ArcPad 7 timeline – recall 7 was released at end of last year with added support for range finders and digital cameras as well as many other major enhancements. SP1 was released in May 5, 2006 (added fix for Trimble’s GPS correct 2.0. 7.0.1 is planned for release shortly after the User Conference (Aug 2006). ArcPad 7.1 target release date Q2, 2007 Recall GeoCollector was announced about 2 weeks ago (July 2006) – it’s a professional mobile GIS/GPS solution bundling Trimble GeoExplorer pro GPS handheld pre-loaded with ArcPad 7 SP1along with Trimble’s GPSCorrect 2.0 – alos includes a license of GPS Analyst extension for ArcGIS desktop

What is ArcPad 7?

Part of ESRI’s overall mobile strategy, ArcPAd is a mobile GIS application for field mapping applications.

• Allows input from GPS receivers, range finders, digital cameras and other devices.
• Includes out-of-box display functionality enabling data editing and analysis as well as support for extensive customization –extending the Geodatabase to the field.

About the GeoCollector bundle... The GeoCollector solution includes an ultrarugged handheld computer with integrated GPS receiver from the current Trimble GeoExplorer series and ESRI’s ArcPad, delivering hassle-free field collection and seamless data integration with ArcGIS. To meet the full range of field data collection requirements, the device is available in three accuracy options: subfoot, submeter, and one- to three-meter. The GeoCollector series also includes Trimble’s GPScorrect for ArcPad, which collects and manages the GPS data necessary for differential correction during data collection. In addition, Trimble’s GPS Analyst for ArcGIS Desktop is available as an add-on to enable the direct transfer of data from GeoCollector and to perform differential correction inside ArcGIS Desktop. See more at http://www.lbszone.com/content/view/1164/2/ or www.esri.com/geocollector

Enhancements for ArcPad 7

- improved performance
- enhanced editing (snap, undo, repeat, segemented lines)
- camera and rangefinder support
- improved symbology and labeling
- support for graphics layer (for redlining)
- import/export tools for ArcGIS
- customization with new wizards for creating forms - no programin required (nice!) stay tuned for more

More on ArcPad 7, 7.0.1, and 7.1

Recall that 7.0.1 will be available very soon and 7.1 is coming next year. What’s new in 7.0.1? Most noteworthy are signifigant performance gains (Trimble users will really appreciate this with start-up time shrunk from as much as 2 minutes down to 20 seconds!) - you'll also find usability enhancements and 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 ago (ala version 6) and this application is very simple to use. Users can easily demo ArcPad for free (see the esri website) and give it a test run for yourself.

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

for more on ArcPad see the Arcpad team blog at http://arcpadteam.blogspot.com or http://www.esri.com/arcpad/