Archives for August 8, 2006

Videos from the conference… I’m a bit confused as to what the policy is regarding this one… I just noticed a video of some of the material presented at yesterday’s keynote session showing off ArcGIS Explorer while at the same time I ran into Jeff Thurston earlier todady who had his video camera in tow yesterday and was politely “asked” to put his video cam away… hmmm. Guess I’ll have to try and locate someone about the official policy. No doubt there will be plenty of MP3s floating around in the blogosphere but it would be nice to know what the oficial word is.

A little more from this mornings final session as we depart to sprint away for lunch… some notes from the ArcPad session (part 2). Recall that 7.0.1 will be available very soon and 7.1 is comming next year. What’s new in 7.0.1 – signif. Performance gains (Trimble users will really appreciate this with start-up time shrunk from as much as 2 minutes down to 20 seconds!) – usability enhancements – quality improvements

Currently there are 14 languages supported. 7.0.1 has 2 more languages added including Korean. Tip – getting data out of ArcGIS — use the “get data for ArcPad 7” tool within ArcGIS, select data, export, and extract data to a specified folder for subsequent use in ArcPad (SHP files) – will convert any data format and any projection.

So what data can you move for use in ArcPad? Shapefiles, rasters, symbologies, ArcGIS graphic layers and styles.

Preparing your Data for ArcPad – create new SHP files within ArcPad – note: add custom input forms using Quickform tool – use existing SHP files and create forms using QuickForm tool – extract data from the Geodatabase (checkout only necessary data) – for faster performance suggest you use SHP file indexes and use scale dependent symbology and labeling
Query data in ArcPad – indentify by attrs – hyperlink to external files (photo, video) – locate features by coordinates – find by attribute query – locate via measuring distance
Data Capture and Editing – capture point, line, polygon, text – create geometry – add attributes
Using a GPS in ArcPad – view GPS position window – set GPS preferences to control the incoming GPS input – activate GPS tracklog – select GPS capture tool (GPS point, GPS vertices, GPS streaming vertices)

Using other capture devices – use rangefinders to take offset measurements (range, bearing, inclination, etc…) – use digital camera to capture and associate images with features or photo layers. View photos with the identify and hyperlink tools. – A number of supported offset methods are available for those collecting data in hard to reach environments (supports simple offset, 2 point offset, and traverses)

At version 7, ArcPad is much more useful than what we saw a couplle of years agao (ala version 6) and this application is very simple to use. If memory serves me right you can demo it for free (see the esri website) and give it a test run for yourself. See the bundled solutions from eSRI or Trimble for n out of the box solution that will get you up and running with your field data collection.

Coming at 7.1 – maximize screen real estate – toolbars – floating, docked, more configuration options, one touch hide/show – related tables (highly anticipated) 1 to many relationships, database rules supported in data rather than forms – easier to create forms – object model enhancements to support relationships I’m off to lunch… Later – Ooh.. for more onn ArcPad see the Arcpad team blog at http://arcpadteam.blogspot.com/

A thought… here at the covention center the JOB boards are in a new location this year and not in th ehallway outside the main session rooms. you need to run through the map gallery and enter the public Internet access area. The job boards are already getting very full, with about 10 posting boards jam packed with great job opportunities. There’s also loads of resumes there for job seekers and anyone looking for or having in their posession extra or unneeded tickets for the Thursday night party are encouraged to give them up there. Speaking of that I have access to a couple of tickets to the very fun Thursday night party. If you need them try to find me and ask me about them… I’m glad to help out someone in need (unfortunately I won’t be here thursday night for the Irish-themed bash in the park)

A side note here… I’m always amazed at how many people don’t have support for txt messaging on their mobile or they simply don’t use it! A sample use.. while I’m blogging here I’m also getting messages from home countering offers on the sale for my house… it’s stressful but what a huge time saver! Don’t have mobile access via txt, IM, or similar… spend the extra $2 a month and get it!

My next stop is the session on ArcPad 7 and the road ahead to 7.1 – for release Q2, 2007.
ArcPad 7 overview and recent timeline – recall 7 was released at end of last year with added support for range finders and digital cameras as well as many other major enhancements. SP1 was released in May 5, 2006 (added fix for Trimble’s GPS correct 2.0.
7.0.1 planned on release shortly after the UC
ArcPad 7.1 target release date Q2, 2007
Recall GeoCollector was announced about 2 weeks ago – it’s a professional mobile GIS/GPS solution bundling Trimble GeoExplorer pro GPS handheld pre-loaded with ArcPad 7 SP1along with Trimble’s GPSCorrect 2.0 – alos includes a license of GPS Analyst extension for ArcGIS desktop

What is ArcPad 7 Part of ESRI’s overall mobile strategy – a mobile GIS app for field mapping applications. Allows input from GPS receivers, range finders, digital cameras and other devices. Includes out-of-box display functionality enabling data editing and analysis as well as support for extensive customization –extending the Geodatabase to the field.

Enhancements for ArcPad 7
– improved performance
– enhanced editing (snap, undo, repeat, segemented lines)
– camera and rangefinder support
– improved symbology and labeling
– support for graphics layer (for redlining)
– import/export tools for ArcGIS
– customization with new wizards for creating forms – no programin required (nice!)
stay tuned for more

My next stop is the session on ArcPad 7 and the road ahead to 7.1 – for release Q2, 2007.
ArcPad 7 overview and recent timeline – recall 7 was released at end of last year with added support for range finders and digital cameras as well as many other major enhancements. SP1 was released in May 5, 2006 (added fix for Trimble’s GPS correct 2.0.
7.0.1 planned on release shortly after the UC
ArcPad 7.1 target release date Q2, 2007
Recall GeoCollector was announced about 2 weeks ago – it’s a professional mobile GIS/GPS solution bundling Trimble GeoExplorer pro GPS handheld pre-loaded with ArcPad 7 SP1along with Trimble’s GPSCorrect 2.0 – alos includes a license of GPS Analyst extension for ArcGIS desktop

What is ArcPad 7 Part of ESRI’s overall mobile strategy – a mobile GIS app for field mapping applications. Allows input from GPS receivers, range finders, digital cameras and other devices. Includes out-of-box display functionality enabling data editing and analysis as well as support for extensive customization –extending the Geodatabase to the field.

Enhancements for ArcPad 7
– improved performance
– enhanced editing (snap, undo, repeat, segemented lines)
– camera and rangefinder support
– improved symbology and labeling
– support for graphics layer (for redlining)
– import/export tools for ArcGIS
– customization with new wizards for creating forms – no programin required (nice!)
stay tuned for more

Clint Brown asks a room of about 300 or 400… “are there any of you who connect your GIS to other systems (CAD, GeoMedia, Microstation etc…)”there’s a quiet pause and about a dozen hands went up… WOW. Clint was amazed and I was equally surprised. Perhaps people are being shy, or there’s a room full of committed ESRI users here… amazing. Not to knock any of the other vendors but it’s quite amazing that more people don’t have multi-vendor licenses kicking around… boy have times changed!

An interesting read at theRegister this AM… the article with a tagline “Give us maps not blogs” dscusses recent research in the UK regarding the mobile internet… I like this snippet fromm the piece: The study suggested that users aren’t inherently adverse about using the net on the move. Nine in ten said they’d use mobile internet services providing they could be sure that pages would load faster and they’d avoid high charges — Amen! I couldn’t agree more

Some random thoughts and notes fromm Clint Brown’s discussion on the geodatabase at 9.2:
Introducing at 9.2 – personal and workgroup ArcSDE
Personal – included with ArcInfo and ArcEditor, 3 usaers at a time, 1 editor
Workgroup – part of workgroup ArcGIS server, any number of users supported
– admin and manage both using ArcCatalog
– – no DBA required
– limited to the use of 1 GB RAM and once cocket
– max size up to 4GB per geodatabase
– managed with ArcCatalog

New at 9.2 – a terrain dataset – pts and lines used to create a TIN, user defines rules for resolution, scale etc…useful for the integration and management of LIDAR data.
A rondom quote… “I think a lot of you will be collecting LIDAR soon” (Clint Brown)

An observation: it seems to me that the days here at the ESRI user conference are slightly shorter this year compared to years past. Lunch breaks are longer, the last sessions end earlier and breaks are longer as well. This is a welcomed change I think as before it could seem like the days were very long, it was tough to sprint to lunch and back and attendees were burning out by Wednesday evening. Cramming all the great sessions into a slightly shorter day is challenging though as once again there were 3 sessions that I really wanted to hit this morning at 8:30… flip a coin I guess. The days may be shorter (slightly) but that’s just led to longer nights for many!