WinATLAS is our standard tool for digitizing and editing map data. It forms the basis for our softcopy stereoplotter WinATLAS/DSP, and it supports online input from most analog and analytical stereoplotters, as well as a variety of digitizing tablets. The program provides multiple ways to access the different collection modes and editors. This makes it straightforward and intuitive for new users, and fast for experienced users. It was designed as a double precision 3D tool for the making of maps. It works in UTM, State Plane or assumed coordinates, and with either English or Metric units. It is constantly evolving to take advantage of innovations in computer and imaging technology, as well as adding features needed by our clients to meet the needs of their clients. And yet with all the evolution of technology you can stilll load and update files that were archived thirty years ago as if they were just saved yesterday.
The ease of using WinATLAS begins with loading and storing files. If you wish to load multiple files into a single workspace, then you merely select multiple files from a list of those available in the Project directory and they are loaded. If you have loaded files that you no longer need, you can unload them. If you are working in a new area and want to tie to existing data, the program will automatically scan all the files in the target directory and load only those that adjoin the current workspace. When you are edge matching, adjoining files can be loaded for Reference Only. Since the import translators are built into WinATLAS, files from multiple platforms can be loaded into the same workspace. In short, if you can use the operating system, you can load, merge, reference, tie, import, unload and store data files in WinATLAS.
Continuous, mixed-mode line capture allows you to digitize arcs, fillets, straight line segments and splined curves all as part of the same line. When collecting a road edge, for example, you can collect the fillet at the corner, the curve in the middle, the straight segments in between, and the circular cul-de-sac at the end, all without changing modes, breaking the line, or pressing more than one button to collect the next data point. In the example to the right, each colored circle represents a single push of a button, going counter-clockwise around the cul-de-sac. The yellow circles represent points taken in straight line mode with the F1 button. Points at red circles were digitized with the F5 button set to tangential arc with computed radius. And the blue circles represent points on arc digitized with the F3 button.
While editing or collecting data you can Find or Snap to existing points, vertices, lines, line intersections or line midpoints in either 2D or 3D mode with the press of a single button. For example, you can snap one end of a driveway to the roofline of a house with a 2D Line Find, causing the XY coordinates of this endpoint of the driveway to intersect the roofline, while the Z coordinate remains on the ground as digitized. And then snap the other end of the driveway to the street with a 3D Line Find, causing the XYZ coordinates of this endpoint to lie exactly on the street line. WinATLAS can also insert an additional data point in the street line at the snap point.
When editing map data for final submission you can eliminate time spent looking for problems in data that is clean and ready to go. Used in conjunction with WinBatch you can automatically find and mark a wide variety of problems that require interactive editing. In WinATLAS you can zoom in close and drive from marker to marker with the push of a button, fixing the problems as you go. You will always know how many problems remain to be fixed and, when you are finished, the data will be clean. If a large map tile contains only two markers, you can fix those two problems and be done. There is no need to painstakingly search for problems that do not exist.