This blog is maintained by GeoStor staff from the AGIO

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Issues Connecting to GeoStor 6.0 ArcGIS Services

Second Response to Issue Below
Thank you for making us aware of this issue. The GeoStor 6.0 Architecture includes two identical ArcGIS Server setups that are accessed via a CISCO Switch. The switch provides some load balancing and redundancy (ie- if one server is down, the other one will receive all of the traffic). We have determined the ArcGIS services are not functioning properly on one of the servers. This is why the service works sometimes and fails others. We are continuing to work on a resolution. We truly appreciate the feedback during the beta phase. This will help ensure a smooth transition. We will post an update when this issue is resolved so further testing can be done by the user community.

Issue: We are getting mixed results here with the Beta GeoStor Ortho 2006 map service. We cannot get any results in the ArcCatalog preview pane. I have dropped the map service on existing map documents and at times it works. Mostly it does not. When it did work, we pan around and the image is not rendered properly. Eventually the image stops all rendering.

We are running Arc 9.2 Sp6.

http://geostor.blogspot.com/

Friday, April 24, 2009

GeoStor 6.0 & Connecting to ArcGIS Services

I have gotten quite a few questions regarding how to connect to ArcGIS Services, especially with ArcCatalog, even though there is a tutorial on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ_h9UFFC88).

Here are the quick and dirty instructions:

  1. Open ArcCatalog (You must be using 9.2 SP6 at a minimum, 9.3 is preferred)
  2. Expand "GIS Servers"
  3. Click add ArcGIS Server
  4. Click Next
  5. Put this URL in for the Server URL: http://www.geostor.arkansas.gov/arcgis/services
  6. Click Finish

Setting this up will allow you to use all our new services such as the cached basemap, 1M statewide ortho, hybrid, and DRGs which are SIGNIFICANTLY faster than the dynamic services.

For you web developers out there, if you didn't already know, you can access the REST API at the URL below:

http://www.geostor.arkansas.gov/arcgis/rest/services/

You can also view this post on our blog: http://geostor.blogspot.com

Glen

GeoStor 6.0 Updates

Well, I have been busy the past week or so fixing the bugs that folks have submitted as well as ones that we have found along the way. These are the things that I have changed since the last update:

Bugs

  • The proper metadata is being attached with downloads now (it wasn't being modified to the downloader's specifications before)
  • All the big selection lists are hard coded in the html rather than being pulled from the webservice, they load much faster now
  • The validation for the Township/Range & Quad selection lists on the download dialog has been fixed
  • Downloads of Watershed, Township/Range & Quad clips all work now
  • Took off the UI block for all ajax operations, kinda defeated the purpose of the asynchronous communications
  • The map viewer should work all the time now, but IE7 users will have to clear their browser cache occasionally for some odd reason
  • Miscellaneous bug fixes in the code and some improvements in performance
  • Changed all the fonts to be the same
  • Fixed the flash of unstyled content before the javascript is completely loaded

Added Features

  • Switched to the jQuery plugin jGrowl for all the informational and warning notifications (the little boxes that pop up in the top right corner)
  • Changed the formatting for the output results to be easier to read
  • Updated the Watershed HUC8 dataset in GeoStor
  • Users are informed of the submission of a download as well as the success of that submission

TODO

  • Finish setting up GeoCortex Essentials
  • The map viewer still has some quirks regarding navigating with the mouse


 

Glen

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

GeoStor: New Data Available

The Arkansas Highway & Transportation Department has provided a revised layer that consists of township, range and section layer. The Arkansas 1:24000 Township, Range and Section layers were digitized and attributed utilizing information from the 1:24000 USGS Topographic Maps, General Land Office Maps, State of Arkansas Land Commission, State Surveyors Office, and several county assessors’ offices. Other resources such as the ADOP Photography and the National Hydrography Dataset were also used to complete the project. All line work was digitized in CAD and then transferred to a GIS for attribution and quality control. The project took approximately 6 years to complete. Please refer to the layer's metadata for additional information. The data can be downloaded for no fee at the link below.
http://www.geostor.arkansas.gov/G6/Home.html?q=Section

Friday, April 17, 2009

GeoStor: Tornado Imagery Available

Mena imagery captured on April 11, 2009 around Mena, AR is now available on GeoStor.
http://www.geostor.arkansas.gov/G6/Home.html?q=tornado

The data has been provided to the Polk County Assessor Office and local officials.

The imagery was acquired by Eagle Forestry Services, Inc (http://www.efsgeotech.com/) and purchased by the AGIO. The imagery is publically accessible and available for no fee.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

GeoStor 6.0 Update

Tutorials on YouTube
* GeoStor Beta Tutorial http://www.geostor.arkansas.gov/G6/Home.html?q=geostor+tutorial

* How to connect to GeoStor ArcGIS Serverhttp://www.geostor.arkansas.gov/G6/Home.html?q=connect
These are a test to see if it is useful. Let us know via the blog or email (GeoStor@arkansas.gov)

Connect to information not on GeoStor. Below are a few examples. Additional ones can be found using the keywords Offsite Publisher (OFF). We are intrested in linking to any GIS information in AR. Let us know if you are intrested in helping populate this with your GIS information (website, ftp, application, etc.)
City of Fortsmith Online Mapshttp://www.geostor.arkansas.gov/G6/Home.html?q=online+maps
Benton County Basemap Viewerhttp://www.geostor.arkansas.gov/G6/Home.html?q=benton+viewer
Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Servicehttp://www.geostor.arkansas.gov/G6/Home.html?q=Advanced+Hydrologic

Monday, April 13, 2009

GeoStor 6.0 Bug Fixes & Feature Requests

I want to post our current progress on bug fixes and feature requests on this blog to keep everyone informed about what is going on. If you find a bug that is NOT on this list please comment here or email it to geostor@arkansas.gov and I will add it to the list. The bug is listed first with the technology/issue and status below it, it is the same for the feature requests. If you have any suggestions on something to try or solutions to any of these comment here or send it to me in an email to the address above.

Glen

Bugs

  • Drop down lists in reverse
    • I pull the results from a DB that is accessed via a web service. All the returned data is in JSON which is then converted to a JS object. The selection list is populated via a jQuery plugin and it goes though inserting each new one in the selection list.
  • Map viewer isn't lined up right in IE7
    • Using a DIV for layout, works in FF & Chrome, I have tried resizing the DIV without any result in the map rendered by IE7.
  • Don't change data in info/warn DIV until fade is complete
    • Haven't started on this one
  • The unordered list in the info/warn boxes isn't left justifying in IE7
    • I have tried using CSS and classic HTML to left justify them and neither made a difference
  • The email address validator was incorrectly blocking valid email addresses
    • FIXED
  • Clipping by watersheds does not work
    • FIXED
  • Pressing enter does not submit the search on certain browsers
    • FIXED
  • When you drag to zoom in on the viewer the dragged extent box doesn't show up properly, if at all
    • Working on this one
  • On the services page you can't collapse the current item
    • FIXED


 

Feature Requests

  • A "Working" animation
    • ADDED
  • Results pagination or sorting
    • Checked into it, required quite a bit more coding so we decided to just show the top results only if there are too many results
  • Toggle the column description popup
    • I tried this at first but using the jQuery toggle function seems to toggle everything on the page when you use it
  • Document how to use the map viewers (viewer and advanced search)
    • Coming
  • Document what the map is used for on the adv search
    • Coming

I also changed some layout and font issues that were identified.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 13, 2009
Little Rock, Arkansas


GeoStor 6.0 Invitation for Beta Testing and User Feedback

The Arkansas Geographic Information Office (AGIO) has developed an updated version of GeoStor. This is an invitation for users to participate in beta testing of GeoStor 6.0 Beta and to provide feedback.
GeoStor 6.0 Action Plan Dates
April 13th - GeoStor 6.0 released as beta
April 15th - GeoStor 6.0 Webex session provided by GeoStor staff
April 16th - Call for Application XML metadata
June 20th- GeoStor 5.0 goes dark
June 22nd - All beta URL's changed to the www.geostor.arkansas.gov
June 22nd- GeoStor 6.0 is in production
June 29th- Detailed GeoStor 6.0 documentation

GeoStor 6.0 is now available for beta testing and the AGIO is soliciting users to test the new system and provide feedback.

The Beta version is incomplete, likely contains bugs and should NOT be used for any production purposes. We recognize that visitors have various operating systems and Internet browsers. Although we want every visitor to have the best possible experience from GeoStor, it is impossible to provide web pages that work identically, efficiently, and effectively with all browsers and settings.

This site has been designed to function with the following Internet browser software:
Internet Explorer 7.0
Mozilla Firefox 3.0
Google Chrome 2.0
Safari 3.1

These browsers were selected based on statistics generated by GeoStor 5.0 users over the past two years. Please accept our sincerest apologies if GeoStor does not function properly in older browsers.

We encourage users to test the following:
· Search and Advanced Search
· GIS Data Downloads
o Various Formats
o Various Projections
o Clip (city, county, state, defined area, etc)
· Web Map Services (beta.geostor.arkansas.gov)
o Connect to web map services using various desktop / web software
o Connect to web feature services using various desktop / web software
o ESRI users should test should test ArcGIS Server connections as well
· Applications
o General testing

We encourage testers to report bugs via an interactive web forum on April 15th, via the GeoStor blog or by email to geostor@arkansas.gov. Please be specific when reporting issues.

GeoStor staff will be providing an interactive web forum presentation on April 15th. This presentation will highlight the functions of GeoStor 6.0 and include time for questions, answers and feedback on identified bugs.

Topic: GeoStor 6.0 Beta Review Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 Time: 1:00 pm, Central Daylight TimeMeeting Number: 590 441 890 Meeting Password: geostor Dial in information: 1-866-800-8622 passcode = 6822767#

Please click the link below to see more information, or to join the meeting.

---------------------------------- To join the online meeting ----------------------------------- 1. Go to https://thedataport.webex.com/thedataport/j.php?ED=115800352&UID=1046519792&PW=f3838582640b0e0919180404

2. Enter your name and email address.

3. Enter the meeting password: geostor

4. Click "Join Now". For assistance

------------------------------------------------------- For Support-----------------------------1. Go to https://thedataport.webex.com/thedataport/mc

2. On the left navigation bar, click "Support".

END RELEASE