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Welcome
Welcome to our Spring 2005 Newsletter. It’s hard to
believe, but last year we celebrated Softrees' 15 th
birthday. It is interesting to note that although we have more
than 1500 clients and several thousand licenses of our
commercial software in use, our approach to business
development and customer service has remained the same. It’s
a simple concept, "Get a Customer. Keep a Customer".
Last year we introduced RoadEng® into the county civil
engineering market. Response has been very positive. RoadEng’s
easy to use interactive style and its focus on engineering
(not CAD) has generated significant interest. Recent sales
include county organizations in Iowa, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois,
Minnesota and Washington.
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Terrain Tools CE, our forestry handheld data collection
software was introduced last summer. This product has
been a great success and has proven it can save money (see Terrain Tools CE Makes Field
Layout More Efficient below). Terrain Tools CE works
seamlessly with our Forest Engineering products or directly
with ArcView® and other mapping software.
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We are looking forward to an exciting year with a full slate of
trade shows, training sessions and product enhancements (see
"Software Enhancements" further in this Newsletter).
Please keep your comments and suggestions (including
criticism) coming.
Training
The following courses are scheduled to take place Spring.
In-house training courses tailored to meet your specific
requirements are also available. Please contact Wendy Hellofs
(604-519-6222) for more information.
...Click here for more
information.
Fall training shecdule will be available soon.
Spring Conferences
April 8, 2005
COFE - Western Region
Duncan BC
April 16 -19, 2005
National Association of County Engineers
Bismarck ND
Terrain Tools CE Streamlines
Forestry Layout
Accountable Forest Consulting (AFC) provides layout and
engineering services for forest operations on B.C.’s West
Coast. Based in Campbell River, AFC has helped with beta
testing Terrain Tools CE, our handheld software providing
practical feedback and suggestions during the testing phase of
this project.
Ed Henri, AFC’s principal, comments "Terrain Tools
CE has eliminated the use of traditional note taking for all
our traversing. No more flipping back and forth between slope
tables or having to establish traverse stations on even
numbers so that the slope table can be referenced easily. No
limits on distance or slopes either. Common mistakes such as
misreading the slope table or having a mathematical error in
notes are eliminated. Also it eliminates having to decipher
hand written notes.
We now use Terrain Tools CE on a daily basis. We use it for
mapping all features within a cut-block this includes streams,
boundaries, roads, and deflection lines. The obvious benefit
of using Terrain Tools CE is the time saving of data entry
back at the office. In addition it allows us to verify the
quality of the survey. We can check areas and closure. We can
also analyze deflection onsite and quickly map the previous
day’s traverses reducing time in the office and providing
the crew with an accurate field map. "
For more information about Terrain Tools CE visit our web
site or contact Wendy Hellofs at 866-519-6222 (toll free).
Bridge of the Starship RoadEng
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The following photo shows a plan, profile and section/data
window displayed on separate screens. This photograph was
kindly provided by Greg Zartman of Logging Engineering
International based in Eugene Oregon.
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Premium Software Support
Premium Support service is intended for customers who wish
to stay current with Softree products. In addition to phone,
fax and email assistance,
Premium Support includes.
- All major and minor software upgrades.
- A 15% discount on training.
- A 15% discount on new software products.
The cost of Premium Support is $300 CDN per
license per year.
Software Enhancements
Development of the next version is now well under way.
Enhancements in the following areas are planned.
- Interfaces to GPS devices and user defined attributes
for survey field entry.
- Improvements to Multi-plot output generator including customizable
pages and direct export to CAD.
- Mapping and drafting.
- Import/export capabilities including support
for AutoCAD 2005.
- Cable analysis improvements.
- 3D display enhancements.
- Location templates,
assignments and reporting.
Please contact us if you are interested in beta testing.
RoadEng Civil Assistant - What Is
it?
RoadEng® Civil Assistant is a civil engineering software
tool. It is deployed as an add-on to other civil / surveying software.
Many of our customers use other civil/survey design
software such as RoadCalc, LDD, Geopak® or InRoads®.
RoadEng Civil Assistant allows these customers to tap into the
truly interactive power of RoadEng.
How it works 
Why you need it
What Customers Say
Did You Know?
Terrain Tools CE Memory Tips
Handheld computers and pocket PC devices have volatile
memory (RAM). All data and programs that are stored there will
be lost if the batteries run down.
We recommend that a copy of the CAB file that was used to
install the program be stored in nonvolatile memory (ROM).
This memory goes by different terms on different devices. For
example, it is called the File Store on the IPAQ and the
C_Drive on the Allegro. The CAB file is available from the CD
only. View the CD contents in Windows Explorer. Open the
Terrain Tool CE folder. Highlight and copy the CAB file for
your handheld to your nonvolatile memory.
To re-install the program, copy the CAB file to the Temp
folder on your handheld before clicking on it, as the
CAB file is automatically removed once installation is
complete. If you downloaded and installed from the web, we
recommend saving the executable on your desktop or laptop as
backup. You must use active-sync to re-install
To preserve data files, we recommend that a My Documents
folder be created on a storage card, and that all your working
files are kept there. In case of loss of battery power, the
data files will remain on the storage card.
Also note that the X in the upper right corner of Pocket PC
devices does not close the program, it only minimizes it. To
close running programs that have been minimized, go to START
> SETTINGS > SYSTEM > MEMORY > RUNNING PROGRAMS.
Using Translation Files for AutoCad
Conversions
This tip describes
how to get the exact conversion desired when importing or
exporting to AutoCAD drawing format (menu Module | Setup |
Translations). Our Terrain program and
AutoCAD do not represent graphical features in the same way.
There is a conversion done when importing or exporting, but
the results of that conversion may not look exactly how you
would like. To get an exact conversion every time, use the
translation tables.
For example, if a
custom symbol in Softree doesn’t appear the way you would
like when exported to AutoCAD, create the AutoCAD symbol you
want in DWG format. In the matching table, register an entry
to show the DWG block on one side
and the Softree symbol on the other.
Future
imports/exports will look to the matching table for a
substitute symbol. In this case, the symbol will not be
converted any longer, but a copy of one from the matching
table will be used.
Translation files
have extension TRF and store three types of tables. There are
the Softree linetype and symbol tables, the AutoCAD linetype
and symbol tables (preserved in original DWG format) and the
linetype and symbol matching tables. The matching table stores
pairings of Softree to AutoCAD objects. During import or
export, we first look to the tables for a match, and if a pair
is found we use it, otherwise a manual conversion is done.
It may be beneficial
to set up project specific translation files. If there are
standard symbols being used for specific types of jobs, you
can set up a translation file consistent with those symbol and
linetype standards. Then, as the data moves between Softree
and AutoCAD, the symbol and linetype standards are preserved.
Route
Location From GIS Data
Given the abundance of relatively 3D GIS data, it is
surprising to find that most companies are using paper maps
exclusively for route location and planning.
The RoadEng Location module allows you to design directly
from a digital terrain model. Grades, volumes can be displayed
and a variety of routes can be evaluated very quickly.
The procedure involves 3 steps.
- Import GIS data and assign elevations.
- Create a TIN model.
- Create a Location design based on the TIN.
A complete example of this procedure is available on our
web site at:
www.softree.com/Tips_Techniques/T-044/TIP044.htm
3D Window View
Current Point
It is possible to track the current cursor position in the
3D Window. This is very useful for familiarizing yourself with
a project or locating errors in a survey data set.
Setting up current point tracking is easy.
- Select the 3D Window and choose menu View | Active
Window (3D) Options.
- Toggle On View Current Point and Show Current Point.
- Now when the current point is moved in Plan, Profile
etc. the 3D window will reposition its view and display
the current point as a large cross.
Plan and 3D Windows with Current Point Shown
Note: This option is only available if there
is a current point (at least one feature selected).
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