What's new in ESRI Nautical Solution

With the 10 release, the PLTS for ArcGIS—Nautical Solution was renamed ESRI Nautical Solution. There is also new functionality and several enhancements to functionality that was previously available.

Automated Polygon Masking

The new Automated Polygon Masking tool runs a collection of geoprocessing models that create intersecting layer masks where danger areas, restricted areas, regulated areas, and other navigational limits coincide with the coastline. The Automated Polygon Masking tool significantly reduces the amount of time cartographers have to spend manually creating masks.

Renamed tools

• PLTS Batch Copy Paste is now Batch Copy Paste as a reflection of the removal of PLTS in the solution name.
• Delete with Reason is now Track Deletes.

Enhancements

• The SCAMIN XML file location property in the Nautical Properties pane of the Production Properties dialog box is preset to the sample file located at <Nautical install location>\Desktop10.0\Common\SCAMIN.xml.
• Three preconfigured product library file geodatabases are now installed. Nautical_Product_Library supports NIS, ENC, and CHART production; AML_Product_Library supports CLB, ESB, LBO, MFF, RAL, and SBO production; DNC(H)(A)(C)(G)_Product_Library(s) support DNC production. Each one must be unzipped before it can be used. Once unzipped, you must set your Product Library Workspace Property in the Data Management pane of the Production Properties dialog box. This property will automatically be set if you unzip your Nautical_Product_library.zip file and place it in the same directory as the original zip file. Otherwise, you will need to change this property if you want to use another product library.
• The S-57 to Geodatabase tool now contains a grid that allows you to input an override PLTS_COMP_SCALE value when importing into the NIS.
• The Apply Changes tool automatically applies data changes from the NIS to the production database in favor of the NIS during synchronization. It no longer gives you the options to resolve conflicts in favor of the production database or to resolve conflicts manually.
• If you do not require unit conversion rules, you no longer have to set the Unit Conversion property. All unit conversion fields are hidden when accessed via Feature Manager or any other application that honors the new Field Configuration Tables (FCT) in product library. FCT has replaced the 9.3.1 Field Filter Tables.

Nautical toolbox

To simplify the cartographic workflow, the Nautical–Cartography toolset now contains tools from ArcGIS Desktop and ESRI Production Mapping:

• Make Grids and Graticules Layer
• Feature Outline Masks
• Intersecting Layers Masks
• Magnetic Calculator
• Magnetic Isolines
• Calculate Visual Specifications

DNC

All the tool functionality for digital nautical charts can be found in the DNC production PDF. The following enhancements were made:

• The Notice to Mariners and NTM Parser tools were moved from the Nautical toolbar to the Nautical DNC toolbar.

• On-the-fly validation is now handled via product library and Reviewer batch jobs instead of the PLTS knowledge base. Both Attribute and Spatial batch job files are included with Nautical Solution.

• Symbology rendering is now handled via template MXD files instead of the PLTS knowledge base. These HACG template MXD files are included with Nautical Solution.

Product library

• A new Distribute Product Library tool allows you to distribute series and product class information from one product library and import it into another.
• The Field Configuration Manager has been enhanced to allow you to define fields with feature-level metadata. You can now choose the attribute fields that will store metadata information and specify whether the metadata fields need to be automatically populated with the date or user name, as well as the event that will trigger population of this field.
• The product library can be used as a central location to store your validation rules. In previous releases, you could store two types of batch jobs: one that would be validated when you update the attributes of features and one that would be validated against a selection set using the PLTS Spatial Validation tool. At 10, the Associate Batch Jobs tool has been enhanced to allow you to store a new type of batch job that can be validated using the Reviewer Batch Validate tool. You can also specify the severity value of the checks in the batch job, or what will be considered an error. This value is used to determine if checks return errors or messages when validated through Feature Manager.

Feature Manager

The PLTS Target and Selection tabs and PLTS Feature Metadata toolbar have been replaced by Feature Manager, which consists of two dockable windows: Manage Features and Feature Attributes.

Manage Features window

The Manage Features window allows you to access feature templates, which store the attribute information, and the construction tools used to create new features. The Manage Features window has the following tabs:

• The Create tab, which replaces the PLTS Target tab, provides a central location for you to define the types of features you will create. The Create tab has three main components: a toolbar to manage your templates and their properties, a list of templates used to create new features, and a set of tools used to define the features' shape. While similar to the Create Features window, it extends ArcGIS Desktop functionality by adding new types of templates and new construction tools.

  

  New construction tools to create feature geometry are available on the Create tab. The Create and Intersect tool creates a new line feature and splits the feature at the point where it intersects another line. The Difference Polygon tool allows you to ensure that the boundaries between polygons are shared and have coincident edges.

  The Create tab also includes a number of new types of templates:

  • Temporary templates provide the ability to update attributes on the fly before creating a new feature. When a template is selected, its attributes are displayed on the Feature Attributes window and can be updated. These changes are not stored in the template but can be used on the fly.
  • Invalid templates are created when you perform enhanced validation of your templates and there is an error with the attributes stored in the template. This type of validation ensures that the templates have attributes that are set according to your organization's business rules. The validation rules are built using Reviewer checks and stored in the product library.
  • Composite templates are a way of putting together two or more templates and using one edit sketch to create features in all the template layers. Custom construction tools are also provided. A dialog box allows you to choose existing templates and construction tools to create a composite template. You can then create multiple features with one edit sketch.
  • Table templates allow you to add records directly to the table through the Create tab (the same location where new feature attributes are set). It also allows you to validate the attributes of the record using preconfigured validation rules.
• The Update tab, which replaces the PLTS Selection tab, is comparable to the Attributes window. This tab allows you to select features in the map and view attributes, manage a selection set, update the attributes associated with the features in the selection set, and validate those attribute combinations.

  The Update tab also allows you to commit the selection set directly from the Manage Features window to the Reviewer table if you have started a Reviewer session. The Transfer to Target functionality previously available on the PLTS Target and Selection tabs, which allows you to use existing feature attributes to create new features with the same attribute combination, is now called Use as Template.

  The Update tab provides two ways to view your data—the schema view displays feature classes and subtypes, while the layers view displays each subtype as a layer. Editing many-to-many relationships is also better supported via the Update tab.

  

• The Metadata tab replaces the PLTS Feature Metadata dialog box and toolbar. During editing, metadata favorites are used to specify the values that will be populated in feature-level metadata fields. Feature-level metadata is attributes on the features that store metadata-type information such as when the feature was created or who created it. The Field Configuration Manager can be used to define which fields are feature-level metadata and how these fields will be populated.

  

Create Attributes, Update Attributes, and Metadata Attributes windows

The second dockable window allows you to view the attributes of the template or feature selected on the Manage Features window. The title of this window changes to Create Attributes, Update Attributes, or Metadata Attributes based on the tab that is currently selected on the Manage Features window.

The Create Attributes, Update Attributes, and Metadata Attributes windows honor field configurations that allow you to customize how the attributes are displayed. The window also allows you to validate the attribute combination of features or templates against your enhanced validation rules.

Three types of information will be returned as the result of on-the-fly validation:

• An actual error that must be corrected before committing the change to the feature
• A warning, which you are not required to fix before the changes are committed to the feature
• A processing error, which is returned when the validation checks against the data are not configured properly

Other changes in editing

With the current release, most of the functionality available in the PLTS knowledge base, which was used to specify business rules and symbology, is supported by other functionality released with 10. Hence, the knowledge base is no longer supported.

This includes the following:

• Condition Tables (CNTs): These were used to define data validation rules. The CNT table is replaced by Reviewer batch jobs. At 10, you can use the Import CNT command on the Batch Job Manager dialog box to import your data checks into a batch job that can be associated with the product library.
• Valid Value Tables (VVTs): These were used to provide attribute-based rendering of your data. Visual specifications were added at 9.2 and provide similar functionality and also include an interface that allows you to configure your symbology rules and the ability to use representation symbology.
• Field Filter Tables (FFTs): The field filter table has been replaced with the field configuration table in the product library and can be used in conjunction with the Field Configuration Manager to create and update the settings.
• PLTS_Metadata and PLTS_Metadata_Exclusion: These tables were used to define which fields in your feature classes were considered feature-level metadata, which attributes were automatically populated with a date or user name, and when these fields were updated. All this information is now stored as part of the field configuration table in the product library.
• Coverage Mapping: The DBS_FC_VVT table was used to map feature classes to coverages for use with the Production Geodatabase To Coverage tool. If you have defined coverage mapping rules, you can continue to use your DBS_FC_VVT table as is, or see the Creating an ArcInfo coverage using a mapping table topic for information on creating a coverage mapping table.
• Group by Theme: The DBS_FC_VVT table was also used to define groups that the feature class would be added to in the table of contents. Production Views provides similar functionality, allowing you to set the groups in the table of contents and save them to a view. When the view is applied, the layers can be grouped according to the grouping they had when the view was saved. Views allow you to add multiple layers for a feature class and have the layers in different groups, as well as in nested groups.

Cartography

Symbology

• The visual specifications advanced view can now show just the selected specifications (one or more) for better management of many specifications.
• The visual specifications expression parser now honors coded value/subtype descriptions.
• With views, you can apply and honor the new editing feature templates.

Grids and graticules

PLTS Grid Manager is now part of ArcGIS in the form of Grids and Graticules Layers geoprocessing tools. Additional grid management tools are available within ESRI Production Mapping and have been enhanced to better meet user needs.

• The Grids and Graticules Designer (formerly known as Grid Designer) provides the ability to create and design the grid template XMLs. It is now a dockable window with standard tree view behavior such as renaming, expand/collapse, and the ability to drag and drop items. You can also find and replace symbols, coordinate systems, and text across grids and create an individual component as opposed to the entire grid.

• Grid XMLs created using previous versions of Grid Manager are compatible with 10. The symbology is stored in the XML as representations.
• All grids will now be displayed as feature class representations.
• A new description property has been added to the XML that allows users to better describe the XML.
• Behavioral properties have also been added to the XMLs so you can automatically set the origin to lower left and set scale, rotation, spatial reference, and neatline zone clipping properties.

Product library

Several enhancements have been made to the product library to better support cartography and map production:

• The Product Library tab is now a dockable window in ArcMap that can be accessed from either one of the following:

  • Customize menu > Production > Product Library

  • Production Cartography toolbar

• You can store Data Driven Pages MXDs within the product library to manage versions and control the map documents in a document management system.

• You can batch manage products by checking them in or out in a batch mode.

• There are improved status icons to clearly show products that are checked out or checked in and products that are shared or single.

Page layout and elements

• The Elements tab is now a dockable window and is called the Layout window. It is designed to be the central tool for managing the page layout.
• There are several key enhancements to the layout window:
  • You can change the drawing order of elements by dragging and dropping them in the list.
  • You can search for elements by name.
  • It's easy to access measure layout, data frame, and layout rules commands.
  • Icons for unique element types have been improved.
• The database elements have been extended to support metadata for elements.

Other changes to cartography

The following functionality has been deprecated at the current release of ArcGIS 10:

• Valid value tables (VVTs) used to store symbology are no longer supported in this release. Visual specifications are used for symbolizing data.

Other changes

The following functionality has been deprecated:

• The Generate Linear Depth Area geoprocessing tool was removed due to the IHO mandate that these features no longer be recognized in ECDIS displays.
• The Copy Spatial Attributes to Features tool was removed. This functionality is now in the S-57 to Geodatabase tool.