ArcPad™ Technical Notes

20-July-2000
This document contains additional technical notes related to the 5.0.1 release of ArcPad.

ArcPad Forms

ArcPad Form Control Parameter Keywords

The following table lists the keywords recognised as parameters for controls in an ArcPad Form Definition file (.APF).
 
Control Type / Keyword Parameter Type L
A
B
E
L		 E
D
I
T		 C
H
E
C
K
B
O
X
 		 C
O
M
B
O
B
O
X		 D
A
T
E
T
I
M
E
Position X Y (Dialog Units) X X X X X
Size W H (Dialog Units) X X X X X
Text Text X   X    
Style Integer * * * * *
ExtendedStyle Integer * * * * *
FieldName Text   X X X X
Format Text         X
Values Text ';' delimited or @filename.dbf       X  
Sort Boolean       X  
UpperCase Boolean   X   X  
Lowercase Boolean   X   X  
LimitToList Boolean       X  
MultiLine Boolean   X      
ReadOnly Boolean   X X X X
RightButton Boolean     X    
Align C,L,R X X X    
Help Text X X X X X
VScroll Boolean   X      
HScroll Boolean   X      
InputType ALL,INTEGER,REAL   X      
AllowNulls Boolean         X
Required Boolean   X   X X
             

Note: The Style and ExtendedStyle parameters should not be utilised under normal circumstances. These values are dependant on the specific control type and may result in unexpected behaviour.

Data Types

Data Type Acceptable Values
Boolean True or False

Dialog Units

ArcPad form control size and position units are measured in Dialog Units. Dialog units are the average width and height of characters in the system font. Further information on Dialog units can be found in the Windows® API documentation for the  GetDialogUnits API.

ArcPad Symbology

ArcPad Symbol Parameter Keywords

The following table lists the keywords recognised as parameters for symbols in an ArcPad Symbology Definition file (.APS).
 
Symbol Type / Keyword Parameter Type P
o
i
n
t		 A
r
c		 P
o
l
y
g
o
n
Value Text X X X
Label Text X X X
Color Color X X X
BackgroundColor Color X
OutlineStyle Integer (0=Solid, 1=Dash) X
OutlineColor Color X
OutlineWidth Integer (pixels) 0=Thinnest X
IsOutlined Boolean X
LineStyle Integer (0=Solid, 1=Dash) X
LineWidth Integer (pixels) 0=Thinnest X
Font Text X
Character Integer X
Size Float (Points) X
Angle Float (Degrees counter clockwise from horizontal) X
FillStyle EMPTY,SOLID,STIPPLE,OPAQUESTIPPLE X
StippleBits Text (Hexadecimal 8x8 mono bitmap pattern) X
Data Type Acceptable Values
Color 6 digit hexadecimal RGB color value

GPS

Standard NMEA Sentences Recognized by ArcPad

$GPRMC Recommended Minimum Specific GPS/TRANSIT Data
$GPGSV GPS Satellites in View
$GPGGA Global Positioning System Fix Data
$GPGLL Geographic Position - Latitude/Longitude
$GPGSA GPS DOP and Active Satellites
$GPVTG Course Over Ground and Ground Speed
$GPZDA Time and Date
$GPRRE Range Residual Errors
$SDDPT Depth
$SDMTW Water Temperature

Note: Other manufacturer proprietary sentences may also be recognised depending on the device model.

Trimble® GPS

TSIP Packets Recognized by ArcPad

0x41 GPS Time
0x42 XYZ ECEF, single precision
0x43 Velocity XYZ ECF
0x44 Satellite selection
0x45 Software version
0x46 Health of reciever
0x47 Signal levels for all satellites tracked
0x4A Single precision LLA
0x4B Machine code/status
0x56 Velocity fix (ENU)
0x5C Satellite tracking status
0x6D All in view satellite selection
0x82 Differential status
0x83 XYZ ECEF, double precision
0x84 Double precision LLA

TSIP Packets Send By ArcPad to GPS device

0x24 Request GPS Receiver Position Fix Mode
0x27 Request Signal Levels
0x3C Request Tracking Status

Magellan® GPS Models that are believed to be compatible with ArcPad

Meridian XL
Trailblazer XL
GPS 2000XL
GPS 3000XL
NAV 6000
SkyStar
MAP 410
GPS 315/320
ColorTrak
Tracker

Command Line Options

The PC version of ArcPad supports the following command line options.
 
/SIZE=n Force window frame to a fixed size. Eg. /SIZE=0 would force ArcPad to be limited to screen size of a typical Palm Size device. Fixed window sizes 
n Resolution Comments
0 240 x 320 1/4 VGA - Palm Size
1 640 x 240
2 640 x 200
3 640 x 240 1/2 VGA
4 640 x 480 VGA
5 800 x 600 Super VGA
/SKIN=filename Replace window frame with skin specifed by filename. eg /SKIN=IPAQ

Command line options can be specified by starting ArcPad from a command prompt window or more commonly from the Run... command found in the Windows Start menu. Eg. in the Run window you might enter the command :

 "c:\esri\arcpad 5.0\arcpad" /skin=ipaq

Skins

ArcPad skins are very easily created using a standard Windows Bitmap file (.BMP) and a simple corresponding skin definition file (.SKN). Both files must have the same file name. eg IPAQ.BMP and IPAQ.SKN.

The Windows Bitmap file must have the extension .BMP and is usually a 8 or 24 bit format. Although almost any image in Windows Bitmap can be used as a skin, a convenient way of creating your own is scan your Pocket PC/Windows CE device using a desktop image scanner. Setting your scanning resolution to 100 DPI (dots per inch) is recommended for best results. Other resolutions will also work but might result in the skin image size either too large or too small.

For ArcPad to understand how to use the skin image, a corresponding skin definition is required. The skin definition must have the file extension .SKN. The skin definition is a simple text file easily created using a text editor such a NOTEPAD. The contents of the file should appear as below :- 

[ArcPad Skin]
HorzOffset=57
VertOffset=63
HorzRes=240
VertRes=320
The values specified for HorzOffset and VertOffset are the offsets in pixels from the top left corner of the skin image to the screen area where ArcPad will be shown. You may need to experiment with these values so that ArcPad appears in the correct location on the skin image.

The values for HorzRes and VertRes specify the screen area size in pixels to which the size to ArcPad which be limited. These values would normally correspond to the actual resolution of the device which the skin image represents. Eg. 240 and 320 respectively for a Palm Size device.