Thursday, December 23, 2010

Height Enabling ArcPad

Height enabling features (i.e. collecting 3D x,y,z positions) in ArcPad is simple. You just need to make sure that you have (1) your data set up correctly; and (2) correctly configure your hardware.

Configuring your data
When creating a shapefile or feature class, you must specify that you want to z enable it. From within ArcGIS, this is simply a matter of selecting the "Coordinates include Z values. Used to store 3D data" option on the first page of the "Create new feature class" dialog.
In ArcPad, when creating a new shapefile, you should select the feature type as "PointZ".

Unfortunately, there is no way of z enabling a pre-existing, non z enabled feature class. You must create a new one, import the fields from your previous feature class, then import all of the features across. In this case, any features already captured will not have valid z values. You will need to update these.

Any features from these datasets that are collected within ArcPad will automatically be assigned a z height value at the time of creation. If you digitise a point, a z height of 0 will be assigned. You can easily change this value manually via the geometry page of the edit form if required. If you capture the features using a GPS or laser rangefinder, then provided they are configured correctly to output height coordinates, then these will automatically be assigned to the feature.

Configuring your hardware
This part will probably either be very easy, or a little bit tricky. Basically what you want to do is to make sure that whatever hardware you are using (GPS, laser rangefinder) is outputing data that includes height information. Most GPS units will do this by default. So unless you have gone in to your GPS and altered the messages that are being sent from it, you should be pretty right. If you have played around with the GPS, you will need to dig out your manual and make sure that the height information is being exported correctly.

With laser rangefinders, it should be as simple as making sure that some form of height measurement is being read and exported to ArcPad. For example, you should read the slope distance and inclination to the target. If you export only the bearing and the horizontal distance, then ArcPad has no way of knowing what the change in height from your position to the target actually is.

Accessing the height information
Accessing the height of your points from within ArcPad is also simple. When you create or edit a point, you can switch to the Geography page, which will show the coordinates of the point (including the z height). If you have a line or a polygon layer, it will list all of the coordinates of all of the vertices of that feature.
You can do the same when identifying a feature.

From within ArcGIS, it is not quite so simple. You must add the feature class to ArcMap, start an edit session, use the Edit Tool from the Editor toolbar (the black arrow), double click the point, then open the "Edit Sketch Properties" window. This will list the X, Y, Z coordinates of the selected point (or vertices of a line or polygon).

Another way of viewing this information is to add a float (or double) field to the feature class, then use the "Calculate Geometry" tool in the table view in ArcMap, to calculate the z coordinates of each feature and store that to a field.

Monday, November 22, 2010

ArcGIS & ArcPad 10 SP 1

ArcGIS Version 10 Service Packs have been released.

Download the ArcPad 10 SP1 here. (It is a full ArcPad install)

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

ArcPad Data Manager Toolbar: Select Picture Options (ArcGIS 10)

The ArcPad Data Manager toolbar within ArcGIS 10 has an extra page available during the Get Data for ArcPad (Check Out) process. Within this page the user can identify the picture field(s) within the dataset(s), and also define the location where pictures will be stored during the Get Data from ArcPad (Check In) process.

When field data and photos have been collected in the field and then imported back into the ArcGIS/office environment using the Get Data from ArcPad (Check In) tool, the Picture field(s) are populated using the predefined folder location for Pictures and the name of the image (e.g. D:\MyPhotos\Pictures_0001.jpg).


When identifying a point in ArcMap, the ArcGIS 10 dialog lists the point attributes, with the hyperlink function automatically enabled for Picture fields where an image exists. The user can simply click on the Picture field path and the image will be displayed on screen.

Monday, August 16, 2010

ArcPad Check Out Problems

When you check data out for use in ArcPad, the AXF file that gets generated is stamped with the source Geodatabase. This means that when you go to check that data back in, the ArcPad Data Manager for ArcMap and the ArcPad Geoprocessing tools know where the data needs to be uploaded to.

This works really well, because you do not need to place the AXF back in to the same folder that it was checked out to (as you did with previous versions of ArcPad that used shapefiles). The drawback to this is however, when the source workspace is moved: ArcPad has no way of knowing where to put the field edited data.

The simplest way of finding where the Geodatabase should be, is to load the AXF into the ArcPad Data Manager in ArcMap. The source workspace is listed on the form:

If this workspace has a really long path however, you will not be able to see the full path. The other way to find the source workspace is to view the AXF Transaction Log that is stored within the AXF (in the AXF_Properties table). To do this:
  1. Open the AXF in Studio
  2. Start a command window
  3. Copy the SQL statement below, paste it into the window and execute it.
SELECT CONVERT(nvarchar, XML)
FROM AXF_PROPERTIES
WHERE NAME='AXF_TRANSACTION_LOG'

You will see a whole lot of text, which at first may just look like it is in Swahili or some other foreign language, but if you look closely, it is actually XML. The first tag that you will see is CHECKOUT. The third attribute of this tag is 'workspace': the value of this attribute is the source Geodatabase that the AXF was originally generated from.


This is the location that you will need to move the Geodatabase to (temporarily) to allow you to check the data back in.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Application Builder Training - Melbourne - 11 November

RIA Mobile GIS will be holding an ArcPad Application Builder Training Course in Melbourne on Thursday the 11th November. The course will be held in the CBD (venue to be confirmed), using ArcPad Version 10.

To register your interest, please fill out the Registration Form from our web site, and return it to us.

Be quick: Numbers are limited, and early bird discounts apply!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Getac E100A Tablet Release


For Mobile GIS users interested in tablet technology, the Getac presents an update on the E100 tablet, the E100A.
The E100A has substantially increased the E100 memory components; doubling the processor from 800MHz to 1.66 GHz,upsizing from 1GB RAM to 2GB RAM and the previous Hard Disk Drive is now a 80GB Solid State Drive.
Manufacturer confidence in the Getac product is shown in the 5 year standard warranty. The E100A will be available soon, contact us for more information.

ArcPad 10 Training - Perth



The popular Using ArcPad training course has been scheduled for Wednesday the 22nd of September in Perth.

Further information on the course can be viewed at the RIA Mobile GIS website here.

RIA Mobile GIS run scheduled and onsite training courses for ESRI software throughout Australia, please contact us if you would like to register your interest for any future training courses.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Handy AXF Export Tools in ArcPad 10

For anyone who missed it, an interesting post was added to the ArcPad Team Blog, explaining some new ways that you can export data directly from the AXF file using ArcPad Studio (version 10). These tools allow you to export from a feature class or table to:
  • Shapefile
  • DBF
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Adobe PDF
Exports to PDFs can be done in two ways: creating a new document, or appending to an existing document. Further information can be found here.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

ESRI Mobile GIS Offerings

To clarify the current the ESRI Mobile GIS product offerings are:
  • ArcPad - ArcPad 10 is designed for Windows and Windows Mobile devices.
  • ArcGIS Mobile - ArcGIS Mobile 10 is for Windows and Windows Mobile devices.
  • ArcGIS for iOS - Apple iOS devices - iPod (Touch), iPhone and iPad.
  • ArcGIS for Windows Phone (Under Development) - Windows Phone 7 Devices.
  • ArcGIS for Android (Under Development, according to the UC 2010 Q&A) - Android OS devices - Smart Phones other Android devices.

Update to the Update

Wow, ESRI sure are making some moves in the Mobile GIS space. There is already an update to my Updated ESRI Mobile Applications, and hence an update to the update on the Mobile Trends Post.

ESRI have added some information to their Mobile GIS site covering the ArcGIS for Windows Phone offering.

ArcGIS for Windows Phone 7

The solution is coming! It will include an application for use on Windows Phone devices and an API that enables developers to create their own applications.

We will keep you posted with regards to the release of both the Windows Phone and Android solutions.

Monday, July 26, 2010

ArcGIS 10 Licencing

ESRI have changed the software Installation, Authorisation and Licencing process for ArcGIS 10.

The software product Downloads and Authorization is all controlled through the New ESRI Customer Care site. The Login to the Customer Care is with your ESRI Global Account.

Resources for Authorisation and Licencing ArcGIS 10 can be found at:

Thursday, July 22, 2010

ArcPad 10 Splash Screen

In ArcPad 10, the welcome (splash) screen has been revamped to simplify the process of loading up a map, and starting data collection in the field. With a single click, you can:
  • create a new empty map
  • create a QuickProject
  • open an existing map
  • open the previous map used
If you want to repeat the same action each time, you can select the "Set as default and don't ask again". In doing this, you will not see this welcome screen again (unless you activate it from the Options menu).

This is all well and good if you want to perform one of these actions at startup, but what if you don't? In a number of our customised applications that we write, we want to start with an empty map, and then load all of the applicable data into the map via code. The logical thing to do was to use the "New Map" option. Unfortunately this action was activated after the loading of applets (where the function to load required data was called). Hence, you got a message saying "Do you want to save your map?" every time it started up.

The workaround that I came up with was to use the timer. Once the applet loads, set a timer for 3 or 4 seconds to allow the "New Map" action to be called, then load the data. This worked ok, but it added a few extra seconds to the startup time. The best solution turned out to be an undocumented feature of ArcPad: adding "/nosplash" parameter to the ArcPad shortcut. This prevents this dialog from ever appearing, leaving the desired outcome of no action at startup!

To add the "nosplash" parameter (desktop):
  1. Right click on the ArcPad shortcut, and select "Properties"
  2. Switch to the Shortcut tab
  3. Under the Target path, add /nosplash to the end (make sure you put a space after the final ")
  4. Click OK
To do the same on Windows Mobile, the easiest way is to customise the ArcPad Today toolbar. More info on this can be found in the Help document.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

MS Word Tip #2

Those annoying hyperlinks in Microsoft Word have struck again! This time, we were trying to find a simple way to change all visited links back to unvisited; i.e. from purple back to blue. Should be easy, I know, but it isn't.

Here is one way that I found:

  1. Click the "Word Button" (Office 2007)
  2. On the Word Options dialog, go to "Advanced"
  3. Scroll to the very bottom, and select "Web Options"
  4. Switch to the "Files" tab
  5. Uncheck "Update links on save"
Whilst this doesn't stop the hyperlinks from turning purple, if you close down the word document and re-open it, the link will be set back to blue. Again, nothing at all to do with Mobile GIS, but it may come in handy one day!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Updated ESRI Mobile Applications

Further to my initial Mobile Trends Post, when I discussed mobile support for other OS's there are 2 significant Mobile offerings to come out of the recent conference.

Apple iOS

At this point ESRI have confirmed that support for Apple products is going to be through Apple iOS, and iOS supported devices (iPhone, iPad, etc).

To this end ESRI have already released there second iOS application. This is for Business Analyst and is the BAO for iOS App.
I'm sure we can expect to see more and more of these Apps springing up over time. These Apps are focused applications driven behind the scenes by Data sourced from ArcGIS Online, and utilising the Services offered by ArcGIS Server.

ArcGIS Mobile

There have been 2 significant changes to ArcGIS Mobile:

  1. A template application is now provided for both Windows 32 and Windows Mobile platforms.
  2. A single license of ArcGIS Mobile (Template Application and SDK) is bundled with each ArcGIS Desktop Product (ArcView, ArcEditor, ArcInfo). Additional bundles of 5 licenses can be purchased.

The core of our business is Field Data Capture and Mobile, and hence we would be more than happy to sit down and review your requirements and discuss these and a range of other options with you.

It's All Over - ESRI UC 2010

Well the conference has come to an end for another year, and it certainly has left me with a bit of information overload.

From my point of view there were 3 distinct Data related themes that come out of the event:
  1. The improvements to the flow of the data to, and consolidation of the data from, the ArcGIS Desktop, Server and Mobile products.
  2. The enhancements to the sharing and hosting of the Data online.
  3. The new capabilities and refinements to the tools for the analysis, reporting and mapping of the Data.

All up there have been significant changes to all product offerings and I guess that's part of the reason the version has jumped to V10, instead of V9.4 as originally planned.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

ESRI UC 2010 Plenary Session Video

The ESRI UC 2010 Plenary Session can be viewed online on Video. The videos can be accessed from the ESRI US site here.

For those interested to see what ESRI has been up to, they are well worth a look.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

It’s Here – ESRI UC 2010!


The ESRI International UC 2010 is underway!!

It's very clear from the Plenary Session that GIS is moving into the cloud computing arena, with both ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Explorer Online being offered. Cloud computing and Software as a Service (SaaS) will however both be covered under one of my Technology posts.

It this point I just wanted to highlight some of the ESRI and ArcGIS information that users have access to. It's funny but it's been a long time since my last trip to the US, and there are a few things that I had forgotten - The choice you have is amazing, the portion sizes are very generous and in general this leads to a good value for money deal.

To a certain degree the same can be said for access to some of the information and resources for ESRI. Some of the useful free sites are:

  1. Recent ESRI Conference Presentations and Proceedings
  2. ESRI GIS Bibliography
  3. ESRI Resources Centres, and ArcGIS Resource Centres

And remember if you can't find what you are looking for at any of the ESRI sites, a Google search can quite often lead to some great alternate information.

Monday, July 12, 2010

New ESRI Service Packs Released

For those of you who are not ready to make the switch to ArcGIS and ArcPad 10, Service Packs for both ArcGIS 9.3.1 (SP2) and ArcPad 8.0 (SP4) are now available for download from the following links:
News sparked wild celebrations in the streets of Spain early this morning.


Friday, July 9, 2010

GPS Enabled Cameras

In the last 12 months there have been a flurry of GPS enabled cameras released on the market. The Samsung ST1000 led the way, offering 12.2 megapixels of photo quality with 5x optical zoom, inbuilt GPS, Bluetooth and WiFi.

Geotagged photos from the ST1000 are easily viewed with programs such as Picasa, Pictomia, Facebook, etc. RIA Mobile GIS include a complimentary copy of the RIA Location Extractor tool with camera purchases; this tool extracts photo locations out of the EXIF image header information into a CSV file, which can be added to a desktop GIS as an event theme.

Users looking for a rugged solution have the option of the proven RICOH 500SEW cameras. Additionally there are a number of PDA options with integrated cameras, including the GETAC PS236 (3MP), Trimble Nomad 800GLC (2MP) and Pidion BM170 (3MP).

Contact RIA for more information on any of these units.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

ArcPad Drawing Speed

One of the major enhancements in ArcPad 10 is "Improved Performance", in particular, drawing speeds. I thought I would do some quick comparisons between versions 7.1, 8.0 and 10.0 to see just how significant these improvements were.

Process
I set up a simple applet which zooms around the map in ArcPad to various pre-defined extents, logging the drawing times of each layer in the map. My map had 5 (AXF) layers in total:



The pre-defined extents were selected at random locations, each at different scales. After zooming in to a small area, I forced ArcPad to zoom back out to the full extent to make sure that it was forced to re-draw as many features as possible. The tests were repeated 5 times for each version of ArcPad.

The tests were performed on a virtual machine, running Windows XP (3GHz processor, 768Mb RAM).

Results:
The results from the tests are shown below. ArcPad 7.1.1 times are shown in blue, 8.0.3 in red, and 10 in green. Times are shown in milliseconds, and represent the total time taken to draw all 5 layers (averaged over the five tests).


So, the good news is there is a definite decrease in drawing times in version 10, particularly when zoomed out to full extent. Interestingly the drawing times for Area 1 were quite high, and in most cases, higher than the full extent. Upon inspection, it turns out the around 90% of the features lied within Area 1. The table below shows the feature counts in each layer, at the different zoom extents:


If you would like a larger graph or more detailed figures, or just want to find out more about the testing that I did, leave us a comment.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Mobile GIS Trend 1 - Other OS's

Although historically evolving from a number of operating platforms, with the inception of ArcGIS, ESRI has predominantly focused on supporting the Microsoft Windows environment for their Desktop and Mobile products.

With regards to the Mobile GIS arena Windows is the dominate OS for Laptops, UMPC's and Netbook's, and Windows Mobile/CE is the dominant OS for PDA's and Rugged Handheld devices.

ESRI has this side of the market covered with it's existing ArcPad and ArcGIS Mobile offerings.

The mobile area in which Windows is lacking behind the competition is the Smartphone market. In this sector Windows has actually lost market share, whilst in comparison both Apple iOS (iPhone & iPad) and Android OS have substantially increased their market share.

ESRI is now aiming at solutions to cover both these platforms with mobile product offerings:

ArcGIS for iOS



  • The ArcGIS for iOS Application is a free application that can be downloaded from iTunes. It allows you to share maps from ArcGIS Online, and use tools to search, measure, identify and query data. (At a later stage it will also include a range of other functions).
  • The ArcGIS API for iOS enables iOS developers to build custom applications that leverage of the capabilities of ArcGIS Server.

ArcGIS for Android

Over the coming months it is going to be interesting to watch the uptake of the new Windows Phone 7 OS to see if this again alters the Smartphone market. There are some interesting times ahead.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Mobile GIS & Spatial Trends

Technology appears to be evolving at an ever increasing rate, and this is enabling a number of interesting developments.
I'll endeavour to write a series of posts highlighting some of these trends and developments, as they relate to the Mobile Technology, ESRI Software and Spatial arenas.
(The frequency of these posts will depend somewhat on when time permits!)

In the interim, an insight into where ESRI is heading, is the annual ESRI UC Preconference Q&A. Take a look, some of your questions may be answered.

ArcGIS 10 Released

In all the excitement of the past few days we almost forgot to mention that obviously along with the release of ArcPad 10, ArcGIS 10 has also been released!

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

ArcPad 10 Released Next Week

ArcPad 10 is due to be available for download next week. This will tie in with the upcoming ArcGIS 10 release (conveniently 2 weeks before the ESRI User Conference). For those of you interested, below are some of the key features in the latest release of ArcPad:
  • Improved performance
  • Better camera and photo experience
  • Support for ArcGIS Online Map Services
  • Dynamic Quick Capture Toolbar
  • Enhanced ArcPad Data Manager for ArcGIS 10

Stay tuned for some reviews once we have seen the final release!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

ArcPad 10 Coming Soon


ArcPad 10 is set to be released in late June 2010. Key features include improved user performance and support for ArcGIS Online Map Services. For more information see http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcpad/whats-coming.html

Thursday, May 27, 2010

RIA Hardware Bundles

It's getting towards the end of the financial year again, one of the busiest times of the year for hardware and software purchases.

The RIA Mobile GIS website now lists some of the most popular hardware bundles available; this can be accessed via the Common Hardware Bundles link from the RIA homepage or see here

With the Australian Dollar starting to dip against foreign currencies, now could be the opportunity to make those purchases that have been sitting on the back burner. Contact us for the latest pricing and advice.

Contact RIA for all your Mobile GIS needs.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Removing hyperlinks from MS Word


Ever wanted to remove all hyperlinks from a MS Word Document? The easy way to do it is to select the text that you want, then press and hold ctrl and shift, then hit F9.

Nothing at all to do with mobile GIS I know, but it made me excited!!!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Remote Display for Windows Mobile

When using Windows Mobile Devices it can sometimes be extremely useful to display, and view, the Windows Mobile (Pocket PC) screen from your PC or Laptop.

Currently there are 2 alternate applications, that we're aware of, which provide you with this functionality:
  1. Windows Mobile Developer Power Toys - This is a suite of tools designed to assist with the development and testing on a Windows Mobile device. Please note that the Power Tools are NOT a Microsoft Supported Product.
  2. MyMobiler - Is a freeware application designed for Windows Mobile remote display.

Please ensure that you follow all instructions when setting up and using either of these applications.

RIA Mobile GIS cannot be held responsible for any damages, or issues, resulting from the implementation and/or use of these applications.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Listing Domains

Here is a handy little Python script which lists all the domains in a GeoDatabase, then exports each to a table within that GeoDatabase.

import arcgisscripting
gp = arcgisscripting.create(9.3)
ws = "c:\\temp\\test.gdb"
desc = gp.describe(ws)
print "Domains in '%s': " % ws
domains = desc.Domains
for domain in domains:
print domain
gp.DomainToTable(ws, domain, ws + "\\domain_" + domain , "CODE", "DESCRIPTION")

To run the script:
  1. Open up a Python Editor, such as PyScripter or PythonWin
  2. Copy the above code to a script file
  3. Make sure there is a tab before the print domain, and gp.DomainToTable(... lines (it doesn't seemed to include tabs properly in the blog posts).
  4. Update the ws variable to the GeoDatabase you wish to analyse
  5. Click run
Notes:
  • The output tables are named "domain_XXX" where XXX is the name of the domain
  • Each of these tables have two fields: one called CODE, which lists the code and a second called DESCRIPTION which lists the description.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

ArcPad and Application Builder Training


Time to put your learning hats on! RIA have just scheduled two more training courses for Melbourne in May:
Note: Course dates have been rescheduled from the original dates.

For further details on the courses, as well as the other courses that we offer, please visit the Support and Training page of our website.

To register your interest, download the appropriate form below, and return to us ASAP.
Be Quick: Numbers are limited and early bird discounts apply!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Using GeoDatabases Training Course


RIA have just scheduled a 'Using GeoDatabases' Training Course
  • Hobart - Using GeoDatabases (1 Day), 22 April 2010

To register your interest Download the Registration Form and send it back to us, or view access the information from the Support and Training page of our site.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Introduction to ArcGIS Training Course


We have just scheduled a couple of 'Introduction to ArcGIS' Training Courses.

To register your interest Download the Registration Form and send it back to us.

Information on all our courses can be found on the Support and Training page of our site. If you are interested in scheduling a course in your region, or are interested in organising an onsite course, please Contact Us.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Hyperlinking Photos in ArcPad and ArcGIS

Here are some quick and simple steps to allow you to view photos linked to features.

For this example, we will assume that we have a point feature class called "Trees", with a field called "Photo" which contains the file name of the photo linked to that feature. All of our photos are stored in c:\Photos.

ArcPad
  1. Open ArcPad, and add the trees layer to your map
  2. Open the Table of Contents
  3. Open the Layer Properties for that layer
  4. Go to the Hyperlink page
  5. Set the Hyperlink field to Photo
  6. Set the default hyperlink path to the folder that contains the photos
  7. Click OK twice to close the dialogs
  8. Use the Hyperlink tool from the Browse toolbar to select the tree on the map. If a photo is found, it will be opened for viewing.


ArcGIS: HTML Popups
  1. Open ArcMap, and add your Trees feature class
  2. Open the layer properties
  3. Switch to the HTML Popup page
  4. Check the "Show content for this layer using the HTML Popup tool" option
  5. Select "As a URL"
  6. In the prefix box, enter "C:\Photos" - the folder containing the photos.
  7. Select Photo as the hyperlink field
  8. Leave the suffix blank (supposing the file names already have the .jpg extension)
  9. Click OK.
  10. Use the HTML Popup tool
    to select features from the map. A small window will "pop up" from the point showing the photo for that feature.

ArcGIS: Hyperlinking
  1. Open ArcMap, and add your Trees feature class
  2. Open the layer properties
  3. Switch to the Display page
  4. Check "Support Hyperlink using field:"
  5. Specify the hyperlink field to "Photo"
  6. Click OK
  7. Use the hyperlink tool to select features from the map.

Note: With hypperlinking, you will need either an absolute or relative path in the Photo field for this tool to work. An easy way to add these prefixes to the attribute is using these ArcMap field calculations.


Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Using ArcPad Training - Gold Coast Update

Early Bird Registrations Close Today!

Get in quick to receive your 25% discount on course registration.

Friday, February 12, 2010

ArcPad 8 - Service Pack 3 Released

ArcPad 8.0 Service Pack 3 is now available for download from the ESRI Support Website.

The service Pack addresses a number of issues, including Windows Vista/Windows 7 compatibility, foreign language support for ArcPad Studio and various performance enhancements. A full list of the issues addressed can be found in the ArcPad 8.0 SP3 Readme file.

Out of interest, we tested Service Packs 2 and 3 on a Trimble Nomad with an AXF file with a single feature class that had:
  • 55 attributes
  • 3 different subtypes
  • 25 coded value domains
The time taken from when you digitised a point on the map to when the form displayed was 7 seconds with SP2, but only 2.5 seconds with SP3. General map navigation was also noticeably better.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

GeoExplorer 2008 Firmware Update

Trimble has released a Firmware Update for the GeoExplorer 2008 Series.

This update is strongly recommended when using the GeoExplorer 2008 with ArcPad 8.
The update significantly improves the performance of the device with ArcPad 8.

The update can be downloaded from the Trimble.

(Please ensure that you follow all instructions when undertaking to upgrade your device).

Thanks to the MapTel Blog for the news.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Using ArcPad Training - Gold Coast Update


The venue for the upcoming 'Using ArcPad' course, to be held on 3 March 2010 has been finalised.

The course will be run at the Freshwater Point Resort, Broadbeach, Gold Coast, QLD (not far from the OZRI venue).

More information on the course can be found on the Support and Training page of our site. To register your interest, Download the Registration Form, and send it back to us.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

ArcGIS 10!

Just a short note to let users know that the upcoming ArcGIS 9.4 release has been renamed ArcGIS 10!

Information about the release of ArcGIS 10 can be found here.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

RIA ArcCatalog Tools

Ever needed to copy the names of the feature classes within a GeoDatabase to a text or MS Word Document. It is actually quite difficult to do. Never fear, we have written a simple but extremely useful tool which will make your life a lot easier: The RIA ArcCatalog Tools.
Version 1.0 of the RIA ArcCatalog Tools Toolbar has been uploaded to ArcScripts (yes Chris I know, finally!). You can download it from here.

Basically what the tool does is copies the names of any selected objects from the ArcCatalog Contents window to the clipboard. You are then free to paste those names wherever you like.

Let us know what you think of the tool. Any feedback is appreciated.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Using ArcPad Training - Gold Coast 3rd March 2010


With the upcoming OZRI/APUC Conference scheduled at the Gold Coast, March 4-5, RIA Mobile GIS are planning to run a Using ArcPad Training Course on the Gold Coast on Wednesday 3rd March.

To register your interest or to obtain further information about the course, please contact RIA on (03) 6223 4919 or email ContactUs@riamobilegis.com.au

Following the Training Course, attendees of the OZRI Conference can head along to OZRI welcome drinks at Conrad Jupiters from 6pm onwards.

Stay tuned for Course venue details.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Patches and Service Packs

I have recently been working on a project for a client where we have written some custom ArcPad check in tools, which firstly deposits all edits into a Staging File GeoDatabase. After a manaual verification has taken place, we then upload all edits to a Versioned SDE Master GeoDatabase. The tool is written using ArcGIS Geoprocessing tools and Python scripting.

In doing my testing, I found an issue with appending the edits to the Versioned SDE GeoDatabase. It worked fine to an unversioned database, but not the versioned one. An error was appearing telling me I could not edit the data outside of an edit session (which is not possible from the Geoporcessing script).

After doing a bit of research, I found that this was a bug with ArcGIS 9.3.1, and (thankfully) there was a patch available from the ESRI Support Center website.

This serves as a good reminder to keep your software up to date, and if you are having problems, check for patches and service packs. Also check the user forums - chances are someone else has experienced exactly the same problem you are facing.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

New Rugged PDA from Getac

The Getac PS236 is a new release ruggedized PDA with a number of integrated features including GPS, 3MP camera, RFID, 1D Barcode Reader, compass, altimeter and optional HSDPA.

A review of this unit by RIA will be coming soon, stay tuned. In the meantime, independent product reviews can be found at:
http://ruggedpcreview.com/3_handhelds_getac_ps236.html
http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/18470/2/