Use tablet to digitize features?

kfroese
kfroese Geotechnical EngineerTrusted User
edited October 2008 in Vector Data
I am new to GlobalMapper but have a question already! I am doing an airphoto interpretation for a 200 km long stretch of highway. I need to transfer the interpretation from the slightly-distorted airphotos to the georectified satellite imagery. I have the satellite imagery as geotiffs and they load nicely into GlobalMapper. What I would like to do is trace the features (muskeg boundaries, landslides scarps, limits of permafrost, erosional features, etc) and then export to dxf so my client can incorporate this information into the main drawings. It seems that the quick solution is to use the Digitize feature and draw lines (adding features attributes is optional). My question relates on possibilities to make the process a bit easier and prettier:
1. Is it possible to "sketch"? Using lines means that boundaries are a bit ragged or have a lot of vertices in an effort to get a smoother-looking surface.
2. Has anyone tried using a digitizing tablet with GlobalMapper? I think this might be a more-intuitive way to draw features than clicking with mouse. A tablet at least feels like good old pen-and-paper.
I'm interested in comments, suggestions, or discussion.

Comments

  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited April 2008
    You currently do have to manually add each vertex when drawing new line features, which could potentially mean a lot of clicks for irregular boundaries.

    I believe that some users have successfully used a digitizing tablet with Global Mapper, but I'm not sure of the details.

    Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Global Mapper Support
    support@globalmapper.com
  • kfroese
    kfroese Geotechnical Engineer Trusted User
    edited April 2008
    Mike,
    Might it be possible to incorporate a feature by which the user traces/outlines the object to digitize with a continuous motion (likely while holding down the mouse button or a click to start and a click to stop) and the program puts in the vertices? This would eliminate a lot of clicking to digitize irregular features. There would have to be options to control the density of vertices either by distance (depending on the scale or desired "smoothness") or time (kind of like a GPS track log). If your hand slips a bit, you can always go back and fix the vertex or two that was out of whack.

    An alternative solution would be a pseudo-raster-vector entity. Kind of like doing the tracing in a graphics package (like Paint but of course something more sophisticated). Not sure if would be possible to render a line in raster-like smoothness and yet still be able to export it as if it were a vector...
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited April 2008
    This sort of functionality is already on our todo list. Hopefully it can be included in the next release or two.

    Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Global Mapper Support
    support@globalmapper.com
  • Roger Edrinn
    Roger Edrinn Global Mapper User Trusted User
    edited October 2008
    global_mapper wrote: »
    This sort of functionality is already on our todo list. Hopefully it can be included in the next release or two.
    Is this functionality in the current release?

    Thanks
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited October 2008
    Sorry, it hasn't made it in yet. Still on our list though.

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