Basic Lesson 2

Using Legends

Open your Project

If you have closed your project or shut down FlamMap, you can reopen the project by selecting the File > Open command from the menu bar. In the "Open" dialog box select the file FirstTutorial.fmp and click the Open button. Your FlamMap project will display just the way it was when you last saved it.

In FlamMap one of the grid items is always the active theme and is shown in the "Display" pane. The active theme can be one of the themes in the Landscape or one of the Auxiliary or output Grid themes. The active theme item is identified in the "Tree" pane with the icon.

Left pane tree showing active theme

Viewing the Active Grid Themes Legend

Select the ♦Fuel Model item to make it the active grid theme. To view the Legend for the fuel model theme, right-click in the "Display" pane (right hand pane) to display the following shortcut menu.

	Click the View Legend command in the shortcut menu and the "FirstTutorial.fmp Legend" dialog box appears.
	Once a legend is displayed you can click on it's title bar and drag it anywhere, even outside of the "FlamMap" window.

Modifying the Grid Theme Legend

Make sure the ♦Fuel Model item is the active theme. Change your legend by clicking the Fuel Model button on the "Legend" dialog box to show the "Create/Modify Legend" dialog box.

Create/Modify Legend dialog box

Modify the Legend

The Tutorial landscape does not contain all of the standard fuel models depicted in the default legend. You can simplify the legend by deleting the unused classes. Look in the Frequency column, which tells you how many of the grid cells have that value, and select one of the rows with a Frequency of zero. Click the Delete Class button to remove that class. You can select multiple classes to delete using the standard windows SHIFT or CTRL keys. Delete fuel models 1-13, 92, 103-109, 141, 143, etc. and your "Create/Modify Legend" dialog box should look like this.

Create/Modify Legend dialog box after deleting unused fuel model classes

If you make a mistake, just click the Cancel button and start over by clicking the Fuel Model button on the "Legend" dialog box again.

Modify Colors

You notice that there is a small amount of Fuel Model 146 in the landscape and you want to know where it is. To make the areas of Fuel Model 146 stand out you'll want to make it a distinct color. Display the "Color" dialog box by double clicking the Fuel Model 146 color box in the "Create/Modify Legend" dialog box. Select the bright pink (3rd row, last column) from the Basic Colors: section and click the OK button.

Or if you want to create a custom color,

Select one of the white boxes in the Custom Color: section.
Click in the rainbow section until you have the color you want.
Click the Add to Custom Colors button, your new color will appear in the Custom Color: section,
Finally click the OK button.

Color dialog box for picking colors

When you have deleted the unused Fuel Model classes and modified colors click the OK button in the "Create/Modify Legend" dialog box and the landscape will redraw with your new colors. Your "Legend" dialog box should look like this. Now you can see the scattered pink patches of Fuel Model 146 in the northeast quadrant of the "Display" pane.

Legend dialog box after deleting unused fuel models and making FM9 yellow

These colors will now be saved along with your project when you save it again.

Modifying the Vector Theme Display

To change the way a vector theme is displayed Use the "Properties" dialog box. Right-click on the ♦ Roads line in the "Tree" pane to display the following shortcut menu.

Vector theme shortcut menu

Click the Properties command and a "Properties" dialog box appears.

Properties dialog box for the whole712.shp shapefile

Use the "Properties" dialog box to change a vector theme color, line style, and line width.

Blue is the default line color, double-click to change it. In the "Colors" dialog box select a bright purple from the Basic Colors: section.
Then select Dash from the Line Style: list.
Leave the Line Width: as "2".
Click the OK button in the "Properties" dialog box and the "Display" pane redraws with the Roads as dashed purple lines.

Save Your Project

Even if you plan to continue now with this tutorial, you should save this project by following the procedures in the first lesson. Keep the project name FirstTutorial.fmp.

The next lesson will continue with other features to Control the Display Pane.