**** GBM Mobile patch 4.20.0068a  - (October 22nd 2007)

 

This patch addresses two issues with Trimble Post Processing. These only affect GBM Post Process.mbx that operates within MapInfo Professional. They do not affect GBM Mobile for ike customers or Trimble customers who are not using GPS Post Processing. Both issues are fully resolved once the patch has been installed.

 

1.      GBM Post Process.mbx – missing file ExaminProj.txt

·   Under certain circumstances the installer is not loading this file to the program files folder. This issue manifests itself through a message explaining that the file is missing and suggesting the software be reloaded. To fully resolve this issue download the file and copy it to the PostPorc.mbx program files folder as described below

 

2.      GBM Post Process.mbx - .cor file export

·   The GBM software relies on Trimble Pathfineder Office to export the contents of the .cor file into MapInfo format. Depending on settings in the current Trimble project, the corrected GPS locations may be exported in Grid co-ordinates rather than the latitude/longitude values we require. Download a new copy of TrimblePfoExporter.ini to the program files folder (as described below) to ensure the Pathfinder Office creates the export file in the correct format, regardless of the current project settings.

 

Installation

·   Download the patch from the downloads page at www.geobasemap.com

·   Unzip the archive and copy the files to the same folder as GBM Post Proc.mbx.  This will be the in the Post Proc sub-folder of your GBM Mobile Manger installation folder. The location of your GBM Mobile installation folder is available through the help/about menu in GBM Mobile Manager.

For most customers the required folder will be

C:\Program Files\GeoBasemap\GbmMobileManager\GBM Mobile Merge\Post Proc

·   Overwrite the existing copy of TrimblePfoExporter.ini in this folder

·   Restart MapInfo and re-process the original data set with GBM Post Process.mbx.

 

Future Developments

·   GBM Mobile V4.20.0068a continues to use V2.01 of the Trimble SDK. A beta version that the newer SDK V20.10 has been developed and will be issued in the coming months. Customers who have one of the newer Trimble GPS receivers that need the V2.10 SDK should contact Exa-Min for a pre-release copy of the new code.

 

 

There are no other known issues with this release.

 

 

**** GBM Mobile release 4.20.0068 - (September 17th 2007)

GBM Mobile for ike and GBM Mobile for Trimble customers. This version includes all the upgrades of the GBM Mobile V4.19 patch plus ike and Trimble extensions.

 

Includes

·   GBM Mobile Manger 4.20.0093

·   GBM Mobile 4.20.0085

·   Profile Manager 3.0.0.12

·   Profile Retriever 3.0.0.13

·   Portable Exporter 2.0.0.0

·   MapInfo extensions installer 3.50.009i containing

o        GBM Mobile Merge (mbx) 3.50.0009c

o        GBM PostProc 1.01.017 (mbx) – for GBM Mobile for Trimble customers only

 

Known Problems and cautions

 

**** The MapInfo based post processing module (GBM PostProc.mbx) when accessing Trimble .cor files now requires a Pathfinder Office V4 installation. Pathfinder Office V3 customers may need to export the .cor file to a .asc file using SSFTOASC.exe as described in step 2 of section 4.2.3.6.2 of the of the GBM Mobile user manual.

 

**** Customers using GPS Post Processing to conduct high precision surveys (targeting precision of better than +/- 10 cm) are advised to read the section on setting bounds on MapInfo .tab file. See GBM Mobile User Manual section 4.2.1.4.

 

**** GBM Mobile for Trimble is currently relying on Trimble Pathfinder Tools SDK 2.01. Upgrade to SDK 2.10 is planned for later in the year.

 

**** GBM Mobile for ike required ike operating system V2.1.1 or later. The software will not operate on older ike 300 equipment that does not support this or later versions of the Surveylab operating system. The SurveyLab upgrade can be installed on ike 304 units. Ike operating system V2.1.1 requires iPAQ service pack SP32878. Contact www.surveylab.com for upgrade details if necessary.

 

**** 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.

 

**** Unreadable text in some applications

  • The HP asset viewer and some other applications occasionally display text using one of the MapInfo Map X symbol fonts. These screen displays are not readable. To rectify this problem, copy the Arial font from the Windows/Fonts folder on a PC to the Windows/Fonts folder on the PDA (using Microsoft Active Sync and Windows Explorer).

 

Updates between 4.10.0065 and 4.20.0068

Only the MapInfo based modules have been upgraded in this release. The core GBM Mobile Manger and GBM Mobile software has not changed, but please reinstall GBM Mobile Manger to access the upgraded user documentation. These changes only affect Trimble customers using GPS Post Processing. GBM Mobile for ike customers can continue operating with V4.20.0065.

 

1.      Trimble Post Processing in MapInfo (GBM PostProcess.mbx)

·   The MapInfo based post processing module has been significantly upgraded

o        It is now possible to correct magnetic bearings through MapInfo processing module (GBM PostProc.mbx)

o        New map layers support improved auditing of post processing corrections

o        The location of the downloads folder is remembered between sessions

·   Dependency on the Trimble SSFTOASC.exe has been removed in favour of new Pathfinder Office V4 .cor file export utility.

o        Robustness has improved

o        Post processed locations are no longer rounded to +/- 10 cm

o        Issues with surveys that spanned midnight GMT are resolved

o        The .cor file name is not longer restricted to 8 characters

o        The software works with Pathfinder Office V4. Customers operating Pathfinder Office V3 will need to manually export the .cor file using the older ssftoasc.exe program

2.      Documentation

·   Precision issues related to inappropriate MapInfo bounds settings are now fully documented. 

 

 

 

Updates between 4.10.0063 and 4.20.0065

 

3.      General

·   There is a new button on the devices activation screen to enable recording systems logs. These logs can be enabled briefly to record details that can assist Exa-Min support personnel to debug device connection and machine resources issues.  

 

4.      GPS

·   The GPS auto-detect module has been upgraded to optionally search for GPS units that provide data at less common baud rates (Devices/NMEA GPS settings /Hardware on the PDA).

 

 

Updates between 4.10.0060 and 4.20.0063

 

5.      NMEA GPS

·   A new configuration option allows static navigation to be disabled on SiRF III GPS units (refer to Technical Bulleting No 9 at www.geobasemap.com for further details)

·   A new configuration option is provided to poll the GPS for position updates rather than rely on the GPS unit raising the normal systems interrupt when new data is available. This update is required for the GPS unit built into some O2 brand combined Phone/GPS/PDA units (Devices/NMEA GPS settings /Hardware on the PDA)

 

6.      GBM Mobile for ike

·   An Issues that prevented photograph file names from being properly recorded in the MapInfo .tab files under certain circumstances, has been corrected

·   An error in the “move to current GPS location” function that manifest in build 61 has been corrected

·   The alibility to auto adjust magnetic bearings by applying a magnetic declination has been fully implemented

 

7.      GBM Mobile for Trimble

·   GBM Post Process.mbx will now execute properly for those projects that only collect point data

·   The alibility to auto adjust magnetic bearings by applying a magnetic declination has been fully implemented

 

 

Updates between 4.10.0060 and 4.20.0061

 

8.       Documentation

·   Added detailed documentation for GBM Mobile for Trimble and GBM Mobile for ike as chapter 4

·   Extended documentation on drawing with GPS to include the new precision GPS drawing mode

 

9.      Drawing Tools

·   New precision drawing method allows users to choose where to add vertices to linear and polygon objects.

 

10. Mobile Manager

Minor improvements to screen layout – column widths

 

11. Installation

·   GBM Mobile Standard Editon, GBM Mobile for Trimble and GBM Mobile for ike are now all installed from the same media

·   Separate license keys are now required for each of the above editions, replacing the GBM Survey Tools add  on

 

12. GBM Mobile for Trimble

·   Now installed from the standard media. Installation has been simplified

·   GPS averaging is now better supported in GBM Post Process.mbx

·   Support for user controlled location of vertices for linear and polygon feature drawn at the laser target location

 

13. GBM Mobile for ike

·   Now installed from the standard media. Installation has been simplified

·   Support for user controlled location of vertices for linear and polygon feature drawn at the laser target location

·   1280x1025 camera mode is now supported

 

 

Updates between 4.10.0050 and 4.20.0060

·   Includes GPS sub-system fixes from the GBM Mobile V4.15 patch

·   Option for installing GBM Survey Tools (requires separate license key)

·   New retrieve data wizard in Mobile Manger automatically downloads photographs

·   Includes exporter for using GBM Mobile Custom forms in GBM Portable

 

*** Updates between 4.10.0049M (pre production) and 4.10.0050 (production)

 

14. 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

 

15. 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

 

16. Mobile Merge

·   The installer has been upgraded to account for unusual MapInfo Professional installation folders

 

17. Documentation

·   User documentation has been proofed and additional GPS trouble shooting notes added

 

18. 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

 

19. 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

 

20. 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.

 

21. Photographs

·   The camera device driver has been upgraded to overcome a problem with the Pretec cameras that occasionally resulted in copying of incomplete images

 

22. 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

 

23. 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

 

24. 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

 

25. 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.

 

26. 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

 

27. 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.

Device ID- The device ID specified by the user in the PDA’s “Settings/System/About/Device ID” dialog. 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

 

28. 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 

 

29. 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.

 

30. 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.

31. 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

·         Mobile software shuts down automatically to avoid file open conflicts when loading/unloading data and installing software updates

·         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.