markupdb files

Alan,

At this time, the Bentley Map extension that provides the ability to reference attach a Bentley Map Mobile redline (.markupdb) file does not support access to the embedded media.

Later this year, we plan to release a new "Bentley Map Mobile - Markup Explorer" that runs inside a Bentley Map session as well as outside as a Windows standalone application. It not only provides access to the embedded media, but adds bi-directional search and geo-locate functionality for the .markupdb vector redline and embedded media data.

Until then, you must use Bentley Map Mobile on any of the available platforms to view the embedded media, where the .imodel and .markupdb files have the same base filename (e.g. MyData.imodel and MyData.markupdb).

If you've an immediate need to access the embedded media, please contact me directly offline to discuss potential alternatives.

Thanks Jeff.
"Bentley Map Mobile - Markup Explorer" sounds interesting.
Are you able to share some of the other functionality that will/may be included?
A couple we'd find useful would be a) for Publisher to obey Level Symbology within the form interface b) for Publisher to be able to limit plot areas by fence within the form interface c) to be able to optionally password protect the published I-model file within the form interface d) to be able to set expiry dates for the published I-model file within the form interface e) to be able to more easily control the resolution of background photography in the published i-model from within the form interface. How this works seems somewhat vague at the moment as a configuration variable has to be set externally which appears to be some sort of 'quality factor' between 1 and 4095. In our case to generate a typical I-model can take 20 minutes so even testing this is time consuming. f) in redlining it would be nice to be able to choose from a larger palette of placement symbols than the 16 available g) background photography at a reasonable resolution can cause various problems and as a minimum blows out I-model file dramatically. It would be wonderful if the I-model had the option of being able to use Google Earth/Maps as optional bases so these don't need to be packaged in the actual I-model file.

Thank you.

Alan,

As always, your feedback is welcomed.

The previously mentioned "Bentley Map Mobile - Markup Explorer" will include a standalone Windows application and Bentley Map add-in, providing users the ability to search, sort, group, view, extract, report and other actions with media attachments. When running the "Bentley Map Mobile - Markup Explorer" as an add-in inside of Bentley Map, users will be able to perform operations like show all media attached to redline elements within a given view, fence or currently selected element(s). In addition, a user can search for media using filename, description, date etc… and then locate the redline elements based upon the selected search results. In summary, users will be able to 1) select a redline element and view attached media or 2) view media and find redline elements. When media is attached to a redline layer or redline element, the user interface provides a thumbnail or list view of the media files.

I offer the following additional comments on the requested Bentley Map Mobile Publisher and Bentley Map Mobile functionality:

1. Honor existing "Level Symbology" settings using the Bentley Map Mobile Publisher user interface.
   
   "At this time, we've received few requests for this capability. If other users can comment on their need for the same, we can consider raising the priority of such capability. For now, the solution is to make use of the Bentley Map Mobile Converter command line application along with an XML configuration file which provides among other things, the ability to override symbology of graphic elements. By doing so, one or more design files can be used to produce a single Bentley Map Mobile i-model with symbology for specific workflow needs."
   
   
2. Limit plot areas by fence using the Bentley Map Mobile Publisher user interface.
   
   "As mentioned in this discussion, the current Bentley Map Mobile Publisher process is similar to "File > Save As..." in that the entire extent of the data is included, with the only difference being the ability to enable/disable feature class selection. Again, use of the Bentley Map Mobile Converter command line application with an XML configuration is currently recommended to apply spatial filters, using Views or Ranges."
   
   
3. Optionally password protect the published i-model file using the Bentley Map Mobile Publisher user interface.
   
   "We do plan to add this capability in future Bentley Map Mobile, Bentley Map Mobile Publisher and Bentley Map Mobile Converter releases."
   
   
4. Set expiry dates for the published i-model file using the Bentley Map Mobile Publisher user interface.
   
   "This request is under consideration for a future Bentley Map Mobile Publisher release. For now, you must use either MAPMOBILEPUBLISHER_EXPIRY_DATE or MAPMOBILEPUBLISHER_EXPIRES_IN configuration variables as described here."
   
   
5. Easily control the resolution of background photography in the published i-model using the Bentley Map Mobile Publisher user interface.
   
   "This request is also under consideration for a future Bentley Map Mobile Publisher release. For now, you must use the MS_RASTER_DOWNSAMPLING_PREFSIZE_FORIMODEL configuration variable as described here. We are also aware of the time consuming nature of downsampling and packaging of the raster data in the i-model for offline use. In future releases of Bentley Map Mobile, you will have the ability to place copies of the original raster image file(s) on the mobile device for use by Bentley Map Mobile, with one or more i-models. This will eliminate the downsampling and provide original image resolution."
   
   
6. For Bentley Map Mobile redlining, it would be nice to be able to choose from a larger palette of placement symbols than the 16 available.
   
   "We have plans to provide Bentley Map Mobile users the ability to publish and use their own custom symbols, potentially taken from one or more cell libraries or symbol font resource files."
   
   
7. In Bentley Map Mobile, background photography at a reasonable resolution can cause various problems and as a minimum blows out i-model file dramatically. It would be wonderful if the i-model had the option of being able to use Google Earth/Maps as optional bases so these don't need to be packaged in the actual i-model file.
   
   "The ability to use various map streaming services (when connected) is under consideration for upcoming Bentley Map Mobile releases."

Although I cannot provide expected delivery dates for specific enhancements mentioned above, please let me know if you've other questions or feedback regarding planned functional improvements.

Thanks Jeff.
Very helpful as always.
:-)