Working with Folders

Objects in the Datasource are organized into folders for display purposes.  These folders appear as a typical Windows Explorer style tree view in the Datasource dialogs.  To explore the subfolders of a folder, click the triangle to the left to see folders listed underneath.  To see the entries at any particular level of folder, click the folder itself.

The Edit Datasource dialogs may be launched by clicking one of the object type icons on the main Datasource toolbar, or by selecting the appropriate item under the Datasource menu. When using one of these dialogs, you may work with the left pane folder structure to perform numerous organizational tasks.

With a folder selected, the pane to the right will list the individual objects within the folder.

Several actions can be performed by right-clicking on this tree and using the resulting context menu.  With the context menu, it is possible to add, remove, and rename folders.

If the Include Subfolders checkbox in the upper right corner of the window is checked, then all objects in the current folder will be displayed, along with all objects contained in any subfolders. If the checkbox is not checked, only those objects in the top level of the folder will be displayed, and you will need to open each subfolder to view its contents. The current state of this checkbox will be saved for the user between sessions.

Creating New Folders

To create a new folder, select one of the existing folders, right-click and select New Folder, or click the plus sign button below the Folder panel. Note that you may not create new folders directly under the "umbrella" folders for Coordinate Systems. Any new folders must be created underneath one of the main object type folders (i.e. Fitted, Geocentric, Geodetic, Projected, etc.).

Deleting Folders

To delete a folder, right-click on it and select "Delete Folder". Or, with the folder selected, click the trashcan button below the folder tree.

You may only delete folders that are empty. You may not delete any of the master folders for individual object types.

Renaming Folders

To rename a folder, click once on the Folder name and type in the new name. You may not rename any of the master folders for individual object types.

Moving Objects into and out of Folders

You may select one or more objects in a given folder and then drag them into a new folder. Use the CTRL key to select multiple objects at once, or the Shift key to select an entire range.

When dragging and dropping a single object, the user will have the option to actually move the object, to cancel the move, or to create a shortcut. If a shortcut is created, the view will display the object under both the original folder location and the new location. The user may right-click on either of these copies of the object and choose to "Remove from View". If there is only one copy of an object it may not be removed from the view.

You may also drag and drop entire folders, but this will not provide the option to create a shortcut.

Saving Folder Views

The foldering scheme is stored in a separate View file (designated with a *.xvw)

Any changes you make to the foldering scheme will be written out to a view.xvw file referenced by the workspace.

If the base or custom datasources are updated to include objects that are not in your current view, the objects will be added into the top-level folder for their type. New custom objects will be visible, but new base objects will be hidden until made viewable by an administrator. See Filters for more information on hiding and showing objects.