Working With Markers

About Markers

The program has the convenient function of placing customized Markers at virtually any Location on any Chart. With a click of the mouse, identifiers such as Home Base, Lighthouses, Historic Sites, Buoys, Ports, Rocks, etc, can be placed on the Chart. The added option exists to create personalized Marker icons.

Marker Tools appear on the Main Tool Bar. Note that by taking the mouse pointer over the button, in one or two seconds a ToolTip will appear with a description of what that button does.

Any image, text, pdf or any other kind of document can be Attached to the selected Marker.

Creating a Marker

Creating a Marker using Mouse

To start creating a Marker, click the Create New Marker icon in the Main Toolbar. While moving the mouse, a Marker will move onscreen, along with the Marker's default name. Drag and drop the Marker to the desired position on the chart in the Main Chart View.

Note that if the Marker is to be added at a location not visible in the Main Chart View, first pan and zoom to the area required and then add the Marker there following the steps above.

Creating Marker using Coordinate Entry

First, create a Marker anywhere in the Main Chart View by using the mouse (see previous paragraph.)To specify the Marker's intended coordinate, right click on the newly created Marker and select Set Coordinate on the menu.

The following dialog box will appear. Type the exact coordinates for the Marker.

Once (new) coordinates are entered, the Marker shows at that location on screen in the Main Chart View.

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Deleting a Marker

There are two ways to delete a Marker.

• Right-click on the Marker to bring up the menu. Click on delete.
  

• In NavManager, choose Markers, select the Marker to be deleted and then click the delete button which is located at the top menu of NavManager.
  
  

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Exporting a Marker

Markers can be exported to GPS or to a file. To do so, right-click on the Marker to bring up the menu. If connected to a GPS, there is the option of clicking on Send to GPS or Export to File. If not connected to GPS, only Export to File will be highlighted and this will be the only choice. A NavSim Object file with the extension .nso will be created. This is a proprietary file format and can contain any combination and number of object(s). Any number of the program users can export and import such files for transporting data and for information-sharing purposes.

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Hiding / Unhiding a Marker

Hiding a Marker

There are two ways to hide / unhide Markers:

• Using the Mouse

Right-click on the Marker to bring up the menu in the Main Chart View. Click on Hide or Unhide, as the case may be.

• Using NavManager

Make sure that the Marker of interest is selected in NavManager and use either the Hide or Unhide icon.

 

Unhiding All Markers

Using the NavManager highlight the markers to unhide. Click on the Unhide icon on the menu at the top .

Unhiding Specific Markers

Make sure that the Marker of interest is highlighted in NavManager, and click on the Unhide icon on the menu at the top .

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Duplicating a Marker

Right-click on the Marker to bring up the menu. Click on Duplicate. The duplicated Marker will be perfectly overlaid on the original Marker. Either of the Markers can be moved at any time.

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Moving a Marker

A Marker can be moved to a new position at any time. To do so, click on the Marker and drag to the desired location. Or, use set new coordinates.

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Changing Marker Properties

Marker properties can be changed by two methods:

• Right-click on the marker, choose Properties and make edits directly in the dialogue box (don't forget to click Apply and OK when done)
  
• Use NavManager. Change the name of the Marker, Lock or Unlock the Marker, Set the Marker as Home, make a duplicate of the Marker, change the Marker icon, turn alarms on or off, make the Marker visible or not visible (the same as Hiding/Unhiding) or set the Alarm Radius or add a description. Ways of doings these things are described below.

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Locking / Unlocking a Marker

After a Marker has been selected, right-click on the Marker and click on Lock in the menu which appears. This will switch the locked state of the marker. When the Marker is locked, a small padlock icon appears next to the Marker icon upon returning to the Main Chart View. To unlock the Marker, right-click, choose Unlock. This action unlocks this Marker and removes the padlock icon. Similarly, in NavManager you can perform the same task. Simply choose Markers on the menu which appears on the left, highlight the Marker(s) to lock (or unlock) and click in the box under the padlock icon.

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Setting Marker as Home

Note that only one Marker at a time can be a Home Marker.

• One is to right-click on the Marker and choose Set to Home Marker:

The Marker icon will change to the Home Marker icon .

• The other way to set the Marker as Home Marker is to right-click on the Marker and choose Properties. On the dialogue box that opens, click on Set as Home. Don't forget to click Apply and OK.
  
  

Removing "Home" Status from a Marker

A Marker that was set to be the "Home" can be reverted to a regular Marker by doing one of these two actions:

• Make another marker the home marker
  
• Right-click on the Marker and choose Properties. On the dialogue box that opens, unclick Set as Home.

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Changing Marker Icon

Right-click on the chosen Marker. Choose Properties from the menu. Click on Icon and the following icon chooser will appear:

Select an icon from any of those presented. Remember to click Apply and OK in the Properties window when you're done. Your Marker icon changes accordingly in the Main Chart View. If deciding against changing the icon, simply press Cancel.

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Requesting Markers from GPS

Please refer to the GPS Help.

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Using Locations

A Location is a GeoName, Marina Name, or Photograph that can be placed onto charts like a Marker, but carries additional information. Please refer to the Locations Help for more information.

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Man Overboard Marker

There is a special Marker that can be placed while navigating with the GPS called the Man Overboard Marker (MOB). This Marker is used in emergency situations in the event that an individual falls overboard. It is set in place simply by clicking the icon in the main toolbar. This leaves a Marker underneath the Boat at the location when you activated the Man Overboard button. Note that in order to see the Marker, the Boat (or Vessel, in NC PRO) must be visible on the screen. More than one Man Overboard marker can be placed at any time and the appearance of the Marker can be seen below in the preview window.

By default, the Man Overboard Marker is Locked. It can be Unlocked just like any other type of Marker.

The default parameters are as follows.

• Information:
  • Name: MOB
  • Description: Man Overboard
  • Date Created: The date and time when you activated this Man Overboard Marker.
  • Coordinate: The GPS location where you activated this Man Overboard Marker.
  • Path: This is the (Windows) path to which the folder belongs.

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Adding An Attachment

There are two ways to add an attachment:

• One is to right-click on the Marker and choose Properties.When the window opens, choose the Attachments tab at the top.

• The second way to add an attachment is to drag a file or image into the Main Chart View. Click on the text file or image and drag it from the desktop to the Marker and drop on top of the Marker. Delete any attachment as described above.

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