Using the
Feature Finder 
The Feature Finder makes it possible to
quickly and easily locate any of the thousands of features in the database, as well as gain access to several
important custom features.
NOTE: When you use the
Feature Finder, the following Tool Bar Buttons are temporarily
hidden, because they become inactive. As
soon as the Feature Finder is closed, the buttons re-appear on the Tool
Bar. They will also re-appear if you
uncheck Select Features with Mouse on the Feature Finder Dialog.
When you open the
dialog box, click the down arrow under Select
a Feature Type (as shown below),
to display the feature types in the drop-down list. An alphabetical listing of all named features
of that type will appear in the right-hand window of the dialog box. At the same time, all of the listed named
features will be highlighted in green on the map display. In the example shown, Craters has been
selected.
Features visible on the
displayed hemisphere are listed in black, while features that are not visible,
appear in gray. If you select a feature
on a non-visible hemisphere, a dialog appears asking you if you want to rotate
the lunar disk. Click, Yes, if you want the search to be
completed.
Search 1: LOCATE A SPECIFIC FEATURE WITH SMART SEARCH
If you
know the name of the feature you want to find, you can quickly locate it, even
if you are not sure of the spelling. The
software’s Smart Search capability,
will find the name of any feature, if you enter the first two or three letters
of the feature name into the Type
Name/Click on List text box.
In the
following example, we selected the Rimae feature type, and found all the
Gassendi Rimae by just entering, Ga into the display window. Once you click a feature such as, Gassendi I,
its name is highlighted, and the software locates the feature, and highlights
it in Magenta on the map.
Although the selected
feature is highlighted, it may fall outside of the map field-of view, or be so
small that you cannot detect it. The easiest way to find such features is
by clicking the Center at Selection Button. This causes the map to be
redrawn with the highlighted feature centered in the field of view. .
If the
feature is still not visible, use the Step-in
Tool 
to increase the image scale.
If you
want to work with a different feature type, return to the drop-down list of
feature types, and select another. If
you switch feature types without clearing first, the current selection is
automatically cleared. The Feature Finder
has the ablility to locate domes, as well as nearly six thousand lettered
sub-craters that can not be identified with the Labeler Tool
.
Search 2: LOCATE FEATURES BY SCROLLING THROUGH THE LIST
If you
wish to find craters or any other feature types, but you do not have a particular
feature in mind, you can just scroll through the alphabetical listings, and
randomly select names.
When a
feature name interests you, just use your mouse to click the feature name on
the list. The name will be highlighted,
and the software will locate the feature on the map, which will be highlighted
in magenta. In this example, we clicked
on the crater, Arzachel.
Search 3: CLICK ON THE MAP TO GET A FEATURE NAME
To identify a map
feature, first make sure that the box Select
Feature with Mouse shows a check mark.
Move your mouse to the map, and click on any feature highlighted in
green. The selected feature will be
highlighted in magenta, and its name will also appear highlighted in the display
window. In the following example, we
selected the crater, Hipparchus.
This
capability is similar to using Hover,
except that you can identify and highlight selected features, while Hover will only identify them for as
long as the mouse remains on the selected feature. To select a different
crater, click on another highlighted map feature. As soon as the next selection is made, the
previous selection is automatically cleared.
To clear a selection without selecting another feature, click the Clear Selection Button.
If you
change the map view in order to locate features that are not visible to
earth-bound observers, you can quickly return the map to the normal view for
your observing location by opening the Time Manager, and clicking Current.
Once any feature has been selected, you are able to perform
additional functions such as: custom labeling, accessing additional feature
information, or linking photos or observing notes to the feature.
To custom label, check the box Label Selected Feature, and click the Customize Label Button.
More information about this capability can be found under: Labeling by
Specific Feature.
Sunrise/Sunset
Data & Gazetteer
Once you
locate a feature you also have access to valuable planning information. When planning an observing or
astrophotography session, what could be more useful than knowing the sunrise
and sunset date and time for a feature of interest? Lunar Map ProTM 4.0 DE provides that
information, along with other useful data, for every feature in the
database. If, for instance, you wanted
information on the crater, Plato,
you would select it from the feature list, and click Feature Information.
A
pop-up window is activated, and you are provided with
longitude and latitude information, the next sunrise and sunset times for both
the eastern and western crater rims, and additional reference data.
