Products: GeoConnector

Frequently Asked Questions - Technical Support

The following are some of the most Frequently Asked Questions about GeoConnector. If you don't see what you're looking for here, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Frequently Asked Questions - Equalizer Assessing Module
How is GeoConnector Licensed?

Each individual machine running GeoConnector will require its own license file. After installation, the first time you GeoConnector, you will be prompted with a dialog informing you that there is no license file, and you will be provided with your machine name and Windows OEM number. You then email these two pieces of information to geoc@infogeographics.com. IGI staff will use this information to generate a GeoConnector license file unique to that machine, and send it to you via email. Once the license file is received, GeoConnector will be fully functional.

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What are the system requirements for GeoConnector?

GeoConnector runs on Windows 2000, Windows XP, & Windows Vista. Though not certified as server software, we are not aware of any specific issues that would prevent GeoConnector from running on a Windows 2000/2003/2008 Server machine.

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Do I need ESRI's ArcGIS software to run GeoConnector?

No, GeoConnector is a stand alone application and does not require ArcGIS for the vast majority of its functionality. The only time your machine will need ArcGIS is if you wish to have GeoConnector read or write the various Geodatabase formats, with the exception that base GeoC will read enterprise Geodatabase features.

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How do I obtain technical support for GeoConnector?

Technical support for GeoConnector can be obtained via email or telephone. To receive technical support via email, send requests to geoc@infogeographics.com. To receive technical support via telephone, dial (231) 995-8266. Before making a support request, please review the GeoConnector Help File, and the GeoConnector Tutorial provided with your installation.

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What spatial data formats does GeoConnector read?

GeoConnector reads most major ESRI vector formats, including Shapefile, Coverage, & Enterprise ArcSDE layers. Other Geodatabase formats are supported only on machines already running a licensed installation of ArcGIS.

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What spatial data formats does GeoConnector write?

GeoConnector writes spatial data to Shapefile format. Additionally, on machines running a licensed version of ArcGIS, GeoConnector can write Geodatabase feature classes in Personal and File formats. With the ArcSDE Module, GeoC users can write spatial data to Enterprise ArcSDE databases.

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What tabular data formats does GeoConnector read?

GeoConnector can connect directly to MS Access databases, Excel files, dBase files, Delimited Text files, and XML Files. GeoConnector can also connect to most popular data sources through OLE DB or ODBC. In conjunction with the Equalizer Assessing Module, GeoConnector is also capable of connecting directly to BS&A's Equalizer Assessing System databases that are in the Windows/Pervasive Software format.

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What tabular data formats does GeoConnector write?

GeoConnector can write output into SQL Server, Oracle, and other RDBMS databases via OLE DB or ODBC connections, MS Access databases, Excel files, dBase files, Delimited Text files, and XML files.

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GeoConnector 2.X worked fine with ArcSDE 8.3, but when I upgraded to ArcSDE 9, GeoConnector stopped working. Why?

GeoConnector utilizes ESRI's MapObejcts components for accessing ArcSDE. By default, the GeoConnector installation installs MapObjects v2.2, which is capable of accessing ArcSDE 8.3 and previous versions.

In order to access an ArcSDE 9.0 database, you will need to install MapObjects 2.3, which is provided for you in the "Support" directory of your GeoConnector installation media. Once installed, GeoConnector 2.X will be able to access ArcSDE 9.0 databases.

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What type of data operations can GeoConnector perform?

GeoConnector can perform a number of data operations, depending on the data source types (spatial or tabular). The following matrix details the specifics of various data source types, data operations, and data output types.

Primary Data Source

Foreign Data Source

Data Operations

Output Formats

Spatial

NA

Export

Spatial or Tabular

Tabular

NA

Export

Tabular

Spatial

Spatial

Left Outer Join, Inner Join

Tabular

Spatial

Tabular

Left Outer Join, Inner Join

Spatial or Tabular

Tabular

Tabular

Left Outer Join, Inner Join

Tabular

Tabular

Spatial

Left Outer Join, Inner Join

Tabular

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Why do some data input / output types take longer to process than others?

GeoConnector uses an SQL database engine to perform most data operations. Certain input types (example XML, Equalizer Databases) are not SQL compatible and need to be imported to an SQL compatible format before processing can begin. Likewise, certain output formats cannot be mass-exported using SQL statements or ISAM drivers, and therefore will take longer to write.

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Can GeoConnector export subsets of my data?

Yes. GeoConnector gives you the ability to apply attribute filters to your data sources. Only those records that satisfy the filter criteria will be included in the output dataset.

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How flexible are the scheduling options?

The scheduling functionality is very flexible. GeoConnector integrates with the Windows Task Scheduler system components, and allows the vast majority of its scheduling options.

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How can I schedule multiple sessions and be sure that the first session executed successfully before the next session starts?

GeoConnector provides a "session batch" functionality. With this method you specify multiple session files (*.goc) in the order you would like them to execute. This information is stored in session batch file (*.gob). Then, instead of scheduling each file individually, you simply schedule the session batch. The session batch fires the individual sessions iteratively, ensuring that each session is successfully processed before the next session is executed. Should a session not execute successfully, all subsequent sessions are cancelled. This is very important in instances where the output of the first session is used as a data source for the second session.

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If I'm not logged in, or different user is logged in, my scheduled sessions don't run. Why not?

If you want scheduled GeoConnector sessions to execute when you are not logged in, you should specify a user account that has administrative privileges when providing the "Run As" information on the GeoConnector scheduling dialog. Using an administrative account will ensure that the scheduled session executes regardless of who is logged in, or even if no one is logged in at all.

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I'm having trouble getting scheduled sessions to run in Windows XP. What's wrong?

Make sure you are specifying a user account that has a password defined when providing the "Run As" information on the GeoConnector scheduling dialog. Windows XP does not require user accounts to be password protected, however, the Windows Task Scheduler component does require that a password protected account be used when scheduling a task.

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Do I need GeoConnector to use the Equalizer Assessing Module?

Yes, GeoConnector is required to use the Equalizer Assessing Module (EAM). EAM was developed to extend GeoConnecotrs powerful features to extract, format & filter tabular data to BS&A's Equalizer Assessing System, Windows/Pervasive Software Version.

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What are the advantages of using the Equalizer Assessing Module instead of using simple ODBC connectivity?

ODBC is not able to resolve the numerous binary & text "look-ups" that are stored in the Btrieve data format used by BS&A's Equalizer Assessing System. This means that for many fields instead of returning useful information, ODBC instead returns a numeric "pointer", which is meaningless to the end user. The Equalizer Assessing Module, on the other hand, resolves all of these "look-up" fields and returns values that are intuitive and meaningful to the user.

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Will the Equalizer Assessing Module connect to any BS&A Software database?

No. The Equalizer Assessing Module connects only to BS&A Equalizer Assessing System databases. Different BS&A applications utilize different database structures, therefore each application would require its own module.

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What versions of BS&A's Equalizer Assessing System is the Equalizer Assessing Module compatible with?

GeoConnector's Equalizer Assessing Module is compatible with the Windows/Pervasive Software version of BS&A's Equalizer Assessing System. The Equalizer Assessing Module connects to and reads the data in much the same way as the Assessing System does. Changes made by BS&A to the underlying Pervasive Software/Btrieve database are automatically detected and incorporated by the Equalizer Assessing Module.

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Can the Equalizer Assessing Module connect to encrypted Equalizer Assessing System databases?

Yes. The Equalizer Assessing Module can dynamically connect to and decrypt encrypted Equalizer Assessing System databases. This requires access to the license file used to encrypt the database.

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