By Hailey Lynne Mckeefry
My motto has always been: When it comes to statistical analysis, leave it to the experts. But with ArcView 2.0, just a little statistical know-how is enough to let you use and analyze geographic data.
ArcView 2.0 combines familiar spreadsheet and graphing tools with hard-core mapping capabilities. It puts mainframe-like geographic data manipulation at your fingertips.
ArcView uses a project metaphor to organize related information, manage windows, list current selections and assemble customized user interfaces. You can save a variety of document types--including views (interactive maps that change as you manipulate the data), tables (spreadsheets) and charts (graphic representations of spreadsheet data)--under a single project, so all related information is together. Layouts are final documents containing the tables, views and charts in a single window. Scripts built with the Avenue programming language can be used to customize the interface.
You can create a variety of views with the same source data and save them in different projects. Within a view, you can choose a variety of geographic features (such as cities, roads, rivers and so on) to include on your map under a single theme.
Tables are dynamic, reflecting any changes in source data. You can import data from a variety of sources, including ARC/INFO, SQL, ASCII, dBASE or INFO files. The program comes with 20MB of data, including information on more than 3,000 cities that have a population of over 10,000; Census Bureau data on population, race, ethnicity, marital status, household composition and housing units; five-digit zip code boundaries; and international maps and data.
Charts are also dynamic and change as you modify tabular data. There's a wide variety of chart styles, including area, bar, column, line, pie and xy scatter charts. You can display the same data in several different chart styles at once.
The layout document includes the final map, ready for printing. It can include views, charts, tables and other imported graphics.
ArcView can be purchased separately or bundled with the Avenue object-oriented programming language. Avenue lets you create scripts to automate routine tasks and develop custom applications. ArcView comes with a library of ready-made scripts.
ArcView maintains a list of open windows, including a project window and each document's window. When you re-enter a saved project, the size and position of all open windows are restored.
I found this way of organizing information intuitive, so that switching between and linking information required only a few mouse clicks. There are also a lot of slick interface features, including context-sensitive button bars that bring up the appropriate tools for the active window, drag-and-drop spreadsheet editing, and color and style tool bars that pop up when you edit a chart.
The minimum system requirements recommended by ESRI are, at best, optimistic. On a 33MHz 486 with 8MB of RAM and the required 12MB of swap space, the program ran too slowly to be of any use and crashed often. But on a 90MHz Pentium with 12MB of RAM and about 8MB of swap space, it hummed along without a hitch. Incidentally, it's a good idea to use a large monitor.
ArcView's organization and interface make high-level manipulation of geographic data easy to learn and use. If you invest in the software, you'll also want to treat yourself to state-of-the-art hardware to support it.
Info File
ArcView 2.0
Price: $995; Avenue, $1,595; both, $1,995
In Brief: ArcView provides sophisticated geographical analysis and easy-to-use mapping tools.
Disk Space Required: 12MB; Avenue, 3MB; sample data, 20MB
System Resources: 10%
RAM: 8MB; swap space, 12MB
Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI)
800-GIS-XPRT, 909-793-2853
by: Ellen L. Dendy
My dad would love Microsoft Automap Road Atlas. Planning a road trip transforms him into both navigator and explorer. Automap Road Atlas would let him set a course, then quickly remap it to accommodate a sudden change in plans--like a construction detour or maybe a visit to the world's biggest ball of string.
The program's most impressive tool is its ability to map the quickest, shortest, user-preferred and alternate routes. You can compare driving times and the cost of the trip and view side-by-side comparisons of itineraries for each route. A bar chart shows you how each route measures up in terms of distance and type of road.
You can take advantage of Automap's Wizards to guide you through the trip-planning process. Set your desired average speed with a slider bar, specify the types of roads you prefer and select areas that you don't want to venture into. Printed itineraries can include warnings when you're low on fuel. The itineraries are hypertext, so you can pop up more information for a particular locale.
If you've used mapping programs, you know how much patience is required waiting for maps to redraw. But Automap's Quick Draw option speeds the process by making road lines thinner.
Automap Road Atlas includes all the good things any trip-planning software should have and then some. Tools let you zoom in and out, measure the distance between two points and specify features you want displayed, such as rest stops. In addition to facts about states, cities and towns, Automap provides information on parks and other tourist sites. It lists phone numbers for most attractions.
Microsoft plans to release city maps separately and promises interoperability with city map programs and Automap Road Atlas.
--Info File--
Microsoft Automap Road Atlas
Price: $39.95
Disk Space: Diskettes, 6MB; CD-ROM, 3.5MB
System Resources: 33%
RAM: 4MB
Microsoft Corp.
800-429-9400, fax 206-936-7329