I need a data base to keep all my survey info in. Job number, client name, drawing name, city, county, state, land lot, district section, yada yada yada.
I have tried Excel but it sucks for any data base usage. And I have tried MS-Access but it sucks even more than Excel.
There is a program called Info Retriever and it is good but I seem to recall it is now subscription based and I don't want to pay a yearly subscription. I used to have it many years ago but it has been lost in space.
Does anyone know of a database?
What do you know of FREEWARE?
I tend to be a visual person so the simplest thing I've found is to use Google Earth Pro.?ÿ I create a polygon around the general boundary and add whatever details about the job I want to the description field in the properties window.?ÿ This is usually limited to just the path to the project directory which also includes the job number & name.?ÿ This way I can pretty easily see what other projects I've done in the vicinity.?ÿ All of the various projects get categorized by year in folders under the "My Places" group and My Places gets backed up every once in a while.?ÿ Works pretty good and the price is right.?ÿ I'm sure there are other much more sophisticated ways but this is pretty quick and easy and really I do it through the course of my project workflow anyway.
Cameron, I have been using Google Earth Pro but I need more and I need searchable also. My wife has tried building one using Access but it is not good enough. And we just don't have any experience with Access other than what we learn on Youtube.
I have tried MS-Access but it sucks even more than Excel.
It sounds to me like what you're missing isn't a database as much as a front end for a database.?ÿ MS Access is pretty robust, but right out of the box it's *only* a database -- you have to build the user interface using the tools provided.?ÿ?ÿ Making an easy-to-use UI to handle the kind of management information needed by a typical survey shop isn't a trivial task.
The CAD analogy is pretty good here:?ÿ AutoCAD will do everything a surveyor needs for typical calculation, drafting and field point management tasks, but without a good UI (think LDD or C3D) it's not going to be easy.
As for freeware, LibreOffice Base is a reasonable substitute for Access, but the UI situation is pretty much the same.?ÿ (FWIW, I found Base to be too slow in navigating the Access database that I use in managing my business, but I think that's due in large part to the fact that it was trying to work with a non-native file format.)
I tend to be a visual person so the simplest thing I've found is to use Google Earth Pro.?ÿ I create a polygon around the general boundary and add whatever details about the job I want to the description field in the properties window.?ÿ This is usually limited to just the path to the project directory which also includes the job number & name.?ÿ This way I can pretty easily see what other projects I've done in the vicinity.?ÿ All of the various projects get categorized by year in folders under the "My Places" group and My Places gets backed up every once in a while.?ÿ Works pretty good and the price is right.?ÿ I'm sure there are other much more sophisticated ways but this is pretty quick and easy and really I do it through the course of my project workflow anyway.
@cameron-watson-pls
Just a heads up but Google Earth Pro can become corrupt with too many "my places" stored and you'll have to recover it based on your backups. I'm not sure what the number is that the program sees as too many but it happens around here quite a bit with people storing areas of proposals and reference files to Google Earth as a visual reference. $.02
Im still in my trial version of this?ÿ https://kudurrustone.com/. Its built specifically for surveyors. I like it so far but I just need to sit down and learn it. It does cost money but im certain it pays for itself in the end
From my experience most software is worth about what you pay for it.
Why not try QGIS?
It is free.
It works in multiple operating systems (Windows 32 bit & 64 bit, Linux, MAC OS10, and others)
It has a very active community for support, and development.
You can design your own project database and store it in a shape file, or spatialite file.
It is able to read and write just about any type of file you may encounter.
It will interface to Google Earth, Bing, and other web mapping portals.
It interfaces with GPS/GNSS equipment that output NMEA strings. You can collect field data with it. I do it all the time with a rugged tablet.
It is able to work with just about every datum or projection known to man. (It uses Proj4.4)
The ability to import PLSS data, Found Monument Records, Federal, State, and Local data, Ownership data, Utility data, then view it, query it,
calculate with it is a tremendous asset.?ÿ
It has great cartographic capabilities.
The list of capabilities are too many to mention here.
I can say this, I have built project management databases using QGIS for my current employer, and others..
They are more than happy with the results.?ÿ
It is not difficult to learn, and once you start producing with it, you will come up with ideas for its use.
No two cents worth.
It's free.
WWW.QGIS.ORG
If you download it, I would recommend the Long Term Release, Version 2.18.24 and get the Standalone Installer for now.
Version 3.2 is still for early adopters. It is mostly stable, but has some quirks that are being ironed out.
Personally, I've never used a database program easier to use than FileMaker Pro. I have been using it since about 1990.
Some info: https://file.org/free-download/filemaker-pro
FileMaker.com:
https://www.filemaker.com/products/filemaker-pro/
I've used Access for this purpose very successfully for many years. The primary method to my madness is interfacing?ÿthe Access .mdb file?ÿwith our CAD land base maps so that I can plot the job No. in the?ÿdatabase in CAD by using an ODBC connection?ÿand the?ÿState Plane northings and eastings in the Access file?ÿin the general area where the work was done. It can also be searched directly in seconds?ÿby?ÿMTRS, job No., subdivision name, FB PG,?ÿstreet name, on and on. It's the?ÿonly way I've found I can keep track of thousands of jobs done over 20 plus years. I frequently use work done 15-20 years ago to quickly get work done where perhaps a?ÿlot of the original control has gone bye-bye or to comp out search coordinates before I even step foot on the site. The first step in every job is consulting the "Oracle" to see what's been done in?ÿan area and the last step putting it to bed is updating that?ÿdatabase.
I've used Access for this purpose very successfully for many years. The primary method to my madness is interfacing?ÿthe Access .mdb file?ÿwith our CAD land base maps so that I can plot the job No. in the?ÿdatabase in CAD by using an ODBC connection?ÿand the?ÿState Plane northings and eastings in the Access file?ÿin the general area where the work was done. It can also be searched directly in seconds?ÿby?ÿMTRS, job No., subdivision name, FB PG,?ÿstreet name, on and on. It's the?ÿonly way I've found I can keep track of thousands of jobs done over 20 plus years. I frequently use work done 15-20 years ago to quickly get work done where perhaps a?ÿlot of the original control has gone bye-bye or to comp out search coordinates before I even step foot on the site. The first step in every job is consulting the "Oracle" to see what's been done in?ÿan area and the last step putting it to bed is updating that?ÿdatabase.
This sounds very interesting. Would you mind sharing how you do this in more detail? Wonder if this would work with 2018 Carlson OEM.?ÿ
I've used Access for this purpose very successfully for many years. The primary method to my madness is interfacing?ÿthe Access .mdb file?ÿwith our CAD land base maps so that I can plot the job No. in the?ÿdatabase in CAD by using an ODBC connection?ÿand the?ÿState Plane northings and eastings in the Access file?ÿin the general area where the work was done. It can also be searched directly in seconds?ÿby?ÿMTRS, job No., subdivision name, FB PG,?ÿstreet name, on and on. It's the?ÿonly way I've found I can keep track of thousands of jobs done over 20 plus years. I frequently use work done 15-20 years ago to quickly get work done where perhaps a?ÿlot of the original control has gone bye-bye or to comp out search coordinates before I even step foot on the site. The first step in every job is consulting the "Oracle" to see what's been done in?ÿan area and the last step putting it to bed is updating that?ÿdatabase.
This sounds very interesting. Would you mind sharing how you do this in more detail? Wonder if this would work with 2018 Carlson OEM.?ÿ
I'm using Map3D for this but I'm sure there is a way to do it in?ÿCarlson. Following outlines the basic steps. Setting up the connection is the tricky part. Hopefully this will point you in the right direction.
?ÿ
By going to the 'Feature Label' I can toggle on and off whatever column of records I want displayed. For me just knowing the work order number is enough to allow me to search the Access file directly.
When I started here I took over for a retiring surveyor with the memory of an elephant and when he walked out he took with him the knowledge of what was in those hundreds of files. So I spent the good part of a winter going through them and georeferencing them in this Access file and making notes in it of what was done, where, field book, ect. Frankly it saved my a$$.
Newforma is also an option but I'm not sure of the cost.
I feel compelled to say that our experience and skill level with Access is lower than rudimentary. It may be a powerful and capable program but the operators are not.
I feel compelled to say that our experience and skill level with Access is lower than rudimentary. It may be a powerful and capable program but the operators are not.
?ÿ
Now you just need to work on the solutions...
After reading these responses I have realized that my biggest problem is with the User Interface. We made all the fields in Access but it really looked little different than Excel. I guess we need to figure out how to do a proper UI.
Another vote for QGIS. I'm slowly importing all my old files (GeneralCADD and Carlson DXF/DWG) into QGIS and storing them as GeoJSON in a couchdb database, which then replicates to other machines. QGIS is the "user interface". CouchDB is the database and the backup system. With recent enough versions of both on Ubuntu-flavored linux, it "just works". All pushbutton stuff, hardly any learning curve, nowadays.
@just-a-surveyor?ÿ Find a local community college with computer programming courses and see if one of the students will tackle your Access database as a project.?ÿ My brother was in such a program a decade ago and wrote a custom Access database for me.?ÿ He set it up with a front end that eases data entry and formats searches, basically lipstick and a skirt to pretty up the basic bones of Access.
+1 qGIS.?ÿ
You can do something simple as a SHP file. You import the polygon and input the data under each field. However it??s not easy to search your jobs. (you have to go to Search + "state" + "Florida" ) and it will select you all the polygons (jobs) done in florida. but if you are not good with computers it can take some time, although everything is on youtube ;).?ÿ
If you really want a database, you need a good UI as they have told you already. If you want a Geo-Database you can try PostGIS. Although this is hard to set up.?ÿ
