**** GBM
Includes
·
GBM
Mobile Manger 4.10.0081
·
GBM
·
Profile
Loader 3.0.0.12
·
Profile
Retriever 3.0.0.12
·
Portable
Exporter 1.0.0.6
·
GBM
Known Problems and cautions
**** Installation will re-map the
location of the “downloads” and “profiles” folders. Customers who are
upgrading an old installation may need to reset these folder locations. Refer
to the Demonstration Data Set section in the installation instructions.
Installation instructions can be accessed through the Install Software link on the installation CD.
**** Beta
sites that have been carrying out trials with early copies of V3.51 and V4.1
may consider doing a hard reboot of their mobile device before installing the
new software to remove any issues with the installation history.
If upgrading from a 4.1 beta prior to 4.10.0049K, it will be necessary
to rebuild operator profiles. V3.10 and V3.50 customers can continue using
their old profiles.
**** Unreadable text in some applications
***
Updates between 4.10.0049M (pre production) and 4.10.0050 (production)
1. Photographs
·
Connection
of Pretec and HP cameras has been simplified through
predefined device profiles
·
There
have been further refinements to improve robustness for Pretec
cameras
2. Mobile Manger
·
Robustness
has been improved when using the save button in Custom Forms editing
·
GBM
Mobile is automatically shut down when data is retrieved to avoid possible file
conflicts
3. Mobile Merge
·
The
installer has been upgraded to account for unusual MapInfo Professional installation
folders
4. Documentation
·
User
documentation has been proofed and additional GPS trouble shooting notes added
5. GPS
·
GBM
Mobile now works with GPS devices that do not send the expected RMC NMEA
sentence.
·
Error
reporting has been improved for occasions when connection to the GPS is severed
during operation
6. GBM Portable
·
The
exporter that prepares custom forms for use with GBM Portable has been update
***
Updates between 4.10.0049k and 4.10.0049M
7. Raster Images
·
Memory
management has been improved for projects with numerous (tiled) ECW raster
images. Out of memory error messages should now be very rare.
8. Photographs
·
The
camera device driver has been upgraded to overcome a problem with the Pretec cameras that occasionally resulted in copying of
incomplete images
9. Installation
·
The
Mobile Manager installer has been upgraded to smooth the transition from
earlier V4.10 beta versions to the current system in the case where users
failed to uninstall the existing version before installing the upgrade
·
The
Mobile Merge installer now accepts V4 as well as V3 serial numbers
10. Custom Forms
·
Improvements
have been made to the part of the Custom Forms editor that recovers form
definitions when the structure of the underlying MapInfo .tab files has been
changed.
·
It
is now possible to set the number of decimals to display
11. Demonstration Data
·
The
demonstration data set has been upgraded to show off the new custom form
features. The new custom forms and data files have a _V4 extension.
*** Updates between 3.51.0043
and 4.10.0049k
12. General
·
Customers
require a new (V4) serial number to install this release.
·
This
release is tested for installation on Pocket PC 2003 and Windows Mobile 5
devices
·
The
device interface (including GPS interface) has been re-written to support easy
addition of new devices. A list of supported hardware devices (cameras, GPS,
Laser distance equipment etc) is now presented on the devices menu on the PDA
where devices that are currently available can be activated.
·
Internal
memory allocation has been reworked to minimise the occurrence of “insufficient
memory” messages when loading external programs such as the Bluetooth manager.
The new release should be significantly more robust, especially when operating
with ECW images and third party plug-ins.
13. Photographs
·
Support
for ike and IMATE integrated cameras and Pretec and
HP CF card cameras on the PDA
·
There
is a hot-link button on the tool bar for viewing photographs or documents
associated with map objects
14. Custom Forms
·
A
number of minor operational problems with custom forms in V3.51 have been
fixed, especially in conditional (cascading) drop down lists and expressions.
More complex expressions are supported.
·
Pictorial
pick lists (where users select an image to have the corresponding text value
entered into the data) are now fully supported.
·
Operation
of interdependent (cascading) drop-down lists has been improved
·
Operation
of conditional visibility option (where fields in a question list are visible
or hidden depending on the value entered in another field) has been improved
·
Long
pick lists are now correctly rendered on small and landscape format devices
·
Additional
automatic fields have been added. Automatic value options now include:
X and Y - The
map feature's longitude or latitude. If a GPS is being used, the feature will
have been created at – or moved to – the GPS location.
Can be used with text or
numeric (non-integer) fields.
Altitude - The
altitude indicated by the GPS. Otherwise, zero. Can be used with text or numeric
(non-integer) fields.
Length,
Area, Perimeter -
The feature's length, area, or perimeter from GIS
query. Set to zero if the feature is a not of the appropriate type. Can be used
with text or numeric (non-integer) fields.
Creation
time, Creation date -Time of feature creation – from the
device’s system clock – expressed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC/GMT).
Times can be used with text or floating-point fields. If floating-point,
they’re expressed as VARIANT times. Dates can be used with date fields.
Last edit
time, Last edit date - Time of the feature’s last edit –
from the device’s system clock – expressed in Coordinated Universal Time
(UTC/GMT). Times can be used with text or floating-point fields. If
floating-point, they’re expressed as VARIANT times. Dates can be used with date
fields.
GPS time - The
GPS time (it’s in UTC) represented as a string: HHMMSS.SSS. Can only be used
with text fields.
GPS PDOP - The
PDOP for the GPS position(s) received when creating or moving this feature. Can
be used with text or numeric (non-integer) fields.
GPS
post-processing ID - The internal ID used to associate a
feature in a data file with the points in the POSTPROC.TAB file that are to be
used by the post-processing MBX to correct the feature’s position. Unless a
field has this auto-value, features created using the form cannot be
post-processed. Can only be used with text fields.
Incremental
number - An
incremental number from a range specified by the profile loader. If the range
is exhausted, zeros are used. Can be used with text or numeric fields.
From the
last-created object - The value from the same field of the
last created object on the layer. If no object is found, the field is left
empty.
From an
object on another layer - Looks for objects on the specified
layer that are within the specified buffer. If multiple objects are found, they
are listed and the user selects one. Copies the value from the specified field.
From the
selected object - The value from the specified field
of the currently selected object. Only works with the “Create from Selection”
command.
Photograph -
A photograph taken using – typically – the device’s
in-built camera. This is the photograph taken when in the feature attributes
dialog. (It’s more of an edit method than an automatic value.) Stores the photo
filename in the field. Can only be used with text fields.
ike
photograph, Target photograph - This refers to the photo
taken as part of the target (offset) capture. (No longer referred to as an ike
photo, as the ike can now take photos from the attributes dialog as well as the
target capture dialog.) Stores the photo filename in the field. Can only be used
with text fields.
Expression -
Either a numeric or text expression that can include
references to other fields. (Now supports referencing other fields that are
themselves evaluated as expressions.) Can be used with text or numeric fields.
Specified time
- A time specified by clicking the “Now” button in the
attributes dialog or typing in the date/time. (Like “photo” this is more of an
edit method than an automatic value.) If the user takes the time the device’s
system clock, it’s expressed in local time (not UTC/GMT).Can be used with text
or floating-point fields. If floating-point, they’re expressed as VARIANT
times.
Measured distance, Measured area, Measured perimeter - These are the measurements that can be taken with a rangefinder – such as the Contour XLRic. The distance could be a range, a horizontal or a vertical distance. Can be used with text or numeric (non-integer) fields
15. Mobile Manager
·
The
user interface for editing custom forms has been improved and simplified
·
There
is a new Export forms option for using GBM Mobile custom forms with GBM
Portable on a Windows desktop, laptop or tablet PC
16. GBM Survey Tools
·
This
release includes a pre-production implementation of the optional GBM Survey
Tools extension. Survey tools supports direct entry of distance and point
offsets from the Contour XLS ic laser distance
measurement equipment. It also provides post-processed GPS positions when used
with a Trimble GPS receiver. A separate serial number is required for GBM
Survey Tools installation.
17. Web Services Integration
·
A
new software framework has been implemented to simplify future interfacing with
external web processes.
·
This
release is ready for implementation with the wireless data transfer plug-ins
that are part of the GBM Integrated Command Centre distribution. With these
optional plug-ins, GBM Mobile can transmit wireless GPS location updates to a
web server and trigger data updates to a central GIS database when data is
edited through GBM Mobile custom forms. A separate plug-in is available to call
a MapInfo location server and return the street address corresponding to a
point clicked on a map.
18. Documentation
·
The
user manual has been updated.
*** Updates between V3.50 build 37 and V3.51 build 43 (test release)
1. CUSTOM FORMS (Mobile Manager)
· Three new options have been added to
the Automatic Tab:
o “Expression” allows the entry of a numeric or text expression
o “Photograph” to capture the ID of photos collected by the device (currently restricted to the iMate)
o “ike photograph” to manage the ID of photos taken on an “ike” device
· A “Visibility” button has been added
to the Data Tab which sets the visibility of a particular field, dependent on
the value in another field
· Expressions
and field names with underscores are now handled robustly
· There
is a new dialog for specifying the location to store photographs.
2. ON THE PDA
· "Layers and Forms" function on the File menu on the PDA extended to report fields required by the Form that are missing from the associated file
· Menu buttons re-arranged to simplify user operations. There are now two toolbars with an icon on the far right of the button bar used to toggle between the two button groups.
· “Selection Attributes” added to the
Selection Tools to allow for the editing of attributes for multiple selections
· All MapX DLLs are now pre-loaded improving a number of processes and eliminating problems with opening the Layer dialogue when memory was limited
· The loading of geosets has been
re-implemented to avoid MapX bugs and prevent the application from locking up
when opening invalid geosets.
· Pull-down
lists will now scroll correctly when visibility dependent fields are used
· GPS
positions can be logged to a web server (this is a early implementation that
will be refined before release)
3. CUSTOMISATION FOR IKE HARDWARE
· This version has been developed to run on “ike” hardware
· Settings
dialog now lets you specify separate contrast, brightness and saturation for
the video and the captured image.
· Settings
dialog allows you to preview the abovementioned settings for the video and the
captured image.
· Capture
window now displays the compass bearing and the distance to the target.
· The
photographs dialog can be used to specify a storage location for the photos and
their associated TAB file.
*** Updates between V3.10 build 34 and V3.50 build 37 (production release)
1. CUSTOM FORMS (Mobile Manager)
· Code tables are now supported. Users can select a descriptor from a drop down list and have an associated code entered into the data file.
· Reference images and sound files can now be presented when users are selecting data entry options from drop-down lists.
· The number of decimals to present when displaying numeric data can now be set explicitly.
2. GPS CONNECTION
· New auto-detect function searches communications ports to find a connected GPS receiver
· Disconnecting the GPS while raster images are displayed no longer caused problems
· GPS update interval can be set to zero to ensure that all position reports are processed
· The GPS log can now be viewed by another application while GBM Mobile is running
3. MOBILE OPERATIONS
· High resolution and landscape screen displays (such as found in the iPAQ 4700) are now supported
· Value based graphical styles are now correctly applied when new map objects are created
· The dialog that lists multiple results from the find function can now show two values for each object
· Auto values entry from another map layer is no longer affected by null data in the source layer
4. LOADING DATA (Mobile Manager)
· Data Loading - Improved management of data files stored on external memory (eg CF cards)
· Custom Forms - Improved date/time checking to identify files and forms that should be updated
5. MOBILE MERGE
· Constraints checking for consistency in map projection have been relaxed to allow data files created with earlier versions of MapInfo to be merged in MapInfo V8
6. HOUSE KEEPING
· Evaluation timer now works correctly when users do not have Windows administration privileges
· New "Layers and Forms" dialog added to the File menu to assist trouble shooting custom form operation
· Mobile Manager Dialogs - Now auto-adjusts for unusual screen display settings
· Mobile Installation - no longer creates multiple program icons on re-installation
·
· Migrated to Microsoft Pocket PC 2003 SDK
· Wait cursors implemented for most long operations
· Additional optimisation of screen layouts for the PDA form factor and landscape display options
*** Updates between V3.10 build 32 and V3.10 build 34
1. CUSTOM FORMS ON THE PDA
· When creating a map object via a custom form (using a selection, the GPS, or a drawing tool), clicking Cancel now correctly exits without creating a map object.
· It is now possible to tag data fields as requiring mandatory data entry. Mobile operators cannot exit a data form until date is entered into all mandatory fields.
2. MOBILE MANAGER
· Error messages are now written to a log file.
· In the automatic values tab, the “buffer” and “buffer_unit” settings are saved correctly.
· Custom forms are now automatically recovered after fields are removed from the underlying .tab file. If the field used for value based styles is removed, value based styles are turned off. The form editor recovers the remaining settings.
3. LOAD DATA WIZARD
· Memory checks in Step 3 now correctly handle reference data in storage card sub-folders
· Checking for out-of-data custom
forms is now performed correctly
·
Fixed
all issues reported during beta testing, including those associated with
network pathnames, extended PDA memory and file error reporting.
5. DOCUMENTAION
· The user manual has been fully updated.
· Windows help is now available from the Mobile Manager Help menu.
· Animated tutorials are now accessible from the training tab.
5. GPS LOGGING
· Added Altitude to the fields recorded in the GPS log. The log now contains the following fields: GPS Date/Time, Longitude, Latitude, Altitude, Number of Satellites, HDOP and Fix (0=None, 1=GPS, 2=DGPS)
*** Updates between V3.10 build 31 and V3.10 build 32 (beta)
1. MOBILE MANAGER - PROFILE & LOAD DATA WIZARD ERROR LOGGING
· If a fatal error occurs in either the Profile Wizard or Load Data Wizard, a dialog will be presented to the user providing the option to generate an error log.
· The log will be sent to the Exa-Min web site or if the users PC cannot connect to the website, will be written to a file "GbmMobile.log" in the users My Documents folder. The log contains no personal information, only version numbers and stack traces to be used in de-bugging the problem.
*** Updates between V2.51 build 27 and V3.10 build 31 (beta)
2. DATA LOADING
· New load data wizard - This streamlines the loading of GIS data and custom forms onto mobile devices. It includes extensive error checking and automated correction of file path names. The wizard supports loading of working data into main memory and loading of reference data into auxiliary storage, effectively superseding the Mobile Merge "prepare data for mobile" function.
· Load data wizard - Maintains a log file that records when data sets are loaded onto each mobile device.
· New Operator Profiles - These allow data administrators to associate data sets with form definitions and specify file locations on the target mobile device. Profiles, when used in conjunction with the new load data wizard, greatly simplify the installation of routine data and custom form updates onto differently configured mobile devices.
3. MapInfo UPGRADE
· The application is now compiled with MapInfo MapX Mobile V5.05. Benefits of this upgrade include:
· Support for ECW format raster images
· a fix for previous stability problems displaying TIF and JPG images
· a fix for the problem where certain symbols were not drawn by MapInfo MapX Mobile even though they were correctly rendered by MapInfo Professional.
· Map X Mobile V5.05 will only install on Pocket PC 2003. Customers with older PDA devices will need to install a Pocket PC 2003 upgrade or continue to operate with GBM Mobile V2.51.
4. CUSTOM FROMS
·
·
· Mobile Manager Automatic Tab - option added to derive a value from a nominated field in the currently selected object.
·
·
· Date entry - The calendar control is presented when editing MapInfo .tab files, but when linked to hierarchical database tables (custom editions) is replaced by a date/time control to allow entry of time of day details.
· Alternative form definition files -
A new "tools" option on the mobile manager screen allows users to
specify a new location for GbmMobile.xml that holds
the form definitions.
5. CREATE FROM SELECTION TOOL
· Extended to allow
building of polygon objects from a single poly-line (of 3 or more nodes)
6. MOVE TO LOCATION
· New menu item, mirroring the
behaviour of the "Move to GPS Location" item but supporting
entry of target location via co-ordinates rather than just GPS input
7. MOBILE MANAGER
· new start up screens incorporating the load data and profile editor wizards. Functions are now arranged in four tabs to reflect user roles Dialogues now pop-up cantered on the screen
· When editing Forms after the MapInfo table structure has been changed, settings for fields that have not changed will now be retained
· Mobile Manager dialogs can now be resized and are more informative
8. GIS SUPPORT
· GPS Coordinates can now be displayed in the status bar. A check box to enable this display is located on PAN tab under GPS setting on the PDA
· A GPS logging option has been added. There is a new tab (called 'Log') in the GPS settings dialog. On that tab, you can specify whether logging is enabled. Also, you can specify which time zone (UTC or Local) to use for the logged times. The log contains the following fields: GPS Date/Time, Longitude, Latitude, Number of Satellites, HDOP and Fix (0=None, 1=GPS, 2=DGPS) The log file is created in the location: \My Documents\GbmMobile GPS Log.TXT
· A special message will now display on the status bar to alert users when the GPS is compiling its Almanac
· Panning option "always pan" has been removed. "Pan if out of view" is now set as the default option. This setting eliminates processor overload that arose from excessive redraws when GPS updates were received at 1 second intervals. The map will now only re-centre when there has been a significant location change, although the current location is updated on every GPS update.
9. INTERNATIONALISATION
· Corrected problem with locale settings (surfaced in testing under German editions or Windows and mobile devices.
10. MAP EXTENTS
· The "View Entire Layer" option has been removed from the Map Navigation tools and replaced with a new Zoom/extents option. This tool exposes the map display projection/co-ordinate system and allows operators to set the map centroid and zoom width.
11. INSTALLATION OPTIONS
· The GBM Mobile "Standard Edition" has been discontinued. Version 3 is available as a "General release" that includes all the capabilities of the V2.51 "Extended Edition" and customer specific "Custom Releases". Custom releases are specially badged for specific markets or tailored on a customer by customer basis.
· Customer specific upgrades have included customized printing, incorporation of complex hierarchical database structures and customer specific business rules for automating database updates. Special upgrade arrangements are available for GBM Mobile "standard edition" customers who wish to upgrade to the V3 "general release" or tailored custom releases.
12. MAP OPENING
· In the interests of operational robustness, we no longer automatically load a geoset when the application is first started. Use the file/Open geoset option. Geoset errors - The application no longer hangs when attempting to open an erroneous geoset.
13. EXTENDED DEMONSTRATION DATASET
· This release now installs an extended set of demonstration data, with associated custom forms and user profiles. The installer prompts for a location on the desktop to install this data.
14. INSTALLER
· Newer components are written with Microsoft .NET and require pre-installation of the .NET runtime. The installer will now detect if the required components are installed, and if necessary will prompt the user to invoke the Microsoft .NET installer. The installer is provided on the GBM Mobile CD.
15. DOCUMENTATION and TUTORIALS
· These are now installed automatically onto the support PC and are accessible from the Mobile Manger front screen.
GBM
Includes GBM Mobile V2.50.0043, Mobile Manager V2.50.0034 and
*** Known deficiencies in this release
1. Certain symbols are not drawn by MapInfo MapX Mobile even though they are correctly rendered by MapInfo Professional. The "&" character is omitted from text strings. Refer to the technical bulletin on the installation CD for further details.
There are no other known issues.
*** Updates between V2.50 build 26 and V2.51 build 27 (with mobile manager build 34)
1. CUSTOM FORM – Graphics Tab - fixed problem where the list of values for application of individual graphical styles was not saved, when the list did not exactly match the values in a corresponding drop down list (defined for the controlling data field via the data tab).
*** Updates between V2.50 build 25 and V2.51 build 26
1. FEATURE ATTRIBUTES TOOL - fixed problem where the Feature Attributes Tool sometimes incorrectly set the graphical style of a map object to the default style – related to styles change instructions not related to the drop down list in a custom form.
*** Updates between 2.11 build 24 and 2.50 build 25
1. GPS TRACKING - New option to draw regions using GPS track
2. REGION VALIDATION - New Validate Region option on the File menu will check the validity of
a single selected region. Nodes are numbered in sequence and self-intersections flagged
3. FEATURE ATTRIBUTES TOOL
– Select Feature - New Select feature checkbox added to the feature Attributes dialogue
allows chosen feature to be selected on the map when the dialogue is closed.
– Cancel Feature Attribute Changes - The Feature Attributes dialogue
now has a Cancel button, which will close the dialogue without saving any changes.
5. CUSTOM FORMS
- Create From Selection - Tool now prompts to copy values from a selected map object
to the attribute list for a new map object for data fields that are common to the two objects.
- Auto populate field values - Options under the Custom Forms Automatic Tab
have now been extended to include Length, Perimeter, Area, Device Name and
values derived from objects in another table. Automatic tab now handles Creation date
correctly.
- Cascading Pull-downs - Pull-down lists options can now be dependent on the value
chosen from a parent pull-down list.
- Save Form As - New Custom forms can now be created from an existing definition.
- Auto Synchronise lists - lists in the Graphics tab are now synchronised with pull-down
lists defined in the Data tab.
6. FIND
– Search Forms - Improved structure for defining which forms and presented in the find/search menu
and which fields show on those forms. Fields are now separately selected as being searchable
on the Data Tab in the custom forms definition dialogs. Only forms with one or more searchable
fields appear under the find menu.
- Selection from List - new buttons allow "Select All" and "Select None" from a list
of features resulting from a search
7. HARDWARE BUTTON - New Hardware Buttons option added to the File Menu allows mapping
of commonly used menu functions to the buttons on the Pocket PC hardware.
8. STARTUP - the Open Geoset dialogue is now opened automatically when GBM Mobile is
first started up.
9. OPERATIONAL ROBUSTNESS
– Cancel Previous Tool – A tool button’s functions are now explicitly cancelled when a new
tool is selected.
- Installation - When installing software onto the mobile device, the installer
checks for 15Mb of free space on the device.
10. RETRIEVED DATA - a folder with the geoset's name is now created in the downloads folder to
hold retrieved data. Also, time, in addition to the date, is used in the folder names.
The dates now have a three character (not a numeric) month.