Import, transfer and edition of geographic data

 

Version: 3.0

Date: 04.11.2025

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Introduction

The module Map is providing an interface that allows the user a quick and easy transfer of geographic data from any GIS (ArcGIS, MapInfo, AutoCAD, Open StreetMap etc.) to the pipe inspection software WinCan VX. No additional installation of a GIS or GIS component is therefore needed.

Map is installed together with WinCan VX on a computer located in a TV truck or in the office and is activated by a license. Simply import the geographic data in the shapefile format you obtained from your client (i.e. engineer offices, pipe inspection companies, water authorities etc.), highlight the sections and manholes displayed on the map with the mouse and finally transfer their content into the section and manhole table of WinCan VX. A lot of typing work can thus be avoided and the risk of errors due to manual data entry is significantly lowered too.

Map also allows creating new and correcting existing geographic data directly in the TV truck in order you may directly hand them out to the client together with the inspection report.

If the manhole coordinates have been entered or imported previously in WinCan VX the module Map will then automatically draw the corresponding sewer network for the current project.

System requirements

• Windows 10 Pro, Windows 11 Pro; all the corresponding updates must be downloaded and installed.

• Microsoft .NET-Framework 4.5 (latest version)

• Pipe inspection software WinCan VX (version 1.2025.17.1 or higher)

Launching Map and creating projects

The module Map can easily be launched from the pipe inspection software WinCan VX hitting the corresponding button in the vertical quick access bar to the left (1). Proceed as described below to easily access the shapefiles with the sewer object data (sections and manholes) later on:

Next you will automatically be asked for the corresponding projection system (e.g. Switzerland = EPSG:21781 or EPSG:2056; Germany = EPSG:4839 or EPSG:5243 etc.) as well as a geo-referenced satellite image or map file the operator can use for spatial orientation:

If you haven’t got any geo-referenced map just continue with OK (1) and also turn off the projection system (2) in case you don’t know it.

The main screen of Map then shows a default layout which is subdivided into 3 parts:

1. Ribbon bar, sub-divided into command groups

2. Map panel to display the currently preferred geographic area: the data are shown (2a) as soon as the corresponding sewer object layers have been added to the map project hitting the command Home > Add Layer (2).

3. Legend panel to show the content of the sewer object layers based on shapefiles and the WinCan layers based on the data that have already been transferred into the WinCan project.

The legend (3) can be hidden automatically once the pin icon (4) has been activated OR even undocked from the main window to move it freely on any location on the current or a second screen:

The main window appears in a medium size after the first launch of the application. Like all other WINDOWS panels it can be minimized, maximized, enlarged and moved on a second (larger) screen to improve the general view to the map when using the pan or zoom tools.

Working with MAP projects

Closing Map automatically saves the following basic information of the last Map session into the project file vxproject.ttkproject (ttkproject -> tatuk-GIS):

• Projection system, which is valid for the corresponding country or region.

• View to the last zoomed in area

• Raster layers (based on geo-referenced image files (*.tif)) for spatial orientation showing an aerial view of the environment where the sewer network is located.

• Shape layers (link to shapefiles) showing sewer objects (sections and manholes) after importing them into Map. Shapefiles always have to be provided by an external GIS manager (i.e. engineer office, local water authorities). Shape layers for spatial orientation representing streets, buildings, landscape elements etc. are optional and thus missing very often.

• WinCan layers showing sewer objects (sections and manholes) that have already been transferred from Map into WinCan. They are automatically created by Map and linked to the current WinCan project database.

• Properties per layer that contain information about how to show the corresponding sewer objects on the Map interface: sections and manholes can thus be displayed with specific icons and labels.

• Number of queries per layer to group sewer objects based on specific criterions and have them shown in different colours:

1. Show sections ordered by diameter classes

2. Show sections ordered by pipe material

3. Show sections ordered by section type

4. Show sections ordered by construction year

Each object group can thus be represented in the legend panel by its coloured icon

Adding or importing layers

Shape layers used in Map must be available as a file group, that a specific geometric shape type is assigned to:

• Polygons = outlines of streets, buildings, lakes, parks, forests…

• Lines = sections, flow direction arrows…

• Points = manholes, pumping stations…

Make sure you have previously copied the shapefiles into the sub-folder \Module\Map of the current WinCan project.

Next open Map from the quick access bar (1) and activate the command Home > Add Layer (2). Select the files with the extension SHP (3) in the dialogue box that follows and click on the button Open (4) to import them into the project. Multiple file selection is possible too:

Always check whether the shapefiles are available as a complete file group that must contain at least the following three files (highlighted in blue):

In order Map is able to correctly display an object layer the SHP file itself is NOT sufficient; the corresponding DBF as well as the SHX file are needed too!

 

In order the different layers precisely snap together they need to be geo-referenced (i.e. …calibrated with a coordinate system valid for a given region…). This job has to be done by the GIS manager (professional staff member of an engineer office or the local water authorities etc.).

Working with layers

After adding the shape files to a new project in Map they are shown as so called drawing or object layers that are precisely snapped to each other:

There is a fundamental difference between raster and vector layers. Raster layers are based on pixel data (i.e. photos). Satellite or aerial photos, scanned plots etc. are good examples for this type of layer. Raster layers can only be displayed properly within a defined zoom range. When zooming in close to an object every single pixel is simply enlarged and the picture will NOT be able to show you more detailed information.

When available as vector layers on the other hand the data can be described with geometric forms (i.e. vectors) like points, lines or polygons. Map is supporting different vector formats. Some of them are needed for data transfer (e.g. sewer object layers) whereas others just contain information for spatial orientation (e.g. outlines of streets, buildings, lakes, forests etc.). Zooming in close to an object of a vector layer will not create any loss of quality.

In order Map-VX is able to correctly display an object layer the SHP file itself is NOT sufficient; the corresponding DBF as well as the SHX file are needed too!

Changing the layer order

Select the layer from the legend and move it upward using the Drag&Drop functionality of the left mouse key: The displaced layer is thus covering those that lie underneath:

Removing layers

Select the command Remove layer in the context menu to the selected layer to remove it from the current Map project:

Modifying layer properties

The properties of each object layer can be modified in detail using the context menu command Show properties for the selected layer. The following pages focus on the most important setting categories (1) and their options (2) inside the properties dialogue that a user will usually apply in order to have the layers shown as needed for the pipe survey:

The sub-category LABEL allows the user to have the corresponding object shown on the MAP interface with the appropriate name.

Hitting the Plus button at the top left of the properties dialogue, the user may subdivide the objects of the current layer into different groups or classes and write the corresponding criteria like diameter, section type/usage, pipe material, construction year etc. Objects that match the criteria are then shown in specific colours and symbols which can also be displayed in the legend panel.

The following pages provide two examples how to write criteria (queries) correctly in order to have the section groups subdivided into different diameter or pipe material classes and shown accordingly on the MAP interface.

Example1: Show sections ordered by diameter class
Click on Sections (1) in the left part of the dialogue and hit the PLUS button (2) to add a new section (object group). Next write the criteria for the different diameter classes as shown in the sample below (3). Select colour and symbol (Line) that should represent the corresponding diameter class and choose a caption (Label) that describes the objects accordingly (4).

The Map interface finally shows each section in the specified color for the corresponding diameter class it belongs to:

You may save this type of section display as a so-called THEME for further use. Just right click on the section layer, hit the command Save Theme and type a sensible name for the new theme (e.g. Sections_DIAMETER).

Example2: Show sections grouped by pipe material
Click on Sections (1) in the left part of the dialogue and hit the PLUS button (2) to add a new section (object group): Next write the criteria for the different pipe materials as shown in the sample below (3). Select colour and symbol (Line) that should represent the corresponding material and choose a caption (Label) that describes the objects accordingly (4):

The Map interface finally shows each section in the specified color for the corresponding material.

You may save this type of section display as an additional THEME for further use and select a sensible name for the new theme (e.g. Sections_MATERIAL).

Navigation tools

Zooming in and zooming out the map view can easily be done with the mouse wheel. On the other hand the function group Navigate in the ribbon bar provides additional buttons to control the different map views:

1.) Click on this button to open the map overview panel: the spatial extent of the whole map project can thus be displayed in a small sized format below the legend. Simply zoom in the map within the main window to get the area actually visible on the map highlighted by a red frame in the overview panel. Then click on another location in the overview panel to get this area visualized on the map:

2.) Clicking this button is displaying the mouse pointer as a magnifier. The user is able now to draw a rectangle on the current map view to have it zoomed in directly to the extent of that selection.

3.) Move the current map view directly with the mouse within the map panel keeping the left mouse key pressed.

4.) Use the buttons Previous and Next to navigate among map views you have already zoomed to before.

5.) Hit this button to run the search dialogue below that provides a cleaned-up input mask for a quick object search:

6.) This button group contains three possibilities, how objects selected in WinCan should be shown and highlighted in Map (Select & Zoom, Select; Flash-up)

7.) This button is zooming the map view in a way ALL object layers are displayed in the map panel at their full extent.

8.) This button is zooming to the area that contains currently highlighted objects.

9.) This button is zooming the map view to the object layer currently hightlighted in the legend and displays it in the map panel at its full extent.

Show object data

The contents of the SHAPE files (i.e. geographic data) for sections and manholes can fast and easily be called up. Map-VX is therefore providing the following two possibilities:

1. Showing all data of a specified object layer via the context menu command Show data.

2. Show the data of selected objects of a specified layer hitting the button

The user may drag these additionally displayed data panels either somewhere on the MAP-VX interface (2) or pin it to one of the margins of the main window (1).

Looking for objects

Single sections or manholes as object layer elements can be found quickly when showing the data table to the corresponding layer (1). Focus on the column containing the unique section or manhole names, sort them either in the ascending or descending order (1) and highlight the record that you will find after scrolling down the sorted list (2).

Finally right click on the highlighted record and select the command Zoom to Shape (3): Map-VX will then zoom immediately to the corresponding object (section, manhole pumping station etc.) and show its location directly on the map (4):

If you already know the exact expression of a section or manhole attribute (e.g. name or number of the upstream/downstream manhole) you will be able to enter the value DIRECTLY in the dialogue shown below. Select the command Select, Select by Attribute to open the search panel:

Transfer object data into WinCan VX

Data transfer is one of the most important functionalities in Map-VX. Master data for pipe sections and manholes can be indicated quickly, simply and flawlessly when importing them directly from GIS systems which they are managed in. Subsequently typing errors are excluded and the operator can focus on the current survey job.

Via the button

the user can quickly access all GIS data linked to the selected object (pipe section or manhole) and therefore is able to detect the GIS fields containing data that eventually will have to be transferred to the pipe inspection software WinCan VX.

Field mapping

Before GIS-data can be transferred into WinCanVX, each GIS field needs to be mapped or assigned manually to the corresponding WinCan field. The most important section/manhole fields are listed below:

The manhole coordinates are transferred automatically from the SHAPE files and do not need to be included in the field mapping.

To start with the field mapping select an object layer and call up the menu command Home > WinCan > Edit Mapping:

The following page provides a sample of a standard mapping for the transfer of section and manhole data. Select the GIS field that matches the corresponding WinCan field in the right part and click on the button Add in order to set the field assignment in the left part of the dialogue box. The names of the WinCan fields are taken directly from the template used in the current project.

Especially note the field assignments highlighted in red that are mandatory for a successful transfer.

Field mapping sample for sections:

Field mapping sample for manholes:

Existing field mappings can be re-used for other projects. So simply select the corresponding file *wincan.xml.

Selecting and transferring objects

Choose a selection mode directly via the ribbon bar (e.g. circular selection) and highlight the objects to be transferred on the map (1).

To select objects separated from each other activate the point selection and keep the CTRL key pressed. The command Deselect All (2) discards every selection. The colour for the selected objects can always be customized via the command File > Settings > Map:

The data transfer from MAP is only possible if a new project has been created and opened in WinCan VX first. Next select the sections you want to have transferred into WinCan VX, right click somewhere on the map and hit the context menu command Selection to WinCan.

Check both options (1) in the dialogue box below, set the connection points direction to Downstream (2) and launch the data transfer (3). The progress finally is displayed in a separate information box:

Once the selected sewer objects have been transferred you may follow the inspection progress as this information is continuously updated and saved into the corresponding Map project vxproject.ttkproject, that is located in the project sub-folder \Modules\Map.

From now the data provided by the Map project (vxproject.ttkproject) are launched automatically as soon as the user hits the Map-button from the WinCan project that may already contain previously transferred data:

So the user is able to see at one glance the sections, which have already been transferred and are now ready to be inspected (1) and the sections yet to be transferred if ever needed (2).

Showing objects in Map

You can subsequently highlight any transferred record in WinCan VX and the software automatically jumps to the corresponding pipe section or manhole in Map:

Showing objects in WinCan VX

You may also highlight the objects in Map-VX first and have them shown in WinCan VX immediately. Mind that the button

is activated for that purpose.
Next select any section in Map-VX and WinCan VX highlights the corresponding record directly in the section overview of WinCan VX.

Showing filtered objects in WinCan VX or Map

All objects transferred to WinCan VX (pipe sections and manholes) can be highlighted and then filtered directly via MAP.

Highlight a section group in MAP for that purpose using the point selection tool and keeping the CTRL-key pressed. Next right click on the map area and select the context menu command Filter in WinCan:

The software then is going to filter the highlighted sections and shows you the result in WinCan VX:

Vice versa filtered sections in WinCan VX can easily and quickly be shown in Map-VX. Enter the desired criteria via the filter function of WinCan VX...

...and the software subsequently is going to highlight the filter result in Map-VX:

Show inspections in Map

Once all sections have been transferred from Map and inspected in WinCanVX, the observations for each section can be visualized at any time when hitting the Map-button.

Map directly shows the highlighted section (1) in WinCan VX. The blue circle (3) represents the current observation and jumps from one damage site to the next when scrolling up and down with the slider (3) in WinCan VX or switching to the next/previous observation line:

Edit object layers

Map allows the edition of all objects which have been transferred into WinCanVX and are shown accordingly on the Map interface So after finishing the survey of all transferred sections the operator will be able to export corrected or completed geographic data to the client (engineer offices, water authorities, construction officials etc.) who can directly import and thus easily update their GIS database.

New or existing objects can be drawn or moved inside the corresponding object layer within Map by means of the command group Tools > Edit in the ribbon bar:

1. This arrow button lists all commands for the edition of object layers.

2. This function is activating the edit mode for object layers.

3. This group is providing all the tools for drawing new objects (points = manholes; lines = sections; polygons = building outlines etc.).

4. This field is used to indicate which layer the previously drawn object should snap to: a manhole point thus should precisely snap to a section line or a reference line on the DXF-plot and vice versa.

The following chapters are going to describe in detail, what the operator must do, if he is going to discover a new object (e.g. manhole) or if he wants to change the position of and existing object or delete it from the map interface.

Creating new objects

In order to have new objects (e.g. manholes) created, Map provides two possibilities, that are described and illustrated in this sub-chapter:

Follow the steps below to draw new manholes directly on the map interface:

1.) Select the layer WinCan_Manholes.

2.) Hit the button Draw Point.

3.) Select the DXF-plot with the reference lines the new manhole should snap to.

4.) Go to the desired position on the DXF-plot and draw the manhole hitting the left mouse key.

5.) Enter the name for the new manhole in the dialogue that pops up and confirm it:

6.) The coordinates are taken directly from the DXF-plot and written into the coordinate fields in WinCanVX:

 

Follow the steps below to draw existing manholes on the map interface:

1.) Enter the manholes in WinCanVX, switch to Map and select the layer WinCan_Manholes.

2.) Hit the button Draw to get the drawing panel shown on the right of the Map interface (4) and activate the button Draw Point.

3.) Select the DXF-plot with the reference lines the new manhole should snap to.

4.) Go to the drawing panel, activate the tab Manholes and grab an existing manhole from the list.

5.) Go to the desired position on the DXF-plot and draw the manhole hitting the left mouse key.

6.) Confirm the manhole position in the dialogue box that follows:

7.) The coordinates are taken directly from the DXF-plot and written into the coordinate fields in WinCanVX:

Displacing or deleting existing objects

The following example shows how one can displace or delete an existing manhole on the map:

1.) Select the layer WinCan_Manholes in the legend

2.) Go to Tools > Edit and select the corresponding DXF-layer (2) the manhole should snap to from the list box:

3.) Hit the function button Home > WinCan > Shift.

4.) Click directly on the manhole to be displaced, drag it to the desired position (4) keeping the left mouse key pressed. The manhole is then highlighted with a red circle representing the edit mode.

5.) Release the left mouse key as soon as a red cross highlights the desired position the manhole should snap to.

Mind that Map does not automatically drag a linked section line to the new location of the manhole. So you have to repeat the steps above and move the section to the new manhole position making sure the section line snaps to the layer WinCan_Manholes.

In order to delete an object, select the corresponding WinCan layer (1), activate one of the selection tools (e.g. Home > Select > Point) and click on the object to be deleted (2). Next switch to Tools > Draw > Delete Shape (3):

Modifying the geometry of existing pipe sections

WinCan Map draws a section always as a straight line per default. When the operator has to enter a pipe bend at a given position, the corresponding observation will appear on the inspection protocol, but Map still shows it as an observation point on a straight line.

In order to have pipe bends shown on the Map as close to reality as possible, you can edit the section and re-draw the pipe course taking the objects of the background plot as a reference. The steps below describe in detail how you must proceed:

1.) Highlight the layer WinCan_Sections on the legend.

2.) Select the section whose course you want to re-draw.

3.) Activate the command Tools > Edit Shape.

4.) Grab the section at a specific position (e.g. observation point describing a pipe bend) and put it to the desired location via Drag & Drop. You can either confirm or decline this change via the context menu command End edit or Undo edit:

5.) Repeat the last step as many times as you want in order to displace further section points.

6.) Hit the context menu command End edit to confirm the new pipe course or hit Undo edit to decline all changes and reset the section line.

This finally gets the pipe bend represented on the background map as close to reality as possible:

In case the result is not satisfying it is always possible later on to reset all the edits you previously did using the command Home > WinCan > Reset transformation. So the pipe course you have modified manually again becomes a straight line:

Measuring distance between two reference points

In case you need to verify a section length, you can directly measure the distance between two manholes using the ruler tool (1). Just click on a start point (2) and drag a line to the end point (3). The distance is continuously calculated and displayed in the value field (4).

Right click once on the endpoint and again on a blank spot on the map to stop the measurement:

Getting manhole positions via GPS receiver

The map section can also be coupled with a GPS device (GPS = Global Positioning System). For that purpose a GPS device compatible to the standard NMEA 0183 has to send the current position constantly to the COM port of the computer it is connected to.

Hit the button GPS Settings (1) to make appropriate settings in the working panel (2) which subsequently pops up:

Specify which coordinate system the GPS device would need to refer to for the output of the position data. Make sure you have selected a coordinate system which is valid for your country or your region (e.g. Australia, NSW: GDA 94 MGA 55 Zone; EPSG=28355).

Once the GPS device has been set correctly the operator is going to the spot where the manhole is located and is reading in the position data received directly by the device at that specific location.

Setting manhole positions with reference circles

In case a GPS device is missing or providing inaccurate position information the exact manhole position can also be calculated with 2 reference circles. If the aforementioned manhole has not been drawn on the plan you will have to measure the distance between a known start point (e.g. building corner) and the real manhole position.

Subsequently create a new polygon layer (e.g. MH_ReferenceCircles.shp (1)) and draw the required 2 reference circles using the button

as shown below. The centre of the circle always corresponds to the start point of the distance measurement (1a and 1b) and the radius is always equal to the previously measured distance between start point and manhole:

Finally switch to the manhole layer (2), add the missing manhole with the button

at the intersection point of the two circle lines (3) and note that the new manhole must precisely snap to the layer MH_ReferenceCircles (i.e. the intersection point).

Using map tiles from an external service provider

For better spatial orientation a geo-referenced satellite image can be used as a background layer and move the project data perfectly to the corresponding geographic region.

In most cases such map data are not provided by end customers, so Map allows the user to connect to the well-known external service Google Maps.

First run the command File > Projection System to open a list of all worldwide used coordinate systems (projection systems) among which you will also find the one valid for that region where the current pipeline network is located:

The list box depicted above shows a group of coordinate systems which are valid for Australia.

Information about the currently used projection system can be obtained from the properties dialogue of the original SHAPE layers:

If the projection system which the manhole and pipeline layers are based on is unknown, you will have to ask the engineer office for the EPSG code of the correct projection system.

Next select the tab command Tools > Tiles that opens a working panel on the right side of the main screen. The user is able now to access directly to the map material provided by the file server of Google Maps. Therefore select the map style (1) before you click on the button Add Layer (2):

WinCan Map will zoom the background layer directly to the spot where the pipeline network is located:

Mind that you will need a powerful internet connection to make full use of the Google Maps service.

Visualizing Map topics (predefined queries)

Open WinCan VX and select the command Home > Settings > Thematic maps. Assign a Map topic of your choice to each predefined VX query:

The user will be able from now to call up the chosen topic in WinCan VX for the current project when selecting the corresponding query listed in WinCan Analyst > GIS query. There are currently 8 topics available which are briefly described below:

1. Classification of damage (DamageClassification): Displaying and labelling all sections according to their damage classification using default colours.

2. Inspection progress (InspectedUninspected): Query for the inspection progress. WinCan VX handles a section as inspected as soon as it contains at least 2 observations.

3. Pipe material (material): Displaying and labelling all sections according to their pipe material using default colours (concrete, PVC, steel, etc.)

4. Purpose of the pipe line (pollution type):Displaying and labelling all sections according to their purpose (waste water, rainwater, mixed water etc.).

5. Pipe profiles (profiles): Displaying and labelling all sections according to their profile (circle, egg, rectangle mouth etc.).

6. Type of pipe line (type of pipes/nodes): Displaying and labelling of all main and lateral pipes (house connections).

7. Protection zones (water protection zones): Displaying and labelling the location of all pipe lines regarding to water protection zones.

8. Year of construction (year built): Displaying and labelling all sections according to their year of construction using default colours.

Thermographic visualization of object density

The objects or damage images of the project can be illustrated according to their density as thermographic image. Red is representing areas on the map with high, Blue those with a low object or event density.

First select the layer (e.g. observations/damage sites) whose object density you want to show on the map (1) and click on the command Home > Heat Map. In the subsequent dialogue window you must set the size of the field grid as well as the search radius [m]:

In case the colour gradients should be displayed rather smoothly choose a small area grid which however should be at least 2 m. The display of areas with even smaller grid sizes takes much more time and is recommended only on computers with appropriate CPU power and memory size (core i5, 8GByte of RAM, 64 bit operating system).

Printing data

The geographic data can be printed directly in Map-VX where you may choose among four built-in printing templates. The print-out is done via the command Tools > Output > Print.

In the following dialogue box the user can finally specify the extent of the map section to be printed. Hitting the button Visible (1) returns a print preview of the currently visible area in WinCan Map, the button Output (2) zooms the preview to the predefined output area.

 

The field Select Template allows the user to choose among up to four predefined printing layouts:

Hit the button Edit Text to write yourself a map title and select the template WithLegend to include the legend in the printout.