Spatialized Notebooks

A spatialized notebook consists of a tablet or handheld computer with a GPS receiver, a historical GIS that runs on ArcPad, and a collection of images and documents that can be accessed via hyperlinks on a clickable layer. Some of the layers in the notebook show regions of historical significance. Some show the location of historic structures or previously existing buildings. Some are modern or historical maps. The picture below shows one of our early prototypes running a notebook for East London (see the Public History MA Project 2005-06 for more information). The user can click on the McCormick’s factory to read about its history, and then click a subsequent link to see an image of the factory from an oblique 1936 map.

In 2005-06, we worked in ArcGIS 9 and ported it to ArcPad 6.0.3

• GIS layers
  

• Clipping region sets study boundaries
  

• Present-day data from City: trails, rail lines, bridges, vegetation, streets, structures, parcels, bodies of water
  

• Historical data digitized from paper maps: oil companies, surveys
  

• Hyperlinks to contemporary geocoded photographs
  

• Hyperlinks to primary and secondary textual sources
  

• Coordinate system is NAD83, UTM Zone 17N
  

• Create clipping polygon
  

• North: Cheapside Street
  

• East: Second Street
  

• South: Hamilton Road
  

• West: William Street
  

• Add features from the City of London GIS (2004), clipped to study region
  

• To do: create MrSID raster layers for recent air photos and topo
  

• Create vector layers representing regions of historic significance
  

• Boundaries redrawn from maps in secondary sources
  

• Add raster layers of historic significance like maps, fire insurance plans, old air photos
  

• Scan, georectify, clip and convert to MrSID
  

• Create a hyperlinked layer of historic structures
  

• On desktop, set the full pathname to linked files in File -> Map Properties
  

• Turn on hyperlink support using URLs in the layer
  

• Copy outlines of present-day structures (since places have changed, this will help user orient themselves in present environment)
  

• Add fields for structure name, year, external filename
  

• Create hyperlink to external XML file (these contain information about the historic structure and pointers to primary sources like images, newspaper articles, census information, and so on)
  

• In the external XML file, include geocoding tags in span (this will be useful if we need to create a standalone version that doesn’t require expensive software licenses, or if we want to repurpose these files)
  

• Use decimal degrees to three decimal places (this is greatly simplified by installing the ArcGIS macro found on Tech Tip - ArcMap: Display Coordinate Pairs With More Than 2 Decimal Places)
  

• Create graphic images for display on handheld: 320 h x 240 w at 100 dpi JPEGs using Quality=6 in Photoshop
  

• Create a handheld version
  

• On desktop, package layers (full extent) and send to folder for handheld
  

• Copy all XML, XSL and graphics files into root level of this same folder
  

• Put most of these files on an SD card and mark as read-only
  

• On the handheld, may have to turn of street name labelling, turn off graphics-intensive layers like parcels and structures, and change display symbology so it looks good
  

• Check handheld version with GPS tracklog on

In 2005-06, we used Dell Axim x50s with Holux GM-270 CF GPS cards. Here is the sequence of steps required to set up the hardware for a spatialized notebook.

• Give handheld device a unique name and write it on all manuals and disks
  

• Put screen protector on
  

• Put in 512Mb SD card
  

• Charge handheld battery for 8 hours
  

• Enter device name on handheld in Settings -> System -> About
  

• Enter device name and contact info in Owner settings
  

• Establish a partnership with desktop running Outlook
  

• Install ArcPad 6.0.3 and Fonts
  

• Install GPS Viewer software
  

• Install ArcPad patch for compatibility with Windows Mobile 2003 2nd ed by copying ARM version of the .exe directly into the Program Files folder on the handheld
  

• Test GPS card
  

• Handheld out of cradle, start ArcPad and enter software license
  

• GPS settings in ArcPad
  

• Protocol: NMEA 0183
  

• GPS Datum: WGS84
  

• Port: COM4
  

• Baud: 4800
  

• Data Bits: 8
  

• Stop Bits: 1
  

• Parity: None
  

• RTS Control and DTR Control: Enabled
  

• In order for XML/XSL to work properly in Pocket IE, it is necessary to adjust the registry on the handheld
  

• If not already installed on the desktop, install the Mobile Registry Editor
  

• Handheld in cradle and ActiveSync running
  

• In registry HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\
  

• Add new DWORD named Security_AccessCrossDomainData with value “1″
  

• Copy test map layers to handheld My Documents folder
  

• Copy spatialized notebook to handheld My Documents folder