Global Mapper v25.0

Importing ESRI_e00 Data?

Roger Edrinn
Roger Edrinn Global Mapper UserTrusted User
edited April 2008 in Vector Data
I'm having problems importing ESRI_e00 Data. It appears to be a shapefile superset. The vector data imports w/o problems, but I get popups during the load saying GM cannot load the data tables that link to the vectors.

Here's a link to the D/L site: DNR GIS Data. Scroll to the bottom and under Transportation, pick the smallest county (~5MB). Inside the zip file is a help file and several html files explaining the data structure.

Should I expect GM to open this file for me or do I need to finesse this is some way?

Thanks

Comments

  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited February 2008
    It looks like the .zip files contain 3 .e00 files, one of which contains the actual vector data while the others just have info tables and no actual geometry, so nothing can be loaded from them. You can ignore the errors about no data being found in some of the files as you really don't care about those. To avoid the errors you would have to extract just the .e00 file that you need (the _trans.e00 one) and just load it.

    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 February 2008
    Thanks Mike,
    It looks like the .zip files contain 3 .e00 files, one of which contains the actual vector data while the others just have info tables and no actual geometry, so nothing can be loaded from them.
    Without some kind of text describing the vectors, the file is worthless to me. Given the size [22MB] of the trans-road.e00 file, twice the size of the _trans.e00, the vector file, it would seem to contain all the text described in the html files. How do I link the two in GM?

    I thought shp files are done this way, two files, one vector, one text, then I use GM's tools to decide which text fields to apply to each vector.

    What say you?

    Thanks
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited February 2008
    The Shapefile format consists of several files, including a SHP file with the vector geometry and a DBF file that contains the attributes associated with those features. Global Mapper knows this well-defined relationship and automatically associated the

    For E00 files, the attribution for vector features is typically in the same file as the actual vector data. Apparently in this case for some reason the tables are in separate files, requiring some sort of join operation to match the data in the other .e00 files with the data in the main vector .e00 file. I'm not sure if there is a way for Global Mapper to automatically determine this relationship and associate the attribution from one .e00 file with the vector features in another. From the help documents it sounds like you have to manually do the join when loading the data in ArcInfo or ArcGIS, so there may not be an automatic way to determine the relationship.

    If you are just after road data, I might suggest just using the free Tiger/Line data at 2006 Second Edition TIGER/Line File Download Page. It will load directly into Global Mapper with full attribution, including addressing and a lot of stuff that the DNR data likely does not have.

    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 February 2008
    Mike,
    If you are just after road data, I might suggest just using the free Tiger/Line data at 2006 Second Edition TIGER/Line File Download Page. It will load directly into Global Mapper with full attribution, including addressing and a lot of stuff that the DNR data likely does not have.
    Great suggestion, didn't know that existed. Not sure if it comes preformatted or if Global Mapper knows how to attached attributes, either way a whole bunch easier than the BTS roads database. I assume this will export to MP format too.

    Do you have more tips for amateur map makers like me? Always looking for great GM compatible data sources.

    Thanks
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited February 2008
    The Tiger/Line data comes in its own format that Global Mapper knows how to automatically parse and classify, resulting in a much better initial display than most general-purpose formats, like SHP and E00. The Tiger data should export to MP directly and have useful types and attribution without any massaging at all.

    I would suggest checking the File->Find Data Online option for a list of good online data sources, including Tiger, that you can use in Global Mapper.

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Global Mapper Support
    support@globalmapper.com
  • Roger Edrinn
    Roger Edrinn Global Mapper User Trusted User
    edited February 2008
    Mike,

    Thanks, I'll give that a try.

    Another request:
    My download utility only talks FTP and best I could tell TIGER is only http. Can you suggest a utility that will bulk download from a http site? Been Googling for an hour, not finding anything. The TIGER zips appear to be county centric, so a lot of files for one state.

    Thanks
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited February 2008
    You can get them via FTP by FTP'ing anonymously to ftp.census.gov, then downloading the contents of the /geo/tiger/tiger2006se folder.
  • Roger Edrinn
    Roger Edrinn Global Mapper User Trusted User
    edited February 2008
    You can get them via FTP by FTP'ing anonymously to ftp.census.gov, then downloading the contents of the /geo/tiger/tiger2006se folder.
    Downloading as we speak!!!

    Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

    Another "bullet" in my belt. :)
  • Roger Edrinn
    Roger Edrinn Global Mapper User Trusted User
    edited March 2008
    The Tiger/Line data comes in its own format that Global Mapper knows how to automatically parse and classify, resulting in a much better initial display than most general-purpose formats, like SHP and E00. The Tiger data should export to MP directly and have useful types and attribution without any massaging at all.
    I did a test map using the Tiger data, no free lunch, but certainly easier than using unformatted data.The Tiger data contains highway shields visible in Global Mapper. However these shields do not transferr over in the complied img file. Should the shields transfer? Do I have to do something unique?

    I assume the shields are nothing more than way points, 32 x 32 pixel max, distributed along the vector, ie, they are not dynamic like vector labels. Correct me if I'm wrong.

    Thanks
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited March 2008
    Actually the shields are normal labels tied to the line feature and should transfer to the generated .img file in most cases. I just did a small test to verify and the icons were being properly transferred to the MP file (and hence to the .img file) correctly when using Tiger/Line data as input.

    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 March 2008
    Perhaps this is the source of the problem:

    Here's a typical ID in Global Mapper: "US60@Superstition Fwy" while the highway in Mapsource, viewing the img file, is "Superstition Fwy" and hence no shield.

    Is this an either/or situation?

    Thanks
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited March 2008
    Roger,

    Does this only happen with US highways and not interstates? The Garmin logic for determining which label to display if a line has multiple labels will tend to prefer non-iconized names for roads other than interstates, to make it more likely to display the name that locals recognize. In smarter map data sets (like the Navteq data that Garmin uses) there is actually the capability to mark which label is actually most used and thus more intelligently display the right label, but such a capability does not exist in Tiger data (nor do I think cGPSMapper supports it anyway).

    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 March 2008
    Mike,

    I have no Interstates in my 1 x 1 deg test map. Only US, state and county roads, all of which show shields in GM, none in Mapsource. So looks like further testing is in order. I'll revisit this question in a few weeks, after 3-months of continous snow cover, I need to pet a cactus.

    I'm still puzzled how the shield is constructed. Does Garmin have a symbol libary to which a number is applied? Am I calling a symbol and passing a string? If so, what is the typical MP call look like.

    Thanks
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited March 2008
    The shields are actually special characters in feature labels in the MP files. For example, an interstate shield is represented by a ~[0x01] in a Label value in a MP value. A US highway icon symbol is ~[0x02], and so own (the cGPSMapper manual will list all shield character sequences.

    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 March 2008
    Mike,

    I opened one of the MP files and did a search. Sure enough, their were several shield label calls, all for 87, here's an example:
    [RGN40]
    Type=0x04
    Label=~[0x03]87
    Levels=2
    CityName=Chandler
    RegionName=Arizona
    Data0=(33.203944,-111.840171),(33.204128,-111.840308)
    [END]

    The "Label=~[0x03]87" should have yielded a round symbol with an 87, according to the manual.

    However, viewing the img file showed no shields on Hwy 87 at any zoom level. My only conclusion is the vector is too short . . . just a guess. What say you?

    Also, why are the city and region called out?

    Thanks
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited March 2008
    I'm not sure why the shield isn't showing on the unit, but everything looks correct. It is a pretty short line, so perhaps that is the problem.

    Global Mapper exports everything it knows how when exporting to Polish MP format files, just in case cGPSMapper wants to use the data for something. Since the Tiger data has city and state names available, that information is written out to the MP file just in case it might be of use.

    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 March 2008
    After more thought, the road runs next to a RR. Garmin has a complex algorithm of when to/not display a dynamic label. Generally the bias is to avoid clutter since you can always use the cursor on any object to invoke a pop up label.

    At least GM is correctly inserting the shield label call in the MP file so I'll just do more experiments when I next use that data set.

    Thanks for your help.
  • Roger Edrinn
    Roger Edrinn Global Mapper User Trusted User
    edited March 2008
    Mike,

    How does one input the data so that GM does a shield call?

    I opened a Tiger dataset in which GM displays highway shields. If I click on a line with the Feature Infomation dialog, nothing in the dialog points/implies a shield, yet the shield is displayed.

    So how does GM know to call up the shield library on the Polish export? What is the explicit command/string and where?

    Edit: Learned one thing: If I turn off line vector Feature Labels, GM does not display shields. Could this also account for the lack of shield export?

    Thanks
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited March 2008
    The icon to use for labeling a road feature is an internal value that is not exposed anywhere in the user interface. The only way to get an icon on a road is to import a file format for which iconization is automatically added (like Tiger or DLG), or import a file with the feature label in a form recognized by Global Mapper (i.e. a label of 'I-70' would automatically get shielded with the 70 in the interstate shield) and also have the 'Iconize Road Names on Import' option checked on the Vector Display tab of the Configuration dialog.

    Global Mapper uses that internal shield/icon value when writing out the MP format file. Another option is you are only interested in MP export would be to place the MP icon string directly in your feature label. While the shields would not display in Global Mapper, they should show up in the MP file.

    Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Global Mapper Support
    support@globalmapper.com
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited March 2008
    The icon to use for labeling a road feature is an internal value that is not exposed anywhere in the user interface. The only way to get an icon on a road is to import a file format for which iconization is automatically added (like Tiger or DLG), or import a file with the feature label in a form recognized by Global Mapper (i.e. a label of 'I-70' would automatically get shielded with the 70 in the interstate shield) and also have the 'Iconize Road Names on Import' option checked on the Vector Display tab of the Configuration dialog.

    Global Mapper uses that internal shield/icon value when writing out the MP format file. Another option is you are only interested in MP export would be to place the MP icon string directly in your feature label. While the shields would not display in Global Mapper, they should show up in the MP file.

    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 April 2008
    Actually the shields are normal labels tied to the line feature and should transfer to the generated .img file in most cases. I just did a small test to verify and the icons were being properly transferred to the MP file (and hence to the .img file) correctly when using Tiger/Line data as input.
    Mike,

    A favor if you please. Can you attach a small MP file that you know will produce shields. For some reason, even though GM shows shields on all maner of highways, I'm getting none in my img files.

    I'm mostly using cgpsmapper v092, but I have 093 and 095a which I tried today. 095a produces an "error 38" within seconds of starting, on the same MP file that 092 runs to the end.

    I'm getting A25 for I-25, B160 for US 160, and C130 for Colo 130, all three show shields in GM. The A B C is intriguing, don't know why.

    If you have an idea, I'm game.

    Thanks
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited April 2008
    I have attached a small MP file exported from Global Mapper (original source Tiger 2006 data) that has both interstate and US icon text (as well as a few non-iconized road names). I have also included the .img file created by cGPSMapper (looks like v87c for me, guess I'm a bit behind) which does include the icons.

    Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Global Mapper Support
    support@globalmapper.com
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited April 2008
    Roger,

    Are you perhaps using a template file? I think I can see a way if you are using a template file with a LBLCoding value other than 9 that the icons would not be written out correctly. Is this possible?

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Global Mapper Support
    support@globalmapper.com
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited April 2008
    After testing my template hypothesis myself and reproducing the strange results that you were seeing, I am assuming this is exactly what was happening to you. I have updated the exporter to output the correct icon codes for the LBLCoding being used for the export, which fixes the problem. I have placed a new build at http://www.globalmapper.com/global_mapper9.zip with the change for you to try. Simply download that file and extract the contents into your existing v9.xx installation folder to give it a try.

    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 April 2008
    I now have shields!!!

    Turns out the Lblcoding 6 came about because I was having a text rendering problem about a year ago. Stan, in his infinite wisdom, told me I had to use 6, not 9.

    However, I later concluded, that the text problem was most likely caused by a few img files having the wrong code page and/or code schema. Strange thing is that I do not explicitly envoke either. Another mystery.

    Thanks