EV220Exporting GPS Data to GISFall 2000

Review Lesson 5: Exporting Data to a GIS or CAD System in the Pathfinder Office 'Getting Started' Tutorial (page 4-37).

Trimble GPS data Export

  • Access the Export Utility from the Utilities drop down menu,
  • Select the *.SSF Trimble files which you used for your map area,
  • Select the appropriate output folder for your project (c:\pfdata\yourprojectname\export
  • Select Sample ArcView Shapefile Setup from the Export Selection list
  • Click on the Change Setup Options at the bottom right
  • Make sure that the following options are set correctly in the ArcView Export Setup:

Format Tab

Format: ArcView Shapefile

Type of Data to Export: Features - Positions and attributes

System Tab

System File Format: DOS files

Attribute Tab

Export Menu Attributes As: Attribute Values

Units Tab

Units: Use Current Display Units (note: should be metric system)

Coordinate System

Use Export Coordinate System:

System:Lat/Lon

Datum: NAD27 (Conus)

Altitude Units: meters

Altitude Reference:MSL

NOTE: if this is not your default coordinate system, select Change to make the changes. We want to convert the UTM coordinates displayed to Latitude & Longitude in ArcView. This will allow us to project the GPS positions onto any coordinate system that we choose.

Position Filter

Filter by GPS Position Info

Minimum Satellite: 3D four or more SV's

Maximum PDOP: Any(note: remember that the maximum captured was 6)

Include Positions that are: (Note: check all selections)

  • Click Ok to proceed with the conversion
  • The ArcView shapefiles will be exported to your export subdirectory
  • Using Windows Explorer locate the files in the export subdirectory
  • Each Feature type should have its own ArcView files consisting of :

*.SHP

*.DBF

*.SHX

  • This version of Pathfinder Office (2.01) has a bug during the creation of the *.DBF files. In order to correct this problem, bring each *.DBF file into EXCEL and Save As the same file name but as a DB4 (dbase IV) file. This should correct the problem.
  • Go into ArcView and access the saved project for the Campus Map
  • Add the Feature shape files as themes, select proper symbology, colors, classification and prepare a Layout.
  • Print/Plot a final map following the same requirements as noted in prior guidelines