Working with plan comparison

Once a plan is opened for comparison, there is a suite of tools that are enabled. The plan comparison tools let you change the visibility and transparency of the active plan, the compared plan, and the differences between both plans.

Differences are displayed with a hatch symbology to help you identify geography differences between the active plan and the compared plan. Using the plan comparison feature and tools lets you evaluate two plans at one time. This plan comparison feature may be helpful, for example, to show the differences between existing districts and proposed redistricting plans.

This topic provides detailed steps to do the following plan comparison activities:

• Modifying plan comparison visibility
• Modifying plan comparison transparency
• Zooming to district
• Zooming to district differences
• Merging plans
• Refreshing the plan comparison
• Closing the compared plan

The steps in this topic assume that you have two plans open for comparison: the active plan and the compared plan. For more information, see Opening a plan for comparison.

Modifying plan comparison visibility

Check boxes are available to turn on/off visibility. In plan comparison, you can adjust visibility for the active plan, the compared plan, and the differences. Similar to a table of contents, when an option is checked, it is visible on the map. Uncheck to turn visibility off.

Steps:

1. Modify plan visibility using one of the following options:
   • Place a check next to Active Plan, Compared Plan, or Differences to turn visibility on for the corresponding option.
   • Uncheck the box next to Active Plan, Compared Plan, or Differences to turn off the corresponding visibility on the map.

Modifying plan comparison transparency

You can modify the transparency of the active plan, the compared plan, or the differences to help you visualize and analyze your plan comparison. There is a corresponding transparency slider for the Active Plan, the Compared Plan, and the Differences.

Steps:

1. Modify the plan comparison transparency using one of the following options:
   • Slide the transparency slider to the left (towards 0.00) to make the corresponding layers more transparent.
   • Slide the transparency slider to the right (towards 1.00) to make the corresponding layers more opaque.

Zooming to district

The Zoom to District tool zooms the map to the active district, encompassing both of the plans.

Steps:

1. On the Create ribbon, use the Active District drop-down menu to select the active district.
2. On the Review ribbon, click Zoom to District .

   The map zooms to the active district that encompasses both plans.

   Note:

   The map zooms to the extent that shows the active district's differences. You may not see a visible change if the map is already at the extent of the active district.

Zooming to district differences

The Zoom to District Differences tool zooms the map to the active district differences.

Steps:

1. On the Create ribbon, use the Active District drop-down menu to select the active district.
2. On the Review ribbon, click Zoom to District Differences .

   The map zooms to the active district's differences.

   Note:

   The map zooms to the extent that shows the active district's differences. You may not see a visible change if the map is already at the extent of the active district's differences.

Merging plans

When you are comparing plans, you can overlay two plans and compare district assignments. Two plans can be merged into one plan using the steps outlined below. Merging plans occurs at the geography level, and allows you to combine district assignments between two plans.

Steps:

1. On the Review ribbon, click Merge Plan .

   The Merge dialog box appears.

2. Select how geographies with differing assignments will be handled:
   • Be unassigned will unassign geographies that have conflicting assignments. This method allows you to manually assign these geographies.
   • Use the active plan allows conflicting assignments to use the district assignments in the active plan.
   • Use the comparison plan allows conflicting assignments to use the district assignments in the active plan.
3. Click OK.

   The active plan and the compared plan are merged.

   Note:

   When you close the compared plan, you will see changes updated to the active plan.

Refreshing the plan comparison

When you are comparing plans, you may be interacting with the map, changing the active plan, reassigning geographies, and performing analysis. You can refresh the plan comparison at any time to ensure you have the most up-to-date display for the plan differences.

The plan differences, when turned on, display a static snapshot of the plan differences. You will need to click Refresh to reflect any updates you have made.

Steps:

1. On the Review ribbon, click Refresh.

   The differences between the active plan and compared plan are refreshed. If the active plan and compared plans are up to date, you may see no visible change on the map.

Closing the compared plan

If you have opened a plan for comparison by mistake or have completed your analysis, you can close a compared plan at any time.

Steps:

1. On the Review ribbon, click Close Plan.

   The compared plan is closed. The plan comparison tools are disabled.