Function Description

The Parallel command is used to draw parallel lines with two sub-objects. In practical applications, parallel lines are mainly used to describe two relatively regular parallel polylines, such as railways, roads, power lines, etc. The application provides two methods for drawing parallel lines: by entering coordinate values and by entering length and angle.

It also supports the draw multiple parallels function, which allows you to specify the number of parallel lines to be drawn and the width of each line to meet the needs of different application scenarios.

It supports increasing or decreasing the width between parallel lines at any time according to the set step value during the drawing process, making it easy for users to draw a continuous parallel line with varying widths.

Function Entry

• Edit Data tab -> Object Drawing group -> Line -> Line -> Parallel / Parallel (Length, Angle) / Multiple Parallels.

Operation Instructions

Draw Parallel Lines

Draw Parallel Lines by Entering Coordinate Values

1. In the Edit Data tab, in the Object Drawing group, click the Line drop-down button and select the Parallel command. The parallel line cursor appears, and the Setting Step Value dialog box is displayed.
2. Set the Starting Point: Move the mouse to the map. As the mouse moves, the coordinate values of the current mouse position are displayed in real time in the parameter input box. Enter the coordinate values of the starting point of the parallel line in this box (you can switch between the two input boxes by pressing the Tab key) and press Enter to confirm the starting position of the parallel line.
3. Set the Parallel Line Width: Move the mouse and enter the width (length) of the parallel line in the parameter input box, then press Enter. After moving the mouse, you can see that the width of the parallel line is determined.

   

4. On the map, the X and Y coordinates of the mouse position and the width value are displayed in real time. You can switch between the three parameter input boxes by pressing the Tab key. Press Enter to complete the coordinate values of the next node of the parallel line.
5. You can increase the parallel line width by pressing the Q or + key, and decrease it by pressing the W or - key. The parallel line consists of two line objects. As shown in the figure below, with line ① as the reference, increasing or decreasing the width refers to the width between line ② and line ①. You can set the step increment method and length in the Setting Step Value dialog box:
6. Setting Step Value: The step value can be set using two methods: Increase by Percentage and Increase by Fixed Length. Users can choose according to their needs.

   

   • Increase by Percentage: The default is 20%, meaning each increase or decrease in step size is 20% of the current width. For example, if the current width is 100 meters, pressing the Q key increases it once, and the current width becomes 120. When increased again, it increases by 20% on the basis of 120, so the width becomes 144 (120*20%). And so on, always increasing by a percentage of the current width.
   • Increase by Fixed Length: Set a fixed length as the step increment. The default is 2 meters, meaning each increase or decrease is 2 meters. For example, if the current width is 100 meters, pressing the W key decreases it once, and the current width becomes 98 meters. The width always increases or decreases by the input fixed value.
7. Repeat steps 4-6 to draw other segments of the parallel line. You can change the drawing direction of the parallel line by pressing Ctrl+R. The application will automatically locate the other endpoint of the parallel line, allowing you to switch the drawing direction at any time.
   Notes:

   When drawing continuously with a fixed width, the parallel lines remain parallel. When the road width is continuously increased or decreased, the parallel lines will no longer be parallel. For example, when digitizing the road shown in the figure below, the initial width of the road is 6m, the middle width is 9m, and the last section is an intersection with uneven width. During the drawing process, the road section from 6m to 9m has a regular fixed width and can remain parallel. When the width continuously increases from 9m to 30m, it becomes non-continuous, so the drawn double lines are non-parallel.

   Digitized Road

8. Right-click to end the operation of drawing parallel lines.

Draw Parallel Lines by Entering Length and Angle

1. In the Edit Data tab, in the Object Drawing group, click the Line drop-down button and select the Parallel (Length, Angle) command. The parallel line cursor appears, and the Setting Step Value dialog box is displayed.
2. On the map, set the starting point and set the parallel line width in the same way as steps 2-3 of Draw Parallel Lines by Entering Coordinate Values.
3. After determining the starting point and width, the map displays the length of the line from the mouse position to the starting point, the angle with the positive X-axis, and the width value in real time. Enter the length and angle values in the parameter input boxes (you can switch between the two parameter input boxes by pressing the Tab key), and press Enter to confirm the length of the parallel line.
4. It also supports Setting Step Value, which is set in the same way as Draw Parallel Lines by Entering Coordinate Values.
5. Repeat step 3 to draw other segments of the parallel line. Right-click to end the operation of drawing parallel lines.

   Enter the Length and Angle of the Parallel Line

Draw Multiple Parallels

Draw Multiple Parallels allows users to specify the number of parallel lines to be drawn simultaneously and set the width of each parallel line individually. For example, when digitizing images, roads, ditches, woodlands, and other strip-like land uses are often arranged side by side. In such cases, you can use the Multiple Parallels function to draw three parallel lines (road, ditch, and woodland) at the same time. Drawing multiple parallel lines at once saves drawing time and greatly improves work efficiency. The following describes the operation of this example in detail:

Multiple Parallels Settings

Multiple Parallels Drawing Result

1. In the Edit Data tab, in the Object Drawing group, click the Line drop-down button and select the Multiple Parallels command. The Parameters dialog box appears, allowing you to set the number of parallel lines to be drawn.
2. Click the OK button. The Setting Step Value dialog box appears, and the mouse pointer on the map switches to the parallel line drawing state. Set the starting point of the parallel lines.
3. Use Ctrl+Q or Ctrl+W to switch between parallel lines and set the width of each parallel line in turn. When a parallel line is displayed as a red filled area, it indicates that its width can be adjusted.
4. On the map, the X and Y coordinates of the mouse position and the width value are displayed in real time. You can switch between the three parameter input boxes by pressing the Tab key. Press Enter to complete the coordinate values of the next node of the parallel line. You can also increase the width by pressing Q or +, and decrease it by pressing W or -.
5. Repeat steps 3-4 to draw other segments of the parallel lines. The drawing process is the same as Draw Parallel Lines. You can also change the drawing direction by pressing Ctrl+R.
6. Right-click to end the operation of drawing multiple parallels.

Notes:

If you adjust the step value in the Setting Step Value dialog box during the process of drawing parallel lines, and then return to the map to continue drawing, the shortcut keys for increasing or decreasing the width may not respond. In this case, simply move the map slightly to return the window focus to the parallel line drawing window, and the problem will be resolved.

Shortcut Keys for Drawing Parallel Lines