You can create portable Atoll documents in two ways: • by embedding all the geographic data in the ATL file, or
• by creating a compressed archive (ZIP file) containing the ATL file and all geographic data linked to the Atoll document. In most working environments, geographic data files are stored on a common file server and are linked to the ATL documents of different users over a network. Often these geographic data files are quite large, and it is not feasible to embed these files in an ATL file for reasons related to file size, memory consumption, and performance. It is, therefore, more useful to make a project portable by creating an archive that contains the ATL and all geographic data files.
Atoll lets you make an archive containing the ATL file and all geographic data directly from the File menu. To make an archive containing the ATL file and all linked geographic data files:
1. Select File > Save to Zip. The Save As dialogue appears.
2. Select the folder where the created archive is to be stored, enter a File name for the archive to be created, and select "Zip Files (*.zip)" from the Save as type list.
Atoll creates a ZIP file containing:
- A copy of the ATL file with the same name as the name of the archive (ZIP file).
The ATL file added to the archive contains all the data that might be embedded in it (path loss matrices, geographic data, coverage predictions, simulation results, measurement data, etc.).
- A ".losses" folder containing a pathloss.dbf file and a LowRes subfolder which contains the pathloss.dbf file corre- sponding to the extended path loss matrices.
Externally stored path loss matrices are not added to the archive because they are not necessary for making a portable document; they can be recalculated based on the network and geographic data in the ATL file. The path- loss.dbf files are stored in the archive because they are needed when reopening the archive in Atoll.
- A "Geo" folder with all the linked geographic data available on the Geo tab of the Explorer window for the Atoll document.
This folder contains subfolders with the same names as the folders on the Geo tab. Geographic data that are found outside folders on the Geo tab are stored in files under the Geo folder, and data present within folders on the Geo tab are stored inside their respective folders. If the geographic data files linked to the document are located on a remote computer, such as a file server over a network, they are first copied to the local computer in the Windows’ temporary files folder and then added to the archive.
Once the portable archive is created, you can open it directly from Atoll without first having to extract it using another tool. To open an archive containing an ATL file and all linked geographic data files:
1. Select File > Open from Zip. The Open dialogue appears.
2. Select the ZIP file that contains the ATL file and linked geographic data files. 3. Click Open. The Browse For Folder dialogue appears.
4. Select the folder where you want to extract the contents of the ZIP file.
5. Click OK. Atoll extracts all the files from the archive to the selected folder. If necessary, it creates the subfolders required for extracting the contents of the Geo folder. Once Atoll has finished extracting files from the archive, it opens the extracted ATL file. Geographic data extracted from the archive are linked to the ATL file.
If you just remove the BAK extension, your backup file will have the same file name as the original file and Windows will not allow you to rename the file. Therefore, it is safer to give a new name to the backup file and keep the original file until you are sure which version is most recent.
• You do not need to have a compression utility, such as WinZip or WinRAR, installed on the computer for this feature.
Chapter 3
Geographic Data
This chapter provides information on working with geographic data in an Atoll project.
In this chapter, the following are explained: • "Geographic Data Types" on page 109
• "Supported Geographic Data Formats" on page 111 • "Importing Geo Data Files" on page 111
• "Digital Terrain Models" on page 118 • "Clutter Classes" on page 118 • "Clutter Heights" on page 122
• "Contours, Lines, and Points" on page 122 • "Scanned Images" on page 124
• "Population Maps" on page 125 • "Custom Geo Data Maps" on page 126 • "Setting the Priority of Geo Data" on page 129 • "Displaying Information About Geo Data" on page 132 • "Geographic Data Sets" on page 132
• "Editing Geographic Data" on page 134 • "Saving Geographic Data" on page 136
3 Geographic Data
Several different geographic data types are used in an Atoll document. For example: the digital terrain model (DTM), clutter classes, clutter heights, scanned images, population maps, and traffic data maps are types of the geographic data that you can import or create. Some data types, such as clutter classes, can be used to give more realistic calculations. Other types such as scanned images, are used to create a more realistic display of the region under study.
You can import a wide variety of both vector and raster-format geo data files. When you import a geo data file into Atoll, you can decide in which folder it goes. The Geo tab of the Atoll Explorer window has folders for the commonly used data types. Therefore, choosing a folder is choosing what the file will be used for. You can also create your own data type by importing a file and defining what data is to be used.
Once you have imported a file into the Atoll document, you can edit the data, define how the geo data will be displayed. Atoll also allows you to manage multiple files for a single data type, deciding the priority of data files with different information or different resolutions. You can also display geo data over items on the Network tab, either by transferring them to the Network tab, or by importing them directly to the Network tab.
You can also create and edit geographic data. You can add a vector layer to certain data types to which you can add contours, lines, or points, create new geographic data, or modify existing data. You can also create raster-based geographic data such as traffic maps or clutter classes.
You can export most geo data objects (for example, DTM, clutter classes, clutter heights, raster polygons, or vector layers) for use in other Atoll documents or in other applications. Atoll also allows you to save changes you make to geo data objects back to the original files. This enables you to update the original files and, through the process of saving them, recompact the file. This chapter explains the following topics:
• "Geographic Data Types" on page 109
• "Supported Geographic Data Formats" on page 111 • "Importing Geo Data Files" on page 111
• "Clutter Classes" on page 118 • "Clutter Heights" on page 122 • "Digital Terrain Models" on page 118 • "Contours, Lines, and Points" on page 122 • "Scanned Images" on page 124
• "Population Maps" on page 125 • "Custom Geo Data Maps" on page 126 • "Setting the Priority of Geo Data" on page 129 • "Editing Geographic Data" on page 134 • "Saving Geographic Data" on page 136.