RE: basemap issues

[Greg Knight <GKnight@PLANT.MIT.EDU>]

>> GK:  can you group all the components of the building somehow
>> into the same building number?   that would allow us to fetch
>> the floorplans (for example, for building 14) and match them
>> to the union of all contours for that building, something 
>> which we can't currently do.

there's some crazy history here with regards to how some building wings were
named (well before my time here - i just inherited the madness).  in many
cases this had to do with limitations of the software at the time.  im not
sure i fully understand the problem here with W85 (each of these building
components have their own name and stand alone as a separate building - both
in the database and as graphical floorplans). building 14 is another story
however, and we're considering eliminating the wing designations in this
building (although its a little more complicated than it appears on the
surface).  in any case, id suggest we put this one on the agenda for a
future meeting so i can better understand the problem and help you work
towards a solution.

>> we bind numbers to floorplan contours by looking for that
>> contour which contains the "origin" of the name string.
>> it appears autocad places that origin at the lower left
>> of the string.  in some cases this is outside the building
>> outline.  can you move the strings so that their lower left
>> lies inside the building?  or somehow indicate to us the
>> coordinates of the string center?

i can sympathize with you here, however i cannot promise you that the
building labels will always be inside the building footprint.  four our
purposes, this isnt always feasible from a graphical standpoint.  if you can
read extended entity data in the dxf file i might offer you another
solution.  i can attach the building numbers to the foorprints (polylines)
as EED so that there would be no question about a given footprint's
identity.

>> which layer do skywalks live in?  is it worth thinking
>> about making a named layer for these?

there are 2 building outline layers in the basemap. their names and
descriptions are as follows:

the polylines on layer 'c-bldg-otln' are the 'overall' building outline.
these polylines connect multiple adjacent buildings with the same closed
polyline.  these polylines include any building connectors that might be
encountered (eg. bridges like 66/68 or ground-level connectors like 56/66)
the polylines on later 'c-bldg' are the individual building footprints.
these are the polylines that most closely match the building floorplans.
(in a perfect world theyd match exactly, but...)

so, to answer your question bridges do not presently have their own distinct
layer. however, this is something we'd consider.

>> what is DOF's policy on modeling frats on campus?  off campus?

im a little confused here.  are you referring to w51 itself or the
fraternity directly across endicott street?  if a building has a number it
is part of mits academic portfolio (like w51) - and may be either owned or
leased. we maintain floorplans for all the buildings in our academic
portfolio and we map them on the c-bldg/c-bldg-otln laters.  we dont
maintain floorplans or any other information for buildings that arent in our
academic portfolio (like frats), however we do map these buildings on the
c-bldg-othr later.    there is no policy that im aware of outside that fact.

>> in the case of building 14, there are no floorplans posted
>> separately for 14A, 14B, etc.  but in the case of W61, there
>> are separate floorplans posted.  we should make everything
>> consistent so that a named outline exists on the basemap if
>> and only if a set of floorplans corresponding to that name 
>> exists as dxf.  is this possible?

w61 is a mess. see the answer to your first question.  again, i think this
one is better handled in person.

hope this helps.

greg