BG-Map Feature Article
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BG-Map 2004 Released |
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The
latest version of BG-Map, BG-Map 2004, has been released. Here are highlights of some of the
new features in this release: AutoCAD
2004/2005 Now Supported BG-Map now supports AutoCAD
2004/2005 as well as AutoCAD and AutoCAD Map 2000i, and 2002. To set up BG-Map to work with AutoCAD 2004/2005, you must update the User
ID file – see the Users Support Website TechNote “Unravelling the Mystery of
the User ID File”, and follow the instructions for BG-Map 2004. Go_Acad
Shortcut No Longer Used The Go_Acad shortcut is no
longer used to start AutoCAD from BG-Map. Instead, the locations of the AutoCAD program file and
basemap are entered into the User ID file. New
Feature – Right-Click Call-Up of Object Snaps You can now call up an Object
Snaps menu in the AutoCAD window, by holding down the shift key and right
clicking. This is particularly
handy when adding or relocating plants. Plant
Symbols, Accession Numbers, Names, etc. now Placed on Separate Layers Plant Symbols, Accession
Numbers, Names, Leader Lines, and Group Outlines Now Placed are now placed on
separate layers. You can easily turn these
groups of layers on or off. New
Feature – Delete Plants in a Saved List This function is accessed from
the Map menu of the BG-Map Window.
It deletes from the map a list of plants contained in the BG-BASE
saved list. Plant
Group 1 and Dead Plants Colors Can Now be Set by the User The color of Plant Group 1 can
now be set in the Plant Group Colors setup window. This setting also affects the color of plants shown on
“Normal” maps. The color for
dead plants can now also be set. Custom
Symbols Can Be Assigned By Habit as Well as By Genus and Family Custom symbols can now be
assigned to plants by habit (Tree, Shrub, etc.) as well as by Genus and
Family. Symbols assigned to
genera will take precedence over symbols assigned to families. Symbols assigned to families will
take precedence over symbols assigned to habits. New
Feature – Enlarged Areas Enlarged Areas are areas of the
basemap that are drawn at a larger scale to be able to better display closely
spaced plants. By defining an
Enlarged Area, canopies and trunks will be displayed at their correct
relative sizes within the area and Relative Measurements and GPS/Total
Station data will be corrected when working within the area. New “No
Curve” Option For Group Outlines If you check the option “No
Curve” when adding or relocating a group planting, the automatic curving of
the group outline will be disabled.
This makes it much easier to draw rectangular or other geometric group
outlines. New Feature
– Change Accession Number This function changes the
accession number for a mapped plant.
It can be accessed from the BG-Map Map menu. New
Feature – Ability to Choose Fonts for Showing Plants on Maps It is now possible to select
the font to be used for displaying plants on the maps, and to italicize plant
names. New
Features for Visitors QUICKFinder (VQF) Topics Topics are the items of
interest that appear on the VQF home page. Topics can describe events,
special exhibits, classes, history of the garden, or other items of general
interest to visitors. Previous
to this update, only 3 Topics could be created, and they had to be “hard
coded” using text files. It is
now possible to create an unlimited number of Topics, and assign any number
of them to a particular VQF kiosk. Special Collections Special Collections are lists
of plants from which the visitor can select. Each list can be based on a theme or category - for
example - "Winter Blooming Plants", "Plants With Low Water
Requirements", etc.
Previous to this update, only 3 Special Collections could be created,
and they had to be “hard coded” using text files. It is now possible to create an unlimited number of
Special Collections, and assign any number of them to a particular VQF kiosk.
Display of Unmapped Plants Visitors QUICKFinder can now
display the locations of an unmapped plant by using it by using its BG-BASE
Location. Multiple Images and Image
Printing Visitors QUICKFinder can now
display multiple images for each plant.
Previously, viewing was restricted to a single image, which had to be
designated for use by VQF. Option to Use Custom Symbols Visitors QUICKFinder can now
display custom symbols for canopies when printing maps. Images Added to Glossary
Display The VQF Glossary Display now
includes images for most of the glossary entries. BG-BASE Location Now Displayed
by VQF The BG-BASE location of a plant
is now displayed in the plant information and map display windows of VQF. Means to Launch BG-Map Directly
into VQF Kiosk Mode If the BG-Map user name begins
with the word “kiosk”, BG-Map will launch directly into VQF kiosk mode when started. New
Option for Preselected Tour Bookmaps – “Draw Line Connecting Plants” An option is provided to draw a
dotted line connecting the plants.
Line width can also be controlled. Glossary
Display Added to Lookup/Zoom to a Plant The Visitors QUICKFinder
glossary display can now be accessed from the “Lookup/Zoom to a Plant” plant
information display screen. Suppress
Plant List Now Permitted When Forcing Full Names on Book Maps When printing a Book Map with
the Force Full Names option checked, it is now possible to suppress
the printing of a plant list. Previous
Choices Highlighted When Redefining a Plant List Format When redefining an existing
Plant List Format, the previously selected fields will be highlighted, making
it easier to make minor changes. Export
Drawing File Utility Improved The “Export Drawing File”
utility found on the AutoCAD Window File menu has been improved to eliminate
export of extraneous data when the “Plants Only” option is selected. Pseudo-TCL
Count Command Improved The Pseudo-TCL Count command
has been improved so that you can count records that match specific search
criteria. New NPO
Code for Telephone A New NPO Code TEL for
Telephone has been added. New
Option for Quad Up – Set First Mapping to A In Quad Up Options, there is a
new option - "Set First Mapping to A (Mapped) and subsequent mappings to
R (Remapped)". If checked, the first time a plant is mapped, the change
type "A" (Mapped) will be inserted, and each subsequent time, the
plant is mapped, the change type "R" (Remapped) will be inserted. BG-BASE
Location Automatically Updated by Quad Up In “Quad Up Options”, there is
a new option under Location - Automatically
Determine. If checked, BG-Map will automatically determine the BG-BASE
Location of a plant if it is located in a Defined View that corresponds to a
BG-BASE Location (The view name must have a prefix LOC_) and will insert that
location in the BG-BASE Plants table as the plant’s current location. Field
Data Can Now Be Stored Under Any Filename Garden Notepad, Total Station
and GPS field data can now be stored under any filename as long as it has the
extension .FMD (for Field Measurement Data). It can be stored in any folder. Previously, field data had to be stored in the file totalsta.fmd
in the C:\Bgmapwin\totasta\local folder. This provides compatibility
with the new Windows versions of Garden Notepad and the Total Station
Interface, in which data can be stored in several different files with
different names. Previous
Choices Highlighted When Redefining a Facilities Management Report Format When redefining an existing
Facilities Management Report Format, the previously selected fields will be
highlighted, making it easier to make minor changes. Sorting
Options Added to Search Tool When searching
for Objects, you can sort the results on one or two specified fields. Select
the field to sort the results by.
If you select "Key", the results will be sorted by the
Object Key. Select "Sort
Ascending" or "Sort Descending". You may also select another field to do a secondary sort. |
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Updated April 14, 2004 |
