Kelar Corporation. Leaseline Management Application (LMA)

Transcription

1 Kelar Corporation Leaseline Management Application (LMA) Overview LMA is an ObjectARX application for AutoCAD Map software. It is designed to add intelligence to the space management drawings associated with buildings & facilities. The primary purpose of this software is to handle various modifications of space geometry and attributes for facilities in an orderly fashion. LMA provides and maintains linkages between graphical representations of these spaces with database tables containing non-graphical space attributes. Data is maintained on both sides of these linkages in a synchronized form. Therefore, any change on one side will affect information on the other side of these data links. LMA produces intelligent maps that can be viewed (and/or printed) via a web browser without any other software requirement. Due to its nature, LMA is an application developed to function under the AutoCAD domain. Once installed, it becomes an extension of the AutoCAD software; it performs in the same general format as most of the other AutoCAD features. As such, the user interface is intuitive for AutoCAD users. System Requirements The system requirements for LMA are the same as the ones for the AutoCAD software. There is no additional system requirement for installation and running of LMA other than those that are required for AutoCAD Map. LMA requires AutoCAD Map software to be installed and operational before it can be installed on a system. LMA Terms and Concepts The following list of terms and concepts are used throughout this document: Lease-lines The collection of lines, and polylines identifying the boundaries of spaces or parcels. Space Attributes Textual data associated with a space object. Such information usually describes non-spatial data elements such as description, or the usage category of a space.

2 Space Identifier(s) Each space must be uniquely identifiable within the collection (database) of spaces in all floors of all facilities. Space Schedule A table showing the description, area, and other relevant space attributes on the drawing. Publishing The creation of two types of data files viewable in a browser, without using AutoCAD or creation of explicit database connectivity. These files are primarily used for viewing purpose. They are intended for viewing by casual users. Database Connectivity A link established between every space and an external database record. The unique space identifier(s) allow the creation of such links. Overview of LMA Features LMA features allow creation and modification of space management drawings through connectivity of intelligent geometric objects (standard AutoCAD Lines, Polylines, or Polygons converted by LMA to intelligent space-boundary-lines ) on the drawing to an external database. This intelligence allows the modification of the lease-lines, through standard AutoCAD editing commands (e.g., MOVE, ERASE, etc.), which transparently results in updating of the connected database record(s) field values. LMA can automatically add intelligence to existing space-boundary-lines of any AutoCAD drawing. Furthermore, LMA can automatically create a link for each space to an existing record of the database or create a new record and populate its relevant fields with geometric information extracted from the drawing (e.g., Area, Centroid location, etc.). LMA functions do not replace and / or disable any of the standard AutoCAD capabilities. As such, the drawings are created and maintained through standard AutoCAD commands. Space-boundary-lines are the only drawing entities that are controlled by LMA. LMA can create two forms of vector-based drawing to be viewed in a browser for users who are interested in read-only version of these drawings. First a DWF file format can be generated for each drawing, which is an exact representation of the original drawing plotted on paper. Second, multiple SDF files can be generated from each drawing to be incorporated into Autodesk MapGuide. These SDF files are tagged with unique identifiers for each space. Drawing and Database Connectivity Concept Space management drawings contain two distinctive types of data, namely, geometric and nongeometric attributes. Geometric attributes depict the space boundaries as well as walls and other physical characteristics of the property. Geometric data is dependent on the definitions of these boundaries such as Area, perimeter, Centroid, etc. As Such, these attributes (e.g., area) cannot be modified directly; rather

3 they are derived from the geometric definitions of the property. The geometric data is stored in individual AutoCAD data files for each lease exhibit drawing. Non-geometric attributes are representing information related to a physical property such as its permitted use, occupant, etc. These attributes are independent of the geometric features of the property. As such, they can be changed without altering the physical location of boundaries. While AutoCAD drawing files can contain non-geometric attributes, it is not the ideal method of storing this type of data when multiple drawings are created. Alternatively, this data should be stored in an external database, such as MS-Access, MS-SQL, or Oracle. There are several advantages with the external database method. First, The size of the drawing file does not increase as the number of non-geometric attributes increases. Second, The external database can be used by other application for modifications (e.g., space description changes) or querying based on various criteria and creating reports (e.g., a report showing all available office spaces in a building). In order to relate the geometric objects (e.g., a space or a line) to an external database, one needs to create and maintain a database link between the drawing entities and one record in a table of the database. The database connectivity is accomplished at the space level in each drawing. Each space is connected to a unique record in a table of space characteristics. Figure 2.2 illustrates the approach used in establishing this connection between the drawing geometry and the external database records. The spaces are uniquely identified by their room / space number or in absence of a specific address, a Sheet Number, Space Number and Revision Number variables. LMA Drawing Requirements Drawing Database Connectivity In order to automatically add the geometric intelligence and create database connectivity of the spaces, following drawing requirements must be met: Use a common CAD standard

4 Identify all space boundaries in a single layer via Lines, Polylines, or Polygons (LMA will convert them to intelligent space-boundary-lines ) Identify each space by inserting a unique tag (e.g. an AutoCAD Block with a attribute) within the space boundaries External Data Source LMA can work with any open database architecture systems such as Microsoft Access, SQL server, and Oracle just to name a few. Depending on you data requirements, you can use from MS-Access (low-end) to Oracle database Server (high-end). LMA can connect to any of these databases using the following methods: 1. ODBC connection 2. OLE DB connection 3. Remote Data Source connection Database Schema Unlike most database applications, LMA database schema requirements are flexible and do not require specific table names and fields names. Instead, LMA is configured (via LMA.INI file) to work with any table name and field name for it s various data requirements. Any database, which contains this information, can be configured to work with LMA. The table names and field names can be different. There could be other tables in the database, which are not needed by LMA, which are used by other applications. There could even be additional fields in these tables, which are not used by LMA. This flexibility allows any type of data source and database schema to be used with LMA. Following is a list of tables needed by LMA: 1. Facility This table contains a list of different facilities. 2. Building This table contains a list of all buildings. Each building is linked to the proper airport allowing the building to be identified for a given airport. 3. Floor This table is a list of all floors for every building of every airport. Each floor is linked to its proper building. 4. Property This table is a list of all spaces identified on every floor of every building of every airport. Each space is linked to its proper floor. 5. SpaceType This table contains a list of various space usage (e.g., Airline Exclusive, Public, Void, etc.) 6. SpaceKind This table contains a list of different physical spaces (e.g., Covered area, Open Land, Roof, etc.)

5 7. StandardDesc This table contains a list of standard description used to label an individual space (e.g., Hold room, Baggage area, etc.). These descriptions are independent of the space occupant. 8. Occupant This table contains a list of all companies, which could occupy an individual space. 9. The complete description of a space is made of standard description and its occupant. For example, an office (standard description) occupied by the Accounting Department would have the following description: Office Accounting Department The database schema is defined in the LMA.INI file. Following is an example of how to define the Floor table schema for LMA: [Table-Floor] Name=FLOOR ColKey=FLOORID ColName=NAME ColBuildingID=BUILDINGID (Section name) (Table Name) (Floor table Primary key) (Floor name) (Building index of this floor) You can modify the values to the right of the equal sign to match the values of the database. For more information or to arrange for a demonstration of the LMA software please contact: Ed Maghboul Kelar Corporation Phone: Fax: ed.maghboul@kelar.com