Beta version of GTViewer 15 is Available!

GTViewer for Windows version 15 is ready for Beta Testers. If you would like to try the new GTViewer, please contact support.

It has been a while since a major version of GTViewer for Windows has been released.  This delay has mostly been because the demand from customers has been focused on updates and enhancements to GTViewer for iOS and Android.  Nevertheless, there have been 53 incremental versions of GTViewer since version 14 was released.

GTViewer Version 15 has several fixes and many enhancements.  The major ones are listed below.

• Session Manager – If you have several sessions open at one time, you now get a Session Manager dialog when you exit.  It will show you all sessions that are currently open, their status (saved/not saved), and lets you flip between them so you can identify which one is which. You can dismiss sessions by saving them or not, or you can dismiss them all with one button press. You can also get to the Session Manager from File/Session Manager.
  

• Display Control Dialog – This new feature is a replacement for the Display Filter dialog used to control which features are displayed in the active view.  The original Display Filter dialog is not going away, but you will now have an alternative. The new Display Control dialog no longer does anything with Filter Ids.  Its primary tab uses the Feature/Component model used by many of the Add-On applications to turn features on and off. A Category tab is provided to toggle Categories on an off so you can easily just work with Categories (which many users do). The Preset tab from the Display Filter has been moved over, and a new tab for Display Toggles has been added so that you can use Toolbar style Display Toggles as a standard part of the display controls. Display Toggles turn on/off a select set of features whereas a Preset sets the whole set of features to a preconfigured display setting. The new Display Control dialog is also non-modal, so you can do stuff in the view and leave it up (something the Display Filter cannot do).

• Line Style Rendering - In the past there were some problems with dashed lines and User-Defined Linestyles when you had certain types of Arcs. This has all been resolved (finally after15 major versions!).  The overall appearance of dashed lines has been improved as well.

• Query Indexes – If you have a Locate Query that takes a long time to run, you can now add
  Indexes that should significantly improve performance.

• Locate Query Highlight Modes – For a Locate Query, you can now choose between Persistent Highlight, Non-Persistent Highlight (new), Persistent Box (new), and Non-Persistent Box (new). 

• Reload Command – This feature is found under File/Reload and will be useful to those who setup or configure the data.  It will save redlines (if any), close the session, then reopen it and reload any changes you made to the configuration files.
  

• GPS Tracking – GPS tracking will now work more efficiently when you have multiple datasets open and you want to track in all of them.

• API Enhancements - New functionality from GTViewer has been exposed to the External Applications so they can now do things like Preset Building and Finding Features by Key or Type.  A Find Feature app has been added using this.  The QueryBuilder and ToolTipBuilder both have a new Find Feature command so you don’t have to start from a selected feature anymore.

The GTViewer Add-On Applications have also been updated and new ones have been added as well.

Query Builder

The Query Builder is used to interactively create a Query Definition file inside GTViewer. The biggest new feature in this update is that you can do a Feature Search (by Filter Id, Feature, or Feature/Component) and it will locate a feature to start the Query Builder.  Before you had to select a feature of the type you wanted to create a query for to start the process (which was sometimes hard to do). There are a few more features added to the Query Builder to support new functionality in the Queries, like new Highlight Modes, and updates to the Feature Selection dialog was also updated (to match the one in the Dynamic Graphics interface).

Tooltip Builder

The Tooltip Builder is used to create Feature Tooltip definitions to display specified information when you hover the mouse over a feature.  It has been updated with the same Feature Search functionality that the new Query Builder has, so you can now either select a feature in the graphics to start it or do a feature query. Feature Selection dialog was also updated (to match the one in the Dynamic Graphics interface).

Preset Builder

The Preset Builder is a new Add-On.  It will let you interactively create the Preset Definition Files for use with GTPreset.  You can now set the view like you want with the Display Control or Display Filter and extract the current settings as a Preset Definition. This ability makes it significantly easier to create the Preset Definition files (which you had to do manually in the past), and you never have to use Filter Ids again.

Find Feature

This Add-On is like the Feature Search command that was added to the Query Builder and Tooltip Builder, except that it is a stand-alone app and has a few more features.  It is targeted for the administrator users who configure the dataset and is very useful when setting up freshly exported data.  It can also find any feature in the data by its keys.

Dynamic Graphics Interface

The Dynamic Graphics Interface allows you to configure the Dynamic Graphics (Highlights and Label) interactively.  This update has been completely rewritten and provides a much cleaner and informative interface.

Get Imagery 

If you have a Bing Maps or Google Maps
subscription where you can download static map images for use in Applications, this Add-On will fetch the background imagery and attached to the current view.

Search Redlines, Show Google Maps, and GTSpot Importer are still available.

The Where Am I app has been retired since its functionality was incorporated into GTViewer.

GTViewer Add-On Apps Revisited / Query Builder Update (version 1005)

Six sample GTViewer Add-On Apps were introduced with GTViewer version 14.  Many of you have not tried them yet for various reason.  Some of the tools are novelties, users haven't found the need for them, or users just haven't had the time to try them.

The sample add on apps are:

• Query Builder
• Feature Tooltip Builder
• GTSpot Importer
• Show Google Maps
• Where Am I?
• Search Redlines

I am making this post for a couple of reasons.  First, there is an update to the Query Builder that contains a few fixes.   You can get it from:

ftp://gtweb.mobi/demos/GTV_QueryBuilder_1007.zip     (password:  gtviewer)


Second, I don't think enough people out there realize how useful these tools can be.   They are more than just samples.  For example, nobody has made more Query Definition files that I have; however, over the last couple of years of exclusively using the Query Builder to create query definition files, I don't even remember the syntax of the definition files (nor do I need to).   Granted, the Query Builder may seem a little quirky at first, but it does what it does, and it is a lot easier to use a GUI to create a query than do it old way (find a similar query definition file, make a copy, open in Notepad, open up GVData.doc, try to figure out which entries you need, compile query, see if it works, rinse, repeat).  So, if you are still using Notepad as your Query Builder, give the Query Builder a try.

The Feature Tooltip Builder is another under utilized app.   Creating Feature Tooltips is not really hard, but it is very tedious and you may have to do a lot of them.  Also, if you get something wrong in the definition, they just don't do anything and then you have to sift through the logfile to see what is wrong.  Feature Tooltips can also add a lot of value to your data in terms of easily seeing useful information, making this information available to your users is really what this is all about.     So, if you are not using Feature Tooltips, start using them.  If you aren't using the Feature Tooltip Builder, start using it to create them.

Show Google Maps has always been one of the more popular Add-Ons.  Probably because it is so simple in what it does (open up Google Maps and show the same area you are looking at in GTViewer).   However, I use it for a different purpose.  If you are configuring your Coordinate System, it is often difficult to know if you have it correct, but with this Add-On, you can just find an area in your data that is somewhat recognizable (funny looking intersection, water body, river, etc.), then run Show Google Maps.  If the center of what is in the view in GTViewer isn't what you are looking at in Google Maps, then something is wrong with the Coordinate System setup.   Generally, the Coordinate System is either right or really wrong and this method will help determine which category you are in.

Where Am I was so popular that it was just incorporated directly into GTViewer and GTWeb. There may still be users who want to use this app (source code is available) to do very specific or complex Where Am I functionality, but it's usefulness has probably usurped by GTViewer.   A good question would be "Where is the Where Am I Builder?".   This tool doesn't exist yet, but it might one day.   One hack that may help you out in the meantime is that the Feature Tooltip Builder can help you define the difficult to create parts of the syntax (Features Strings, Expressions).   It will also let you pick a boundary feature, and you can see what values are populated, etc.    So, just build a Feature Tooltip of the shape you want to use with Where Am I and borrow (cut and paste) the parts of the definition that apply.

The GTSpot Importer it only useful to those who have GTSpot, but you can use it with our test server to see if it would work for you.

Last but not least, Search Redlines is probably only useful to users with a lot of redlines (session graphics), and those redlines need to have text or embedded data in them to search.  Don't forget that anything highlighted can be easily converted to Session Graphics (Tools/Convert Highlighted to Session Graphics).  Highlight/Thematic Queries and Feature Counting highlight things that you might want to search too.   Also, Dynamic Graphics can be converted to Session Graphics (Tools/Dynamic Graphics to Session Graphics).  Granted, this is only what is in your current view, but GTDGExport is delivered with GTData and it can create a .GTG file for you whole dataset using a DG Action (you can import a .GTG file into Session Graphics using Draw/Import).   Lastly, FME can easily create .GTG files from many different sources, and you can embed data on the graphics (which is also searched by Search Redlines).

Add On Applications for GTViewer 14

GTViewer has supported External Applications from its beginning. These custom apps can be written in VB6, VC++, VB.NET, or C# and will extend GTViewer’s functionality to solve problems specific to your workflow.   External Apps have access to GTViewer’s extensive API (over 400 methods and events) to perform a vast array of tasks.  External Apps appear as if they are part of GTViewer’s interface and show up as menu items and/or on ToolBoxes.   Some examples of External Apps include Pole Inspection, Pole Top Inventory, Joint Use Identification, Upstream/Downstream Network Tracking, Gas Valve Isolation, Loop Makeup, Fiber OTDR, Outage Analysis, and many more.

Traditionally, these External Apps have been specified in your dataset (in the .GTM File) and when a particular dataset is opened in GTViewer, the External Apps are available.   Over the years, there has been an accumulation of External Apps that are generic in nature and could readily apply to any dataset.  For example, the Dynamic Graphics interface (which is an External App) can be used with any dataset, but you have to add its specification to each dataset’s .GTM file before you want to use it.  This task is a trivial, but it inspired a new feature in GTViewer 14 called Add On Apps.

Add On Apps are exactly like any other External Application with one exception; their specification is made at the product level and not in the dataset.   Once an Add On is configured, it is available to all datasets opened in GTViewer without any modification to their .GTM file.  On a technical level, the Add On App has a specification file placed in a in the user’s configuration file directory for GTViewer (%UsersData%/Graphics Technologies Inc/GTViewer/AddOns).  The specification file contains the entry that would normally be placed in the [External Applications] section of the .GTM file.  The installation for an Add On App can also place the specification file in the appropriate directory and the Add On App will be immediately available to GTViewer with no other modification necessary.

Since Add On Apps will be available to all datasets in GTViewer, they should provide generic functionality that applies to all datasets or at the very least perform tests to verify that the functionality they perform is applicable.  GTI has 6 sample Add On Apps available with the release of GTViewer 14:  Show Google Maps, Feature Tooltip Builder, Query Builder, Search Redlines, Where Am I, and GTSpot Importer.  A description of each is given below:

• Show Google Maps – takes the center point of the active view, converts it to latitude/longitude, and opens a URL to Google Maps centered on the same point.  This application has no interface, and it is also available as sample code.

• Feature Tooltip Builder – assists in the creating, editing, and testing of Feature Tooltip definitions in GTViewer.  Feature Tooltips show a tooltip for a feature when the mouse hovers over it.  The tooltip contains whatever information was specified in the definition using any of the feature’s tabular attribute values.  While not terribly hard to create, a tooltip definition is prone to error and is tedious to specify especially if you need to create a large number of them.  The Tooltip Builder allows you to select a feature in the map view and all of its attributes are shown to the user so they can point and click to build the desired tooltip.  The tooltip can be tested immediately, and its definition can be copied and pasted into the .GTM file to make it permanent.

• Query Builder –assists in the creation of a Query Definition File for GTQuery (which compiles the definition into a .qry file and is used by GTViewer for locate, thematic, graphic offset, and connectivity queries).   The Query Definition File has long been veiled in a cloud of mystery because of it minimal documentation and its constantly changed to support new functionality.  However, the Query Builder simplifies the process of defining a Query Definition File and makes it unnecessary to find sample definition files or scour the documentation or blog for information on the many different entries.  Using the Query Builder is simple.  The user selects a feature in the map view and its graphic and tabular information are loaded to help guide the query creation in a point and click fashion.  The end result is a Query Definition File that can be compiled with GTQuery.

• Search Redlines – provides a search tool for finding any redline text or any string contained in a redline element’s embedded data.  If you have a large amount of redline data, this tool can help you easily find elements similar to the way you find features with a Locate Query.  The search can be limited to redlines in the active view and also provides a variety of text comparison methods (begins with, ends with, contains, and exact match).

 

• Where Am I? –shows the user a list of all polygons contain the point click with the mouse.  By default, it will show polygons containing the point using the polygon’s Filter Group Name and Filter Name as an identifier.   This app can also be configured to show only certain polygons and a specific attribute from a polygon’s associated tabular data (instead of the filter information).   Selecting an item in the list of polygons will locate it in the view.  You can also show the polygon’s Attribute Information, and copy the list of polygons to the clipboard.

 

• GTSpot Importer - connects to a GTSpot Server and loads all GTSpot records in a dataset’s area.  It then displays the results as Data Monitor symbols in GTViewer and a tabular list of GTSpot records (Category, Note, Date, Time, User, etc.).  Clicking on a record will locate the item in the map view and display its thumbnail image (if available).  Clicking on a Data Monitor symbol will find the record in the tabular list, and clicking on the image thumbnail will display a full size version.

     

To use any of the Add On Apps, you can download them from the GTI ftp site.  All apps have the zip password: gtviewer

ftp://gtweb.mobi/demos/GTV_WhereAmI_1005.zip

ftp://gtweb.mobi/demos/GTV_TooltipBuilder_1007.zip

ftp://gtweb.mobi/demos/GTV_ShowGoogleMaps_1002.zip

ftp://gtweb.mobi/demos/GTV_QueryBuilder_1007.zip

ftp://gtweb.mobi/demos/GTV_GTSpotImporter_1009.zip

ftp://gtweb.mobi/demos/GTV_SearchRedlines_1001.zip