Detail File Support

GTViewer, GTVx, and Pocket GTViewer all provide support for Detail Files. Detail files are generally files that are not geospatially related to the geographic view of the data. Detail files are sometime referred to as reference files, internal worlds, and linked files. For example, a manhole may have a detailed schematic, a pole may have a photograph or Word document. Details files generally have a drawing indicator in the geographic view to indicate that a detail file exists. A feature itself can also have a detail file record to indicate that a detail file is available (and do not require a drawing indicator).

Detail files are supported in the GTViewer products through the use of links. Previously, there was a posting on Session Links which allows the user to link any file or web page to a redline symbol. Links were originally implemented, however, to support detail files.

Detail files are supported in three different ways:

• Internally located detail graphics
• External Files supported by GTViewer, GTVx, or Pocket GTViewer
• External Files supported by another application

Internally located detail files are like the old Framme detail files that are located in the same design plane as the geographical data, but placed off in an unused area of the coordinate space. Internally located files must be in a format convertible to the GTViewer format; however, they do not have to be previously (and correctly) located in the unused space (GTData utilities are provides to get detail files tiled into an unused area). Internally located detail file provide the most features:

• Redlining is permitted and stored in session files.
• Extract data will automatically extract the appropriated internally linked graphics.
• Feature can be intelligent and queried upon.

External Files supported by GTViewer, GTVx include .GTX, .GTM, .GTS, and .GTW files; and Pocket GTViewer supports the .GTX format. When a Linked file is activated and it is a supported format, GTViewer will create a new view window and opens the file. GTVx fires appropriate events to indicate that a link was selected and the link information.

External Files that are not supported directly by GTViewer will be sent to the operating system Shell and displayed with an appropriate application (if one is available).

There are pluses and minuses to each approach, but it usually comes down to the way the source data is organized to determine which approach to take.