More on ArcPad 7, 7.0.1, and 7.1 - from the ESRI UC

A little more from this mornings final session as we depart to sprint away for lunch... some notes from the ArcPad session (part 2). Recall that 7.0.1 will be available very soon and 7.1 is comming next year. What’s new in 7.0.1 - signif. Performance gains (Trimble users will really appreciate this with start-up time shrunk from as much as 2 minutes down to 20 seconds!) - usability enhancements - quality improvements

Currently there are 14 languages supported. 7.0.1 has 2 more languages added including Korean. Tip - getting data out of ArcGIS -- use the “get data for ArcPad 7” tool within ArcGIS, select data, export, and extract data to a specified folder for subsequent use in ArcPad (SHP files) – will convert any data format and any projection.

So what data can you move for use in ArcPad? Shapefiles, rasters, symbologies, ArcGIS graphic layers and styles.

Preparing your Data for ArcPad - create new SHP files within ArcPad – note: add custom input forms using Quickform tool - use existing SHP files and create forms using QuickForm tool - extract data from the Geodatabase (checkout only necessary data) - for faster performance suggest you use SHP file indexes and use scale dependent symbology and labeling
Query data in ArcPad - indentify by attrs - hyperlink to external files (photo, video) - locate features by coordinates - find by attribute query - locate via measuring distance
Data Capture and Editing - capture point, line, polygon, text - create geometry - add attributes
Using a GPS in ArcPad - view GPS position window - set GPS preferences to control the incoming GPS input - activate GPS tracklog - select GPS capture tool (GPS point, GPS vertices, GPS streaming vertices)

Using other capture devices - use rangefinders to take offset measurements (range, bearing, inclination, etc…) - use digital camera to capture and associate images with features or photo layers. View photos with the identify and hyperlink tools. - A number of supported offset methods are available for those collecting data in hard to reach environments (supports simple offset, 2 point offset, and traverses)

At version 7, ArcPad is much more useful than what we saw a couplle of years agao (ala version 6) and this application is very simple to use. If memory serves me right you can demo it for free (see the esri website) and give it a test run for yourself. See the bundled solutions from eSRI or Trimble for n out of the box solution that will get you up and running with your field data collection.

Coming at 7.1 - maximize screen real estate - toolbars – floating, docked, more configuration options, one touch hide/show - related tables (highly anticipated) 1 to many relationships, database rules supported in data rather than forms - easier to create forms - object model enhancements to support relationships I'm off to lunch... Later - Ooh.. for more onn ArcPad see the Arcpad team blog at http://arcpadteam.blogspot.com/