An important feature of the Map Editor is the ability it gives you to share controls. This provides a number of benefits:
It allows you to save time creating maps by selecting from a list of predefined, shared controls.
It allows you to change the appearance and behaviour of a shared control in one place and have that change automatically reflected in all the maps that use the shared control.
It helps you to create maps having a consistent appearance.
When you opt to share a control all the property values in the control being edited are set to the same values as the selected shared control (except for the field number, which is not shared). Having done that, you have two options:
You can exit from the dialog with the shared flag enabled. This means that the control becomes a mirror of the shared control, and any changes made to the shared control are immediately reflected in your map and others that use the shared control.
You might want to change just a few of the properties. If you start editing the properties with the shared flag enabled you should be aware that you are editing the properties of the shared control globally, which will affect all the maps that use it. If this is not what you want to do, make the control independent by disabling the shared flag before saving the map.
We recommend that you create one or more library maps with all the controls you are going to share and only edit the shared control definitions in those maps.