Atlas region help

[Kristin]

I am using the "region" of "Geographic names" and would like to modify it. It currently has ALL geographic names, and I am hoping for it to only show a few of the names. I thus went into "Define Region Layers" and created a new list, but I can't figure out how to deselect individual labels. For example, I do need the Jordan River and Dead Sea, but I don’t need Sorek River. That is just an example.

 

Thank you for any help anyone is able to provide.

 

Sincerely,

Kristin

[Kristin]

Hi Everyone,

I am really sorry for commenting to this thread again given that no one else has, but I really need some help for an upcoming class and am running out of time. I tried using the Tutorial thing but I am still confused. I think I actually have a two questions:

 

1) My primary question is from the post above, wondering if there is a way to duplicate a region layer and then edit it. For example, I need the region layer of "Geographic names" as I need the Med Sea, Jordan River, Lebanon, etc, but I DON'T need Sharon, Shephelah, etc. Is there a way to delete parts I don't need? While I understand (from the Tutorial...) that I can just start with a blank map and add my own names, adding only what I need, I frankly can't fill in a blank map of the Mid East without a map. I can give general ideas, but I wouldn't trust my memory enough to use it in a class.

2) Can someone please explain the difference between "Region" and "Layer"?

Thank you for any help anyone is able to provide,
Kristin

[David Lang]

Kristen,

Unfortunately, there is no way to hide individual labels in a Region Layer as you can sites in a Custom Site Layer. So I’m going to offer you several things you can do to get the desired result. Which you choose depends on how much effort you want to go to and how permanent a solution you need.

 

1. The best you can do to modify your Geographic Lk layer is to hide the labels for entire subregions. In the pop-up menu of the dialog box with the word "Areas," you can select from Areas, Mountains, Bodies of Water, and Rivers. If you wanted to hide the labels for mountains like Hermon, you could select Mountains, and then check "Hide name". Play with those options, and you might get close to what you need.

 

The advantage of this solution is that it is easy and permanent. It just may not be adequate.

 

2. You can choose [No Regions] from the Regions pop-up menu and then search for the Region names you want to appear: Jordan R., GALILEE, etc. These labels will now appear on the map in red, bold text.

 

Alternatively, you could keep the Geographic Names region displayed, and then shift-click the labels you want to keep. That will highlight those labels in red as if you had done a search for them. When finished, you could then choose [No Regions] and be left with all the labels you clicked.

 

You can then choose Set Atlas Display from the Display menu. In the dialog that appears, choose Extra Region Names from the pop-up menu at the top. Extra Region Names are those which appear on the map as a result of a search. They are "extra" because they appear no matter what Region Layer you choose. Set the font and style you want (for example, black text instead of red, plain instead of bold) and click OK. It will look like you have a Custom Region Layer with just the labels you want.

 

The advantage of this solution is that the map will look exactly the way you want it to. It is also relatively easy to set up. The downside is the lack of permanence. If you close the map, you'll lose all your Extra Region names and have to set them up all over again. To avoid that, you can choose Save Active Tab from the File menu once you have the map set up the way you want. Then when you want your Luke map, you can open it and it will have all your Extra Region names displayed in black.

 

This is probably the solution I would go with, but there is another possibility:

 

3. You can create a User Layer with the region labels you want. Once you define a new region layer, simply edit it and add the text labels where you want them. The advantage of this solution is you can pull up the combination of labels you want simply by selecting your user layer. The disadvantages are that you have to mess with getting them to look right, and you can't rotate the text (it's just horizontal).

 

I hope all this makes sense and is helpful to you.

 

David

Edited August 19, 2021 by David Lang

[David Lang]

I just realized I never answered your second question about the difference between Region and Layer.

 

The Accordance Atlas has a built-in database of Regions (as well as Sites and Routes). You are basically accessing that database in the Set Region details section of the Define Region Layers dialog.

 

At the top of that dialog is the list of Layers you have defined (or that came pre-packaged). These are what actually appear in your menus. Your menus could contain multiple layers based on the same Region in the database (but  modified for different purposes), as you've already discovered by creating your Geographic Lk layer based on the Geographic Names region.

 

Hope that helps.

Edited August 19, 2021 by David Lang

[Kristin]

Hi David,

Thank you for your detailed response, I really appreciate it. I will have to carefully read everything you wrote and experiment some in order to really understand the options, but I have a better feel for it and was able to create a simple map I need in the next few hours.

If you do not mind, I think I have two further questions. First, concerning what you wrote:

 

4 hours ago, David Lang said:

2. You can choose [No Regions] from the Regions pop-up menu and then search for the Region names you want to appear: Jordan R., GALILEE, etc. These labels will now appear on the map in red, bold text.

 

Is it possible to change the font? I tried both right clicking, and also looking in the Atlas preferences, but there is not a way to change it from the red. Is that correct? I actually primarily need to create custom sites since I find the red difficult to read.

Second, would it be possible in the future for there to be more sort of "preset options" for a lack of a better word? For example, if I go into "Define Site Layers" there is an option for the Gospels, but I am hoping there could be a "Synoptics" option, as Cana is getting in the way, and likewise with being able to show the Sea of Galilee, Med Sea, Jordan River, without the Sorek and Yarmuk rivers.

If that won't be an option in the future it is ok, but I wanted to check. Thank you again for your help and I will mess around with the options after class.

Sincerely,
Kristin

[David Lang]

Kristen,

 

You can specify how you want Extra Site Names and Extra Region Names to appear either through the Set Atlas Display dialog (accessible through the Display menu) or the Atlas Tab Display settings of the Preferences.

 

Use the Set Atlas Display dialog if you want to make a temporary change. For example, you typically want items you find on the map to appear in red, but you want them to appear in black in the current map window (just as I talked about under option 2 above).

 

If you never want the Extra labels to appear in red, use the Atlas Tab Display settings of the Preferences. If you set the Extra Site Names color to blue, for example, every map you open will display found items in blue.

 

I doubt we would ever get so granular in the Define Site Layers dialog to distinguish Synoptic Sites from Gospels sites, but thankfully, it would be relatively easy for you to create a Custom Site Layer for the Synoptics. Where Define Site Layers lets you specify a group of sites to display by selecting criteria from the database, a Custom Site Layer lets you pick exactly the sites you want to display. Here's how I would create a Custom Site Layer for the Synoptics:

 

1. Start by using Define Site Layers to create a layer which shows only sites in the NT Gospels period. You may have to zoom in a bit to see all of them.

 

2. Shift-click the sites you want to keep. This will make them Extra sites. For example, you could shift-click all the sites in Galilee except Cana.

 

3. When you've got all your synoptic sites selected, choose Convert to Custom Layer from the Sites menu. This will create a Custom Site Layer with all the Extra site names you have chosen. You just need to give the layer a name and click OKAY.

 

Hope this helps.

[Kristin]

Thank you so much, @David Lang! Yes, that helps a lot, and I had no idea I could create custom layers like that. The responses from everything you wrote above has been very helpful.

Thank you again and take care,
Kristin