3.8. Object Inspector

The Object Inspector is the right-side panel that displays and edits properties of the selected object(s), the active layer, or drawing-level settings. Toggle its visibility with the Properties button on the Quick Access Toolbar.

The redesigned Object Inspector with collapsible categories.

3.8.1. Architecture

The inspector is built on TVirtualStringTree — a high-performance tree control that renders property rows as tree nodes organised into collapsible category groups. This replaces the earlier custom panel implementation.

Key design features:

• Collapsible categories — click a category header to expand or collapse its properties.

• Owner-drawn combo editors — Color properties show an inline colour swatch (no text). Layer combos show colour swatch + name. Linetype combos show a dash pattern preview. Lineweight combos show a thickness preview line.

• Value type colour-coding — numeric values are shown in green, strings in orange, read-only values in grey, and multi-select differing values in dimmed italic (“Varies”).

• Keyboard navigation — Tab / Shift+Tab cycles through editable rows; Enter commits a value; Escape reverts.

• Human-friendly labels — PascalCase property names are automatically converted to spaced labels (e.g. BackgroundColor becomes “Background Color”). Proxies can override labels for context-aware naming (e.g. ShowScaleBar becomes “Show” under the Scale Bar group).

3.8.2. Selection Filter

At the top of the inspector panel is a Selection Filter combo box. Set it to a specific entity type (e.g. Line, Polyline, Circle, Survey Point) to restrict which entity types can be picked on the canvas. Set it to All (default) to allow selection of any entity type.

Selection filter combo restricting picks to a specific entity type.

3.8.3. Multi-Selection

Select multiple objects (window, crossing, Ctrl+click, or Ctrl+A) to inspect them all at once. The inspector shows properties shared by all selected entities:

• Properties with the same value across all entities display that value normally.

• Properties with different values display as italic Varies.

• Editing a value applies the change to all selected entities simultaneously.

Multi-selection showing “Varies” for differing property values.

3.8.4. Common Properties (All Objects)

Property	Description
Handle	Unique numeric identifier — read-only.
Name	Optional user-assigned label for the object.
Layer	The layer this object belongs to. Owner-drawn combo shows colour swatch + layer name.
Color	Object colour. ByLayer inherits from the layer. Owner-drawn combo shows colour swatch only.
Line Type	ByLayer, a built-in type, or a custom named type loaded from a .LIN file. Owner-drawn combo shows a dash pattern preview.
Line Width	Pen width. Owner-drawn combo shows a thickness preview line.

3.8.5. Canvas / Drawing Defaults

When no object is selected, the inspector shows drawing-level defaults used for new objects, organised into categories:

Property	Description
Current Color	Default colour for new objects (ByLayer recommended).
Current Linetype	Default linetype for new objects.
Current Line Width	Default pen width for new objects.
Grid Visible	Show or hide the background grid.
Background Color	Canvas background colour.

3.8.6. Line Properties

Property	Description
Start Point / End Point	World coordinates of the endpoints. Edit to reposition precisely.

3.8.7. Polyline and Multiline Properties

Property	Description
Closed	Whether the polyline is closed (last vertex connects to first).
Vertex	Vertex navigation row with [<] and [>] buttons and a label showing Vertex N of M between them. Click the arrows or change the index to navigate. Sub-properties: X, Y, Bulge (Z is also shown for 3D polylines).
End Caps (Multiline)	When checked, perpendicular lines are drawn across both ends of the multiline.

3.8.8. Hatch Properties

Hatch properties are shown on polylines, rectangles, and other entities that support hatching:

Property	Description
Hatch Pattern	Pattern name combo (ANSI31, ANSI32, NET, DOTS, SOLID, etc.).
Hatch Scale	Pattern scale factor.
Hatch Angle	Pattern rotation angle in degrees.
Hatch Color	Hatch line colour.
Hatch Background Color	Fill colour behind the hatch pattern.
Hatch Transparency	0 (opaque) to 255 (fully transparent).

3.8.9. 3D Polyline Properties

Property	Description
Closed	Whether the 3D polyline is closed.
Spline Flag	Enable Catmull-Rom spline interpolation in full 3D (X, Y, Z).
Spline Steps	Number of interpolation steps per spline segment (default 20).
Point Count	Number of vertices — read-only.
Poly Length	Total polyline length — read-only.
Vertex	Navigation row with [<] Vertex N of M [>]. Sub-properties: X, Y, Z.

3.8.10. Text Properties

Property	Description
Text	The string content.
Height	Text height in world units.
Style Name	Named text style (font, width factor, oblique angle, bold/italic).
Bold / Italic	Per-object override of the style’s weight/style.
H Align / V Align	Horizontal and vertical justification.
Rotation	Rotation angle in degrees.

3.8.11. Multileader Properties

Property	Description
Text	Label text content.
Arrow Style	Filled, Open, or None.
Arrow Size	Arrowhead size in world units.
Landing Gap	Length of the horizontal dogleg connecting the leader to the label.
Text Height	Label text height in world units.
Style Name	Named text style for the label.

3.8.12. Arc / Circle Properties

Property	Description
Centre	World coordinates of the arc/circle centre.
Radius	Radius in world units.
Start Angle / End Angle (Arc)	Arc extents in degrees. 0° = east; increases counter-clockwise.

3.8.13. Dimension Properties

Property	Description
Dim Style	Dropdown to select a named dimension style from the style library.
Text Override	Custom text to display instead of the measured value. Use <> as a placeholder for the measurement (e.g. <> mm).
Measurement	The computed value (read-only).
Rotation	Rotation angle for linear rotated dimensions.

3.8.14. AEC Survey Point Properties

Property	Description
Point Number	Numeric survey identifier.
Point Name	Descriptive name.
Northing / Easting	World coordinates — kept in sync with the object’s drawn position.
Elevation	Z value (stored; not used for 2D drawing position).
Raw Description	Survey field code (e.g. EP, BM).
Full Description	Expanded description for reports.
Point Group	Group name for filtering in the Civil Toolspace and exports.
Lock Point	Prevents accidental moves when checked.
Point Style Name	Named style from the Point Style Library (see Format Settings).

3.8.15. Surface Properties

Property	Description
Style Name	Named surface style (Standard, Triangles & Contours, Contours Only, or a user-defined style). See Format Settings.
Point Count	Number of TIN vertices — read-only.
Triangle Count	Number of Delaunay triangles — read-only.
Surface Area	Total 3D surface area — read-only.
Min Elevation / Max Elevation	Elevation range — read-only.
Show Contours	Toggle contour line display.

3.8.16. Alignment Properties

Property	Description
Style Name	Named alignment style controlling centerline, ticks, PI markers, and direction arrows.
Label Style Name	Named alignment label style controlling station labels, PI data, and curve data labels.
Start Station	Station value at the beginning of the alignment.
Total Length	Total alignment length — read-only.

3.8.17. Table Properties

Property	Description
Insert X / Insert Y (Geometry)	Coordinates of the table insertion point.
Rotation (Geometry)	Table rotation angle in degrees.
Rows (Table)	Number of rows (including title and header rows if present).
Cols (Table)	Number of columns.
Style Name (Table)	Named table style (Standard, Schedule, Legend, or a user-defined style). See Format Settings for style details.
Title (Table)	Text displayed in the title row (visible only when the style has HasTitle enabled).

3.8.17.1. Image Properties

Property	Description
Image Path	File path of the source image (referenced mode).
Pixel Size	Pixel dimensions of the source image (read-only, “W x H”).
Embedded	When True, image bytes are stored inside the drawing file.
World Width / World Height	Dimensions of the image in world units.
Rotation	Counter-clockwise rotation in degrees.
Opacity	0 (transparent) to 255 (fully opaque).
Show Image	When False, a dashed placeholder frame is displayed instead.
Clip Enabled	Enable rectangular sub-region clipping.

3.8.18. Viewport Properties

When a paper-space viewport is selected, the inspector shows categories for:

• View — scale, center position, locked flag.

• Grid — viewport grid visibility and spacing.

• Border — tick marks, ladder marks, crosses with coordinate labels, border interval.

• North Arrow — visibility, size, position.

• Scale Bar — visibility, style, position.

3.8.19. Tunnel Section Line Properties

See Tunnel Analysis and Coordinate Transformations for the full list of Tunnel Section Line deviation-analysis properties.

3.8.20. Set Properties

Set-type properties (e.g. OsnapTypes) expand in-place as checkbox children instead of opening a popup dialog. Check or uncheck individual items to modify the set value.

A set property expanded as checkbox children.