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Attribute Assistant

The attribute assistant has some significant changes for ArcGIS 10.  When you download it, you will not find the installer that you might be used to.  You will just see a simple ArcGIS Add-in.  This should help you deploy this extension to your organization.  We also modified some of the existing functions and added a few new ones.  The table below discus’s the different methods for this extension.

We are happy to announce the release of the Infrastructure Editing Template for ArcGIS 10.This new release takes advantage of some of the great additions to ArcGIS 10.  You will find a new datamodel which encompasses many new layers.  You will also see an updated symbol set, a symbol set designed to be overlaid on imagery, topographic, and parcel basemaps.  The editing map document was updated to show you have to set up feature templates.  You will see how we reordered, highlighted and set some fields to read only, as well as hide a few.  We think you will like the new data model, symbology and the new mxd.  Now on to the tools!

We migrated the Editing and Reporting toolbars and the Attribute Assistant to ArcGIS 10 Add-ins.  Not only did we upgrade them to ArcGIS 10, but included a series of bug fixes, config changes and new functions, which all came from your suggestions, so please keep the feedback coming.  Lets breakdown the Add-In’s and discuss the changes.

Desktop Editing Toolbar – Changes and New Tools

The first thing you might notice is the Add Laterals icons are missing, but there is a new one that sort of looks like it.  We compressed the Add Lateral tools into one function that looks at the selected features and compares them to the config file and generates laterals from them.  This allows you to generate many types of laterals at once.  To the right of it, there is a new tool, Connect Closest.  This tool will connect a series of points, say a row of manholes, with a line, such as a sewer main.  If we look to the left you will see a a large red button with a ! in it.  This is simple layer inspector.  It looks at a feature class and lets you step through each feature one at a time.  Real handy for reviewing those redlines or field notes.  If we keep moving left, you will see an icon with a line and 123 in it.  This tool allows you to quickly calibrate a line that is M enabled.  Should help you plot your CCTV data on your sewer.  Next is the Merge Geometric Network Features, an ArcScript that has been around a while, so we thought we add it to the toolbar.  I agree, the icon looks like it is breaking features apart.  We will see if we can change this to something more meaningful.  On the far right, is a new tool included with the Attribute Assistant.  This tool triggers the change event for all selected features.  So you can manually fire out the Attribute Assistant rules.  The last new tool on the toolbar is the Incremental Network Loader.  You can find out about the new tool here. 

Desktop Reporting Toolbar – Changes and New Tools

We mainly enhanced the existing tools.  We had a bunch of request to return the edges of a trace in the selection set, so we added another trace button below each trace that does just this.  There is a new way to run the Isolation trace, in batch.  The Summary Isolation trace will loop through all selected water mains and run an isolation trace for each.  The results are stored into a feature class which you will find in the Capital Planning dataset.  I warn you against running this on all your mains, it takes a while(don’t worry, the tool warns you to if you make the mistake on clicking it without a selection set).  A new tool that we are all excited about is the Profile Graph tool.  This tool lets you pick two manholes, runs a find path trace between them, intersects the result with an elevation surface and plots the manholes, mains and elevation onto a graph for you.  We think you will really like this tool.  There is a known issue right now though.  When the chart opens, you have to turn off the manholes in the chart properties, then uncheck automatic from the left axis.  You can then turn the manholes back on.  The last tool on the toolbar, Attribute Transfer Loader, was a request from a user who was transferring data using the attribute transfer tools.  If you ever used these tools, you know you had to set them up each time you opened ArcMap.  You can now set up the mapping in the config and load it to the attribute transfer dialog.  

Desktop Tools – Config File Changes

If you changed the config file for 9.3.1, you will need to move these changes into the new config file.  You will see in the new config, we reworked a lot of the entries in a nested xml structure.  This allowed us to include some new options and load the config file faster.  For example, the Add Laterals Tools.  This was a long series of entries and you were limited to the 3 types we exposed.  Now you will see you can use these tools on any number features.  Here is a screen shot.

Also, you will see that there is an xml array that defines the points along.  We had a lot of request to allow the option to add more than one point along the line.  With this xml array, you can have it add any number of points along the line, I left a sample in the config to show how to do this, notice it is commented out. 

Desktop Tools – Construction Tools

You will also find an installer for a set of construction tools.  These construction tools call some of the functions on the toolbar and expose some new functions.  These new tools should further speed up editing and creating new assets with ArcGIS.  Note: at the moment, the construction tools and the toolbar use the same config, but they each have their own copy.  We are looking into how to share one config between them. 

Let’s take a detailed look at them.  

                Screen shot of the new construction tools for points and lines.

For lines, there is one new tool, Create a line with end points.  This tool will end two points at the end of the line you sketch.  The config file controls will points get added to what line.  So you need to modify the config to list the line layer and the ending point layer.  Using the new xml config file, you can specify any number of layers for this to work on.

For points, there are a number of new tools.  Some are samples that come with ArcGIS, some are new tools we added, let’s start at the top.  The Points along a line at is a great sample that comes with in the Developer Kit.  A great sample for creating a series of points at an interval.  Next is a custom tool, Add a connection and the lateral.  This tool does the same thing that the Add Lateral tool does on the toolbar, but this one lets you create the point and immediately connect it to the main.  The Create a point and line tool does the same thing Connect Closest tool does, but this does it as you click.  Imagine you are creating manholes.  Each time you drop one, it searches for the closest manhole and adds the main.  The last construction tool is the Add a point and split an intersecting line tool.  This does exactly what it says, split the line that you click on.

We are very happy and proud with this template for ArcGIS 10.  Let us know if you have any issues or any suggestions.   In the next blog, we will talk about some changes in the Attribute Assistant.