Hi Hassan, You were asking for MapInfo compatible Geological software .... Personally, I used Geobasemap from Examin for creating geological maps and report data during my tenure at a gold exploration company. 2D and 3D data handling could be easily done with Discover and/or Vertical Mapper but for field data acquisition I could only see a customized solution, which would mostly depend on the data you acquire in the field: i.e.: geochemical sampling data, geological mapping data (that is the recording of polygons, polylines - geological objects - ), or capture of drill hole data. Only these three categories would require a different collection of attributes to be captured certainly in very specific user interfaces. And even these user interfaces might be customized to the requirements of your project or company. Additionally you need field computer equipment suitable for harsh environments, which is capable to run without external power for a sufficient time. All this does not sound like an out-of-the-box solution. At the Bavarian Geological Survey I was responsible for developing and implementing a digital geological field data capturing system, which featured both recording of spatial information (geological objects on scanned topographic map backdrops) and specific attribute data. We used a German software called GISPAD (check out http://www.conterra.de), which features a module for generating spatial data (without topological reduncancy !) and a so-called Object Class Editor, which allows you to design you custom data model and user interface. It has an easy to use data form generator, which lets you create a user interface very easily. We use GISPAD now successfully during geological surveying projects. Any custom business rules can be attached via a programming interface using Borland Delphi as a programming environment. The most problems we had was with the choice of suitable field hardware: there are not many appropriate systems on the market. Most important is a sunlight readable display, which holds what it promises. You DEFINITELY have to test before you buy. We now field test the VIA Flexi-PC, a computer system, which can be carried like a belt, which has a touch screen, which can be read under most light conditions (it uses the sunlight to enhance contrast, so the brighter the sun the more contrast you have on the color display, in dark rooms you won't see anything of course). The computer runs approximately 8 to 10 hours on two batteries, which are attached to to the belt. to my oppinion this systems gives users the maximum available comfort during the field work, because you can have your hands free for "hard work". Check out http://www.flexi-pc.com . Personally, I think that conventional notebook computers are not very suitable for field work, because of the display (usually not sunlight readable), no pen input devices and touch screens, too bulky, too short run down times). With respect to GISPAD again - it has a German user interface, but if you are really interested may be they could translate the menu system into English. They have import / export interfaces to Shape(shp), DXF and others, but unfortunately not to MapInfo yet, so you could import this data into MapInfo via shp. If the German market would not be so dominated by ESRI, they would certainly have a MapInfo export function also. Why do I advertise this software so much ? First, because it is very good to use, very focused and customizable, and coming from a company which is very cooperative. The second thing I say all this is, that if MapInfo would finally decide to provide a visual data form designer, point 3 of your requirements could be done easily from within MapInfo / MapBasic. This would of course require controls, which you could bind to your MapInfo data tables. Of course you could also opt for a MapX-based application using Visual Basic, rebuilt lots of MI functionality and provide data entry forms from VB and add some project administration functionality plus GPS interface. This would be a major development effort. To sum up, as you already suspected, I would agree that field data acquisition is probably the most difficult topic. Mostly because of hardware, secondly because - depending on your projects - you would need customized solutions for data capture. In this field MapInfo / MapBasic is very weak and a MapX solution would be a major development effort. Therefore we chose GISPAD, which provides a ready to use mapping environment, and a easy to use development module. If you have further questions about our experiences with digital geological data capture in the field, feel free to contact me at: Thomas Gülden Geologist Bavarian Geological Survey Heßstr. 128 80797 Munich Germany E-mail: office: [EMAIL PROTECTED] private [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]Im Auftrag von Hassan TAZI Gesendet: Donnerstag, 22. Juni 2000 21:24 An: Mapinfo-L Betreff: MI MapInfo Compatible Geological software Dear All I am looking for 17 licences of a "geological software" that should have the following functionalities : 1 - Mining and geochemical data interpretation 2 - 2D and 3D handling 3 - Data acquisition directly on the field Discover should do it but I am not sure for the item 3 : Data acquisition directly on the field Thank you Best Regards Hassan Tazi Business Expansion S.A. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put "unsubscribe MAPINFO-L" in the message body, or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] '[EMAIL PROTECTED]'Hi Hassan, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put "unsubscribe MAPINFO-L" in the message body, or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
