.NET Controls Version 7.0.x.17 are Available

Version 7.0.x.17 of the PGTV Control and GTVControl are available.


PGTV Control
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07.00.00.17 - 08/09/07
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- FIX - #123 - GPS indicator was erased during drawing and zoom in commands.

- FIX - #121 - FindClosestColor would sometimes fail if a color table was not available in the data.

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07.00.00.16 - 08/06/07
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- NEW - New Methods:
bool GetSatelliteInfo(ArrayList list)
void TriggerGpsEvents()

- FIX - #120 - Overview map automatically suspends GPS updates.

- NEW - #119 - SuspendGps property added.

- NEW - #118 - A new method called GetSatelliteInfo was added to retrieve a list of current satellite information (azimuth, elevation, id, SNR).

- NEW - #117 - A new method called TriggerGpsEvents has been added to cause all GPS events to be fired with their last set of values. Since most GPS events are only fired when a value changes, this method is an easy way to get all of the event to fire without waiting for values to change to get the events.

- FIX - #116 - Placing text elements with the maximum number of character (1024) caused problems.

- FIX - #114 - Coordinate Conversion did not allow for data being in a Lat/Long projection.


GTVControl
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07.00.00.17 - 08/09/07
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- FIX - #123 - GPS indicator was erased during drawing and zoom in commands.

- FIX - #122 - Problem with Graphics resource when GPS was updating.

- FIX - #121 - FindClosestColor would sometimes fail if a color table was not available in the data.

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07.00.00.16 -
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- NEW - New Methods:
bool GetSatelliteInfo(ArrayList list)
void TriggerGpsEvents()

- NEW - #119 - SuspendGps property added.

- NEW - #118 - A new method called GetSatelliteInfo was added to retrieve a list of current satellite information (azimuth, elevation, id, SNR).

- NEW - #117 - A new method called TriggerGpsEvents has been added to cause all GPS events to be fired with their last set of values. Since most GPS events are only fired when a value changes, this method is an easy way to get all of the event to fire without waiting for values to change to get the events.

- FIX - #116 - Placing text elements with the maximum number of character (1024) caused problems.

- FIX - #115 - ToLatitudeLongitude and FromLatitudeLongitude were not implemented.

- FIX - #114 - Coordinate Conversion did not allow for data being in a Lat/Long projection.

- FIX - #113 - GetFileProperties did not work.

GTVx Version 7.0.x.4 is Available

Version 7.0.x.4 of GTVx is available.

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07.00.00.04 - 08/03/07
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- FIX - #C1001 - Text elements with 1024 character were causing problems. The text size limit is supposed to be 1024.

- FIX - Complex Shape with Hole elements were having problems if the rendering points in neighboring shapes had the same start point.

- NEW - New Methods:

long GetFontType(long fontId);

boolean GetGeoLocatePoint(long catId, long offset, double number, double low, double high, long mode, double* x, double* y);

Pocket GTViewer version 7.0.x.5 is Available

Pocket GTViewer version 7.0.x.5 is now available.


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07.00.00.05 - 08/03/07
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- FIX - Placing text elements with the maximum number of character (1024) caused problems.

- FIX - Complex Shape with Hole elements were having problems if the rendering points in neighboring shapes had the same start point.

.NET Controls Version 7.0.x.15 are Available

Version 7.0.x.15 of the PGTV Control and GTVControl are available.

GTViewer Version 7.0.0.10 is Available

Version 7.0.x.10 of GTViewer is available.

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07.00.00.10 - 07/31/07
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- NEW - MinimumTrailChange property has been added to the Additional Properties Section. If set, the GPS indicator must change by this distance before a session graphic trail will be updated.

- CHG - Increased buffer size for GPS reads and insert sleep between reads to help with virtual com ports.

- FIX - The GPS Update Interval Combobox is now disabled during tracking since a change is only applied when tracking is started.

GTViewer Version 7.0.0.9 is Available

Version 7.0.x.9 of GTViewer is available.

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07.00.00.09 - 07/10/07
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- FIX - The gap between the two scrollbars at the lower right of the application window is now painted so that graphics cannot be left at that position.

- FIX - Scrollbars were moved to the edge of the screen to prevent a gap between the scrollbar and the edge of the application window from getting updated.

- FIX - Scrollbars now refresh after Attribute Info to restore the scrollbars if they were disrupted.

- NEW - New Doc Method:

boolean GetGeoLocatePoint(long catId, long offset, double number, double low, double high, long mode, double* x, double* y);

Links and Session Links

Visit the COGNET GIS Blog for a detailed description of using Links and Session Links in GTViewer:

http://cognetgis.blogspot.com/2007/07/in-search-of-missing-links.html

GTViewer Version 7.0.x.8 is Available

Version 7.0.x.8 of GTViewer is available.

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07.00.00.08 - 06/28/07
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- NEW - New Doc Methods:

boolean GetElementFontId(long categoryId, long offset, long* fontId);

long GetFontType(long fontId);

- FIX - When using the ExternalStyleMapFile entry, the imported style map would not replace a 0 to 0 threshold range with a new specific range.

- FIX - Complex Shape with Hole elements were having problems if the rendering points in neighboring shapes had the same start point.

- FIX - If the ExternalStyleDefFile and ExternalStyleMapFile entries were used and an existing def was imported, but a mapping that was using the original def was not updated by the import, the mapping would point to an invalid def.

- FIX - The maximum query result fields in QueryInitialize was set to 5 instead of 50 making Type 40 queries fail when performing them with QueryInitialize.

GTData Version 7.0.0.2 is Available

Version 7.0.0.2 of GTData is available.

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07.00.00.02 - 06/27/06
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- FIX - GTLabelGtg - Mode 2 (auto scale) was incorrectly using the Target Size when it should be ignored for this mode.

- NEW - GTLabelGtg - Mode 5 added to support polygons. Label is placed at polygons centroid.

- NEW - GTLabelGtg - RequiredLength added for modes 1, 2, and 3. If an elements total length is less than the required length, the element will be ignored. If RequiredLength is 0 (default), all elements are considered.

- FIX - GTShapeConv - The last point in the last part of a polyline with more than one part was being dropped.

- FIX - GTShapeConv - The Header message was saying the .shp filename for the .shx name.

- FIX - GTShapeConv - Did not display error message when unsupported shapefile types were found.

- NEW - GTShapeConv - Added support for Polyine_Z and Polygon_Z element. They are converted as 2D elemetns.

- CHG - GTTile1 - Changed so that the Offset token is no longer case-sensitive.

- NEW - GTTile1 - Scale option added to scale element by their embedded data.

- NEW - GTQuery - Prompt queries will no longer count text that is only different by case as unique values.

- FIX - GTExtract - Fixed to prevent duplicate records from Thematic queries having elements with the same keys but different filter ids.

- FIX - GTConv - Problem with complex elements with arcs.

A Simple Outage Map using GTVx

Take a look at this posting on the COGNET GIS blog about Madison Gas and Electric's Simple Outage Map created with GTVx:

http://cognetgis.blogspot.com/2007/05/simple-outage-map-with-gtvxocx.html

.NET Controls for the Desktop, Handheld, and Smartphone

GTI provides a variety of methods for creating GIS applications that utilize GTViewer’s functionality. GTViewer, itself, has an extensive OLE Automation interface allowing its functionality to be easily extended with specific workflows, data capture applications, network tracing and analysis applications, and many more. For those who need even more flexibility, GTI provides GTVx which is an ActiveX control version of GTViewer. While GTViewer and GTVx provide similar GIS functionality, GTVx can be embedded into an existing application or used to build a very streamlined version of GTViewer that only exposes functionality needed by a specific workflow. Together, GTViewer and GTVx cover the entire spectrum of customization and extension capabilities. However, GTI has not stopped with these two applications. Almost a year ago, GTI announced the Pocket GTViewer .NET control and now announces the GTViewer .NET Control for desktop development. These .NET controls provide a new generation of tools for developing applications using GTViewer technology.

The Pocket GTViewer .NET control was originally introduced for Visual Studio .NET 2003. This development tool created symmetry with the desktop development options by allowing the developer to either extended Pocket GTViewer with external applications or embedding Pocket GTViewer functionality into existing applications with the .NET control. The .NET control also allows the developer to create very streamlined versions of Pocket GTViewer that only expose functionality need by a specific workflow. Before the PGTV .NET control, there was no equivalent to GTVx on the Window Mobile platforms. Now a year after its introduction, version 7.0 of the PGTV .NET Control has been released and now fully supports Visual Studio .NET 2005 along with many new features such as redline support and a Data Monitor. Perhaps the most significant new feature in version 7.0 is its support for Smartphone platforms (Smartphone 5.0 and Window Mobile 6 Standard) as well as traditional Windows Mobile devices (Window Mobile 5.0, Windows Mobile 6 Classic, and Windows Mobile 6 Professional). So, with a single development tool, you can now target the whole spectrum of current generation Windows Mobile and Smartphone devices. See this posting for more details on Smartphone applicatoins.

While GTVx will be around for many years to come and continued development will make it a viable development tool for some time, the simplicity of the PGTV .NET control and its tight integration with Visual Studio .NET begged for an analogous version on the desktop. Of course, GTVx can be used with Visual Studio .NET, but its COM roots (which made so successful for the previous generation of development tools) make it seem antiquated in the world of .NET. This perception is unfortunate since GTVx does work very well with .NET and very sophisticated applications can be easily developed with it in a .NET environment, but forward progress cannot be stopped. GTI is introducing the GTViewer .NET control to provide a .NET specific tool for creating desktop applications. Currently, the GTV .NET control is very similar in functionality to the PGTV .NET Control providing all of the basic GIS functionality needs: Map Display, Redlines, GPS support, Data Monitors, View Management, Queries, Display Filter Support, and Raster backdrop support. In future versions, more functionality will be available in the desktop control simply because it does not face the resource limitations imposed by mobile devices.

Together the PGTV .NET control and the GTV .NET control provide a common development framework for building applications for the desktop, mobile devices, or phones. These next generation tools will keep GTViewer and Pocket GTViewer at the top of their game by leveraging the many benefits Visual Studio .NET and the .NET framework in general have brought to developers. For more information on the .NET control or if you would like to try one of the .NET control, please contact GTI.

GTI Conducts Training for Disaster Response Team

GTI recently conducted interactive web-based training on Pocket GTViewer and Damage Assessment applications. Sixteen local government agencies will participate in a first-ever regional disaster response exercise, Tuesday, June 19, that includes a damage assessment of the conditions after the earthquake. The mock disaster will involve nearly 100 people in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee working with a scenario based on a 7.7 earthquake along the New Madrid fault.

Outside assistance is likely to include the other participating municipalities and counties, which are part of a growing, regional Rescuer/Responder Assistance Information Network (RAIN). RAIN is currently a loose knit group of city/county agencies that are setting up shared data and common software so they can provide mutual aid in the case of a wide-spread disaster. On June 19, the agencies will be viewing, collecting, and sharing critical post-incident information to each other, to six local Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) and to state directors for Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) at the West Tennessee Operations Center in Jackson, TN. An additional mechanism for access will be an interactive internet site setup to view and analyze information that will be a compilation of information acquired on the 19th and available to Emergency Management officials with a password.

By the end of the day, agencies will be viewing and analyzing information which could help assess initial damage and arrange for triage. This will be done in the various EOCs and on the internet. The test will assume most conventional communication such as telephones or cell towers is limited or nonexistent, and that movement throughout the area will also be limited.

“We want to decrease the amount of time it takes to get critical information into the hands of the actual responders. New mobile technology allows us to provide specific assessments on casualties or injuries, and for damage to roads and bridges, utilities, trees and vegetation, and structures – very quickly,” said Vic Young, Facilities Management & Mapping manager at Fisher & Arnold, Inc., a Memphis-based engineering firm assisting with the exercise.

“Realizing that many times the first responder is not police or fire, we have placed much of the search and rescue information on the mobile devices of day-to-day field users associated with utilities, code enforcement, inspectors, and engineering. These employees could be in their normal mode until emergency management information is needed, and then deployed instantly. Germantown, Olive Branch, Dyersburg, and the City of Memphis have, or will soon have this capability”, according to Young.

RAIN (Rescuer/Responder Assistance Information Network) includes:

Arkansas: City of Jonesboro, Craighead County, Crittenden County, City of West Memphis
Mississippi: City of Olive Branch, DeSoto County
Tennessee: City of Memphis, City of Dyersburg, Shelby County, Dyer County, Tipton County, Memphis Airport, Town of Collierville, City of Germantown, City of Bartlett, Lauderdale County



ResponderFMTMobile use




June 19th RAIN Participants



The responder can drive down the street and see each house with information such as who owns the property, the location of gas cutoffs, or the location of damaged homes.



Being able to quickly collect detailed damage information on your mobile phone or PDA allows the task to be completed in hours instead of days. The digital record is in the right place in space and can be sent immediately to the Emergency Operations Center and viewed on the monitors.

GTViewer Version 7.0.x.7 is Available

Version 7.0.x.7 of GTViewer is available.

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07.00.00.07 - 06/07/07
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- NEW - Export View now supports Bitmap files (.bmp).

- FIX - Export View was disabled if the DGN export was not configured.

- FIX - If a MrSID file was not found, it would give a cryptic message and not log the details of the problem.

- NEW - GetElementPointList now accept point Type 10 to use elements in a group to get a stroked pointlist.

- FIX - Thematic Queries using the GetAllComponents flag would have duplicate records when elements with the same keys differed only by filter id.

GTVx Version 7.0.x.3 is Available

Version 7.0.x.3 of GTVx is available.

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07.00.00.03 - 06/07/07
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- NEW - The ShapeBorderColorId and ShapeBorderColorValue only applied to Shape with Holes elements in the past. It will now apply to a regular shape element as well.

- NEW - Smooth Zoom Out added.

- NEW - The unhighlighting of feature when the pick list menu is present for feature selection when multiple are present at the selection point has been changed. Previously, the unhighlighting process did not restore the view to its previous state if the features were stacked with a specific priority.

- NEW - The picklist resulting when multiple features are at the same location will now flicker the element when it is selected in the picklist.

- FIX - Window Area Zoom In on a point when zoomed very far out would often not set the view to the desired range.

- NEW - New DataProperty called RightMouseMenuMode. If set to 0 (default), the right mouse menu works as it always has. If set to 1, the right mouse menu will only display when features are selected for review; no other menu items are displayed.

- NEW - The ExportView method now support Bitmap files (.bmp) as an export output.

- NEW - The GetDataProperty and SetDataProperty now support the SmoothZoom property. If set to 0, the old zoom out method is used. If set to 1 (default), the new zoom out method is used.

- NEW - New Methods: GetAttributeDataExEx

Pocket GTViewer on Smartphones - Part 2

What does the Smartphone platform mean to Pocket GTViewer? The biggest impact to Pocket GTViewer is the loss of the touch screen. Many features in Pocket GTViewer depended on a touch screen such as Zoom In and Zoom out, Panning, Attribute Info, and Redlining. However, there are ways to overcome some of these limitations and thinking “phone” and not “device” help overcome the others.

Obviously, view navigation is a requirement in a Pocket GTViewer application. Locate queries do provide a non-touch screen way to navigate the data, but if you cannot freely navigate the view with panning and zooming, usefulness as a GIS viewer is greatly impaired. Fortunately, standards requires a set of controls to be present on all Smartphones: two soft buttons under the screen and a joypad which provides Left, Right, Up, Down, and Enter operations.

The available key inputs provide adequate controls for navigating the GIS data. Pocket GTViewer for Smartphone has 2 modes of navigation: Zoom and Pan. Pressing the Enter button (pressing the joypad button) toggles between these two modes and a small icon in the upper left corner of the screen indicates the mode you are in. In Pan mode, the joypad will move the view in the direction you indicate. In Zoom mode, the Left and Down actions will zoom in and the Right and Up actions will zoom out. All navigation can be easily done with one thumb.



A beefed up Overview mode is also provided to give another method of navigating the view. While viewing an overview map of the data an indicator can be quickly moved around the view with the joypad to find an area of interest.

Since there is no touch screen available on the Smartphone, the tap-and-hold method of reviewing a feature’s attributes is not possible, but the PGTV Control provides a special mode called Capture Point with Keys for selecting a point in the view without a touch screen. By showing a crosshair cursor in the view, the user can move the cursor around the view with the joypad until it is at desired point; then the user selects the Enter button to find all features at the point. If only one feature is found, the attribute information is displayed; if more than one feature is found, a picklist is presented so the user can refine his or her selection.



The Attribute Info dialog has been redesigned for Smartphone to make better use of screen space and key controls. The right soft button indicates which record is currently displayed and can be used to change the view to any of the available records associated with the feature.

Performing locate queries is not much different from that on a Window Mobile device running Pocket GTViewer. Fill out the prompts, perform the query, and select the feature you wish to locate.



GPS support is also provided by the PGTV Control and can be used with a Bluetooth GPS receiver or a built in GPS receiver.



Raster files are supported as well and are ideal for backdrop imagery.



Redlining is really the only set of functionality provided by the Windows Mobile version of Pocket GTViewer that gets sacrificed in the Smartphone version. Without the touch screen, the traditional style of redlining (line, shape, circle, ellipse, rectangle, and freehand) is not practical. However, this limitation does not preclude redlines from future versions of the Smartphone version of the app. This type of functionality is where the thinking needs to be “phone” instead of “device” and needs to take advantage of features like the built in camera. Even with the Smartphone key interface, photos could be associated with links and provide a very usable capture tool.

This posting shows a quick glance at what Pocket GTViewer for Smartphone can accomplish. GTI plans to leverage the Smartphone (Windows Mobile 6 Standard) platform as much as we can to provide the best GIS tools on the market. If you have a Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone or Window Mobile 6 Standard device, please let us know if you want to give Pocket GTViewer for Smartphone a try.

Pocket GTViewer on Smartphones - Part 1

I personally haven’t given Smartphones much credit until the last year or so. I have had a Cingular 2125 since around the time they were released. While I loved it as a cell phone, I never gave it much credit as a platform for Pocket GTViewer. However, with the release of the PGTV Control for .NET, something happened. The PGTV Control runs on Smartphone (or Window Mobile 6 Standard) as well as it runs on a Window Mobile device. Developing an application with the PGTV Control for Smartphones is incredibly easy. So easy in fact, I gave the PGTV Control a spin on a Smartphone despite my preconceived notions of the platform. Much to my surprise, I instantly realized how powerful Smartphones can be and how well Pocket GTViewer runs on them.

It seems that I had fallen victim to the same trap that I have preached against in the past. When Pocket GTViewer was released, many people dismissed it as a viable application because the device was too slow, the screen was too small, it didn’t have enough storage, etc. But it turns out that Pocket GTViewer on a Windows Mobile device was in fact very successful and useful. The key to this success was the understanding that Pocket GTViewer on a device is not a substitude for GTViewer on the desktop or a laptop. Pocket GTViewer has its own specialties that are not available on the desktop and thinking “Desktop” on a device will never succeed, but thinking “Device” on a device opens up a whole new set of solutions for your problems.

This very same thinking is true for Smartphone. Let’s skip the comparison between the desktop and the phone. The problem with adopting Smartphones is that it is competing against the Window Mobile device idea, not the desktop. Nevertheless, familiar arguments from the past have surfaced again. The phone has too small of a screen (compared to a Windows Mobile device), it is not powerful enough to run a GIS application, it doesn’t have enough storage, and there is no touch screen. Well, these points may be true, but maybe not as true as you might think. First, most Smartphones today have QVGA screens (320x240) or Square screens (240x240 or 320x320). The physical area of the screen is less than that of the typical Windows Mobile device, but the resolution is the same as most Windows Mobile devices we have seen so far (the HiRes Windows Mobile devices are still few). Smartphones are also not as fast as a typical Windows Mobile device; however, Pocket GTViewer has been around for almost 7 years and the devices back then were much slower than the typical Smartphone. Storage is not an issue either since Smartphones use MiniSD or MicroSD cards that can inexpensively be 2G or more. The last item of contention is the touch screen. Smartphones by definition do not have a touch screen (this is becoming one of the only real ways to differentiate a Smartphone from a Windows Mobile device). All inputs must be done with the Softkeys, the joypad, or the D-Pad. Some Smartphones have a full keyboard, but not all of them. So, the touch screen is really the only limitation the Smartphone platform really imparts and even this limitation can be overcome with some creative thinking.

Just as our thinking had to be “device” instead of “desktop” to make a successful Windows Mobile application, we now have to shift our thinking from “device” to “phone.” In some ways this shift is harder to do than going from desktop to device because a device was easily viewed as being different from the desktop. Smartphones and devices are much more similar in appearance, but our thinking really has to change to exploit the differences and create a useful application appropriate for the Smartphone. I think in many ways, an application for the Smartphone must be scaled down in features and functionality not only from what the same application on the desktop does, but also the same application on a Windows Mobile device. But this attenuated feature set for the phone is not necessarily a bad thing and generally results in more focused apps that perform more precise portions of your workflow.

Another topic not mentioned so far is what a phone offers over a device. 1) Typically, you always have your cell phone on you. Windows Mobile Devices are small, but they are not omnipresent like a cell phone. 2) The phone is half as large as a Windows Mobile device or even smaller. Maybe this reduction in size causes them to have a smaller screen, but the smaller the better when you carry it with you at all times. 3) The phone has built in connectivity which offers a variety of options for communicating with servers, sharing information, etc. 4) The phone typically has a built in camera which can be used for many tasks in a GIS environment, and 5) let’s not forget it is also a phone.

The latest trend in the Device and Smartphone arenas is a coalescence of the two platforms. At the MEDC conference in May, Microsoft gave a pretty strong message that devices without a phone built into them will soon be a thing of the past. They even use the term “Classic” to identify a device without a built in phone, and “Professional” to identify those that do. They also instilled the idea of building applications that will support both Device and Smartphone platforms, and they provided new design guidelines that make it easier to make an application work on both platforms.

Even with the limitations that the Smartphone platform imposes (primarily the lack of a touch screen), I believe that the Smartphone does provide a viable platform for applications like Pocket GTViewer. I also believe that the users of a Smartphone version of Pocket GTViewer may very well be different than those who typically use Pocket GTViewer on a Windows Mobile device (as well as being different from those users of GTViewer on the desktop or laptop). Smartphone does have a place in GIS and in my next posting I will show how the simplicity of Pocket GTViewer for Smartphone really does provide a powerful tool you need to have in your solution.

Introducing the new GTWeb 7.0

GTWeb provides a fundamental component of the GTViewer family of products by allowing many users to access GIS data via the intranet or internet. GTWeb has had a variety of incarnations since its debut, but its goals have always remained the same. The methods to realize these goals, however, have changed to take advantage of the latest technologies.

The goals GTWeb was designed to accomplish are simple:

1. Distribution of your GIS data to a large number of users. While GTViewer and Pocket GTViewer can distribute your GIS data to a large number of users, the “Web” paradigm lends itself to distributing your data on an even larger scale at the price of lesser functionality and required network connectivity. Nevertheless, even with less functionality, many classes of users can easily take advantage of the information GTWeb can deliver to them and get even more value out of your GIS.
   
2. Centralized management. By moving the management of the data being distributed to a single web server instead of each individual client, it becomes very simple to manage a large number of users because only the server needs to be updated with new information and configurations made to the web server will be inherently applied to all clients.
   
3. User-friendliness and Usability. As with the rest of the GTViewer family, ease of use is paramount as the training and user adoption are critical to the success of a GIS solution especially when the solution is meant for a large number of users that may have little GIS experience.

The first few versions of GTWeb (versions 1 through 4) relied on an ASP or ASP.NET application running on the web server and an ActiveX plug-in for Internet Explorer on the client. While this approach was very successful at getting GIS information to its clients, it suffered from two problems that limited its effectiveness. First, an ActiveX plug-in had to be installed on the client. While this task was a very simple requirement that needed no user interaction (other than running the setup), it was still a necessary step to accomplish before accessing your GIS data online. Second, utilizing an ActiveX control on the client bound the solution to Internet Explorer. When GTWeb was introduced, being bound to Internet Explorer was not a problem. Today, with Firefox and even Opera, the ActiveX control is not a good client solution and corporate standards may even preclude Internet Explorer from being used.

With version 5 of GTWeb, many changes were made to both the server and client sides of the application. The GTWeb server was revamped to offer new features and the template website was upgraded to ASP.NET 2.0. The ActiveX client was still supported, but a new technique of distributing the maps to the client as raster images (.jpg files) was also supported. By using a standard raster file for the map, no ActiveX control is required on the client. The browser, by itself, is all the client needs, eliminating the two technologies problems GTWeb suffered from in previous versions. The non-ActiveX version of the GTWeb client offered a good user experience and supported an array of the functionality users of the ActiveX control version were used to: Zoom In, Zoom Out, Panning, and Attribute Info. The raster version (or non-ActiveX version) also supported background imagery which is not supported in the ActiveX client version.

While the ActiveX control did have its drawbacks, it did have a few advantages not mentioned so far. First, it provided a very rich experience when viewing the GIS data. It was using the same vector graphics engine used by GTViewer which provided the same quality and feel desktop GTViewer users were accustomed to. This rich user experience provided by the ActiveX control made the raster version (non-ActiveX version) feel like a downgrade to some of the users already comfortable with the ActiveX client version.

With version 7 of GTWeb (we skipped version 6 to stay in line with the rest of the GTViewer family version numbers), the non-ActiveX version has been enhanced to close the gap between the rich user experience provided by the ActiveX control version. While the GTWeb server continues to support the ActiveX client, the new template web application is focuses solely on the non-ActiveX approach and utilizes Ajax, client-side Java script, and ASP.NET 2.0 to give the client a much richer experience than the previous version. The new template web site provided with GTWeb 7.0 is still very similar in functionality to the previous version, but it now has more of a “Web 2.0” look and feel.

Some of the new features in GTWeb 7.0 are:

• Smooth panning (drag the map view with the mouse).
• Mouse wheel zoom-in and zoom-out.
• Upgraded query form and query reports.
• Display Preset selection (as defined in the data’s .GTM file).
• Project Group support (for running multiple sets of projects on the same server).
• Extract File (.gtx) creation and download.
• Updated layout to take better advantage of different sized screens

With GTWeb 7.0, you still have centralized management of the web projects, there is no client software to load, and it supports the top 3 browsers (IE, Firefox, and Opera). GTWeb is still ideal for both internet and intranet GIS applications. GTWeb can be used to augment your GTViewer and/or Pocket GTViewer seat and can provide universal access via the internet and web browser.

GTViewer Version 7.0.x.6 is Available

Version 7.0.x.6 of GTViewer is available.

-----------------------
07.00.00.06 - 04/16/07
-----------------------

- NEW - Smooth Zoom Out added.

- FIX - Window Area Zoom In on a point when zoomed very far out would often not set the view to the desired range.

- NEW - GT/Field now logs an error message when an edit feature is not found in the Edit_Features.txt file.

- FIX - GT/Field was not accepting a GPS_POINT type when the type entry had more information than the type name. It should have ignored the extra info.

- FIX - GT/Field was sometimes corrupting previous value when moving between them.

- FIX - GT/Field was reformating Read Only value incorrectly in some cases.

SECO Features GTI at Annual Meeting

SECO (Sumter Electric Cooperative) holds an annual meeting each year to provide an opportunity for the members to see what’s new at the Cooperative and to interact with employees. It also gives SECO employees a chance to meet with the members, brag about their latest technical innovations, and address any member needs. This year was the 69th Annual Meeting, and several thousand people showed up for talks, barbeque, and exhibits. One such exhibit (pictured above) proudly shows the GTI logo. The exhibit has a running copy of GTViewer and explains how SECO is using the investment in mobile mapping technology to operate more efficiently and reduce costs for members.

GTI at American Gas Association Conference

GTI will be in booth #232 at the AGA Operations Conference & Biennial Exhibition in Dallas, Texas, April 24-26. Come by the booth and visit with us if you are at the show.

Pocket GTViewer 7.0.x.4 is Available

Pocket GTViewer version 7.0.x.4 is now available.


-----------
07.00.00.04 - 04/10/07
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- CHG - Evaluation Version Updated.

-----------
07.00.00.03
-----------

- NEW - Style definition Priority value can be now set from 0 to 25.

- FIX - The intBea_Frequency property was not being propertly stored in the TrimbleSettings.ini file.

GTViewer Version 7.0.x.5 is Available

Version 7.0.x.5 of GTViewer is available.

-----------------------
07.00.00.05 - 04/05/07
-----------------------

- NEW - Modifications to the Dgn Export to allow standard symbol font characters to be mapped to TrueType fonts characters. This addition allows G/Techology data or other data using TrueType fonts to be exported to a .dgn.

- NEW - The ShapeBorderColorId and ShapeBorderColorValue only applied to Shape with Holes elements in the past. It will now apply to a regular shape element as well.

- NEW - The unhighlighting of feature when the pick list menu is present for feature selection when multiple are present at the selection point has been changed. Previously, the unhighlighting process did not restore the view to its previous state if the features were stacked with a specific priority.

- NEW - The picklist resulting when multiple features are at the same location will now flicker the element when it is selected in the picklist.

- NEW - A new section has been added to the status bar to indicate if the GPS is running and to indicate if it is tracking.

GTViewer 7.0.x.4 is Available

Version 7.0.x.4 of GTViewer is available.

-----------------------
07.00.00.04 - 03/23/07
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- NEW - GT/Field now supports the GTFieldAutoSave entry in the [Additional Properties] section. AutoSave will save the session graphics after each save in GT/Field. The default is on (1), but can be turn off by setting this entry to 0.

- NEW - The GpsTrailFilterId has been added to the [Additional Properties] section to allow a specific filter id to be used for the GPS trail when drawn as a session graphic. By default, it will use the current filter id.

GTVx version 7.0.x.2 is Available

Version 7.0.x.2 of GTVx is available.

-----------------------
07.00.00.02 - 03/22/07
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- NEW - Style definition Priority value can be now set from 0 to 25.

- NEW - Feature Counting now supports MeasureFactor, MeasureDegreeFactor, MeasureUnitLabel, and LatLongFlag.

- NEW - Export as XML now supports Dimension Elements (Type 112).

GTViewer version 7.0.x.3 is Available

Version 7.0.x.3 of GTViewer is available.

-----------------------
07.00.00.03 - 03/13/07
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- NEW - Export as XML now supports Dimension Elements (Type 112).

- FIX - Export Data with the use alternate names would say there was not data if the defined structure for the embedded data was not valid. Now, it will revert back to the standard method and not try to apply the structure if it has a problem.

- FIX - Export as DGN was not applying the style rules to Text.

- NEW - New Methods:

New Doc Object Methods:

double GetElementAngle(long categoryId, long offset);

boolean GetElementTextSize(long categoryId, long offset,
long* lengthMult, long* heightMult);

New View Object Methods:

boolean GetStyleOriginForElement(long mode, long categoryId, long offset, VARIANT* originX, VARIANT* originY);

GTData version 7.0.0.1 is Available

Version 7.0.0.1 of GTData is available.


-----------
07.00.00.01 - 02/28/07
-----------

- NEW - GTInterGtg - xyFlag added to add coordinate info to tabular data.

- FIX - GTLabelGtg - was omitting the label for the last last item.

- NEW - GTLabelGtg - now supports mode 4 for point feature labels.

- NEW - GTIndex - support added for multi-line text with TrueType fonts.

- NEW - GTDataMap - Added to GTData.

- NEW - GTQuery - Supported added for table map option.

- FIX - GTPack, GTExtract - The ExtendedTextStyleColor value was not being properly placed in the extract file.

- CHG - GTQuery - Increased the number of omit and fixed values from 1000 to 2000.

GTViewer In the News

The Town of Groton, Massachusetts mobilizes emergency management with COGNET GIS & GTViewer, see the full article at GISCafe.

Also, check out COGNET's new Blog: cognetgis.blogspot.com

Maximize Initial View in GTViewer

Since the first version of GTViewer, creating a new session has always created a new view. The view is by default “not” maximized. Perhaps the main reason for defaulting the new view to not maximize was to show off GTViewer’s ability to support a Multi-Document/Multi-View environment. It is not readily obvious that this feature exists if the view windows are always maximized.

Since GTViewer version 4.0, there has been a setting under Options/Settings to change the behavior of a session’s initial view. The property is called Maximize Initial View and you can leave it like it is or you can change it to true which will maximize the initial view of any newly created session. You can then set this value as the default for the application and it will be used from that point forward.




A new session created with the Maximize Initial View set to No is shown below:




A new session created with the Maximize Initial View set to Yes is shown below:

Multi-Document/Multi-View Support In GTViewer

One feature that has been available in GTViewer since the very first version is its Multiple Document/Multiple View environment. This feature is a standard in most Windows applications especially those built around the Document/View architecture. However, only recently has the power of this feature been recognized by its users.

The Multi-View support provides the ability to have multiple views of a dataset; each view can be showing a different location or display different features at common location (such as gas only or electric only). The uses of these aspect of the feature is obvious. The Multi-Document support is a little more subtle in its usefulness. Multi-Document support allows more than one dataset to be opened in GTViewer at the same time; each dataset appears in its own view window (and you can then have multiple view of each dataset). Many users have only one dataset, so the multiple document support may not be useful (maybe). However, for those users who do have multiple datasets this feature can be very useful.

The multi-document feature is especially useful for companies transitioning their GIS. For example, let’s say your GIS uses Intergraph’s classic FRAMME and you are in the process of transitioning to Intergraph’s G/Technology or even an ESRI or Smallworld GIS. GTViewer allows you to use your classic FRAMME data while simultaneously viewing data from your new GIS (just in separate view windows). There are several advantages to having this multi-document support:

• Data from your retired GIS is still accessible through a GTViewer snapshot of the data without maintaining the old GIS.


• Users keep a common viewing application during the transition from one GIS to another; thus, there is no need to retrain the majority of the GIS data users on new software.


• You can verify the new GIS by comparing its data to the old data GIS’s data in the same application. You can even use Redline’s or GT/Field to capture the problems and later update the GIS.

GTViewer on Windows Vista

GTViewer 7.0 has been certified on Windows Vista. No changes were required to make GTViewer compatible with Windows Vista, so older versions should also run without compatibility issues. While there is no functionality in GTViewer specific to Windows Vista, you will notice the Windows Aero enhanced display. For example, GTViewer’s title bar will have the semi-transparent appearance as well as the other dialog box titles and borders. You will also notice other cool features such as the Windows Flip and Windows Flip 3D Animation.

GTViewer version 7.0.x.2 is Available

Version 7.0.x.2 of GTViewer is available.

-----------------------
07.00.00.02 - 02/16/07
-----------------------

- NEW - Style definition Priority value can be now set from 0 to 25.

- NEW - Feature Counting now supports MeasureFactor, MeasureDegreeFactor, MeasureUnitLabel, and LatLongFlag.

- FIX - Problem with counting highlighted features with no shape specified.

- NEW - New Doc Object Method:

boolean DrawClearAll(long mode);

GTI Finds Maps More Valuable with Trace Applications

See press release in GIS Cafe:

Graphic Technologies, Inc. Finds Maps More Valuable with Trace Applications

Trippple Sevens – New versions of GTViewer, Pocket GTViewer, and GTVx

GTI releases new versions of 3 products today:

• GTViewer version 7.0
• Pocket GTViewer 7.0
• GTVx version 7.0

These new releases have a variety of enhancements, fixes, and new features.

GTI at GITA 2007

GTI's Charlie Marlin will be a speaker at GITA 2007 at the Mobile Field Data Collection Technology Alternatives Knowledge Immersion Seminar. For more information see page 7 of the GITA conference program. Also, see page 15 for a picture of GTI's Mike Rogers at the Data Aquisition Seminar from GITA 2006 in Tampa.

GTI is also proud to be sponsoring the breakfast at the Ten Sails Smallworld Symposium following the GITA conference.

Why use a 3rd Party Viewer for your GIS Data

By Joey Rogers and Charlie Marlin

A question that GTI sometimes gets asked is “Why should I use your viewer for my GIS when I could use the viewer sold by my GIS vendor?” This is a question that deserves some deliberation.


Focus – Where is the “A” team?

GIS vendors are focused on making their GIS work correctly: creation of features, topology, updates, conflict resolution, etc. This characteristic is obvious if you take a look at popular GIS vendors and how their viewers are positioned (if they have a viewer at all). This focus is not a bad thing. You want the GIS data to be created and maintained properly. Let the GIS vendor do what it does best.

GTI is focused on developing the best viewer possible. While GTViewer capability spans the data analysis and data collection realms, its primary objective is providing the best viewer possible for people who need access to the GIS data.

GIS Vendors try to provide a full suite of products starting with the GIS itself then all of the periphery applications: Design, Analysis (or interfaces with Analysis packages), Plotting, Viewing, Data Collection. As the GIS vendors attempt to provide the full suite, the non-core applications have historically been neglected or overlooked. In the GIS data world, these applications that get pushed to the bottom are the ones used by the most people. This situation is ironic. Viewing applications should be given just as much attention as any other part of the GIS, especially since many more people use the GIS data through a viewer application than in any other way. The cost of the GIS viewer is not a significant part of an overall GIS solution, and GIS vendors have traditionally invested their money, time, and development in the higher dollar components. Reflecting its focus, GTI devotes all of its resources to the GIS viewer.


Design – For whom?

Many GIS viewers are simply stripped down versions of a full GIS seat or cannibalized parts of other applications that were never designed to be viewers. In some cases, a full GIS seat may be recommended by a GIS vendor as the viewing application (requiring the full GIS seat cost and complexity for a viewing seat). GTI has a very different approach to this problem. The overwhelming majority of actual users are not “GIS” users; they are customer service representatives, marketers, planners, linemen, tree trimmers, leak inspectors, construction foremen, supervisors, managers, etc. GTViewer was designed from the ground up as a usable, productive viewing tool without the distractive influences of a GIS. Why would you force the majority of the users of GIS data to learn an overly complicated interface designed for the smallest group of users?
The primary benefit of a field or office viewing product is that it allows people to use geospatial data to do their regular jobs more efficiently (which is the whole point of having a GIS). It is not economical to require such users to become GIS professionals. GIS professionals require extensive training and education. And they produce results that bring tremendous value to their companies, governments, and agencies. But forcing all users of geospatial data to become GIS professionals is like making all car passengers become mechanics. As an aside, I might remark that in the early days of automobiles, this may have been a reasonable requirement. Cars failed often. And anybody who drove one needed to work on it often to keep it going. (Many GIS veterans will say the same about the early days of their field!) But those times have passed. Cars are more popular and useful today than they were during their first 30 years precisely because they do not require full time maintenance. They can be designed for users rather than for mechanics. Likewise, today’s third party geospatial viewers can enhance a worker’s productivity by fitting in with that work directly, rather than by requiring advanced skills from a different occupation.


Integration – Fact or Fantasy?

One of the longest-running abuses of large software companies is their practice of leading customers to believe that because multiple software products are sold by the same company, they will work together seamlessly. Sadly, such integration is often not actually realized. For instance, many GIS vendors require the source GIS data to be converted or prepared for mobile applications, which is the same workflow taken by most third party viewing vendors. Alternatively, if the GIS vendor is not converting their data to a “mobile-ready” format, they are probably not providing geospatial data in the way that works best on mobile devices
The major GIS vendors have also invented the concept that only they can provide effective components for their GIS systems; it’s sort of like Ford Motor Company trying to claim that its cars can only use Ford tires. This concept is wholly untrue and in fact usually turns out to be a limiting characteristic instead of a strength. For example, viewers from one GIS vendor have never been effective when used on data from another GIS vendor. By contrast, GTViewer is not bound to any one GIS format, so it can support data from multiple GIS sources simultaneously whether you simply need support for multiple GIS sources or are transitioning from one GIS to another.


Price

The major GIS vendors have generally priced their viewing software fairly high and then discounted it heavily when bundled with their mainstream products. Just because something is sold at half its list price doesn’t mean it then has twice the value. A poorly designed tool that sells for less than a better-designed rival will only save money the first day. The buyer will pay for the difference every day his employees use a second-best tool.


Pedigree
How did the software start out? Was it a CAD product that morphed into a mapping tool? Did it result from a crash program to create a me-too product, driven by market pressure? GTViewer has a unique history. It was designed starting with a clean sheet of paper by a software architect who had spent years working with viewing software and its users. GTViewer reflects insights gained through practical experience. Now in its fifth major release, GTViewer does what people should expect. It scales to large data sets. It shows aerial photography. It allows users to sketch intuitively. It provides a rich array of view controls that can declutter or emphasize what the user wants to see with minimal or no effort from the user. Printing, GPS integration, and a query subsystem are all included. Snappy performance is standard. Crucially, all these features are provided through an engaging and approachable user interface that is suitable for people without GIS backgrounds.

GTI at DistribuTECH, Feb 4-6, 2007

Come to San Diego and visit GTI in booth 644 at the DistribuTECH conference, February 4-6. See GTViewer, the price-performance leader in geospatial viewing, along with advanced applications such as valve isolation, circuit tracing, and outage inference. GT/Field, a configurable data collection application, will be featured on hand-helds and laptops. New editions of GTWeb will also be demonstrated.

GTVx Version 5.0.x.12 is Available

Version 5.0.x.12 of GTVx is available.

-----------------------
05.00.00.12 - 12/27/06
-----------------------
- FIX - The Export button on the Display Preset Dialog was always enabled even when no preset item was selected.

-----------------------
05.00.00.11 - 12/08/06
-----------------------

- FIX - QueryActivate and QueryPerform were not recognizing Query Type 13 as thematic query.

GTViewer version 5.0.x.27 is Available

Version 5.0.x.27 of GTViewer is available.

-----------------------
05.00.00.27 - 12/27/06
-----------------------
- CHG - Change to the NMEA GPS reader to better support virtual COM ports or GPS sharing devices.

- FIX - The Export button on the Display Preset Dialog was always enabled even when no preset item was selected.

GTViewer version 5.0.x.26 is Available

Version 5.0.x.26 of GTViewer is available.

-----------------------
05.00.00.26 - 11/30/06
-----------------------

- FIX - Export as Dgn was not setting the origin correctly in orphan cell headers which caused all grouped elements from the GTViewer data to scale and rotate incorrectly in Microstation.

- NEW - Export as Dgn will now export Extended Style Information as UDLS tags on the dgn elements.

- FIX - Fixes to the Style Manager's Import Map and Def funtionality.

- NEW - ExternalStyleMapFile and ExternalStyleDefinition entries can be added to the addprop.ini file or the Additional Properties section of the .GTM. If defined, these entries will import the specified .map or .def files.

- FIX - Text Elements with embedded data would lose the embedded data if edited with the Element Properties dialog.

- FIX - Reading an element would partially reset a DrawSetData. It will now fully reset the information.

- FIX - Right Mouse Menu would not activate when in Draw Dimension or Leader line modes.

- FIX - Updates to Magnify Window to provide a smoother appearance when scrolling, especially with dark or black backgrounds.

GTVx version 5.0.x.10 is Available

Version 5.0.x.10 of GTVx is available.

-----------------------
05.00.00.10 - 11/30/06
-----------------------

- FIX - Export as Dgn was not setting the origin correctly in orphan cell headers which caused all grouped elements from the GTViewer data to scale and rotate incorrectly in Microstation.

- NEW - Export as Dgn will now export Extended Style Information as UDLS tags on the dgn elements.- FIX - Text Elements with embedded data would lose the embedded data if edited with the Element Properties dialog.

- FIX - Reading an element would partially reset a DrawSetData. It will now fully reset the information.

- FIX - Right Mouse Menu would not activate when in Draw Dimension or Leader line modes.

- NEW - ExternalStyleMapFile and ExternalStyleDefinition entries can be added to the addprop.ini file or the Additional Properties section of the .GTM. If defined, these entries will import the specified .map or .def files.