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Link – Step-By-Step Guide to Converting Web Projects from Visual Studio .NET 2002/2003 to Visual Studio 2005

This is never as easy as it should be, but at least Microsoft has created a guide to accomplish moving ASP.NET from VS.NET 2003 to VS.NET 2005. Our IT group has given the OK to move to Visual Studio 2005 so we’ll probably begin to do this soon.

That was an instant message from a friend (we’ll call him Adam even though that isn’t his real name) who wanted to know why he received a Microsoft Access file, rather than GIS data from a client. Adam also wondered why the Access document was over a GB and only contained tables. I explained to him about personal geodatabases and how they work and what is needed to use/view them. Of course Adam isn’t a GIS Professional, he’s a planner (yea, insert your favorite planner joke right there), but he did have a good question after contacting his GIS department.

How do I get a record of what is in that geodatabase? I don’t have ArcCatalog.

I told him to point his GIS team to one of my favorite free ESRI GIS tools (that is unfortunately hidden in the ArcScripts fiasco) called Geodatabase Reporter.NET. This tool is built using Microsoft’s .NET Framework and ESRI’s ArcEngine so you’ll need at least the ArcGIS license (Engine, View, Editor or Info) or higher.

GR.NET has 4 main components that allow users to get information about Geodatabases; Schema Reporter, Data Reporter, Geometric Network Rule Editor and Topology Rule Editor. I won’t go into all of them, but focus on the one that will help Adam the best. The GR.NET data report basically summarizes the data contained within every geodatabase object class and gives row/feature counts, spatial extents and a dataset snapshot. What this means is you get an inventory of your geodatabase. I use it to find empty object classes or subtypes that can be hard to find with ArcCatalog. I’ve included a sample of the report below. As you can see, this can be very valuable to many people who just want an inventory of new geodatabases.

For users, the help file is very well done (better than some manuals I’ve seen come out of ESRI) and walks you through all the options you have with the tool. An added bonus is that the source code is included to the C# application so GIS programmers can improve on the tools for their own use. I’d love to see ESRI start their own GotDotNet portal for tools such as this and maybe a sandbox for more ESRI applications created by their programmers what I’m sure would be welcomed by most GIS Professionals.

Adam showed me the data report of his geodatabase and I’m very impressed with how it was laid out. He’s lucky that everything is SDSFIE compliant and he’ll be able to task his GIS department with analysis and cartography requests with ease.

I just can’t stop using it. I’ve always thought the simplicity of Google Maps made it so useful, but the new Yahoo! Maps is simple to use, but exposes much more functionality than Google’s mapping product. I like that the the URL changes as you move the map around. Sure Google had that permalink, but it seems like the default should have the URL always updated. I can’t wait to see how the new ArcWeb 2006 functions. I’m still not really sold on Flash, but I’m begining to come on over.

Link – GIS Tips & Tricks

Although it looks like it has been around for months, this site just recently was found in my server logs. For all those wishing for a ArcGIS Desktop focused blog, this could be your answer. Don’t let the name fool you, all tips so far are pretty much ArcGIS (Map and Catalog) focused. There are a couple nice tricks in there including one I didn’t know about. Nice stuff!

Link – Sportsim Weblog

The aim with this blog is to inform about what’s going on from a user view point with: user cases, events, and must have HW gadgets. We will also add information of what is going on behind the scenes in Sportsim. This will not become a boring text blog so we will add multimedia content as pictures, videos and of course lots of GPS activities presented with our software solutions!

I’m glad to see Sportsim create a weblog to improve their communication with their users. If you haven’t had a chance to check out their free software (which uses ArcWeb) you really should. It will be interesting to read how they react to the new functionality of ArcWeb 2006 and what improvements will be made.

Link – KML Home Companion 3.0

This is an ArcMap extension designed to create KML format text files for use in Google Earth. I tried to create the simplest program that would do the job, so there is only a minimum of error checking or fancy features. Please feel free to modify the code, report bugs, or to make suggestions for future releases.

New Features in 3.0 :

Can create single or multiple placemarks for a layer
Allows either a default color or the ArcMap layer symbology
Error checking for geometry types
Transparency is displayed as a percentage instead of a Hex number
Refresh button for layer listing
Easier method of selecting output directory

The latest version of KML Home Companion is out. I really like this extension for creating KML files from a ArcMap document because it is so simple to do so. For 90% of those want to convert to KML, this is probably your best choice. For others wanting much more control, Arc2Earth is the better choice.

KML Home Companion in ArcMap 9.1

Converted Document in Google Earth

Link – Virtual Earth Media Center Add-in

The ‘My Pictures’ feature of Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition is probably the most used feature in our household. We have tons of digital photos and have started scanning in most of our slides. Often while viewing a slide show with friends they will ask where particular photos were taken. With a combination of geocoded digital images and MSN’s Virtual Earth web based map control it is now possible to show them on a map right inside Media Center. A secondary use for Virtual Earth within Media Center is to use it as a digital atlas for browsing the world.

I wish I have a Media Center Edition PC to try this on. I think it would be really cool to see something on the TV and want a map of its location. How long to we see geocoding of video feeds? This isn’t polished yet, but I see a huge market to mapping on a TV. Why let CNN or MSNBC have all the fun on your TV?

Link – Is GML a “format”

One often hears the term “data format” without much discussion as to what it means. People talk about converting from one format to another even when they express distinctly different semantics – for example “the conversion from Shape format to SVG format” and so on. While this “abuse of language” may be convenient it very often makes it very unclear what is really going on.

Actually I enjoyed the article (well written), but it did get me thinking about the real problem with GML. Most people don’t have a clue what it is, how to use it or how to create it (though I’m sure most readers of this blog are well versed in GML).

The best response I’ve gotten while describing GML to someone was, “oh you mean like KML?”. Yikes….
Of course the biggest problem with OGC interoperability in ArcGIS is that you have to buy an extension to gain access to most formats. It is unfortunate that ESRI didn’t decide to bundle the Data Interoperability with the 9.1 products. I’d say that this extension is worth much more to GIS Professionals than ArcGIS StreetMap, ArcPress, ArcScan and Maplex combined. For now we’ll have to rely on other tools to get some of this work done.

Link – Learn way around city on GIS Day

experts will show off the public and private technology at GIS Day, as well as help residents find the best geographic sites on the Internet. Moore said one of the best is earth.google.com, which has three-dimensional aerial photos clear enough to show wilderness trails, hikes down the Grand Canyon, and rooftops of city offices. Wednesday, Moore offered previews of the city’s newest maps and said Chandler is the first in the Valley to install detailed blueprints of every public school in laptops carried by police officers and firefighters. Most other cities have access to school layouts without detail, he said.

I’m taking this year off on doing any GIS Day presentations but luckily others are not. My hometown (well adopted hometown) is going to have a GIS Day presentation and Tempe (where my office is located) plans one also.

OK, somehow I fixed it. Off to bed!

Argh, I messed with the stylesheet and it ended up messing the whole site up in internet explorer.

Bear with me while I fix things. I’ll just use the default theme for now.