Numeric Colour Sets
There is no undo facility when you edit colour sets, hatch sets, line sets, or symbol sets. If you want to be able to undo any future changes or deletions, you should first use the Save As button to save your current settings as a form set which can be re-loaded.
To define a numeric colour set:
- On the Home tab, in the Symbology group, open the Numeric Colour Sets form.
You can also open the Numeric Colour Sets form by right-clicking (F4) in the Colour Set response in a form (when the Colour field you have selected is a numeric field).
- Decide on the number of ranges (bins) into which
you will divide the data and then enter values that define the limit of
each range in the Value column. The ranges you define will appear in the
Label column. The contents of the Label
column can be used in the legend frame of a plot.
If the Auto update labels check box is selected, labels are automatically generated, based upon the entries in the Value column.
You can modify the labels if you wish. To keep your modifications when there is a subsequent change to an entry in the Value column, deselect the Update labels check box.
- Alternatively, use the Calculate and Assign buttons to divide your data into suitable ranges.
- Select individual colours by double-clicking (F3) or use an existing palette. Allocate a for each range and define the extent of colour ramps by selecting the colours that will be included.
- If the Auto update labels check box is selected, you can modify the labels that are generated automatically based upon the values entered. Use the buttons on the local toolbar to Manage the rows in the list.
- Click Save As to save your changes as a new form set. Click Save and Close to save the current form as the default form set and close the Edit Colour Sets form.
Numeric Colour Grid
Value
Decide on the number of ranges (bins) into which you will divide the data and then enter values that define the limit of each range in the Value column.
Colour
Double-click (F3) to select the colours that will be used to colour-code each range. Alternatively, you can select an existing palette (see below).
On the right-click menu, you can:
- Select Change Selected Colours or Change All Colours to modify the colours of ALL rows or SELECTED rows only.
- Select Fill With Random Colours to apply random colours to the entire colour set.
Colour Ramp
Click the Colour Ramp button to ramp the colours of the ranges (or bins) you have selected. The colour of those ranges and the palette display will be refreshed.
Label
If the Auto update labels check box is selected, labels are automatically generated, based
upon the entries in the Value column.
You can modify the labels if you wish. To keep your modifications when there is a subsequent change to an entry in the Value column, deselect the Update labels check box.
Decimals
Enter the number of decimals to be used when labelling values.
Palette
Ranges or Spectrum
Select the RANGES option to apply the colours as shown in the form. Select the SPECTRUM option to subdivide each range into eight equal parts, each with its own interpolated (or ramped) colour. This ensures that the colour coding is applied much more smoothly in the display.
The difference between the two is evident in the displayed palette, which is refreshed when you change options.
When editing a numeric colour set, if a NULL colour is encountered when in Spectrum mode, a warning is displayed and the mode is changed to Range mode.
Select
The colours you assign to the ranges in a colour set or a hatch set can be saved as a palette, which is simply a list of RGB colour values. When you click the Select button in an Edit Colour Set or Edit Hatch Set form, an extensive range of system palettes are available for selection. See: Colour Palettes
Save
To save the colours in the current set as a palette, click the Save button.
Forms
Click the Forms button to select and open a saved form set, or if a form set has been loaded, save the current form set.
New
Click the New button to clear all of the response boxes in the form.
Colour Ramp
Click this button to update the colour ramp based upon the colours you have selected for each range( see 'Ramp' above). The palette display will be refreshed.
Assign
Click this button to automatically calculate ranges. Enter the number of ranges and choose a calculation method. Assign will use the Min and Max values in the file as the limits.
Calculate
Click this button to automatically Calculate ranges based on first and last values (you enter) and either a set number of intervals or a set interval size.
Asc/Desc
Click this button to reverse the order of the ranges as Ascending or Descending. This is useful when you have a preference for the order in which the values will appear in a plot legend. Values occurring on a range border will take the colour, hatch, or line defined for the first range.
From Hatch
Click the From Hatch button to create a colour set from an existing hatch set. See: Convert Hatch Set to Colour Set
Save As
Click Save As to save your changes as a new form set. See: Save As
Save and Close
Click Save and Close to save your changes as the default form set and close the form.
Cancel
Click the Cancel button to close the form without saving your changes. Note that the Edit form will always show the last changes that were made. To revert back to where you were before changes were made, you will need to re-load a saved form set. If your original settings were not saved as a form set, they cannot be recovered.
Default ACI (Auto CAD Colour Index (ACI)) numeric and text colour sets are included in the template for new projects and are copied to older projects when they are upgraded.