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Varitronics E-Newsletter - Issue 3

Welcome to Issue 3 of our new e-newsletter. Please write us with any ideas on topics you would find helpful and call (732) 356-7773 if we can help you in any way.

As Autodesk shifts much of its new development into the vertical products, many new features get moved into the verticals. Some of these features have application well beyond the vertical in which they were included. In addition the 'vertical' releases include all generic AutoCAD functionality and can even cost less then a generic AutoCAD license.

With these facts in mind, we wanted to focus this newsletter on one of the products whose new features are very powerful, but may be overlooked because users see the title and decide "that's not me." Take a deeper look, it may be you after all.

The power of multi-user editing, publishing and context in AutoCAD Map

Muti-user Editing

One of the strengths of Autodesk Map 3D 2007 is multiuser editing capabilities, especially multiuser DWG file editing. Using the software's query functionality, multiple users can access and edit the same sets of files or base maps simultaneously. All functions remain available to all users throughout the process. This efficient and reliable way to share maps and data between users reduces the need for version control and minimizes time wasted waiting for data sets.

Efficiently Handling Large Datasets

Autodesk Map 3D performance when reading large quantities of vector feature data has been dramatically improved in this release. A new draw-to-memory architecture has been adopted, which greatly speeds processing. For example, a dense road network in the Los Angeles area, which consisted of about 100 MB of data, or 400,000 lines, was rendered in just over three seconds.

Performance when reading large quantities of raster data has also been improved in this release, thanks to the new FDO raster provider. Ortho photos, satellite imagery, and scanned maps and plans all benefit from the new mechanism for placing images.

Publishing Options

Autodesk Map 3D incorporates a series of powerful new ways to publish your data to be shared with other groups. In particular, publishing a version of the data directly to the web with MapGuide is both powerful and extremely easy. Best of all you can get MapGuide free. See our cool tools section below for more details.

Data Exchange

In the end Map 3D still has its roots as a GIS/Mapping tool. The biggest single problem facing GIS professionals and those that interact with them is the interexchange of data. Map 3D really excels at handling disparate datasources letting you view, incorporate, and publish seamlessly with nearly every major format under the sun. These include:

Databases: ESRI ArcSDE, Oracle Spatial, My SQL Relational Database, Microsoft SQL Server Relational Database, ODBC
Files: ESRI SHP Files, Spatial Data File (SDF), Raster Files (JPEG, JPG2K, MrSID, TIFF< ECW, DEM, ESRI Grid and DTED)
Web Services: Web Map Services (WMS), Web Feature Service (WFS)

Other key Map 3D capabilities: Improved Drawing Cleanup, Improved Map Creation and Stylization, Raster Surface Handling, and Feature Classification.
More detail on these Map 3D features and others can be found here.

Recent AutoDesk Patches and Updates

AutoCAD Map 3D Service Pack 3 has some really good performance enhancements.
Plotting Hotfix for Raster files fixes some plotting performance across many Autodesk products.
And if you haven't gotten it yet AutoCAD 2007 Service Pack 1 was made available earlier this month.

Free Tool - Autodesk's Map Guide!

Fitting with this issue's theme of exploring Autodesk Map 3d, one of the products that plays best with it is Autodesk's Map Guide. The free version of MapGuide has recently been made Open Source. It is a web-based platform that enables users to quickly develop and deploy web mapping applications. MapGuide features an interactive viewer that includes support for feature selection, property inspection, map tips, and operations such as buffer, select within, and measure.

Go here to check out the open source version of MapGuide or to download your copy, or here to check out some examples of what users have already built with it.

Quick Tips

Trouble grabbing raster images because you can only select them by the frame?
Map gives you some options. Press the Shift key while left-clicking the mouse to select a raster image. Any image that lies under the spot where you clicked will be selected. A dialog will let you choose the one you want if there is more than one. This is very useful when working with large images, or when working zoomed in on one portion of an image.
Images not coming in properly georeferenced?
Use the Map (not AutoCAD) command for inserting (attaching) a raster image. The right command for georeferenced images is Map > Image > Insert (i.e. _MAPIINSERT), not Insert > Raster image (i.e. _IMAGE, or _IMAGEATTACH).

If you have a question on the above or a tip you are willing to share, please email it to Jack as he is always on the lookout for the best way to do things.