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(Chapter Session Management): Fixed unprecise description for Save Session.

1 bh 1367 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
2     <!DOCTYPE book
3     PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.2//EN"
4 jonathan 1490 "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.2/docbookx.dtd"
5 frank 2023 [<!ENTITY imgscale "60">]>
6 bh 1369 <!-- $Revision$ -->
7 bh 1367 <book>
8     <bookinfo>
9 jan 1570 <title>User's Manual for Thuban 1.0</title>
10     <authorgroup>
11     <author>
12     <firstname>Jonathan</firstname><surname>Coles</surname>
13     </author>
14     <author>
15     <firstname>Jan-Oliver</firstname><surname>Wagner</surname>
16     </author>
17     <author>
18     <firstname>Frank</firstname><surname>Koormann</surname>
19     </author>
20     </authorgroup>
21 bh 1367 <copyright>
22 frank 2052 <year>2003, 2004</year>
23 bh 1367 <holder>Intevation GmbH</holder>
24     </copyright>
25 jan 1570 <revhistory>
26 jan 1624 <!-- comment this first revision out when releasing a real version -->
27 jan 1570 <revision>
28 jan 1689 <revnumber>CVS version $Id$</revnumber>
29     <date></date>
30 jan 1624 <revremark>Under development.</revremark>
31     </revision>
32     <revision>
33 frank 2052 <revnumber>1.0.0</revnumber>
34     <date>22-Jan-2004</date>
35     <revremark>
36     Corresponds to Thuban 1.0.0.
37     New: Installation instructions for Win32.
38     </revremark>
39     </revision>
40     <revision>
41 frank 2023 <revnumber>1.0pre3</revnumber>
42     <date>04-Dec-2003</date>
43     <revremark>
44 frank 2052 Corresponds to Thuban 1.0rc1.
45 frank 2023 New: I18n, right button legend menu, EPSG projectons,
46     PostGIS support.
47     </revremark>
48     </revision>
49     <revision>
50 jan 1689 <revnumber>1.0pre2</revnumber>
51     <date>29-Aug-2003</date>
52     <revremark>
53     Corresponds to Thuban development release 0.8.1.
54     New: chapter on extensions.
55     </revremark>
56     </revision>
57     <revision>
58 jan 1570 <revnumber>1.0pre1</revnumber>
59     <date>08-Aug-2003</date>
60 jan 1689 <revremark>Corresponds to Thuban development release 0.8.1.</revremark>
61 jan 1570 </revision>
62     </revhistory>
63    
64 bh 1367 </bookinfo>
65    
66     <chapter><title>Introduction</title>
67     <para>
68 jan 1544 Thuban is an interactive geographic data viewer.
69 jan 2311 Its development had been started because there was no simple interactive
70 jonathan 1446 viewer for geographic information available as Free Software. Thuban is
71 jan 2311 written mainly in Python and uses the wxWidgets (former wxWindows)
72     library allowing it to
73 jonathan 1446 run on many different platforms, including GNU/Linux and Windows.
74 bh 1367 </para>
75 jonathan 1446 <para>
76 jan 1544 Geographic data viewers are a necessary tool as they allow one to
77     get a visual
78 jonathan 1446 impression of the positional relationship of the information that may not
79     be apparent from simple inspection of the data values themselves.
80     Thuban allows the user to create a session that displays
81     geographic data and then explore that data through navigation and
82     manipulation of how it is drawn. The results can then be saved or printed.
83     </para>
84     <para>
85     Thuban arranges a session in a hierarchy. A session contains a map which
86 jan 2311 consists of layers. Each layer represents a data set. For
87 jonathan 1446 instance, there may be a layer for roads and another layer for buildings.
88     These layers can either be vector shapes or images.
89     </para>
90 jan 1423
91     <section><title>Installation</title>
92 jonathan 1446 <para>
93     Thuban is actively supported under Debian Testing (sarge), RedHat 7.2,
94 jonathan 1533 and Windows 2000. Thuban depends on the following packages. These
95     packages can also be found on the
96 jonathan 1446 <ulink url="http://thuban.intevation.org/download.html">
97     Thuban Download site
98     </ulink>.
99 frank 2023 </para>
100     <para>
101     Required:
102 frank 1532 <itemizedlist>
103 frank 2052 <listitem><para>Python 2.2.1
104     (<literal>http://www.python.org</literal>)
105     </para></listitem>
106     <listitem><para>wxWindows 2.4
107     (<literal>http://www.wxwindows.org</literal>)
108     </para></listitem>
109     <listitem><para>wxPython 2.4
110     (<literal>http://www.wxpython.org</literal>)
111     </para></listitem>
112     <listitem><para>proj 4.4.5 Projection Library
113     (<literal>http://www.remotesensing.org/proj/</literal>)
114     </para></listitem>
115     <listitem><para>SQLite 2.8.3
116     <literal>http://www.hwaci.com/sw/sqlite/</literal>)
117     </para></listitem>
118     <listitem><para>PySQLite 0.4.3
119     (<literal>http://pysqlite.sourceforge.net</literal>)
120     </para></listitem>
121 frank 2023 </itemizedlist>
122     </para>
123     <para>
124     Optional:
125     <itemizedlist>
126 frank 2052 <listitem><para>GDAL 1.1.8
127     (<literal>http://www.remotesensing.org/gdal/</literal>)
128     </para></listitem>
129     <listitem><para>psycopg 1.0.8
130     (<literal>http://initd.org/software/psycopg</literal>)
131     </para></listitem>
132 jonathan 1533 </itemizedlist>
133 jonathan 1446 </para>
134 jan 1544 <para>
135 frank 2052 Along with the source codes, the download page also offers full
136     installation packages for Debian, Windows and RPM-based systems
137 jan 1544 (Mandrake, RedHat, SuSE, etc).
138     </para>
139 jan 1719 <section><title>RPM-based GNU/Linux Systems</title>
140     <section><title>Installing Binary Packages</title>
141     <para>
142 frank 2052 The most wide-spread RPM-based GNU/Linux
143     Systems are RedHat, Mandrake and SuSE.
144     The documentation of these distributions
145     should contain information about how to
146     install third-party RPM packages.
147     Nonetheless, a short summary is provided here.
148 jan 1719 </para>
149     <para>
150 frank 2052 RPM packages can be installed applying several
151     tools. The most basic one is the command line
152     program "rpm". The hardware architecture is
153     identified in the name of RPM packages, eg.
154     'i386' for most Intel/AMD architectures.
155     If you have a different hardware architecture,
156     where no binary RPM packages are provided,
157     you must rebuild binary packages from the
158     RPM source packages first (see below).
159 jan 1719 Typical rpm commands look like:
160    
161     <programlisting>
162     rpm --install Thuban-0.9.0-1.i386.rpm
163     </programlisting>
164    
165 frank 2052 Depending on what you already have installed
166     on your system, you are informed that some
167     packages are required, but not installed.
168     You need to install them first. Either they
169     are provided by your GNU/Linux distributor
170     or available somewhere on the Internet.
171     The more essential and special ones are
172     provided together with the Thuban package.
173 jan 1719 </para>
174    
175     <para>
176     For rpm exist some graphical user interfaces, notably
177     kpackage, GnoRPM and xrpm.
178     </para>
179    
180     <para>
181     Make yourself familiar with one of the tools and apply it
182     to install the packages.
183     Note, that you need to be administrator (root) for the system
184     to do that.
185     </para>
186     </section>
187     <section><title>Build Binaries from Source Packages</title>
188     <para>
189     This section describes howto build RPM install-packages
190     from RPM source-packages.
191     This adapts and optimizes an install-package specifically
192     to your system.
193     This is especially helpful to resolve version conflicts of
194     dependent packages. Furthermore, install-packages for other
195     platforms (e.g. PowerPC) can be created.
196     </para>
197    
198     <para>
199     Note: rpm must be at least version 4. Execute
200     <literal>rpm --version</literal> to find out about the version.
201     </para>
202    
203     <para>
204     You need to do the following preparations to be able to
205     build the packages as a regular user. You should now
206     perform the package buling as root since this
207     might cause damage to your system.
208     <itemizedlist>
209     <listitem>
210     <para>
211     Create RPM directory structure:
212     Choose a directory (e.g. $HOME/myrpm) and create the
213     subdirectories BUILD, RPM, SOURCES, SPECS and SRPMS.
214     A possible command sequence for this is:
215     <programlisting>
216     mkdir $HOME/freegisrpm
217     cd $HOME/freegisrpm
218     mkdir BUILD RPMS SOURCES SPECS SRPMS
219     </programlisting>
220     </para>
221     </listitem>
222     <listitem>
223     <para>
224     Set environment variable RPM_DIR:
225     <programlisting>
226     export RPM_DIR=$HOME/freegisrpm
227     </programlisting>
228     </para>
229     </listitem>
230     <listitem>
231     <para>
232     Create $HOME/.rpmmacros:
233     This file sets general preferences and some
234     specific settings for signing packages.
235     If you don't have a GnuPG-key, you can skip
236     the signature settings i.e. drop the last 4 lines.
237     A signature becomes important when you want to
238     give away packages to third parties.
239     <programlisting>
240     <![CDATA[
241     %packager Name Lastname <[email protected]>
242    
243     %_topdir /home/mylogin/myrpm
244    
245     %_signature gpg
246     %_gpg_name Name Lastname
247     %_pgp_path ~/.gnupg
248     %_pgpbin /usr/bin/gpg
249     ]]>
250     </programlisting>
251     </para>
252     </listitem>
253     </itemizedlist>
254    
255     Now you can install any RPM source-package.
256     It's components are installed into the corresponding
257     subdirectories of your rpm-directory.
258     Essentially these are the sources (into directory SOURCES)
259     and the so-called spec-file which contains all build
260     instructions. The spec-file will go into the SPEC directory.
261     Example:
262     <literal>rpm --install Thuban-0.9.0-1.src.rpm</literal>
263     </para>
264    
265     <para>
266     Create install-package:
267     Go to the directory with the spec-files and rebuild the
268     package:
269     <programlisting>
270     cd $HOME/mypm/SPECS
271     rpm -bb thuban.spec
272     </programlisting>
273     Next, you will find the newly created package in
274     $HOME/myrpm/RPMS/i386.
275     If you build the package for another architecture than
276     i386, then the name of the directory has a corresponding name.
277     </para>
278     <para>
279     For documentation of RPM, either type
280     <literal>man rpm</literal> or <literal>rpm --help</literal>.
281     This will provide you with information on the various command
282     line options of RPM.
283     For more information see the
284     <ulink url="http://www.rpm.org/">homepage of RPM</ulink>.
285     </para>
286     </section>
287 frank 2052 </section> <!-- Intro - Installation - RPM-->
288    
289     <section><title>Win32 Systems</title>
290     <para>
291     A common installation package of Thuban for Win32
292     systems is available from the Thuban website download
293     section. This installation package is configured for
294     displaying file based vector data (Shapefiles). For the
295     display of raster data or the connection to spatial
296     databases additional steps are needed.
297     </para>
298     <para>
299     The required Python packages are listed and linked on
300     the download page as well. If you don't have Python
301     installed already, download the packages for Python,
302     wxPython for Python and the SQLite Python Libraries as
303     well as the Thuban package. Install all four packages
304     in the order: Python, wxPython, SQLite, Thuban. Follow
305     the installation instructions provided by the seperate
306     setups. The Thuban installation package will add an
307     entry in the menu folder you configured.
308     </para>
309     <section><title>Raster Data: Installation of GDAL</title>
310     <para>
311     Enabling the raster data features of Thuban is
312     straight forward. For the examples we assume that
313     Thuban has been installed under
314     <literal>C:\Thuban</literal>:
315     <itemizedlist>
316     <listitem>
317     <para>
318     Download the zip-archive <ulink
319     url="ftp://intevation.de/thuban/win2k/gdal-win2k.zip"
320     >gdal-win2k</ulink>.
321     </para></listitem>
322     <listitem><para>Extract the archive (e.g. with
323     <ulink
324     url="http://www.info-zip.org/pub/infozip/WiZ.html"
325     >WiZ (InfoZip)</ulink>) into the
326     <literal>C:\Thuban\Lib</literal>
327     directory of your Thuban installation.
328     </para>
329     </listitem>
330     <listitem>
331     <para>
332     Extent the <varname>PYTHONPATH</varname>
333     environment variable (in your Windows Control Panel)
334     to make the new libraries available for Thuban.
335     <programlisting>
336     %PYTHONPATH%;C:\Thuban\Lib\gdal;C:\Thuban\Lib\gdal\pymod
337     </programlisting>
338     </para>
339     </listitem>
340     <listitem>
341     <para>
342     Extent also the <varname>PATH</varname>
343     environment variable accordingly:
344     <programlisting>
345     %PATH%;C:\Thuban\Lib\gdal
346     </programlisting>
347     </para>
348     </listitem>
349     </itemizedlist>
350     After this installation steps Thuban is ready to
351     display raster data (e.g. the
352     <literal>island.tif</literal> from the Iceland Demo
353     data set.
354     </para>
355     </section> <!-- Win32: GDAL-->
356    
357     <section><title>Working with PostGIS: Installation of PsycoPG</title>
358     <para>
359     To access PostgreSQL/PostGIS spatial databases with
360     Thuban you have to install the PsycoPG package for
361     Windows:
362     <itemizedlist>
363     <listitem>
364     <para>
365     Download the zip-archive
366     <ulink
367     url="http://stickpeople.com/projects/python/win-psycopg/win-psycopg22.zip"
368     >win-psycopg22.zip</ulink>.
369     </para>
370     </listitem>
371     <listitem>
372     <para>
373     Extract the zip-archive into a directory either already
374     in your <varname>PYTHONPATH</varname> or extent your
375     <varname>PYTHONPATH</varname> variable to the directory
376     you have extracted the archive to.
377     </para>
378     </listitem>
379     </itemizedlist>
380     For installation and maintenance of spatial databases
381     we refer to the <ulink
382     url="http://postgis.refractions.net"
383     >PostGIS Homepage</ulink>.
384     </para>
385     </section> <!-- Win32: PsycoPG-->
386    
387     </section> <!-- Intro - Installation - Win32 -->
388 jan 1423 </section>
389    
390 frank 2023 <section><title>Internationalization</title>
391     <para>
392     Thuban is implemented with internationalization support. So far Thuban
393     is translated by volunteers to the following languages (apart from its
394     main language: English):
395     <itemizedlist>
396     <listitem><para>French</para></listitem>
397     <listitem><para>German</para></listitem>
398     <listitem><para>Italian</para></listitem>
399 jan 2311 <listitem><para>Portuguese (Brazilian)</para></listitem>
400 frank 2023 <listitem><para>Russian</para></listitem>
401     <listitem><para>Spanish</para></listitem>
402     </itemizedlist>
403     </para>
404    
405     <para>
406     To use internationalization under POSIX systems (like GNU/Linux)
407     you have to set the environment variable LC_ALL accordingly (e.g.
408     LC_ALL=fr_FR for the french language support). Please check your
409     systems documentation for details and supported settings.
410     Specifiying LC_ALL on the command line while launching thuban
411 jan 2311 allows appication specific language settings:
412 frank 2023 </para>
413 jan 2311 <programlisting>
414     LC_ALL=fr_FR thuban.py
415     </programlisting>
416 frank 2023
417     <para>
418     MS Windows users have to specify the language to be used via the control
419     bar (which effects all applications).
420     </para>
421     </section>
422    
423 jonathan 1446 <section><title>The Main Window</title>
424 jan 1423 <para>
425 frank 1532 <figure>
426     <title>The Main Window</title>
427 jonathan 1446 <mediaobject>
428 jonathan 1490 <imageobject> <imagedata fileref="../images/1_2_mainwindow.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/> </imageobject>
429     <imageobject> <imagedata fileref="./images/1_2_mainwindow.ps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/> </imageobject>
430 jonathan 1446 </mediaobject>
431 frank 1532 </figure>
432 jonathan 1446 </para>
433    
434     <para>
435 jonathan 1466 The map window shows the current state of the map and is where
436 jonathan 1446 the user can interact with the map using the tools.
437     </para>
438    
439     <para>
440 jonathan 1466 The legend on the left displays a list of the current layers and
441     any visible classification groups. In the example, each shape layer
442     has a default classification which specifies how the shapes in each
443     layer are drawn. Layers that are higher in the list appear
444     ``closer'' to the user. The legend can be closed by clicking on the
445     small X in the upper right-hand region of the legend.
446     To open it again, use
447 jonathan 1446 <menuchoice>
448     <guimenu>Map</guimenu>
449     <guimenuitem>Legend</guimenuitem>
450     </menuchoice>.
451     The legend is also dockable, which means that it can be detached
452     from the main window by clicking on the small button next to the
453 jonathan 1466 close button. It can be attached by clicking the same button
454 jonathan 1446 again.
455     </para>
456     <para>
457 jonathan 1466 The status bar displays different information depending on the
458 jonathan 1446 current context. If the user is selecting an item from the menu
459     then the status bar will display a short help message indicating
460     what each menu item is for. If the user has a tool selected then
461     the position of the cursor on the map is displayed.
462     </para>
463     <para>
464 jonathan 1466 The tool bar provides quick access to the commonly needed tools.
465 jonathan 1446 By hovering over each button the user can see a short messages
466     describing what the tool does. The tools provided are Zoom In, Zoom
467 frank 1496 Out, Pan, Full Extent, Full Layer Extent, Full Shape Extent, Identify,
468 jonathan 1446 and Label. Each of the tools will be explained in further detail later
469     in the manual.
470     </para>
471 jan 1423 </section>
472    
473 bh 1367 </chapter>
474 jan 1423
475     <chapter><title>Session Management</title>
476    
477 jonathan 1446 <section><title>Starting a New Session</title>
478 jan 1423 <para>
479 jonathan 1446 A new session can be started from
480     <menuchoice>
481     <guimenu>File</guimenu>
482     <guimenuitem>New Session</guimenuitem>
483 jonathan 1490 </menuchoice>.
484 jonathan 1446 If a session is already loaded and has been modified without
485     being saved a prompt will ask if the current session should
486 jonathan 1490 be saved. A new session consists of an empty map with no
487 jan 2314 layers, no tables and no projection.
488 jan 1423 </para>
489     </section>
490    
491 jonathan 1446 <section><title>Opening a Session</title>
492 jan 1423 <para>
493 jonathan 1446 A session can be opened from
494     <menuchoice>
495     <guimenu>File</guimenu>
496     <guimenuitem>Open Session</guimenuitem>
497 jonathan 1490 </menuchoice>. A dialog box will open allowing the user to browse
498     for a Thuban Session file. Thuban session files end with
499     <varname>.thuban</varname>. Selecting a file a clicking
500     <guibutton>OK</guibutton> will load the session into Thuban.
501 jonathan 1446
502     If a session is already loaded and has been modified without
503     being saved a prompt will ask if the current session should
504     be saved.
505 jan 1423 </para>
506     </section>
507    
508 jonathan 1446 <section><title>Saving a Session</title>
509 jan 1423 <para>
510 jonathan 1446 A session can be saved from
511     <menuchoice>
512     <guimenu>File</guimenu>
513     <guimenuitem>Save Session</guimenuitem>
514 jan 2314 </menuchoice>.
515     In the case the session is not a new and unsaved one,
516     the corresponding file is updated with the current session
517     data.
518     In the case the current session is a new one and yet unsaved
519     a dialog box will open allowing the user to browse
520 frank 1496 the file system and select a place to save the session. Thuban
521 jonathan 1490 sessions should be saved under a name ending in
522     <varname>.thuban</varname>. If the file already exists the user
523     will be prompted to save under a different name or overwrite the
524     existing file.
525 jan 1423 </para>
526     </section>
527    
528 jonathan 1446 <section><title>The Session Info-Tree</title>
529 jonathan 1490 <para>
530 frank 1532 <figure>
531     <title>Session Info Tree</title>
532 jonathan 1490 <mediaobject>
533     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/2_4_session_tree.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
534     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/2_4_session_tree.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
535     </mediaobject>
536 frank 1532 </figure>
537 jonathan 1490 </para>
538 jan 1423 <para>
539 jonathan 1490 The session info-tree is primarily intended for developers working
540     with Thuban. It displays many of the internal values for the session,
541     map, and layers. It can be opened from
542     <menuchoice>
543     <guimenu>File</guimenu>
544     <guimenuitem>Session Tree</guimenuitem>
545     </menuchoice>.
546 jan 1423 </para>
547     </section>
548     </chapter>
549    
550     <chapter><title>Map Management</title>
551     <para>
552 jonathan 1466 The map consists of a number of layers where each layer represents a
553     different type of data set. By interacting with the map the user can
554     visually explore the data.
555 jan 1423 </para>
556 jonathan 1490 <para>
557     The map can have a name that will appear in the Thuban title bar.
558     The map name can be changed using
559     <menuchoice>
560     <guimenu>Map</guimenu>
561     <guimenuitem>Rename</guimenuitem>
562     </menuchoice>.
563     </para>
564     <para>
565     <inlinemediaobject>
566     <imageobject>
567     <imagedata fileref="../images/3_rename_map.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
568     </imageobject>
569     <imageobject>
570     <imagedata fileref="./images/3_rename_map.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
571     </imageobject>
572     <textobject> <phrase>Rename Map</phrase> </textobject>
573     </inlinemediaobject>
574     </para>
575 jan 1423
576 jonathan 1446 <section><title>Adding and Removing Layers</title>
577 jan 1423 <para>
578 frank 2023 There are three types of layers that can be added to a map:
579     Shape layers, database layers
580 jonathan 1466 and image layers. Shape layers are stored in Shapefile format, a
581 jan 1624 widely used file format for storing geographic objects. These
582 jonathan 1466 files have the extension ``.shp''. Associated with
583 jonathan 1491 the shape file is a database file which stores attributes for
584 jan 1624 each shape in the Shape file. This file, in dBase format,
585 jonathan 1491 has the extension ``.dbf''. Both files must have the same base name.
586     For example, if there is a shape file named roads.shp there must
587 jonathan 1466 also be a file roads.dbf.
588 jan 1423 </para>
589 frank 2023 <itemizedlist>
590     <listitem>
591     <para>
592 jonathan 1466 Shape layers can be added to the map with
593     <menuchoice>
594     <guimenu>Map</guimenu>
595     <guimenuitem>Add Layer</guimenuitem>
596     </menuchoice>.
597 jan 1624 Initially, only the ``.shp'' files are shown which is enough for the
598     selection. However, if you switch to display all files and select one
599     of the associated files (e.g. ``.dbf''), Thuban will recognize the base
600     name and load the corresponding Shape file.
601 jonathan 1466 </para>
602 jan 1624 <para>
603     The file dialog for Shape files allows to select multiple files.
604     Use the shift-button together with the left mouse button to extend
605     the selection.
606     </para>
607 frank 2023 </listitem>
608 jonathan 1466
609 frank 2023 <listitem>
610     <para>Database layers can be added to the map with
611     <menuchoice>
612     <guimenu>Map</guimenu>
613     <guimenuitem>Add Database Layer</guimenuitem>
614     </menuchoice>.
615     A dialog with two is list is opened. The left list displays all
616     database connections currently open for the session. You can retrieve
617     a list of available layers from the selected database which is
618     displayed on the right hand. From this list one layer can be selected,
619     the dialog is closed afterwards.
620     </para>
621     <para>
622     See appendix ``Working with PostGIS'' for details.
623     </para>
624     </listitem>
625    
626     <listitem>
627 jonathan 1466 <para>
628     Image layers can be added to the map with
629     <menuchoice>
630     <guimenu>Map</guimenu>
631     <guimenuitem>Add Image Layer</guimenuitem>
632     </menuchoice>.
633     It is important to select a valid image file that has geographic
634 jonathan 1491 data associated with it. The data can be embedded in the file itself,
635 jonathan 1466 or in another file. If geographic information cannot be found, Thuban
636     will report an error.
637     </para>
638 frank 2023 </listitem>
639     </itemizedlist>
640 jan 1423 </section>
641    
642     <section><title>Navigation</title>
643     <para>
644 jonathan 1466 The map can be explored by using the navigation tools available on
645 jonathan 1491 the tool bar or from the
646 jonathan 1466 <menuchoice><guimenu>Map</guimenu></menuchoice> menu.
647 jan 1423 </para>
648 frank 1532 <itemizedlist>
649     <listitem>
650 jonathan 1466 <para>
651     The ZoomIn tool
652     <inlinemediaobject>
653     <imageobject>
654 jonathan 1490 <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_zoomin.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
655 jonathan 1473 </imageobject>
656     <imageobject>
657 jonathan 1490 <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_zoomin.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
658 jonathan 1466 </imageobject>
659     <textobject> <phrase>ZoomIn Tool</phrase> </textobject>
660     </inlinemediaobject>
661 jonathan 1491 enlarges a region of the map. Clicking once on the map
662 jonathan 1466 will double the magnification and center the map on the point that
663 jonathan 1510 was clicked. Clicking and dragging selects a region that will be
664 jonathan 1491 enlarged to fit the window.
665 jonathan 1466 </para>
666 frank 1532 </listitem>
667     <listitem>
668 jonathan 1466 <para>
669     The ZoomOut tool
670     <inlinemediaobject>
671     <imageobject>
672 jonathan 1490 <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_zoomout.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
673 jonathan 1473 </imageobject>
674     <imageobject>
675 jonathan 1490 <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_zoomout.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
676 jonathan 1466 </imageobject>
677     <textobject> <phrase>ZoomOut Tool</phrase> </textobject>
678     </inlinemediaobject>
679     shrinks the map so that a larger region is visible. A single click
680     reduces the magnification by a factor of two. Clicking and dragging
681     selects a box such that the current contents of the window will be
682     scaled to fit into that box.
683     </para>
684 frank 1532 </listitem>
685     <listitem>
686 jonathan 1466 <para>
687     The Pan tool
688     <inlinemediaobject>
689     <imageobject>
690 jonathan 1490 <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_pan.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
691 jonathan 1473 </imageobject>
692     <imageobject>
693 jonathan 1490 <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_pan.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
694 jonathan 1466 </imageobject>
695     <textobject> <phrase>Pan Tool</phrase> </textobject>
696     </inlinemediaobject>
697     allows the user to move the map around by clicking and dragging.
698     </para>
699 frank 1532 </listitem>
700     <listitem>
701 jonathan 1466 <para>
702     The Full Extent tool
703     <inlinemediaobject>
704     <imageobject>
705 jonathan 1490 <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_fullextent.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
706 jonathan 1473 </imageobject>
707     <imageobject>
708 jonathan 1490 <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_fullextent.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
709 jonathan 1466 </imageobject>
710     <textobject> <phrase>Full Extent Tool</phrase> </textobject>
711     </inlinemediaobject>
712     rescales the viewable region so that the entire map is visible.
713     </para>
714 frank 1532 </listitem>
715     <listitem>
716 jonathan 1466 <para>
717     The Full Layer Extent tool
718     <inlinemediaobject>
719     <imageobject>
720 jonathan 1490 <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_fulllayerextent.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
721 jonathan 1473 </imageobject>
722     <imageobject>
723 jonathan 1490 <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_fulllayerextent.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
724 jonathan 1466 </imageobject>
725     <textobject> <phrase>Full Layer Extent Tool</phrase> </textobject>
726     </inlinemediaobject>
727     rescales the viewable region so that the currently selected
728     layer fits within the window. If no layer is selected this button
729     will be disabled.
730     </para>
731 frank 1532 </listitem>
732     <listitem>
733 jonathan 1466 <para>
734     The Full Shape Extent tool
735     <inlinemediaobject>
736     <imageobject>
737 jonathan 1490 <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_fullshapeextent.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
738 jonathan 1473 </imageobject>
739     <imageobject>
740 jonathan 1490 <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_fullshapeextent.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
741 jonathan 1466 </imageobject>
742     <textobject> <phrase>Full Shape Extent Tool</phrase> </textobject>
743     </inlinemediaobject>
744     rescales the viewable region so that the currently selected
745     shape fits within the window. If the shape is a point, it is
746     centered and the map is zoomed all the way in. If no shape is
747 jonathan 1510 selected this button will be disabled. This feature is especially
748     helpful when identifying an object related to a selected record
749     in a tableview (see below).
750    
751 jonathan 1466 </para>
752 frank 1532 </listitem>
753     </itemizedlist>
754 jan 1423 </section>
755    
756 jonathan 1446 <section><title>Object Identification</title>
757 jan 1423 <para>
758 jonathan 1466 Objects on the map can be identified using the Identify tool
759     <inlinemediaobject>
760     <imageobject>
761 jonathan 1490 <imagedata fileref="../images/3_3_identify.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
762 jonathan 1473 </imageobject>
763     <imageobject>
764 jonathan 1490 <imagedata fileref="./images/3_3_identify.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
765 jonathan 1466 </imageobject>
766     <textobject> <phrase>Identify Tool</phrase> </textobject>
767     </inlinemediaobject>.
768     Clicking on an object selects that object and opens a dialog which
769     shows all the table attributes for that object. Any current selection
770 jonathan 1510 is lost. Objects on the map are typically shapes and this document
771     will often refer to objects as shapes.
772 jan 1423 </para>
773     </section>
774    
775 frank 1496 <section><title>Object Labeling</title>
776 jan 1423 <para>
777 frank 1496 Objects can be labeled using the Label tool
778 jonathan 1466 <inlinemediaobject>
779     <imageobject>
780 jonathan 1490 <imagedata fileref="../images/3_3_label.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
781 jonathan 1473 </imageobject>
782     <imageobject>
783 jonathan 1490 <imagedata fileref="./images/3_3_label.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
784 jonathan 1466 </imageobject>
785     <textobject> <phrase>Label Tool</phrase> </textobject>
786     </inlinemediaobject>.
787     Clicking on an object selects that object and opens a dialog which
788     displays the table attributes for that object. An attribute can
789 jonathan 1491 be selected to be the label on the map. The label will be placed
790     at the center of the shape. Clicking on an object that already has
791     a label will remove the label.
792 jan 1423 </para>
793     </section>
794    
795 jonathan 1446 <section><title>The Legend</title>
796 jonathan 1490 <para>
797     <inlinemediaobject>
798     <imageobject>
799     <imagedata fileref="../images/3_5_legend.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
800     </imageobject>
801     <imageobject>
802     <imagedata fileref="./images/3_5_legend.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
803     </imageobject>
804     <textobject> <phrase>Legend</phrase> </textobject>
805     </inlinemediaobject>
806     </para>
807 jan 1423 <para>
808 jonathan 1466 The Legend provides an overview of the layers in the map. Layers
809     that appear higher in the legend will appear ``closer'' to the user.
810     If a layer supports classification (currently, only shape layers
811     have this feature) then the classification groups will be shown
812     below each layer. The properties for each group are also displayed
813     with a small graphic. Polygon layers appear as rectangles, lines
814     appear as curved lines, and points appear as circles.
815     </para>
816     <para>
817     Along the top of the legend is a toolbar which allows quick access
818     to some of the layer manipulation options under
819 jonathan 1491 <menuchoice><guimenu>Map</guimenu></menuchoice>.
820     </para>
821 jonathan 1466
822 frank 1532 <itemizedlist>
823     <listitem>
824 jonathan 1491 <para>
825     The Move Layer to Top tool
826     <inlinemediaobject>
827     <imageobject>
828     <imagedata fileref="../images/3_5_totop.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
829     </imageobject>
830     <imageobject>
831     <imagedata fileref="./images/3_5_totop.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
832     </imageobject>
833     <textobject> <phrase>Move Layer to Top</phrase> </textobject>
834     </inlinemediaobject> raises the selected layer to the top of the map.
835     </para>
836 frank 1532 </listitem>
837     <listitem>
838 jonathan 1491
839     <para>
840     The Move Layer Up tool
841     <inlinemediaobject>
842     <imageobject>
843     <imagedata fileref="../images/3_5_moveup.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
844     </imageobject>
845     <imageobject>
846     <imagedata fileref="./images/3_5_moveup.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
847     </imageobject>
848     <textobject> <phrase>Move Layer Up</phrase> </textobject>
849     </inlinemediaobject> raises the selected layer one level.
850     </para>
851 frank 1532 </listitem>
852     <listitem>
853 jonathan 1491
854     <para>
855     The Move Layer Down tool
856     <inlinemediaobject>
857     <imageobject>
858     <imagedata fileref="../images/3_5_movedown.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
859     </imageobject>
860     <imageobject>
861     <imagedata fileref="./images/3_5_movedown.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
862     </imageobject>
863     <textobject> <phrase>Move Layer Down</phrase> </textobject>
864     </inlinemediaobject> lowers the selected layer one level.
865     </para>
866    
867 frank 1532 </listitem>
868     <listitem>
869 jonathan 1491 <para>
870     The Move Layer to Bottom tool
871     <inlinemediaobject>
872     <imageobject>
873     <imagedata fileref="../images/3_5_tobottom.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
874     </imageobject>
875     <imageobject>
876     <imagedata fileref="./images/3_5_tobottom.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
877     </imageobject>
878     <textobject> <phrase>Move Layer to Bottom</phrase> </textobject>
879     </inlinemediaobject> lowers the selected layer to the bottom of the map.
880     </para>
881    
882 frank 1532 </listitem>
883     <listitem>
884 jonathan 1491 <para>
885     The Visible tool
886     <inlinemediaobject>
887     <imageobject>
888     <imagedata fileref="../images/3_5_visible.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
889     </imageobject>
890     <imageobject>
891     <imagedata fileref="./images/3_5_visible.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
892     </imageobject>
893     <textobject> <phrase>Visible</phrase> </textobject>
894     </inlinemediaobject> shows the selected layer in the map if it was
895     hidden.
896     </para>
897    
898 frank 1532 </listitem>
899     <listitem>
900 jonathan 1491 <para>
901     The Invisible tool
902     <inlinemediaobject>
903     <imageobject>
904     <imagedata fileref="../images/3_5_invisible.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
905     </imageobject>
906     <imageobject>
907     <imagedata fileref="./images/3_5_invisible.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
908     </imageobject>
909     <textobject> <phrase>Invisible</phrase> </textobject>
910     </inlinemediaobject> hides the selected layer in the map.
911     </para>
912    
913 frank 1532 </listitem>
914     <listitem>
915 jonathan 1491 <para>
916     The Properties tool
917     <inlinemediaobject>
918     <imageobject>
919     <imagedata fileref="../images/3_5_props.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
920     </imageobject>
921     <imageobject>
922     <imagedata fileref="./images/3_5_props.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
923     </imageobject>
924     <textobject> <phrase>Properties</phrase> </textobject>
925     </inlinemediaobject> opens the layer's properties dialog box.
926 jonathan 1466 Double-clicking on a layer or a group of a layer will open the
927     properties dialog for that layer.
928 jan 1423 </para>
929 frank 1532 </listitem>
930     </itemizedlist>
931 frank 2023
932     <para>
933     The most used layer related actions are also available from a
934     popup menu. It is raised when a layer is clicked with the right mouse
935     button.
936     </para>
937    
938     <para>
939     <figure>
940     <title>Layer Popup Menu</title>
941     <mediaobject>
942     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/3_5_popup_menu.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
943     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/3_5_popup_menu.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
944     </mediaobject>
945     </figure>
946     </para>
947    
948 jonathan 1510 <para>
949     Along the bottom of the legend is the scalebar. The scalebar
950     will be available if there are any layers and the map has a
951     projection set.
952     </para>
953 jan 1423 </section>
954    
955 jonathan 1490 <section><title>Exporting</title>
956     <para>
957     Under Windows, maps can be exported in Enhanced Metafile format
958     (<varname>.wmf</varname>)
959     from
960     <menuchoice>
961     <guimenu>Map</guimenu>
962     <guimenuitem>Export</guimenuitem>
963 jonathan 1510 </menuchoice> for use in reports, presentations, or further
964     modification. The current map view, legend, and, if available,
965     scalebar are exported. Under other platforms this option is not
966     available. Clicking this menu item open a file selection dialog
967     that lets the user select a location to export the map.
968 jonathan 1490 </para>
969     </section>
970    
971 jan 1423 <section><title>Printing</title>
972     <para>
973 jonathan 1466 The map can be printed using
974     <menuchoice>
975     <guimenu>Map</guimenu>
976     <guimenuitem>Print</guimenuitem>
977 jonathan 1510 </menuchoice>. The current map view, legend, and, if available,
978     scalebar are printed. A standard printing dialog will open allowing
979     the user to configure the printer. This dialog will differ depending
980 jonathan 1490 on which platform Thuban is running.
981 jan 1423 </para>
982     </section>
983 jonathan 1490
984 jan 1423 </chapter>
985    
986     <chapter><title>Layer Management</title>
987     <para>
988     </para>
989    
990 jonathan 1446 <section><title>Types of Layers</title>
991 jan 1423 <para>
992 frank 2023 There are three types of layers supported by Thuban: shape layers,
993     database layers and
994 jonathan 1466 image layers. Shape layers consist of vector based shapes with
995     geo-referenced coordinates. There are three types of supported
996 frank 2023 shapes: polygons, lines (arc), and points. Database layers are similar
997     to shape layers but loaded from a database instead of the file system.
998     Image layers can be any image
999 frank 1496 file format supported by the Geo-spatial Data Abstraction Library
1000 jonathan 1491 (GDAL). The images must have geographic
1001 frank 1496 coordinate data either embedded within the file or in a separate
1002 jonathan 1473 file that is in the same directory as the image file. GeoTIFF files
1003     work very well with Thuban and were designed specifically to be image
1004     layers in GIS programs.
1005 jan 1423 </para>
1006 jonathan 1510 <para>
1007     All actions in the
1008     <menuchoice>
1009     <guimenu>Layer</guimenu>
1010     </menuchoice> menu act on the currently selected layer in the legend.
1011     </para>
1012 jan 1423 </section>
1013    
1014 jonathan 1466 <section><title>Properties</title>
1015     <para>
1016 jonathan 1490 To view the properties for a layer it must first be selected in the
1017     legend. The menu option
1018     <menuchoice>
1019     <guimenu>Layer</guimenu>
1020     <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem>
1021     </menuchoice> opens a dialog that displays a layer's properties.
1022 jonathan 1510 All layers have a title which can be modified in the text field
1023 jonathan 1491 provided. The type of layer is also shows. If the type is a type
1024 jonathan 1490 of shape (polygon, arc, point) the classification table will be
1025     shown. Image layers have no other properties other than title
1026     and type.
1027 jonathan 1466 </para>
1028 jonathan 1490 <para>
1029 frank 1532 <figure>
1030     <title>Properties Window</title>
1031 jonathan 1490 <mediaobject>
1032     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/4_2_layer_properties.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1033     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/4_2_layer_properties.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1034     </mediaobject>
1035 frank 1532 </figure>
1036 jonathan 1490 </para>
1037     <para>
1038 frank 1532 <figure>
1039     <title>Properties Window</title>
1040 jonathan 1490 <mediaobject>
1041     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/4_2_raster_layer_properties.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1042     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/4_2_raster_layer_properties.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1043     </mediaobject>
1044 frank 1532 </figure>
1045 jonathan 1490 </para>
1046 jonathan 1466 </section>
1047    
1048 jan 1423 <section><title>Visibility</title>
1049     <para>
1050 jonathan 1466 Sometimes it is not desirable to view all layers at the same time.
1051     Some layers may take a long time to draw and so while navigating
1052     around the map the user may not want to wait for the map to redraw
1053 jonathan 1491 all the layers each time the map is changed. Each layer can be
1054     independently turned on or off using the
1055 jonathan 1466 <menuchoice>
1056     <guimenu>Layer</guimenu>
1057     <guimenuitem>Show</guimenuitem>
1058     </menuchoice>
1059     or
1060     <menuchoice>
1061     <guimenu>Layer</guimenu>
1062     <guimenuitem>Hide</guimenuitem>
1063     </menuchoice> options respectively.
1064 jan 1423 </para>
1065     </section>
1066    
1067     <section><title>Duplication</title>
1068     <para>
1069 jonathan 1466 Layers and all their properties, including classifications, can
1070     be duplicated using
1071     <menuchoice>
1072     <guimenu>Layer</guimenu>
1073     <guimenuitem>Duplicate</guimenuitem>
1074     </menuchoice>. Duplicating a layer is useful if the user wishes
1075     to model a layer in several different ways. Even though the layers
1076 jonathan 1491 overlap, by carefully selecting the shape properties it is possible
1077 jonathan 1466 to display several pieces of information at once. For example, one
1078     copy of a roads layer may be classified on a length property and
1079 jonathan 1491 another copy may be classified on a type property. If the length
1080 jonathan 1466 property was expressed with color and the type property expressed
1081     with line thickness then it would be possible to view both
1082     classifications by placing the type property copy over the
1083     length property copy.
1084 jan 1423 </para>
1085     </section>
1086    
1087     </chapter>
1088    
1089     <chapter><title>Layer Classifications</title>
1090     <para>
1091 jonathan 1473 A layer classification is a way of assigning drawing properties to
1092     groups of shapes based on attributes stored in the layer's table.
1093     Only layer's with shapes can have a classification; image layers
1094     cannot be classified.
1095 jan 1423 </para>
1096 jonathan 1473 <para>
1097 jonathan 1491 A classification consists of a number of groups, each group
1098 jonathan 1473 having a value or range of values to match against, and symbol
1099     properties which control how a shape is drawn on the map. The user
1100     selects which field in the table is used by the classification and
1101     when the map is drawn the value for that field for each shape is
1102     compared with each group's value. The properties of the first group
1103     to match are used to draw the shape. This allows the user to get a
1104     visual impression of not only how the data is laid out but also what
1105     kind of data lies where.
1106     </para>
1107     <para>
1108     A layer always has a classification. When a new layer is added to the
1109     map, a default classification is created with the DEFAULT group. This
1110 jonathan 1510 group cannot be removed but can be hidden (see below). Every shape in the
1111     layer, regardless of its attributes, will match this group if no other
1112     group matches.
1113 jonathan 1473 </para>
1114 jan 1423
1115 jonathan 1473 <section><title>Editing Classifications</title>
1116 jan 1423 <para>
1117 jonathan 1473 A layer's classification can be modified under the properties dialog
1118     (<menuchoice>
1119     <guimenu>Layer</guimenu>
1120     <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem>
1121     </menuchoice>). The layer's classification field can be set to None,
1122     which simply assigns a DEFAULT group to the classification. No new
1123     groups can be added to the classification if the field is None.
1124     The user must first select a field to classify on. New groups can
1125     be added to the classification with the <guibutton>Add</guibutton>
1126     button.
1127     </para>
1128     <para>
1129 jonathan 1510 To apply the changes to the map the user can click
1130     either <guibutton>Try</guibutton> or <guibutton>OK</guibutton>.
1131     <guibutton>Try</guibutton> will not close the dialog box, allowing
1132     the user to see how the classification changes the map.
1133     <guibutton>Revert</guibutton> will undo the last classification applied
1134     to the map. <guibutton>OK</guibutton> will commit the changes and
1135     close the dialog. The user will be unable to undo the changes.
1136     <guibutton>Close</guibutton> simply closes the dialog box. If any
1137     changes have not been applied with <guibutton>Try</guibutton> the
1138     changes will not be applied to the map.
1139     </para>
1140     <para>
1141 frank 1532 <figure>
1142     <title>Properties Window</title>
1143 jonathan 1490 <mediaobject>
1144     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/5_classification.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1145     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/5_classification.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1146     </mediaobject>
1147 frank 1532 </figure>
1148 jonathan 1490 </para>
1149     <para>
1150 jonathan 1473 The order of the groups in the classification is significant
1151     except for the DEFAULT group, which remains at the top. When shapes
1152     are matched against groups the matching begins at the first group
1153 jonathan 1491 after the DEFAULT group so that groups higher in the list will
1154 jonathan 1473 be checked first. Matching for a
1155     given shape will stop at the first group that matches. The user can
1156     use <guibutton>Move Up</guibutton> and <guibutton>Move Down</guibutton>
1157     to change the order of the groups. The DEFAULT group will always
1158     match a shape that hasn't matched another group.
1159 jan 1423 </para>
1160 jonathan 1491 <section><title>Visible</title>
1161     <para>
1162 frank 1496 The Visible column has check-boxes that determine whether a
1163 jonathan 1491 classification group will be displayed in the legend. This is
1164     useful if the user knows that the groups completely cover
1165     the data set and don't want the DEFAULT group to be displayed
1166     in the legend and on a printout.
1167     </para>
1168     </section>
1169     <section><title>Symbols</title>
1170     <para>
1171     Each type of shape has its own type of symbol. Thuban supports three
1172     types of shapes: polygons, lines, and points. Polygons and points
1173     have outline and fill color, while lines have only line color. Each
1174     group has associated symbol properties. To edit the symbol
1175     properties for a group the user can double click on the Symbol
1176     column or select a group and click the
1177     <guibutton>Edit Symbol</guibutton> button.
1178     </para>
1179     </section>
1180     <section><title>Value</title>
1181     <para>
1182     The Value column of the classification table is the value that will
1183     be matched when the map is being drawn. The type of data that can
1184     entered into this field depends on the type of data of the
1185     classification field.
1186     </para>
1187     <para>
1188     If the field is of type Text, anything entered
1189     into the field is valid. The text will be compared literally to the
1190     value of the shape attribute, including case sensitivity.
1191     If the type is Integer, then any valid integer may be entered. In
1192     addition, with special syntax, a range of values can be entered.
1193     A range from <varname>start</varname> to <varname>end</varname>
1194 frank 1496 inclusive is specified like this: <literal>[start;end]</literal>.
1195 jonathan 1491 The exclusive range is specified like this:
1196     <literal>]start;end[</literal>. Ranges can include infinity like
1197     this: <literal>[-oo;oo]</literal>. Field types can also be of type
1198     Decimal. They represent any rational number and can be used in
1199     ranges as well.
1200     </para>
1201     </section>
1202     <section><title>Label</title>
1203     <para>
1204     By default, the text that is displayed for a group in the legend
1205     is the value for that group. The label can substitute a more
1206     descriptive term in the legend.
1207     </para>
1208     </section>
1209 jan 1423 </section>
1210    
1211 jonathan 1446 <section><title>Generating Classes</title>
1212 jan 1423 <para>
1213 frank 1532 <figure>
1214     <title>Generate Class</title>
1215 jonathan 1490 <mediaobject>
1216     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/5_3_genclass.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1217     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/5_3_genclass.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1218     </mediaobject>
1219 frank 1532 </figure>
1220 jonathan 1490 </para>
1221     <para>
1222 jonathan 1473 Creating a classification by hand can be tedious.
1223     Thuban, therefore, provides a means of generating an entire
1224     classification at once while still giving the user control over
1225     how it appears. Clicking <guibutton>Generate Class</guibutton>
1226     opens the <varname>Generate Classification</varname> dialog.
1227 frank 1496 Under the <varname>Generate</varname> pull down there are at most
1228 jonathan 1473 three different ways to generate classifications:
1229 jonathan 1510 Unique Values, Uniform Distribution, and Quantiles. Some options
1230 jonathan 1491 may not be available if the data type for the field does not
1231 jonathan 1510 support them. For instance, <varname>Uniform Distribution</varname>
1232 jonathan 1473 doesn't make sense for a Text field.
1233 jan 1423 </para>
1234 jonathan 1473 <para>
1235     For every way of generating a classification, a color scheme must
1236     be selected. Thuban provides several different color schemes that
1237     affect how the group properties change over the classification.
1238 jonathan 1530 It may be desirable that only certain properties change over the
1239     classification. If the shape type is a polygon or a point then
1240     the <guibutton>Fix Border Color</guibutton> option will be available.
1241     This allows the user to select a border color for all classification
1242     groups.
1243 jonathan 1473 It is also possible to create a custom color scheme. Selecting
1244     this option will display two symbols: the one of the left has the
1245     properties of the first group and the one on the right has the
1246     properties of the last group. Thuban will interpolate between these
1247     two properties to generate the other groups.
1248 frank 1532 <figure>
1249     <title>Custom Color Scheme</title>
1250 jonathan 1510 <mediaobject>
1251     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/5_2_custom_ramp.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1252     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/5_2_custom_ramp.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1253     </mediaobject>
1254 frank 1532 </figure>
1255 jonathan 1473 </para>
1256     <para>
1257     The Unique Values option lets the user select specific values that
1258     appear in the table. Clicking <guibutton>Retrieve From Table</guibutton>
1259     searches the table for all unique values and displays them in the
1260     list on the left. Items can be selected and moved to the list on the
1261     right. Each list can be sorted or reversed for easier searching.
1262     The classification that is generated will be in the same order as
1263     the list on the right.
1264 frank 1532 <figure>
1265     <title>Unique Values</title>
1266 jonathan 1510 <mediaobject>
1267     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/5_2_unique_values.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1268     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/5_2_unique_values.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1269     </mediaobject>
1270 frank 1532 </figure>
1271 jonathan 1473 </para>
1272     <para>
1273 jonathan 1510 The Uniform Distribution option creates a user specified number of
1274 jonathan 1473 groups of ranges such that each range covers equal intervals. The
1275     minimum and maximum values can automatically be retrieved from the
1276     table by clicking <guibutton>Retrieve From Table</guibutton>. The
1277     stepping is how large each interval is. Adjusting this value will
1278     automatically recalculate how many groups is appropriate.
1279 frank 1532 <figure>
1280     <title>Uniform Distribution</title>
1281 jonathan 1510 <mediaobject>
1282     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/5_2_uniform_dist.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1283     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/5_2_uniform_dist.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1284     </mediaobject>
1285 frank 1532 </figure>
1286 jonathan 1473 </para>
1287     <para>
1288 jonathan 1491 The Quantiles option generates ranges based on the number of items
1289 jonathan 1510 in the table. For example, by specifying five groups Thuban will
1290 jonathan 1491 generate five groups with appropriate ranges such that 20% of the table
1291 jonathan 1473 data is in each group. If it is impossible to generate exact
1292 jonathan 1491 groupings, Thuban will issue a warning but allow the user to continue.
1293 frank 1532 <figure>
1294     <title>Quantiles</title>
1295 jonathan 1510 <mediaobject>
1296     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/5_2_quantiles.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1297     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/5_2_quantiles.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1298     </mediaobject>
1299 frank 1532 </figure>
1300 jonathan 1473 </para>
1301 jan 1423 </section>
1302     </chapter>
1303    
1304     <chapter><title>Projection Management</title>
1305     <para>
1306 jonathan 1475 Projections control how the geographic data is displayed on the screen.
1307     If multiple layers are loaded into Thuban where the geographic data
1308 jonathan 1491 is in a different projection system, then the user must specify a
1309     projection for each layer. The user must also tell Thuban which
1310 jonathan 1475 projection the map is in. This can be the same as the layers or a different
1311     projection in which case the layers are reprojected into that space.
1312     The map projection can be set using
1313     <menuchoice>
1314     <guimenu>Map</guimenu>
1315     <guimenuitem>Projection</guimenuitem>
1316     </menuchoice> and the layer projection can be set using
1317     <menuchoice>
1318     <guimenu>Layer</guimenu>
1319     <guimenuitem>Projection</guimenuitem>
1320     </menuchoice>.
1321 frank 1532 <figure>
1322     <title>Projection Window</title>
1323 jonathan 1490 <mediaobject>
1324     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/6_projection.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1325     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/6_projection.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1326     </mediaobject>
1327 frank 1532 </figure>
1328 jan 1423 </para>
1329 jonathan 1475 <para>
1330 frank 2023 Thuban is distributed with a sample collection of projections and the
1331     set of coordinate systems as used by the EPSG
1332     (European Petroleum Survey Group). This quite large set is only displayed
1333     if activated by the according checkbox. The set falls into two parts:
1334     deprecated lists all projections which are no longer part of the
1335     EPSG data base.
1336     </para>
1337     <para>
1338     The
1339 jonathan 1475 user can create new projections and make them available to all
1340     future Thuban sessions. They may also be exported and imported so
1341 jonathan 1491 that custom projections can be distributed.
1342 jonathan 1475 </para>
1343     <section><title>Selecting a Projection</title>
1344     <para>
1345     The available projections are listed on the left. If the layer
1346 jonathan 1491 or map already has a projection it will initially be highlighted
1347 jonathan 1475 and will end with <varname>(current)</varname>. Selecting
1348 jonathan 1490 <varname>&lt;None&gt;</varname> will cause Thuban to use the data as
1349 jonathan 1475 it appears in the source file and will not use a projection.
1350     </para>
1351     </section>
1352     <section><title>Editing a Projection</title>
1353     <para>
1354     Whenever a projection is selected from the list its properties
1355     are displayed on the right. These properties can be changed
1356     and the changes saved to the selected projection using
1357 jonathan 1491 <guibutton>Update</guibutton>. Only a projection that comes
1358 jonathan 1475 from a file can be updated, so if the current layer's projection
1359 jonathan 1491 is selected, <guibutton>Update</guibutton> will be disabled.
1360     <guibutton>Add to List</guibutton> adds the projection to the
1361     list of available projections as a new entry, and thus makes it
1362 jonathan 1475 available to future Thuban sessions. Clicking <guibutton>New</guibutton>
1363     will create an entirely new, empty projection. The
1364 frank 1496 <guibutton>Remove</guibutton> button will permanently remove a
1365 jonathan 1475 projection from the list of available projections.
1366     </para>
1367 jonathan 1510 <para>
1368     To apply the selected projection to the map the user can click
1369     either <guibutton>Try</guibutton> or <guibutton>OK</guibutton>.
1370     <guibutton>Try</guibutton> will not close the dialog box, allowing
1371     the user to see how the projeciton changes the map.
1372     <guibutton>Revert</guibutton> will undo the last projection applied
1373     to the map. <guibutton>OK</guibutton> will commit the changes and
1374     close the dialog. The user will be unable to undo the changes.
1375     <guibutton>Close</guibutton> simply closes the dialog box. If no
1376     selection has been applied with <guibutton>Try</guibutton> the
1377     selection will not be applied to the map.
1378     </para>
1379 jonathan 1475 </section>
1380     <section><title>Importing/Exporting Projections</title>
1381     <para>
1382     The projections that appear in the list of available projections
1383     can be exported to another file that the user chooses. By selecting
1384     one or more projections and clicking <guibutton>Export</guibutton>
1385 jonathan 1491 the user will be able to select a file in which to store those
1386     projections.
1387 jonathan 1475 The file can then be distributed to other Thuban users. To import
1388     a projection file the user can click <guibutton>Import</guibutton>.
1389     The imported projections are added to the list and are then available
1390 jonathan 1491 to the current session and any future Thuban sessions.
1391 jonathan 1475 </para>
1392     </section>
1393 jan 1423 </chapter>
1394    
1395     <chapter><title>Table Management</title>
1396     <para>
1397 jonathan 1490 Thuban distinguishes two different types of tables: Attribute tables
1398 jonathan 1491 (which belong to a layer) and normal data tables. Both provide
1399     the same general functionality with the difference that actions on an
1400 jonathan 1490 attribute table might also effect the map display.
1401 jan 1423 </para>
1402 frank 1478
1403     <section><title>Table View</title>
1404 jonathan 1490 <para>
1405 frank 1532 <figure>
1406     <title>Table View</title>
1407 jonathan 1490 <mediaobject>
1408     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/7_1_table_view.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1409     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/7_1_table_view.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1410     </mediaobject>
1411 frank 1532 </figure>
1412 jonathan 1490 </para>
1413     <para>
1414 frank 1478 Thuban provides a standard dialog to display table contents, the
1415 jonathan 1510 Table View. The view has five sections: The title, selections,
1416 jonathan 1491 the table grid, export functions, and the status bar.
1417 jonathan 1490 </para>
1418     <para>
1419 jonathan 1491 The title bar identifies the table with its name.
1420 jonathan 1490 </para>
1421     <para>
1422 jonathan 1491 The selections box let the user perform simple analysis on the data
1423     based on comparisons: The first choice must be a field identifier of
1424     the table, the second choice determines the type of comparison. The
1425     third choice can be either a specific value (interpreted as numerical
1426 frank 1478 or string depending on the type of the first field) or a second field
1427     identifier. Thus you can perform analysis like selecting all
1428 jonathan 1510 records where <literal>population > 10000</literal> or
1429     <literal>cars_per_inhabitant < bikes_per_inhabitant</literal>
1430     (note that the field names are only explanatory, the dBase files
1431     allow only 11 character field names).
1432 jonathan 1490
1433 jonathan 1491 Selections can be combined either by applying a selection only on
1434 frank 1478 a previously selected set of records or by adding the results of a
1435     selection to a previous set. The default is that a selection replaces
1436     earlier results.
1437 jonathan 1490 </para>
1438     <para>
1439 jonathan 1510 The table grid shows the contents of the table (one record per row),
1440 frank 1478 with highlighted selection results. Columns and rows can be resized.
1441 jonathan 1490 </para>
1442     <para>
1443 frank 1496 The contents of a table can be exported into a file, either dBase
1444     format (DBF) or comma separated values (CSV). The
1445 jonathan 1490 <guibutton>Export</guibutton> button
1446 frank 1478 raises a file dialog to specify a path and file name, the export type
1447     is determined by the file extension (either .dbf or .csv).
1448    
1449 jonathan 1490 The <guibutton>Export Selection</guibutton> button works similarly
1450     but exports only the selected records.
1451 frank 1478
1452 jonathan 1490 The <guibutton>Close</guibutton> button closes the table view window.
1453     This is different from the menu item
1454     <menuchoice>
1455     <guimenu>Table</guimenu>
1456     <guimenuitem>Close</guimenuitem>
1457     </menuchoice> which unloads the table from Thuban.
1458     </para>
1459     <para>
1460 frank 1478 The status bar displays some statistics about the table and optional
1461     selection results.
1462 jonathan 1490 </para>
1463 frank 1478 </section>
1464    
1465     <section><title>General Functionality (Menu Table)</title>
1466 jonathan 1490 <para>
1467 frank 1478 The general functions affect all tables open in Thuban. Attribute
1468 jonathan 1491 tables are considered here as normal data tables (with the exception
1469 frank 1478 that they cannot be closed).
1470     </para>
1471 jonathan 1490 <section><title>Open</title>
1472     <para>
1473     The
1474     <menuchoice>
1475     <guimenu>Table</guimenu>
1476     <guimenuitem>Open</guimenuitem>
1477     </menuchoice>
1478     item raises a file dialog to let you select a
1479 frank 1496 dBase file from the file system to be loaded into Thuban read-only.
1480 jonathan 1491 On <guibutton>OK</guibutton> the selected file is loaded and a
1481     table view is opened.
1482 jonathan 1490 </para>
1483     </section>
1484 frank 1478
1485 jonathan 1490 <section><title>Close</title>
1486     <para>
1487     The
1488     <menuchoice>
1489     <guimenu>Table</guimenu>
1490     <guimenuitem>Close</guimenuitem>
1491     </menuchoice>
1492     item raises a dialog listing the currently open
1493     data tables
1494     (loaded via
1495     <menuchoice>
1496     <guimenu>Table</guimenu>
1497     <guimenuitem>Open</guimenuitem>
1498     </menuchoice>). Selected tables are dereferenced on confirmation.
1499     Since tables are opened read-only the contents of the tables are
1500     not affected.
1501 frank 1478
1502 jonathan 1491 Any open views of the tables are closed as well.
1503 frank 1478
1504 jonathan 1490 Tables used in a join cannot be closed.
1505     </para>
1506     </section>
1507 frank 1478
1508 jonathan 1490 <section><title>Rename</title>
1509     <para>
1510     <menuchoice>
1511     <guimenu>Table</guimenu>
1512     <guimenuitem>Rename</guimenuitem>
1513     </menuchoice> changes the table title.
1514     </para>
1515     </section>
1516 frank 1478
1517 jonathan 1490 <section><title>Show</title>
1518     <para>
1519     The
1520     <menuchoice>
1521     <guimenu>Table</guimenu>
1522     <guimenuitem>Show</guimenuitem>
1523     </menuchoice>
1524     item raises a list of available tables (explicitly
1525     loaded, attribute tables, results of a join). Selected tables are
1526 jonathan 1491 show in tables views on <guibutton>OK</guibutton>.
1527 jonathan 1490 </para>
1528     </section>
1529 frank 1478
1530 jonathan 1490 <section><title>Join</title>
1531     <para>
1532 frank 1532 <figure>
1533     <title>Join Tables</title>
1534 jonathan 1490 <mediaobject>
1535     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/7_2_5_join.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1536     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/7_2_5_join.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1537     </mediaobject>
1538 frank 1532 </figure>
1539 jonathan 1490 </para>
1540     <para>
1541     The
1542     <menuchoice>
1543     <guimenu>Table</guimenu>
1544     <guimenuitem>Join</guimenuitem>
1545     </menuchoice>
1546     item raises a dialog to specify the two tables to be
1547     joined. The join results in a new table named 'Join of "left table"
1548     and "right table"'.
1549 frank 1478
1550 jonathan 1491 The dialog lets you select the two tables to be joined and the two
1551     fields the join has to be performed on. By default, the new
1552     table contains only those records which are matched by the join.
1553 frank 1478
1554 jonathan 1490 If you want to preserve the records of the left table you can
1555     perform an outer join. The fields from the right table for records
1556     not matched by the join are filled with <varname>None</varname> in
1557     this case.
1558     </para>
1559     </section>
1560 frank 1478
1561     </section>
1562     <section><title>Attribute Tables</title>
1563     <para>
1564 jonathan 1510 To clearly separate between both types of tables (data and
1565     attribute), Thuban provides functionality regarding the attribute
1566     tables under the <menuchoice><guimenu>Layer</guimenu></menuchoice> menu.
1567 frank 1478 </para>
1568    
1569 jonathan 1490 <section><title>Show Table</title>
1570     <para>
1571     <menuchoice>
1572     <guimenu>Layer</guimenu>
1573     <guimenuitem>Show Table</guimenuitem>
1574     </menuchoice>
1575     opens the attribute table of the currently active layer in a table
1576     view.
1577    
1578     In addition to the functionality described above selections
1579     affect also the map display: objects related to selected records
1580     are highlighted.
1581     </para>
1582     </section>
1583    
1584     <section><title>Join Table</title>
1585     <para>
1586 jonathan 1491 Unlike the join described above, the join does not result in a
1587 frank 1478 new table. The attribute table of the currently active layer is the
1588 jonathan 1490 left table and other tables are joined to this table. The results of
1589 jonathan 1491 the join are available for classification.
1590 frank 1478
1591 jonathan 1490 As a consequence, the join cannot result in fewer
1592     records than the source attribute table. The user is warned if the
1593     right table does not fulfill this constraint. An outer join must be
1594     used in such cases.
1595     </para>
1596     </section>
1597 frank 1478
1598 jonathan 1490 <section><title>Unjoin Table</title>
1599     <para>
1600     As said above, a normal table cannot be closed while it is still
1601     used in a join. While the joined table resulting from a join of
1602     normal tables can be simply closed (and thereby dereferencing
1603     the source tables), this is not possible for attribute tables.
1604 frank 1478
1605 frank 1496 Hence joins on attribute tables must be solved explicitly. This is
1606 jonathan 1490 what the
1607     <menuchoice>
1608     <guimenu>Layer</guimenu>
1609     <guimenuitem>Unjoin Table</guimenuitem>
1610     </menuchoice>
1611     item is used for: The last join for the currently
1612 frank 1478 active layer is solved.
1613 jonathan 1490 </para>
1614     </section>
1615 frank 1478 </section>
1616 jan 1423 </chapter>
1617    
1618 jan 1624 <chapter><title>Extensions</title>
1619     <para>
1620     Thuban is designed to be extensible. The term Extension is used as a
1621     general term for anything that extends Thuban.
1622     This chapter introduces into some oppportunities how to add and
1623     handle extra functionality developed by your own or third parties.
1624     </para>
1625    
1626     <section><title>Add personal extensions via thubanstart.py</title>
1627     <para>
1628     After Thuban has been started for the first time, a directory
1629     .thuban is created within your home directory.
1630     There you can add a file thubanstart.py which will be imported
1631     by Thuban at start-up. It is recommended to add only import-statements
1632     to this file to keep the actual code of extensions separate.
1633     </para>
1634     <para>
1635 jan 1719 The modules to import must either be found through the environment
1636 jan 1624 variable PYTHONPATH or directly be placed into the .thuban-directory.
1637     </para>
1638     <para>
1639     As an example, copy the file examples/simple_extensions/hello_world.py
1640     of the Thuban source code into the .thuban-directory of your home
1641     directory. Now add add the statement import hello_world to the
1642     file thubanstart.py and run Thuban. You will notice an additional
1643     menu <menuchoice><guimenu>Extensions</guimenu></menuchoice> where
1644     the new item for the Hello-World extension is placed - select it
1645     to see the Hello-World message.
1646     </para>
1647     </section>
1648    
1649 jan 1744 <section><title>Extensions included in Thuban package</title>
1650     <para>
1651     The extensions described in this section are part of the
1652     Thuban package, but not activated by default.
1653     You will find them in the Thuban installation directory
1654     under <literal>Extensions/</literal>. Activate them as personal
1655     extensions via PYTHONPATH as described in the previous section.
1656     Stable extensions will appear under the menu
1657     <menuchoice><guimenu>Extensions</guimenu></menuchoice> and
1658     extensions which are in experimental state and therefore
1659     not fully functional under
1660     <menuchoice><guimenu>Experimental</guimenu></menuchoice>.
1661     </para>
1662    
1663     <section><title>Stable extensions</title>
1664     <para>
1665     These extensions provide extra-functionality to Thuban
1666     that has not (yet) been integrated in the main application.
1667     They are considered to be free of bugs, but may be
1668     further polished with helpful user interactions.
1669     </para>
1670     <section><title>gns2shp</title>
1671     <para>
1672     This tool converts data of the Geospatial Names Server
1673     (GNS, see <ulink url="http://www.nima.mil/gns"/>)
1674     into Shapefile format.
1675     The above web-site offer to download named places
1676     information grouped by countries for all of the world
1677     except USA for which other data are provided.
1678     </para>
1679     <para>
1680     If you download and unpack a package, you will have
1681     a text-file with suffix .txt.
1682     Selecting such a file via gns2shp will create the
1683     corresponding Shapefile with the same basename and
1684     place it in the same direcory. Afterwards it
1685     is automatically loaded into Thuban.
1686     The Shapefile will not automatically be delete afterwards.
1687     </para>
1688     <para>
1689     The gns2shp.py module can also be executed on the
1690     command line for batch processing purposes.
1691     </para>
1692     <para>
1693     A sample (<literal>ls.txt</literal> for Liechtenstein)
1694     is included in the directory
1695     <literal>Extensions/gns2shp/test</literal>.
1696     </para>
1697     </section>
1698     </section>
1699     <section><title>Experimental extensions</title>
1700     <para>
1701     All all of these functions have to be handled with care,
1702     since they are neither complete nor well tested.
1703     They are to be seen as a proof-of-concept and may
1704     additionally in some cases of practical help.
1705     </para>
1706     <para>
1707     Any interest on further improvement of these extensions
1708     should be communicated towards the developer and user
1709     community.
1710     </para>
1711    
1712     <section><title>importAPR</title>
1713     <para>
1714     This command offer to load an ESRI® ArcView® project
1715     file (suffix .apr) and convert it for use within Thuban.
1716     After selecting a apr-file to load, a list
1717     will be presented that offers to select one of the views
1718     of the apr-file, provided there is more than one.
1719     Furthermore, the Session Info-Tree is extended with
1720     a complete representation of the parsed apr-file.
1721     </para>
1722     <para>
1723     The legend of Thuban does not yet cover all of the elements as
1724     supported by the legend of ArcView®. Therefore, the Thuban
1725     map will look different. Furthermore, the apr-format is
1726     a proprietary format, not openly documented.
1727     Therefore, the interpretation is
1728     partly based on reverse engeneering and good guessing.
1729     </para>
1730     <para>
1731     The file-paths within the apr-file may not fit and potentially
1732     are subject to fix in the apr-file. You can do this
1733     applying any text editor. The paths are either absolute
1734     or relative from where Thuban has been started.
1735     </para>
1736     <para>
1737     A sample for the Iceland data is included as
1738     <literal>Extensions/importAPR/samples/iceland.apr</literal>.
1739     The file-paths are relative from the Thuban main directory.
1740     </para>
1741     </section>
1742     </section>
1743     </section>
1744    
1745 jan 1624 <section><title>Writing simple extensions</title>
1746     <para>
1747     Writing an extension for Thuban basically means to
1748     implement the extra functionality in Python with all of the
1749     Thuban classes, methods and variables available.
1750     </para>
1751     <para>
1752     All classes and their methods are documented in the source code
1753     (see their doc-strings). Here is an example from
1754     Thuban/Model/layer.py that describes some of the methods
1755     of a Layer object:
1756     </para>
1757     <programlisting>
1758     <![CDATA[
1759     class BaseLayer(TitledObject, Modifiable):
1760    
1761     """Base class for the layers."""
1762    
1763     def __init__(self, title, visible = True, projection = None):
1764     """Initialize the layer.
1765    
1766     title -- the title
1767     visible -- boolean. If true the layer is visible.
1768     """
1769     TitledObject.__init__(self, title)
1770     Modifiable.__init__(self)
1771     self.visible = visible
1772     self.projection = projection
1773    
1774     def Visible(self):
1775     """Return true if layer is visible"""
1776     return self.visible
1777    
1778     def SetVisible(self, visible):
1779     """Set the layer's visibility."""
1780     self.visible = visible
1781     self.issue(LAYER_VISIBILITY_CHANGED, self)
1782    
1783     def HasClassification(self):
1784     """Determine if this layer support classifications."""
1785     ...
1786     ]]>
1787     </programlisting>
1788     <para>
1789     This example intends to give you an impression of the
1790     source-code-level documentation.
1791     You have to make yourself familiar with
1792     the Python programming language to understand some special
1793     code elements.
1794     </para>
1795     <section><title>hello_world.py</title>
1796     <para>
1797     Traditionally, the first example should welcome the world.
1798     Most of the code handles the frame for integrating a menu
1799     item into Thuban while the actual raising of a message
1800     is done in a single line.
1801     </para>
1802     <programlisting>
1803     <![CDATA[
1804     # Copyright (C) 2003 by Intevation GmbH
1805     # Authors:
1806     # Jan-Oliver Wagner <[email protected]>
1807     #
1808     # This program is free software under the GPL (>=v2)
1809     # Read the file COPYING coming with Thuban for details.
1810    
1811     """
1812     Extend Thuban with a sample Hello World to demonstrate simple
1813     extensions.
1814     """
1815    
1816     __version__ = '$Revision$'
1817    
1818     # use _() already now for all strings that may later be translated
1819     from Thuban import _
1820    
1821     # Thuban has named commands which can be registered in the central
1822     # instance registry.
1823     from Thuban.UI.command import registry, Command
1824    
1825     # The instance of the main menu of the Thuban application
1826     # See Thuban/UI/menu.py for the API of the Menu class
1827     from Thuban.UI.mainwindow import main_menu
1828    
1829     def hello_world_dialog(context):
1830     """Just raise a simple dialog to greet the world.
1831    
1832     context -- The Thuban context.
1833     """
1834     context.mainwindow.RunMessageBox(_('Hello World'), _('Hello World!'))
1835    
1836    
1837     # create a new command and register it
1838     registry.Add(Command('hello_world', _('Hello World'), hello_world_dialog,
1839     helptext = _('Welcome everyone on this planet')))
1840    
1841     # find the extensions menu (create it anew if not found)
1842 jan 2209 extensions_menu = main_menu.FindOrInsertMenu('extensions', _('E&xtensions'))
1843 jan 1624
1844     # finally bind the new command with an entry in the extensions menu
1845     extensions_menu.InsertItem('hello_world')
1846     ]]>
1847     </programlisting>
1848     </section>
1849     <section><title>Registering a Command</title>
1850     <para>
1851     Mainly, our new function has to be registered to the Thuban
1852     framework in order to connect it to the menu. A registered
1853     command can also be connected to e.g. a toolbar button.
1854     </para>
1855     <para>
1856     The instances and classes for this are imported at the beginning.
1857     Any code not inside a method or class is directly executed when
1858     the source-code module is imported. Therefore, the second
1859     part of this example consist of the plain statements to create a new
1860     Command and to add it to the menu.
1861     </para>
1862     <para>
1863     By convention, it looks for a menu registered as ``extensions'' to
1864     insert the new command. If it does not exist yet, it gets created.
1865     It is advisable to copy this code for any of your extensions.
1866     </para>
1867     </section>
1868     <section><title>The Thuban context</title>
1869     <para>
1870     A registered command that is called, always receives the
1871     Thuban context. This instance provides our method with
1872     hook references to all important components of the Thuban
1873     application.
1874     </para>
1875     <para>
1876     In the example hello_world.py, our function uses the
1877     mainwindow component which offers a method to raise a
1878     message dialog. In total there are three hooks:
1879     <itemizedlist>
1880     <listitem>
1881     <para>application:
1882     This object is the instance of the Thuban Application class.
1883     Except maybe for loading or savinf sessions, you will not
1884     need this object for a simple extension.
1885     See Thuban/UI/application.py for the API.
1886     </para>
1887     </listitem>
1888     <listitem>
1889     <para>session:
1890     The instance of the current session. It manages the sessions'
1891     map and tables. You can set and remove the map or tables.
1892     In may also get the map object. However, you should know that
1893     internally it is already prepared to handle many maps.
1894     Therfore, currently you would always receive a list with exactlty
1895     one element. In the future, if there are more than one map,
1896     you will not know which one is the currently display one and
1897     therefore you should use the mainwindow as hook to find
1898     the currently displayed map.
1899     See Thuban/Model/session.py for the API.
1900     </para>
1901     </listitem>
1902     <listitem>
1903     <para>
1904     mainwindow: The mainwindow object is central to manage various
1905     GUI things such as the Legend sub-window. Most notably,
1906     you get access to the canvas which is the window part where
1907     the map is drawn. The canvas knows, which map it currently
1908     draws and therefore you get the current map via
1909     context.mainwindow.canvas.Map().
1910     See Thuban/UI/mainwindow.py for the API.
1911     </para>
1912     </listitem>
1913     </itemizedlist>
1914     </para>
1915     </section>
1916     </section>
1917     </chapter>
1918    
1919 jan 1423 <chapter><title>Trouble Shooting</title>
1920     <para>
1921 jonathan 1510 Here are a few problems that users have encountered when first using Thuban.
1922 jan 1423 </para>
1923 jonathan 1510 <para>
1924 jonathan 1490
1925 frank 1532 <itemizedlist>
1926 jonathan 1490 <listitem>
1927 frank 1532 <para>After adding two or more layers nothing is drawn in the map window.
1928     </para>
1929 jonathan 1490 <para>
1930     This is probably because the layers have different projections. Projections
1931 jonathan 1510 must be set on all layers and on the map itself if the layers' projections
1932 jonathan 1490 are different.
1933     </para>
1934     </listitem>
1935    
1936 frank 1532 <listitem>
1937     <para>Thuban crashes on startup with the error
1938 jonathan 1490 <literal>NameError: global name 'False' is not defined</literal>.
1939 frank 1532 </para>
1940 jonathan 1490 <para>
1941     <varname>True</varname> and <varname>False</varname> were only introduced
1942     in Python 2.2.1. Thuban depends on at least Python 2.2.1.
1943     </para>
1944     </listitem>
1945    
1946 frank 1532 <listitem>
1947     <para>After compiling Thuban, Thuban crashes with an error similar to
1948 jonathan 1490 <literal>
1949     ImportError: /usr/local//lib/thuban/Thuban/../Lib/wxproj.so: undefined symbol: __gxx_personality_v0
1950     </literal>
1951 frank 1532 </para>
1952 jonathan 1490 <para>
1953     Thuban depends on the wxWindows library. If Thuban is compiled with an
1954 jonathan 1491 incompatible version of the compiler than wxWindows was compiled with
1955 jonathan 1490 this error may occur. Try compiling with a different version of the
1956 jonathan 1491 compiler.
1957 jonathan 1490 </para>
1958     </listitem>
1959 frank 1532 </itemizedlist>
1960 jonathan 1510 </para>
1961     <para>
1962     If an error occurs Thuban will display a dialog indicating the error
1963     before closing. The text should be copied and reported to the
1964     <ulink url="http://thuban.intevation.org/bugtracker.html">
1965     Intevation bugtracker
1966     </ulink>.
1967     More information about the system is available from
1968     <menuchoice><guimenu>Help</guimenu><guimenuitem>About</guimenuitem></menuchoice> box.
1969     This should also be included in the bug report.
1970 frank 1532 <figure>
1971     <title>Error Dialog</title>
1972 jonathan 1510 <mediaobject>
1973     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/8_int_error.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1974     <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/8_int_error.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
1975     </mediaobject>
1976 frank 1532 </figure>
1977 jonathan 1510 </para>
1978 jonathan 1490
1979 jan 1423 </chapter>
1980    
1981     <appendix><title>Supported Data Sources</title>
1982     <para>
1983     </para>
1984 jonathan 1475 <variablelist>
1985     <varlistentry>
1986     <term>Shapefile</term>
1987 jonathan 1490 <listitem>
1988     <para>
1989     The Shapefile format has become a standard format for saving
1990     geographic vector information. It supports polygons, lines, and
1991     points.
1992    
1993     <ulink url="http://www.esri.com/library/whitepapers/pdfs/shapefile.pdf">
1994     Technical Specification.
1995     </ulink>
1996     </para>
1997     </listitem>
1998 jonathan 1475 </varlistentry>
1999    
2000     <varlistentry>
2001 frank 1496 <term>dBase file</term>
2002 jonathan 1490 <listitem>
2003     <para>
2004 frank 1496 dBase files are used to store the attributes for each layer. This
2005 jonathan 1490 is closely associated with the Shapefile format. For detailed
2006 frank 1496 specifications on the correct format of a dBase file used with
2007 jonathan 1490 Thuban please see the Technical Specification for the Shapefile
2008     format above.
2009     </para>
2010     </listitem>
2011 jonathan 1475 </varlistentry>
2012    
2013 frank 1532 <varlistentry>
2014 frank 2023 <term>PostGIS</term>
2015     <listitem>
2016     <para>
2017     PostGIS adds support for geographic objects to the PostgreSQL
2018     object-relational database. Different layer types (as for Shapefiles)
2019     are supported. <ulink url="http://postgis.refractions.net">PostGIS
2020     Homepage</ulink>
2021     </para>
2022     </listitem>
2023     </varlistentry>
2024    
2025     <varlistentry>
2026 frank 1532 <term>Raster files</term>
2027     <listitem>
2028     <para>
2029     Binding the GDAL library Thuban supports numerous raster file formats,
2030     see <ulink url="http://www.remotesensing.org/gdal/formats_list.html">
2031     GDAL format list</ulink> for details.</para>
2032    
2033     <para>Most commonly used is the <emphasis>TIFF/GeoTIFF</emphasis>
2034     format: Raster maps are provided as TIFF images, with an additional
2035     "world file" storing the geographic reference (usually with an
2036 jan 1544 extension ".tfw").
2037 frank 1532 </para>
2038     </listitem>
2039     </varlistentry>
2040    
2041 jonathan 1475 </variablelist>
2042 jan 1423 </appendix>
2043    
2044 frank 2023 <appendix><title>Working with PostGIS</title>
2045     <para>
2046     This section focusses on the use of PostGIS in the Thuban framework. For
2047     installation and maintenance of spatial databases we refer to the
2048     <ulink url="http://postgis.refractions.net">PostGIS Homepage</ulink>.
2049     The Thuban PostGIS support requires the
2050     <ulink url="http://initd.org/software/psycopg">psycopg module</ulink>.
2051     </para>
2052    
2053     <para>
2054     Working with PostGIS Databases is seperated into two steps:
2055     <itemizedlist>
2056     <listitem><para>Opening a Database Connection</para></listitem>
2057     <listitem><para>Loading a Data Layer</para></listitem>
2058     </itemizedlist>
2059     </para>
2060     <section><title>Opening a Database Connection</title>
2061     <para>
2062     Before a data layer can be loaded from a PostGIS database a
2063     connection with the database has to be established.
2064     <menuchoice>
2065     <guimenu>Session</guimenu>
2066     <guimenuitem>Database Connections ...</guimenuitem>
2067     </menuchoice> opens a dialog for database connection
2068     management. In the dialog new connections can be added
2069     and existing ones can be removed. Removing a database
2070     connection is not possible if the map still displays a
2071     layer provided by this database connection.
2072     </para>
2073     <figure>
2074     <title>Database Management Dialog</title>
2075     <mediaobject>
2076 frank 2052 <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/app_postgis_db_management.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
2077 frank 2023 <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/app_postgis_db_management.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
2078     </mediaobject>
2079     </figure>
2080    
2081     <para>
2082     To add a new database connection to the session a dialog is
2083     opened to specify the relevant connection data. Enter all
2084     data relevant for your connection. If the connection fails
2085     the dialog remains open and provides some hints on the failure.
2086     </para>
2087     <figure>
2088     <title>Add Database Dialog</title>
2089     <mediaobject>
2090 frank 2052 <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/app_postgis_db_add.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
2091 frank 2023 <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/app_postgis_db_add.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
2092     </mediaobject>
2093     </figure>
2094    
2095     <para>
2096     It is important to note that information on database connections are
2097     also stored with the session. Passwords are NOT stored. If you load a
2098     session with database connections you are asked to enter these
2099     passwords again where required.
2100     </para>
2101    
2102     </section>
2103    
2104     <section><title>Loading a Data Layer</title>
2105     <para>
2106     Data layers as part of a map are loaded with the
2107     <menuchoice>
2108     <guimenu>Map</guimenu>
2109     <guimenuitem>Add Database Layer ...</guimenuitem>
2110     </menuchoice> menu item. A dialog is raised displaying two choice
2111     lists. In the left list all connected databases are shown.
2112     Highlighting
2113     one of these and issuing a retrieval results in a list of available
2114     layer tables from that database. After selection of a
2115     layer the dialog is closed.
2116     </para>
2117     <figure>
2118     <title>Add Database Dialog</title>
2119     <mediaobject>
2120 frank 2052 <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/app_postgis_add_layer.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
2121 frank 2023 <imageobject><imagedata fileref="./images/app_postgis_add_layer.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
2122     </mediaobject>
2123     </figure>
2124    
2125     </section>
2126    
2127     </appendix>
2128    
2129 jan 1423 <appendix><title>Supported Projections</title>
2130     <para>
2131 jonathan 1490 The following types of projections are directly support by
2132     Thuban. The specific values for each are provided by the user
2133     to create custom projections. Thuban comes with predefined
2134 frank 1507 projections which are available through the Projections dialog.
2135 jan 1423 </para>
2136 frank 1532 <itemizedlist>
2137     <listitem>
2138     <para>Geographic</para>
2139     <itemizedlist>
2140     <listitem><para><literal>Ellipsoid</literal></para></listitem>
2141     <listitem><para>
2142     <literal>Source Data</literal>: either Degrees or Radians
2143 frank 1507 </para></listitem>
2144 frank 1532 </itemizedlist>
2145     </listitem>
2146     <listitem>
2147     <para>Lambert Conic Conformal</para>
2148     <itemizedlist>
2149     <listitem><para><literal>Ellipsoid</literal></para></listitem>
2150     <listitem><para><literal>Latitude of 1st standard parallel</literal></para></listitem>
2151     <listitem><para><literal>Latitude of 2nd standard parallel</literal></para></listitem>
2152     <listitem><para><literal>Central Meridian</literal></para></listitem>
2153     <listitem><para><literal>Latitude of Origin</literal></para></listitem>
2154     <listitem><para><literal>False Easting</literal> (meters)</para></listitem>
2155     <listitem><para><literal>False Northing</literal> (meters)</para></listitem>
2156     </itemizedlist>
2157     </listitem>
2158     <listitem>
2159     <para>Transverse Mercator</para>
2160     <itemizedlist>
2161     <listitem><para><literal>Ellipsoid</literal></para></listitem>
2162     <listitem><para><literal>Latitude</literal>of origin</para></listitem>
2163     <listitem><para><literal>Longitude</literal>at central meridian</para></listitem>
2164     <listitem><para><literal>Scale Factor</literal>at central meridian</para></listitem>
2165     <listitem><para><literal>False Easting</literal> (meters)</para></listitem>
2166     <listitem><para><literal>False Northing</literal> (meters)</para></listitem>
2167     </itemizedlist>
2168     </listitem>
2169     <listitem>
2170     <para>Universal Transverse Mercator</para>
2171     <itemizedlist>
2172     <listitem><para><literal>Ellipsoid</literal></para></listitem>
2173     <listitem><para><literal>Zone</literal>
2174     (can be guessed appling the Propose button)</para></listitem>
2175     <listitem><para><literal>Southern Hemisphere</literal> flag</para></listitem>
2176     </itemizedlist>
2177     </listitem>
2178     </itemizedlist>
2179 frank 1507
2180     <para>
2181     Thuban comes with a sample set of map projections for various
2182     European countries. Apart from the basic projection they differ
2183     especially in their parameterization:
2184     </para>
2185 frank 1532 <itemizedlist>
2186     <listitem><para>Belgium Datum 1972 (Lambert Conic Conformal)</para>
2187     </listitem>
2188 frank 1507
2189 frank 1532 <listitem><para>Gauss-Boaga Zone 1 (Italy, Transverse Mercartor)</para>
2190     </listitem>
2191 frank 1507
2192 frank 1532 <listitem><para>Gauss-Krueger Zone 2 (Germany, Transverse Mercartor)
2193     </para>
2194     </listitem>
2195 frank 1507
2196 frank 1532 <listitem><para>Reseau Geodesique Francaise
2197     (France, Lambert Conic Conformal)</para>
2198     </listitem>
2199 frank 1507
2200 frank 1532 <listitem><para>UK National Grid (United Kingdom, Transverse Mercartor)
2201     </para>
2202     </listitem>
2203     </itemizedlist>
2204 frank 1507
2205     <para>
2206     Thuban uses the comprehensive PROJ library for projections. PROJ provides
2207     more than the four commonly used projections described above. If needed
2208     Thuban can be easily extended to a new projection covered by PROJ.
2209     </para>
2210 jan 1423 </appendix>
2211    
2212 bh 1367 </book>
2213 frank 1496

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