RELEASE 4.3
Product Notes
February 2008
The following changes have
been made to DAT/EM products.
Please review these items before installing your update.
As always, DAT/EM welcomes comments and suggestions from you, our clients,
so please don’t hesitate to contact our support department at support@datem.com, or by calling in or
faxing us with your requests.
Release 4.3 is compiled
specifically for Windows 2000 and XP.
Windows VISTA is not
supported at this time due to the lack of video drivers supporting stereo
viewing.
Windows 2000 will be
discontinued as a supported operating system as of June, 2008.
Release 4.3 is compatible
with the following CAD versions:
AutoCAD: *R14, 2002, 2004,
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
MicroStation: MicroStation V8 and 2004
Edition
ArcGIS: ArcMap 9.1 and 9.2
*These
versions are available but no longer supported. No further development will
occur.
Summit
1. Documentation and Help files are updated to include the latest software changes. Manuals are not copied to the hard drive during installation. Please copy the Manuals folder from the DAT/EM installation CD to your …\Program Files\Datem Software folder for easy access to the documentation through the application menus. If your update was downloaded from our web site, it will not include the manuals. Update CD’s will be shipped upon request via email to support@datem.com.
2. Sample Z/I images were received with
flipped pixel rows.
3. There is a new way of calculating a pixel shift for image mates of LiDAR-generated images.
A normalization method is used to minimize the elevation variance and provide an optimal pixel shift for stereo viewing.
The pixels per ground are based on the number of points in the LiDAR file. The elevation range is calculated and used along with the image size to create a pixel-to-ground range. A pixel shift per elevation unit may be user-defined. Clicking the “1/gpp” button applies a 1-ground-per-pixel and displays that value in the text box. When applied, the same result occurs as the option to “Shift based on ground per pixel of image”. Otherwise, type in the ground-per-pixel shift you desire. Please note that if you are not satisfied with the stereo of the images generated, you may regenerate the stereo mate using another ground/pixel value.
Another option added to LiDAR image generation is the “Span Areas” setting.
If there are areas within the LiDAR data set without points, vectors can “span” this distance, which affects stereo viewing. The range is from “Most” to “Hardly”, with “Hardly” removing essentially all of the vectors.
4. The Output tab in
5. The Depression tab setting “All elevations lower than contour” defaulted to “on”. When “Average elevation lower than contour” was checked, both remained on and could not be turned off. This was fixed.
6. The USGS DEM file format was added to
the list of DTM files supported in
7. Multiple instances of
8. Terrain Visualization super imposition
options to adjust the opacity setting failed if “Fast Generation” was checked
on. This was fixed. Super imposition adjustments also failed on some older
3DLabs video cards, and will now work correctly in most cases. If you have a
3DLabs video card, try turning off “Use Line Smoothing” in
9. LiDAR stereo projects had a model bounds limit which cut off super imposed objects extending beyond the model. The extents were increased to accommodate most situations.
10. A project with many large images could cause Project Viewer to crash if images are set to automatically display. The Project Viewer now checks and deactivates the images display if the images are too large. In these cases, use the options to display fewer images, or reduce the image size in the Options->Images tab of Project Viewer.
11. The reports generator was broken and
crashed
12. Some clients using the DAT/EM Keypad controller without a DAT/EM hardware lock on the computer experienced sluggish performance. The keypad controller was searching for a hardware lock. This was fixed.
13.
14. Window settings and column adjustments are all saved when possible and used the next time the window is activated.
15. There is a new option to clip the main stereo view to the stereo region in Options->Main View.
Please notice that this is also where the anaglyph mode may be activated. A new anaglyph mode was added to view stereo using red/cyan glasses. The option is in the “Main View” tab of the Options dialog. The anaglyph mode is useful for stereo demos on a laptop or other system without stereo viewing hardware, but it is not suitable for mapping production.
Another new option is the Performance monitor. For single core computers, or older systems, the response is slower than more current workstations. Adjusting this bar to a Slower setting may help when panning and image tiles are loading too quickly for the system to handle.
16. When installing an update, the following dialog may appear if the DAT/EM Keypad Controller is loaded.
Click the “Skip” button, or close the keypad application and then click the “Try Again” button to continue installing the update.
The DAT/EM hardware lock must be attached to the computer when installing an update.
17. Apply a Z Index from
The Zindex
is calculated as the difference between the current stereoplotter
Z and the underlying
18. A 3D Vector Split Window option was
added to
Vectors are displayed in a separate 3D view, providing both a top and a perspective look at your data.
It is not necessary to have CAD open to view vector files. If the “Open Vector Files” option is used, the split vector window will display those objects.
Select the Options icon… 
The farther the Field of View Angle slider is to the right, the more like a “wide angle” view; the farther to the left, the less distortion there will be away from the cursor.
Field of
View Left: 
Field of View Right:
The “Light 3D faces” setting shades faces that have been made with the “BuildingFrame” command in DAT/EM Capture for AutoCAD.
Light 3D
faces on: 
Light 3D faces off: 
19. The cursor movement when in Relative Orientation measurement was incorrect. The kappa angle is now passed with the model rotation to fix the problem, which only presented itself if manual orientations were performed. The speed of the cursor was also affected and should be fine now.
20. A new
ADS40 option was added to File->New Project options. The preferred project
type to use when setting up ADS40 projects is “ADS40 Using Leica Kit” 
.
This new project type utilizes the latest Leica SDK Toolkit for the ADS40
digital sensor. There is a significant increase in the speed of the system, as
well as a benefit in project setup. A drawback to this option is that there may
be NO SPACES IN THE PATHS for the
files or folders. An added feature is the ability to “Update
Unlike the “SocetSet ADS40” option, there is no Leica lock required to use this project type.
The previous “ADS40 Digital Sensor” option allows spaces in the project paths, but is significantly slower to use and setup than the Kit option.
Summit Evolution will continue to open projects created with the other two ADS40 project types. But for all new projects, it is highly recommended to setup filenames and path structures without spaces so the new Leica Kit option may be used.
SuperImposition
1. The ability to view annotations in super imposition was added for ArcGIS interfaces. Annotation layers will display at the current plotter Z.
Displaying text can be difficult because ArcMap does not store its position in the ground system. But there have been some improvements in text placement for SI using ArcMap.
Label size in SI reacts to size
changes sometimes, but the size is often much larger in Summit SI than in ArcMap. It appears that the label size remains constant in ArcMap, independent of the ArcMap
view zoom. At the same time, it changes in
If ArcMap
is set to not show labels/annotations when they extend beyond the polygon, or
if the zoom size is exceeded,
2. The last element highlighted in MicroStation is now highlighted also in SI.
3. The Options->SI tab has a new setting for adjusting the color and size of a selected vertex.
When objects are selected in AutoCAD,
MicroStation or ArcGIS, the
vertices are marked in
Another addition to the S/I tab is “SI performance boost”. This may be used with nVidia video cards only. This setting will double super imposition performance for most nVidia video cards, but will also double system memory use. DO NOT USE this setting with 3DLabs video cards. Boost defaults to “on” for any non-Wildcat video card.
Capture for ArcGIS
NOTE: Compatible with versions of ArcGIS 9.1 and 9.2.
1. The
DAT/EM cursor toggle was added to ESRI.dkf for keypad
access.
2. Clip
Segments will remove sections of line or polygon objects. It is also useful for
breaking a line object by snapping to the same vertex twice. Look for this icon
in the Datem Capture Drawing Tools toolbar.
Clip Segments is activated for selection when edit mode’s Modify Feature task
is defined.
3. A new
3D circle command is available for digitizing objects such as storage tanks.
The circle icon 
is located in the Datem Capture Drawing Tools
toolbar. The circle drawing tool is activated for selection when edit mode’s
Create New Feature task is defined. It is not recommended to digitize a circle
with this tool on a point layer. In the next release, the command will not be
available when a point layer is active. Circles also draw faster for geodatabases than shapefiles.
A
Cancel after two points are digitized activates a center-edge, 2-point circle.
A Cancel after one point stops and resets the tool.
4. ShiftZ and SetZ have been removed
from the command toolbar and are no longer available. Instead, use the Shift
feature tool, which works better and is more flexible for shifting objects.
The
Shift button 
applies the x, y and z offsets to the
currently selected feature(s).
The
Select Features button 
allows you to select one or more features
using the system mouse or the stereoplotter.
Make
all of the elevations the same value for an object or objects using the SetZ button 
.
5. Text
displayed in the main stereo view for active commands has always been a useful
tool to be sure you are in the correct command. If you use this, you will
notice more concise text displayed for many of the Snap options. Now when a
snap mode is selected the text refreshes any active drawing mode prompt.
Note:
If you notice the system slowing down after activating a DAT/EM drawing mode
with a 2D or 3D snap, try turning off some of the snap layers. The more layers
you have turned on for snap the longer it takes the snap tool to check for
snapping. Many objects in the area of a snap can also make it slow down. A layer
containing dense point clouds would be a worst case. It is best to turn on snap
for only the layers you wish to snap in, and leave the others off.
Capture for AutoCAD
NOTE: All changes apply to AutoCAD
2000-2008 versions unless stated otherwise.
1. BuildingFrame is a new command replacing TinPolygons. The command creates triangles on a separate
layer and extends the building sides to the ground. Corrections were made to
eliminate duplicate triangles if both
The
following is a sample of the
2. Capt2D
and Capt3D commands activated OSNAP when used. This was fixed.
3. Values
for block scale and pattern distance are now saved between command runs, as
well as between mapping sessions.
4. Depressions
was ignoring 2D heavyweight polylines
and now works with all types of polylines.
5. The
PSQR family of commands now closes manually when the automatic close option is
off.
6. SetPointZ, SetBlockZ and SetPointBlockZ now highlight the point or block upon which
a change will occur. This helps verify which object will be modified. Points
will have a highlighted square around them; blocks will be highlighted.
7. PSQR3D
created bad vectors when multiple vertices were along the same angle. This was
fixed.
8. JOIN
was changed to JOINIT in the MapEditor for AutoCAD
command list. It is already changed for Capture.
9. If
AutoCAD was set for multiple document mode (SDI = 0), a lock violation error
could occur when attempting to insert an object into the drawing from some
10. The
XY tolerance setting was removed from CROSSCHECK. This command finds true
intersections only.
11. A
Reverse line indicator was added. It is often useful to know the direction of a
polyline when patterning. Pause the cursor over an
object and directional indicators appear along the polyline.
Click on the highlighted object to add it to the queue of objects to be
reversed.
12. MeasureHeight (Measure2004.arx, Measure2006.arx) would not
load for AutoCAD versions 2004, 2005 or 2006. This was fixed.
13. BlockRotate was modified to allow entry of an angle so that
fractional degrees may be used.
Capture
for MicroStation
Changes apply to Capture for MicroStation
V8/2004 Edition series only. MicroStation V8 version should be 08.05.00.64 or
higher.
Testing has not been completed for MicroStation XM compatibility, and Release 4.3 is
considered a beta release. You are
welcome to use Capture for MicroStation XM and report
any problems to support@datem.com. However,
at this time DAT/EM cannot recommend Capture for XM for map production. (Note: Bentley
recommends that hyperthreading be off in the PC BIOS
for best performance.)
1. StrokeElement failed to
consistently stroke arcs into vectors. The
2. If duplicate attributes were selected while making changes
to Selection Sets Editor items, the warning dialog may have been displayed
behind the sets editor dialog. This was fixed.
3. When editing selection sets using the “Sets” button link
from the Delete Object dialog, the selection set dialog locked up if “Edit” was
used to edit an existing entry. This was fixed.
4. The
5. CLIPCELL now supports Shared Cells and closed line strings
in cells.
6. CHANGE ATTRIBUTES INTERIOR is much improved in processing
speed.
7. JOINIT was modified to join same XY locations that were so
minutely separated from each other as to be undetected by the user. Many
elements can be so close that the user cannot see that the elements do not
quite touch. A correction was also made to join when “same Z” was specified. In
this case the “same XY” and tolerance settings were being disregarded.
8. SlopeCheck is a new tool to verify
an increasing or decreasing slope along line strings.
There
are tolerance options for allowing changes to all of the vertexes of a line
string or limiting the changes to a percentage of the vertices or the number of
consecutive vertices that fail the validation check.
If a
line element fails the check it can be copied to another set of attributes.
Pre-processing backup options help determine where changes took place
9. LineSlope was redesigned to allow optional placement of
cells before and/or after the segment. Slope and/or segment length text may
also be optionally placed.
\
10. There is improved support for B-Spline
curves in selection set entries.
11. The most recently selected item is
highlighted in S/I.
12. A problem with StrokeElement on Bsplines and Curves was fixed where the last vertex was
being dropped. There is also improved performance in many commands for Bsplines and Curves.
13. A new checkbox in Measure Height allows for placement of text
only. In the previous release a cell was always placed. Now cell placement is
optional for Measure Height.