GPSeismic Release Notes

GPSeismic Version 2008.0 Release Notes

General

1) One of the biggest changes in Version 2008 is the use of a new 
coordinate conversion library and corresponding geodetic settings utilities. You 
should consult the help file available from any of the new Geodetic Settings 
dialogs and familiarize yourself with the design and mechanics of these new 
utilities. In general, instead of relying on an ASCII file for geodetic parameters, 
all coordinate system and datum transformation parameters now exist in an MDB 
database called 'geodesy.mdb' located in the 'GPSeismic\Geodesy\' folder. You 
should not attempt to modify this database with any application other than the 
tools available in the new geodetic utilities. The reason for this is that the 
utilities construct a special 'signature' string that represents a system or 
datum. If you enter or change parameters without addressing this string, your 
conversions will fail.

WE'VE GOT YOUR BACK! By this we mean that if you have many defined datums and
coordinate systems in your geodesy.dat file, don't despair. We have included 
utilities in the datum and system creation dialogs to quickly retrieve parameters
from the geodesy.dat file.

Notes about shift files - For datum transformations requiring shift files, you 
should note that we will be distributing the more commonly used files including 
those for the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia and New Zealand. If you need to add a 
datum transformation requiring a shift file you should note that the file must 
be placed in the 'GPSeismic\Geodesy\' folder.

Important changes from previous versions - We have created the new coordinate 
system dialog and display items to closely resemble the original dialog so the 
user will feel comfortable with this change. With regard to defining new 
coordinate systems and datum transformations, the new utilities provide a new 
and consistent interface for accomplishing this. One area that has changed is 
the seven and ten parameter rotation sign convention. Without question, the two 
greatest sources of geodetic confusion over the years with GPSeismic have been 
the rotation sign convention and the use of a reference meridian other than 
Greenwich.  With GPSeismic version 2008, we have switched over to using the 
more accepted convention for rotations (Coordinate Frame used by TGO, LGO, 
and EPSG) and have dropped the less popular Position Vector convention used in 
Blue Marble products.  We have also eliminated the ability to create/use a 
datum whose reference meridian is not Greenwich as this was very rarely used.  
We are confident that these are both steps in the right direction.

2) The ASCII Export dialog, which is used by all GPSeismic applications, now has 
a 'sort' option. This checkbox is located at the bottom center of the dialog. When
used, it results in the output file being sorted by station. The station is 
evaluated as a value which means that stations with alpha characters only will
appear at the top of the file.

This was requested by CGGVeritas.

3) The Multiple Map Utility shape file creation routines and all GPSQL shape file 
creation routines will now write an additional information file that can be plain
ASCII or XML. The file, which has the same name as the shape file, but a different
extension, includes date and time of creation, the geographic boundaries of the 
shape file, the coordinate system, a synopsis of the database field structure,
the specific query used, and a number of other project related items as specified
by the user. To define the information, you access the 'Metadata Definitions'
dialog available from the File menu of the Multiple Map utility. The dialog
can also be accessed in Project Manager, GPSQL and during project creation. GPArc
has been modified to include this file when you perform a backup. The 'Metadata
Definition' dialog (also used as the titleblock information dialog), allows the user
to specify TXT or XML format and to automatically specify the coordinate system
parameters by pressing the 'current project' button or 'new system' button.

This was requested by Michael Schaultman of DMT.

4) The Multiple Map Utility now has a File menu item that allows you to add your
saved parameter files to the 'most recently used' list without actually retrieving
the parameters. This was done because there is another new File menu item called
'Create all map layers for all parameter files'. This prompts you for whether to 
create the currently defined layers also. This is to handle the situation where
you might have made some changes to the current settings but not saved it to a 
parameter file. The new routine will work down the list and create everything 
you defined in the parameter files.

This was requested by Justin Brown of Maverick Surveys.

5) The Geodetic Utilities conversion calculator now allows for right-click popup
menu with copy capabilities. The conversion calculator also now has file conversion
capabilities. There are two routines, one to transform files and produce a CSV
output containing formatted results, and one that allows the user to specify
the output format via the standard GPSeismic ASCII Export dialog. Added an automatic 
column heading option which depicts headings based on current system selections. 
Also added a compare geodetic databases routine to the Geodetic Utilities that 
allows the user to generate a report of all differences between two geodey.mdb 
files.

6) QuikMap, Project Manager, GPSQL, and GPArc all now have a utility called the
'Shape File Toolbox'. This utility has over thirty five shape file routines that
include the following:

ASCII To Point SHP File                 
ASCII To Circular Polygon SHP File
ASCII To Line SHP File (Single Line)    
ASCII To Rectangular Polygon SHP File 
ASCII To Line SHP File (Multiple)       
ASCII To Line SHP File (Connecting Type)
ASCII To Polygon SHP File (Single)      
ASCII To Polygon SHP File (Multiple)
ASCII To Contour Line SHP File
MDB To Point SHP File                   
MDB To Circular Polygon SHP File
MDB To Line SHP File (Single Line)      
MDB To Rectangular Polygon SHP File 
MDB To Line SHP File (Multiple)         
MDB To Line SHP File (Connecting Type)
MDB To Polygon SHP File (Single)        
MDB To Polygon SHP File (Multiple)
MDB To Contour Line SHP File
SHP Files - Combine                     
SHP Files - Transform
SHP Files - Transform (Batch)           
SHP Files - Rotate
SHP Files - Point To ASCII              
SHP Files - Point To DXF point file
SHP Files - Line To DXF File            
SHP Files - Line To Polygon Type
SHP Files - Polygon Type To DXF File    
SHP Files - Line Type To CSV File
SHP Files - Polygon Type To CSV File    
SHP Files - Polygon Type To XZO File
SHP Files - DBF File To MDB File
SHP Files - Point Type To Google Earth KML
Grid Definition To Polygon SHP File        
Grid Definition To Line SHP File        
XZO To Polygon SHP File
GPArc GPT Text To Point SHP File        
NGS To Point SHP And KML File

7) The multiple map utility has been modified to require a height field. If one
isn't available, you should select any numeric field you wish. The height field is
required for the accurate calculation of gradient when making connecting line
SHP files, but otherwise, is not utilized in any way except to be placed in the
underlying DBF database.

8) A warning message has been added to QuikLoad and QuikView when a user turns 
on the option to use an alternate collector datum.

QuikMap

1) When both the Inline and Crossline spacings are set to 0 in the Automatic 
Offsets configuration page, a special 'Radial Tolerance' only mode is set which 
makes the actual Auto Offset routine run much faster.

2) In the polygon capture mode 'Offset to Perimeter', the maximum radial offset
now restricts how far a point can move.  Previously this was only used in the
other Offset to Perimeter modes (ie, inline/crossline).

3) An option has been added to the Outputs dialog to create a crooked azimuth 
file (CRK) from initial, secondary, or addback points.

4) A field representing the azimuth between the two points flagged for proximity
has been added to the spreadsheet.  This applies to both the initial layer and 
between layer modes.

5) An option has been added for the initial layer proximity test to ignore points 
which are on the same track. This option is on the Program Settings page of the 
Miscellaneous dialog.  When the 'Ignore points on the same track' option is 
checked, the initial layer proximity dialog will prompt for the number of Bin 
Digits.

Items 4 and 5 are as a resut of conversations with Derek Safnuk of Pathfinder 
Navigation

QuikView

1) When masks are in effect and you display the Reports dialog in order to update
 the database, the default setting for which points to send (all points or those 
 just meeting the masks), is now governed by a Miscellaneous dialog setting.
 You will find this setting at the top of the Display/Outputs tab page. You can
 elect to send 'all' or 'Points Meeting'.
 
 This was requested by Gary Schaffer of Teocalli Navigation.

GPSQL

1) The 'Update' dialog now allows the user to change a field to nothing (null).

This was requested by Mina Mankerious.

GPArc

1) There has been a fundamental change in the way drawn text elements are
handled. In the previous release, if you drew text elements, they were saved to
a file automatically when you saved the map (and re-opened as well). The file had
an extension of 'GPT'. With this version, the same general mechanism exists but
the name of the file is 'GPG'. Note carefully that an option has been added to
the Miscellaneous dialog that, when checked, makes the map saving/retrieving
operations behave just as they did before, but using the 'GPG' file instead.

Important - When you switch to this version and open an existing map, any 'GPT'
file will not be opened. However, there is a File menu item to open one so if
you had text and you find it is not showing, select this File menu item and open
the 'GPT' file. Next, turn on automatic handling of 'GPG' files on the Miscellaneous
dialog.

The 'GPG' file is capable of handling simple graphics as well as text. A change
to this was required in order to support a new legend feature. In the Utilities
Menu, there is an item that says 'Create Legend As Objects'. You will be prompted
for the XY coordinates of the top left point at which to start creating the
legend and the size of the map symbols. The displayed coordinates are for the
center of the current view. A symbol and text will be created for each layer.
However, the left panel which shows each layer and checkboxes can now be used
to select which legend items are created. Since you can easily select elements
with the select tool and delete them (and move them), its not really important
whether you use this feature.

You can select the features using the select tool and drag them around. Symbols
can be re-sized too (but not lines). You can also use the 'Edit all text' item 
in the Edit menu to change font, color or size. Again, if you turn on the 
automatic 'GPG' saving, the elements will be saved and retrieved when opening
and saving the map.

2) Added the ability to convert a line layer to a polygon layer which is of the
rectangular 'pipeline exclusion' type. You start by selecting a line layer of
you currently displayed map, then choose the very last item in the Utilities 
menu. You will be prompted for a new layer to create, then prompted for a 
buffer distance in map units. Two other dialogs follow. One is for what you want 
to use for the field names of the underlying database and the last is 
whether to create multiple polygons. Normally answer YES to this. The difference
is that there is one record in the underlying database for each rectangle if
you answer Yes, but only one record for all rectangles if you answer NO.

3) When saving a map file, units and paths are now saved. They are also retrieved
and utilized when opening a map file.

4) When adding a single layer, the current map extents are now preserved.
                                                                   
5) Modified the 'add all layer in folder' routines so that no redundant layers
 are made. Previously, if you added all from a folder, and then repeated the process,
 all layers would be imported again resulting in redundancy. Now, the only layers
 added are those not currently in the map.                                                                    
                                                                    
6) Finally tracked a problem down when closing a map. On some systems, it was
possible you saw an error when closing a map (but not exiting the application).
This was happening because I was unloading layers from top down rather than
from the bottom up. 
 
7) Added SID to 'add all layers in folder' utility.                                                                  
                                                                    
8) Added the ability to create multi-layer point and line types. In the case of
simple lines and basic point markers (circle, diamond, square)  , you can now specify
a separate center color. This gives you a means to depict a line or symbol  with
what amounts to a separate colored border. Its very cool and gives you a way of
greatly expanding your symbology options.

GPNav

1) You can now re-arrange the order of the navigation data. In the Preferences
menu, choose the 'Manage Nav Dat Rows' item. This displays a dialog that allows
you to drag the navigation items to the desired location. Because of this change,
the  toggle to flip the reference azimuth 180 degrees has been moved to the 
Preferences menu and has a hot key assignment of Ctrl-A.

This was requested by Tim Hukill.

GPLocator

1) Added support for the Raveon AVL radio(www.raveontech.com). Here is an example
of the incoming messages:

$PRAVE,0002,0001,3308.9037,-11713.1167,165919,2,9,184,25,12.7,0,-95,0,0,,*76
$PRAVE,0003,0001,3308.9086,-11713.1138,165920,2,10,189,25,13.0,0,-100,0,0,,*73
$PRAVE,0006,0001,3308.9208,-11713.1274,165920,2,10,183,42,13.1,0,-103,0,0,,*70

The Raveon data has the sender's ID as the second comma delimited string. Following
this is the ID of the unit the message was sent to,latitude, longitude, time, 
GPS status, number of satellites, altitude, temperature, voltage, IO status, 
signal strength, speed, heading, and alerts. Note that GPLocator always reformats 
an incoming message into a Nmea $GPGGA record. Raveon is the only system that 
includes additional information so the reformatted Nmea message is a hghly 
modified one which includes the temperature, voltage and alerts as trailing 
delimited fields. Should the user want to monitor these, use the special feature 
on the Alerts tab page of the Miscellaneous Settings dialog that allows monitoring 
of user specified delimited fields. Also note that the following message items 
are discarded: speed, heading, IO status, and signal strength. GPLocator computes 
speed and heading based on message time and position.

QuikCon

1) On the Errors tab page of the DCO editor, there are now two additional buttons.
One allows you to locate all duplicate sideshots in the the point ID column. All 
duplicates are listed along with the row number. Click on a duplicate and the 
row the duplicate occurs on is selected. The other button does the same thing 
for side shots in the Code column.

2) There is now a Preference menu item that will allow you to be notified if you
have imported a raw conventional file but failed to create a DCO file before
creating a QCN file.

3) When doing an inverse in the Control Station Manager, the inverse distance
is now computed and displayed.

Items 1-3 were requested by Jonh Socadagui of GeoKinetics

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