Updated 11/5/09

You have a layer of polygons, say grazing permits, that are mostly based on another layer, say state and federal land ownership. Let's say the base data layer, land ownership, gets updated due to an improved survey. Is there an easy way to make the geometry adjustment to the grazing permits.

There are a couple of options to explore within the ArcMap UI, namely:

• Spatial Joins.Good approach but creates a new dataset as a result and sometimes the dataset + dataset = new dataset approach doesn't meet requirements and/or makes an unnecessary mess
• Spatial Adjustment toolbar --> Attribute Transfer tool, Geometry Transfer option. Also a good approach but involves mouse clicks, is not customizable, and doesn't resolve matching between single and multipart features

Here is another option, a .CAL script to run in the ArcMap field calculator on a selected set, within an edit session.

TO USE: 

1. open the attribute table for the target feature class (grazing in the example above), select one or more features (start with one at a time).
2. Right click on the SHAPE field or hit CTRL + SHIFT + F to open the field calculator.
3. In the field calculator, check the Advanced Option box and paste the script below in the Pre-Logic VBS Script Code text box.
4. Make sure that the source layer number script parameter is set, This can be found by searching for SET THIS in the code. Set the layer index number for the polygon layer with the source geometry
5. In the bottom box, under Shape =, type in: pOutPolygon

Notes:

If you're running this on a big selected set, the message box (shown below) will bug you. It can easily be disabled or deleted if desired. It's at the end of the script and can be disabled by sticking an apostrophe (') in front of it to comment that function out.

Calibrated polylineM route features carry a milepost-measure value in addition to the standard x,y coordinate pair.

Having the milepost coordinate makes is convenient for generating the data necessary to make an elevation profile for each route because you can use the m coordinate to make sure all the elevation measures are about the same distance apart.

For the profiles that I generated for Utah highways [access all elevation profiles here], I used the endpoint calibrated routes) together with an SDE-based 10 meter statewide DEM:

• SGID93.TRANSPORTATION.UDOTRoutes_CalibratedEP
• SGID93.RASTER.DEM_10METER
  

I wanted to do this without having a 3D Analyst license and in an automated manner (i.e. no mouse driving through the ArcMap UI).

The first step was to create a .csv table of the elevation from the DEM at every 1/10th of a mile along the route using a VBS script (below) called: elevationValuesAlongRoutesToCSV

Next I loaded the .csv table into ArcMap and ran a script to automate the creation of the elevation profile graph from the .csv table. For this there are two scripts (below) that offer the choice of a line-based graph or a scatterplot graph.

Although the new graphing functionality (available since the 9.2 release, I think) is very powerful, it's a bit hard to use and  never figured out how to control the line graph where 'no data' areas are present in routes with separated parts (like where I-84 runs concurrent with I-15 for a few miles). Graphs can be created with this code for future use within the ArcMap UI or they can be automatically exported to a variety of formats (.png, .pdf, etc.).

Notes:

• The text in the example above was added manually
• Graphs in the linegraphs folder (from the link above) have scaled elevation (you can't judge slope without factoring in the y axis)
• Graphs in the scatterplotsgraphs folder have a non-scaled (constant) elevation representation on the Y axis that is consistent from one graph to the next.
  

An Ignite-style presentation is a 5 minute slide-assisted presentation consisting of 20 slides that are timed to change every 15 seconds. It's a challenging format that is meant to expose ideas, concepts and experiences quickly and in a provocative way that spurs ideas and discussion. The Ignite concept also goes by other names and similar implementations including lightning talks and pecha kucha.

Thousands of Ignite style presentations are available on YouTube and otehr websites and there are even Ignite presentation social functions being put on in major cities (including Salt Lake).

One of the challenges that GIS professionals and the GIS field as a whole face is communicating the complexity of GIS technologies (in general and specifically), effectively to non GIS audiences. Ignite style-presentations forces us to refine our messages and get them across efficiently. After all, if it takes more than 5 minutes and 20 slides to get a point across, just who are you going to be able to sell it too?

Here are a slides that will be used for an Ignite presentation at the November ('09) meeting of the Utah GIS Advisory Committee (GISAC). They were also used in a longer format at a Utah Valley University lecture to computer science and related technolohy majors.

Download presentation

Canyon Country Partnership (CCP) Meeting  

9-23-2009  

Carbon County GIS Department

Attendance.
Dave Vaughn - Grand County
Dave Vincent - USGS
Dave Horsely - DWR
Mellissa Lasso, Ben Clement, Brock Fausett-Carbon County
Cindy Clark - AGRC

Agenda --
   
1. New Domain for the SDE and the Image Server

ImageServer  image.agrc.utah.gov

SGID SDE 9.3 Server
server:gdb93.agrc.utah.gov
service:5151
database:SGID93
username: agrc
password:agrc

2. New categories and stucture to the SGID
SGID 9.3 categories closely to the ISO standards for geo-spatial data categories. Almost the same ones are by the State Archives general schedules for archiving geo-spatial data. This can be done at the state agency level and county and municipality 
http://gis.utah.gov/sgid-arcsde-database-server/sgid-9-3-arcsde-database-server-now-available

3. Discussion of the Broadband Project -- interest in the standardized address dataset.
Ben Clement attended the NENA (National Emergency Number Association (E911) to present his address system of using the decimal number of a decimal degree to create an address for a structure. While he was there he found out that NENA has recommended a standard address system to FGDC. This should soom be adopted by FGDC. The address data set would be a point data set with a lat., long., and elevation or floor associated with it. This would a location identifier data set. Any alternate address could be associated with the point, but the lat., long,. and elevation would be the primary location indicator. The elevation or floor will help in large cities with many high rise buildings.
The CCP and Ben would like to work with the AGRC when it begins its work on the standards for the address dataset for the Broadband Project.

4.  GISAC Remote Sites
While we were talking about the Broadband Project- the remote sites for GISAC were brought up. Dave Vaughn said he would be a host of one in Moab in December. This remote could catch the people in the southeast area of the state.

5. Discussion on new formation of GISAC.
Discussed the position of user groups within the new format. Suggested the regional user groups be associate members of GPIC and that one member from each user group be represent in the GPIC committee. This would give user groups a purpose and would bring more people into the user groups. Shows user groups know that their work could be moved up through GPIC and through SGAC.

6. GIS Day.
  Talked about ideas for GIS Day events in Price. Also talked about educational ideas for promoting GIS in the k-12 schools in the area.

7. Aerial Imagery.
High resolution in SLC will be available soon. Has been sent to USGS for QC/QA. As soon as it is returned it will be load onto the image server. Will soon be available by merged tiles by county. Quality of the imagery good. Discussion onf the Imagery for the Nation program. it is moving along.

Round Robin

Carbon County
Cadastral/parcel updates going on
Landswap issues/ recorders are not told of land swapps from BLM and/or Forest Service.
Working on drive-time-analysis for fire stations in county
 
Dave Vaughn - Grant County
Collecting cadastral using a surveyor firm
90% of the control - collected for automated parcel correction
coordinating w/SITLA and BLM land swaps
Working on the road re-alignment in Green River

Next meeting December 2, 2009  Wednesday. Place to be announced.