Cole•Layer•Trumble Company

Landisc™ Enterprise Edition

Landisc™ Interpolator

Users Guide

V1.0

July 25, 2007


Copyright © 2007 by Cole•Layer•Trumble Company

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Table Of Contents

Table Of Contents i

Overview 1

I. Archive old images, replace old images, add extra images 1

II. Two import methods 1

III. First method: Using a cross-reference file. 2

IV. Second method: Rename each .jpg image to the same parcel number it represents 9

V. More on archiving, replacing, and adding extra images 11

VI. Running INTERPOLATOR with a cross-reference file: 13

VII. Running INTERPOLATOR without a cross-reference file: 20

VIII. Troubleshooting 24

IX. other options 25

- i -

Overview

You may have hundreds, or even thousands, of .jpg images of parcels that require one-at-a-time insertion into Landisc. This can be incredibly time-consuming.

But the Landisc Interpolator utility does it in a few minutes.

I.  Archive old images, replace old images, add extra images

With the Interpolator, you can:

·  Archive your current Landisc .jpg images while simultaneously importing new ones

·  Replace your current Landisc .jpg images with new ones

·  Add multiple images to an existing Landisc parcel. This may be necessary if you have additional images of the same parcel

II.  Two import methods

The Interpolator provides two ways to mass import your .jpg images into Landisc:

  1. Keep all original .jpg filenames as assigned by the camera and create a file (called a cross-reference file) that contains each .jpg filename and the parcel number it represents. Then call on the Interpolator to insert the .jpg images into Landisc and assign them to the correct parcels. It takes only a few mouse clicks.
  2. Rename each .jpg image to the same parcel number it represents. Then use the Interpolator to insert them into Landisc with a few mouse clicks.

III.  First method: Using a cross-reference file.

  1. Create a folder for your .jpg images:

  1. Enter an easy-to-remember name for the folder, such as “Images.”

  1. Move your .jpg images to the folder.

Use either the “drag and drop” or “cut and paste” method.

  1. Create a .txt, .xls, or .dbf cross-reference file.

This file will contain parcel numbers, multiple numbers (explained below), and .jpg filenames, which are images of the parcels. Each line of the file contains one parcel number, one multiple number, and one .jpg image filename.

5.  Creating a .txt cross-reference file.

Create the file in WORD, WordPad, NotePad, or any word processor that can produce a .txt file. You may have an identifying header (first line), if you wish.

Columns / Separate Columns by: / Parcel length / Multiple length / .jpg name length
2 or 3 only / A comma or space fill to max length / Maximum of 36 characters / Maximum of 3 characters / Maximum of 50 characters

·  Three columns: If you have more than one .jpg image per parcel, you’ll need three columns for three items:

a.  The parcel number that the .jpg image represents, for example, b0301002.

b.  Its multiple number, for example, the comma 1 in b0301002,1. The multiple number is how many .jpg images exist of the same parcel. In Figure below, parcel b0301023 has two .jpg images of the same parcel, represented by multiple numbers 1 and 2.

c.  The .jpg filename, for example, the comma 6apr1.jpg in b0201002,1,6apr1.jpg. The .jpg extension is required.


A space-filled, headerless .txt file in Notepad. Save as a .txt file:

A comma-separated .txt file in Notepad with header “Received these photos. . .etc.” Save as a .txt file:


Headerless space-filled .txt file (minimum of two spaces between columns). This is equivalent to the comma-separated cross-reference file:

·  Two columns: If all your .jpg images represent a unique parcel, you need only the parcel number and the .jpg filename. You can exclude multiple numbers.

Comma-separated headerless cross-reference file with parcel number and .jpg filename only:

Two-column, comma-separated, .txt file with header:

  1. Creating an .xls cross-reference file. The cross-reference file doesn’t require a header (but they’re allowed). Create the file and save in an easy-to-remember folder.

EXCEL file contains parcel, multiple number, and .jpg filename:

EXCEL file contains header, parcel number, multiple number, and .jpg filename:

EXCEL Two columns: If all your .jpg images represent a unique parcel, you need only the parcel number and the .jpg filename. You can exclude multiple numbers. You can exclude or include a header.

Two-column EXCEL file with no multiple number or header. Each .jpg image represents only one parcel number:

  1. Creating a .dbf cross-reference file. Due to the variety of database formats, it is advised to consult with your database administrator before creating a .dbf file.

IV.  Second method: Rename each .jpg image to the same parcel number it represents

Click once on the file and then PRESS F2. You can change the filename:

Renamed .jpg files with parcel numbers:


If you have more than one image per parcel, you can append a multiple number to the parcel name:

b0301023-1 and b0301023-2 are two images of the same parcel.

V.  More on archiving, replacing, and adding extra images

In a cross-reference file, a image can go into Landisc three different ways, depending if it is an archive image, a replacement or an extra (multiple) image.


Figure 1 /
Figure 2
Archive Current / Replace Current / Create Multiple
Figure 1: “A” above will become the primary image of parcel b0301023 until “B” supplants it. At that point “A” will be archived.
Figure 2: If the cross-reference file is one image per parcel, then the previous images in Landisc are archived while the new .jpg images in Figure 15 simultaneously become the primary images. If no previous image exists, the image in Figure 15 becomes the primary image but no archive image is created. / Figure 1: “A” will become the primary image of parcel b0301023 until “B” supplants it. At that point “A” will be overwritten by “B.”
Figure 2: All the .jpg files become the primary image of each parcel. The previous images in Landisc are written over by these new ones. / Figure 1: If b0301023 has no images attached to it in Landisc, then “A” becomes the primary image and “B” becomes the secondary image.
If b0301023 already has an image attached to it, then “A” becomes a secondary image and “B” becomes a tertiary image.
If b0301023 already has several images attached to it in Landisc, then “A” becomes the next image and “B” becomes an additional image.
Figure 2: Each .jpg image will become a primary image of its matching parcel if no previous image is present, or each becomes an additional image if a previous image is present.
NOTE: If, after running the Interpolator, you discover a mistake in your cross-reference file, it is far easier to fix the cross-reference mistake, restore your original database, and restart the Interpolator then to attempt a correction by manual manipulation of each .jpg import.


You may want to use the same image for several different parcels:


Figure 3
Archive Current / Replace Current / Create Multiple
“A” above will become the primary image of parcel b0301023. The same image, “B,” will become the primary image of parcel b0301024.
Previous images attached to parcels b0201023 and b0301024 are simultaneously archived.* / “A” will become the primary image of parcel b0301023. The same image, “B,” will become the primary image of parcel b0301024.
Previous primary images of parcels b0301023 and b0301024 would be overwritten by “A” and “B.”* / If b0301023 has no images attached to it in Landisc, then “A” becomes its primary image.
If b0301024 has no images attached to it, then the same image, “B,” becomes its primary image.
If b0301023 already has a image attached to it in Landisc, then “A” becomes a secondary image.
If b0301024 already has a image attached to it in Landisc, then “B” (the same image as “A”) becomes the primary image.*

* Note: This would happen, for example, if the same image applied to a condo structure that contained many parcels.

VI.  Running INTERPOLATOR with a cross-reference file:

The best method is to make a backup of your Images.dbf, Images.mdx, Archives.dbf & Archives.mdx in order to restore the Landisc database to the state prior to running the Interpolator in case of a failure. Also, make a backup of the directory that has the images you are going to import.

Double-click the Interpolator shortcut:

The Interpolator main pop-up screen is behind the “Choose Directory” screen, which appears when you click on the top flashlight button. Click to locate the directory the images are in:

Click on “Cross Reference File?”:

Click on the type of file (Excel, DBF, or Text) you are using for a cross-reference file.

Find the cross-reference file. Here, it is an Excel file:

Click on Archive Current, Replace Current, or Create Multiple:

Click “Column Header Included?” if the cross-reference file has a header.

To import, click on the Import Image button as shown. The “23” on the button displays the number of .jpg images located in the directory.

You will always get a message reminding you to back up your database. Click “Yes” if you have. Click “No” if you haven’t. If you click “No,” you are returned to Figure 22.

When you click “Yes,” the INTERPOLATOR examines the first line of your cross-reference file and asks you if it is correct: Click “Yes” if the information is correct:

A successful loading to Landisc produces the below message. Click on “OK” to end importing session:

VII.  Running INTERPOLATOR without a cross-reference file:

The best method is to make a backup of your Images.dbf, Images.mdx, Archives.dbf & Archives.mdx in order to restore the Landisc database to the state prior to running the Interpolator in case of a failure. Also, make a backup of the directory that has the images you are going to import.

Double-click the Interpolator shortcut:

The Interpolator main pop-up screen is behind the “Choose Directory” screen, which appears when you click on the top flashlight button. Click to locate the directory the images are in:

Decide if you want to archive, replace or create multiple images and then select the appropriate button:

The Import Images button displays the number of .jpg images in the directory. Click on this button to import them into Landisc.

You will always get a message reminding you to back up your database. Click “Yes” if you have. Click on “No” if you haven’t. If you click “No,” you will abort the process.

A successful loading to Landisc produces the below message. Click on “OK” to end the importing session.

VIII.  Troubleshooting

The Interpolator tells you when it fails to put the new .jpg files into Landisc. It also keeps a log, loader exceptions.txt, of each attempt to import a .jpg file that fails. This log is kept in C:\CLT\Landisc\Image Control.

The four failed imports cited above are documented below. In this case, the parcel numbers in the cross-reference file may not exist in the Landisc database:

If you go into Landisc and look for the bad parcels cited in the loader exceptions.txt log and they aren’t there, you then know your cross-reference file is wrong.

Any “extra images” reported are in the “Images are located in:” directory but are not in the cross-reference file.

Loader exceptions.txt is the name of the log file created by the Interpolator during each importing session.

IX.  other options

1.  Delete Imported JPG File:

When importing the images, the balance of the images left in the directory will be your problem images.

2.  Maintain JPG File Dates:

This will preserve the date of the actual image and will be the Image Date Acquired within Landisc.

3.  Reset Maintenance Codes:

This will reset the imported image’s maintenance code to NONE for the image that was successfully imported.