Partner Platform

 

Viewing Your Maps

The Partner Platform is comprised of many tools. At the forefront of these is the Map Viewer. Partner's Map Viewer is simple to operate for an end user of a basic level of technical experience. We designed the Map Viewer with the end users in mind. It can easily be used in the field or in the office. We know that you want to use your maps, not learn how to use software.

All of your geographical data can be stored in Partner's Map Viewer. The Map Viewer merges information from various sources, even if the data is not in your mapping system, such as data from your accounting system. You can see comprehensive and customizable information about any item on your map by selecting the Data Tab and then clicking on the item.

Finding Your Data

When your data is in the Map Viewer, any item can be found easily and quickly using the Find Item feature with incremental search. Searching for an item requires two simple steps in the Find Tab; choose a search category and type a few characters into the search bar. The incremental search ensures that your desired item will be found with as little typing as possible. For Example, typing 1191 W... into the service address search bar automatically hops to 1191 Ward Creek Drive. Once the item appears in the Find Item list, clicking on it will immediately display it on the map.

 

 

Combining Your Data

One of the behind-the-scenes tools within the Partner Platform is the Map Publisher, which configures and publishes the data for the Map Viewer. The Map Publisher publishes your maps and data into the Partner-designed Read-Only Vector Engine for Rendering (ROVER) format. Partner's tools directly translate both graphics and data from ESRI shapefiles, Autodesk DXF files, GE Smallworld-based mapping systems, U.S. Census TIGER files and stand-alone files.

You control the content and legend of your maps in a variety of ways. You can select what content you want to appear over various scale ranges and the symbols that represent different items. Different input data requires different treatment, in shapefiles you control the way the map displays by the theme and data field, in DXF files you use layers and blocks, in data files you select fields. With all of these Publisher formats, a tremendous amount of your utility's data can be integrated and simply presented.

The data files (e.g., billing, customer service or meter department) must share a common field with your mapping system (GIS) because your GIS serves as the base for the Map Viewer. Partner accepts ODBC databases, delimited or fixed text files, DBF and XML files.

In addition to the ROVER format, the Map Viewer can display pure raster imagery such as USGS quadrangles or aerial photos. You can apply color reduction and variable image compression to raster translation. You can layer raster and vector layers to achieve any combination your map readers require.

 

Reports

The Map Viewer provides report formats, from simple printouts of the map itself to structured listings of data. Using the Map Viewer, you can design the reports you need and change them as you need. You can print Map Viewer reports even if the program is running from a CD or other read-only source such as a protected network drive.

Partner Web

Partner Web is included with the Partner Platform, but requires Partner's Field Design System to be used as a comprehensive work flow tool. Partner Web is available on your corporate intranet, making data from your maps, accounting system and Partner products available for everyone in your organization.

 

Partner Platform Features

The Partner Platform:

• seamlessly views the entire map set
• eliminates the need for expensive paper map books
• speeds through live panning and zooming
• provides a simple graphical interface that is easy-to-learn and use
• customizes the legend to your needs, including visibility, scaling, icons and line colors
• displays grid coordinates or map pages
• keeps your maps up-to-date with minimal network traffic by using a sophisticated map and software update mechanism
• and is site licensed, which allows you to choose who in your organization can view map data.

Specialized data features are utility specific and include:

• integration of external data with GIS data (e.g., customer addresses, billing information integrate with meter icons)
• integration with accounting and customer service data from all major vendors- SEDC, NISC, Orcom, Daffron, SCT, CSA, etc.
• incremental searches for any data field in the map set with millisecond response time when using the Find Item feature
• and detailed information for a selected location or point that appears in the Data Tab for any selected item.