TerraFlex Desktop add-in v5.0

A new version of the TerraFlex Desktop add-in for ArcGIS Desktop (ArcMap) is available for download here (with required coordinate system files available here). The add-in supports TerraFlex on Connect and TerraFlex on InSphere workflows and replaces v4.10 from earlier this year. Please see additional information below regarding new features, improvements, and bug fixes.

Note: The initial release of the add-in was posted for download on December 3rd and would have displayed as "5.0" in ArcMap. In the intervening few weeks, a few bugs were identified (included in the section below) and fixed. The latest build, displayed as "5.0.3" in ArcMap, was made available for download on January 13th.

New Features & Improvements

• Support for local coordinate systems in TerraFlex workflows. Users can now publish projects in local coordinate systems as supported in TerraFlex v5. Specific functionality includes:
  • New Project Geodetics page in the Project Wizard where all relevant information is displayed and settings are chosen. Available coordinate systems for the TerraFlex project are based on compatibility with the coordinate system used by the feature class layers in the project.
  • Distinct workflow options for minimizing datum transformations, providing backward compatibility and flexibility, and using related coordinate systems.
  • Validation of real-time correction profiles selected for the project.
  • Updated distribution of Trimble coordinate system files. Trimble coordinate system files (“GeoData”) required for operation are provided through a separate installer and installed to a folder specific to the ArcMap add-ins: C:\ProgramData\Trimble\Positions\CscmGeoData. The TerraFlex Desktop add-in no longer includes or requires the Trimble Coordinate System Manager and database (CSM/CSD).
• Better handling and protection for changes made to TerraFlex templates through Map Viewer. Templates published from the TerraFlex Desktop add-in are currently editable through the Map Viewer and it has been easy to make changes that can break the workflow back into the add-in and geodatabase. Additional handling now exists to differentiate supported changes (layout, rules) from unsupported changes (attributes, schema) when downloading forms and sessions. In a near-future update to Map Viewer, templates that are published from one of the add-ins will be locked down to prevent breaking changes. Logging and messaging has also been improved in this area.
• Improved TerraFlex project thumbnail generation. Thumbnails used for new TerraFlex projects in the mobile and web apps are now created based on the map extent in ArcMap at the time of publishing.
• Changes in support for older versions of Esri software. This version of the TerraFlex Desktop add-in no longer supports ArcGIS Desktop 10.1 and only supports 10.2 and higher. ArcGIS Desktop 10.1 was retired by Esri as of January, 2018.

Bug Fixes

• Office database backup did not always work prior to a schema update. When new versions of the add-in would require a schema update to the office database, a backup of the database would be made first (in the same folder). In some cases this backup operation (a copy/paste) would fail. This has been resolved and further, the database backups are stored in a more visible location: C:\ProgramData\Trimble\Positions\DatabaseBackups
• Can not create or publish local projects if they contain invalid characters. There are limitations around TerraFlex on Connect workspace names containing invalid characters or starting with a period [.]. The Project Wizard will now prevent this.
• Problems with coded value domain handling. There were a few problems with coded value domain handling that have been resolved. In one case, the add-in would crash during project saving when it encountered a coded value domain-backed field with a default value of an empty string [“”] that was not part of the domain. In another case, forms that were edited through Map Viewer prior to download could have subtle changes made to unselected choice fields (changing null values to empty strings) that caused a problem when it was validated against the coded value domain at download.
• Published templates did not set the “geometry collection required” property based on the null-ability of the feature class geometry field. This has been fixed for consistency.
• Can not include freehand polygon in a task. In some cases, these features would cause errors when the user would try to include them in a task (for upload into Connect). This was due to the first and last coordinates not matching exactly and this has been resolved.
• Incorrect elevation handling [bug in v5.0; fixed in v5.0.1]. Form geometry Z values (feature heights) were incorrectly handled when the workspace had been published with vertical units of Feet or US Survey Feet. Downloaded results would have been inappropriately (re-)scaled by the meters-to-feet conversion factor. This would have also occurred when forms were downloaded after attribute-only edits in a data maintenance workflow. In addition, in downloads of attribute-only edits in a data maintenance workflow when using the classic, WGS84 geodetic workflow, feature heights were shifted by the difference between the WGS84 and the local ellipsoid (used in the coordinate system of the feature class). These issues have been resolved.
• Object reference error when downloaded forms referenced a layer that is no longer in the map document [bug in v5.0; fixed in v5.0.2]. Due to the somewhat de-coupled nature of the Esri geodatabase and the TerraFlex on Connect infrastructure, it is entirely possible for a layer in a map document to be removed, or even a feature class in a geodatabase to be deleted, after a project that references them has already been published. If forms are collected using those published templates, the add-in does not know what to do with them when they are part of the downloaded set. This condition is typically logged (as is the message about missing layers in the project) but changes in v5 resulted in an error when the log message was created. This prevented proper download of the rest of the forms for which a valid layer/feature class still exists. This issue has been resolved.
• Correction datum setting for field (real-time) configurations in TerraFlex workflows changed during schema upgrade [bug in v5.0 - 5.0.2; fixed in v5.0.3]. During the schema upgrade operation at this release, existing field configurations used in TerraFlex workflows may have had their Correction Datum setting changed from the desired (typically local) datum to the WGS 1984 datum. If the user proceeded with re-publishing the project or reusing this field configuration in another project, the change could be propagated up to the cloud and into the TerraFlex project on the device. This could introduce a datum shift in collected data. Users will need to verify this setting in each field configuration they are using in the add-in. Please see the Support Note for further information. This upgrade issue has been fixed in the latest version although that will only affect customers who have not yet upgraded.
• Geoids not displayed or available as expected [bug in v5.0 - 5.0.2; fixed in v5.0.3]. There were two issues in this area. Although the orthometric height calculation for downloaded forms and sessions was correct in the new version of the add-in, the geoid setting would not be displayed in the project wizard when editing projects. This has been resolved. Additionally, only a subset of the expected geoids were available for use in new projects; the list was initially constrained to only those geoids that are fully supported throughout the TerraFlex system (matching what's available for use in the Connect Map Viewer). This has been resolved and the full set of geoids is now available for use - if a geoid is not one available through the Connect Map Viewer, then the calculation will only be applied in the office when forms or sessions are downloaded. This is consistent with the behavior of projects created in previous versions of the add-in.

Advanced Configuration

In certain deployment scenarios, customers may need to manually configure the database connection. A configuration application can be downloaded here. Unzip the files and run it from there - no installation is required.