What's new in ESRI Defense Mapping

With ESRI Defense Mapping 10, several enhancements have been made to the user experience and the functionality.

General enhancements

• Several toolbars have been redesigned and have new icons.
• Menus have been added to the toolbars that include tools that were previously only available from the Customize dialog box. They also allow you to add product-specific surround elements in ArcMap.
• New geoprocessing tools are available that allow you to manage MGCP data and create bands for other surround elements.

Toolbar enhancements

• In ArcCatalog, the different toolbars available with Defense Mapping at previous releases have been combined into one. This includes all the tools necessary to create a geodatabase; manage geodatabases and topology; and work with Spatial Data Standards for Facilities, Infrastructure, and Environment (SDSFIE) data and Stereo Airfield Collection data. This allows you to access key data management tools more easily.
• In ArcMap, there are two toolbars: one with general data management tools and another with MGCP-specific tools. The Defense Mapping toolbar contains tools for data management, and the Defense MGCP tool contains tools for managing MGCP data.
  • The Defense Mapping toolbar contains tools that allow you to update geometric attributes of features as well as the angle. You can also insert surround elements for Topographic Line Maps (TLMs) and Joint Operations Graphics (JOGs). Image City Map (ICM) elements can also be created for the Guide to Numbered Features (GNF).
  • The Defense MGCP Tools toolbar contains tools that allow you to manage LandCover features and building facility attributes, and you can export selected layers to shapefiles. You can also view the MGCP extraction guide.

Changes to the Buildings properties

• There is now an option to create simple buildings. This is enabled by default and allows you to create buildings using only three points.
• If you choose to create simple buildings, you can indicate whether the corners should always be squared on the new building features.

Topology tools

Topology for a geodatabase can be exported as an XML file. You can also import a standard topology for a product specification using an XML file that has been created or included with Defense Mapping.

• Import Topology imports a topology stored in an XML file into a specified workspace
• Export Topology exports the topology in a workspace to an XML file.

Geoprocessing

Several new tools have been introduced in the Defense Mapping toolbox at 10. These tools assist in the creation of bands for JOG Elevation Tint and TLM Elevation Guide Box elements. There are also several MGCP tools available with geoprocessing so they can be run outside of ArcGIS or as part of a model.

Configuration files

• Grid definition files are installed that can be used with the Make Grids and Graticules Layer tool in ArcMap. This allows you to create map-specific grids based on the geographic region in which your data is based.
• Sample data is included with feature templates configured and ready to use for data editing and extraction tasks.
• Product library workspaces are included for data specifications and include field configuration tables, metadata favorites, and template instructions for cartographic production.
• Reviewer batch jobs are included that contain checks for each data specification, including Custom and Topology Rules checks that may be necessary to ensure that the data is valid for the specification you are using.