You can assign Z values to the contour lines a couple different ways in Didger 5, depending on your preference and how you digitize the contour lines.

1. After all the polylines are digitized you could select each one and enter the ID information either in the Property Manager or Data Manager.

2. You could use the Assign Attributes command. This command is used to set the same attributes to selected objects, or it can be used with Incremental Settings to quickly add incremental values to the Primary ID data field. Go to Map | Data | Assign Attributes, fill out the desired ID information in the Property Manager. For example, enter Primary ID = -30. Then move the cursor to the plot window. Move the cursor so that a polyline with a depth of -30 is located in the circle of the cursor and click. Click on each polyline with a depth of -30. That will automatically put -30 into the ID field of each polyline you click. Then go back to Map | Data | Assign Attributes and change the ID to the next depth value and repeat. Alternatively, you can set the Starting, Ending, and Increment Value in the Property Manager and then click on each successive contour line. The Primary ID will be populated with the data you specified.

3. You could use the Assign Elevations command. This is good if there is a set interval between contours (say a contour interval of 5). To use this command, go to Map | Data | Assign Elevations. You cursor will change to have some wiggly contour lines next to it. Click and drag your cursor over a set of contour polylines. The polylines selected will be highlighted in green and the Assign Elevations dialog will appear. Enter the starting elevation (or depth) value of the polylines you selected, the increment value, and choose an ID field for the information to be saved in. Click OK.The ID information will automatically be entered for the polylines selected.

If you manually digitize the contour lines, you have two additional options to the ones above:

1. You can assign the depth value to the contours using Auto Increment Primary ID in the Property Manager. You assign a starting, ending, and increment value and then digitize the polylines. Didger will automatically enter the depth value as the Primary ID for each polyline.

2. You could use the "Enter Data After Creating Object" option. When this option is checked, after each polyline is completed a dialog box will pop up asking you to enter the ID information. You could then enter the depth value for that polyline in whatever ID field you wish.