New Features for Facilities Management

An update to the Facilities Management Module will be issued this coming winter. It will add new features, including mapping of linear objects and area objects and tracking of "child objects". To date, the Facilities Management Module has been installed at Mount Cuba Center for the Study of Piedmont Flora and at the Huntington Botanical Gardens.

Each Facilities Management Object can now be one of 3 types: Point, Linear, or Area. Point Objects occupy one spot on the map. For example, a drinking fountain, a memorial bench, or a utility pole are possible types of Point Objects. Linear Objects occupy a line or narrow corridor on the map and can extend over great distances, spanning many quadrants. Above ground or underground utility lines, fences, paths, etc. can be types of Linear Objects. Area objects occupy an enclosed area or boundary, which, again, can span many quadrants. Lawns, parking lots, and planting beds are some of the possible types of area objects.

Each Linear or Area Object is identified on the map by a custom linetype, which is created on the fly when the map is generated and in which is embedded the object's identifier. Clicking on the line retrieves details about the Object and can open its database record.

Child Objects are objects that "belong" to a Parent Object. For example, a Parent Object might be a building, and Child Objects might be rooms within that building. Or, a Parent Object could be an irrigation system, and its Child Objects could be individual irrigation devices. It will be possible to assign a "Parent" to any Object. And, it will be possible to retrieve a list of Children of any Object, and to open any of their records.

These new features will greatly expand the flexibility and capabilities of the Facilities Management Module. For more on Facilities Management, point your web browser at www.bg-map.com/fac_mgt.

Cultural Resources Module In Development

A brand new Cultural Resources Module for BG-Map is currently under development. As in the case of the Facilities Management Module, the Cultural Resources Module is being developed collaboratively with Mount Cuba Center for the Study of Piedmont Flora. Also participating in the project are Dr. Lu Ann De Cunzo of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Delaware and Nedda Moqtaderi of Preservation Delaware.

The project began as an effort to record a detailed history of Mount Cuba and its environs, dating back to the Colonial Period. The Cultural Resources Module will assist in this effort by systematizing and geo-referencing many types of data. It includes a complete relational database, which is being built on the OpenInsight database platform. Upon its completion, Mount Cuba will be able to fully integrate its plant records, facilities management, and cultural resources data within BG-Map.

The initial release of the Cultural Resources Module will include these inter-linked components:

Biographical Sub-Module:

Tracks the life history of persons, including birth and death, emigration and immigration, spouses, children, residence, wealth, occupation, military and community service, ethnic group, and religion.

Documents Sub-Module:

Tracks documents such as deeds and wills, with full details. Can record and compute currency amounts in dollars or pounds-shillings-pence. Records properties of various types with linkage to the map - permits searching the chain of title of any property by searching through relevant documents.

Resources Sub-Module:

A Resource is an in-situ physical remains of a feature such as a building, fence, well, etc. The sub-module permits tracking the full details of each Resource including, details of fabrication, archeological site, and soil type - with linkage to the map.

Multi-Media Capabilities:

Each item tracked by the database can be linked to Windows multi-media components, including images, sounds, video clips, and websites.

Those Little Buttons at the Bottom of the AutoCAD Screen

Have you ever wondered about the functions of those little buttons at the bottom of the AutoCAD Window, labeled SNAP, GRID, ORTHO, POLAR, OTRACK, LWT, and MODEL? Here's a very brief rundown. For more details, consult your AutoCAD documentation, or a good AutoCAD book. Or, do what I do - experiment.

SNAP - When this button is down, it activates AutoCAD Snap Mode. This is a mode for locking the screen cursor into alignment with an invisible rectangular grid. When Snap mode is on, the screen crosshairs and all input coordinates are snapped to the nearest point on the grid, making it easy to draw rectangular objects of predetermined size. The spacing of the invisible grid can be set by right-clicking the SNAP button and choosing "Settings". For general BG-Map use SNAP should be off.

GRID - When GRID is on, you can see the invisible grid described above. For general BG-Map use, GRID should be off.

POLAR - When polar tracking is on, you can easily draw lines at predetermined angles. AutoCAD will display the angle and line length as you move the mouse. The predetermined angle can be set in increments of 90, 45, 30, 22.5, 18, 15, 10, or 5 degrees. To change the angle setting, right-click on the POLAR button. For general BG-Map use, POLAR should be off.

ORTHO - When ORTHO is on, you can only draw lines that are perfectly horizontal or vertical. Obviously, this makes it easy to perform some drawing tasks, but impossible to perform others. For general BG-Map use, ORTHO should be off.

OSNAP - When the OSNAP button is down, it turns on Running Object Snaps. When a Running Object Snap is on, it remains in effect, until turned off. For example, if you set running object snaps for Center and Endpoint, each time you try to pick a point on the map, AutoCAD will try first to find an endpoint or center point of some object in the vicinity of the cursor. To set the current Running Object Snap modes, right-click on the OSNAP button. For general BG-Map use, OSNAP should be off.

OTRACK - When OTRACK is down, it turns on Object Tracking Mode. This works sort of like polar tracking and allows you to draw lines at predetermined angles from an Object Snap Point. First set the desired Running Object Snap modes. Then, to draw a line, first pass the cursor over an object to acquire its snap point, which will be identified by a plus sign. Then move the mouse until the desired angle and distance are displayed, and click to begin the line. Continue with other points. For general BG-Map, use OTRACK should be off.

LWT - When LWT is down, it displays lines at their predetermined lineweights (thickness), which can be assigned on the basis of layer or on a line by line basis. When the button is up, all lines are displayed with the same minimum lineweight (except for polylines that have a "width", but that's another story). To assign a line weight to a layer, select "AutoCAD Layer Dialog" in the Layers menu. Select a layer, click on the "lineweight" column, and choose the desired thickness. To make the lineweight permanent, you must save the basemap. For example you could use this method to make every line on the "ROADS" layer thicker. You can also assign a lineweight to an individual line. To do so, click the line. Then select "Change Properties" in the Basemap menu (or click the tricolor icon). Click on the column next to "lineweight", and select the desired thickness. Remember that you will not be able to see the lineweights unless the "LWT" button is down. To make lineweights permanent, you must save the basemap. When, you plot using "BG-Map Plot", lineweights are displayed automatically. When you plot using "AutoCAD Plot", the box "Plot Object Lineweights" must be checked. For general BG-Map use, the setting of LWT doesn't matter.

MODEL - When the MODEL button is down, you are looking at "Model Space" as opposed to "Paper Space". Paper Space is used to compose AutoCAD plots that may show multiple views and scales. "BG-Map Plot" uses Paper Space automatically, you don't have to think about it. For general BG-Map use, MODEL should be on. If you accidentally turn it off, enter the command TILEMODE 1 at the command prompt to return to the normal view of the map.

If all the above seems very complex and confusing, you're right. The good news is, for general BG-Map use, you don't have to worry about it. But, if you want to become a true AutoCAD expert, check it out.

Keep Your Plotter Happy - Plot Once a Week

If you use an inkjet plotter, you know that ink is expensive and that it sometimes seems to dry out before the cartridge is empty. To prevent this, make sure that you plot at least one sheet per week. This will keep the ink cartridges in working order and save money in the long run.

Just do it!

Back up! Back up! Back up! There is no more important thing that you can do to protect the investment of time and money that you have made in your plant records and mapping system. Sure, it's a hassle and you usually don't feel like doing it - but do it. It is essential.

To be successful, you should plan a logical and consistent backup strategy. It is best to do a daily backup and to use a different clearly labeled tape, disk, or CD for each day of the week. Retain at least one week's worth of backups before overwriting. If you use magnetic media such as tapes or disks, throw them out and replace them periodically - they will deteriorate over time. At least once a month, make a separate backup that will be stored off site. So, in case of fire, flood, or earthquake, you will have a backup to your backups.

Network Backup:

If you are using BG-Map and BG-BASE via a network server, make sure that the server is set up for automatic daily backups and test periodically to make sure that the backup is actually working. I have personally been involved in situations where network backups that were supposed to exist, actually didn't. Don't automatically assume that what your network administrator tells you is correct. Make it a policy to double check that backups are actually being made and that they are being stored safely.

Backup Media:

Streaming Tape

This is an older technology that is still frequently used as a server backup medium. It offers high storage capacity. But it takes a long time to search the tape for a specific piece of data. And, tapes will deteriorate over time.

ZIP and JAZZ Disks

These are excellent backup media, offering both high capacity and high speed. The disks themselves are fairly expensive. And, as a magnetic medium, it cannot be considered permanent.

Optical Media - CD's and DVD's

In my opinion, these are the ideal backup media, offering high capacity, high speed, and permanence. A CD or DVD, if stored with reasonable care, should last virtually forever. Recordable CD's offer about 700 MB of storage - more than adequate for BG-Map and BG-BASE data. Recordable DVD's, which are just on the horizon, will store 9 gigabytes of data or more! Recordable CD's come in 2 basic types - Recordable (CD-R) and rewritable (CD-RW). A CD-R can be recorded only once, while a CD-RW can be recorded, erased, and re-recorded many times. You can, however, add more data to a previously recorded CD-R, provided that it is not filled to capacity. So, one CD-R can be used to do several backups until it is full. Then, it must be discarded.

A CD-R recorded on one PC will be readable on most other PC's. Some older machines with slow CD drives may not be able to read some CD-R's. On the other hand, CD-RW's are usually not compatible between different machines, unless they have exactly the same type of CD-RW drives. Blank CD-RW's cost several dollars apiece, while blank CD-R's can be had for well under a dollar - in quantity. At present, it would appear that CD-R's are the best backup medium for BG-Map and BG-BASE data. They are inexpensive, compatible, and permanent. When DVD-R's become generally available, they will offer the same benefits plus huge capacity, making them the backup champs - until the next new thing comes along.

Use Screen Capture to Document Error Messages

Many thanks go to Angela Brown of the North Carolina Arboretum for coming up with a unique and powerful technique for reporting problems. Instead of just writing down what an error message says, she does a screen capture and e-mails me an image so that I can see exactly how the message looks on-screen. How does she do this? - It's simple, using software that comes standard with Windows. Click on the error message window. Press Alt-Print Screen. This places an image of the error message on the Windows clipboard. Open Windows Paintbrush or other image software, and paste in the image. Save the file, and attach it to your e-mail. It's fun - try it sometime.

Update Your Census Data

It's time to update your BG-Map census data. The BG-Map census, which can be viewed on the Users Support Website, has been very well received. Many of you have expressed an interest in this data and find it to be useful. It lists the number of plants currently mapped at each institution, along with the number of plants and accessions recorded in BG-BASE.

To remain useful, the data should be current. So, please take a few minutes to send in updated data, and do so periodically. You will find complete instructions on the Users Support Website www.bg-map.com/userdata. Click on "BG-Map Census".

BG-Map Highlighted Feature - Variable Sizing of Symbols and Text

Suppose that you want to generate a defined view map covering a large area or a site map. You generate the map and see that only dots are displayed - no plant names or accession numbers. How can you show the names? In BG-Map 5.0, you were able to override the display and force the display of 16 character names or 3 digit key numbers. You had a choice of 2 sizes - "Size to fit" guaranteed that no text would overlap, but it was generally too tiny to plot. "Size to plot" guaranteed that the text was large enough to read when plotted with "BG-Map Plot". But, it usually was so large that it overlapped. What you really wanted to do was make the text a bit larger than "Size to fit", but not so large that it overlapped badly. That's what this new feature of BG-Map 2000 is all about. You can now vary the size of the symbols and text anywhere between "Size to fit" and "Size to plot" using a simple slider control. Hopefully, this will allow to choose a compromise size that's large enough to read and which doesn't overlap too badly. Here's how:

When you set up to generate the map, click the button labeled "Override" under "Names and Symbols". Then, select "Force 16 character names", and adjust the slider to the desired text size. Or, just type in a size from 1-100. You might have to try a few different sizes until the map looks just the way you want. But, I'm sure you'll agree that this new feature gives you a lot more flexibility than before. Please send in your comments and suggestions for further improvements.