into it.
Editing/Adding data into Shape Files:

Open QGIS Desktop version 3.0

Open the project containing the shape file to be edited.

Right click on the shape file and click ‘Toggle Editing’ (puts the shape file in edit mode).

Now right click on the shape file again and select ‘Open Attribute Table’.

Edit the data already available, or use the menu to add extra fields in the table.

Once done, click on the ‘Toggle editing’ again so that the editing mode is turned off.

Save the shape file.

Figure 8.4 and 8.5 shows a sample edit performed on one of the attribute tables. Id, name has
been modification in content and a new attribute ‘Year’ was added with value.
Figure 1.5 Data in Attribute Table
Figure 1.6 Data Edited in Attribute Table

Figure 1.6 shows a tool bar which includes ‘Toggle Edit’, add column, remove column, remove
row and others which are available when an attribute table is opened earlier.
Figure 1.7 Toolbar in Edit Attribute Table

Save and now click on the toggle edit to turn off editing.
All the changes done are now saved in the .DBF file which forms a bundle with the .SHP shape file
created.
CHAPTER 2
2. TOOLBAR & ITS SIGNIFICANCE
Toolbars are a key component in any Application designed for user interaction. Including tool bars and
making them self-explanatory in any application is absolute, since these provide a higher interaction
level with the application. MOJO provides toolbars and the ones which are used in this application are
‘ZoomPan toolbar’, ‘Selection toolbar’ and ‘Custom Toolbar’. We will have a detailed description of
these tools and their significance in this application. The toolbars are described as follows.
ZOOMPAN TOOLBAR
ZoomPanToolBar provides basic functionality required in this application. The important tools here are
‘Zoom in’, ‘Zoom out’ and ‘identify’. See the figure 2.1 for details of the each tool in the
ZoomPanToolBar [5].
Figure 2.1 ZoomPan ToolBar
The list goes as follows,

Previous Extent: This is used to zoom in the map to the previous extent stored.

Next Extent: This is used to zoom in the map to the next extent available.

ZoomToActiveLayer: This tool is used to zoom into the active features selected on
the map.

ZoomToFullExtent: This tool is used to zoom into the map to an extent where it
covers all the layers on the map.

Zoom In: This tool is used to zoom into a selected area on the map.

Zoom Out: This is used to zoom out of a particular area on the map.

Pan: This tool is used to pan the map depending on the mouse movement by the user.

Pan One Direction: This tool is used to pan map only in one direction (North, South,
East and West).

Identify: This tool is used to identify the selected feature on the map.
SELECTION TOOLBAR
Selection Toolbar is another tool bar which is enabled only when a layer is selected or active. This tool
bar is mainly used for selecting required features from the map. We will look at the details of tools in the
selection toolbar. The tool is as shown in the figure 2.2.
This tool bar is used when we want to create a new shape file, query the attributes and to view
the attributes table for a map layer.
Figure 2.2 Selection Toolbar
The list of tools in selection toolbar as per the figure9.2 is as follows [4]:

Find tool: This tool is to find the feature mentioned in the find dialog.

Search tool: This tool is used to find the features on the map from a stored query
results.

Query Builder tool: This tools gives user the option of writing a query and selecting
the features on the map as a result of the query.

Select Feature tool: This tool is used to select feature by using any of the polygons
available to select. Make a layer active and drag the mouse to select the portion of
map.

Clear Selection tool: This tool is to deselect all the features that are selected using
select Feature tool.

Buffer: This tool is to develop a buffer polygon for selection features.

Attribute Table: This tool is used to display attribute table for the layer selected. This
table consists of fields and records of database file.
CUSTOM TOOLBAR
The custom tool bar is created to provide additional functionalities for the user in making this
application a more user friendly and powerful tool. This toolbar has options for adding points on the
map, navigating to a quiz page, hotlink which provides more info about places on the map and more.
The figure 2.3 shows the custom tool bar, hovering on each of the tools displays a tool tip, so the users
are well informed before making a click to use it .
Figure 2.3 Custom Tool Bar
The following are the functions of Custom Tool bar:
POINT TOOL:
This tool lets the user place a point on the map. This can be used as a pointer on the maps to
locate different places and navigation routes.
Figure 2.4 Click on Point Tool and then on Portugal
ANCHOR TOOL:
Upon clicking this tool, the application navigates and opens a web page. This page shows all the
Iberian sailors listed on the left and a map which plots their routes on a map each sailor
referenced with each color/shape.
Figure 2.5 Web page on clicking Anchor Tool
PORTUGUESE FLAG TOOL:
On clicking this tool, the application navigates and opens up a Portuguese web page which
displays more information including the picture and the route taken by them.
Figure 2.6 Web page on clicking Portugal Tool
SPANISH FLAG TOOL:
On clicking this tool, the application navigates and opens up a Spanish webpage, displaying more
information which includes the sailor pictures and route.
Figure 2.7 Web page on clicking Spanish Tool
QUIZ TOOL:
Opens a webpage where the user has to answer a set of questions to understand how much the
tool has helped in knowing about the Iberian Exploration.
Figure 2.8 Quiz Tool
HOT-LINK:
This tool is represented as a lighting bold icon and can be used both as a cursor icon and a tool.
This is an important tool and is often used on the current active layers, although there can be a
number of different implementations that can be done. In this application, Hotlink is used to show
the country clicked, along with their national flag, national anthem, national seal and their location
on the world map (highlighted in green). Since this is an Iberian exploration application the
countries were chosen assuming that the user will click on the countries the sailors have often
discovered or visited during their adventure.
Figure 2.8 Hotlink tool is used to show information about Brazil when clicked on it. The
application is so designed that if a country doesn’t have any information stored and the user clicks
on it, he would see “Image not available” dialogue.
Figure 2.9 Hotlink tool displaying country Details when clicked on Brazil
Below is a portion of the code snippet as to how Hotlink has been implemented in this application. It’s
too complex to identify which region was clicked on the world map (Active layer). Fortunately ESRI has
solved this problem with an identify class and a PickListener. To get this fully functional a number of
fields were added into the attribute table of the world map shape file, which includes country code,
country name, and sovereign with other country specific information. Country code was finally used to
translate information as a dialogue displaying the details of the region selected.
CHAPTER 3
3. CUSTOM MENUS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS
From the earlier Chapters we already know that GIS Application supports Custom Menus. In this Chapter
we mainly focus on the different options the user has been provided with this custom menu. The
functionality of these options helps the user in gaining in-depth knowledge of the layers selected. Figure
10.1 shows the custom menu created for this application. Let’s look at the important features available
from this custom menu bar.
Figure 3.1 Custom menus available
FILE MENU
File menu has 3 options, Legend Editor, add a layer and remove a layer. Adding and removing a layer has
already been discussed in the earlier Chapters. Let us now briefly discuss as to how Legend Editor can
help the user.
Legend editor allows the user to change different properties of a selected layer, which includes
color rendering on the map, labeling of different regions which includes selecting different fonts. When
the user clicks on Legend editor he is provided with 3 tab options symbols, labels, and general. This
section we will discuss about symbols the following section we shall look into Labeling and General.
Symbols can generally be used to highlight areas, routes or boundaries using different colors or
lines. For example a route for rail and road can be give different symbols at the same time and can also
have different colors. This can be achieved by selection, clicking on the “unique symbols” tab and then
select the style of line to be drawn on the map. Figure 3.2 demonstrates one such example of “mailing
rail road line” as a selection.
Figure 3.2 Custom menus available
Graduated symbol is another option which helps the user color different areas based on the
properties of the selected layer. Figure 3.3 below is an example where the trade route of Pedro Alveras,
from Spain to India is colored red.
Figure 3.2 Custom menus available
LABELING
As we have already discussed each layer has its own attribute table. This table can store different
properties of the layer in context. The legend Editor in this application helps the user to select one of the
set properties as labels on the map. The Legend editor is built with a number of options, the user can
change the size or color of the line drawn to represent the path of a sailor and it also has the flexibility of
changing the font color along with the size of the label selected.
Figure 3.4 Legend Editor after selecting World Map
Select a layer and then click on File menu and Legend Editor and now select the labels tab.
Choose the type of font for labeling and the column name to be used for labeling and click ok. The labels
are displayed on the map as shown in the figure3.4.
Figure 3.5 Labeling All the Countries along with Spanish Sailors
STATISTICS
This is an important menu item as it helps the use to know the huge number of sailors who had set sail
from different parts of the world for their own adventures or in the hope of discovering new unexplored
land.
Figure 3.6 Displaying the ‘Statistics’ menu
This project mainly focuses on Iberian Exploration, and hence on the appropriate selection of
either Portuguese or Spanish sailors this tool displays a table of sailors for both Portuguese and Spanish.
This table includes all details of the sailor right from the starting point to the destination reached along
with the year of his journey. Figure 10.6 displays a sample output of the same. This data might also
make the user curious about all the adventures and discoveries done to date and selecting “All Sailors”
displays this result.
Figure 3.7 Displaying the sailor Details ‘Statistics->Portuguese’ menu
REGIONAL SAILOR
Iberian Exploration includes both Portuguese and Spanish sailors, it becomes very important for an end
user to distinguish between the two sailors and hence this menu item. This menu as shown below has
three options Portuguese, Spanish and both. This selection allows the user to select one regional sailor
at a time and analyze the pattern of their sail. In this application one of the important observations that
can be seen would be that, most of the Portuguese sailors sailed east whereas the Spanish sailed west.
Figure 3.8 Regional Sailor
This menu has a toggle between the Portuguese and the Spanish sailors, as see in Figure 3.8. On
selecting the Portuguese sailors only they are layered on the map deleting all other Spanish sailors. Now
the selection would have only ‘Spanish’ or ‘Portuguese and Spanish’ options to be active graying out
‘Portuguese’.
HELP
This is one of the most important menu items that guide the user regarding different menu options
available along with the tool bar icons made available to him so that he isn’t lost in the application after
its launch. This also serves as a brief reference guide of the application.
Figure 3.9 Help tool displaying the guide for using the tools available.