 |
|
GeoConcept, the world-class mapping and geographic information system supplied and supported in Britain by Kingswood MapMechanics, is now even more powerful, configurable, flexible and easy to use. Version 5.5, which is available from this month, introduces a range of enhancements that keep the product firmly at the forefront of the market in terms of usability and functionality.Users can now get data and maps into and out of the application more easily and with more options; can customise the interface more precisely to meet their own requirements; have more powerful ways of manipulating maps and data; and have many new features for controlling output, both on screen and particularly in printed form.
|
Presentation of maps has come in for special attention. For instance, users can now define their own colour palettes, working in RGB or CMYK formats and using HLS (hue, lightness and saturation) to govern appearance. Page layouts, which were previously specific to individual maps, can now be copied between maps, saving considerably on design time.
GeoConcept is now better able to print hard-copy maps when the output file is very large; it has a built-in banding capabilty which allows it to break the output into discrete “chunks” which knit seamlessly together on the page, obviating the need for separate RIP (raster interface processor) software. It automatically makes provision for the Smartlabel module, so that the automatic positioning of text works even across bands.
Control over what is displayed on maps has also been enhanced. Where virtual layers are used to handle features such as shading and fill patterns, or to display thematic information through charts or graphs, the separate layers can now be scale-dependent. So pie charts, for example, could automatically be made bigger at some scales than others, and suppressed altogether in certain views. This feature is readily accessible via a context menu (opened with a right-button mouse-click).
In the new version of GeoConcept Expert, geometry handling has been improved. A new disassociation tool allows complex polygons to be split into individual components that are individually selectable; so having defined an area, you can then perform actions on just part of it.
Setup and configuration are now more flexible. Users can customise menus and add buttons to tool bars, and can even take standard menu items and add those to tool bars, which are now fully dockable (they can float freely or be attached to the main application window). To allow compatibility with the latest document formats, XML files can now be dragged and dropped directly on to the Configurator panel. And drop-down lists are now easier to sort.
Import and export capabilities now support the latest file formats. It is possible to open or save maps directly in GML (Geographic Markup Language) without recourse to a separate translator tool – ideal for working with datasets such as the OS Mastermap series. More map projections are now supported, too, so it is easier to map different parts of the world using a range of different map sources.
Particularly useful for creating maps for display on the Web, it is now possible to output maps in SVG (scaleable vector) format, which gives them more flexibility than constant-scale bitmap images.
GeoConcept has always been able to handle links with a particularly wide range of external database formats. A new feature is the ability to link a single database field with more than one map object – for instance, a postcode that applies to two or more geographically separate locations.
There are now more options for finding information in maps. The search dialog now allows users to type in a complete SQL query as an alternative to using the intuitive selection options. An added benefit of this is that queries can be cut and pasted between maps at will.
GeoConcept version 5.5 works with all versions of Microsoft Windows from 95 upwards, including XP. The new version is initially available in English, French and Japanese, and will become available in Arabic, Chinese, German, Italian and Spanish in coming months. |
