Tools are graphical objects that appear on top of marine charts and are used for measuring distances/bearings, keeping notes, or other purposes. The following types of tools are supported:
Vessel: These are used to display vessels for various purposes. When created, the vessel has the same size as Own-Ship. Open up details of the vessel to adjust its size. Select bow/stern and drag/drop to rotate the vessel. Select center and drag/drop to move the vessel around. When a vessel tool is selected and docking aids are enabled, then it will be used as a docking target, showing distances and other approach information for Own-Ship.
You can press Add Maneuver to create a multi-step maneuver for the vessel. This will open a panel at the bottom of the display where STW, Bow, and Stern speed vectors can be edited with sliders. Press the add (+) and delete (-) buttons to add and remove steps from the maneuver. You can press the advance and backup buttons (or tap other steps) to move between steps on the maneuver. If docking aids are enabled, then distances to nearby fenders will be shown.
Tools are used by mariners in various ways to help reference and manage chart information.
Create a Mariners Note, View, or Group by double tapping anywhere on the navigation display and selecting Add Tool, then Add Mariners Note, Add View, or Add Group.
EBLs, VRMs, Clearing Lines, and Fenders are similar but first select a point on the display and then double tap on a second position and select Add EBL, Add Clearing Line, Add Fender, or Add VRM. For EBLs and Clearing Lines, the first position is the beginning of the EBL and the second is the end. For VRMs, the first position is the center of the circle and the second position indicates the radius.
Tools are graphicly edited by first tapping on the object to select it. Once selected, you can move them by touching near the object and dragging it. For EBLs, you can move either end of the EBL to a new location, causing the range and bearing to be adjusted accordingly. If you drag the line, then the range and bearing will remain the same but the origin of the EBL will be moved accordingly. Clearing Lines are similar to EBLs, except that you can also drag the ends of the "T" to adjust its length. For VRMs, if you move the center, that will adjust the center position but the radius will stay the same. If you drag the circle, then the radius will be adjusted without moving the center.
You can attach an EBL, VRM, or Clearing Line to a vessel (either Own-Ship or an AIS target) or a waypoint. This is done by dragging the object until the origin of the EBL/CL or the center of the VRM is on the desired vessel. The default is to attach a tool to the center of the vessel; if you are zoomed in sufficiently, you can drop it specifically on the bow or stern of the vessel. Once attached, the object will move along with the given vessel. You can also drag the object off by selecting it and moving it. Only EBLs, VRMs, and Clearing Lines may be attached to other objects.
Any tools may be manually edited by selecting it and double tapping on it. A dialog will appear showing the attributes of the tool. In the top-right is a delete button. Next to it is a button for exporting/forwarding that object via email, iTunes File transfer, or opening it in another app (see Import and Export for more information).
Mariners Notes are only displayed when the display scale is at least 1:100,000 or when they are associated with an area (see below).
Mariners Notes can be associated with areas or lines on the chart. To do this, select the Mariners Note by single tapping on it and then double tapping and choosing Add Point to Mariners Note. When at least 3 points have been added, the polygon they identify will be shown with partially transparent fill. You can also select Fill Color, Line Color, and Line Style. Fill can be disabled, in which case the line is displayed as a line segment.
Fenders are only displayed when the scale is at least 1:100,000. More information about fenders can be found in Docking Help.
There are a number of options for importing and exporting tools. The options are similar to those for routes and waypoints; we recommend reading Import/Export Help for an introduction.
Tools can be exported as a group (using Export or Export Mariners Notes) or individually (using the forwarding button in the tool edit dialog). Tools can be exported using email, iTunes File Transfer, or opened in another application (only SEAiq apps will import them).
When exporting a Group tool, all the tools in that group will be included.
There is no industry standard format for Tools as there is for GPX. SEAiq uses an XML based format, so they can be edited as a text file, if desired. However, other programs may not be able to import them.