How do I get raster and/or vector files onto CartoMobile from my MacBook?

Also, it appears as though I may have deleted my configuration file as well.  If anyone answers this question I'll probably need help with that too.

Thanks,

Matt Roberts

The basic process should be pretty straightforward. If you are stitching together the quads, they'll need to be combined for CartoMobile to see them as a single seamless map. To do that: 

• Import the images into Cartographica 
  Make sure that the CRS/Projection is set here (if you have the yellow warning triangle, it is not). The information for setting this should be provided by the folks who have provided you the imagery, usually in the form of a .PRJ file, or a UTM code. If you have the UTM code, you can use Set Layer's Projection to select the UTM code.  
• Select the layers that you want to combine for CartoMobile and use Merge Layers to make a single layer with multiple images. 
• Hold the option key and select Export Layer Image for CartoMobile… 
• Give it a filename and location and go get coffee (often this can take a while for it to churn through)

Once that completes, you should have an .sqlite and .xml file. Those will need to be copied to CartoMobile, so: 

• Connect your device 
• Bring up iTunes on the computer 
• Select the device and the Apps tab 
• Scroll down below the Apps page to the File Sharing Section 
• Select CartoMobile 
• Drag the .sqlite and .xml files to the area next to CartoMobile. 
  now the files are on the device

Now go to CartoMobile and choose Change Map from the Gear menu 

• Select the name of the file you just copied over to make that map the current map 
  the Gear menu should now show your alternate Base Map as an available selection 
• tap that entry to make it the current base map

Once you're done with this, you may create or import data layers into the map by using the Change Map option: 

• Choose Change Map from the Gear menu 
• Tap the Edit button (upper right) 
• Find the Map configuration you need to edit 
• Tap the blue disclosure arrow to edit that item 
• Either Add Overlay layers manually, or import them using the Add Overlay Layer and Import Shape File items

To import a shapefile, copy the components of the shapefile (.shp,.shx,.dbf,.cpg, and .prj preferably) to the device using the same process as before with the imagery.

Note that image files, both the .sqlite files generated by Cartographica, .tfw and .ecw files can be loaded directly onto the device using iTunes and then added to a new or existing map by using Import Raster Image (new file formats coming very soon).

I downloaded the latest tryout version (1.2.6) of Cartographica to test the raster image export for CartoMobile (using OS X 10.6.8, MacPro 3.2 GHz, 24 GB RAM). Unfortunately, the command "Layer Image for CartoMobile… " in the File menu doesn't seem to work properly. All that is created is an empty sqlite file (2 tables, tiles and preferences, and an index field) but no map tiles are produced and inserted into the tiles.image field; a xml file isn't produced either. The raster image I am trying to export is a 4800 x 7000 pixel TIF (a topographic map) with an accompanying tfw file, the CRS was set manually. The map displays correctly in Cartographica and also in ArcMap.

Is there a size limit for this export function?

I was hoping to be able to export much larger raster data sets as offline base maps on the iPad (~250 times the area of the above mentioned TIF; but could also be divided in subregions). Importing the TIF directly into CartoMobile via iTunes didn't work (the TIF file shows up in CartoMobile but when selecting it the app crashes), hence my idea to test the export function in Cartographica (which uses a map tiling approach If I understand correctly).

Any help would be highly appreciated.

John,

There is a bug in the CartoMobile export with certain TIFF files.   We have a test version of 1.2.7 which is available (in Preferences, select to see Beta versions and then check for updates) which should fix this problem.

As for the size limits, there effectively aren't any.   It may take a while to export something as large as you're indicating, but there shouldn't be a problem with doing that.

I'll open up a ticket with you on the TIFF file use with CartoMobile, as we'd like to investigate that problem further.

-Gaige

I had a similar problem with the current version. Attempting to export a set of quads from Cartographica I kept getting an empty SQLite file time and time again, I was also missing the XML file. Finally after closing everything down, shutting down the computer and rebooting, it worked. I did everything the same, it just decided to work, the SQLite file took several hours to create itself, the XML file was created, and it all loaded to cartomobile with no problem. I still have issues when attempting to export similar layers, I have to go through the whole shut down/restart process which usually works.

With version 1.2.7b2 the export for CartoMobile works as expected, it took a bit more than an hour to transform 4.5GB of LZW compressed TIFF files (260 files, merged into 1 layer) to a 14.1 GB sqlite database.

In CartoMobile, the layer imports and displays correctly. However, when using this raster layer as the base map, overlaying polygon and point layers (both imported from shapefiles) do not display. Changing back to the standard base map they display correctly.

If you aren't seeing the points and polygons displaying, then it's likely there's a problem with the Coordinate Reference Systems in use.   Probably the fastest way to diagnose this is to do the following:

1. Create a new Map in CartoMobile
2. Import the sqlite database as the base map
3. Add a point layer with a text field and a GPS Location field
4. Open the Map
5. Select your sqlite base map and zoom all the way out
6. Using your finger near each of the four corners of the base map, add a point in each location and name them appropriately (top left, bottom right, etc)
7. You can hand-check the corners by looking at each point and checking the GPS Field locations (these are pulled automatically from the shape file that is created for the layer).

You should be able to verify from this the 4 corners of the tile database against the known coordinates of each of those corners (from your original tiff map).   This should give us some idea why things aren't lining up.   

Once the coordinate space has been confirmed, we can figure out where to go next.   Feel free to follow-up here or in a ticket.

-Gaige

Hi,

I have followed your instructions and indeed the base map isn’t placed where it should be. I then re-exported a smaller sqlite base map (only 2 instead of 260 TIFs) from Cartographica to check if I’ve made any mistake. Here’s what I did in Cartographica:

• Created a new map
• Imported a polygon shapefile with projection information for that this information becomes available in the “Set layer’s Projection” dialog box (CH1903_LV03 in my case = EPSG 21781)
• Imported the two TIFs (with tfw file)
• A yellow triangle appears for the TIF layers ---> then manually set the CRS via “Set layer’s Projection” to CH1903_LV03
• Merged the two TIF layers into one layer (“Merge selected Layers”)
• Imported a point shapefile to check if the contained data is located correctly on the base map (OK)
• Exported the merged layer with “Export Layer Image for CartoMobile”

The behavior in CartoMobile of this smaller base map seems to be identical to the larger map (wrong location).

 In the xml file exported together with the sqlite database I found the following:

• <Extent srs="EPSG:3857">
• <LowerCorner>5.097257 0.877296</LowerCorner>

This probably explains the wrong placement of the map. EPSG should be 21781 and the lower left corner be located at 7.01888 / 46.03276. Is the export function (or CartoMobile) limited to only one CRS/projection?

Assuming that you followed the steps in my last note (including creating the new Map in CartoMobile and importing it from there, then the information for the CRS should have come from the .sqlite database (which is one of the things we were trying to determine with this test).   I regularly export from Cartographica data sets that use different CRS.  

Is there a chance you can create a ticket and send us the small file you just created and/or point us to where we can get copies of a couple of these tiff files to perform the tests ourselves?   I'm starting to wonder if we've got a problem with EPSG 21781 in particular that's causing this issue here, since we're not seeing this with a variety of other test files.

Thanks,

-Gaige 

I just replied to the already open ticket #10428

Thanks for the reply, we've done some further investigations and I'll put the results up here when they're confirmed.