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<DIV>Hi Simon</DIV>
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<DIV>If you come from an ArcView 3.x background (as I do), then GvSIG behaves in a similar manner (both in terms of layers and the Project Manager). Copy merely copied the layer in the View, not the underlying Shapefile.</DIV>
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<DIV>I think later versions of ArcMap also allow you to have multiple layers derived from the same underlying datasource, that you can symbolise differently etc. If you actually want to create a whole new Shapefile on disk, then you need to use Save As.</DIV>
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<DIV>Regards,</DIV>
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<DIV>Robert Sanson<BR><BR>>>> "Simon Cropper (The fosGIS Workflow Guides)" <scropper@botanicusaustralia.com.au> 3/08/2011 12:29 p.m. >>><BR>On 02/08/11 17:00, Benjamin Ducke wrote:<BR>> I disagree. A layer IS a reference (to e.g. a Shapefile).<BR>> There is no such thing as a reference to a layer.<BR>> A Shapefile is not a layer. It's a dataset comprising<BR>> several files. A layer is an abstract concept in GIS,<BR>> not physically existing data.<BR>><BR>> In this case, gvSIG does use the right terminology,<BR>> and it should stay that way.<BR>><BR>> Also, "Copy" is the right name for the function. It<BR>> is in the context menu of a layer, so it clearly<BR>> copies a layer (and nothing else). Your word processor<BR>> does not say "Copy text" either. It simply says "Copy",<BR>> yet nobody expects it to be copying the actual file.<BR>> Likewise, nobody thinks its "Format" function is<BR>> for formatting the hard disk.<BR>><BR>> It makes sense to separate the concepts of layer<BR>> and dataset. A gvSIG layer can reference many<BR>> types of datasources: a table in a spatial DBMS,<BR>> a WMS data stream, etc., etc. How would you implement<BR>> a "Copy" function of physical data for these?<BR>><BR>> If you want to have an actual copy of your Shapefile,<BR>> either use your file manager, or use "Save as"<BR>> (now, this one should really be called "Save data"!)<BR>> from gvSIG's "Layer" menu.<BR>><BR>> Ben<BR><BR>Hi Ben,<BR><BR>I respectfully disagree.<BR><BR>Any GUI element (e.g. button, dialog), function or documentation that <BR>causes confusion should be clarified.<BR><BR>I get what you are saying but if people are confused then something <BR>needs to be done to avoid this situation.<BR><BR>Assume you are a newbie that wants to view a vector file - 'roads'. You <BR>download gvSIG and through a little experimentation get the vector file <BR>to open in a view.<BR><BR>OK. You want to copy the file so you can edit the copy. How?<BR><BR>OK. You know the vector file is a shapefile so you close gvSIG then copy <BR>the file roads.shp to roads-new.shp, open gvSIG and try and open the <BR>file. The process does not work. roads-new.shp does not open.<BR><BR>You look at the directory and see extra files of the same name - that is <BR>roads.shp, roads.shx and roads.dbf. Should you copy and rename all these <BR>files? OK, but why do other file collections have more files? Confusion <BR>rains.<BR><BR>Obviously if users reads the manual, researches shapefiles, etc then <BR>these questions would be answered pretty quickly but lets face it most <BR>people don't do this; they just open the program and use it.<BR><BR>In the absence of a duplicate shapefile feature in the project window or <BR>main menu, users will gravitate to anything that states 'copy'. Using <BR>your example of copying text in a word processor document. If a user <BR>highlights some text, copies it then pastes it elsewhere in the <BR>document, they can edit this version of the text separately from the <BR>original. Most users would expect that if you can see a block of data <BR>and copy it, you should be able to edit the copy safely without <BR>influencing the original. This is exactly what Klaus did.<BR><BR>When you find a menu option that allows you to 'copy' a shapefile you <BR>expect that this is what it does. If all it does is copy the reference <BR>to a shapefile then the menu option should state this. What harm would <BR>it do the be more explicit? If a newbie found a menu option called 'copy <BR>ToC reference' instead of 'copy' they would automatically know that it <BR>did not copy the file.<BR><BR><BR>In addition, gvSIG requires an extension or main menu option called <BR>'Manage Files' that would allow you to copy and rename your shapefiles. <BR>I remember ArcView use to have an extension like this.<BR><BR>The suggestion, proposed later in the thread, for a separate file <BR>manager is a good idea but does not negate the need for some basic <BR>functionality somewhere in the main GUI of gvSIG.<BR><BR>*Extra Ramblings*<BR><BR>Something I never quite understood with gvSIG is the fact that there is <BR>a list of views, maps and tables in the project manager. To me it would <BR>be logical to have a list of data sources (shapefiles, tables, database <BR>connections), views, maps and/or derived documents (pdfs, images and <BR>tables). This would better represent a normal workflow.<BR><BR>With the status quo, views show you your data, maps show you your <BR>representation of this data and tables the attribute data of shapefiles <BR>referenced in your view and/or unique tables referenced on your file <BR>system and/or derived data (e.g. summary tables). What's listed in the <BR>tables list is very messy and confusing.<BR><BR>Having the project manager better reflect common workflow practices <BR>would make using gvSIG so much easier.<BR><BR>List 1. define data you want to use (shapefiles, databases, CAD, tables)<BR>List 2. define data views including Coordinate Reference System<BR>List 3. define and track different data conversions and analysis.<BR>List 4 define and track derived project data (maps, images, graphs,<BR> pdfs, tables). As maps are common outputs from most projects,<BR> retaining a separate list of maps may be warranted.<BR><BR>Just a thought...<BR><BR>-- <BR>Cheers Simon<BR><BR> Simon Cropper<BR> Website Administrator<BR> <A href="http://gis.fossworkflowguides.com">http://gis.fossworkflowguides.com</A><BR> The fosGIS Workflow Guide<BR> (c) Simon Cropper CC-BY-SA 3.0 Australia<BR> <A href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by</A>-sa/3.0/au/deed.en<BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Gvsig_internacional mailing list<BR>Gvsig_internacional@listserv.gva.es<BR><A href="http://listserv.gva.es/cgi">http://listserv.gva.es/cgi</A>-bin/mailman/listinfo/gvsig_internacional<BR></DIV><br><br>
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