Terrain DBTM

SOFTWARE MANUAL

Terrain DBTM 2008

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Table of contents

Contents
1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................3
1.1 Overview ................................................................................................................3
1.2 System Requirements ............................................................................................3
1.3 Installation ..............................................................................................................3
1.4 Conventions used in this manual ...........................................................................4
2 Getting started ..............................................................................................................5
2.1 Starting the software ..............................................................................................5
2.2 Database content - Datasets ..................................................................................6
3 Adding terrain data .......................................................................................................8
4 Extracting terrain data................................................................................................. 21
4.1 Configure terrain data extraction parameters ....................................................... 23
5 Managing code lists .................................................................................................... 28
5.1 Add code list item ................................................................................................. 29
5.2 Edit code list item ................................................................................................. 29
5.3 Delete code list item ............................................................................................. 30
6 Managing responsible parties ..................................................................................... 31
6.1 Add responsible party .......................................................................................... 31
6.1.1 Add responsible party address ...................................................................... 32
6.1.2 Edit responsible party address ...................................................................... 33
6.1.3 Delete responsible party address .................................................................. 34
6.2 Edit responsible party ........................................................................................... 35
6.3 Delete responsible party....................................................................................... 35
7 Managing users .......................................................................................................... 36
7.1 Add user ............................................................................................................... 37
7.2 Edit user ............................................................................................................... 38
7.3 Delete user ........................................................................................................... 39
8 Configuring server and database connections ............................................................ 39
8.1 New server ........................................................................................................... 40
8.2 Edit server ............................................................................................................ 41
8.3 Delete server ........................................................................................................ 41
9 Terrain DB Technical Reference................................................................................. 43
9.1 File menu ............................................................................................................. 43
9.1.1 Exit................................................................................................................. 43
9.2 Data menu............................................................................................................ 43
9.2.1 Add Dataset ................................................................................................... 43
9.2.2 Extract elevation data .................................................................................... 43
9.2.3 Responsible parties ....................................................................................... 43
9.2.4 Manage code lists .......................................................................................... 43
9.3 User menu............................................................................................................ 44
9.3.1 Manage users ................................................................................................ 44
9.4 Help menu ............................................................................................................ 44
9.4.1 Manual ........................................................................................................... 44
9.4.2 About ............................................................................................................. 44

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1 Introduction
Welcome to the Terrain DBTM software manual. This document provides a complete
reference for using and understanding the software package. It is intended to help you
get started and to illustrate the methods and procedures involved in populating, viewing
and managing your own terrain database.

The manual is divided into several sections. The first section, ‘Getting Started’ describes
how to start the application and the layout of the application. The next few sections each
describe how to work with the main features of this application. The final section has a
description of all the menu items within Terrain DBTM.

1.1 Overview
The Terrain DBTM software provides you with a user friendly yet powerful
Application to view and manage the data stored within your datasets. The application
utilizes the client server application architecture, which means that any number of
databases can be managed from a single client installation. Terrain DB TM provides all
the functionality that you require to manage the data stored in the database, including
how to add, view and extract data to and from a variety of file formats.

1.2 System Requirements

The minimum software and hardware requirements to install and run Terrain DBTM are:

Hardware Requirements Minimum (Recommended):

• 2048MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM
• Dual Core Processor 3.00GHz
• 500GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA/100 Hard Drive
• ASUS EN8500GT Silent 512Mb DDR 3 graphics card (or equivalent)
• Gigabit LAN connection
• 17” Monitor
• Mouse
• QWERTY keyboard

Software Requirements:
• Windows XP (SP2)

1.3 Installation

To Install Terrain DB TM
1. Insert the Terrain DB TM CD into your computer’s CD-ROM drive. The installation
Wizard will start automatically. If the Wizard does not open automatically, you
can use the setup.exe at the root of the CD instead.
2. Click Next to start the installation.

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3. In the Select Installation Folder screen you may choose a location to install
Terrain DB TM. Click the Browse button to create or choose any folder on a hard
disk with at least 100 megabytes of free disk space. Click Next to proceed to the
next step.
4. Click Next to start the installation and the Wizard will start copying the required
files to your chosen hard disk.
5. Once the setup program has finished copying all the files, click Restart Windows
if prompted to do so.

1.4 Conventions used in this manual

The following terms are used in this manual:

Click - Position the cursor pointer on an item, and then quickly press and release the
left hand mouse button. When you click the mouse button you should hear and feel a
faint click.

Double-click - Position the cursor pointer on an item, and then quickly press and
release the left hand mouse button twice. Terrain DBTM interprets this as a single
command.

Drag - Position the cursor pointer on an item, press and hold the left hand mouse
button, and then move the mouse.

Select - Position the cursor pointer on an item, and then click.

Choosing menu commands - For example, to choose Exit from the File menu you
can use either of the following:

i) Using the mouse, click File. A listing of all the available File commands
appears. Click the Exit command;
Or

ii) Using the keyboard, press ALT+F (for File) to display the menu and type
E (for Exit).

Specific text in the manual contains the following format:

Menu commands - Menu commands are bold-faced wherever they occur in the text.

Dialog box names - Dialog box names are bold-faced wherever they occur in the text.

Dialog box options - Dialog box options are in italics wherever they occur in the text.

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2 Getting started
2.1 Starting the software
Navigate to the Start Button, select PROGRAMS, select Global and finally
click on the Terrain DB option in the menu.

Upon executing the program a panel similar to the one shown below will appear.

Figure 1: Login page

Select one of the the databases listed, enter a valid user name and password and click
OK to log in.

Upon successful login a panel similar to the one below will be displayed.

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Figure 2: Main window

2.2 Database content - Datasets

Terrain data is stored in the database in a series of datasets. Each time terrain data is
added to the database a new dataset is created.

A dataset is made up of two components:

1. The terrain data (latitude, longitude and height)

This is the actual data that represents the terrain of the area in question. Each
record for the terrain data represents a single point.

2. Metadata
Metadata is a series of fields that describe the terrain data. The metadata fields
include information such as accuracies, acquisition methods and responsible
parties amongst many others.

When Terrain DB is running, the main working area is displayed as shown below. The
working area is divided into two panels.

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Figure 3: Panels

1. Dataset explorer – Lists all the datasets stored in the database.

2. Metadata viewer – Displays all the details stored in the database for the
selected dataset.

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3 Adding terrain data

Terrain data can be added to the database from a number of different file formats. The
process of adding terrain data is greatly simplified by the use of the “Add Dataset
Wizard”. The wizard will collate all of the metadata required along with the actual terrain
data and automatically insert the data into the database.

When the Data → Add dataset menu is selected the wizard is started and a panel
similar to the one shown in Figure 5 will be displayed.

Figure 4: Start "Add dataset" wizard

Figure 5: Add dataset wizard

To proceed, click on the Next button. To cancel, click on the Cancel button. If the Next
button is selected a panel similar to the one shown below will appear.

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Figure 6: Add dataset - Dataset details

Each dataset should be given a name and a description that describes the dataset.
You can't progress through the wizard until you have at least given the dataset a name.

To proceed, click on the Next button. To cancel, click on the Cancel button. If the Next
button is selected a panel similar to the one shown below will appear.

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Figure 7: Add dataset - Responsible party

Each dataset in the database has to be associated with a responsible party. The
responsible party is the individual or organization who supplied the terrain data that is
being added to the database.

If the responsible party is not listed then it can be added to the database. For details on
how this is done see Section 6 for more details.

Once a responsible party has been selected click on the Next button to proceed.

Figure 8: Add dataset - Dataset terrain data file

Select the file that contains the terrain data for this dataset.

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All data that is added to the database must be referenced to the WGS84 coordinate
reference system and all the height data should be referenced to the WGS84 ellipsoid.

Once the file has been selected click on the Next button to proceed.

Figure 9: Add dataset - Acquisition Method

Select the acquisition method used to collect the data.

The list of acquisition methods presented in the drop down list is a user defined list.
Items can be added to the list by editing the acquisition methods code list. See section 5
for further details.

Once the acquisition method has been selected, click on the Next button to proceed.

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Figure 10: Add dataset - Area of Coverage

The area of coverage is used to help identify the area covered by this dataset.

Enter some descriptive text to identify the area covered by this dataset.

Click on the Next button to proceed.

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Figure 11: Add dataset - Post Spacing

Enter the value for the post spacing in both the latitude and longitude directions.

Once the post spacing has been entered click on the Next button to proceed.

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Figure 12: Add dataset - Horizontal details

Enter the details that define the horizontal accuracy of the data.

Once all the fields have been populated click on the Next button to proceed.

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Figure 13: Add dataset - Vertical details

Enter the details that define the vertical accuracy of the data.

Once all the fields have been populated click on the Next button to proceed.

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Figure 14: Add dataset - Integrity

Enter a descriptive value that describes the integrity of the dataset.

Once a value has been added, click on the Next button to proceed.

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Figure 15: Add dataset - Surface details

The surface details help identify the type of surface that is covered by the dataset. It
also records the surface that the sensor used to record the height data.

The penetration level is the distance below the actual surface that has been recorded.

Both the Surface type and Recorded surface lists presented are user defined lists. Items
can be added to either list by editing the appropriate code list. See section 5 for further
details.

Once all the details have been selected, click on the Next button to proceed.

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Figure 16: Add dataset - Additional information

Enter any further information into this field that is relevant to this dataset.

Click on the Next button to proceed.

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Figure 17: Add dataset - Dataset creation

Figure 18: Add dataset - Inserting data into database

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The Terrain DB will go through a number of steps, firstly to prepare the data for insertion
into the database then it will upload the data to the server where it will be processed
and inserted into the database.

This can often be a long process with several different factors affecting how long it will
take to complete. These factors include the size of the dataset, the speed of the network
and the speed / load of the server at that particular time.

Once the dataset has successfully been added to the database, a page similar to the
one below will be displayed.

Figure 19: Add dataset - Dataset successfully added

Click on the Next button to proceed.

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Figure 20: Add dataset - Finished

Click on the Finish button to close the wizard.

4 Extracting terrain data

The terrain data can be extracted from Terrain DB by using the terrain extraction tool.
This tool contains a Terrain Extraction Wizard that will specify the parameters that the
terrain data must comply with in order to be extracted from the database.

To start the Terrain Extraction Tool click on the Data → Extract elevation data menu
item.

Figure 21: Extract elevation

data menu item

This will display the form similar to the one shown below.

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Figure 22: Extract elevation data

From the above form you can configure the parameters used to extract terrain data from
the database, select the format to which you would like to save the extracted terrain
data and monitor the progress of the extraction process.

Once the data extraction parameters have been configured (see section 4.1 for further
details) and a file has been selected to save the data, click on the Start button to
commence the extraction process.

As the extraction process progresses, details about the current step and the current
progress are displayed within the Data extraction progress section as shown below.

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Figure 23: Extracting data progress

4.1 Configure terrain data extraction parameters

To configure the terrain data extraction parameters, click on the Configure button on the
previous form. This starts a wizard that will collect all the parameters and will look
similar to the panel shown below.

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Figure 24: Elevation data wizard -Welcome

To proceed, click on the Next button. To cancel, click on the Cancel button. If the Next
button is selected a panel similar to the one shown below will appear.

Figure 25: Elevation data wizard - Bounding area

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Use the fields on this form to enter the maximum and minimum latitude and longitude
values. This will define a rectangular area over which the data will be extracted.

To proceed, click on the Next button. To cancel, click on the Cancel button. If the Next
button is selected a panel similar to the one shown below will appear.

Figure 26: Extract elevation data - Acquisition Method and Surface Types

Use the check boxes to enable a particular field on the form. If a field is left as
unchecked then this field will not be used to filter the terrain data. If the field is enabled
then the value entered into either the text box or the drop down list will be used to filter
the data. For example on the above form the Acquisition method field is selected, this
would mean that only datasets with an acquisition method of “GPS Survey” would be
extracted from the database.

To proceed, click on the Next button. To cancel, click on the Cancel button. If the Next
button is selected a panel similar to the one shown below will appear.

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Figure 27: Extract elevation data - Horizontal Parameters

As with the previous form, enable the fields with which the datasets should be filtered.
On this form all fields refer to the horizontal parameters of the dataset.

To proceed, click on the Next button. To cancel, click on the Cancel button. If the Next
button is selected a panel similar to the one shown below will appear.

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Figure 28: Extract elevation data - Vertical Parameters

As with the previous two forms, enable the fields with which the datasets should be
filtered. On this form all fields refer to the vertical parameters of the dataset.

To proceed, click on the Next button. To cancel, click on the Cancel button. If the Next
button is selected a panel similar to the one shown below will appear.

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All the relevant parameters have now been collected, click on the Finish button to close
the wizard.

5 Managing code lists

There are three code lists available in Terrain DB
1. Acquisition methods
2. Surface Types
3. Recorded surfaces

New items can be added or existing items edited in each of the lists above.

To edit a code list select it from the Data → Manage code lists menu.

Figure 30: Manage code lists menu

Selecting one of the code lists will display a form similar to the one below.

Figure 31: Edit code list

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From this form, items within the code list can be added, edited and deleted.

5.1 Add code list item

To add a new item to the code list, click on the Add button on the above form. This will
display the form below.

Figure 32: Add code list item

Enter into the fields a code (name) and a description for this new code list item. Once
these values have been entered, click on the Add button. If the process is to be
terminated click the Cancel button.
If the OK button is selected, then the previous form will be displayed but will also now
include the new code list item.

5.2 Edit code list item

To edit an existing code list item, select the item to be edited from the list and click on
the Update button on the Edit code list form. This will display the form below.

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Figure 33: Edit code list item

Update both the code and description field as required. Once these values have been
edited click on the Update button. If the process is to be terminated click the Cancel
button. If the Update button is selected, then the previous form will be displayed but will
also now include the updated code list item details.

5.3 Delete code list item

To remove a code list item, select the item to be deleted from the list and click on the
Delete button on the Edit code list form. This will display the form below.

Figure 34: Delete code list item

Click on the Delete button to remove this code list item from the database. If the
process is to be terminated click the Cancel button. If the Delete button is selected, then
the previous form will be displayed but will now not include the deleted code list item.

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6 Managing responsible parties
Terrain DB maintains a list of responsible parties. To view and manage the list of
responsible parties select the Data → Responsible parties menu item as shown
below.

Figure 35: Responsible parties menu

Selecting this menu item will display the form below. This form displays a list of all the
responsible parties that are currently stored in the database. From this form you can
view, add, edit and delete responsible parties.

Figure 36: Responsible parties

6.1 Add responsible party

To add a new responsible party to the database, click the Add button on the above
form. This will display the form below.

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Figure 37: Add responsible party

Each responsible party is made up from a name, an organisation and one or more
addresses. Enter the name and organisation in the fields on this form. Addresses are
added, edited and deleted as described in section 6.1.1 .

Once all the fields and address(s) have been added for this new responsible party, click
on the Add button. If the process is to be terminated click on the Cancel button.

6.1.1 Add responsible party address

To add a new address for this responsible party, click on the small Add button within the
Addresses group. This will display the following form.

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Figure 38: Add address

Each address is made up from a number of fields that define the address for the
responsible party. Each address can have up to three phone numbers and three email
addresses associated with it.
To add an additional phone number for this address click on the Phone button on the
left hand side of the form and select one of the options from the drop down list that
appears below the button, then enter the phone number in the fields provided.
To add an additional email address for this address click on the Email button on the left
hand side of the form and select one of the options from the drop down list that appears
below the button, then enter the email address in the fields provided.

Once these values have been entered click on the Add button. If the process is to be
terminated click the Cancel button. If the add button is selected, then the new address
is listed in the drop down list on the previous form.

6.1.2 Edit responsible party address

To edit an existing address for a responsible party, select the address from the drop
down list and click on the small Edit button within the Addresses group. This will display
the following form.

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Figure 39: Edit address

Once all the fields have been updated click on the Update button. If the process is to be
terminated click the Cancel button. If the update button is selected then the updated
address is listed in the drop down list on the previous form.

6.1.3 Delete responsible party address

To delete an existing address for a responsible party select the address from the drop
down list and click on the small Del button within the Addresses group. This will display
the following form.

Figure 40: Delete address

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To delete this address from the responsible party click on the Delete button. If the
process is to be terminated click the Cancel button. If the delete button is selected then
the address is removed from the database.

6.2 Edit responsible party

To edit an existing responsible party select the party to be edited from the list and click
on the Edit button on the Responsible parties form, this will display the form below.

Figure 41: Update responsible party

Update the responsible parties details. Address can be added, updated and deleted as
described in the previous sections.

Once all the fields and addresses have been updated, click on the Update button. If the
process is to be terminated click on the Cancel button. If the update button is selected,
the responsible parties details will be updated.

6.3 Delete responsible party

To delete a responsible party from the database, select the party from the list and click
on the Delete button. This will display the following form.

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Figure 42: Delete responsible party

Click on the Delete button to remove this responsible party from the database. If the
process is to be terminated click the Cancel button. If the Delete button is selected then
the previous form will be displayed but will now not include the deleted responsible
party.

7 Managing users
Terrain DB maintains a list of users for each database. Each user is primarily made up
from a user name, password and a set of permissions. The user name and password
are used to log into the database whilst the permissions determine what actions that
user is able to perform once logged on.

There are currently two sets of permissions that a user can have:
l Edit users: The user is able to add, edit and delete users from the database.
l Edit datasets: The user is able to add and delete datasets to the database.

A user can have any combination of the above permissions including having neither of
them. If a user has neither of these permissions set, then they are able to log onto the
system but they are only able to view and download data.

To view and manage the list of users select the User → Manage users menu item as
shown below.

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Figure 43: Manage users menu

option

Selecting this menu item will display the form below. This form displays a list of all the
users that are currently stored in the database. From this form you can view, add, edit
and delete users.

Figure 44: Manage users form

7.1 Add user

To add a new user to the database click on the Add button on the above form, this will
display the form below.

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Figure 45: Add user

Use the edit boxes and check boxes to enter the details for the new user being created.
Once these parameters have been selected, click the Add button. If the process is to be
terminated click the Cancel button. If the Add button is selected then the previous form
will be displayed containing the new users details.

7.2 Edit user

To edit an existing user, select the user to be edited from the list and click on the Edit
button on the Manage users form. This will display the form below.

Figure 46: Edit user

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Once the user details have been changed, click on the OK button. If the process is to be
terminated click the Cancel button. If the OK button is selected, then the previous form
will be displayed but will also now include the updated users details.

7.3 Delete user

To remove a user from the database, select the user from the list and click on the
Delete button on the Manage users form. This will display the form below.

Figure 47: Delete user

Click on the Delete button to remove this user from the database. If the process is to be
terminated click the Cancel button. If the Delete button is selected then the previous
form will be displayed but will now not include the deleted user.

8 Configuring server and database connections

To connect Terrain DB to a server, click on the Servers button at the Login Form as
shown in the picture below.

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Figure 48: Login form

This will display a form that lists all of the servers that have previously been configured
as shown below.

Figure 49: Servers

To connect to one of the listed servers, select it from the list and click on the Open
button.

This will return you to the previous Login form. The list of databases available on this
form will automatically be updated to reflect the databases available from the newly
selected server.

From the Servers form you can also add, edit and delete additional servers to the list.

8.1 New server

To add a new server to the database click on the Add button on the above form, this will
display the following form.

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Figure 50: New server

Use the edit boxes and check boxes to enter the details for the new server connection
being created. You may need to contact the administrator of the server for all the details
you need to populate this form.
Once these parameters have been selected, click the Add button. If the process is to be
terminated click the Cancel button. If the Add button is selected then the previous form
will be displayed containing the new server connection details.

8.2 Edit server

To edit an existing server connection, select the server to be edited from the list and
click on the Edit button on the Servers form. This will display the form below.

Figure 51: Edit server

Once the details have been updated, click on the Update button. If the process is to be
terminated click the Cancel button. If the Update button is selected then the previous
form will be displayed but will also now include the updated details.

8.3 Delete server

To remove a server from the list, select the server from the list and click on the Delete
button on the Servers form. This will display the form below.

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Figure 52: Delete server

Click on the Delete button to remove this server from the list. If the process is to be
terminated click the Cancel button. If the Delete button is selected then the previous
form will be displayed but will now not include the deleted server.

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9 Terrain DB Technical Reference

9.1 File menu
When the File menu option is selected, a menu screen similar to the one shown below
will appear.

Figure 53: File menu

9.1.1 Exit
Use this option to log off from the server and close the application.

9.2 Data menu

When the Data menu option is selected a menu screen similar to the one shown below
will appear.

Figure 54: Data menu

9.2.1 Add Dataset

Use this option to add data to the database. Clicking on this option will start the Add
Dataset Wizard which will guide you through the process of adding data to the
database.
See section 3 for further details.

9.2.2 Extract elevation data

Use this option to configure the parameters used to extract elevation data from the
database. See section 4 for further details.

9.2.3 Responsible parties

Use this option to manage the responsible parties stored in the database. See section 6
for further details.

9.2.4 Manage code lists

When the Manage code list sub menu option is selected a menu similar to the one
shown below will appear.

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Figure 55: Manage code list menu

Use these options to manage the individual code lists stored in the database. See
section 5 for further details.

9.3 User menu

When the User menu option is selected a menu similar to the one shown below will
appear.

Figure 56: User menu

9.3.1 Manage users

Use this option to manage the users stored in the database. See section 7 for further
details.

9.4 Help menu

When the Help menu option is selected a menu similar to the one shown below will
appear.

Figure 57: Help

menu

9.4.1 Manual
Opens the application manual

9.4.2 About
Displays the version number of the application

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