New version of Cadcorp SIS – Spatial Information..

11 March 2009, 12:16pm

New version of Cadcorp SIS – Spatial Information System announced

Integration of Microsoft Virtual Earth, together with Google Maps and Virtual Earth ‘mash-ups’ capabilities among new or enhanced functionality.

Digital mapping and geographic information systems (GIS) software developer Cadcorp has announced the availability of the latest version of the Cadcorp SIS – Spatial Information System family of desktop, web, mobile and developer software products, Cadcorp SIS 7.0. Among the new or enhanced features to be introduced in Cadcorp SIS 7.0 are the integration of Microsoft Virtual Earth connectivity; the facility to create ‘mash-ups’ with both Google Maps and Virtual Earth; new data management facilities, including support for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Spatial; new data loading and exporting plug-ins and several enhancements to the software’s rendering, raster projection, text display, and PDF export facilities.

Enabling mash-ups
With the introduction of this new version, Cadcorp GeognoSIS, the company’s dynamic, web-based GIS server software, now enables the serving of data over the Internet for use as a layer within either Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth.

In addition, the integration of the Microsoft Virtual Earth Control provides embedded support for connecting directly to Microsoft Virtual Earth from within the Cadcorp SIS 7.0 desktop environment, with automatic overlaying of the SIS map data.

Data management enhancements
Expanding the existing capability of Cadcorp SIS to manage attribute data and enabling it to store and query attributes like data fields in their native form, Cadcorp SIS 7.0 introduces a number of new attribute types, including dates, Booleans, 64-bit integers and arrays, along with new property editing controls. These additions improve compatibility with the variety of data types available in industry-standard databases and other export formats.

A hierarchical attribute naming convention, e.g. address::contact::name, provides a structured and easy-to-understand view of the data that enables a simpler interpretation and management of complex data. In addition, enhanced database ‘joins’ enable one-to-many relationships, allowing users to match a number of database-derived attributes to a single feature for more flexible and realistic modelling of real-world data.

A ‘Group Overlay’ function has been introduced that allows the user to control the status of many overlays in one click, providing more efficient data management capability.

Extended data interoperability
Cadcorp SIS already provides in-built support, at no extra cost, for directly reading and/or writing to over 160 supported GIS, CAD, raster and database formats on-the-fly. With Cadcorp SIS 7.0, this support is further extended, with new plug-ins for:

- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Spatial
- Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) LAS
- OpenStreetMap
- Google SketchUp
- Arc Standard Raster Product (ASRP)
- Digital Nautical Charts (DNC)
- Autodesk DWF
- GeoJSON

In addition, Cadcorp SIS 7.0 introduces enhanced support for a number of existing formats which include: AutoCAD DXF/DWG, where support for XREFs has been enabled, Cadcorp Feature Database (FDB), Cadcorp Ordnance Survey (OS) MasterMap Database (ODB) and Google/OGC KML.

With an eye to the future, the Cadcorp SIS internal file format has been changed to support both forwards and backwards compatibility. This means that future versions of Cadcorp SIS will be able to open files created by Cadcorp SIS 7.0 and Cadcorp SIS 7.0 will be able to open data created with future versions.

Enhanced display facilities
A number of additions and enhancements to the display facilities of Cadcorp SIS have been introduced with the new version. These are aimed at significantly improving data display quality and the visual interpretation capabilities of the system and include:

- Improved rendering facilities, including anti-aliasing and vector transparency.
- A preview of feature styles (such as roads, houses, trees) to enable improved visual interpretation for the desktop user.
- The ability for those raster formats (such as GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF) supported by earlier versions of Cadcorp SIS, to be accurately re-projected, increasing the scope for users to access raster data from other sources and re-project it to their own coordinate reference system.
- New plug-in raster exporters that impose no limits on exported images, permitting larger files to be created and exported.
- Enhanced text display capabilities that include customisable outline text and support for bold, Italic, underline, box, opaque and outline settings for feature coded text items.

Enhanced PDF export
Distribution of GIS data through the use of Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) files has become increasingly common as a means of disseminating information to non-GIS users. Support for PDF export was added in a previous version of Cadcorp SIS and has become a popular feature of the software.

Cadcorp SIS 7.0 introduces facilities for the output of map data containing transparent vectors, enhancing the appearance of PDF output. Map overlay names can be included, allowing for improved organisation of PDF data in complex prints. Hyperlinks present on map data can be transferred to PDF, allowing more comprehensive links to web sites through PDF files created by the software. Standard, Adobe-supported, geo-referencing information can be included in the PDF, enabling coordinate readouts and measurements in some versions of Adobe Acrobat.

These enhanced PDF export capabilities enable users of the exported PDF file to experience GIS-type capabilities within the document.

Furthermore, as a result of an agreement between Cadcorp and TerraGo Technologies (TerraGo), Cadcorp SIS 7.0 enables GeoPDF integration - subject to a user licence from TerraGo - providing additional GIS tools for use within the exported PDF document.

Finally, and for Cadcorp’s extensive developer community, all new features are supported by additions and enhancements to the comprehensive Cadcorp SIS API (application programming interface).

www.cadcorp.com

Interoperability and data handling By Martin McGarry and Paul Bigg-Wither (Cadcorp)

GeoConnexion UK