Distributed GIS Data
The Business Driers & Solution
In 1996, with the opportunity to have a network connected GIS viewer at people’s
desktops, the “UNIX kiosk” idea, was shelved. This was due to it’s inability to be
extended beyond the UNIX kiosks to the field with a platform built on UNIX when all
other devices in the user community were based on DOS and Windows 3.1.
Graphic requirements were in place from the older platform's production of hpgl plot
files. The generation of an electronic view of GIS with the same detail that was
captured in the hpgl plot files was needed. The old GIS system was in place and a
bridge was needed to span the time between systems with a GIS viewer that potentially
could view both geographic information systems. The thought was to view the hpgl files
electronically if possible. The continuation of the existing process of hpgl plot file
creation was needed along with the creation of a process to view the new system maps
at the same time. This would eliminate the need to send the hpgl plot files to a vendor,
create, distribute and file the aperture cards in their appropriate card decks. A contact
was made with a vendor, who could provide the software to view the hpgl plot files
electronically. They came to our office to show us their capabilities. Before they left the
meeting, they were showing us our hpgl plot files electronically. This was an instant
success with the people in attendance. It was an opportunity to get up and running in
an electronic viewing environment very quickly. Using this viewing technology, a newly
installed network and a clever navigation GUI was built in house using Microsoft’s Excel.
Viewing our entire territory maps from the old GIS was accomplished within a month.
The new GIS data plots were added to the viewer in the next few months and the GUI
was delivered to approx. 800 network-connected users and 100 laptop users.
A GIS strategy began to be geared towards creating the hpgl plot files out of the new
GIS system to fulfill the user requirements. The extensive use of annotation throughout
the previous map products made the task of creating new hpgl plot files or any view
that was satisfactory to the user almost insurmountable. The product was “locked in” to
producing the same quality and quantity of graphics that were in place for decades.
This was the driver that steered the product away from the “automated text placement
from attribution” data viewing products that the GIS vendors were suggesting. There
was not and is not an acceptable attribute text placement utility on the market today
that would accommodate the large volume of text required by the business to prevent
overlapping. User placed annotation would be the standard as it was in the past. A
scheme was developed to capture the annotation through the plot process to populate
the database. This would allow for the automatic capture of text for it’s graphic
placement and it’s manipulation during maintenance to make it readable. This still is an
ongoing task and could potentially take years to recover.
