Loading ENC source data

There are several different types of source data that a user may access when producing nautical data within the Nautical Solution. However, most fall into one of two categories—raster and vector. With the Nautical Solution, there are a variety of raster formats you can use as source data for your ENC production efforts. See the list of supported raster formats for more details. When performing data production or maintenance, the editor will often load a raster image as a backdrop layer. If the raster image is not georeferenced, the editor will need to georeference the image before it is a viable source. Using the layer transparency settings will allow you to collect your data on top of the raster layer without having to worry about the draw order.

Vector data, the second major type of source data, can come in many different formats, including shapefiles, ArcInfo coverages, .DGN, and many more. In the desktop production environment, you will populate your product geodatabase for either existing products or new products. The ArcGIS Data Interoperability extension further expands the number of third-party software formats available as sources for ArcGIS Desktop, also including S-57. The data source content varies, often as much as the data formats listed above. Many sources can be used in the data collection process, from sounding surveys in vector format, vectors auto-generated from raster scans, and bathymetric data to vector data from nonhydrographic sources, and so on. Being able to reference different data formats during your collection efforts will improve efficiency.

If you are producing ENC products in an enterprise environment, then you will initially add data to your product geodatabase by populating your ENC instance.