ESRI to Office to Field and Back

This lesson takes an ESRI geodatabase from ArcView into Carlson GIS and then to Carlson SurvCE for data collection. Next the data is taken from SurvCE into Carlson Survey and processed by Carlson GIS back into ArcView.

1. ArcGIS Desktop has a routine to output a geodatabase to a DWG file. The DWG file contains all the information in a single file. It has the graphic geometry, feature definitions and feature attribute data. The feature information is stored in a format defined by ESRI called Mapping Specification for DWG (MSD) using standard DWG entities and dictionary entries. In this tutorial, we're going to use ArcView 10.x to create the DWG with MSD. Launch ArcView (sold separately) and open a desired project. In this case, we are illustrating an Esri-supplied tutorial geodatabase:
   
   If not already open, launch the ArcToolbox as illustrated above. Issue the ArcToolbox -- Conversion Tools -- To CAD -- Export To CAD as illustrated below:
   
   The next task will be to select the features to export in the Export To CAD dialog box. To select a feature, click the Input Features drop-down list (as illustrated below) and pick a desired feature from the list:
   
   Set the remaining fields as desired including a desired DWG version (Carlson currently suggests the AutoCAD 2010 format for SurvCE users) and a path/filename for the DWG. Click OK when ready.
2. Click the Windows desktop icon for Carlson to start the program.
   • If you get the Start Page, pick Open Files.
   • If you get the Startup Wizard dialog box, click the Browse button.
   • If you are taken directly into CAD, click File -- Open.
   Browse/navigate to the default folder location of C:\Carlson Projects and open the DWG file you just exported from ArcView
3. Activate the GIS menu via Settings -- Carlson Menus -- GIS Menu. Your drawing should resemble that shown below (CAD formatting applied for clarity):
   
   Next, run GIS Data -- GIS Database Settings to display a dialog box similar to that shown below:
   
   Set the values as shown above and click OK when ready.
4. Now that we have a GIS "container" for the various GIS features, let's populate the container. Issue the GIS Data -- Define GIS Features command to display a dialog box similar to that shown below:
   
   Issue its File -- Import From -- ESRI Map Specs for CAD (MSC) command which should populate the dialog box with the various fields of data as defined by the geodatabase. Dismiss the dialog box via its File -- Save command followed by its File -- Exit command.
5. To verify that the GIS attribute data is in the drawing, issue the GIS -- GIS Data Editor and pick on an entity in the drawing (in this case, a Control point). The attribute data is shown in a spreadsheet editor (click OK when ready):
   
   NOTE: Some graphical features may not have associated GIS data!
6. Now that we have data available, let's package it up for Carlson SurvCE. Issue the GIS Data -- Export GIS Data -- Export GIS Data to SurvCE. You may be prompted:
   
   Set the filename as shown above and click Open when ready to display a dialog box similar to that shown below:
   
   This command takes selected data from the drawing and creates the GIS files that SurvCE uses. Set the values as shown above and click OK when ready. When prompted:
   
   Select entities to export.
   [FILter]/<Select entities>: type ALL and press Enter
   [FILter]/<Select entities>: press Enter
   
   For a brief summary on the files and content cited above:
   
   For input files:
   • Coordinate File: Contains the point database with Point#, Northing, Easting, Elevation and Description.
   • Field-to-Finish Table: Defines the coding used by Carlson Survey for the description field that will be converted into a Feature Code List (FCL) for SurvCE.
   • GIS Feature: Defines the feature and attribute names. Using this file is optional and applies in case the feature definitions contain more features or attributes than the data entities.
   For Output files:
   • Feature Code File: This is the SurvCE Feature Code List file for the description field coding definitions.
   • GIS Feature: This defines the feature and attribute names. This file is automatically named after the Feature Code File.
   • GIS Data: This file contains the attribute data. This file is automatically named after the Coordinate File.
   • Add Missing Points to Coordinate File: This option creates points in the Coordinate File for any selected point entities that aren't already in the Coordinate File.
   
   The program will read the GIS data from the selected entities to create the SurvCE GIS data file (.vtt) for SurvCE.
7. Let's confirm we have point coordinates for SurvCE. Issue the Points -- List Points command to display a dialog box similar to that shown below:
   
   Set the values as shown above and click OK when ready to display the results in the Standard Report Viewer as is illustrated below:
   
   Review the list and click the Exit (Doorway) button to dismiss the report.
8. Now that the project data is converted to SurvCE format, upload/copy the following files on to the SurvCE collector:
   • Coordinate File (*.crd) as specified in the Input Files section.
   • Feature Code File (*.fcl) as specified in the Output Files section.
   • GIS Feature (*.gis) as specified in the Output Files section.
   • GIS Data (*.vtt) as specified in the Output Files section.
   NOTE:If you have SurvCE 2.5 or later, then you can also use the DWG file format for the drawing. For earlier versions, use the DXF format.
9. With the data on the SurvCE collector, let's see what the process should look like. Launch SurvCE and open the Coordinate File generated earlier. You may get prompted for a coordinate system projection. It is often advisable to keep the projection systems consistent between the applications as illustrated below:

   Coordinate System Summary

   Application	Where to Find	Example
   ArcView	View -- Data Frame Properties -- Coordinate System
   Carlson GIS/Survey	Settings -- Drawing Setup
   Carlson SurvCE/SurvPC	File -- Job Settings -- System tab

   Let's also explore the SurvCE Feature Code List (button #5 on the Main Menu -- File tab) to display a dialog box similar to that shown below:
   
   NOTE: If not previously available in the source Field-to-Finish Table (*.FLD) file as specified in the Export GIS Data to SurvCE command above, it would be advisable to Add the code(s) to the SurvCE Feature Code Library as illustrated below:
   
   When defined, the associated attributes will be available and presented to the user when the collect a shot using the cited code:
   
   Collect/measure data in the field with SurvCE using conventional data gathering procedures. It is suggested that new features be coded at a point number range in excess of the existing point numbers to prevent confusion.
10. With data collected in the field, let's prepare it for its return trip. Migrate the following files from the data collector/controller of SurvCE back to the desktop computer:
    • Updated Coordinate File (*.crd) as amended by SurvCE.
    • GIS Data (*.vtt) as augmented by SurvCE.
    • GIS Feature (*.gis) as used in the SurvCE.
    • (Optional): DWG/DXF file as produced by SurvCE.
    Re-launch the Carlson Survey desktop CAD application and then issue the Points -- Set Coordinate File to set the coordinate file from SurvCE as current as illustrated below:
    
    Activate the Survey menu via Settings -- Carlson Menus -- Survey Menu. Issue the Survey -- Draw Field-to-Finish command and make note of the highlighted values illustrated below (as brought over from SurvCE):
    
    Click OK when ready to place the updated information into the drawing.
11. Activate the GIS menu via Settings -- Carlson Menus -- GIS Menu. Issue the the GIS Data -- Import GIS Data from SurvCE command and when prompted:
    
    Select the *.GIS file that had been placed onto the collector (and possibly modified in the field) and click Open when ready. The DWG entities are packaged into an Esri MSC format. Save and exit from the DWG file.
12. With the DWG saved, re-run ArcView and load the original project. Issue the File -- Add Data -- Add Data command as illustrated below:
    
    It might be generally easier to indicate the folder path where the DWG file is stored as illustrated below (click Add when ready):
    
    Select the DWG file that was saved earlier and click on the Add button when ready:
    The data is added to the ArcView project as illustrated below:
    

This completes the tutorial: ESRI to Office to Field and Back.