• You Can Come Out of the Cellar - It's OK
• Garden Notepad Gets the Green Light - But Download the Update First
• NYBG Test of Visitors QUICKFinder a Success - Expansion a Possibility
• Facilities Management Module Nears Completion
• BG-Map's New Web Address
• Reminder - Plan Now to Upgrade to AutoCAD 2000
• News From BG-Map Users 
• Fix for Partial Name Search Posted to Website
• BG-Map Highlighted Feature -Partial Name Search 
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You Can Come Out of the Cellar - It's OK

The much-anticipated Y2K has come and gone without the widely
predicted disaster.  It's OK - come out of the cellar.  Of course,
BG-Map and BG-BASE continue to function, as anticipated.
Revelation Software, the company that produces the products upon
which BG-Map and BG-BASE are based, long ago had the foresight to
build in Y2K compliant date storage technology - even before the
term "Y2K" had been coined.

So, relax, and enjoy the technological wonders promised by the
new millenium.  And that, will be the last mention of "Y2K" or
"millenium" in this publication forever - we promise.

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Garden Notepad Gets the Green Light - But Download the Update First

Garden Notepad is a new tool introduced with BG-Map version 5.0.
It allows garden staff to capture data on the size and condition
of plants using a palmtop computer and to upload the data directly
into BG-BASE.  It was placed on hold temporarily, pending resolution
of some concerns expressed by the BG-BASE developers.

Recently, BG-BASE creator, Kerry Walter, reviewed Garden Notepad.
Kerry made several suggestions for changes, which have been
implemented. The New York Botanical Garden has tested the Revised
Garden Notepad with no problems reported.  So, other BG-Map users
may begin to install the revisions and use Garden Notepad.

Remember, do not use Garden Notepad without installing the revisions
first.  They are available on the BG-Map Users Support website at
www.bg-map.com/userdata.


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NYBG Test of Visitors QUICKFinder a Success
Expansion a Possibility

Visitors QUICKFinder is undergoing its first public trial
at the New York Botanical Garden.  Public reaction has been
very favorable.  NYBG is currently considering a project to
expand its use of Visitors QUICKFinder, and possibly add to
its capabilities.  Here is a note about the current trial,
written by Margaret Falk, Plant Records Manager: 


"At the New York Botanical Garden we have set up a test of
Mark Glicksman's (BG-Map) Visitors QUICKFinder system. We're
very interested in having some sort of system that allows our
visitors and staff access to more information about the plant
collections and how to find plants on our grounds. Mark's
system uses a touch screen monitor and allows people to very
simply find a plant by name, see a picture of it, read a brief
description, and print out a map of where it is on the grounds.
You can also use the "Create a Tour" feature to assemble your
own personal walking tour. We only have it up at one location
so far, in our Conservatory in a booth manned by membership
people (It does need someone with it because of the printer.)

We also have only a limited amount of information in it now:
conifers in the arboretum area closest to the Conservatory
and a winter interest tree walk. We also ask people to fill
out a questionnaire and they have.  Response is very favorable
people like using it and in fact line up to use it. Children
particularly like it - in fact we had to put a "Please Touch"
sign on the monitor so parents would let their children come up
and try it. Staff also like it and can see many uses for it in
answering questions about specific plants."

What they want is more pictures and more information about more
kinds of plants.

We're putting together a proposal to get money to develop the
system further on a much larger scale - perhaps even incorporating
parts of our website so that people kind find out about unsurveyed
collections (e. g. the Herb Garden) and current events, etc."

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Facilities Management Module Nears Completion

The new BG-Map Facilities Management Module is nearing
completion.  The first installation, at Mt. Cuba Center
for the Study of Piedmont Flora, is scheduled for mid-
March.  The development of this new module is being
supported by Mt. Cuba.  It will allow gardens to track and
manage infrastructure items such as buildings, equipment,
memorials, utilities, and more.  The system will be very
flexible.  Each user can define his own object classes and
types, each with their own set of attributes and maintenance
tasks. The system maintains a running history of all
maintenance performed on each object, and indicates when
maintenance is next due.

Images can be attached to objects as well.  A unique and
easy to use query builder will allow the user to search for
objects meeting various criteria without the need to use
TCL syntax.  Objects meeting the search criteria can be
displayed either in the form of a report or a map.  As in
the case of plants, it will be possible to instantly zoom
to any object and print snapshot maps for objects.  Facilities
Management objects can also be displayed on plant maps, at
the user's option.

The Facilities Management Module will be priced at $3,750.00
It will be available as part of BG-Map 2000 this summer.  To
find out more, check the BG-Map home page at www.bg-map.com.

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BG-Map's New Web Address

The BG-Map website recently was moved to a new server.  The
Web address is now:

            www.bg-map.com - Home Page
   www.bg-map.com/userdata - Users Support

Please update your links and bookmarks accordingly.

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Reminder - Plan Now to Upgrade to AutoCAD 2000

Remember to plan and budget now for upgrading your AutoCAD
from Release 14 to AutoCAD 2000.  The next update to BG-Map,
BG-Map 2000, will require AutoCAD 2000 and will not work with
AutoCAD Release 14.  This BG-Map update will be released this
summer.  Also note, if you have an old JDL plotter, it may
not be compatible with AutoCAD 2000 and may require
replacement.  So, please budget accordingly.

For more information go to this web page:
www.bg-map.com/userdata/acad2000.html

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News From BG-Map Users

Welcome new user Michigan State University/Beal Botanical
Garden.  Frank Telewski, Curator, and Jeff Wilson, Computer
Coordinator, will be overseeing the mapping project.
BG-Map is linked in to campus base maps that are maintained
by the Facilities Department clear across campus.  When
Facilties updates a map, the change becomes immediately
visible in BG-Map.  Also, Frank is experimenting with the
use of a laser rangefinder to assist in taking relative
measurements.

Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix recently completed
the transfer of all plant locations from hand drawn sketches
into BG-Map.  Tracy Omar at DBG used a wireless digitizing
tablet to accomplish this huge task in what may be record
time.

From one BG-Map institution to another: Congratulations
to John Morse on his new position as the Curator of Outdoor
Gardens at the New York Botanical Garden.  John was formerly
the Plant Records Manager at Cornell Plantations where he
was a frequent contributor of ideas and suggestions for
BG-Map improvements.

And, welcome new user Huntington Botanical Gardens.  Jim
Folsom, Gardens Director, envisions widespread use of
Visitors QUICKFinder once the new Visitors Center, currently
under construction, is completed.  Julio Barrantes, who
studied Civil Engineering in his native Nicaragua, is
overseeing the mapping project using a robotic total station
(See UserLetter No. 12 for details.)  Julio brings to
the project beneficial skills in both mapping and AutoCAD.

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Fix for Partial Name Search Posted to Website

Partial Name Search has returned only partial or no results
on some systems using BG-BASE 5.0 and above.  This is due the
fact that the Everything to Index field (ETI) in the BG-BASE
5.0 NAMES file has been changed from a data field to a
symbolic field and the index to this field has been changed
from a cross-reference index to a btree index.

The fix allows Partial Name Search to work properly with
BG-BASE 5.0 and above.  It can be downloaded from the BG-Map
Users Support area at www.bg-map.com/userdata.

For details on how to use Partial Name Search, see below.

IF YOU HAVE A PRE-5.0 VERSION OF BG-BASE, DO NOT INSTALL THE FIX.
PRIOR TO THE NEXT BG-MAP UPDATE (SUMMER OF 2000), YOU WILL EITHER
HAVE TO UPGRADE TO BG-BASE 5.0 OR MODIFY THE ETI FIELD AND INDEX
IN YOUR EXISTING COPY OF BG-BASE IF YOU WISH TO CONTINUE USING
THE PARTIAL NAME SEARCH FEATURE IN BG-MAP.

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BG-Map Highlighted Feature - Partial Name Search

Partial Name Search allows you to quickly find any mapped
plant by name.  You can then zoom to it or print a Snapshot
Book Map.

To use Partial Name Search, do this:

Select "Look Up/Zoom to a Plant" from the BG-Map "Map"
Menu (or click the "magnifying glass" icon).  In the space
provided, enter part of a common or botanical name, followed
by a bracket - for example:  ROSE]  BG-Map will return a list
of matching plant names that represent mapped living plants.
Select one of these names, and BG-Map will return a list of
mapped living plants matching that name.  Select a plant.

You can enter two or more words - for example, to search for
Cotinus obovatus, you could enter COT OBO].  You only
need to place a  bracket at the end of the last search term.
You can also enter a combination of Latin and common names,
such as ACER RED] or only common names such as RED MAP]
(Provided of course that the common names exist in your BG-BASE
NAMES file).

In addition to entering a partial name, you can
enter an accession number with or without qualifier. And, you
can still use QUICKFinder.

Immediately after zooming to a plant, you can print a snapshot
book map to direct you to that plant by simply clicking the
green printer icon in the AutoCAD window.

Note also that a fix for Partial Name Search has
been posted to the website - for details - see above.



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Visit the BG-Map USERS SUPPORT AREA at 
www.bg-map.com/userdata
BG-Map Botanical Garden Mapping System
E-mail: glicks@bg-map.com
Tel: 1.215.887.1100	Fax: 
1.215.887.1470