The Topobase Insiders

Google, Bing and the Position Finder

Within Topobase there are plenty of possibilities to find features. The most powerful way is probably using the Topobase Forms. Here you can search for almost everything. Either with a simple filter, an SQL filter, a geographic filter or a projection through foreign keys. Another easy way is the Advanced Generate Graphic. This button can be found under the Generate Graphic button in the Home - Display ribbon. Within the Advanced Generate Graphic dialog we put a control called Position Finder. The position finder is a one to many steps guide for finding a feature. For instance the user wants to search for an address, then he starts the address search, selects first the street and in the next step he selects the right building number. After he has done that he generates the graphic around this feature.

I like the concept of the position finder because it is a guided process where the search will give the user in 100% of the cases the correct result. If he searches for a Hydrant, he'll find it.

Why not taking the position finder out of the Advanced Generate Graphic dialog and place it somewhere more prominent. We could put it for instance into an AutoCAD palette set. Do you also think that's a good idea? Watch the movie to get an impression how this looks like:

If you need this gimmick NOW, just go ahead and download it here (109.9K).

To install the tool you have to copy and paste the file Topobase.Insiders.PositionFinder.dll to your Topobase Client 2010 bin directory (e.g. C:\Program Files\Autodesk Topobase Client 2010\bin). Start Topobase Client, open a workspace and type NETLOAD in the command window, select the file Topobase.Insiders.PositionFinder.dll. In order to load the file automatically with Topobase Client you can type TBPFRegister in the command window (TBPFUnregister removes it from the registry). To start the Position Finder type TBPF. Or just place a new button in the ribbon:

Oracle Data Import - Domains

In the previous post I explained how to enable a Topobase document for import with the Oracle data import tool (here). 

In this article you will see how to link domains and their values.  In the SIMROSEWATER source schema the material of the pipe is stored in the MATERIAL table.  For each of these values there should be a corresponding value in the Topobase domain table WA_MATERIAL_TBD, and if there is no corresponding value, you will have to add it.  The Oracle data import allows you to add missing values in the target domain tables.

Open the Oracle data import tool. Select the mapping definition that you created in the previous post, and click Edit. The Edit Mapping Definition window is displayed.

Select the Domains tab.  Select MATERIAL under Source Domains for SIMROSEWATER, and select WA_MATERIAL_TBD under Final Domains for ATORAMIG. Click Link Domains.

The icon shows that the tables are linked. The link is listed under Linked Domains.

 

Now you will map the values of the domain. Select the Domain Values tab. 

First, you need to relate the ID and VALUE of the domain table to the primary key and description of the source table (MAT_CODE and MAT_NAME).  Click Domain Settings.

Select the MAT_CODE Source Key Column and select the MAT_NAME Source Caption Column.  Retain the default values for the target columns (ID and VALUE).

Click Close.  The Link Domain Values area displays the values of the MATERIAL table listed by MAT_CODE – MAT_NAME. 

 

Before linking domain values, you need to analyze your data and know which entries you need to create in the Topobase domain table. It is recommended that you copy first the new values to the domain table.  Select the new values in the source table and Click Copy.

Now you can use the Autolink functionality to match values automatically in the source and target tables.  This process works in three levels: 

• The string is exactly the same
• Any of the words in the source string are contained in the target string
• Using the soundex algorithm

Autolink matches the column with the first match in the alphabetically ordered list of target values.

Click Autolink and the values are linked automatically.

Afterwards, you can review the linked values, unlink any incorrect values or link manually values that were not automatically linked.  The resulting links should appear as shown in the figure below:

 

In the next post I will show you how to link feature classes and attributes.

Oracle Data Import

Autodesk Topobase 2010 provides a tool to migrate data among Oracle schemas. The source schema could be any Oracle schema; the target schema is a Topobase schema.

The user interface of the tool displays the tables of the source and target schemas; therefore it is easy for the user to link them.  The lookup tables or domains can also be easily linked. The tool provides automatic options to link the tables and fields.  As a result, the tool creates SQL statements for the migration, creates SQL Loader files or makes the inserts through the API. 

In this first post, I’d like to show you how to enable a Topobase document for import and I will explain you the interface of the tool.  In the next posts, I will show you how to link domains and feature classes.

First, you need to enable the Oracle data import extension in the document.  In Topobase Administrator, select the document, and in the Document Settings toggle on Oracle data import extension.

Click Save.  The document is updated and the system tables for the import (TB_MIG_*) are created in the document.

Now you have an additional option in the Import menu. Select Import > Oracle Data. The Source Document window is displayed, the target document is your current document (i.e. ATORAMIG).  Enter the name of the source document for the import (in this example SIMROSEWATER).

Click Ok.  In the Import Oracle Data window, click New and enter a name for the mapping definition.

In the individual tabs you can link the domains and feature classes.  On the left-side you see the source tables displayed and on the right-side you see the target feature classes.  You have the option to link, unlink, do automatic links or copy the tables, attributes or domains in the target document.

 

In the next posts I will show you examples on how to link domains and feature classes.

1-Click Maintenance

We created a new Topobase plug-in for you! It's called 1-Click Maintenance and can be downloaded below.
 
The tool performs some very basic maintenance checks and if possible tries to fix the found issues.
As you will see, most of these checks can already be executed within the Topobase Client or Administrator, but not all of them in one single place. And that’s exactly the goal of this plug-in. I hope it can also help you maintaining your Topobase documents on a regular basis!

The tool is implemented as a plug-in for the Topobase Administrator and it works with the official Topobase 2010 version. The tool runs against any Topobase document, no matter which modules or extensions are applied. It also works against job-enabled and job-disabled documents.

But before you run the plug-in, please make sure no user is connected to this document. And make sure you have an up-to-date backup of your documents before you start fixing the issues.
 
You find all the detailed information about the tool and how to run it in the readme:

Download Readme (884.3K)

Download Plug-in (136.5K)

Maybe you know other pitfalls within a Topobase document which are not yet addressed by this tool? If yes, you will be able to implement new checks! I will share the full source code of this tool soon. Stay tuned! 

Disclaimer (we give no support for this tool):
AUTODESK PROVIDES THIS PROGRAM "AS IS" AND WITH ALL FAULTS.
AUTODESK SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE.  AUTODESK, INC. DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE OPERATION OF THE PROGRAM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE.

Label Regeneration

One of the very powertul features of Topobase is label definitions. Labels were the subject of a couple of previous posts Topobase Labels Part 1: Configuration and Topobase Labels Part 2: Storage. Label Definitions describe how Topobase will generate label text, how labels get created automatically, and (for me the coolest aspect) how Topobase regenerates the label text.

For labels where the text is completely derived from the feature being labeled, regeneration is straight forward... if the feature changes, update the label text.

But Topobase allows you to specify an arbitrary SQL statement to get the label text. This provides a powerful way to generate concatenations of various pieces of information from multiple feature classes.

So how does it know what feature changes can affect the label? The answer is Regeneration Definitions. These are special feature rules that trigger a label update.

So let's take a typical example. We have conductors that need to be labeled with their circuit name. The CONDUCTOR feature class is related to the CIRCUIT feature class with a many-to-one relationship. So the label text for the CONDUCTOR references the CIRCUIT class, and the SQL looks something like this:

select circuit.NAME_NUMBER
from EL_CIRCUIT circuit, EL_CONDUCTOR conductor
where conductor.FID = $id and conductor.FID_CIRCUIT = circuit.FID

Now, we need to set up a regeneration definition that specifies that the label text needs to be updated when the circuit name changes. Click the Regeneration Definition button at the bottom of the Label Properties dialog and create a new rule. Choose the CIRCUIT class and the NAME_NUMBER property to tell Topobase that this class and property should be monitored. Finish off by accepting the default query that gets the affected conductor FID values given a change to the circuit class, which looks something like this:

select distinct EL_CONDUCTOR.FID
from EL_CONDUCTOR
where EL_CONDUCTOR.FID_CIRCUIT = $id

And that's it. Topobase adds a trigger to the CIRCUIT table that finds the affected conductors and updates their labels when the circuit name changes. This is part of the RegenerateLabel server side feature rule group. Easy, no?

Do you store data in Oracle Spatial ?

If yes, you can use them with Topobase Client and Topobase Web (for editing or viewing). Topobase 2009 has a new administrator function that allows you to convert an Oracle schema to a Topobase Document.

This converter will analyze the original schema and create the necessary meta information that is used by Topobase. During the whole process, the user is guided and is informed about the problems, so that he/she can fix them.

Surveyor

I remember, I was 14 years old and two guys came to our home with a theodolite. They explained to me that they had to survey our new house and showed me a map.
It looked like a funny job so I decided to study this matter and in 2002 I finally obtained a "Swiss Surveyor License". Fine, very fine... but I never used it...
Except for the design of the new Topobase Survey module. With this tool, you can compute the field measurement and use the results in your Topobase documents.
It's a very complete application that fullfils the surveyor workflow: from field to GIS. An advanced least square adjustment computation, field code list management, distribution in GIS repository, generation of network (measurement and point) plan, usage of existing coordinates, quality and reliability improvements etc, etc...

Have you seen the new UI ?

Yep, we introduced the Ribbons in Topobase 2009. The main goal is to simplify the access to the functions and to reorganize them in a logical and intuitive way.
The "Home" tab contains the most important functions like Document Manager, Job Manager, Display Manager and tools to manage data.
The "Tools" tab lets you access functions such as COGO or Survey.
The "Settings" tab contains the configuration functions and the "Output" tab groups the plot, report and profile functions.

Inspect your network

In order to avoid environmental impact, the wastewater network needs to be inspected regularly. Usually a small robot equiped with a video camera is placed in the pipes to do this.
The wastewater technician can then identify any damage or problems. In order to make decision on the network effectively, it is very important to have an overview of the problems on a map, which is why Topobase 2009 allows you to import and analyse inspection data.

Topobase Plot

Did you know that Robin's mother was an artist ? Yes, she likes to paint. Topobase is also able to paint, or, in other words, to plot.

This new application allows the user to define plots (with legend, multiple viewports, scalebar, north arrow, title, free text etc...). You can see on the picture the Plot Explorer which allows you to manage the plot templates and the plots. All this information is stored in Topobase and can then be reused (also in Topobase Web ;-)

The second picture presents an Autocad layout which has been generated based on the Topobase plot configuration.