Spatial Manager™ for BricsCAD Changelog

November 9, 2016 - Release 3.3.0

• New
  • New command to create a BricsCAD raster image corresponding to the display view of the current background map (Snapshots) (SPMBGMAPIMAGE) [F2580/F2595] (Related video)
    • You can select up to four levels of image resolution
    • This provides interesting solutions to define different maps for different Viewports and/or Views, as well as improving the possibilities of printing and publishing when using maps
  • New command to export the current drawing status to Google Earth (one click) (SPMCREATEKML) [F2552] (Related video)
    • Only the visible layers
      • Splitting by layer in folders and by object type in sub-folders
      • Optionally you can select objects or objects in a layer
    • Equivalent object styles
    • Automatic transformation of coordinates
    • Automatic fields for the Name and Description of the objects
    • Optionally, you can open the resulting KML or KMZ file in Google Earth (if installed)
  • New command to select entities by a simple or compound query over their data (SPMSELECTBYQUERY) [F2425] (Related video)
    • Enables you to apply the query to the current selection only or add the resulting query selection over the whole drawing to the current selection (if any)
    • You can choose which table the query is applied to or if it is applied to all existing
  • New command to Zoom to the selected entities (SPMZOOMTOSELECTION) [F2605]
    • Of interest in combination with the previous command or in general for selections of entities
• Improvements
  • The application is now BricsCAD 17 compatible [T4588]
  • Labels also for linear elements while importing [F2429] (Related video)
    • Label properties taken from fields
    • Smart label distribution
  • Now, the justification "Bottom Center" is defined by default when labeling on import [F2598]
  • Export improvements (Related video)
    • Now you can choose which Tables and Fields are exported when the option to Export the data of the entities is selected [F2607]
    • Now the duplicate fields are not ignored but added with a correlative suffix [F2609]
    • Optionally, you can now export the X/Y/Z coordinates of the entities [F2593]
    • Optionally, you can now export the rotation and scales of Block References [F2569]
    • The export options have been better organized by using an options tree [F2593]
    • Upon completion of any export process to a file you can now directly open the file location[F2588]
    • When exporting to a KML or KMZ file you can now directly open the file in Google Earth (if installed) [F2588]
  • The PostGIS data provider also presents the Views as Tables [F1075]
  • Several new coordinate systems are included, defined in feet and which until now could only be found in meters [F2577]
  • Now, you can access and download any version from the application itself [T4563]
  • The free support of the license has been extended to 1 year from the first activation [T4546]
  • The application commands that make no sense in Paper Space will run only in Model Space [F2592]
• Fixes
  • The Polylines including arc segments are now exported correctly in any case [D1946]
  • Fixed some problems when printing background maps [D1939]
  • A warning is shown when trying to publish with a background map active [D1952]
  • Now, the temporary layer of the background map does not appear in the list of drawing layers [D1953]
  • The view is no longer continuously updated when importing over a non-empty drawing [D1964]
  • Fixed an incorrect coding issue in the SHP data provider [D1945]
  • Fixed an error when reading null geometries in the SQL Server data provider [D1948]
  • The SHP data provider now reads fields including negative decimal values [D1951]
  • Fixed a problem which arises when reading GML files with some not defined namespace [D1965]
  • Now the tasks are updated when modifying a user data source or a shortcut [D1972]
  • Fixed an issue that occurs when creating a task without any open drawing [D1969]
  • Now the option to save an import task appears after running SPMEXPORT [D1970]
  • Fixed an error that was caused in certain drawings when renaming a field in a table if another table also contains a field with the same name [D1961]
  • Improved the warning that is launched when accessing unsupported versions of DGN files [D1958]
  • Fixed an error that occurs when canceling the initial process of Exporting a large number of entities [D1973]
• Corrections of other minor bugs and other minor improvements
• Notes
  • The functionality to create raster images from background maps, as well as the background maps themselves, is available in the "Standard" and "Professional" editions only
  • The functionality to export the current status of the drawing to Google Earth is available in the "Standard" and "Professional" editions only, although the full export functionality is only found in the "Professional" edition
  • The Data management (Structures, Queries, Direct editing, etc.) is only available in the "Standard" and "Professional" editions
  • The exploitation of data providers that require "User Data Sources (UDS)", as PostGIS or SQL Server, is available in the "Standard" and "Professional" editions only

May 2, 2016 - Release 3.2.0

• Improvements (Related video)
  • You can select the name of the Block according to the value of a field, when you use Blocks to import point elements (Points and Centroids)
  • The Centroids, Points or Blocks, are now sorted in the drawing always in front of the hatches or the Polygons fills
  • The names of the Blocks, and the names and values of their Attributes, are shown in the application Palette
  • Three new Exporting options:
    • Names of the Blocks
    • Fields with null values
    • Entities data (EED/XDATA) (they were always exported in previous versions)
• Fixes
  • The application Palette has been improved to display and allow editing of the null fields
  • Now all kinds of Hyperlinks (local or remote) in the application Palette work as expected
  • The GML data provider has been improved as, in some cases, the entities were not read when imported without associated data
  • Fixed some problems that occur when inserting rotated Blocks
  • Fixed an issue concerning the format of the windows for unsupported licenses based on the executed version
• Corrections of other minor bugs and other minor improvements

March 23, 2016 - Release 3.1.0

• Improvements
  • The handling of the Coordinate System catalog has been improved when used to assign a system to a drawing, or modify one already assigned
    • By default, only the "Projected" type Coordinate Systems are shown in the list (unless the currently selected is another type)
    • During a working session the search filter used previously remains unchanged
    • Now, when there are multiple search terms, they are searched for in any field (not all in the same field)
  • The application performance has been significantly improved when only the geometries of the entities are imported (and none of their data are used to set the layers separation, labels, etc.)
    • The option "Import Features data…" is now turned off by default
  • The options "Elevation" and "Thickness" will now be disabled when importing 3D polylines only
  • The Z-coordinate is now exported in all the cases. If not available, the entity Elevation is exported as the Z-coordinate (Related video)
    • In addition, there is a new option to export the Elevation as data in a new field
  • The application performance when exporting to KML or KMZ files has been significantly improved
  • The workflow when showing a background map without a Coordinate System assigned to the drawing, has been improved: now, in addition to the relevant warning, the Coordinate System catalog is directly accessible
  • The behavior of the background maps when the drawing view is not the plan view, has been improved
  • There can now be groups of background maps on which some maps are locked and others not (free use). Previously to this version the whole group was locked or not depending on the user key
    • The background map "Ordnance Survey OpenData", free of use and valid for the UK area, has been included
  • Now, when you access the Support products page from the application, you will only be redirected to those products for the edition that is running (Basic, Standard or Professional)
• Fixes
  • A bug has been fixed which prevented the import of entities when filtering to the current view in certain drawings
  • Now you can update to a new version when you first run an earlier version
  • Fixed an issue which occurred when checking for a new version if the application loading time was over 10 sec.
  • Fixed a v.3.0 issue affecting the export performance of SDF files
• Corrections of other minor bugs and other minor improvements
• Notes
  • The Export functionality is available on the "Professional" edition only
  • Background Maps are available in the "Standard" and "Professional" editions only

February 26, 2016 - Release 3.0.0

• New
  • Background Maps (Related video)
    • Different image models from different providers (OpenStreetMap, Bing, MapBox, etc.)
    • New commands:
      • SPMBGMAPSHOW Shows the selected image Map in the background of the drawing
      • SPMBGMAPHIDE Hides the Background Map if it is displayed
      • SPMBGMAPREFRESH Regenerates the image of the Background Map, which may be needed under certain graphic situations
  • Data Structure Management (Related video)
    • New commands:
      • SPMDATATABLEDEFINE Define, modify or delete a data table or its fields
      • SPMDATATABLEATTACH Attach one or more entities to a data table
      • SPMDATATABLEDETACH Detach one or more entities from their corresponding attached data table
    • New selection command:
      • SPMSELECTBYTABLE Select all the entities attached to a specific data table
  • Direct data edition (EED/XDATA) in the Properties area of the application palette (Related video)
  • Labeling Points and Centroids while importing. Label properties taken from fields (Related video)
  • New GML Data Provider. UK Ordnance Survey data compatibility (Related video)
  • New options to Export as new fields in the data table:
    • The Handle of the entities
    • The Layer of the entities
    • The Attributes of the Block references (if any)
    • The Text entities (if any) and their basic properties (Rotation and Height)
• Improvements
  • The OpenStreetMap Data Provider has been optimized to let you choose the fields to read (Related video)
  • There is a new option in the "Import Parameters" window to import only the entities in the current view
  • Drawing the entities in BricsCAD once imported is almost instantaneous in this version
  • A new parameter has been incorporated in the SQL Server Data Provider to select the syntax for new date type fields
  • You can now set spatial boundaries when importing entities from WFS stores
  • The EPSG tables (CRSs and other objects) have been updated to version 8.9
  • The "Last-used" CRS list is also available when assigning a CRS to a drawing
  • The Elevation is now applied to all types of entities (Points, Block references, etc.)
  • The random colors for new Layers have been enhanced
  • Now you can select non-numeric fields as Parameters of Blocks, Elevation or Thickness when importing
  • New Units added in the Block Rotation parameter when importing
  • The new option "Create shortcut from path" allows you now to create Shortcuts to network addresses
  • The Centroids calculation methods have been improved
  • The application is now BricsCAD 16 compatible
  • The Transparency option for solid Hatches is now enabled by default in BricsCAD 16
  • New language added to the application: German
  • All application windows are now centered with respect to the main AutoCAD window
  • The trial version is now less restrictive: 75% of the entities are processed anyway
  • Transformation of Coordinates: new conversions
  • Improved presentation of the application Wizards
  • The application loading time has been optimized
• Fixes
  • The application warns if there are null values in the field selected as Elevation
  • The "Fill areas" option is now disabled when using 3D Polylines
  • Fixed a problem which caused certain links "http" to not run correctly from Properties
  • Now the import base Layer is not kept in the drawing if it is created during the process and does not contain entities
  • An issue concerning the importing of Shapefiles (SHP) in Windows 10 has been fixed
  • Now the reading of data continues even if any configuration or user file (*.config) is corrupted, by an automatic access to the last valid backup of the file
  • Fixed a bug when performing a Transformation of Coordinates not implemented
  • Now, Z-coordinate is Exported for any entity
  • Solved various situations in which the error "eNotOpenForWrite" occurs when importing
  • Now there is no problem to import from a source whose CRS is unknown to a drawing that has a CRS assigned
  • Fixed a "Wrong Geometry" error when Exporting Polylines including null vertices
  • There was an issue when installing in BricsCAD 16 (64-bit) under Windows 7 which has been fixed
  • Fixed an error which disables any import process if a previous process was canceled
• Corrections of other minor bugs and other minor improvements
• Notes
  • Background Maps are available on the "Standard" and "Professional" editions only
  • The Data Structure Management is available on the "Standard" and "Professional" editions only
  • Direct data edition is available on the "Standard" and "Professional" editions only
  • The Export functionality is available on the "Professional" edition only

May 8, 2015 - Release 2.2.0

• New
  • Import Tasks. The Tasks allow to repeat any import process so many times as desired without needing to enter its parameters again (Related video)
  • Management and execution of Tasks in the application palette
    • Note: Tasks are available on the "Professional" edition only
  • New SPMSETCRS function to assign a coordinate reference system to the drawing
  • Automatic assignation of the drawing coordinate system when a new table is imported
  • Automatic assignation of the exported objects coordinate system based on the drawing coordinate system
• Improvements
  • When importing a table defined in "WGS84 (SRID 4326)" the transformation to "WGS 84 / Pseudo-Mercator (SRID 3857)" is selected by default to get a projected map
  • The default name for the layer in which a table is imported is now the name of the table
  • The fields whose value starts with "http" are automatically converted into links in the "Properties" area of the application palette
  • New language added to the application: Portuguese (Brazil)
  • The configuration windows for the licenses have been sorted and optimized
• Fixes
  • Fixed a bug that causes correctly some SRIDs no were recognized
  • Now you can load seamlessly SQLite tables from "My Computer"
  • Fixed a bug that allows the introduction of wrong serial numbers (valid for other Spatial Manager apps)
• Corrections of other minor bugs and other minor improvements

March 13, 2015 - Release 1.0.5

• New SPMEXPORT command! (new "Professional" edition only) Export from BricsCAD to Google Earth (KML or KMZ), Shapefiles (SHP), Points (many formats), MapInfo, PostGIS, SQL Server, SQLite and many more. Related videos:
  • Directly to Google Earth (KML) from your drawing
  • Coordinates to Excel from your drawing
  • Import a Shapefile and export it as 3D Google Earth
  • OpenStreetMap data. Edit and export to Google Earth
  • Import a Shapefile. Edit & export as Shapefile
• New SPMIMPORT command to directly open the import wizard without having the Palette open
• The import wizard allows you to ignore the Z coordinate for all imported entities (Related video)
• There are two new column in the UDSs wizard, indicating if the data provider is valid for reading (Import) and/or writing (Export)
• The ribbon, menu and toolbar of the application have been expanded and reorganized and now include the new commands
• Now, the Zoom extents at the end of an importing process is performed only when the drawing was empty
• The type of alphanumeric Fields are now stored, enabling to respect the data types when exporting the entities
• Optionally you can convert the coordinates of ASCII Points in data of the imported entities (Related video)
• Now the possibilities to create, rename or delete Schemas and Tables depends on the application edition
• In the coordinate transformation process the user is warned if any additional file is needed and how to get it
• Now the application try to define automatically the source Coordinate System
• The target Coordinate System is automatically selected if the objects to be exported have the same SRID
• Added a button in the import wizard to go directly to run the process, skipping any remaining intermediate step in the wizard
• Fixed a bug that left the import wizard locked when the data sources were slow to load (Related video)
• Now when the application warns the user that the coordinates are not transformed between identical source and target CRS, there is no additional confirmation
• The ability to rename UDSs, Schemas and Tables inside the import wizard itself has been removed, because it was confusing and not very practical
• Fixed a bug which happens to early versions users when updating licenses in the new versions
• Fixed a crash that occurred when entering an invalid license code
• Now, all the texts are shown when many warnings occur during the execution of a process
• Now, the coordinate systems are correctly shown in the section Properties of the Palette all the time
• Fixed some problems that happened when navigating on the data source tree using the arrow keys
• Warnings are no longer shown when some Field includes the "/" character
• Fixed a bug that prevented uninstall the application if there not was any BricsCAD installed
• Now the values of the imported entities elevations are correct
• Fixed a bug that moved the imported entities to incorrect Layers
• Has been added support for nested relative links in KML/KMZ files
• The wizards welcome windows are now disabled by default
• There are now new simplified buy pages for the application and the extended support in the web
• Corrections of other minor bugs and other minor improvements

January 27, 2015 - Release 1.0.4

• The function to Import spatial data in BricsCAD is now defined using a direct command
• Assign Entity properties in BricsCAD import process
• Import parameters depending on geometry types
• Defining Block Attributes for Point elements
• Importing alphanumeric data as Extended Data (EED/XDATA)
• Simple Extended Data (EED/XDATA) Viewer
• Application Commands are shown in application Setup
• Zoom Extension is performed in the drawing when any import process is finished
• Available updates are checked when running the application
• Assigning Attributes and other properties to the Blocks
• Entity Properties are now shown in the Properties area
• Entity selection data is now shown in the Properties area
• The "About..." window is now defined
• FDO data Provider is added to the list
• Now a small set of spatial files for sample purposes is included when you install the application
• Improved speed for read and write in the PostGIS provider
• The PostGIS provider now allows selection of the database to use in a dropdown
• The PostGIS provider now supports more data types
• Development of the SQLite provider
• Development of the OGR provider
• Some improvements made in the PostGIS provider
• New own icon is set for the OSM provider
• Now the user can set the timeout when connecting using the SQL Server Spatial provider
• Improved providers table (order, names and extensions)
• Added a new property to the providers to see if it is necessary to check its parameters
• Improvement in the performance of the tree in the OSM provider parameter window
• Now the user can set the WFS store version
• The FDO provider is normalized in terms of default names or types of icons
• The OGR provider is normalized in terms of the default names or types of icons
• Format 'Arc/Info .E00 (ASCII) Coverage' has been added to the OGR provider
• One area of transformation has been set by default to the Coordinate Transformation
• Now, when loading a KML/KMZ file, it can add a Field including information about the folder from each feature which is loaded
• EEDs (or XDATA) data conversion has been improved when their maximum length is exceeded
• First commercial version. Includes a limited Trial version which allows you to select the application Edition to try
• The EPSG tables (CRSs and other objects) have been updated to version 8.6
• Improvements to read a PRJ file that cannot be recognized
• New system of licensing and activation/deactivation of licenses
• Changes in the application updates system depending on the support period
• It is now possible to disable the repeated warning of a specific update
• New function included in the application options to check for updates at any time
• The import processes for source tables OGR (DXF, DGN, etc.), when coordinate system transformations are applied, has been improved
• Fixed an error when importing MIF files
• The licensing system has been improved to keep the license active when the computer name is changed
• The search of SQL Servers has been improved
• The import processes when performing transformation of coordinates are now up to ten times faster
• There are many new conversion systems for coordinate transformations. Among them, various grid-based interpolation (NADCON and NTv2)
• Now more conversion information is displayed, allowing the user to select its parameters more accurately
• The application can be executed now by logging in with a user other than the one installed
• The application windows are displayed correctly even if the overall Windows text size is set at values greater than 100%
• The OpenStreetMap data provider can now also import PBF files
• New BricsCAD ribbon, menu and toolbar for the application which include its main commands:
  • Palette (SPM): opens and/or displays the application palette
  • Help (SPMHELP): shows the application help (Wiki format) (New command)
  • Updates (SPMUPDATE): checks if there is a new application release to be downloaded from Internet (New command)
  • Information (SPMABOUT): shows basic information about the application and the installed release
  • Options (SPMOPTIONS): set of parameters to configure the application (New command)
  • Furthermore, the welcome window disappears (it is not necessary now)
• A new possibility of using non-perpetual licenses has been included
• Improvements in the appearance and functionality in various application windows and icons
• Fixes in the access to new releases and in the update window
• Improvements when importing KML files with invalid name space
• Can now import SHP files which include date fields
• The deactivation of the application no longer causes BricsCAD fatal errors randomly
• The behavior of the application when it is activated after the end of the trial period has been improved
• The SRID of a PRJ (a Shapefile companion file) is now also composed by reading its parameters
• You can now also search the catalog of CRSs using the "aliases" of the CRSs
  • Alias: Unofficial Coordinate System name but that is commonly used
• The application now considers the displacement of the Origin of coordinates in all cases where needed
• No more problems when reading an invalid date in the header of any SHP or DBF files
• Now unnamed fields are supported in an ODBC connection
• The SRID of a data source is displayed even if the source only includes Point Features
• Improvements in the KML/KMZ data Provider:
  • Data can now be loaded data from HTML in the description
  • Support for OGC KML extensions added
  • A warning is displayed when trying to load a file without Features
  • Support for "Model" Features added
  • Now if there are null Features, the following Features will continue to be processed
  • Multiple nested geometries can now be loaded
  • Now existing folders are never ignored
  • The folders referenced within the links no longer cause problems
  • All badly constructed geometries are repaired
  • Loading a file now never goes to an infinite loop
  • Other small bugs solved:
    • The coordinates separated by tab are now supported
    • Links to KMZ without extension are now controlled
    • Now the column headers HTML "th" are also supported
    • The formats of coordinates X and Y are now validated before reading
    • The KMZ files are supported even if they have a KML extension and vice versa
    • It is also supported that the coordinates separator be ';' instead of ','
    • Analysis of whether any Polygon or Polyline are empty
    • It also examines whether any linked file has no extension
    • The links with empty name and relative URLs are checked
    • The links to websites instead of KML files are also reviewed
    • The KMZ files whose KML has a "byte order" character at the beginning, are supported
    • The links to nonexistent pages are also supported
    • The application now checks that none of the links have a link to itself and causes an infinite loop
    • Rejected requests to load links from the code are now checked
    • Invalid values of Z coordinates are not allowed
    • Also the links to KMZ files without extension are not allowed
• The installation process now includes a shortcut in the Desktop to the "How to start?" Wiki page
• The 32-bit and 64-bit setup applications are now consolidated into a single setup program which automatically selects the appropriate platform
• Now the application cannot be installed on a computer without any BricsCAD installed on it
• Fixed some incorrect texts in the Welcome window of the User Data Sources (UDS) Wizard
• The Properties of the imported Entities are now displayed though its length exceeds 255 characters
• The potential errors resulting from access to a location without the necessary permissions are now controlled
• The remaining number of Trial days in the initial window now agrees with those in the License Options
• Fixed an issue when importing with Elevations
• Corrections of other minor bugs and other minor improvements