Exporting Data: 3

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Exporting data is simple and fast from GIS Kit/Pro. One of the main things to remember is that export buttons have contextual significance--the location of the button implies what data will be exported with it. The following table shows the correlation of export button location and what it exports:

Export Button Location	Data to be included in export
Projects screen	Entire project (i.e. project's master layer) for currently selected project
A project's top menu	Entire project (i.e. project's master layer)
Within a layer	That layer and all its descendants
Feature class dataset	All the feature classes within that dataset
Feature class	Only this feature class
Raster image details (pro version only)	Only this raster

Export Destinations

Currently, there are two possible destinations for exported files: iTunes and Email. Email should be self-explanatory. iTunes file sharing is based on the apps "Documents" directory. Files in this directory are accessible via iTunes when you plug your device into a desktop computer via USB cable. It does NOT require a sync and does not even require that the iTunes library be used by the device's user. It provides a fast, secure way of transferring files to and from the device.

To view the files in iTunes, first connect the device and wait for it to show up in the sidebar. Then select the device, then the "Apps" tab. Lower down on the screen the apps that support file sharing will be selectable. Select GIS Kit or Pro and the files in the Documents directory will become visible in the menu on the right.

The files in GIS Kit/Pro's Documents directory is strictly for file transfers and is not needed by the app once the data has been imported. You can delete the files in this directory either from iTunes or right-swiping on their rows in any of the import dialogs.

Export Formats

The various file formats GIS Kit/Pro support each have different strengths and detailed discussions of the formats can be found at their respective websites. Here we will simply list the things you should know about them when using them with GIS Kit/Pro.

GPX

GPX is fairly universal and is the most common format for GPS handheld units. They are limited to routes, tracks, and waypoints so they do not generally convey very much of the information used in a GIS system.

KML/KMZ

KML is a very good format for hierarchical data as it is capable of preserving layer relationships. It is also the best format for preserving display information such as icons and colors. It does not, however, support line thickness or line styles such as dashes.

Since there is no standardized approach to sharing individual attributes through KML they are all put into an HTML table so they will display well in other programs such as Google Earth. They do, however, get split back out into attributes when imported back into GIS Kit/Pro although the type information is lost since the HTML is just broken up into strings.

KMZ files are actually zip archives that contain a KML file and optionally more files. GIS Kit/Pro includes custom symbols, photos and rasters into KMZ files so that they will display properly on the receiving platform. This can, however, make the size of the file somewhat unmanageable which is why we also created the KMZ Compact option.

KMZ Compact

KMZ Compact is the same as KMZ except an image resizing operation is performed on all the images stored in image attributes. It is not performed on raster overlays, however.

Shapefile (GIS Pro only)

Shapefiles is a good format if the primary objective is preserving attributes. All style information is lost as this is not a typical function of Shapefiles. They are typically used in professional organizations due to their strength in data standardization, which is why this format is only included in the Pro version. Some key points to note:

Attribute names are limited to 10 characters
A feature class must be chosen to define which fields to include
Only one feature class can be exported at a time, the resulting filename will be based on the name of the feature class
All feature classes within the exporting layer and its descendants will be included in the export

Comma-Separated Values (CSV) (GIS Pro only)

CSV files are easy for other applications to parse, such as Microsoft Excel. They provide an excellent mechanism for transporting the data from features' attributes. Key points:

The export process for CSV files is similar to Shapefiles, i.e. you must select a feature class
Geometric information is only included for point features

Feature Class Files (FCL) (GIS Pro only)

FCL files are a proprietary format used by GIS Pro to transfer feature class information.

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