Trimble Business Center

Integrating Survey and GIS Data

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 About this tutorial

About this tutorial

Trimble Business Center allows you to quickly connect to a Geographic Information
System (GIS) data source and download (get) a GIS schema, use the schema to create a
Feature Definition Library (FXL) file that can be used to collect and process feature data
in TBC, and upload (write) the processed feature data back into the GIS data source
using the same schema.
In this tutorial, you will complete the following steps to integrate survey and GIS data:
1. Establish a connection to a GIS data source (in this case, a file geodatabase).
2. Download the data schema from the file geodatabase and use it to create a Feature
Definition Library (FXL) file.
3. Process feature data that was collected in the field using the FXL file.
4. Directly upload (write) processed feature data back to the file geodatabase.

Notes:
- To perform some of the optional steps in this tutorial, either of the following licenses
are required: (1) an ArcGIS for Desktop Standard or Advanced license for version 10.3 or
later or (2) an ArcGIS Engine Runtime with Geodatabase Update license for version 10.3
or later.
- If you need additional help at any time you are using the software, press F1 to display
the online help.

Step 1. Open the project

For this tutorial, you will use the project file Integrating Survey and GIS Data.vce.

Note: The downloaded IntegratingSurveyandGISData folder contains this PDF file, the
Integrating Survey and GIS Data.vce project file, a project folder, and a Data folder
containing additional files you will use during the tutorial.

1. In TBC, select File > Open.

2. In the Open File dialog, browse to ..\IntegratingSurveyandGISData\Integrating
Survey and GIS Data.vce and click Open.
The project opens in the Trimble Business Center window.

Integrating Survey and GIS Data 2

 Step 1. Open the project

Note that no data is displayed in the Plan View. This is because the View Filter
Manager was used to hide all of the raw data that has been imported into the
project. Later in the tutorial, you will display this data.
The project file is read-only. You can perform the tutorial steps without saving the
project file. However, if you are interrupted while performing the tutorial, you can
save it with a new name by selecting File > Save Project As. Then, you can re-open
the project to continue the tutorial at a later time.

Note:
To following step is optional and is not required to complete this tutorial. To
perform this step, either of the following licenses are required: (1) an ArcGIS for
Desktop Standard or Advanced license for version 10.3 or later or (2) an ArcGIS
Engine Runtime with Geodatabase Update license for version 10.3 or later.

3. Optionally, if you have Esri ArcMap installed, use it to open

..\IntegratingSurveyandGISData\Data\GIS_Module.mxd.
You can see that the GIS_Module.gdb geodatabase includes six layers containing the
various feature types. There is no feature data in the database at this time (see note
below). Later in this tutorial, after uploading processed feature data back into the
geodatabase, you will return to this view to verify the uploaded data.

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 Step 2. Connect to the data source

Note: If you or another user has already completed this tutorial, the
GIS_Module.gdb geodatabase will be populated with the tutorial feature data and it
will display in ArcMap. If you complete the tutorial a second time, the tutorial
feature data will be duplicated in the GIS_Module.gdb geodatabase.

Step 2. Connect to the data source

TBC allows you to connect to any of the following types of GIS data sources by using
software components called "providers":
 ArcGIS Enterprise Geodatabase provider - This provider uses Esri ArcObjects to
connect to and manage the downloading of schema and uploading of features from
and to an ArcGIS enterprise geodatabase or file geodatabase. For more information
on using this provider, including ArcGIS licensing requirements, see "Configure and
Troubleshoot an ArcGIS Enterprise Geodatabase Provider" in the online Help.
 File Geodatabase provider - This provider manages the downloading of schema and
uploading of features from and to file geodatabases.
 Shapefile provider - This provider manages the downloading of schema and
uploading of features from and to shapefiles.

Note: The ArcGIS Enterprise Geodatabase provider and the File Geodatabase provider
do not support the updating of non-simple feature types in geodatabases, such as
feature classes involved in geometric networks and topologies. In addition, the File
Geodatabase provider does not support feature classes involved in relationship classes.

For this tutorial, you will be connecting to a file geodatabase.

1. In the Trimble Business Center ribbon, select GIS > Connection > GIS Connection
Manager to display the GIS Connection Manager command pane.

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 Step 2. Connect to the data source

If there were any existing connections in the project, they would be listed in the
Connections list.
2. Click the New button. Then, in the Connection name field, enter Tutorial file
geodatabase.
This is the reference name for the connection that you will be able to select when
using the Get GIS Schema command or Write Features to GIS command.
3. In the Data source type drop-down list, select File geodatabase provider.
You can check or uncheck the Use feature name instead of alias check box to select
to use either GIS feature class names (checked) or feature class aliases (unchecked)
for the creation of corresponding feature codes in a Feature Definition file. Aliases
tend to be more descriptive than names, but they can be very long, or identical for
different feature classes. Names are always unique.
4. For this tutorial, uncheck the Use feature name instead of alias check box to select
to use feature class aliases.
5. Click the Connect button. Then, in the Browse for Folder dialog, navigate to the
folder ..\IntegratingSurveyandGISData\Data\GIS_Module.gdb and click OK.

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 Step 2. Connect to the data source

The GIS Coordinate System Mapping dialog displays.

To avoid serious errors when writing data to the GIS data source, the coordinate
system specified in your TBC project must map to (match) the coordinate system
specified in the GIS data source. If the software detects that the systems may not
match, the GIS Coordinate System Mapping dialog displays. This dialog allows you
to specify whether to (1) change the project coordinate system to match the GIS
coordinate system and not transform grid coordinates, (2) keep both coordinate
systems and transform the grid coordinates, or (3) consider the project and GIS
coordinate systems to be the same and not transform coordinates.
In this case, the program determined that the systems might not match so the
dialog was displayed, even though you are confident they actually do match. So, in
the next step, you will select the third option to prevent any transformation from
taking place.
To view the discrepancies between the GIS coordinate system and the project
coordinate system, you can select the Details button to display the Coordinate
System Comparison Report in your default browser window.

6. In the GIS Coordinate System Mapping dialog, select the Consider the project and
GIS coordinate systems to be the same option and click OK.

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 Step 3. Download (get) the schema and create an FXL file

The file path for the file geodatabase is displayed in the Properties list.

7. Click the Close button.

Step 3. Download (get) the schema and create an FXL file

You are now ready to download (get) a GIS schema containing feature definitions from
the GIS_Module.gdb file geodatabase and create a Feature Definition Library (FXL) file
that can be used to collect corresponding feature data in the field.
1. In the Trimble Business Center ribbon, select GIS > Feature Definition > Get GIS
Schema to display the Get GIS Schema command pane.
2. In the Select GIS data connection drop-down list, verify Tutorial file geodatabase is
selected.
Feature types included in the data source for the selected connection are displayed
in the Feature types list. (Compare this view to the view in ArcMap.) Expand any
feature type node to view the associated attributes and data types.

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 Step 3. Download (get) the schema and create an FXL file

Note: A string-type field in a shapefile or file geodatabase whose name starts with
“Photo” will be mapped to an attribute of type "Photo" when TBC feature
definitions are created. Similarly, a string-type field whose name starts with
“Filename” will be mapped to an attribute of the type "File." Attributes that are
created will have the same name as the shapefile or file geodatabase fields.

To exclude any feature type from the resulting FXL file, you would simply uncheck its
check box in the Feature types list.
3. In the Description field, enter Tutorial schema.

4. Click the Browse button located to the right of the FXL file name field, verify
that Tutorial schema has automatically been entered as the name for the new FXL
file, and select to store it in the folder ..\IntegratingSurveyandGISData\Data. Then
click Save.
In the Get GIS Schema command pane, ensure the Open FXL in Feature Definition
Manager after export check box is checked to specify that the newly created FXL file
open automatically in the Feature Definition Manager so that you can review, and
modify as necessary, any feature definitions.

Note: For this tutorial, you will view the new FXL file in the Feature Definition
Manager application. However, you could opt to not open the new file in Feature
Definition Manager but instead import it directly into your TBC project where you
can view and edit the resulting feature library as necessary.

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 Step 3. Download (get) the schema and create an FXL file

5. Click the Export to FXL button.

The newly created Tutorial schema.fxl file opens in the Feature Definition Manager.

At this point, you could, if necessary, make changes to the FXL file; but you must be
careful not to make changes that will cause a schema conflict when you upload
(write) feature data back to the data source. The FXL schema must always be equal
to, or a subset of, the data source schema, not the other way around. For example,
you could remove a feature definition or attribute from the FXL file so it cannot be
used to collect field data without causing a schema conflict. In this case, the result
when uploading back to the data source would simply be that no data is uploaded to
the corresponding data source fields. However, if you added a new feature or
attribute to the FXL file and used it to collect data, a schema conflict would occur
during the upload process. No message would be displayed alerting you to the
conflict, but the result would be that the added feature definition or attribute, along
with any data collected with it, would not be uploaded.
Necessary line control codes are not included in the FXL file, so normally you would
add them now. However, rather than step you through the FXL editing process, for
this tutorial you will simply select a different FXL file for processing in which the
line control codes have been defined.
6. In Feature Definition Manager, select File > Open, navigate to
..\IntegratingSurveyandGISData\Data\Tutorial schema (edited).fxl in the Open dialog,
and click Open.
You can see that line control codes have been added to this edited version of the
FXL file.

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 Step 4. Process the feature data

7. Without making any changes to the Tutorial schema (edited).fxl file, close the
Feature Definition Manager.
The Tutorial schema (edited).fxl file can now be used to collect feature data in the
field. After that data is imported into a project via a JXL file, the features can be
processed using the same FXL file.

Step 4. Process the feature data

At this point in the workflow, you would import the JXL file containing collected survey
and feature data into a new or existing project. However, to avoid opening a new VCE
project for this tutorial, the raw data has already been imported into the current
project, but it has been hidden up till now. So, before processing the feature data, you
will display the raw data.
1. In the Trimble Business Center ribbon, select Home > View > View Filter Manager
to display the View Filter Manager.

2. Expand the Raw Data node and check the Point and Media Folder check boxes.

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 Step 4. Process the feature data

If you are not able to see the data in the Plan View, in the Trimble Business Center
ribbon, select Home > View > Zoom Extents. Then use your mouse wheel to zoom in
as shown here.

3. In the Project Explorer, right-click point 919 and select Properties.

Note that a feature code has been entered for this point, but the processed feature
and attributes are not specified because the code has not yet been processed.

4. In the Plan View, click the media folder icon displayed next to point 919 to display
the Media Folder Properties pane.

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 Step 4. Process the feature data

To easily locate point 919 in the Plan View, right-click 919 in the Project Explorer
and select Center to center the point in the Plan View.

In the Media Folder Properties pane, click the File path view button to display
the associated image in your default media viewer. In this case, the feature is a
conifer tree. The name and file path for this photo image will be included with the
GIS data when it is uploaded to the file geodatabase.

5. In the Trimble Business Center ribbon, select GIS > Feature Definition > Process
Feature Codes to display the Process Feature Codes command pane.

6. Select the rtd.topo.jxl source option in the list and click the Process Source(s) button.
Because you have not yet imported into your project an FXL file to use to process
the feature codes, an error message displays asking you to do so now.
7. In the Error message dialog, click OK.

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 Step 4. Process the feature data

The Project Settings dialog opens with the Feature Code Processing settings
displayed.
8. Do the following to select the FXL file:

a. Click the Feature definition file browse button .

b. In the Open dialog, select ..\IntegratingSurveyandGISData\Data\Tutorial schema
(edited).fxl and click Open.
The file path is displayed in the Feature definition file field in the Project
Setting dialog.
c. In the Project Setting dialog, click OK.
The Tutorial schema (edited).fxl file is imported into the project and is ready to
use to process feature codes.
9. In the Process Feature Codes command pane, click the Process Source(s) button.
10. In the Feature Codes Processing message dialog, click Yes to view the Feature Code
Processing Report.
The report displays on a new tab in the TBC window. Note that five feature codes
could not be processed because they are "unknown" (that is, there are no matching
feature codes in the FXL file). These codes were entered in the field in error and
although you could correct them as necessary in TBC, for this tutorial you will ignore
them.

11. Processed line work and feature symbols defined for the feature library are
displayed in the Plan View.

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 Step 5. Upload (write) feature data to the data source

12. Select to view the properties for point 919.

The Properties pane now specifies a processed feature, along with its attribute
values.

You are now ready to upload (write) the processed features data back to the file
geodatabase.

Step 5. Upload (write) feature data to the data source

1. In the Trimble Business Center ribbon, select GIS > Connection > Write Features to
GIS to display the Write Features to GIS command pane.

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 Step 5. Upload (write) feature data to the data source

2. In the Select GIS data connection drop-down list, verify Tutorial file geodatabase is
selected.
3. Click the Options button located to the right of the Select data to write field, and
select Select All.
The Select feature classes list displays the number of each feature type that will be
uploaded to the file geodatabase.

4. Click OK.
As when you were establishing the connection to
...\IntegrateSurveyandGISData\Data\GIS_Module.gdb, the program again
determines that the coordinate systems might not match and the GIS Coordinate
System Mapping dialog is displayed.
5. In the GIS Coordinate System Mapping dialog, select the Consider the project and
GIS coordinate systems to be the same option and click OK.

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 Step 5. Upload (write) feature data to the data source

The Features Written to GIS dialog displays stating that several features were not
uploaded because they do not match the schema associated with the selected data
source.
6. In the Features Written to GIS dialog, click Yes to view the Write Features to GIS
Report.
The report displays on a new tab in the TBC window. You can use it to verify
coordinate system information and the features written to the file geodatabase.

7. Optionally, if you have Esri ArcMap installed and the program is open, view the
uploaded feature data by selecting View >Refresh in the program (or press F5) .
Zoom to approximately 1:1,500 to view the uploaded feature data. Note that the
icons displayed in the graphic view are those defined for the GIS_Module.gdb file
geodatabase, not the ones defined in the FXL and displayed in TBC. Click the Identify
button and then click any feature displayed in the graphic view to see its
attributes.

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 Step 5. Upload (write) feature data to the data source

Note that the photo file path is also displayed. You can click the path to display the
photo in your default graphic viewer.
This completes the tutorial.

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