Derek
You wrote
>I've checked the list archives and found some info on Compass and a GeoBaseMap
>package of utilities (both from Australia). Anyone know about these or know if there
>is anything else that allows you to easily add and view metadata in the TAB?
So I thought I would give you some more information on Compass, our metadata and data
management application for MapInfo.
Compass is a Visual Basic dll that runs inside MapInfo and allows the retrieval of Tab
files through an easy Wizard type interface without having to know the directory
structure of the GIS server. It comes in 2 versions, Navigator that allows users to
preview and open data (also review metadata) and Administrator that in addition to the
features of Navigator allows the GIS Coordinator to add, edit and delete records and
metadata.
Compass Administrator works by storing information (metadata) about the individual Tab
file in an Access data base, a subset of which is also written to the Tab file header,
this information is used by Navigator to classify the Tab files and allow for easy
opening of multiple files that may reside in different directories or machines. We are
also able to store a Wordpad object in the Access database that allows administrators
to add freeform metadata such as currency of the data, audit trail etc.
Compass Navigator allows the user to choose his data by geographic location
(Region-Area or County-Town) and then choose data from categorised data types, for
example we do a lot of work in minerals exploration we would set up categories such as
Geology, Geophysics and Geography. Under these categories data would be further
categorized by a data sub type i.e. Geology - Fact, Interpreted, Regolith and each
sub data type would present a set of Tab file titles i.e.: Field Survey. Each Tab file
is presented to the user with a set of metadata i.e. capture data, scale, type
(region, line, point, image), data source, these can be sorted to see data by date,
source etc.
All the categories are Administrator customisable so can be tailored to any industry.
All the data can be previewed from within Compass, the preview allows zoom, scroll and
information tools so you can make decisions about what data you wish to open before
you load it up.
Version 1.01 Compass is shipping now but V2 is in development, 2 of the new features,
in addition to some interface enhancements will allow an index map for spatial
searches and the option to use the Anzlic (Australia and New Zealand Land Information
Council) metadata standard. The Anzlic standard is a subset of the US FGDC metadata
standard and so should conform to US requirements also.
A fully functional demo version that allows you to enter 20 records is available on
our ftp site ftp://ftp.meridian-gis.com.au/pub/Compass/, there is also some
information on our web page but this is being updated
Regards
Chris Clarke
Meridian GIS
Level 2, 1050 Hay Street
P.O. Box 295
West Perth 6872
Western Australia
Phone (618) 9226-0101
Fax (618) 9226-0102
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
<http://www.meridian-gis.com.au>
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