Getting Started With Military Overlay Editor 9.2 for ArcGIS

Getting Started With Military Overlay Editor 9.2 for ArcGIS®

Copyright © 2006 ESRI.

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.

The information contained in this document is the exclusive property of ESRI. This work is protected under United States copyright law and other international copyright treaties and conventions. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as expressly permitted in writing by ESRI. All requests should be sent to Attention: Contracts and Legal Services Manager, ESRI, 380 New York Street, Redlands, CA 92373-8100, USA.

The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.

Contributing writers

Andy Bouffard, Mara Dolan, Kyle Krattiger, Jeremiah Montgomery, Christopher Moore, Candace Paulman, Mark Romero, Clark Swinehart, and Joe Zastrow

u.s. government restriCted/Limited rights

Any software, documentation, and/or data delivered hereunder is subject to the terms of the License Agreement. In no event shall the U.S. Government acquire greater than RESTRICTED/LIMITED RIGHTS. At a minimum, use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in FAR §52.227-14 Alternates I, II, and III (JUN 1987); FAR §52.227-19 (JUN 1987) and/or FAR §12.211/12.212 (Commercial Technical Data/Computer Software); and DFARS §252.227-7015 (NOV 1995) (Technical Data) and/or DFARS §227.7202 (Computer Software), as applicable. Contractor/Manufacturer is ESRI, 380 New York Street, Redlands, CA 92373-8100, USA.

ESRI, ArcGlobe, ArcIMS, ArcView, ArcSDE, ArcInfo, ArcCatalog, ArcMap, ArcEditor, ArcGIS, ArcReader, MOLE, 3D Analyst, ArcScene, ArcToolbox, SDE, Spatial Database Engine, the ESRI globe logo, the ArcGIS logo, GIS by ESRI, and www.esri.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of ESRI in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions.

Other companies and products mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.

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Contents

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About MOLE and this guide 1MOLE basics 2About this guide 9What you get with the MOLE software application 10Conventions used in MOLE documentation 14Getting help 15

Release notes and system requirements 17Release notes 18System requirements 21

Installation and startup 23Installing MOLE 24Updating your data to the new MOLE schema 29Importing data and mapping your fields to MOLE fields 34Creating MOLE data 38Starting up MOLE 40

Tutorial 45Exercise 1: Creating MOLE data using ArcCatalog 46Exercise 2: Working with force elements in ArcMap 59Exercise 3: Working with tactical graphics in ArcMap 65Exercise 4: Changing the 3D display type 69Exercise 5: Applying tracking to MOLE features 73

Quick reference 77The MOLE toolbar 78The MOLE Symbol Editor 81The MOLE Layer Properties dialog boxes 82

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In This Chapter

About MOLE and this guide 1

• MOLE basics• About this guide• What you get with

the MOLE software application

• Conventions used in MOLE documentation

• Getting help

Military Overlay Editor (MOLETM) 9.2, developed by ESRI® for ArcGIS®, allows you to create, display, and edit military symbology in your maps.

MOLE lets you use military symbology that adheres strictly to one or both of the military symbology specifications MOLE supports:

• The Department of Defense (DoD) common war fighting symbology specification MIL‑STD‑2525B Change 1

• The NATO APP‑6A symbology specification

By combining these military specifications with ArcGIS spatial analysis capabilities, MOLE enhances the effectiveness of your command and control (C2) and mission applications.

MOLE is customizable; it comes with an application programming interface (API) you can use to build your own MOLE applications or create custom MOLE functionality in existing applications.

This chapter introduces you to MOLE and provides a description of this book and the MOLE documentation set. It also describes additional ways to get help.


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MOLE basics MOLE is strict in its adherence to the MIL-STD-2525B Change 1 and APP-6A

specifications. It supports all appendices of both specifications. It also allows you to depart from the specifications if you choose.

MOLE is compatible with other ESRI GIS products, including ArcGlobeTM, ArcGIS Engine, ArcGIS Server, ArcIMS®, ArcGIS Military Analyst, and ArcGIS Tracking Analyst.

Developers can customize MOLE or extend its out-of-the box functionality using the MOLE software developer kit (SDK), which is part of the ArcGIS developer framework.

MOLE’s out-of-the-box functionality allows you to immediately:

• Use existing databases, shapefiles, or tabular data.

• Symbolize data from tracking information using the ArcGIS Tracking Analyst extension and ArcGIS Tracking Server.

• Use rules to group symbols for improved map readability or to speed up your tasks.

• Use the MOLE Symbol Editor to preview how the symbol you are constructing will look as you change values in the 15-character Symbol ID code or attribute fields or choose different military elements to symbolize.

• Provide lifelike views of battlefield scenarios using MOLE in ArcGlobe.

The map display area in ArcGlobe showing a 3D MOLE map.

About MOLE and this guide

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If you are new to MOLE, review the following concepts to help you become proficient with MOLE more quickly.

• Force element—A type of graphic that represents a military unit, equipment, or installation (such as a hospital or radar site). Also known as tactical symbol. The following image shows a military unit type of force element, in this case Company A, 1st Battalion of the 135th Infantry.

Because MOLE force elements adhere to military specifications, you can quickly tell how big a unit is, if it has mobility, if it is friendly or hostile, and so on, just by looking at its force element symbol on a MOLE map.

• Tactical graphic—A type of graphic that represents actions and represents objects other than force elements. Examples of tactical graphics: an arrow showing the intended movement of a group of military units or a line that represents a lane boundary or obstacle.

An air corridor symbol between two air control point symbols. The air corridor is a line tactical graphic. The air control points are point tactical graphics. The types of tactical graphics (point, line, and area) are described in more detail in exercise 1 in chapter 4 of this guide.

• MOLE data— MOLE requires that your data be in an ArcGIS native format, such as feature classes, geodatabases, or shapefiles.

In addition, MOLE requires that a certain set of fields exist in your data because of its close tie to the MIL‑STD‑2525B Change 1 and APP‑6A specifications. The number of fields required for you depends on how much military symbology data you want to use with MOLE. At a bare minimum, however, MOLE requires a Symbol_ID field so that it can read the data. MOLE uses most of the other fields as labels, also known as text modifiers.

So whether you’re building MOLE datasets from scratch or importing existing data for use with MOLE, it is important you have a basic understanding of the MOLE geodatabase schema and the many ways available to you to create or update MOLE data or import existing data for use with MOLE. For more information, see Chapter 3, Installation and startup, in this guide and Attribute data field descriptions in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

• Leader—A leader in MOLE is typically two or more force elements grouped together and placed on a line based on rules you select, but you can also leader a single force element. Leaders are often used to improve a map’s readability when

Basic MOLE concepts


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many symbols overlap, to group related units together, and to define perimeters or areas of interest for formations.

• Stack—Two or more force elements grouped together and placed one on top of another. Like leaders, stacks allow you to quickly make a map easier to read by allowing graphics to be grouped according to rules you select.

• Attribute data—Attribute data in ArcGIS is similar to attribute data in MOLE in the way it is stored and edited (in attribute tables) and accessed. For example, in ArcMap or ArcGlobe you access it by right-clicking a feature layer in the table of contents, then clicking Open Attribute Table.

However, by default, most attribute data in a MOLE dataset is used by MOLE only to display labels around a graphic (with a few minor exceptions1). In ArcMap, you can choose not to use attribute data for labels.

You can turn off the visibility of a MOLE label. Most MOLE attributes are used to display what some military specifications refer to as labels or modifiers.

• Group layers—MOLE data displays in the ArcMap or ArcGlobe table of contents as group layers. Each MOLE group layer contains two sublayers: a MOLE graphic layer and its associated ArcGIS feature layer (point, line, or area).

1The exceptions are described in Attribute data field descriptions in ArcGIS Desktop Help.


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A MOLE group layer can contain only one graphic type, either force element or tactical graphic. Force elements are always associated with ArcGIS point feature layers. Tactical graphics can be associated with point, line, or area feature layers.

Double-clicking the MOLE graphic layer portion of the group layer opens the MOLE Layer Properties dialog box, which gives you access to all MOLE‑specific layer functionality.

A specification document is typically a document that provides detailed information on

how something should work. In many cases, it is a document created through collaboration to promote

standardization across different types of software applications, computers, and enterprise systems—a starting point to simplify the transfer and use of information across these systems. Specification documents are typically living documents; that is, they get revised year to year as needs and systems change.

MOLE supports two military symbol specification documents, MIL‑STD‑2525B Change 1 and APP-6A. These documents provide details on how military symbols should behave and display on maps and how symbols can be transmitted from system to system.

By using symbols in your maps that adhere to MIL-STD-2525B Change 1 or APP-6A, you guarantee that they can be quickly interpreted by anyone who is familiar with those specifications. In addition, you guarantee that the symbol information you are using can be transferred between systems that are compliant with the specifications

For more information on the specifications, see About MOLE in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

Military specifications

Data frame

MOLE group layer

ArcGIS feature layer

MOLE graphic layer (military symbology layer)

MOLE group layerDouble-click this layer to open the Layer Properties dialog box for the ArcGIS feature layer portion of the MOLE group layer

Double-click this layer to open the MOLE Layer Properties dialog box for the MOLE graphic layer portion of the MOLE group layer


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Central to MIL-STD-2525B Change 1 and APP-6A—and, therefore, MOLE—is the Symbol ID code, a 15‑character identifier. The code provides the information necessary to display or transmit a military symbol between MIL-STD-2525B-Change-1-compliant systems or between APP-6A-compliant systems. The characters that make up the code provide critical information about the military element the code represents: how big the unit is, if it has mobility, if it is hostile, and so on. MOLE takes the information provided in the code and any additional information you provide in attributes and renders the military element as a symbol in ArcGIS.

The presence of this code in a field named Symbol_ID in a dataset allows you to open and use the dataset in MOLE.

How MOLE renders the symbol based on the Symbol ID code Each character or group of characters in the Symbol ID code gives information

about—gives a characteristic of—the military element. For example, the second character in the code tells whether the military element is friendly or hostile; it gives information about the affiliation characteristic.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Each of these characteristics has a corresponding visual component that can be drawn or rendered on a map. For example, if the second character is F, the military element is friendly. MIL-STD-2525B Change 1 and APP-6A say friendly should be represented by a blue fill1. When several of these components are rendered by MOLE for one military element, they make a complete symbol.

To illustrate, the following image provides a symbol with its visual components—its graphic components—described.

If you see the above symbol on a map and you are familiar with MIL-STD-2525B

Change 1 or APP-6A, you’d know that it represents a present, friendly, subsurface force element.

The valid values you can use in the code for these characteristics (for example, F is a valid value for the affiliation characteristic) are given in MIL‑STD‑2525B Change 1 and APP-6A, but are also excerpted from MIL-STD-2525B Change 1 in the following tables.

An open top signifies a subsurface unit.

A blue fill indicates a friendly affiliation.

A solid frame indicates the unit is present (versus anticipated or planned).

Coding scheme

Affiliation

Battle dimension/category

Status

Function ID

Echelon/size

Country code

Order of battle

1MIL‑STD‑2525B Change 1, APP‑6A, and MOLE give other ways to indicate affiliation for a symbol besides fill color, such as frame shape.

Symbol ID code


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Valid values for force elements

Coding scheme Affiliation Battle dimension StatusS - war fightingG - tactical graphicW - METOCI - intelligenceM - mapping (for

future use)O - military

operations other than war (MOOTW)

P - pendingU - unknownA - assumed

friendF - friendN - neutralS - suspectH - hostileJ - jokerK - fakerO - none specified

P - spaceA - airG - groundS - sea surfaceU - sea subsurfaceF - SOFX - other (no frame)

A - anticipated/planned

P - present

Function ID Echelon/size Battle dimension Order of battleDescribes the specific function of a symbol. See the military specification for values.

Describes echelon, mobility, equipment, or installation characteristics of a symbol. See the military specification for values.

See FIPS Pub series 10.

A - air E - electronic C - civilian G - ground N - maritime S - strategic force

related

Valid values for tactical graphics

Coding scheme Affiliation Battle dimension StatusS - C2 symbology;

units, equipment, and installations

G - C2 symbology; military operations

W - METOCI - intelligenceM - mapping (for

future use)O - military

operations other than war

P - pendingU - unknownA - assumed

friendF - friendN - neutralS - suspectH - hostileJ - jokerK - fakerO - none specified

T - tasksG - C2 and general

maneuverM - mobility/

survivabilityF - fire supportS - combat service

supportO - other

A - anticipated/planned

P - present

Function ID Echelon size Country code Order of battleSee the military specification for values.

See MIL-STD-2525B for values.

See FIPS Pub series 10.

X - control markings


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Special considerations for Symbol ID code valid values• MOLE handles the Function ID attribute differently for force elements than

it does for tactical graphics. For more information, see the MOLE developer documentation.

• The military specifications MOLE supports often use one or more asterisks (*) in sample Symbol ID codes to signify that any valid military specification character can be used in that location, for example, S F G * * * * * * * * * * * * . It is important to keep in mind that these are sample codes only; MOLE does not support use of asterisks in Symbol ID codes1; it does not recognize an asterisk as a valid character. In MOLE, if you want to indicate that a character in the Symbol ID is unknown, use a hyphen (-) instead. For example, if you know the coding scheme is S, affiliation is F, battle dimension is G, and you know no other properties, you’d use hyphens for the other characters so your Symbol ID code would be:

S F G - - - - - - - - - - - -

A key to becoming proficient in MOLE is to understand the data it uses.

MOLE requires that your data be in an ArcGIS native format, such as geodatabase feature classes or shapefiles.

In addition, MOLE requires that a certain set of fields exist in your data because of its close tie to the MIL‑STD‑2525B Change 1 and APP‑6A specifications. The number of fields required for you depends on how much military symbology data you want to use with MOLE. At a bare minimum, however, MOLE requires a Symbol_ID field.

Differences between MOLE and ArcGIS data are described below.

1. MOLE data requires that a specific field, the Symbol_ID field, be present in the data in order for MOLE to read the data.

2. The Symbol_ID field contains a 15‑character value, where each character or character group within the value has a specific meaning attached. That is, each character or character group has its own set of valid values.

3. All MOLE data is related to one of two types of military symbols: force elements or tactical graphics.

4. MOLE data displays in the ArcMap or ArcGlobe table of contents as group layers. A MOLE group layer can contain only one graphic type of the following four: force element, point tactical graphic, line tactical graphic, or area tactical graphic.

Each MOLE group layer contains two sublayers: a MOLE graphics layer (force element or tactical graphic) and its associated ArcGIS feature layer (point, line, or area).

What makes MOLE data

different from the ArcGIS data you may be used to?

1 There is one exception. MOLE uses an asterisk in the 10th character of the fish stakes’ Symbol ID code. For more information, see Symbology rendering in MOLE in ArcGIS Desktop Help.


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5. In order to display MOLE data in the map display properly—that is, display it so that it shows the military symbology from the specifications—you must add it to the map using the Add MOLE Data button .

6. By default, the attribute data in a MOLE dataset is used by MOLE only to display labels around a graphic (with a few minor exceptions explained in Attribute data field descriptions in ArcGIS Desktop Help).

7. In all but a few cases, MOLE attribute data behaves as part of the MOLE graphic. For example, the label displays when the MOLE graphic displays (assuming its visibility is turned on), moves with the MOLE graphic when it moves, and so on.

8. MOLE symbology includes leaders and stacks—symbol-like elements that differ slightly from typical ArcGIS symbols. Leaders and stacks represent groups of force elements. Leaders and stacks usually displace a force element graphic from its associated point feature.

About this guide This getting started guide, which is part of the MOLE documentation set, is intended to

help get you up and running quickly with MOLE. It is divided into the following chapters:

• About MOLE and this guide—This chapter gives an overview of MOLE, provides a list of what you get with MOLE, and tells how you can get additional help with MOLE or access additional MOLE resources. It also provides tips for using the available resources.

• Release notes and system requirements— This chapter provides a list of what’s new, resolved issues, and known issues for the MOLE 9.2 release. It also provides a list of hardware and software requirements for MOLE.

• Installation and startup—This chapter provides step-by-step installation instructions, upgrading instructions, data migration considerations, and tips for starting up and setting up MOLE in different environments, with different ESRI products, and for different uses.

• Tutorial— This chapter provides a tutorial that steps you through MOLE tasks ranging from basic to complex. The tutorial uses sample data that is installed with MOLE.

• Quick reference—This chapter provides brief descriptions of the main user interface items in the MOLE application.

Data frame

MOLE group layer




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What you get with the MOLE software application MOLE is a software application you can use with ArcGIS user-interface-based

applications such as ArcMap and ArcGlobe to create, work with, and distribute situational or operation planning maps that adhere to MIL-STD-2525B Change 1 and/or APP-6A.

The MOLE software application comes with the following items, each of which is described in this section:

• A comprehensive documentation set

• Sample data

• Three geoprocessing tools

• A software developer kit (SDK)

• Online support resources

• Technical support This section describes the MOLE documentation components. Because most

high-level conceptual information about MOLE is in the end-user documentation, it is a great place to start if you’re new to MOLE. It focuses on the MOLE out-of-the-box functionality (the functions available in the MOLE user interface).

To learn the basics, review Chapter 1 of this guide, then perform the tutorial in Chapter 4 of this guide. The tutorial walks you through some of the most common MOLE tasks and provides tips along the way to help reinforce MOLE concepts. The data used in this tutorial comes with MOLE, so you can follow along step-by-step at your computer.

If you’re new to geographic information system (GIS) software, it is recommended you take some time to familiarize yourself with the ESRI ArcMapTM, ArcGlobe, and ArcCatalogTM software applications before learning MOLE basics. Tutorials and help topics are provided for these and other ESRI software applications and are accessible from within the ArcGIS Desktop Help.

End-user documentation End-user documentation is automatically installed when you install MOLE. Some of it

is accessible before you install, as described in the following list.

• This guide, Getting Started With Military Overlay Editor 9.2 for ArcGIS (getting_started_with_mole.pdf), is provided at the top level of the MOLE .zip file you downloaded and the MOLE directory on the ESRI Defense Solutions CD. It is also installed in the <ArcGIS installation directory>/Documentation directory. It provides system requirements, installation steps, release notes, a tutorial, and a quick reference.

• MOLE help system—Describes how to use MOLE to create, display, and edit symbology. It provides task-based documentation that is layered from basic to advanced so that you can drill down to details as you need them. It is comprehensive; it aims to describe every MOLE function available out of the box (in the user interface), down to the field level. It contains a comprehensive index and allows you to perform natural language searches, full-text searches, and in-topic searches. There are several ways to access the MOLE help system, each with different benefits. For details, see Tips for using help in this chapter.

The MOLE documentation

set


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• Help for the MOLE geoprocessing tools—To access, add the MOLE toolbox, then open the MOLE tool you want to use and click Show Help in the tool. For information on adding the MOLE toolbox, see Importing data and mapping your fields to MOLE fields in Chapter 3 of this guide. For an overview of MOLE geoprocessing tools and links to general information on using geoprocessing tools, see Editing MOLE graphics outside of ArcMap in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

• mole_install.htm— Contains late-breaking release information as well as an abbreviated version of the installation steps in Chapter 3 of this guide. It is located at the top level of the MOLE .zip file you downloaded and at the top level of the MOLE directory on the ESRI Defense Solutions CD. You can also access mole_install.htm by clicking the Install Guide button in the MOLE installation wizard.

Tips for using help The ArcGIS Desktop Help system contains all ArcGIS help topics plus topics for the

extensions you’ve installed, but there are ways to narrow your focus (search results, index entries, and so on) to MOLE content only. Below are tips for using help.

• Access the MOLE help through the ArcGIS Desktop Help if you want to see ArcGIS topics in the index and searches you perform (for example, in ArcMap, click Help > ArcGIS Desktop Help).

• If you want your searches and index viewing to be focused on MOLE help topics only, open the MOLE help by navigating to mole.chm (in <ArcGIS installation directory>/Help) and double-clicking it to open it. For example, in Windows, you can navigate to mole.chm using Windows Explorer (Start > Programs > Accessories > Windows Explorer). When you open MOLE help this way, the natural language search feature will not be available, but the standard help search (full text search) will be available.

• To view MOLE topics in a table of contents organization when you’ve opened the MOLE help through the ArcGIS Desktop help, click Extensions > Military Overlay Editor in the ArcGIS Desktop Help table of contents (the left pane of the help window).

• Additional tips for using help are in MOLE documentation and additional ways to get help in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

• When instructed to refer to a topic in the ArcGIS Desktop Help in this guide or in the MOLE user interface, type the topic into the text box of the Search tab of ArcGIS Desktop Help and press Enter. In most cases, the topic will be the first topic listed in the search results. Otherwise, it will be within the top few topics listed.

Developer documentation MOLE comes with an SDK, which includes a comprehensive developer

documentation set. Information on how to access this documentation is in The MOLE SDK area of this section of the guide.


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The MOLE SDK

Sample data is installed to the <ArcGIS installation directory>/MOLE/Tutorial directory. This directory includes sample databases, sample shapefiles, sample .mxd files, and sample data to use with ArcGIS Tracking Analyst functionality.

The MOLE SDK also includes sample data for Visual Basic, C++, .NET, and Java. MOLE comes with three geoprocessing tools:

• the Add moLe Fields tool—If you have the ArcEditor or ArcInfo license level, this tool allows you to add MOLE fields to multiple non‑MOLE feature classes or shapefiles at one time and output them as a set of MOLE shapefiles. The feature classes and/or shapefiles you select as input can be point, line, or area. They will become the same type of output, either all force element shapefiles or all tactical graphic shapefiles. You cannot specify a name for the output shapefile or shapefiles (you must use the name MOLE assigns).

• the Add moLe Fields single tool—This tool, new at 9.2, allows you to add MOLE fields to one non‑MOLE feature class or shapefile and output it to one MOLE feature class or MOLE shapefile. The feature class or shapefile you select as input can be point, line, or area. You must have the ArcEditor or ArcInfo level of licensing to output to shapefile.

• the Convert military standard tool—This tool allows you to convert a MOLE feature class or MOLE shapefile to a different military symbology standard. The output can be a feature class or shapefile.

For information on getting started with the MOLE geoprocessing tools, see the importing data section of Chapter 3 of this guide.

MOLE comes with an SDK, which contains the following for each supported programming language:

The MOLE API Code samples

API documentation Sample applications

C++ and Visual C++1. Open the C++ and Visual C++ help by clicking Start > Program Files > ArcGIS >

Developer Help > .NET Help for VS2005.

2. In the welcome window that appears, in the left pane:

• For C++, expand Building solutions with ArcGIS Engine using C++.

• For Visual C++, expand Building solutions with ArcGIS Engine using Visual C++

3. For an overview of the MOLE API, click MOLE Library Overview.

For a brief description of each interface, class, constant, and structure, click MOLE Library Contents. Click an item to display additional details about it.

To view and print the MOLE object model, click MOLE Object Model Diagram.

For sample applications, navigate to the <ArcGIS installation directory>/DeveloperKit/SamplesCOM directory. Descriptions for the samples are located within the directory: Scenarios and samples > VB6 Samples > MOLE.

Visual Basic 61. Click Start > Program Files > ArcGIS > Developer Help > ArcGIS Engine help

for VB6 Developers.

MOLE geoprocessing

tools

Sample data


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2. In the welcome window that appears, in the left pane, expand Building solutions with ArcGIS Engine using VB6 and navigate to ArcObjects library references > esriMOLE.

3. For an overview of the MOLE API, click MOLE Library Overview.

For a brief description of each interface, class, constant, and structure, click MOLE Library Contents. Click an item to display additional details about it.

To view and print the MOLE object model, click MOLE Object Model Diagram.

For sample applications, navigate to the <ArcGIS installation directory>/DeveloperKit/SamplesCOM directory. Descriptions for the samples are located within the directory: Scenarios and samples > VB6 Samples > MOLE.

.NET1. Click Start > Program Files > ArcGIS > Developer Help > .NET Help for

VS2005.

2. In the welcome window that appears, in the left pane, expand Building solutions with ArcGIS Engine using .NET and navigate to ArcObjects library reference > MOLE > ESRI.ArcGIS.MOLE.

3. To view an overview of the MOLE API, click ESRI.ArcGIS.MOLE.

To view a brief description of each interface, class, constant, and structure, click MOLE Namespace Contents. Click each item to display additional details about it.

To view and print the MOLE object model, click MOLE Namespace Object Model Diagram.

For sample applications, navigate to the <ArcGIS installation directory>/ DeveloperKit/SamplesNET directory. Descriptions for the samples are located within Building solutions with ArcGIS Engine using .NET > Working with ArcGIS Components > Other ArcGIS Extensions.

Java The MOLE Java SDK gets installed with MOLE. It comes with an ESRI-developed

plug-in for Eclipse that allows you to view the documentation in the MOLE Java SDK. The MOLE Java SDK is for use with ArcGIS Engine.

1. Open the Java Developer Help integrated within Eclipse or use the standalone option by clicking Start > Program Files > ArcGIS > Developer Help > Open Java Help.

2. In the window that appears, in the left Contents pane, expand Military Overlay Editor.

3. To view a brief description of each interface, class, exception, and error, select Javadoc.

To view the API overview, select Library Reference.

To view and print the MOLE object model, select Object Model Diagram (OMD)

For sample applications, navigate to the <ArcGIS installation directory>/ Java/samples/engine directory. Sample descriptions are located within Java Help > Military Overlay Editor > Samples.


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Conventions used in MOLE documentation• The step‑by‑step procedures reflect the Windows XP operating system using the

Classic setting for the Start menu and Windows Explorer Folder Options. An effort is made to provide tips or procedures for other operating systems when the steps vary significantly from operating system to operating system.

• Variables are enclosed with the less-than and greater-than symbols. For example, <ArcGIS installation directory> is used to reference the directory to which you installed ArcGIS. By default, this directory is C:\Program Files. By default, MOLE is installed to <ArcGIS installation directory>/ArcGIS.

Back slashes (\) are used for Windows‑specific directory paths. Forward slashes (/) are used for all other directory paths.

• The greater than symbol (>) denotes menu paths. For example, Start > Programs > ArcGIS > ArcMap is the menu path within the Start menu that opens ArcMap.

• “Click” instructs you to left-click the mouse once; “double-click” instructs you to left-click the mouse twice.

• “Press” is used for keyboard keys.

• Text you type is in double quotation marks.

• The term “edit” is used for changes to MOLE graphics that require you to be in an edit session as well as for some changes that do not require you to be in an edit session.

• MOLE, MIL STD-2525B Change 1, and APP-6A are primarily used in the context of war and the military—for creating wartime battlefield scenario maps. However, they are also used for communicating non-wartime activities and groups, such as defense and intelligence, weather conditions, supply quantities, and so on.

For simplicity, especially in topics geared toward new users, the term “military” is used as an umbrella term for items that aren’t necessarily exclusive to the military, such as intelligence groups and weather conditions. This usage allows for easy distinguishing between MOLE and ArcGIS functions.

For this same reason, “battlefield scenario” may be used to refer to “situational awareness map” or “common operational map”.

• In this getting started guide and in the MOLE context-sensitive help, cross references to topics in ArcGIS Desktop Help are in italic font. To quickly access the topic:

1. Open ArcGIS Desktop Help by selecting from the Help menu in ArcMap, ArcCatalog, or ArcGlobe.

Or click Start > Program Files > ArcGIS > ArcGIS Desktop Help > ArcGIS Desktop Help.

2. In the ArcGIS Desktop Help window, click the Search tab.

3. In the text box of the Search tab, type the italic phrase, then click the ask button .

In most cases, the cross‑referenced topic will be the first topic listed in the search results. Otherwise, it will be within the top few topics listed.


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• To view the MOLE help table of contents, click the Contents tab in ArcGIS Desktop Help, expand the Extensions booklet, then expand the Military Overlay Editor booklet.

Getting help In addition to the comprehensive documentation set described in this chapter, you can

use the online support resources provided by ESRI or you can call ESRI technical support. ESRI also provides several MOLE training courses.

The ESRI support Web site, http://support.esri.com, contains product announcements, technical papers, white papers, knowledge base articles, downloads, system requirements, discussion forums, a Web version of the latest MOLE help system and much more.

If you need to contact ESRI for technical support, refer to ‘Contacting Technical Support’ in the ‘Getting more help’ section of the ArcGIS Desktop Help system. You can also visit ESRI on the Web at www.esri.com and support.esri.com for more information on MOLE and ArcGIS.

ESRI provides an instructor-led MOLE developer training course in addition to educational opportunities related to geographic information science, GIS applications, and GIS technology. You can choose from among traditional instructor-led courses, virtual classroom instructor-led courses, Web-based courses, and self-study workbooks. To find education solutions that fit your learning style, visit www.esri.com/education.

Online support resources

Contacting ESRI

ESRI training courses

http://support.esri.com

http://www.esri.com


http://www.esri.com/education

http://www.esri.com/education


16

In This Chapter

Release notes and system requirements 2

• Release notes• System requirements

This chapter provides a list of what’s new in MOLE 9.2.

It also provides a list of hardware and software requirements for MOLE.


18

Release notes This section describes enhancements in the MOLE 9.2 release. For late-breaking

release information, see mole_install.htm, located at the top level of the MOLE .zip file you downloaded and at the top level of the MOLE directory on the ESRI Defense Solutions CD. You can also access mole_install.htm by clicking the Install Guide button in the MOLE installation wizard.

• MOLE now supports the NATO military symbology specification, APP‑6A, and the Change 1 update to the MIL‑STD‑2525B military symbology specification. Changes related to this enhancement include:

‑ All feature classes MOLE encounters the first time must now be marked MIL-STD-2525B Change 1 or APP-6A. You can choose to be prompted to mark each feature class yourself, or you can choose a default specification to have MOLE mark your feature classes for you.

If you choose to be prompted, the Select a Symbology Standard dialog box appears when you open an unmarked MOLE feature class in a MOLE-supported ESRI application, such as ArcMap or ArcGlobe.

For more information, see Marking a layer MIL-STD-2525B or APP-6A in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

- A new Options dialog box (MOLE > Options) lets you choose a default military specification for unmarked feature classes MOLE encounters.

It also displays the MOLE version number and lets you choose to be prompted each time MOLE encounters a new feature class.

- A geoprocessing tool, Convert Military Standard, was added. It allows you to convert a MOLE feature class or MOLE shapefile to a different military symbology standard. The output can be a feature class or shapefile.

General enhancements

Release notes and system requirements

19

• A geoprocessing tool, Add MOLE Fields Single, was added. It allows you to add MOLE fields to a non‑MOLE feature class or shapefile and output it to a MOLE feature class or a MOLE shapefile. The feature class or shapefile you select as input can be point, line, or area. You must have the ArcEditor or ArcInfo level of licensing to output to shapefile.

• Symbology rendering and display performance was improved this release.

• Support for file geodatabases was added.

• It is no longer necessary to have administrator privileges on the machine you’re using in order to access all MOLE functionality. Previous versions of MOLE required administrator privileges during installation and use.

• Direction of movement indicator visibility can be toggled using the MOLE Symbol Editor.

You can now also turn its display on or off by changing the value in the new DirectVis field in the attribute table (0 for off, 1 for on). As in pre‑9.2 versions of MOLE, having ‑999 in the Direction field still turns off its display.

• Some fire support symbols use the Direction field to supply a width parameter. The value you enter for this parameter provides the graphic’s width in meters. Note that a few other tactical graphics have special treatments like this. For more information, view construction notes about tactical graphics by clicking a graphic in the Symbol Library area of the MOLE Symbol Editor and viewing the text that displays in the Symbol Information area of the MOLE Symbol Editor.

• You can now control the leader ability and stack ability of selected force elements using the new MOLE > Selected Graphics menu item.

• Tactical graphic changes:

- A tactical graphic renderer named “All Tactical Graphics” has been added. It allows you to enable all tactical graphic renderers at once.

- The Graphic Text button now applies to tactical graphic text height.

• The way MOLE renders direction of movement indicators for non-ground force elements has changed. Now the arrow stem originates from the center of the graphic instead of from the center of the bottom border. Now it can also be controlled independently from graphic height.


20

Schema changes• The DirectVis attribute field was added to force elements and point tactical

graphics primarily to allow you to more easily turn on or off the display of the direction of movement indicator for individual graphics.

• You can now use the Etype and SComment fields in shapefiles that were converted or created using MOLE geoprocessing tools. The fields in the new shapefile are named “Type” and “Comment”, respectively.

• Fields for spheres have been documented this release. For details about the changed or added fields described above, such as their field

properties and valid values, see Attribute data field descriptions in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

• Context‑sensitive help was added to the fields in the MOLE tabs on MOLE Layer Properties dialog boxes.

• The MOLE with Tracking Analyst tutorial exercise that was in its own .pdf file at 9.1, Working_with_MOLE_Tracking_Data.pdf, is now part of the tutorial chapter in this .pdf file.

• A new search engine, AnswerWorks, has been implemented in ArcGIS Desktop Help. It allows for natural language search and provides pre‑defined filters you can use to narrow your results. It works on MOLE help topics unless you open MOLE help separately from ArcGIS Desktop Help. For details on AnswerWorks and on using MOLE help, see MOLE documentation and additional ways to get help in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

• The documentation for using MOLE that was in the main MOLE .pdf file at 9.1, Using Military Overlay Editor 9.1 for ArcGIS, is now available only in the MOLE help system. The documentation for getting started with MOLE (installation and setup instructions, tutorial exercises, and so on) remains in the main .pdf file that comes with MOLE (the one you’re reading now). The name of the main .pdf file changed from Using Military Overlay Editor 9.1 for ArcGIS to Getting Started with Military Overlay Editor 9.2 for ArcGIS.

• Dynamic display capability was added. A sample for using MOLE with dynamic display was added to the .NET SDK. In the MOLE .NET documentation, see Using dynamic display to display symbology generated with Military Overlay Editor. For information on accessing developer documentation, see What you get with the MOLE software application in this chapter.

• Enhancements were made to allow you to better manage display validation and to have more control over when and how often MOLE draws graphics.

• Improvements were made to MOLE error handling/event notifications and display validation.

• Significant enhancements to the developer documentation, sample applications, and sample data are now integrated as part of the core ArcGIS Desktop and Engine SDK help products.

• The MOLE application programming interface (API) now lets you control MOLE label color in ArcGlobe.

Documentation enhancements

API enhancements

Release notes and system requirements

21

System requirements You must have licensed an ESRI 9.2 software application that comes with an Engine

runtime, such as ArcGIS Desktop (ArcView, ArcEditor, or ArcInfo) or else have licensed ArcReader, ArcGIS Server, or ArcIMS. Your system must meet the same system requirements listed for the ESRI application(s) with which you intend to use it. It must also meet some additional requirements. Use the following procedure to check that your system meets all applicable requirements. A list of ESRI applications with Engine runtimes is provided in the Installing MOLE section of the next chapter.

1. In your Web browser, go to http://support.esri.com.

2. Click Knowledge Base, then click System Requirements.

3. Follow the on-screen instructions to provide information on your environment, such as the ESRI application and platform you are using.

4. Review the system requirements that display.5. Review the following additional requirements, which are MOLE‑specific:

• MOLE requires approximately 178 megabytes (MB) of hard disk space.

• You must be active in your ESRI application’s maintenance and support program to be licensed to use MOLE.

• Adobe® Reader® 5.0 or higher is required for viewing the portion of MOLE documentation provided in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). You can download this reader for free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

• If you have an ArcView license, you cannot use ArcCatalog to create MOLE feature classes (because they are custom ArcGIS objects), perform advanced editing functions, or use some geoprocessing tool functions. However, you can create a non-MOLE feature class, that is, an ArcGIS point, line, or polygon feature class, then use the Add MOLE Fields Single geoprocessing tool on it. For more information, see Creating MOLE data in Chapter 3.

• If you intend to serve MOLE maps using ArcIMS, you must have ArcIMS 9.2 or higher installed on a server, along with the ArcMap Server component of ArcIMS, without ArcGIS. MOLE must be installed on the same server as ArcIMS. For more information on using ArcIMS with MOLE, see Overview of using MOLE with ArcIMS in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

• If you intend to use MOLE with ArcGlobe, you must have the ArcGIS 3D Analyst extension installed. For information on installing 3D Analyst, see the Using MOLE with 3D maps in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

• If you intend to use tracking functionality on MOLE features, you must be licensed for the ArcGIS Tracking Analyst extension.

• As with most ArcGIS applications, the versions of multiple ArcGIS programs you’re using on one machine must be in synch. For example, MOLE 9.2 will not work in ArcMap 9.1.

6. If your system meets the requirements from steps 4 and 5 above, you are ready to install and use MOLE. If you want to develop with MOLE, continue to the next section, “For developing with MOLE”.

For using MOLE


http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html


22

If new system requirements or known limitation information are discovered after release (after publication of this guide), the information will be posted to the MOLE area of the ESRI system requirements page: http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=knowledgebase.systemRequirements.gateway (or go to http://support.esri.com, click Knowledge Base, then click System Requirements).

MOLE was designed primarily to be customized using ArcGIS Engine—that is, it was designed to let you build applications from the ground up and deploy them as standalone or client applications. However, you can also customize MOLE using ArcGIS Desktop if you want to customize the out-of-the-box functionality.

MOLE requires the same system requirements as the ArcGIS developer framework you’re using. To view system requirements for developing with MOLE:

1. In your Web browser, go to http://support.esri.com.

2. Click Knowledge Base, then click System Requirements.

3. Follow the on-screen instructions to provide information on the ArcGIS development framework you intend to use (ArcGIS Engine, ArcGIS Server, or ArcGIS Desktop) and your environment, such as your operating system.

4. Review the system requirements that display.5. Review these additional requirements and considerations:

• To use MOLE with ArcGIS Server (to serve map documents), you must install it on the same machine as ArcGIS Server.

• If you are developing with MOLE on a Linux or Solaris system and do not have access to an installation of MOLE on Windows, you can view the help that comes with MOLE on Windows by opening the MOLE Web-based help area of the ESRI Knowledge base at: http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=knowledgeBase.gateway. The help that comes with MOLE on Windows provides information such as detailed field descriptions for the MOLE schema, a description of how MOLE determines a military symbol’s shape based on the military specification you are using, and so on.

For developing with MOLE




In This Chapter

Installation and startup 3

• Installing MOLE• Updating your data to the

new MOLE schema•Importing data and

mapping your fields to MOLE fields

• Creating MOLE data• Starting up MOLE• Setting up MOLE

This chapter provides instructions and tips for installing MOLE as an end user and as a programmer.


24

Installing MOLE This section provides the following procedures:

• Installing MOLE using a wizard—Describes installing MOLE using the installation wizard. This procedure is applicable to Windows, Linux, and Solaris.

• Installing MOLE silently—Tells how to bypass the installation wizard when installing MOLE. Applies to Windows only.

• Installing MOLE for developers—Tells how to install MOLE if you intend to develop custom functionality or programs with MOLE.

• Uninstalling MOLE—Tells how to remove MOLE from a computer.

1. If you have not customized moleCore.mdb prior to MOLE 9.2, skip to step 2.

Customizing the moleCore database is not recommended. However, if you have customized moleCore.mdb prior to MOLE 9.2 and you want to use the customizations in 9.2, be sure to keep a backup of the customized version of moleCore.mdb or records you kept of the customizations. Because the moleCore database changed significantly at 9.2, if you customized it prior to MOLE 9.2, it is recommended you manually move your customizations into the 9.2 version (.gdb, .mdb, or .sde) of the moleCore database you intend to use. Move the customizations after you install MOLE.

2. Uninstall any previous versions of MOLE, including beta versions. If you start the installation program without doing this, it will do it for you after confirming with you that it’s okay.

3. Ensure you have system administrator privileges on the machine on which you plan to install MOLE. If you are installing on Linux or Solaris, you must not be the root user and you must be logged in as the same user who installed the ESRI application with which you intend to use MOLE. MOLE on Linux or Solaris is primarily used for developing MOLE applications or for using MOLE with ArcReader or ArcGIS Server.

4. Make sure your machine meets the system requirements listed in the previous chapter. System requirements are also available online at http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=knowledgebase.systemRequirements.gateway.

5. Make sure you have installed one or more of the following ESRI applications, as at least one of these is required in order to use MOLE. You must be current on maintenance for the ESRI application(s) with which you intend to use MOLE.

• ArcGIS Desktop (ArcView, ArcEditor, or ArcInfo)—required if you want to use the MOLE software application as an end user or if you intend to customize out-of-the-box functionality using the ArcGIS Desktop Developer’s Kit.

• One of the following ArcGIS Server products:

- ArcGIS Server Advanced—allows you to serve MOLE symbology in .mxd file based applications in an enterprise environment.

- ArcGIS Server Standard (ArcIMS and its ArcMap Server component)—allows you to deliver MOLE maps over the Internet.

- ArcGIS Server Basic (ArcSDE)—allows you to use MOLE feature classes with relational databases.

Installing MOLE using a wizard

http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=knowledgebase.systemRequirements.gateway


Installation and startup

25

• ArcEngine (and ArcEngine Run-Time)—required if you want to build MOLE applications from the ground up and deploy them as standalone or client applications.

• ArcReader—required if you want to view MOLE maps in ArcReader.

If you’re not sure which products you’re licensed for, you can find out at http://service.esri.com.

For MOLE in ArcGIS Desktop, the MOLE functionality you can use is dependent upon which level of licensing (ArcView, ArcEditor, ArcInfo) you choose. For example, with an ArcView license, you cannot perform advanced editing functions or use some geoprocessing functions.

6. Test that your base application(s) is working (for example, ArcGIS Desktop) by starting the application and viewing sample data in it. If ArcIMS or ArcGIS Server is your base application, serve a sample .mxd file.

7. Download the MOLE application per the instructions on the download page or your cover letter or email. Or, if you received a CD, insert it into your CD drive.

If you downloaded the application, unzip it to a local directory. If your operating system doesn’t have a zip (compression) utility, you must acquire one to unzip the MOLE .zip file.

8. If all MOLE users will have administrator privileges on the computers running MOLE, skip to step 9.

If one or more of your users will not have administrator privileges on the computer(s) running MOLE, you can give them permission to all MOLE functions by starting the installation manually (using the Command Prompt) and specifying an ALLUSERS setting on the command line as follows:

MSIEXEC.exe /I <path to setup program>\<name> ALLUSERS=1

Where:

<path to setup program> is the file path to setup.exe if you’re installing a major release of MOLE, or to an .msp file if you’re installing a MOLE service pack.

<name> is the name of the MOLE installation program (setup.exe for major releases; .msp file for a service pack).

An example: if you are installing MOLE 9.2 on Windows and you unzipped the downloaded file to C:\Temp, the syntax to install would be:

MSIEXEC.exe/I C:Temp/setup.exe ALLUSERS=1

In Windows, you can enter the command into the Run dialog box (Start > Run) or at the Command Prompt (Start > Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt).

9. If you’re installing on a Linux or Solaris system, as a root user, open the ArcGIS directory to which you intend to install MOLE, then change ownership of that directory to a new user. Next, open that directory as the new user (do not install MOLE as the root user) and run setup.exe against the ArcGIS directory.

10. Close all applications except the MOLE installation wizard; it is recommended you print this Installing MOLE section so that you can follow along the remaining steps as you install.

http://service.esri.com


26

11. windows: Navigate to where you unzipped the MOLE application and double-click setup.exe. Or, if installing from a CD, navigate to the MOLE directory on the CD and double-click setup.exe.

Linux or solaris: Start the MOLE installation by running ./Setup from the terminal.

The MOLE installation wizard starts up, and its first panel, the ArcGIS Military Overlay Editor 9.2 Setup panel, appears.

12. Follow the instructions in the installation wizard until you get to the Select Features panel.

13. In the Select Features panel, select the features you want to install. By default, MOLE is selected (MoleCore) and, if your base ESRI application’s .NET feature has been installed, the MOLE .NET support feature is selected. If your base ESRI application’s .NET feature has not been installed, the .NET feature will be unavailable.

The installation of your ESRI base application determines your MOLE installation location. The MOLE installation wizard does not permit you to browse to a different installation location.

14. Click Next, then, in the Ready to Install the Application panel, click Next.

The MOLE installation begins. A status bar indicates the progress.

15. After MOLE has been installed, the final panel of the wizard appears. Click Finish to close the wizard.

MOLE is installed on the machine. If you installed on a Linux or Solaris system, ArcGIS Engine and MainWin automatically get installed with MOLE.

16. If you intend to use the user interface of MOLE, test that MOLE is installed correctly by opening a base application—for example, ArcMap—in which you intend to use MOLE. Turn on the MOLE toolbar by right-clicking on an ESRI toolbar (for example, an ArcMap toolbar) and selecting Military Overlay Editor. You do not have to activate MOLE as you do ArcGIS extensions.


27

17. If you used an earlier version of MOLE (a pre-9.2 version), you may have to update your MOLE data to the new MOLE schema before bringing the data into MOLE 9.2. You must update your MOLE data:

• If you want to use pre-9.0 MOLE data.

• If you want to use wind barbs (meteorological graphics for wind) and your data was created in MOLE 9.0 or earlier.

For more information about updating your MOLE data, see Updating your data to the new MOLE schema in this chapter.

Although you can update data to MOLE shapefile format with ArcEditor or ArcInfo, it is recommended you update to MOLE feature class format. For more information on the benefits of geodatabases, see Creating MOLE data in this chapter.

You are ready to begin using MOLE or developing with MOLE. If you intend to develop with MOLE, review the next section, Installing MOLE for developers.

18. If you installed ArcGIS to a directory other than the default directory of C:\Program Files\ArcGIS and you want to use the context-sensitive help that comes with MOLE, you must do one of the following:

• The first time you click the What’s This? button , then click a MOLE control in a MOLE Layer Properties dialog box, you will be asked if you want to try to find the file yourself. Click Yes, then navigate to <ArcGIS installation directory>/Help/esri_csMOLE.HLP.

• Open moleCore.mdb in Microsoft Access, then open the Strings table. Enter your install path into the strCurrent field for strID number 999999999.

19. If you are new to MOLE, review Chapter 1 and complete the tutorial exercises in Chapter 4 of this guide.

Installing MOLE for developers is similar to installing it for end users with the exceptions and notes listed below. You can install and register the ESRI software developer kit (SDK) for your ESRI product and programming language before or after you install MOLE.

• MOLE comes with four SDKs: .NET, Java, Visual C++, and Visual Basic 6.

- The MOLE .NET, Visual C++, and Visual Basic 6 SDKs each have two parts, one for ArcGIS Engine and one for ArcGIS Desktop. When you install ArcGIS Engine for your programming language, the engine part of the MOLE SDK is also installed for that programming language. When you install the ArcGIS Desktop Developer’s Kit, the desktop part of the MOLE SDK is installed.

- The MOLE Java SDK gets installed with MOLE. It comes with an ESRI-developed plug-in for Eclipse that allows you to view the documentation in the MOLE Java SDK. The MOLE Java SDK is for use with ArcGIS Engine.

• Check the system requirements for the development framework you are using (ArcGIS Engine or ArcGIS Server, .NET or Java, and so on). They are available online at http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=knowledgebase.systemRequirements.gateway.

• Consider on which machines MOLE must be installed. For example, if you are using MOLE with ArcGIS Server, you must make sure MOLE is installed on the same machine as ArcGIS Server.

Installing MOLE for developers




28

• If you intend to use MOLE with ArcGIS Server, it is recommended you install the Web server and IDE before installing the ArcGIS Server application developer framework (ADF). Install MOLE on the same machine as ArcGIS Server. Be sure to add yourself to the agsadmin user group. When finished installing MOLE, restart the Web server.

• If you want to customize out-of-the-box functionality using the ArcGIS Desktop Developer’s Kit and didn’t click yes to the prompt to install it after the ArcGIS Desktop install, you can modify your installation to include the kit at any time (Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs).

• For information on accessing a MOLE SDK, see What you get with the MOLE software application in Chapter 1 of this guide.

On Windows, you can use msiexec command line syntax to install MOLE without having to step through the installation wizard panels. To open the command line, click Start > Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt.

Syntax to perform a typical installation of MOLE silently: msiexec /i <path to setup.msi file>\setup.msi /qb

Syntax to perform a complete installation of MOLE silently: misexec /i <path to setup.msi file>\setup.msi /qb ADDLOCAL=ALL

Syntax to perform a custom installation of MOLE silently: misexec /i <path to setup.msi>\setup.msi /qb ADDLOCAL=<feature1>,<feature2>

ADDLOCAL features are:

DotNet_Support

MoleCore For example, to install MOLE only when your setup.msi file is at C:\Temp, use the

following command line syntax: msiexec /i C:/Temp/setup.msi \qb ADDLOCAL=MoleCore

Windows:

1. Click Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs, then click ArcGIS Military Overlay Editor to highlight it.

2. Click Remove.

Follow the on-screen instructions to remove MOLE.

Don’t uninstall your base ESRI application before uninstalling MOLE; always uninstall MOLE first.

After MOLE is installed, you can use this procedure at any time to open the MOLE installation program (setup.exe or setup.msi) to change the features you want installed.

You can also uninstall MOLE silently by typing the following syntax at the Command Prompt:

Msiexec /x {7FC23D98-F964-4038-9B20-950D5A682FF2} /qb

Linux/Solaris:

At arcgis home, type: ./uninstallMole

Uninstalling MOLE

Installing MOLE silently


29

Updating your data to the new MOLE schema If you are upgrading MOLE or your data from a pre-9.2 version of MOLE, you

may have to update your MOLE data to the new MOLE schema before bringing the data into MOLE 9.2. You must update your MOLE data in any of the following circumstances:

• If you want to use pre-MOLE 9.0 data in MOLE 9.0 or greater.

• If you want to use the fields introduced at MOLE 9.1, Speed and Direction. These fields were added primarily to allow for easier use of wind barbs (meteorological graphics for wind) on MOLE maps. Wind barbs are point tactical graphics.

• If you want to use the new, easier way to turn on and off direction of movement indicators. The new way is to use the field, DirectVis, added to the schema and the MOLE Symbol Editor at 9.2. Enter 0 for off and 1 for on. The default is off. (Having ‑999 in the Direction field still turns off the display as it did in pre-9.2 versions of MOLE.)

Schema changes are documented in the release notes of each release. The most significant schema changes since MOLE 2.0 are:

• At MOLE 9.2, the DirectVis field was added to provide an easier way to turn on and off a MOLE graphic’s direction of movement indicator in the map display.

• At MOLE 9.1, two fields, Speed and Direction, were added to point tactical graphics to allow for easier use of wind barbs (meteorological graphics for wind) on MOLE maps.

• At MOLE 9.0, three feature class types were deprecated and their data brought into two other feature class types. The Boundaries, TacticalBio, and TacticalNuclear feature classes were deprecated. In 9.0 and higher, the Boundaries feature class type is handled by the line tactical graphic feature class type, and the TacticalBio and TacticalNuclear feature class types are handled by the point tactical graphic feature class type. For descriptions of MOLE 9.2 feature class types and a table of which military symbols are in which MOLE feature class type, see Determining MOLE feature class type for new graphics in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

For detailed field descriptions of the MOLE schema fields for this release, see Attribute data field descriptions in the ArcGIS Desktop Help.

If you want to use pre-9.0 MOLE data in MOLE 9.2, you must use the Update Older MOLE Database command in the MOLE menu.

To update pre-9.0 MOLE data1. Install MOLE 9.2.

2. Open ArcMap, then open a blank ArcMap document (File > New, then in the My Templates tab, double-click Blank Document).

3. Add the MOLE toolbar by right-clicking on any ArcMap toolbar, then selecting Military Overlay Editor.

4. On the MOLE toolbar, click MOLE > Update Older MOLE Database.

5. In the Update Older MOLE Database dialog box, navigate to the pre-9.0 MOLE database you want to update. You can select more than one geodatabase (workspaces) at a time if they’re in the same directory.

Schema changes

Updating pre-9.0 MOLE databases


30

6. In the list area, highlight the name of the geodatabase(s) you want to update, then click Update.

MOLE examines the feature classes and datasets in the selected database or databases and validates each feature class’s extension class ID. If the class extension is missing or incorrect, MOLE clears the class extension information.

When MOLE is finished updating the pre‑9.0 database to a MOLE 9.0 database, it displays a message box confirming that the update is complete. It saves the database to the same directory as the original database.

Note: MOLE 2.0 permitted the creation of three feature classes in an 8.x geodatabase that contained class extensions incompatible with MOLE 9.0 and greater. These feature classes are Boundaries, TacticalBio, and TacticalNuclear. Now that you have updated the database, the Boundaries feature class type will be handled by the line tactical graphic feature class type, and the TacticalBio and TacticalNuclear feature class types will be handled by the point tactical graphic feature class type.

If you want the updated database to contain all of the fields added to the MOLE schema since 9.0, continue to the next step. Adding all fields in the current MOLE schema is not required, but it ensures you have access to all MOLE functionality. Aside from the Symbol_ID field, no field is required to be populated; you can populate the fields at a later date.

7. Open ArcToolbox and open the Add MOLE Fields Single geoprocessing tool. For information on opening this tool, see the importing data section of this chapter.

The Add MOLE Fields Single window appears.

8. You will use this geoprocessing tool on each feature class in the database you just

updated in step 6:

• In the Input data element area, click the Browse button and navigate to a feature class in the database you updated in step 6.

• Click the MOLE Output Type drop-down menu and select the type of feature class you navigated to in the previous step. For more information on determining the appropriate input or output type, see Determining MOLE feature class type for new graphics in ArcGIS Desktop Help.


31

• Click the Military Standard drop-down menu and select the military specification you want to mark this feature class as.

• In the Output data element area, click the Browse button and navigate to the geodatabase in which you want to store the new feature class.

• Click OK.

The feature classes you used the tool on contain all MOLE 9.2 fields.

• Repeat step 8 for as many feature classes you want to add MOLE fields to.

For more information:

• For detailed tool descriptions and tips for using MOLE geoprocessing tools, see the context-sensitive help panel that comes with the tools by clicking Show Help from within each tool.

• For an overview of MOLE geoprocessing tools and links to general information on using geoprocessing tools, see Editing MOLE graphics outside of ArcMap in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

If you have pre-9.2 MOLE data that is not older than MOLE 9.0 data, you can use one of several methods to update your data to the new MOLE schema.

Updating to the new schema technically means adding all MOLE fields that have been added to the schema since you last updated your version of MOLE. However, you do not have to add all of the MOLE fields that are new to your data in order to use some of the new fields. You have the option of adding all of the MOLE fields available by performing a full update or adding only the fields you want that are new to your data by performing a partial update.

In either case, it is important to keep in mind that if you already have fields in your data that are storing the same information MOLE fields will store for you, you can map your existing fields to MOLE fields even if they do not have the field names MOLE expects. The only requirement for this mapping is that your fields are the same data type as the MOLE fields and their number of characters falls within the MOLE’s default character limits (unless you change the character limit to accommodate your number of characters).

For example, you may have a field that sets the display (on or off) for direction of movement indicators using the same values MOLE does for on and off (1 and 0, respectively). But perhaps your field is named DirIndicator instead of DirectVis. In this case, you would not have to add the DirectVis field to your data, but instead just map your DirIndicator field to MOLE’s DirectVis field. On the other hand, no harm is done if you perform a full update, which will add MOLE’s DirectVis field, then do the field name mapping later.

This section describes how to perform a full update and a partial update. For more information on mapping your fields, see Importing data and mapping your fields to MOLE fields in this chapter. For field descriptions and a listing of default character limits for MOLE fields, see Attribute data field descriptions in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

A third option is to import your data into empty MOLE feature classes that are based on the 9.2 MOLE schema. Several import options are available to you, but these are best suited for instances where you have only a few fields in your data that conform to their corresponding MOLE field’s data type and character limit. For more information on the import methods, see Importing existing data for use with MOLE topic in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

Methods for updating existing

data to the new MOLE schema


32

Before you do any updating of data, it is also important to weigh the update task against starting from scratch with a brand new geodatabase. Once you have created a new MOLE geodatabase, it may be easier for you to populate it from scratch or with your existing data.

To perform a full update To be able to use all available MOLE functionality within a geodatabase, the

geodatabase should have at least four MOLE layers so that it can contain each of the four MOLE feature class types:

• Force element feature class—This feature class stores ArcGIS point features. It stores force unit, equipment, installation, SIGINT, and MOOTW symbols.

• Point tactical graphic feature class—This feature class stores ArcGIS point features. It stores symbols such as combat services support, general maneuver, and METOC symbols.

• Line tactical graphic feature class—This feature class stores ArcGIS line features. It stores symbols such as combat services support, advance arrows, bearing lines, and METOC symbols.

• Area tactical graphic feature class—This feature class stores ArcGIS area features. It stores symbols such as combat services support and mobility-survivability symbols.

However, your database may not contain all four types because you may not need all four. The following procedure steps you through adding fields to one feature class. You can perform it on as many feature classes as you have; the procedure is the same for each type. For more information on determining which MOLE feature class type your data should be stored in, see Determining MOLE feature class type for new graphics in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

If you don’t have each type represented in your database but want to, you can add the ones you don’t have by creating MOLE feature classes in ArcCatalog. For details, see Creating MOLE data in ArcCatalog in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

1. Open ArcToolbox and open the Add MOLE Fields Single geoprocessing tool. For more information on opening this tool, see the importing data section of this chapter.

The Add MOLE Fields Single window appears.


33

You must use this window/geoprocessing tool on each feature class you want to perform a full update on.

2. In the Add MOLE Fields Single window:

• In the Input data element area, click the Browse button and navigate to the MOLE feature class you want to perform a full update on. You can also select a non-MOLE feature class—a simple ArcGIS feature class (point, line, or area)—in this step if you want to convert it to a MOLE feature class.

• Click the MOLE Output Type drop-down menu and select the type of feature class you navigated to in the previous step.

• Click the Military Standard drop-down menu and select the military specification you want to mark this feature class as.

• In the Output data element area, click the Browse button and navigate to the geodatabase you want to store the new feature class in.

• Click OK.

The feature classes you used the tool on contain all MOLE 9.2 fields.

• Repeat step 2 for as many feature classes you want to add MOLE fields to.

For more information:

• For detailed tool descriptions and tips for using MOLE geoprocessing tools, see the context-sensitive help panel that comes with the tools by clicking Show Help from within each tool.

• For an overview of MOLE geoprocessing tools and links to general information on using geoprocessing tools, see Editing MOLE graphics outside of ArcMap in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

To perform a partial update You can add only the fields you want to your existing data. For example, you may be

upgrading a MOLE 9.0 dataset and want to use the new DirectVis field but not want to use the new wind barb fields, Speed and Direction.

MOLE fields are added the same way you add any attribute fields to an ArcGIS dataset. Although there are several ways to add fields, the following procedure steps you through a method of adding fields from within ArcMap.

1. In ArcMap, open the MOLE feature class (group layer) you want to perform a partial update on. For instructions on starting up MOLE and opening MOLE data, see Starting up MOLE in this chapter.

Tip:

• If you are adding the new DirectVis field, the type of MOLE feature class you opened you should be force element or point tactical graphic.

• If you are adding the Speed and Direction fields that were added to the MOLE schema at 9.1, the type of feature class you opened should be point tactical graphic.

Note that to make data MOLE data and to be able to add it with the Add MOLE Data toolbar button , it must contain a 15‑character attribute field named Symbol_ID. The field must be a data type of text, character, or string. Adding data


34

with this button allows it to be symbolized according to the military specification you choose/have chosen for it.

2. In the ArcMap table of contents, right-click the feature layer portion of the MOLE group layer.

3. Click Open Attribute Table.

4. In the Attributes window, click the Options button.

5. On the menu that appears, click Add Field.

6. On the Add Field dialog box:

• In the Name text box, type the MOLE required name for the field.

• Click the Type drop‑down menu and select the data type for the field. If the type is Text, type the default character limit for the field in the value text box for the Length property.

For a list of MOLE required names, data types, and default character limits (lengths), see Attribute data field descriptions in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

For example:

• If you were adding the DirectVis field, you’d give it a Name of “DirectVis” and a Type of Short Integer.

• If you were adding the Direction field, you’d give it a Name of “Direction” and a Type of Double.

• If you were adding the Speed field, you would give it a Name of “Speed”, a Type of Text and a Length of 10.

Importing data and mapping your fields to MOLE fields ArcGIS and MOLE offer a variety of data import methods. As long as at the end of the

import process, the data meets the minimum requirements for MOLE, you can use any of the import methods, then add the data to an ArcMap or ArcGlobe map using the Add MOLE Data button .

Adding data with this button allows the data to be symbolized according to the military specification you selected.

The minimum requirements your data must fulfill in order to be read by MOLE (in order to be opened in ESRI products and display military symbology with the feature) are:

• For force elements—the geometry type must be point, and the following fields must be present:

Field name: Symbol_IDType: CharacterLength: 15

Field name: ParentType: CharacterLength: 20

Minimum data requirements

for MOLE


35

• For tactical graphics—the geometry type can be point, line, or area and the following field must be present:

Field: Symbol_IDType: CharacterLength: 15

You can add the above fields to your existing data manually using the To perform a partial update procedure in the previous section. Also see Importing existing data for use with MOLE in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

How MOLE identifies data or features it can use When importing data for use with MOLE or mapping your existing fields to MOLE

fields, it is helpful to understand how MOLE identifies that a layer is a MOLE layer—that is, that a layer can be read by MOLE and have MOLE functions performed on it.

When MOLE reads data to determine if it is MOLE-compliant (for example, when you use the Add MOLE Data button on the MOLE toolbar), MOLE first reads the feature’s geometry type, then looks for a Symbol_ID field. If the geometry type is a point and the Symbol_ID field is present, MOLE looks for a Parent field. If a Parent field is present, MOLE identifies the feature as a force element. If it doesn’t find a Parent field, it identifies the feature as a point tactical graphic.

If MOLE reads the geometry type and finds a line or an area, it checks for the Symbol_ID field. If the Symbol_ID field is present, MOLE identifies the feature as a line or area tactical graphic.

Once MOLE has identified the feature as a force element or point, line, or area tactical graphic, it applies the appropriate renderer to it.

If the attribute data that contains your labels/modifiers does not have the same field names that MOLE has, you must map your field names to MOLE field names in order to display their information with your military symbols in MOLE.

MOLE provides a tab named Fields in the Layer Properties dialog box to help you perform this mapping. You can use this tab if your data has a Symbol_ID attribute field. The field must be named Symbol_ID, be 15 characters long, and have a data type of text, character, or string.

Once you’ve mapped your fields, MOLE will display the attribute data according to the military specification you’ve chosen. For the most part, if you are familiar with the military specification, you will be able to intuit which label/modifier each MOLE field corresponds to; otherwise, you can see a detailed description of each field in the Attribute data field descriptions topic of ArcGIS Desktop Help.

To map your field names to MOLE field names1. If you haven’t already, add the Symbol_ID field to your data as explained

above, then open it in ArcMap or ArcGlobe by clicking Add MOLE Data on the MOLE toolbar.

2. In the ArcMap or ArcGlobe table of contents, double-click the MOLE graphic layer of the MOLE group layer.

3. In the Layer Properties dialog box, click the Fields tab.

4. Check the Use Alternative Fields check box.

The fields’ drop‑down menus become available so that you can make selections, as illustrated in the following image.

Mapping your fields to MOLE

fields


36

The Fields tab of the MOLE Layer Properties dialog box for force elements.

If you’re using any MOLE field names already, those will populate in the text boxes. All other field names used in your data will be selectable in the text boxes.

A generic name for each field is located to the left of the drop‑down menu for the field. For a list of the exact field names MOLE requires, see Attribute data field descriptions in ArcGIS Desktop Help

5. Click the drop‑down menu for the first field you would like to map, then choose the new field name for it from the list. Each drop‑down menu contains a list of all of the fields in this layer. Repeat this step for all field names you want to map.

6. Click OK.

MOLE is ready to use your existing field names. The mapping of field names you performed in this procedure will be saved in the. mxd, .3dd, or .lyr file the next time you save the map. For more information, see Where MOLE edits are saved in the MOLE quick reference in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

Just like all geoprocessing tools, the MOLE geoprocessing tools let you easily add their functionality to a model.

A model lets you perform a work flow, modify it, and repeat it over and over again with a single click. That is, it lets you store ordered steps and properties associated with them, such as assumptions, tools, datasets, and parameter values.

Common geoprocessing operations (also known as model building operations) are geographic feature overlay, feature selection and analysis, topology processing, raster processing, and data conversion. An example of a geoprocessing sequence is: clip the dataset, select a part of the dataset, then intersect two datasets.

ArcGIS uses a toolbox hierarchy concept to organize its geoprocessing tools. The tools, toolsets, and toolboxes are stored inside the ArcToolboxTM software application. You can access ArcToolbox from within ArcCatalog.

Like most ArcGIS extensions, MOLE has a toolbox in ArcToolbox. The MOLE toolbox is a standalone toolbox located at the highest level within the ArcToolbox structure. Like most ArcGIS toolboxes, it contains one or more toolsets that form a

Getting started with the Add

MOLE Fields geoprocessing

tools


37

category of tools. The MOLE toolbox contains one toolset named Utilities, which contains the three MOLE geoprocessing tools.

For an overview of MOLE geoprocessing tools and links to general information on using the tools, see Editing MOLE graphics outside of ArcMap in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

You can access the MOLE tools from ArcCatalog or any application that supports ArcToolbox, such as ArcMap. Depending on your operating system and settings, you may have to add the MOLE toolbox to make it available in ArcToolbox.

Adding the MOLE toolbox to ArcToolbox1. If you haven’t already, install MOLE.

2. Open ArcToolbox. For example, in Windows XP, open ArcCatalog (Start > Programs > ArcGIS > ArcCatalog) , then click Window > ArcToolbox.

3. In the ArcToolbox Favorites tab (tabs are on the bottom), right-click ArcToolbox.

4. Click Add Toolbox.

5. On the Add Toolbox dialog box, navigate to the Toolboxes folder: <ArcGIS installation directory>/ArcToolbox/Toolboxes.

6. Choose Military Overlay Editor (MOLE) Tools and click Open.

The MOLE toolbox and its MOLE geoprocessing tools are added to ArcToolbox.

The three MOLE geoprocessing tools


38

To use a MOLE geoprocessing tool, double-click it to open its window. The below illustration shows the Add MOLE Fields Single tool’s window.

For information on using a tool, click Show Help in the tool. For an overview of MOLE geoprocessing tools and links to general information on using geoprocessing tools, see Editing MOLE graphics outside of ArcMap in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

Creating MOLE data When you create MOLE data, you create data in a native ArcGIS format that also

adheres to specific requirements tied to military specifications. To create MOLE data, you typically use one or more of the following methods:

1. Create moLe data from within Arcmap. This includes drawing/adding MOLE graphics to a map in ArcMap.

2. Create moLe data using ArcCatalog to create one or more empty MOLE geodatabases, MOLE feature classes, MOLE feature datasets, or MOLE shapefiles, then populate them in one of the many ways you can populate any ArcGIS tables, including drawing MOLE graphics in ArcMap. This is known as creating MOLE data from scratch. Usually when you create MOLE data this way, you then add it to a map as a layer or layers. For more information on creating MOLE data this way, see Creating MOLE data in ArcCatalog in ArcGIS Desktop Help. Exercise 1 in the tutorial (Chapter 4 of this guide) steps you through creating the main types of MOLE data from scratch.

3. Add MOLE fields to your existing data using one or more of the following three methods:

• Using MOLE geoprocessing tools in ArcToolbox to update any pre-9.2 MOLE data to the most current MOLE schema or to create MOLE fields in an empty feature class, geodatabase, or shapefile.

• Using the attribute table in ArcMap.

• Using the table view in the ArcCatalog Preview pane.


39

4. Map applicable fields in your existing data to MOLE fields using the Layer Properties dialog box in ArcMap.

5. use a combination of the above two methods (numbers 3 and 4) as required by your existing data.

For details on each of the above methods, see Creating MOLE data in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

Geodatabase versus shapefile It is recommended that you use or create a MOLE geodatabase (single-user or

multiuser) to store your MOLE data rather than shapefiles. Storing MOLE data in a geodatabase lets you use all of the functionality and benefits

offered by the ArcGIS geodatabase data model:

• More modeling, analysis, and cartographic functionality is available for geodatabases than for shapefiles, such as geometric networks, topology, cartographic representations, dimensions, and raster data management.

• The geodatabase has data integrity features built in, such as domains, subtypes, and relationship classes.

If you are working with an ArcView® license, you will not be able to create a MOLE feature class. This is because MOLE feature classes are custom ArcGIS objects, and the ArcView level of licensing prohibits creation of custom ArcGIS objects (or custom object feature classes).

However, you can get the same result by using ArcView to create a standard ArcGIS point, line, or area feature class, then using the Add MOLE Fields Single geoprocessing tool on it.

Within a geodatabase you’ve created, you can copy and paste existing MOLE feature classes into it. You can rename feature classes within it and remove feature classes form it. You can also copy feature classes within it to other databases and data repositories.

Creating MOLE data with ArcView


40

Starting up MOLE1. Open ArcMap. In Windows, click Start > Programs > ArcGIS > ArcMap.

2. In the ArcMap dialog box, in the Start using ArcMap with area, click A new empty map, then click OK.

ArcMap opens with a new empty map.

3. Right-click any ArcMap toolbar, such as the Standard toolbar, then click Military Overlay Editor.

The MOLE toolbar displays. Some buttons will be inactive until you add data or open a map.

Starting MOLE in ArcMap


41

Starting MOLE in ArcGlobe

To start ArcGlobe, you must have first installed the 3D Analyst extension. You install extensions using the ArcGIS installation wizard, also known as the ArcGIS setup program. If you’ve already installed ArcGlobe, skip to Turning on the MOLE toolbar in ArcGlobe. The procedures in this section give the Windows XP instructions.

Installing the 3D Analyst extension1. Click Start > Control Panel.

2. In the Control Panel window, double-click Add or Remove Programs.

3. In the Add or Remove Programs window, click ArcGIS Desktop and click Change.

The ArcGIS installation wizard appears.

4. In the first panel of the wizard, click Modify, then click Next.

5. In the second panel, in the list area, open the Extensions tree branch.

6. Click 3D Analyst, then click Next.

The installation wizard installs 3D Analyst.

7. When the wizard indicates the installation is finished, click Finish.

ArcGlobe and ArcScene™ are now available from the Start menu. You may have to first activate 3D Analyst by opening ArcMap then clicking Tools > Extensions.

Turning on the MOLE toolbar in ArcGlobe Turning on the MOLE toolbar in ArcGlobe is just like turning it on in ArcMap.

1. To start ArcGlobe, click Start > Programs > ArcGIS > ArcGlobe.

ArcGlobe opens.

2. Right-click any ArcGlobe toolbar, then click Military Overlay Editor.

The MOLE toolbar appears.

Basic concepts for using MOLE in ArcGlobe Displaying MOLE data in ArcGlobe is similar to displaying it in ArcMap except that

you’re working in a 3D environment. MOLE in ArcGlobe gives you many options for displaying graphics in 3D. If you’ve

worked with ArcGlobe before, you are likely already familiar with the options, except for possibly billboarding.

When working with MOLE in ArcGlobe, it is helpful to keep in mind:

• Force elements are always associated with point features, and tactical graphics are associated with point, line, or polygon features.

• You can apply z-values to the graphics associated with MOLE point, line, and polygon features. So you can apply z-values to force elements and tactical graphics.

• You perform extrusions on graphics associated with MOLE line and polygon features when you make them 3D; you billboard MOLE point features to make


42

them 3D. So you can extrude line and polygon tactical graphics, and you can billboard force elements and point tactical graphics.

• You can apply the draping display type to any MOLE graphic.

• Extruding, billboarding, and draping affect the graphic associated with the feature. The feature remains at its original x, y, z location in its original form (point, line, or polygon) unless you change it.

If you want to serve MOLE maps using ArcIMS, you must have ArcIMS 9.2 or higher installed on a server, along with the ArcMap Server component of ArcIMS, without ArcGIS. MOLE must be installed on the same server as ArcIMS. For more information on using ArcIMS with MOLE, see Overview of using MOLE with ArcIMS in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

If you want to serve MOLE maps using ArcGIS Server, you must have ArcGIS Server 9.2 or higher installed on a server and MOLE must be installed on the server. The MOLE API is not a part of the ADFs provided with ArcGIS Server (MOLE does not provide server-side components that are optimized for use with ArcGIS Server), but you can create maps (.mxd and .3dd files) with MOLE symbology and serve them using ArcGIS Server.

You can create MOLE ArcSDE feature classes directly in ArcCatalog, or you can export existing MOLE shapefiles and geodatabase feature classes or feature datasets containing MOLE feature classes into an enterprise geodatabase. The steps that you follow to create new MOLE feature classes in an enterprise geodatabase and to view and edit MOLE ArcSDE layers in ArcMap are identical to the steps for the same processes for MOLE feature classes in a personal geodatabase.

When you are working with MOLE layers in an enterprise geodatabase, you must connect to the database before you can create new layers or view and edit existing layers. MOLE layers must also be registered as versioned with the enterprise geodatabase before they can be edited.

For more information, see Using MOLE with ArcSDE in ArcGIS Desktop Help. MOLE getting started information for developers can be found in the MOLE SDK for

the ESRI developer product. For more information on accessing this information, see What you get with the MOLE software application in Chapter 1.

Starting MOLE for use in ESRI

developer products

Starting MOLE for use with ArcGIS

Server

Starting MOLE for use with ArcIMS

Starting MOLE for use with ArcSDE


43

Setting up MOLE There are several preferences, or defaults, you can set with MOLE. For example, you

can:

• Choose a default military specification to have MOLE automatically mark unmarked layers it encounters for the first time instead of prompting you each time. The mark tells MOLE which military specification it should use t to display the layer’s graphics in the map display.

• specify the default symbol id code used for new moLe graphics. This procedure is especially helpful if you have many symbols in the same layer that have similar 15-character Symbol ID codes.

• specify the way moLe graphics appear when selected. For a layer, you can change the color of the outline MOLE uses to highlight selected MOLE graphics. You can also further customize how selected graphics will appear for a layer

• enable a default tactical graphic renderer(s) for MIL-STD-2525B Change 1 layers. The default you set will apply to all new .mxd files you create and any .mxd file you open that has no renderers enabled.

For instructions on setting these preferences, see the setting preferences section of Installation and setup in ArcGIS Desktop Help.


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In This Chapter

Tutorial 4• Exercise 1: Creating

MOLE data using ArcCatalog

• Exercise 2: Working with force elements in ArcMap

• Exercise 3: Working with tactical graphics in ArcMap

• Exercise 4: Changing the 3D display type

• Exercise 5: Applying tracking to MOLE features

Using MOLE, you can display and edit MIL-STD-2525B Change 1 and APP-6A symbology on your ArcGIS maps. MOLE reads the 15-character Symbol ID code from a feature class’s attribute table and renders the proper military unit or tactical graphic at that feature’s geographic location.

This tutorial guides you through creating MOLE feature classes and populating them by drawing graphics in ArcMap. It also steps you through different ways you can work with MOLE graphics in ArcMap, ArcGlobe, and Tracking Analyst.

The data and maps required for these exercises are installed to <ArcGIS installation directory>/MOLE/Tutorial when you install MOLE. You can also access them on the ESRI Defense Solutions CD under the MOLE/Tutorial subdirectory.

For this tutorial, it is assumed you have installed ArcGIS and MOLE and that you have a basic understanding of MIL-STD-2525B Change 1 or APP-6A and a familiarity with ArcGIS.


46

Exercise 1: Creating MOLE data using ArcCatalog There are many ways you can create MOLE data. For example, you can create an

empty MOLE layer (or table) in ArcCatalog, then populate it the same way you populate any ArcGIS table, such as importing a spreadsheet or tabular data.

Another way to create MOLE data is to draw MOLE graphics on an ArcMap map, provided you have first added a MOLE layer to the map and you have the ArcEditor or ArcInfo license level.

In this exercise, you create an empty file geodatabase named sitmap in your MOLE tutorial folder. Next you add three of the four types of MOLE feature classes, then populate them by drawing graphics on a map.

1. Start ArcCatalog by clicking Start > Programs > ArcGIS > ArcCatalog.

2. In the ArcCatalog window, in the Catalog tree (left pane):

• Navigate to the directory where you saved your MOLE tutorial data. You may have to first connect a folder to this location (in ArcCatalog, click File > Connect Folder).

By default, MOLE installs your MOLE tutorial data to <ArcGIS installation directory>/MOLE/Tutorial.

• Right-click the Data directory, then click New > File Geodatabase.

An empty file geodatabase, New File Geodatabase.gdb, appears in the right pane of ArcCatalog.

3. Rename the new .gdb file by right‑clicking it, then clicking Rename.

4. Type sitmap, to indicate this geodatabase will contain data for a situation map, then press Enter.

The new geodatabase you created appears in the right pane.

Create an empty geodatabase

Tutorial

47

When you create a geodatabase, the three main types of data you can use to populate it are feature classes, raster datasets, and attributes. The feature class is a commonly used type;. it can be used in the following structures: feature dataset, shapefile, coverage, CAD, SDC, and VPF.

MOLE functionality centers around the feature class. There are four types of MOLE feature classes (also known as layers), which reflect the four main types of MOLE graphics:

• Force element feature class (made up of ArcGIS point features).

• Point tactical graphic feature class (made up of ArcGIS point features).

• Line tactical graphic feature class (made up of ArcGIS line features).

• Area tactical graphic feature class (made up of ArcGIS area features). Installing MOLE enables ArcCatalog to work with these MOLE feature classes and

allows you to select them in the New Feature Class wizard in ArcCatalog. Although MOLE feature classes behave much like typical ArcGIS feature classes, they are custom ArcGIS feature classes because they contain fields specific to the military symbology specifications MOLE supports.

In the following steps, you create a MOLE force element feature class in the geodatabase you just created.

1. In ArcCatalog, right-click Sitmap.gdb, then click New > Feature Class.

The first panel of the New Feature Class wizard appears.

2. In the Name text box, type Allies.

3. In the Type area, click the drop-down menu, then click MOLE Force Element.

Create a MOLE force element feature class


48

4. In the Geometry Properties area, check Coordinates include Z values, then click Next.

5. In the next panel of the wizard, in the Select a coordinate system area, expand Geographic Coordinate System, then navigate under that to World > WGS 1984.

6. Highlight WGS 1984, then click Next.

The spatial reference of your data is now set.

7. In the next panel, in the list area, highlight None to specify that you don’t want to define a vertical coordinate system, then click Next.

8. In the next panel, click Next to accept the default XY tolerance setting.

9. In the next panel, accept the default by clicking Next. This setting indicates you want to use ArcGIS default storage settings for your feature class.

10. In the next panel, you can add fields and change field properties if you want. If you populate the fields here with values, MOLE uses the values as the default values for all new features (MOLE graphics) you add to this feature class.

The four MOLE feature class types. The rest in this list are typical ArcGIS feature types.The MOLE feature class types become available in ArcCatalog after you install MOLE.

Tutorial

49

11. Click Finish.

You have just created a MOLE file geodatabase that is populated with one empty force element feature class. The name of the feature class, Allies, displays in the Contents tab of the right pane of ArcCatalog. You can open this feature class in ArcMap or ArcGlobe.

You add the other types of MOLE feature classes to databases the same way you added the force element type in the previous steps. In the next steps, you’ll create a line tactical graphic feature class and an area tactical graphic feature class.

1. In ArcCatalog, right-click Sitmap.gdb, then click New > Feature Class.

The first panel of the New Feature Class wizard appears.

2. In the Name text box, type “My_arrows”.

3. In the Type area, click the drop-down menu, then click MOLE Tactical Graphic Line.

You can change this value to any Symbol ID value you want. MOLE will use it for all new graphics you create for this feature class (layer).

Create MOLE tactical graphic feature classes


50

4. Follow steps 4‑11 in the preceding set of steps to finish creating this line tactical graphic feature class.

5. Repeat steps 3-4 of this procedure to create an area tactical graphic feature class. Name it “My_drop_zone”.

The next step is to populate your new force element feature class with military symbols that adhere to a military specification you choose.

There are many ways to populate a feature class, but if you are populating it by drawing MOLE graphics on a map, you will likely use the MOLE Symbol Editor.

The MOLE Symbol Editor can simplify your graphic drawing task because it constructs the symbol for you and lets you preview it. You just have to tell MOLE which symbol to construct. There are many ways to do this. For example, you can click the symbol’s name in the Symbol Library tree or perform a search on its name using the search text box.

In the following set of steps, you start ArcMap, add a base layer for reference, add the MOLE toolbar, add the force element feature class you just created, then populate the feature class by drawing graphics on the map and using the MOLE Symbol Editor to refine them.

Start ArcMap and add the MOLE toolbar1. Start ArcMap by double-clicking a shortcut installed on your desktop or by

clicking Start > Program Files > ArcGIS > ArcMap.

2. Click OK on the ArcMap startup dialog box to open an empty map.

3. In ArcMap, open the MOLE toolbar by right-clicking any ArcMap toolbar, then selecting Military Overlay Editor. You must have installed MOLE for this option to be available in the list of toolbars.

The MOLE toolbar appears. Most buttons on this toolbar won’t be available until you add MOLE data, but for illustration purposes, all are available in the following image.

Like ArcMap toolbars, you can choose to dock or float the toolbar by clicking and dragging it.

Add a base layer Before adding MOLE feature classes (MOLE layers) to a map, you should add a base

layer or layers to use as a geographic reference. This exercise will have you use the tutorial data as your base layer.

1. Click the Add Data button on the ArcMap Standard toolbar.

2. In the Add Data dialog box, navigate to <ArcGIS installation directory>/MOLE/Tutorial/Data.

Add Data

Create force elements

Tutorial

51

3. Double-click Elevation.lyr.

The base layer named Elevation.lyr displays in the ArcMap map display. It should resemble the following illustration.

Add your newly created feature class to the map1. In ArcMap, on the MOLE toolbar, click the Add MOLE Data button .

2. In the Add MOLE Layers dialog box, navigate to the feature class you created in the previous set of steps (the Allies feature class in sitmap.gdb), then double-click it to add it to the map. Or, you can open one that comes with the tutorial data, the FriendlyForces feature class at <ArcGIS installation directory>/MOLE/Tutorial/Data/OPLAN.gdb/MOLE.

If you added Allies, the Select a Symbology Standard dialog box appears.

This dialog box appears any time MOLE encounters a layer for the first time. If you don’t want this dialog box to appear each time, you can specify that you want MOLE to mark layers automatically when it encounters them for the first time (on


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the MOLE toolbar, click MOLE > Options, then clear the Prompt, as needed, for standard check box).

Checking the Do not display this dialog again in the Select a Symbology Standard dialog box is the same as clearing the Prompt, as needed, for standard check box. If you choose to not be prompted, MOLE uses the specification you’ve selected in the Options dialog box each time it encounters an unmarked feature class.

3. Click MIL-STD-2525B Change 1, then click OK.

Because Allies is empty, the only change you should notice is that the Allies feature class is now in the ArcMap table of contents.

Note that each MOLE layer is actually a group layer composed of a simple ArcGIS feature layer (in this case, a point feature layer) and a MOLE graphic layer.

Now you are ready to populate the Allies feature class.

Add military symbols to the MOLE layer1. If you haven’t already, add the ArcMap Editor toolbar to ArcMap by clicking the

Editor toolbar button on the ArcMap standard toolbar.

The Editor toolbar appears. Most of the items on the Editor toolbar are grayed out until you start an editing session.

2. Start an editing session by clicking Editor > Start Editing on the Editor toolbar.

More items on the Editor toolbar become enabled, as shown in the following illustration.

Opens the Editor toolbar in ArcMap

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3. On the Editor toolbar, click the Task drop-down menu to select Create New Feature. Ensure Allies Features is selected as the target layer.

4. Click the Sketch button on the Editor toolbar .5. Click in the map display to place a point in the middle of the current extent.

The MOLE symbol for a force element with a pending affiliation and unknown threat type (yellow quatrefoil with a question mark) appears and is selected. Red is the default color used to surround a graphic to indicate the graphic is selected.

6. Click the MOLE Symbol Editor button on the MOLE toolbar.

The MOLE Symbol Editor dialog box appears.

7. Expand the Symbol branch in the Symbol Library area, then expand Ground Track > Unit. Note the categories of symbols available for ground track units.


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8. Type “Infantry” in the Search for box and press Enter.

Notice that only infantry units display in right-most branches in the Symbol Library.

9. Click the Affiliation drop‑down menu and select Friend.

10. In the Symbol Library area, click to highlight Airborne. It’s under MIL-STD-2525B > Symbol > Unit > Combat > Infantry.

Note that the symbol in the preview area of the MOLE Symbol Editor is updated to reflect the new symbol you selected, Airborne. The Symbol ID code at the bottom of the dialog box is also updated.

11. Click the Echelon/Mobility drop-down menu and click Division (you may have to use the scroll bar in the drop-down menu).

12. Click the Country drop-down menu and click United States (US).

13. Click the Order of Battle drop-down menu and click Ground.

The MOLE Symbol Editor should resemble the one in the following illustration.

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14. Click OK.

The yellow quatrefoil graphic changes to the graphic you just built, as shown in the following illustration.

15. Repeat steps 4-14 to make another force element, but this time add it near the bottom of the extent and, in step 9, select Hostile in the Affiliation drop‑down menu instead of Friend.

You can create more force elements by repeating steps 4- 14.

16. If you’re continuing to the next section, skip this step. Otherwise, save the edits by clicking Editor > Save Edits on the Editor toolbar and save the map by clicking File > Save in the Main menu. Name the map EX_1.mxd.

Unlike force elements, which are always points, tactical graphics can be constructed as points, lines, or polygons in ArcMap, making them a bit more complex. For example, certain tactical graphics, such as arrows, require certain drawing logic in order for MOLE to properly render them according to the military specification you are using. The military specifications are very specific in how a tactical graphic is constructed. MOLE follows that logic as closely as possible. As you become more familiar with the specifications and how MOLE uses its logic, drawing tactical graphics will become easier for you.

Create tactical graphics


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In the following steps, you open tactical graphic feature classes in ArcMap and draw MOLE symbols in them.

Draw a multipoint arrow1. If you are continuing from the previous exercise, skip this step. Otherwise, open

ArcMap, turn on the Editor toolbar, and open the map named EX_1.mxd that you saved in the last steps.

2. Add the line tactical graphic feature class named My_arrows, which is in the geodatabase you created, sitmap.gdb, in a previous set of steps. Be sure to use the Add MOLE Data button to add it.

3. On the Editor toolbar in ArcMap, click the Target drop-down menu and click My_arrows. Make sure the Create New Feature option is selected in the Task drop-down menu on the Editor toolbar.

4. Click the Sketch button on the Editor toolbar.

The mouse pointer changes to crosshairs.

5. Click in the map display area to place the first vertex of the line to the left of the force element symbol you created earlier.

6. Continue placing vertices, about four or five more, until you add the second‑to‑last one near the border of the hostile force element symbol. When finished, your map display should resemble the following image.

Now you are ready to create the arrowhead and finish adding the arrow. You create the arrowhead when you add the last vertex. The placement of the last vertex determines the size and shape of the arrowhead.

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7. Click in the display to add the last vertex, as shown in the following illustration. You must follow two rules when adding the last vertex. The line segment you create when you add the last vertex:

• Must form an acute angle with the previous line segment

• Must not extend beyond the previous line segment

The area between the blue lines in the following illustration indicates the allowable area for the last vertex.

If you do not position the last vertex in the allowable area, MOLE cannot render the arrow and, instead, draws a curved magenta line with no arrowhead.

8. To complete the tactical graphic, press F2 or right-click and click Finish Sketch.

The graphic is red because it is in the selected state, which is how you want it for the next step.

9. Specify that you want this graphic to be a main arrow of attack by:

• Clicking the MOLE Symbol Editor button on the MOLE toolbar.

• In the MOLE Symbol Editor, in the Symbol Library area, navigating to Command & Control and General Maneuver > Offense > Lines > Axis of Advance. Next, click to highlight Main Attack, then click OK.

In the map display, the graphic changes to a red main attack arrow (red because it is still selected).

10. Deselect the arrow by clicking the Clear Selected Features button in the Tools toolbar.

The MOLE graphic should now resemble the following illustration.


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10. Continue to the next exercise, or close ArcMap without saving changes.

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Exercise 2: Working with force elements in ArcMap Most of the common MOLE operations are standard ArcMap procedures and

commands. MOLE acts as a special renderer that allows ArcMap to conform to MIL‑STD‑2525B Change 1 or APP‑6A specifications. In this exercise, you open a base layer, add one of each type of MOLE feature class to make a situational awareness map, then resize and leader force elements.

1. Open an empty map in ArcMap, then click the Add Data button on the ArcMap Standard toolbar.

2. In the Add Data dialog box, navigate to <ArcGIS installation directory>/MOLE/Tutorial/Data.

3. Double-click Elevation.lyr.

The base layer named Elevation.lyr displays in the ArcMap map display, and you are ready to add MOLE feature classes.

4. In ArcMap, on the MOLE toolbar, click the Add MOLE Data button . You must use this button to add MOLE feature classes if you want the feature classes to be rendered with military symbology.

5. In the Add MOLE Layers dialog box, navigate to <ArcGIS installation directory>/MOLE/Tutorial/Data/OPLAN.gdb/MOLE.

6. Press the Ctrl key while you click to highlight the following MOLE feature classes: FriendlyForces, TacticalAreas, TacticalLines, and TacticalPoints.

7. Click OK. The map display should appear similar to the following image.

Open the tutorial data Add Data


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Your map now contains one of each type of MOLE feature class:

• A force element feature class

• A point tactical graphic feature class

• A line tactical graphic feature class

• An area tactical graphic feature class

1. In the ArcMap table of contents, clear the check boxes for all of the group layers except FriendlyForces and Elevation.

The table of contents and display should resemble those in the following image.

2. Add another force element layer. Click the Add MOLE Data button on the MOLE toolbar, then navigate to <ArcGIS installation directory>/MOLE/Tutorial/Data/OPLAN.gdb/MOLE. Double-click EnemyForces.

Notice that the enemy force symbols are a different color and are smaller than the friendly force symbols. They also have a different frame shape. The color and frame shape differences are based on the descriptions in MIL-STD-2525B Change 1 and APP-6A. In the following steps, you will change the size of the enemy force symbols to match the friendly force symbols.

3. In the ArcMap table of contents, click the EnemyForces group layer to highlight it.

4. On the MOLE toolbar, click the Graphic Height button .

The mouse pointer changes to crosshairs with a box.

5. Click and drag in the map display to draw a box whose height is about the same size as the height of the friendly force symbols. You can draw the box beside one of the force elements to make it easier to estimate a similar height.

Resize force elements using

the toolbar

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The symbols in the EnemyForces layer increase in size. Their height matches the height of the box you drew.

The map display should appear similar to the following image.

6. Next you will use the toolbar to reduce the size of the graphics in two layers in the data frame. Press and hold the Ctrl button and click to highlight the EnemyForces and the FriendlyForces group layers in the table of contents, as shown in the following image.

7. Repeat steps 4 and 5 to draw another box, but this time, make the height of the box you draw about half the size of one of the force elements.

All of the graphics in the two layers you highlighted reduce in size.

. Next, you will use the toolbar to increase the size of all MOLE graphics of the same type (force element or tactical graphic) in the data frame.

8. Click the white space under the layers listing in the table of contents. This removes the highlighting of the layers you selected in step 6, but it has the same effect as step 6, because all layers is the default selection behavior for MOLE toolbar buttons when no layers are highlighted in the table of contents. So you can apply MOLE toolbar functions to all MOLE graphics in the data frame by clicking white space in the table of contents below the layers before using the toolbar function.


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9. To illustrate this behavior, on the MOLE toolbar, click the Graphic Height button , then click and drag a box in the map display to draw a box that is about

twice the height of the graphics in the display.

All graphics in the data frame (and map display) increase in size to have about twice the height that they did before.

You can resize graphics in a layer more precisely using the Symbols tab of the MOLE Layer Properties dialog box, as is demonstrated in the next set of steps.

Many of the functions in the MOLE Layer Properties dialog box are also on the MOLE toolbar. The main difference between these corresponding functions is that the ones on the toolbar allow you to apply changes to all layers or selected layers, while the Layer Properties dialog box allows you to apply changes to only one layer at a time. For some MOLE toolbar buttons, the layers affected will all be of the same type, either force element or tactical graphic. For example, the leadering buttons affect only force element layers.

In the next steps, you’ll resize, then stack MOLE graphics using the Layer Properties dialog box.

Resize force elements using the Layer Properties dialog box1. If you are continuing from the previous steps, repeat steps 9 and 10 but this time

in step 10, draw a box that’s a quarter of the height of the current graphics in the display to make the map more readable.

If you are not continuing from the previous step, open a blank map and add the FriendlyForces and EnemyForces feature classes in <ArcGIS installation directory>/MOLE/Tutorial/Data/OPLAN.gdb/MOLE.

2. In the ArcMap table of contents, double-click the MOLE graphic layer of the FriendlyForces group layer.

The MOLE Layer Properties dialog box for force elements appears.

3. Click the Symbols tab.

4. On the Symbols tab, in the Size area, in the Friendly Frame text box, click and drag to highlight the existing value .040589, then type “.07” to replace it.

5. Make sure you also have Map selected in the Size area. The Map setting indicates that you want the units of the value in the adjacent text box to be map units, which are the units of measure for the layer, established by the layer’s coordinate

Resize and stack force elements

using the Layer Properties

dialog box

Data frame

MOLE group layer



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system. For example, if the coordinate system is WGS_1984 and Map is selected, then a value of 1 in the adjacent text box will make the force elements 1 degree of latitude in height. For details about the different methods you can use to set MOLE graphic size, see Editing MOLE graphics from within ArcMap in ArcGIS Desktop Help.

The MOLE graphics in the FriendlyForces layer are once again bigger than those in the EnemyForces layer, as shown in the following illustration.

Stack force elements using the Layer Properties dialog box 1. In the ArcMap table of contents, clear the EnemyForces layer’s check box, then

double-click the MOLE graphic layer of the FriendlyForces group layer.

2. In the Layer Properties dialog box, click the Stacking tab, then check the Enable Stacking check box.

3. In the Stacking Rules list area, clear the check boxes of all rules except the Proximity rule. Click Proximity Rule to highlight it.

In the Rule Properties area, the property names change to reflect the Proximity rule.

4. In the Value text box to the right of the Tolerance property name, click and drag over the value (by default, this value is 0) to enable the value for editing.


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5. Type .15 in the Value text box to indicate you want MOLE to group force element graphics that are within .15 map units of each other. Press Enter, then click OK.

You may have to click the Toggle Stacking button on the MOLE toolbar.

All force element graphics in the map that satisfy the .15 distance you set for this layer are grouped onto stacks in the map display, as shown in the following image.

If you repeat this procedure for additional layers, when you toggle stacking on, the map display will show stacking for all layers selected in the table of contents. That is, stacking honors the stacking rules for each individual layer—the rules can be different per layer.

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Exercise 3: Working with tactical graphics in ArcMap Working with tactical graphics is similar to working with force elements. Examples of

two noteworthy differences—that tactical graphics come with renderers you can enable and that text size and graphic size are independent of each other—are provided in the steps in this exercise.

Every type of tactical graphic corresponds to at least one MOLE tactical graphic renderer. A tactical graphic will not display if one of its associated renderers is not enabled. By default, all renderers are enabled, but if you are working with only one type of tactical graphic and are using MIL-STD-2525B Change 1, you can turn off all other renderers to improve performance. You can also turn off renderers or change their order of priority to change the appearance of a tactical graphic layer.

1. Open OPLAN.mxd from the tutorial dataset in <ArcGIS installation directory>/MOLE/Tutorial.

2. From the Main menu in ArcMap, click View > Bookmarks > Swoopy Arrow to navigate to the Supporting Attack arrow in the upper right portion of the dataset. Your view should look similar to the following image.

3. In the table of contents, turn off all the group layers except the TacticalLines group layer.

4. In the table of contents, double-click the TacticalLines Graphic layer to open the MOLE Layer Properties dialog box. Move the Layer Properties dialog box so that you can still see the arrow in the map display.

5. In the Layer Properties dialog, click the Renderers tab.

6. In the Renderers tab, in the Available Compatible Renderers list area, click Swoopy Arrows. You may have to scroll down to see Swoopy Arrows.

The right-pointing arrow becomes available.

Change the appearance of

tactical graphics using renderers


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7. Click the right-pointing arrow.

The Swoopy Arrows renderer now appears in the Associated Renderers list area and the up-pointing arrow becomes available.

8. Click the up-pointing arrow to move the Swoopy Arrows renderer above the All Tactical Graphics renderer.

9. Click Apply.

Your map should appear similar to the following image.

The arrow in the map display changes from a rectilinear (angular) looking arrow to a swoopy (rounded) arrow. This is because by default, the Swoopy Arrows renderer does not take priority over the default rectilinear arrow renderer. By positioning the Swoopy Arrows renderer above the All Tactical Graphics renderer in the Associated Renderers list area in step 8, you specified that you wanted MOLE to use the Swoopy Arrows renderer on applicable graphics.

10. To prepare for future exercise steps, check the checkbox of all layers in the table of contents, then click the Full Extent button on the Tools toolbar. Next, save the .mxd to <ArcGIS installation directory>/MOLE/Tutorial and name it OPLAN_TacticalGraphics.mxd.

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Text and graphic size for tactical graphics are adjusted independently of each other. As with force elements, changes can be made at the layer level through the MOLE Layer Properties dialog box pages or for selected or all layers in the table of contents through the tools on the MOLE toolbar.

1. If it’s not already open, open the OPLAN_TacticalGraphics.mxd you saved from the previous exercise.

2. From the Main menu in ArcMap, click View > Bookmarks > Air Corridor to zoom to one of the Air Corridor Tactical Line graphics.

3. In the table of contents, turn off all the group layers except the TacticalLines group layer and the TacticalPoints group layer. Your view should look similar to the following image.

4. Click the TacticalLines Graphic layer in the table of contents to activate the MOLE toolbar.

5. On the MOLE toolbar, click the Graphic Height button .

The mouse pointer turns into a crosshairs symbol.

6. Click and drag about as small a box as you can.

When you release the mouse, the space between the lines within each air corridor decreases, narrowing the air corridors, as shown in the following image.

Change the graphic size

and text size of tactical graphics


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7. Save the .mxd to <ArcGIS installation directory>/MOLE/Tutorial/OPLAN_TacticalGraphics.mxd.

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Exercise 4: Changing the 3D display type In the following exercise, you will use the Graphic Height tool on the MOLE toolbar

to adjust the size of the billboarded force elements that come with the tutorial dataset. You will also use the Layer Properties dialog box to view a preview of three 3D display types, then apply the drape and billboard display type.

1. Open ArcGlobe by clicking Start > Programs > ArcGIS > ArcGlobe.

2. In ArcGlobe, add land base data by clicking the Add Data button on the Standard toolbar.

3. In the Add Data dialog box, navigate to <ArcGIS installation directory>/ArcGlobeData, highlight to select Continent.lyr and World Image.lyr, then click Add.

Your ArcGlobe window should appear similar to the following image.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3, but this time navigate to <ArcGIS installation directory>/MOLE/Tutorial/Data and add DEM.img.

5. In the Add Data Wizard, click Use this layer as elevation source, then click Finish.

6. Add the MOLE toolbar by right-clicking any ArcGlobe toolbar, then selecting Military Overlay Editor.

The MOLE toolbar for ArcGlobe appears. Not all of its buttons will be available.

7. On the MOLE toolbar, click the Add MOLE Data button .

8. In the Add MOLE Layers dialog box, navigate to <ArcGIS installation directory>/MOLE/Tutorial/Oplan.gdb.

Add data to the map


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9. In Oplan.gdb, open the MOLE dataset, then highlight to select the feature classes named FriendlyForces and EnemyForces.

10. Click Add.

In the map display, the friendly forces layer displays with blue graphics and the enemy forces layer displays with red graphics that are smaller than the blue graphics.

11. Click and drag the mouse up in the map display. If this action pans the map instead of tilting it, click the Navigation Mode button on the ArcGlobe Tools toolbar, then click and drag the mouse up in the map display.

The map in the map display begins to tilt so that you can better see the 3D aspects environment.

Tip: if you had clicked other ArcGlobe tools before step 11, you may also have to click the Navigate toolbar button before you can tilt the map.

12. Repeatedly click and drag the mouse up in the map display until you’ve tilted it to an oblique pitch angle similar to the one in the following illustration.

1. In the ArcGlobe table of contents, click the friendly force element layer to select it. This step also makes available the rest of the tools on the MOLE toolbar.

2. Press and hold the Ctrl button, then click the enemy force element layer.

Both the FriendlyForces and EnemyForces layers should be selected in the table of contents.

3. On the MOLE toolbar, click the Graphic Height button.

The mouse pointer changes to crosshairs with a box.

4. In the ArcGlobe map display, click and drag a box whose height is about one quarter of the force element graphics’ height.

Adjust the size of billboarded

force elements

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The height of both the friendly and enemy force elements changes to match the height of the box you drew. MOLE determines graphic sized based on height in this case. As shown in the following image, the friendly force elements reduce significantly in size and the enemy force elements increase only slightly in size.

You have several options for displaying MOLE graphics in 3D. A few examples are

illustrated here. The following images illustrate the three options for displaying force elements in 3D.

Billboarded Draped Billboarded and draped

In the following exercise, you view a preview of three 3D display types, then apply the drape and billboard display type to a MOLE force element layer.

1. In the ArcGlobe table of contents, double-click the MOLE graphic layer of the FriendlyForces group layer.

2. In the MOLE Layer Properties dialog box, click the 3D Display tab.

Change the 3D display type


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3. Click the different display type options and view the preview of them in the 3D Display tab: Drape, Billboard, Extrude, Drape and Billboard, or Drape and Extrude.

4. When you are finished viewing the options in the preview window, click Drape and Billboard, then click OK.

MOLE applies the display type you chose. Your map display should resemble the following image.

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Exercise 5: Applying tracking to MOLE features In this exercise, you use the ArcGIS Tracking Analyst extension and a feature class

with temporal data to display tracking data symbolized by MOLE. Unlike MOLE, Tracking Analyst is an extension that requires an extension license.

1. If you haven’t already, install ArcGIS Tracking Analyst.

2. If you haven’t already, connect a folder to the sample data used in MOLE tutorial exercises. In ArcCatalog, click File > Connect Folder, navigate to <ArcGIS installation directory>/MOLE/Tutorial, then click OK.

3. Open ArcMap. In Windows, Start > Programs > ArcGIS > ArcMap.

4. Turn on the Tracking Analyst toolbar by right-clicking on any ArcMap toolbar, then clicking Tracking Analyst.

The Tracking Analyst toolbar appears. Note that the below image shows the right-most button, the Step Through Tracks button, as being available. However, it will not be available until you have added an event.

5. On the Tracking Analyst toolbar, click the Add Data button .

The Add Temporal Data Wizard appears.

6. In the first panel of the wizard:

• In the first step, click A feature class or shapefile containing temporal data.

• In the second step, click the Browse button and navigate to <ArcGIS Installation Directory>/MOLE/Tutorial/Data/ MOLE_TRACKING.gdb.

Use MOLE to render a tracking layer with MOLE

symbology


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Double-click the CARGO_AIRLIFT feature class.

• Values for the third and fourth steps appear by default in this exercise, but if your fields were named differently, you would likely have to specify which fields contained your date/time information and your track identification value.

• Click Next.

7. In the second panel of the wizard, accept the defaults by clicking Finish.

The ArcMap map display shows the CARGO_AIRLIFT feature class. It is not yet being symbolized by MOLE.

In the next steps, you will apply MOLE symbology to this feature class.

8. Right-click the CARGO_AIRLIFT layer in the ArcMap TOC, then click Properties.

The Layer Properties dialog appears.

9. Click the Symbology tab.

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10. In the Show area, click to highlight Events. In the Drawn As area, highlight MOLE (2525B). You may have to scroll up in the Drawn As area.

11. In the 2525B Event Renderer Configuration area, in the Military Descriptor Column Name drop-down menu, click Symbol_ID, then click OK.

The ArcMap map display shows the CARGO_AIRLIFT layer rendered with MOLE symbology.

In this next set of steps you will add more layers, then track the MOLE features you add. First you will add some more layers.

1. Repeat steps 5 through 11 in the previous set of steps for the SPECIAL_OPERATIONS_FORCES and TANKER feature classes in the MOLE_TRACKING.gdb database.

When you’ve finished, the ArcMap map display should appear similar to the following image.

Use Tracking Analyst tools

to track MOLE features in

ArcMap


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2. Click the Playback Manager button on the Tracking Analyst toolbar.

3. In this step, you will ensure the full timeframe of the data will be displayed. In the Playback Manager dialog box, choose the earliest time available for start time (in the Start drop-down menu) and latest time available for end time (in the End drop-down menu). For this sample data, the earliest start time is 8/30/1998 6:00 a.m. and the latest end time is 8/30/1998 8:04 a.m.

The Playback Manager dialog box should resemble the following image.

4. Click the Options button to display additional settings in the Playback Manager dialog box.

5. In the Set the playback rate area, set the playback rate to 1 minute per second by typing 1 in the text box and selecting Minute from the drop-down menu.

The MOLE symbols move around the map display as each time event occurs. In this case, every time the symbols move (once per second) represents a minute.

6. Click and drag the red slider control in the graphical area of the Playback Manager dialog box. Notice that as you move it left and right in the graphical area, the map display changes to reflect the location of the MOLE graphics at the place in time where the red slider bar is resting.

In This Chapter

Quick reference 5• The MOLE toolbar• The MOLE Symbol Editor• The MOLE Layer

Properties dialog boxes

This chapter provides brief descriptions of the main user interface items in the MOLE application. For detailed procedures on using the items, see the MOLE help topics in ArcGIS Desktop Help.


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The MOLE toolbar The following image shows the MOLE toolbar in ArcMap. Its buttons are described

below the image. The MOLE toolbar in ArcGlobe includes only numbers 1, 2, 9, 10 and 11.

1. moLe is a drop-down menu that allows you to perform such tasks as set echelon scales, add MOLE graphics, and set MOLE options. It is described in greater detail in the following section.

2. Add moLe data lets you add MOLE data to the map as MOLE layers.

3. moLe symbol editor lets you edit the MOLE force element or tactical graphic you have selected or have just created.

4. identify graphics allows you to click force elements or tactical graphics in the map display to view information about them. The information comes from the associated feature’s attribute table.

5. select graphics lets you select one or more MOLE graphics.

6. toggle Leadering turns leadering on or off for the force element layer or layers selected in the table of contents. Turning leadering on moves force element graphics to a leader line, which can make the map easier to read in some instances.

7. move Leaders lets you reposition leadered force elements to a new location, typically to clean up your map when you have many leader lines displayed. Click the button, then click a leader and drag it to a new location.

8. toggle stacking turns stacking on or off for the force element layers selected in the table of contents.

9. graphic height allows you to resize force elements in the force element layer or layers selected in the table of contents. Once you select the layer or layers, click this button, then click and drag in the map display to draw a rectangle. MOLE uses the height of the rectangle you draw as the new height for the graphics. This is also known as Set Size.

10. display additional buttons displays additional MOLE toolbar buttons. These are described in greater detail in the following section.

11. refresh graphics refreshes all MOLE graphics in the layers that are selected (highlighted) in the table of contents.

Buttons on the toolbar

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MOLE has two menus, both accessed from the MOLE toolbar. Both menus are displayed below for illustration purposes; you cannot have both displayed at once. The illustration below shows the menus in ArcMap. The MOLE toolbar in ArcGlobe menu includes only numbers 4, 6, 7, and 9 below.

1. moLe menu lets you perform such tasks as set echelon scales, add (draw) tactical graphics, and choose a default military specification.

2. Add moLe graphic lets you click the map display area to add tactical graphics one after another.

3. selected graphics• Leader Ability allows you to specify whether the currently selected force

elements are leaderable. If you check the Leader Ability check box, you set the selected force elements as leaderable, which means MOLE will add them to a leader if leadering is turned on and they meet the leadering rules you set (or the next time you enable leadering if leadering is not turned on at the time you check this box).

• stack Ability allows you to specify whether the currently selected force elements are stackable. If you check the Stack Ability check box, you set the selected force elements as stackable, which means MOLE will add them to a stack if stacking is turned on and they meet the stacking rules you set (or the next time you enable stacking if stacking is not turned on at the time you check this box).

• single Leaders allows you to place all currently selected force elements on individual leaders. If you check Single Leaders, MOLE creates a leader for each individual force element, regardless of the settings specified for the corresponding layer(s) in the Leadering tab of the MOLE Layer Properties dialog box.

Menus on the toolbar

7 through 10 let you define the magnitude of a property (graphic/text size or leader/stack distance) by clicking and dragging a box or a circle in the map display. The changes apply to layers selected in the table of contents, or, if no layers are selected, to all layers in the current data frame.

Additional tools drop-down menu


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4. echelon scales opens the Echelon Scale Band Equalizer dialog box, which lets you set scale-dependent display based on echelon for MOLE layers selected in the table of contents.

5. update older moLe database lets you use pre-9.0 MOLE databases or open a data source in MOLE that contains feature classes generated by MOLE 2.0 (a feature class or linked data sources such as a map document or .lyr file). Once you’ve used this tool on your database, you must use an Add MOLE Fields geoprocessing tool on it if you want to be sure to get all the MOLE fields available in the current MOLE release/schema (and therefore get all the MOLE functionality available to you). However, having all MOLE fields is not a requirement for using MOLE.

6. options lets you specify which military specification (MIL‑STD‑2525B Change 1 or APP‑6A) you want to use as your default specification.

7. graphic height allows you to resize force elements in the force element layer or layers selected in the table of contents. Once you select the layer or layers, click this button, then click and drag in the map display to draw a rectangle. MOLE uses the height of the rectangle you draw as the new height for the graphics. This is also known as Set Size.

8. Leader distance lets you set the minimum distance in map units that force element graphics need to be from each other to be grouped on a leader. The changes are applied to the force element layer or layers selected in the table of contents.

9. text height allows you to resize labels of tactical graphic layers selected in the table of contents. To do this, click this button, then click and drag to draw a rectangle. MOLE uses the height of the rectangle you draw as the new height for the labels.

10. stack distance allows you to set the minimum distance in map units that symbols need to be from each other to be stacked together. The changes are applied to symbols in the force element layers you have selected in the table of contents. Also known as stack tolerance.

You can also view, in MOLE, a brief description of each toolbar button by hovering the mouse pointer for a second or two over each button.

Quick reference

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The MOLE Symbol Editor The MOLE Symbol Editor allows you to edit a MOLE graphic and its attributes and

preview the changes before you apply them. It also allows you to quickly change one graphic to another graphic using your choice of edit methods:

• Typing in the “plain English” name of the symbol into the Search for text box to search through all MIL-STD-2525B Change 1 and APP-6A graphics.

• Navigating through the Symbol Library (the tree view in the left pane) to select the graphic you want. All MIL-STD-2525B Change 1 and APP-6A graphics are in this symbol library.

• Entering values into the 15 boxes that make up the 15-character Symbol ID code. This is known as manually editing the code. You can also manually edit the Symbol ID code outside of the MOLE Symbol Editor by editing the graphic’s attribute table (the attribute table of the graphic’s layer’s associated feature layer).

The MOLE Symbol Editor with an armored cavalry unit selected in the Symbol Library pane.


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The MOLE Layer Properties dialog boxes When you add MOLE data to ArcMap or ArcGlobe, it is added as a MOLE group

layer. A MOLE group layer has two types of Layer Properties dialog boxes, one for the ArcGIS feature layer portion of the group layer and one for the MOLE graphic portion.

To access either version, double-click on its corresponding layer in the ArcMap or ArcGlobe table of contents, as shown in the following illustration of the ArcMap table of contents.

Because every MOLE feature class type has its own unique version of the MOLE

Layer Properties dialog box, there are four MOLE Layer Properties dialog box types:

• Force element • Line tactical graphic

• Point tactical graphic • Area tactical graphic These different versions of the MOLE Layer Properties dialog box, while unique, are

also very similar to each other; they differ only where needed to accommodate the differences in military symbols. The first category MOLE uses to differentiate military symbols is based on shape.

To determine whether a symbol is a point or a line, MOLE uses the number of points the military symbol specification says the symbol should have, as shown in the following table.

If the military specification says the symbol should have

Then MOLE makes it a

One point Point feature.

If the symbol or its layer has a Parent field, MOLE considers it a force element/force element layer and opens the MOLE force element Layer Properties dialog box when you double-click the layer.

Two points Line feature.

MOLE opens the MOLE line tactical graphic Layer Properties dialog box when you double-click the layer.

Three points Area feature.

MOLE opens the MOLE area tactical graphic Layer Properties dialog box when you double-click the layer.

Note that MOLE has the same number of Layer Properties dialog boxes in ArcGlobe, but each varies slightly from its ArcMap counterpart to accommodate the 3D settings available in ArcGlobe.

Documents

Getting Started With Military Overlay Editor 9.2 for ArcGIS