Starting with TerraAmazon

To start using TerraAmazon for the very first time, execute the installation package (go to Installation). So far, TerraAmazon is available only for Microsoft Windows® OS, Linux and Mac OS. Follow the steps to set the destination folder and other installation options, such as PlugIns and Tutorials.

The installation process is very simple. However, a DBMS must also be installed and a client-server environment configured. On a corporate environment, the DBSM should be installed on the server machine, while the local computer should have TerraAmazon installed.

It is possible to have both DBMS and TerraAmazon running locally, that is, in the same computer.

This manual was developed using the free open source DBMS PostgreSQL (www.postgres.org). TerraAmazon is not related with PostgreSQL.

TerraAmazon is pen tablet friendly.


Presenting the Main Interface

The following figure presents the main interface. It has five main areas:

  • Map Display: The map display is the drawing area used by TerraAmazon to render layers checked on the Layer Explorer.

  • Layer Explorer: The layer explorer is a tree used to represent all layers added to the current workspace.

  • Menu Bar: The Menu Bar provides access to several TerraAmazon features.

  • Tool Bar: TerraAmazon is initially composed of a set of shortcuts to access the main features.

  • Status Bar: The status bar is used to display auxiliary information, such as the mouse coordinates on the map display, map display SRID and a progress bar that represents the progress of drawing operations running.

Other elements can be docked in the application such as:

  • Data Table: It shows a table with the attributes associated with the selected layer and offers some functionalities over the table.

  • Style Explorer: It is an interface that allows you to change the style (color, symbol, etc) of the representation (line, polygon, point, raster) associated with the selected layer.

Administrator Roles

Administrator roles are defined in two different natures: the activities required by the system, such as setting the client-server environment, elaborating and configuring projects, creating users and managing the entire database; and the activities related to producing data, such as performing spatial operations between data and managing all data as needed in each situation.

This User´s Guide presents the use of every interface involved in the activities required by the system. However, the activities related to producing data are determined by each situation and are not the objective of this document.

The following scheme presents the basic groups of administrator roles.

Box 1: installation of the DBMS on the server and TerraAmazon on the client machine. To work on the local computer, both DBMS and TerraAmazon must be installed in the same machine. This procedure is done only at the first use of the system. After that, it will only be necessary on eventual maintenance procedures, such as changing the operational system and updating TerraAmazon.

Box 2: database elaboration stage. This involves the development of a plan for the project execution, defining the necessary steps to bring the raw data to the final product and other details, such as defining the working projection and other particularities according to each case. This is not part of the objectives of this User´s Guide. Nevertheless, the administrator user should find all the information needed for project elaboration distributed along this document.

Box 3: postgis database creation and connection. See more on the next scheme.

Box 4: all procedures that should be done before actually creating a project, such as populating the database with raw data, creating working layers and configuring the base structure for projects. See more on the next scheme.

Box 5: creation of user names in the database and all user related procedures. See more on the next scheme.

Box 6: project creation and all project related configurations. See more on the next scheme.

Box 7: all procedures required along the execution of the project. These procedures will be determined by each situation and the choice of which one to use is also an administrator role. However, it is not part of the objectives of this User´s Guide. Nevertheless, the administrator user should find all the information needed for choosing the best procedure distributed along this document.

Box 8: final procedures, such as cleaning output layers, removing unnecessary columns on attribute tables and all procedures related to preparing final data for delivery. They are determined by each situation and the identification of the necessary procedures is also an administrator role. However, it is not part of the objectives of this User´s Guide. Nevertheless, the administrator user should find all the information needed for choosing the best procedures distributed along this document.

The next scheme expands the contents of boxes 3 to 6.

This map has a main line of procedures that must be executed in a sequence from the top to the bottom, but also has non-sequential groups of procedures that can be executed and re-executed at any time after the step 3b. For example, it is possible to create layers (box 4c), then create classes (box 4g), then create user groups (box 5b), then define an Interest Area (box 4e) and so on; but it is not possible to define an Interest Area before creating layer (or importing data, boxes 4a and 4b), nor create a project (box 6a) before having the conceptual model (box 3b).

There are also some optional steps that may be executed or ignored if unnecessary.

Operator Roles

Operator roles are the activities involved in or related to the vectorial edition process. Some of these activities are personal setups, some are procedures required by the system in order to enable the vectorial edition. The Operator User should dominate these procedures.

The personal setups can be made, changed or unmade at any time without any dependence of an Administrator User (except for providing the user with access to the database). However, to perform the procedures required by the system it is necessary that an Administrator User previously elaborates the entire project structure and provides the Operator User the necessary information for the job.

This User´s Guide presents the personal setups and the procedures required by the system to enable vectorial edition.

The following scheme presents the basic groups of operator roles.

There are several other procedures that Operator Users are able to do, such as most of the spatial operations with vector data and DIP procedures (through the available DIP plugin), such as register and histogram manipulations and so on.

The Operator User may also import and export both raster and vector data at any time.

However, these procedures are not listed as being part of the roles of a specific type of user within TerraAmazon´s user model. That is, TerraAmazon does not require privileges of Operator or Administrator users to enable such activities. Being so, describing these procedures is not within the objectives of this document.