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revision 1475 by jonathan, Thu Jul 24 11:19:51 2003 UTC revision 2314 by jan, Sun Aug 1 21:31:30 2004 UTC
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1  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
2  <!DOCTYPE book  <!DOCTYPE book
3          PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.2//EN"          PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.2//EN"
4          "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.2/docbookx.dtd">          "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.2/docbookx.dtd"
5        [<!ENTITY imgscale "60">]>
6  <!-- $Revision$ -->  <!-- $Revision$ -->
7  <book>  <book>
8    <bookinfo>    <bookinfo>
9      <title>Thuban Manual</title>      <title>User's Manual for Thuban 1.0</title>
10      <author>          <authorgroup>
11        <firstname>Jonathan</firstname><surname>Coles</surname>        <author>
12      </author>          <firstname>Jonathan</firstname><surname>Coles</surname>
13      <author>        </author>
14        <firstname>Jan-Oliver</firstname><surname>Wagner</surname>        <author>
15      </author>          <firstname>Jan-Oliver</firstname><surname>Wagner</surname>
16          </author>
17          <author>
18            <firstname>Frank</firstname><surname>Koormann</surname>
19          </author>
20            </authorgroup>
21      <copyright>      <copyright>
22        <year>2003</year>        <year>2003, 2004</year>
23        <holder>Intevation GmbH</holder>        <holder>Intevation GmbH</holder>
24      </copyright>      </copyright>
25       <revhistory>
26    <!-- comment this first revision out when releasing a real version -->
27         <revision>
28            <revnumber>CVS version $Id$</revnumber>
29            <date></date>
30            <revremark>Under development.</revremark>
31         </revision>
32         <revision>
33            <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            <revnumber>1.0pre3</revnumber>
42            <date>04-Dec-2003</date>
43            <revremark>
44                            Corresponds to Thuban 1.0rc1.
45                            New: I18n, right button legend menu, EPSG projectons,
46                PostGIS support.
47                    </revremark>
48         </revision>
49         <revision>
50            <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            <revnumber>1.0pre1</revnumber>
59            <date>08-Aug-2003</date>
60            <revremark>Corresponds to Thuban development release 0.8.1.</revremark>
61         </revision>
62      </revhistory>
63    
64    </bookinfo>    </bookinfo>
65    
66    <chapter><title>Introduction</title>    <chapter><title>Introduction</title>
67      <para>      <para>
68      Thuban is a Free Software Geographic Information Systems (GIS) viewer.      Thuban is an interactive geographic data viewer.
69      It is being developed because there is currently no simple interactive      Its development had been started because there was no simple interactive
70      viewer for geographic information available as Free Software. Thuban is      viewer for geographic information available as Free Software. Thuban is
71      written in Python and C++ and uses the wxWindows library allowing it to      written mainly in Python and uses the wxWidgets (former wxWindows)
72        library allowing it to
73      run on many different platforms, including GNU/Linux and Windows.      run on many different platforms, including GNU/Linux and Windows.
74      </para>      </para>
75      <para>      <para>
76      GIS viewers are a necessary tool as they allow one to get a visual      Geographic data viewers are a necessary tool as they allow one to
77            get a visual
78      impression of the positional relationship of the information that may not      impression of the positional relationship of the information that may not
79      be apparent from simple inspection of the data values themselves.      be apparent from simple inspection of the data values themselves.
80      Thuban allows the user to create a session that displays      Thuban allows the user to create a session that displays
# Line 36  Line 83 
83      </para>      </para>
84      <para>      <para>
85      Thuban arranges a session in a hierarchy. A session contains a map which      Thuban arranges a session in a hierarchy. A session contains a map which
86      consists of layers. Each layer represents one kind of data set. For      consists of layers. Each layer represents a data set. For
87      instance, there may be a layer for roads and another layer for buildings.      instance, there may be a layer for roads and another layer for buildings.
88      These layers can either be vector shapes or images.      These layers can either be vector shapes or images.
89      </para>      </para>
# Line 44  Line 91 
91          <section><title>Installation</title>          <section><title>Installation</title>
92          <para>          <para>
93          Thuban is actively supported under Debian Testing (sarge), RedHat 7.2,          Thuban is actively supported under Debian Testing (sarge), RedHat 7.2,
94          and Windows 2000. All the necessary files can be found on the          and Windows 2000. Thuban depends on the following packages. These
95            packages can also be found on the
96          <ulink url="http://thuban.intevation.org/download.html">          <ulink url="http://thuban.intevation.org/download.html">
97          Thuban Download site          Thuban Download site
98          </ulink>.          </ulink>.
99            </para>
100            <para>
101            Required:
102            <itemizedlist>
103                <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            </itemizedlist>
122            </para>
123            <para>
124            Optional:
125            <itemizedlist>
126                <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                </itemizedlist>
133          </para>          </para>
134                    <para>
135                    Along with the source codes, the download page also offers full
136                    installation packages for Debian, Windows and RPM-based systems
137                    (Mandrake, RedHat, SuSE, etc).
138                    </para>
139                    <section><title>RPM-based GNU/Linux Systems</title>
140                            <section><title>Installing Binary Packages</title>
141                                    <para>
142                                    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                                    </para>
149                                    <para>
150                                    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                                    Typical rpm commands look like:
160    
161                                    <programlisting>
162                                    rpm --install Thuban-0.9.0-1.i386.rpm
163                                    </programlisting>
164    
165                                    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                                    </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                    </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          </section>          </section>
389    
390            <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                    <listitem><para>Portuguese (Brazilian)</para></listitem>
400                <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            allows appication specific language settings:
412            </para>
413            <programlisting>
414            LC_ALL=fr_FR thuban.py
415            </programlisting>
416    
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          <section><title>The Main Window</title>          <section><title>The Main Window</title>
424          <para>          <para>
425          <screenshot>          <figure>
426          <screeninfo>The Main Window</screeninfo>          <title>The Main Window</title>
427          <mediaobject>          <mediaobject>
428          <imageobject> <imagedata fileref="../images/1_2_mainwindow.png" format="PNG"/> </imageobject>          <imageobject> <imagedata fileref="../images/1_2_mainwindow.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/> </imageobject>
429          <imageobject> <imagedata fileref="./images/1_2_mainwindow.ps" format="EPS"/> </imageobject>          <imageobject> <imagedata fileref="./images/1_2_mainwindow.ps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/> </imageobject>
         <textobject><phrase>The Main Window</phrase></textobject>  
         <caption><para>The Main Window</para></caption>  
430          </mediaobject>          </mediaobject>
431          </screenshot>          </figure>
432          </para>          </para>
433    
434          <para>          <para>
# Line 97  Line 464 
464          The tool bar provides quick access to the commonly needed tools.          The tool bar provides quick access to the commonly needed tools.
465          By hovering over each button the user can see a short messages          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          describing what the tool does. The tools provided are Zoom In, Zoom
467          Out, Pan, Full Extent, Full Layer Extent, Full Shape Extent, Indentify,          Out, Pan, Full Extent, Full Layer Extent, Full Shape Extent, Identify,
468          and Label. Each of the tools will be explained in further detail later          and Label. Each of the tools will be explained in further detail later
469          in the manual.          in the manual.
470          </para>          </para>
# Line 113  Line 480 
480          <menuchoice>          <menuchoice>
481          <guimenu>File</guimenu>          <guimenu>File</guimenu>
482          <guimenuitem>New Session</guimenuitem>          <guimenuitem>New Session</guimenuitem>
483          </menuchoice>.          </menuchoice>.
   
484          If a session is already loaded and has been modified without          If a session is already loaded and has been modified without
485          being saved a prompt will ask if the current session should          being saved a prompt will ask if the current session should
486          be saved.          be saved. A new session consists of an empty map with no
487            layers, no tables and no projection.
488          </para>          </para>
489          </section>          </section>
490    
# Line 128  Line 494 
494          <menuchoice>          <menuchoice>
495          <guimenu>File</guimenu>          <guimenu>File</guimenu>
496          <guimenuitem>Open Session</guimenuitem>          <guimenuitem>Open Session</guimenuitem>
497          </menuchoice>.          </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    
502          If a session is already loaded and has been modified without          If a session is already loaded and has been modified without
503          being saved a prompt will ask if the current session should          being saved a prompt will ask if the current session should
# Line 143  Line 512 
512          <guimenu>File</guimenu>          <guimenu>File</guimenu>
513          <guimenuitem>Save Session</guimenuitem>          <guimenuitem>Save Session</guimenuitem>
514          </menuchoice>.          </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            the file system and select a place to save the session. Thuban
521            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          </para>          </para>
526          </section>          </section>
527    
528          <section><title>The Session Info-Tree</title>          <section><title>The Session Info-Tree</title>
529            <para>
530            <figure>
531            <title>Session Info Tree</title>
532            <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            </figure>
537            </para>
538          <para>          <para>
539                  (primarily for developers)          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          </para>          </para>
547          </section>          </section>
548    </chapter>    </chapter>
# Line 160  Line 553 
553      different type of data set. By interacting with the map the user can      different type of data set. By interacting with the map the user can
554      visually explore the data.      visually explore the data.
555      </para>      </para>
556        <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    
576          <section><title>Adding and Removing Layers</title>          <section><title>Adding and Removing Layers</title>
577          <para>          <para>
578          There are two types of layers that can use added to a map: shape layers          There are three types of layers that can be added to a map:
579            Shape layers, database layers
580          and image layers. Shape layers are stored in Shapefile format, a          and image layers. Shape layers are stored in Shapefile format, a
581          standard file format for storing geographic objects. Normally, these          widely used file format for storing geographic objects. These
582          files have the extension ``.shp''. Associated with          files have the extension ``.shp''. Associated with
583          the object information is a database file which stores attributes for          the shape file is a database file which stores attributes for
584          each shape in the Shapefile. This file, stored in DB2 format, usually          each shape in the Shape file. This file, in dBase format,
585          has the extension ``.dbf''. Both files should have the same base name.          has the extension ``.dbf''. Both files must have the same base name.
586          For example, if there is a Shapefile named roads.shp there should          For example, if there is a shape file named roads.shp there must
587          also be a file roads.dbf.          also be a file roads.dbf.
588          </para>          </para>
589          <para>          <itemizedlist>
590            <listitem>
591            <para>
592          Shape layers can be added to the map with          Shape layers can be added to the map with
593          <menuchoice>          <menuchoice>
594          <guimenu>Map</guimenu>          <guimenu>Map</guimenu>
595          <guimenuitem>Add Layer</guimenuitem>          <guimenuitem>Add Layer</guimenuitem>
596          </menuchoice>.          </menuchoice>.
597          Thuban will load all files with the same base name, so it doesn't          Initially, only the ``.shp'' files are shown which is enough for the
598          matter if the Shapefile or database file is selected.                  selection. However, if you switch to display all files and select one
599          </para>                  of the associated files (e.g. ``.dbf''), Thuban will recognize the base
600                    name and load the corresponding Shape file.
601            </para>
602                    <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            </listitem>
608    
609            <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          <para>          <para>
628          Image layers can be added to the map with          Image layers can be added to the map with
629          <menuchoice>          <menuchoice>
# Line 190  Line 631 
631          <guimenuitem>Add Image Layer</guimenuitem>          <guimenuitem>Add Image Layer</guimenuitem>
632          </menuchoice>.          </menuchoice>.
633          It is important to select a valid image file that has geographic          It is important to select a valid image file that has geographic
634          data associated with it. This can be embedded in the file itself,          data associated with it. The data can be embedded in the file itself,
635          or in another file. If geographic information cannot be found, Thuban          or in another file. If geographic information cannot be found, Thuban
636          will report an error.          will report an error.
637          </para>          </para>
638            </listitem>
639            </itemizedlist>
640          </section>          </section>
641    
642          <section><title>Navigation</title>          <section><title>Navigation</title>
643          <para>          <para>
644          The map can be explored by using the navigation tools available on          The map can be explored by using the navigation tools available on
645          the tool bar, or from the          the tool bar or from the
646          <menuchoice><guimenu>Map</guimenu></menuchoice> menu.          <menuchoice><guimenu>Map</guimenu></menuchoice> menu.
647          </para>          </para>
648            <itemizedlist>
649            <listitem>
650          <para>          <para>
651          The ZoomIn tool          The ZoomIn tool
652          <inlinemediaobject>          <inlinemediaobject>
653          <imageobject>          <imageobject>
654          <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_zoomin.png" format="PNG"/>          <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_zoomin.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
655          </imageobject>          </imageobject>
656          <imageobject>          <imageobject>
657          <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_zoomin.eps" format="EPS"/>          <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_zoomin.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
658          </imageobject>          </imageobject>
659          <textobject> <phrase>ZoomIn Tool</phrase> </textobject>          <textobject> <phrase>ZoomIn Tool</phrase> </textobject>
660          </inlinemediaobject>          </inlinemediaobject>
661          can be used to enlarge a region of the map. Clicking once on the map          enlarges a region of the map. Clicking once on the map
662          will double the magnification and center the map on the point that          will double the magnification and center the map on the point that
663          was clicked. Clicking and dragging lets the user select a region          was clicked. Clicking and dragging selects a region that will be
664          to be enlarged to fit the window.          enlarged to fit the window.
665          </para>          </para>
666            </listitem>
667            <listitem>
668          <para>          <para>
669          The ZoomOut tool          The ZoomOut tool
670          <inlinemediaobject>          <inlinemediaobject>
671          <imageobject>          <imageobject>
672          <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_zoomout.png" format="PNG"/>          <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_zoomout.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
673          </imageobject>          </imageobject>
674          <imageobject>          <imageobject>
675          <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_zoomout.eps" format="EPS"/>          <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_zoomout.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
676          </imageobject>          </imageobject>
677          <textobject> <phrase>ZoomOut Tool</phrase> </textobject>          <textobject> <phrase>ZoomOut Tool</phrase> </textobject>
678          </inlinemediaobject>          </inlinemediaobject>
# Line 234  Line 681 
681          selects a box such that the current contents of the window will be          selects a box such that the current contents of the window will be
682          scaled to fit into that box.          scaled to fit into that box.
683          </para>          </para>
684            </listitem>
685            <listitem>
686          <para>          <para>
687          The Pan tool          The Pan tool
688          <inlinemediaobject>          <inlinemediaobject>
689          <imageobject>          <imageobject>
690          <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_pan.png" format="PNG"/>          <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_pan.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
691          </imageobject>          </imageobject>
692          <imageobject>          <imageobject>
693          <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_pan.eps" format="EPS"/>          <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_pan.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
694          </imageobject>          </imageobject>
695          <textobject> <phrase>Pan Tool</phrase> </textobject>          <textobject> <phrase>Pan Tool</phrase> </textobject>
696          </inlinemediaobject>          </inlinemediaobject>
697          allows the user to move the map around by clicking and dragging.          allows the user to move the map around by clicking and dragging.
698          </para>          </para>
699            </listitem>
700            <listitem>
701          <para>          <para>
702          The Full Extent tool          The Full Extent tool
703          <inlinemediaobject>          <inlinemediaobject>
704          <imageobject>          <imageobject>
705          <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_fullextent.png" format="PNG"/>          <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_fullextent.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
706          </imageobject>          </imageobject>
707          <imageobject>          <imageobject>
708          <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_fullextent.eps" format="EPS"/>          <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_fullextent.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
709          </imageobject>          </imageobject>
710          <textobject> <phrase>Full Extent Tool</phrase> </textobject>          <textobject> <phrase>Full Extent Tool</phrase> </textobject>
711          </inlinemediaobject>          </inlinemediaobject>
712          rescales the viewable region so that the entire map is visible.          rescales the viewable region so that the entire map is visible.
713          </para>          </para>
714            </listitem>
715            <listitem>
716          <para>          <para>
717          The Full Layer Extent tool          The Full Layer Extent tool
718          <inlinemediaobject>          <inlinemediaobject>
719          <imageobject>          <imageobject>
720          <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_fulllayerextent.png" format="PNG"/>          <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_fulllayerextent.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
721          </imageobject>          </imageobject>
722          <imageobject>          <imageobject>
723          <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_fulllayerextent.eps" format="EPS"/>          <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_fulllayerextent.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
724          </imageobject>          </imageobject>
725          <textobject> <phrase>Full Layer Extent Tool</phrase> </textobject>          <textobject> <phrase>Full Layer Extent Tool</phrase> </textobject>
726          </inlinemediaobject>          </inlinemediaobject>
# Line 275  Line 728 
728          layer fits within the window. If no layer is selected this button          layer fits within the window. If no layer is selected this button
729          will be disabled.          will be disabled.
730          </para>          </para>
731            </listitem>
732            <listitem>
733          <para>          <para>
734          The Full Shape Extent tool          The Full Shape Extent tool
735          <inlinemediaobject>          <inlinemediaobject>
736          <imageobject>          <imageobject>
737          <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_fullshapeextent.png" format="PNG"/>          <imagedata fileref="../images/3_2_fullshapeextent.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
738          </imageobject>          </imageobject>
739          <imageobject>          <imageobject>
740          <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_fullshapeextent.eps" format="EPS"/>          <imagedata fileref="./images/3_2_fullshapeextent.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
741          </imageobject>          </imageobject>
742          <textobject> <phrase>Full Shape Extent Tool</phrase> </textobject>          <textobject> <phrase>Full Shape Extent Tool</phrase> </textobject>
743          </inlinemediaobject>          </inlinemediaobject>
744          rescales the viewable region so that the currently selected          rescales the viewable region so that the currently selected
745          shape fits within the window. If the shape is a point, it is          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          centered and the map is zoomed all the way in. If no shape is
747          selected this button will be disabled.          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          </para>          </para>
752            </listitem>
753            </itemizedlist>
754          </section>          </section>
755    
756          <section><title>Object Identification</title>          <section><title>Object Identification</title>
# Line 298  Line 758 
758          Objects on the map can be identified using the Identify tool          Objects on the map can be identified using the Identify tool
759          <inlinemediaobject>          <inlinemediaobject>
760          <imageobject>          <imageobject>
761          <imagedata fileref="../images/3_3_identify.png" format="PNG"/>          <imagedata fileref="../images/3_3_identify.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
762          </imageobject>          </imageobject>
763          <imageobject>          <imageobject>
764          <imagedata fileref="./images/3_3_identify.eps" format="EPS"/>          <imagedata fileref="./images/3_3_identify.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
765          </imageobject>          </imageobject>
766          <textobject> <phrase>Identify Tool</phrase> </textobject>          <textobject> <phrase>Identify Tool</phrase> </textobject>
767          </inlinemediaobject>.          </inlinemediaobject>.
768          Clicking on an object selects that object and opens a dialog which          Clicking on an object selects that object and opens a dialog which
769          shows all the table attributes for that object. Any current selection          shows all the table attributes for that object. Any current selection
770          is lost.          is lost. Objects on the map are typically shapes and this document
771            will often refer to objects as shapes.
772          </para>          </para>
773          </section>          </section>
774    
775          <section><title>Object Labelling</title>          <section><title>Object Labeling</title>
776          <para>          <para>
777          Objects can be labelled using the Label tool          Objects can be labeled using the Label tool
778          <inlinemediaobject>          <inlinemediaobject>
779          <imageobject>          <imageobject>
780          <imagedata fileref="../images/3_3_label.png" format="PNG"/>          <imagedata fileref="../images/3_3_label.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/>
781          </imageobject>          </imageobject>
782          <imageobject>          <imageobject>
783          <imagedata fileref="./images/3_3_label.eps" format="EPS"/>          <imagedata fileref="./images/3_3_label.eps" format="EPS" scale="&imgscale;"/>
784          </imageobject>          </imageobject>
785          <textobject> <phrase>Label Tool</phrase> </textobject>          <textobject> <phrase>Label Tool</phrase> </textobject>
786          </inlinemediaobject>.          </inlinemediaobject>.
787          Clicking on an object selects that object and opens a dialog which          Clicking on an object selects that object and opens a dialog which
788          displays the table attributes for that object. An attribute can          displays the table attributes for that object. An attribute can
789          be selected to be the label on the map. Using this tool for an          be selected to be the label on the map. The label will be placed
790          object that already has a label will remove the label.          at the center of the shape. Clicking on an object that already has
791            a label will remove the label.
792          </para>          </para>
793          </section>          </section>
794    
795          <section><title>The Legend</title>          <section><title>The Legend</title>
796            <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          <para>          <para>
808          The Legend provides an overview of the layers in the map. Layers          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.          that appear higher in the legend will appear ``closer'' to the user.
# Line 343  Line 816 
816          <para>          <para>
817          Along the top of the legend is a toolbar which allows quick access          Along the top of the legend is a toolbar which allows quick access
818          to some of the layer manipulation options under          to some of the layer manipulation options under
819          <menuchoice> <guimenu>Map</guimenu> </menuchoice>.          <menuchoice><guimenu>Map</guimenu></menuchoice>.
820            </para>
821    
822            <itemizedlist>
823            <listitem>
824            <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            </listitem>
837            <listitem>
838    
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            </listitem>
852            <listitem>
853    
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            </listitem>
868            <listitem>
869            <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            </listitem>
883            <listitem>
884            <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            </listitem>
899            <listitem>
900            <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            </listitem>
914            <listitem>
915            <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          Double-clicking on a layer or a group of a layer will open the          Double-clicking on a layer or a group of a layer will open the
927          properties dialog for that layer.          properties dialog for that layer.
928          </para>          </para>
929            </listitem>
930            </itemizedlist>
931    
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            <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            </section>
954    
955            <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            </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            </para>
969          </section>          </section>
970    
971          <section><title>Printing</title>          <section><title>Printing</title>
# Line 356  Line 974 
974          <menuchoice>          <menuchoice>
975          <guimenu>Map</guimenu>          <guimenu>Map</guimenu>
976          <guimenuitem>Print</guimenuitem>          <guimenuitem>Print</guimenuitem>
977          </menuchoice>. A standard printing dialog will open allowing the          </menuchoice>. The current map view, legend, and, if available,
978          user to configure the printer.          scalebar are printed. A standard printing dialog will open allowing
979            the user to configure the printer. This dialog will differ depending
980            on which platform Thuban is running.
981          </para>          </para>
982          </section>          </section>
983    
984    </chapter>    </chapter>
985    
986    <chapter><title>Layer Management</title>    <chapter><title>Layer Management</title>
# Line 368  Line 989 
989    
990          <section><title>Types of Layers</title>          <section><title>Types of Layers</title>
991          <para>          <para>
992          There are two types of layers supported by Thuban: shape layers and          There are three types of layers supported by Thuban: shape layers,
993            database layers and
994          image layers. Shape layers consist of vector based shapes with          image layers. Shape layers consist of vector based shapes with
995          geo-referenced coordinates. There are three types of supported          geo-referenced coordinates. There are three types of supported
996          shapes: polygons, lines, and points. Image layers can be any image          shapes: polygons, lines (arc), and points. Database layers are similar
997          file format supported by GDAL. The images must have geographic          to shape layers but loaded from a database instead of the file system.
998          coordinate data either embedded within the file, or in a seperate          Image layers can be any image
999            file format supported by the Geo-spatial Data Abstraction Library
1000            (GDAL). The images must have geographic
1001            coordinate data either embedded within the file or in a separate
1002          file that is in the same directory as the image file. GeoTIFF files          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          work very well with Thuban and were designed specifically to be image
1004          layers in GIS programs.          layers in GIS programs.
1005          </para>          </para>
1006            <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          </section>          </section>
1013    
1014          <section><title>Properties</title>          <section><title>Properties</title>
1015          <para>          <para>
1016          Each shape in a shape layer can have various properties which control          To view the properties for a layer it must first be selected in the
1017          how it is drawn on the map. Polygons and points can be drawn with an          legend. The menu option
1018          outline color and a fill color, while lines have only a line color.          <menuchoice>
1019            <guimenu>Layer</guimenu>
1020            <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem>
1021            </menuchoice> opens a dialog that displays a layer's properties.
1022            All layers have a title which can be modified in the text field
1023            provided. The type of layer is also shows. If the type is a type
1024            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            </para>
1028            <para>
1029            <figure>
1030            <title>Properties Window</title>
1031            <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            </figure>
1036            </para>
1037            <para>
1038            <figure>
1039            <title>Properties Window</title>
1040            <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            </figure>
1045          </para>          </para>
1046          </section>          </section>
1047    
# Line 393  Line 1050 
1050          Sometimes it is not desirable to view all layers at the same time.          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          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          around the map the user may not want to wait for the map to redraw
1053          each time the map is changed. Each layer can be independently          all the layers each time the map is changed. Each layer can be
1054          turned on or off using the          independently turned on or off using the
1055          <menuchoice>          <menuchoice>
1056          <guimenu>Layer</guimenu>          <guimenu>Layer</guimenu>
1057          <guimenuitem>Show</guimenuitem>          <guimenuitem>Show</guimenuitem>
# Line 407  Line 1064 
1064          </para>          </para>
1065          </section>          </section>
1066    
         <section><title>Sequence</title>  
         <para>  
         </para>  
         </section>  
   
1067          <section><title>Duplication</title>          <section><title>Duplication</title>
1068          <para>          <para>
1069          Layers and all their properties, including classifications, can          Layers and all their properties, including classifications, can
# Line 421  Line 1073 
1073          <guimenuitem>Duplicate</guimenuitem>          <guimenuitem>Duplicate</guimenuitem>
1074          </menuchoice>. Duplicating a layer is useful if the user wishes          </menuchoice>. Duplicating a layer is useful if the user wishes
1075          to model a layer in several different ways. Even though the layers          to model a layer in several different ways. Even though the layers
1076          overlap by carefully selecting the shape properties it is possible          overlap, by carefully selecting the shape properties it is possible
1077          to display several pieces of information at once. For example, one          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          copy of a roads layer may be classified on a length property and
1079          another copy may be classified on a type property. if the length          another copy may be classified on a type property. If the length
1080          property was expressed with color and the type property expressed          property was expressed with color and the type property expressed
1081          with line thickness then it would be possible to view both          with line thickness then it would be possible to view both
1082          classifications by placing the type property copy over the          classifications by placing the type property copy over the
# Line 442  Line 1094 
1094      cannot be classified.      cannot be classified.
1095      </para>      </para>
1096      <para>      <para>
1097      A classification consists of a number of groups, with each group      A classification consists of a number of groups, each group
1098      having a value or range of values to match against, and symbol      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      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      selects which field in the table is used by the classification and
# Line 455  Line 1107 
1107      <para>      <para>
1108      A layer always has a classification. When a new layer is added to the      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      map, a default classification is created with the DEFAULT group. This
1110      group cannot be removed. Every shape in the layer, regardless of its      group cannot be removed but can be hidden (see below). Every shape in the
1111      attributes, will match this group.      layer, regardless of its attributes, will match this group if no other
1112        group matches.
1113      </para>      </para>
1114    
1115          <section><title>Editing Classifications</title>          <section><title>Editing Classifications</title>
# Line 473  Line 1126 
1126          button.          button.
1127          </para>          </para>
1128          <para>          <para>
1129            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            <figure>
1142            <title>Properties Window</title>
1143            <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            </figure>
1148            </para>
1149            <para>
1150          The order of the groups in the classification is significant          The order of the groups in the classification is significant
1151          except for the DEFAULT group, which remains at the top. When shapes          except for the DEFAULT group, which remains at the top. When shapes
1152          are matched against groups the matching begins at the first group          are matched against groups the matching begins at the first group
1153          other than the DEFAULT group so that groups higher in the list will          after the DEFAULT group so that groups higher in the list will
1154          be checked first. Matching for a          be checked first. Matching for a
1155          given shape will stop at the first group that matches. The user can          given shape will stop at the first group that matches. The user can
1156          use <guibutton>Move Up</guibutton> and <guibutton>Move Down</guibutton>          use <guibutton>Move Up</guibutton> and <guibutton>Move Down</guibutton>
1157          to change the order of the groups. The DEFAULT group will always          to change the order of the groups. The DEFAULT group will always
1158          match a shape that hasn't matched another group.          match a shape that hasn't matched another group.
1159          </para>          </para>
1160          <para>              <section><title>Visible</title>
1161          The Value column of the classification table is the value that will              <para>
1162          be matched when the map is being drawn. The type of data that can              The Visible column has check-boxes that determine whether a
1163          entered into this field depends on the type of data of the              classification group will be displayed in the legend. This is
1164          classification field.              useful if the user knows that the groups completely cover
1165          </para>              the data set and don't want the DEFAULT group to be displayed
1166          <para>              in the legend and on a printout.
1167          If the field is of type Text, anything entered              </para>
1168          into the field is valid. The text will be compared literally to the          </section>
1169          value of the shape attribute, including case sensitivity.              <section><title>Symbols</title>
1170          If the type is Integer, then any valid integer may be entered. In              <para>
1171          addition, with special syntax, a range of values can be entered.              Each type of shape has its own type of symbol. Thuban supports three
1172          A range from <varname>start</varname> to <varname>end</varname>              types of shapes: polygons, lines, and points. Polygons and points
1173          inclusive is specifed like this: <literal>[start;end]</literal>.              have outline and fill color, while lines have only line color. Each
1174          The exclusive range is specified like this:              group has associated symbol properties. To edit the symbol
1175          <literal>]start;end[</literal>. Ranges can include infinity like              properties for a group the user can double click on the Symbol
1176          this: <literal>[-oo;oo]</literal>. Field types can also be of type              column or select a group and click the
1177          Decimal. They represent any rational number and can be used in ranges              <guibutton>Edit Symbol</guibutton> button.
1178          as well.              </para>
1179          </para>              </section>
1180          </section>          <section><title>Value</title>
1181                <para>
1182          <section><title>Symbols</title>              The Value column of the classification table is the value that will
1183          <para>              be matched when the map is being drawn. The type of data that can
1184          Each type of shape has its own type of symbol. Thuban supports three              entered into this field depends on the type of data of the
1185          types of shapes: polygons, lines, and points. Polygons and points have              classification field.
1186          outline and fill color, while lines have only line color. Each group              </para>
1187          has associated symbol properties. To edit the symbol properties for a              <para>
1188          group the user can double click on the Symbol column or select a              If the field is of type Text, anything entered
1189          group and click the <guibutton>Edit Symbol</guibutton> button.              into the field is valid. The text will be compared literally to the
1190          </para>              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                inclusive is specified like this: <literal>[start;end]</literal>.
1195                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          </section>          </section>
1210    
1211          <section><title>Generating Classes</title>          <section><title>Generating Classes</title>
1212          <para>          <para>
1213            <figure>
1214            <title>Generate Class</title>
1215            <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            </figure>
1220            </para>
1221            <para>
1222          Creating a classification by hand can be tedious.          Creating a classification by hand can be tedious.
1223          Thuban, therefore, provides a means of generating an entire          Thuban, therefore, provides a means of generating an entire
1224          classification at once while still giving the user control over          classification at once while still giving the user control over
1225          how it appears. Clicking <guibutton>Generate Class</guibutton>          how it appears. Clicking <guibutton>Generate Class</guibutton>
1226          opens the <varname>Generate Classification</varname> dialog.          opens the <varname>Generate Classification</varname> dialog.
1227          Under the <varname>Generate</varname> pulldown there are at most          Under the <varname>Generate</varname> pull down there are at most
1228          three different ways to generate classifications:          three different ways to generate classifications:
1229          Unique Values, Unique Distribution, and Quantiles. Some options          Unique Values, Uniform Distribution, and Quantiles. Some options
1230          may not be available if they data type for the field does not          may not be available if the data type for the field does not
1231          support them. For instance, <varname>Unique Distribution</varname>          support them. For instance, <varname>Uniform Distribution</varname>
1232          doesn't make sense for a Text field.          doesn't make sense for a Text field.
1233          </para>          </para>
1234          <para>          <para>
1235          For every way of generating a classification, a color scheme must          For every way of generating a classification, a color scheme must
1236          be selected. Thuban provides several different color schemes that          be selected. Thuban provides several different color schemes that
1237          affect how the group properties change over the classification.          affect how the group properties change over the classification.
1238            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          It is also possible to create a custom color scheme. Selecting          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          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          properties of the first group and the one on the right has the
1246          properties of the last group. Thuban will interpolate between these          properties of the last group. Thuban will interpolate between these
1247          two properties to generate the other groups.          two properties to generate the other groups.
1248            <figure>
1249            <title>Custom Color Scheme</title>
1250            <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            </figure>
1255          </para>          </para>
1256          <para>          <para>
1257          The Unique Values option lets the user select specific values that          The Unique Values option lets the user select specific values that
# Line 548  Line 1261 
1261          right. Each list can be sorted or reversed for easier searching.          right. Each list can be sorted or reversed for easier searching.
1262          The classification that is generated will be in the same order as          The classification that is generated will be in the same order as
1263          the list on the right.          the list on the right.
1264            <figure>
1265            <title>Unique Values</title>
1266            <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            </figure>
1271          </para>          </para>
1272          <para>          <para>
1273          The Unique Distribution option creates a user specified number of          The Uniform Distribution option creates a user specified number of
1274          groups of ranges such that each range covers equal intervals. The          groups of ranges such that each range covers equal intervals. The
1275          minimum and maximum values can automatically be retrieved from the          minimum and maximum values can automatically be retrieved from the
1276          table by clicking <guibutton>Retrieve From Table</guibutton>. The          table by clicking <guibutton>Retrieve From Table</guibutton>. The
1277          stepping is how large each interval is. Adjusting this value will          stepping is how large each interval is. Adjusting this value will
1278          automatically recalculate how many groups is appropriate.          automatically recalculate how many groups is appropriate.
1279            <figure>
1280            <title>Uniform Distribution</title>
1281            <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            </figure>
1286          </para>          </para>
1287          <para>          <para>
1288          The Quantiles option generates ranges based on the number items          The Quantiles option generates ranges based on the number of items
1289          in the input set. For example, by specifying 5 groups Thuban will          in the table. For example, by specifying five groups Thuban will
1290          generate groups with appropriate ranges such that 20% of the table          generate five groups with appropriate ranges such that 20% of the table
1291          data is in each group. If it is impossible to generate exact          data is in each group. If it is impossible to generate exact
1292          grouping, Thuban will issue a warning but allow the user to continue.          groupings, Thuban will issue a warning but allow the user to continue.
1293            <figure>
1294            <title>Quantiles</title>
1295            <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            </figure>
1300          </para>          </para>
1301          </section>          </section>
1302    </chapter>    </chapter>
# Line 571  Line 1305 
1305      <para>      <para>
1306      Projections control how the geographic data is displayed on the screen.      Projections control how the geographic data is displayed on the screen.
1307      If multiple layers are loaded into Thuban where the geographic data      If multiple layers are loaded into Thuban where the geographic data
1308      is in a different projection system, then the user must tell Thuban      is in a different projection system, then the user must specify a
1309      which projection each layer has. The user must also tell Thuban which      projection for each layer. The user must also tell Thuban which
1310      projection the map is in. This can be the same as the layers or a different      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.      projection in which case the layers are reprojected into that space.
1312      The map projection can be set using      The map projection can be set using
# Line 584  Line 1318 
1318      <guimenu>Layer</guimenu>      <guimenu>Layer</guimenu>
1319      <guimenuitem>Projection</guimenuitem>      <guimenuitem>Projection</guimenuitem>
1320      </menuchoice>.      </menuchoice>.
1321        <figure>
1322        <title>Projection Window</title>
1323        <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        </figure>
1328      </para>      </para>
1329      <para>      <para>
1330      Thuban is distributed with a sample collection of projections. The      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      user can create new projections and make them available to all      user can create new projections and make them available to all
1340      future Thuban sessions. They may also be exported and imported so      future Thuban sessions. They may also be exported and imported so
1341      that custom projections can be distributed to others.      that custom projections can be distributed.
1342      </para>      </para>
1343          <section><title>Selecting a Projection</title>          <section><title>Selecting a Projection</title>
1344          <para>          <para>
1345          The available projections are listed on the left. If the layer          The available projections are listed on the left. If the layer
1346          or map already has a projection it will be initially highlighted          or map already has a projection it will initially be highlighted
1347          and will end with <varname>(current)</varname>. Selecting          and will end with <varname>(current)</varname>. Selecting
1348          <varname>None</varname>will cause Thuban to use the data as          <varname>&lt;None&gt;</varname> will cause Thuban to use the data as
1349          it appears in the source file and will not use a projection.          it appears in the source file and will not use a projection.
1350          </para>          </para>
1351      </section>      </section>
# Line 605  Line 1354 
1354          Whenever a projection is selected from the list its properties          Whenever a projection is selected from the list its properties
1355          are displayed on the right. These properties can be changed          are displayed on the right. These properties can be changed
1356          and the changes saved to the selected projection using          and the changes saved to the selected projection using
1357          the <guibutton>Update</guibutton>. Only a projection that comes          <guibutton>Update</guibutton>. Only a projection that comes
1358          from a file can be updated, so if the current layer's projection          from a file can be updated, so if the current layer's projection
1359          is selectd, <guibutton>Update</guibutton> will be disabled.          is selected, <guibutton>Update</guibutton> will be disabled.
1360          The <guibutton>Add to List</guibutton> adds the projection to the          <guibutton>Add to List</guibutton> adds the projection to the
1361          list of available projections as a new entry, and thus make it          list of available projections as a new entry, and thus makes it
1362          available to future Thuban sessions. Clicking <guibutton>New</guibutton>          available to future Thuban sessions. Clicking <guibutton>New</guibutton>
1363          will create an entirely new, empty projection. The          will create an entirely new, empty projection. The
1364          <guibutton>Remove</guibutton> button will permanantly remove a          <guibutton>Remove</guibutton> button will permanently remove a
1365          projection from the list of available projections.          projection from the list of available projections.
1366          </para>          </para>
1367            <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      </section>      </section>
1380          <section><title>Importing/Exporting Projections</title>          <section><title>Importing/Exporting Projections</title>
1381          <para>          <para>
1382          The projections that appear in the list of available projections          The projections that appear in the list of available projections
1383          can be exported to another file that the user chooses. By selecting          can be exported to another file that the user chooses. By selecting
1384          one or more projections and clicking <guibutton>Export</guibutton>          one or more projections and clicking <guibutton>Export</guibutton>
1385          the user will be able to select a file to store those projections.          the user will be able to select a file in which to store those
1386            projections.
1387          The file can then be distributed to other Thuban users. To import          The file can then be distributed to other Thuban users. To import
1388          a projection file the user can click <guibutton>Import</guibutton>.          a projection file the user can click <guibutton>Import</guibutton>.
1389          The imported projections are added to the list and are then available          The imported projections are added to the list and are then available
1390          to the current session and any future Thuban session.          to the current session and any future Thuban sessions.
1391          </para>          </para>
1392      </section>      </section>
1393    </chapter>    </chapter>
1394    
1395    <chapter><title>Table Management</title>    <chapter><title>Table Management</title>
1396      <para>      <para>
1397        Thuban distinguishes two different types of tables: Attribute tables
1398        (which belong to a layer) and normal data tables. Both provide
1399            the same general functionality with the difference that actions on an
1400        attribute table might also effect the map display.
1401      </para>      </para>
1402    
1403        <section><title>Table View</title>
1404            <para>
1405            <figure>
1406            <title>Table View</title>
1407            <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            </figure>
1412            </para>
1413            <para>
1414            Thuban provides a standard dialog to display table contents, the
1415            Table View. The view has five sections: The title, selections,
1416            the table grid, export functions, and the status bar.
1417            </para>
1418            <para>
1419            The title bar identifies the table with its name.
1420            </para>
1421            <para>
1422            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            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            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          
1433            Selections can be combined either by applying a selection only on
1434            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            </para>
1438            <para>
1439            The table grid shows the contents of the table (one record per row),
1440            with highlighted selection results. Columns and rows can be resized.
1441            </para>
1442            <para>
1443            The contents of a table can be exported into a file, either dBase
1444            format (DBF) or comma separated values (CSV). The
1445            <guibutton>Export</guibutton> button
1446            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            The <guibutton>Export Selection</guibutton> button works similarly
1450            but exports only the selected records.
1451    
1452            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            The status bar displays some statistics about the table and optional
1461            selection results.
1462            </para>
1463        </section>
1464    
1465        <section><title>General Functionality (Menu Table)</title>
1466            <para>
1467            The general functions affect all tables open in Thuban. Attribute
1468            tables are considered here as normal data tables (with the exception
1469            that they cannot be closed).
1470            </para>
1471            <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                dBase file from the file system to be loaded into Thuban read-only.
1480                On <guibutton>OK</guibutton> the selected file is loaded and a
1481                table view is opened.
1482                </para>
1483            </section>
1484    
1485            <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    
1502                Any open views of the tables are closed as well.
1503    
1504                Tables used in a join cannot be closed.
1505                </para>
1506            </section>
1507    
1508            <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    
1517            <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                show in tables views on <guibutton>OK</guibutton>.
1527                </para>
1528            </section>
1529    
1530            <section><title>Join</title>
1531                <para>
1532                <figure>
1533                <title>Join Tables</title>
1534                <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                </figure>
1539                </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    
1550                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    
1554                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    
1561        </section>
1562        <section><title>Attribute Tables</title>
1563            <para>
1564                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            </para>
1568    
1569            <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                Unlike the join described above, the join does not result in a
1587                new table. The attribute table of the currently active layer is the
1588                left table and other tables are joined to this table. The results of
1589                the join are available for classification.
1590    
1591                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    
1598            <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    
1605                Hence joins on attribute tables must be solved explicitly. This is
1606                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                active layer is solved.
1613                </para>
1614            </section>
1615        </section>
1616      </chapter>
1617    
1618      <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                    The modules to import must either be found through the environment
1636                    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            <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            <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    extensions_menu = main_menu.FindOrInsertMenu('extensions', _('E&xtensions'))
1843    
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>    </chapter>
1918    
1919    <chapter><title>Trouble Shooting</title>    <chapter><title>Trouble Shooting</title>
1920      <para>      <para>
1921        Here are a few problems that users have encountered when first using Thuban.
1922        </para>
1923        <para>
1924    
1925        <itemizedlist>
1926        <listitem>
1927        <para>After adding two or more layers nothing is drawn in the map window.
1928        </para>
1929        <para>
1930        This is probably because the layers have different projections. Projections
1931        must be set on all layers and on the map itself if the layers' projections
1932        are different.
1933        </para>
1934        </listitem>
1935    
1936        <listitem>
1937        <para>Thuban crashes on startup with the error
1938            <literal>NameError: global name 'False' is not defined</literal>.
1939        </para>
1940        <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>      </para>
1944        </listitem>
1945    
1946        <listitem>
1947        <para>After compiling Thuban, Thuban crashes with an error similar to
1948            <literal>
1949            ImportError: /usr/local//lib/thuban/Thuban/../Lib/wxproj.so: undefined symbol: __gxx_personality_v0
1950            </literal>
1951        </para>
1952        <para>
1953        Thuban depends on the wxWindows library. If Thuban is compiled with an
1954        incompatible version of the compiler than wxWindows was compiled with
1955        this error may occur. Try compiling with a different version of the
1956        compiler.
1957        </para>
1958        </listitem>
1959        </itemizedlist>
1960        </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        <figure>
1971        <title>Error Dialog</title>
1972        <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        </figure>
1977        </para>
1978    
1979    </chapter>    </chapter>
1980    
1981    <appendix><title>Supported Data Sources</title>    <appendix><title>Supported Data Sources</title>
# Line 646  Line 1984 
1984      <variablelist>      <variablelist>
1985      <varlistentry>      <varlistentry>
1986      <term>Shapefile</term>      <term>Shapefile</term>
1987      <listitem><para></para></listitem>      <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      </varlistentry>      </varlistentry>
1999    
2000      <varlistentry>      <varlistentry>
2001      <term>DB2 file</term>      <term>dBase file</term>
2002      <listitem><para></para></listitem>      <listitem>
2003            <para>
2004            dBase files are used to store the attributes for each layer. This
2005            is closely associated with the Shapefile format. For detailed
2006            specifications on the correct format of a dBase file used with
2007            Thuban please see the Technical Specification for the Shapefile
2008            format above.
2009            </para>
2010        </listitem>
2011        </varlistentry>
2012    
2013        <varlistentry>
2014        <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        <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            extension ".tfw").
2037            </para>
2038        </listitem>
2039      </varlistentry>      </varlistentry>
2040    
2041      </variablelist>      </variablelist>
2042    </appendix>    </appendix>
2043    
2044      <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        <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/app_postgis_db_management.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
2077        <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            <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/app_postgis_db_add.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
2091            <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            <imageobject><imagedata fileref="../images/app_postgis_add_layer.png" format="PNG" scale="&imgscale;"/></imageobject>
2121            <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    <appendix><title>Supported Projections</title>    <appendix><title>Supported Projections</title>
2130      <para>      <para>
2131        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        projections which are available through the Projections dialog.
2135        </para>
2136        <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                    </para></listitem>
2144            </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        
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        <itemizedlist>
2186        <listitem><para>Belgium Datum 1972 (Lambert Conic Conformal)</para>
2187        </listitem>
2188    
2189        <listitem><para>Gauss-Boaga Zone 1 (Italy, Transverse Mercartor)</para>
2190        </listitem>
2191    
2192        <listitem><para>Gauss-Krueger Zone 2 (Germany, Transverse Mercartor)
2193        </para>
2194        </listitem>
2195    
2196        <listitem><para>Reseau Geodesique Francaise
2197        (France, Lambert Conic Conformal)</para>
2198        </listitem>
2199    
2200        <listitem><para>UK National Grid (United Kingdom, Transverse Mercartor)
2201        </para>
2202        </listitem>
2203        </itemizedlist>
2204    
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>      </para>
     <variablelist>  
     <varlistentry>  
     <term>Geographic</term>  
     <listitem><para>Geographic</para></listitem>  
     </varlistentry>  
     <varlistentry>  
     <term>Lambert Conic Conformal</term>  
     <listitem><para>Lambert Conic Conformal</para></listitem>  
     </varlistentry>  
     <varlistentry>  
     <term>Transverse Mercator</term>  
     <listitem><para>Transverse Mercator</para></listitem>  
     </varlistentry>  
     <varlistentry>  
     <term>Universal Transverse Mercator</term>  
     <listitem><para>Universal Transverse Mercator</para></listitem>  
     </varlistentry>  
     </variablelist>  
2210    </appendix>    </appendix>
2211    
2212  </book>  </book>
2213    

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