Geographic Information System Software to Enhance 

Field-Data Collection and Management of Land Cover 

Trends Information 

By Nathan Wood, Benjamin Sleeter, and Peter Ng 

Techniques and Methods 11-C1 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

U.S. Geological Survey 
U.S. Department of the Interior 

DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Secretary 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Mark D. Myers, Director 

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia 2006 

For product and ordering information: 

World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod 

Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS 

For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, 

its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment: 

World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov 

Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS 

Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply 

endorsement by the U.S. Government. 

Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual 

copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted material contained within this report. 

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Contents

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 1

Purpose and Scope .......................................................................................................................................... 2

Land Cover Trends Extension............................................................................................................................. 2

Overview............................................................................................................................................................. 2

Installation.......................................................................................................................................................... 3

Trends Toolbar .................................................................................................................................................. 7

Database Setup................................................................................................................................................. 8

ArcMap Project Setup ................................................................................................................................... 11

Waypoint Entry and Editing........................................................................................................................... 12

Adding a Media Reference........................................................................................................................... 14

Displaying the Final Field Report.................................................................................................................. 16

Added Functionality of a Tablet PC ................................................................................................................. 17

Summary .............................................................................................................................................................. 23

Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................................................. 23

References Cited ................................................................................................................................................ 23

Figures 

Figure 1. Welcome to the Trends Extension Setup Wizard dialog box........................................................ 4 

Figure 2. Select Installation Folder dialog box. ................................................................................................ 5 

Figure 3. Confirm Installation dialog box. .......................................................................................................... 6 

Figure 4. Installation Complete dialog box. ....................................................................................................... 7 

Figure 5. USGS Trends Tools toolbar. ................................................................................................................ 8 

Figure 6. Setup Trends Database dialog box.................................................................................................... 9 

Figure 7. Load Ecoregion Data dialog box......................................................................................................... 9 

Figure 8. Manage Ecoregion dialog box.......................................................................................................... 10 

Figure 9. ArcMap project with Land Cover Trends extension. The extension zooms to a block 

identified in the Land Cover Trends toolbar, in this case block 310 of Ecoregion 6.. .......................... 11 

Figure 10. Waypoint Editing dialog box............................................................................................................ 13 

Figure 11. Add/Edit Media Reference dialog box. ......................................................................................... 15 

Figure 12. Report Creation dialog box.............................................................................................................. 17 

Figure 13. Crystal Reports Viewer .................................................................................................................... 17 

Figure 14. Opening the Microsoft Tablet PC input panel.............................................................................. 19 

Figure 15. Input panel for Tablet PC. ................................................................................................................ 20 

Figure 16. Map annotation using Tablet PC digital pen technology........................................................... 22

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Geographic Information System Software to 

Enhance Field-Data Collection and Management 

of Land Cover Trends Information 

By Nathan Wood, Benjamin Sleeter, and Peter Ng 

Introduction 

Understanding the rates, driving forces, and consequences of land-use and landcover change is critical to the study of coupled human-environmental systems and in the 

ability of land-use managers to effectively manage natural resources (McMahon and 

others 2005). To support these needs, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Land Cover 

Trends project seeks to (1) estimate the rates of land-cover change between 1972 and 

2000, (2) document the regional driving forces of land-cover change, (3) determine the 

consequences of contemporary land-cover change, and (4) prepare regional and national 

syntheses of late-20th century land-cover and land-use change (Loveland and others 

2002). Using an ecoregion stratification (Omernik 1987), researchers estimate land-cover 

change by mapping land cover in randomly selected 10-km by 10-km sample blocks of 

satellite data for five dates centered around 1973, 1980, 1986, 1992, and 2000 (Loveland 

and others 2002, Stehman, 2003). 

In addition to estimating land-cover change for the sample blocks within an 

ecoregion, researchers conduct fieldwork to better understand local and regional driving 

forces and potential consequences of this change. At field sites within each sample block, 

researchers record qualitative observations in a notebook, collect global-positioningsystem (GPS) waypoints, and take photographs. Hardcopy prints of imagery, road maps, 

and other ancillary geospatial data are used for navigation and for field annotations. Field 

trips last from one day to one week, with an average length of 5 days. Following 

fieldwork, researchers spend many hours entering field data, photographs, and map 

annotations into a digital database summarizing each ecoregion. The final database 

includes information for each field visit on geographic location, waypoint, sample block 

number, photograph roll and frame identification, ecoregion identification, and a 

landscape description. 

Field data collection and database management is a significant task for the Land 

Cover Trends project, due to the national scope of the project and the high number of 

researchers involved from various USGS science centers. As such, any efforts to increase 

the efficiency of data collection and accessibility of research findings could have 

significant research and logistical benefits. Potential areas for increasing efficiency in the 

Land Cover Trends project include (1) minimizing the amount of hardcopy materials 

needed in the field while increasing the ability to view spatial data, (2) minimizing the 

1
amount of people required for fieldwork, (3) eliminating potential transcription errors 

when researchers transfer field notes into digital formats, (4) decreasing the amount of 

time required for postfieldwork data processing, and (5) increasing the accessibility of 

collected information for the Land Cover Trends research community. 

Purpose and Scope 

An extension module to add specialized functionality to geographic information 

system (GIS) software was created to reduce field logistics and postfieldwork processing 

in the Land Cover Trends research project. The extension module developed to support 

the Land Cover Trends project, hereafter called the Trends extension, is designed to be 

used in the field on mobile computing technology platforms, such as tablet-based 

personal computers (tablet PCs) for data collection, and in the office on desktop 

computers for database management. This report summarizes extension installation, 

methods for its use in the field, and the benefits of its use for researchers. 

In addition to supporting the Land Cover Trends research project, this extension 

was developed to demonstrate the benefits of mobile-computing technology in (1) 

minimizing logistical and postfieldwork data processing issues related to USGS 

fieldwork, (2) furthering the use of geospatial information in USGS field research efforts, 

and (3) in leveraging the existing USGS investment in GIS technology. Logistical issues 

related to fieldwork and postfieldwork data processing identified in this report are not 

unique to the USGS Land Cover Trends project and are common issues in many field 

research efforts of the USGS, We believe integrated packages of GPS, GIS, and mobilecomputing technology, like the one described in this report, are applicable to other field 

research efforts at the USGS, and similar extensions can be developed elsewhere to 

support USGS research efforts. 

Land Cover Trends Extension 

Overview 

The GIS extension summarized in this report was developed to aid researchers in 

field-data collection and management related to the USGS Land Cover Trends project. 

Used in conjunction with tablet PCs, the Trends extension is designed to (1) create a 

digital forum to collect and store field data while not affecting a researcher’s work flow 

and (2) to create a more efficient information-retrieval system for postfieldwork analysis 

and documentation. The Trends extension was tested by several users in preparation of 

this report and software testers felt field-data collection and database management efforts 

were enhanced by this extension. Specific benefits include: 

• The ability to view and query spatial data for navigational purposes instead of 

referencing hardcopy maps and photos; 

• An increase in location accuracy by integrating GPS receivers with the digital 

database; 

• A reduction in postfieldwork processing time by building a digital database in the 

field; 

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• The elimination of potential transcription errors in transferring written field notes to a 

digital database; 

• A standard data-collection form and database-management system for multiple users; 

and 

• Greater accessibility of ecoregion findings for the entire research community by 

archiving and sharing inherently geospatial data in a geospatial database. 

Another significant benefit to incorporating this emerging technology into field 

work is the ability to have a fully functioning GIS environment while at a particular field 

location. The ability to view and query spatial data in the field may result in better 

available information about a specific site leading to a broader understanding of the 

different observed land-cover and land-use changes. Having this data available to the 

field team in real time could promote more in depth discussions of land-cover and landuse change potentially leading to a more robust understanding of the driving forces of 

change in the region. 

Installation 

Before installing the Trends extension, the following must be on the host 

computer for the extension to work properly: 

• ArcGIS 9.0 or higher; 

• ArcObjects InterOp libraries [If installed, these libraries would be located in a folder 

called “DotNet” in the ArcGIS install directory (i.e. C:\Program 

Files\ArcGIS\DotNet). If the folder is missing, run the ArcGIS installation disc in 

modify mode to install the libraries for .NET.]; and, 

• Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 (To check if your system has this, go to your desktop 

taskbar and click Start->Control Panel->Add/Remove Programs and look for an entry 

for the .NET Framework 1.1.). 

Note: If you have .NET Framework 2.0 installed, remove it if it is not needed. The 

Crystal Reports functionality of the ArcGIS Trends Tool Extension will not work 

properly if .NET Framework 2.0 is installed. This is because Crystal Reports makes 

references to ADO.Net dataset at runtime. The version of ADO.Net used in the software 

code is defined in .NET Framework 1.1. 

The installation package for the Trends extension includes a setup.exe, a setup.ini 

and a setup.msi file. To guarantee that all the necessary assemblies are installed, users 

should install the extension by opening the “setup.exe” file. Upon opening this file, the 

user will see the Trends Extension Setup Wizard dialog (fig. 1). 

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Figure 1. Welcome to the Trends Extension Setup Wizard dialog box. 

Clicking the “Next” button in this screen brings up the Select Installation Folder dialog 

box (fig. 2). The user should install the program to the default directory, which is 

“C:\Program Files\USGS\TRENDS Extension,” to ensure proper functioning. The user is 

also able to determine here whether the extension is accessible to anyone who uses the 

computer. 

4
Figure 2. Select Installation Folder dialog box. 

Clicking the “Next” button in the Select Installation Folder dialog brings up a Confirm 

Installation dialog box (fig. 3). The user clicks the “Next” button to begin extension 

installation. 

5
Figure 3. Confirm Installation dialog box. 

If the Trends extension is successfully installed, an Installation Complete dialog box will 

appear (fig. 4). The user should then click the “Close” button to close the installation 

dialog box. 

If the setup.exe fails to install the extension, ensure that the host computer has the 

required configurations described earlier in this section. In addition to these software 

requirements, the user will need to have operational knowledge of the GPS functions for 

ArcGIS, as the Trends extension requires a GPS receiver and connection to obtain 

waypoint information. Any GPS receiver and connection will work with this extension 

because the extension reads the ArcGIS GPS connection, not the direct GPS data stream. 

For more information on how to setup a GPS connection, users should consult ArcGIS 

Help. 

6
Figure 4. Installation Complete dialog box. 

Trends Toolbar 

Once properly installed, the extension will register under the Tools/Extensions 

menu option in ArcMap. The Trends toolbar is made available under the 

Tools/Customize option or by right-clicking the menu area and selecting “USGS Trends 

Tools.” The toolbar consists of the following features (fig. 5): 

 Trends Database setup button; 

 Manage Ecoregion button; 

 Sample block drop-down list; 

 Waypoint drop-down list;

 Add waypoint button;

 Edit waypoint button;

 Add and (or) edit an observation button;

 Add and (or) edit media references button; and 

 Display field observation report button. 

7
Figure 5. USGS Trends Tools toolbar. 

Database Setup 

The Trends extension is driven by a trends database that is used for storing and 

managing data pertaining to each ecoregion, including block, waypoint, observation, and 

media reference data. A trends database is an ArcGIS geodatabase, which is a type of 

Microsoft Access database file featuring additional capabilities for storing and managing 

geospatial data. You can create as many trends databases as desired, but only one trends 

database can be actively selected at any time. 

To select or create a trends database, press the Setup Trends Database icon on the 

trends toolbar (fig. 5). This will open a dialog window that allows you to create a trends 

database or browse for an existing one. When the user clicks “OK” to exit, the database 

specified in the dialog window becomes the actively selected trends database. Note, 

when the trends toolbar is first activated or when an ArcMap application is opened, the 

Setup Trends Database icon will be the only enabled icon in the toolbar. Only after a 

trends database has been selected via the Setup Trends Database dialog window will the 

other icons in the toolbar become enabled. 

Before using the Trends tool, researchers must first set up the database and load 

ecoregion data. To do this, the user must follow these steps: 

1. Once the Trends tool is visible in ArcMap, click the “Database Setup” button on the 

Trends toolbar (fig. 5) 

2. In the Database Setup dialog box (fig. 6), click the “Create” button if creating a new 

database or the “Browse” button for identifying an existing database. 

3. After creating or selecting a database, the user must now load ecoregion data. In the 

Database Setup dialog (fig. 6), click the “Load EcoRegion data” button. Multiple 

ecoregions can be loaded into the database as long as each ecoregion has a 

corresponding blocks feature layer. It is the blocks feature layer for the ecoregion 

that is loaded into the database. A set of four tables is created for each loaded 

ecoregion to store block, waypoint, observation, and media reference data. The 

names of each of the new tables are prefixed with the name of the ecoregion. For 

example, if an ecoregion named Sample was being loaded, then the four related tables 

would be Sample_blocks, Sample_waypoints, Sample_observations, and 

Sample_media. 

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Figure 6. Setup Trends Database dialog box. 

4. Once the Load Ecoregion Data dialog (fig. 7) opens, browse and select the GIS layer 

of ecoregion blocks. The Load Ecoregion Data dialog box includes data entry fields 

that will accept input for the location of the ecoregion’s blocks feature layer, block id 

field, name of ecoregion, and a description. 

Figure 7. Load Ecoregion Data dialog box 

5. Identify the block id field within the layer of ecoregion blocks by using the drop 

menu under “Block ID field.” This drop-down men lists all attribute fields in the 

identified block layer. The block ID field simply needs to be a unique number 

identifying each block for that ecoregion. 

6. Type in a unique name for the ecoregion where fieldwork will take place in the 

“EcoRegion Name” window in the Load Ecoregion Data dialog (fig. 6). Make sure 

there are no spaces in the name, and use an underline “_” if a space is wanted in an 

ecoregion name. Each database created by the Trends extension is capable of 

handling multiple ecoregions, and it is the unique identifier assigned here that 

distinguishes between multiple regions. 

7. Although not mandatory, you can then type in additional information in the 

“Description” box. 

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8. Click “Add EcoRegion Data to Map” in the lower left corner of the Load Ecoregion 

Data dialog box (fig. 6) to add the loaded block and waypoint feature layers to the 

current ArcMap document. 

9. Click “Load” in the Load EcoRegion Data dialog box. 

10. A Load Completed dialog should come up to confirm the process. 

11. Click “Okay” to close the Load Completed dialog box. 

12. Click “Exit” to close the Load Ecoregion Data dialog box (fig. 7). 

13. Click “Okay” in the Setup Trends Database dialog box (fig. 6). 

14. At this point, you will see that the Trends extension has created a GIS layer for 

waypoints and a GIS layer for observations in the ArcMap screen. Both layers begin 

with the name of the ecoregion assigned in step 6. 

15. To begin data collection, Click the “Manage Ecoregion” button in the primary Trends 

toolbar (fig. 5) to open the Manage Ecoregon dialog box (fig. 8). 

16. In the Manage Ecoregion dialog box (fig. 8), find the appropriate ecoregion name in 

the drop-down list under “Ecoregion name.” If a new ecoregion is needed, click the 

“Load” button to return to the Load Ecoregion Data dialog box (fig. 7). It is also 

possible to remove an ecoregion from the database by clicking the “Remove” button. 

17. After identifying the appropriate ecoregion, all potential block ids in that ecoregion 

will show up now in the “Block Id” dialog box (fig. 8). When you highlight a block 

identification number in the “Block Id” list, the computer will zoom to that block in 

the ArcMap screen (fig. 9). 

18. At this point, you are ready to begin data collection. You can either click “Okay” to 

get back to the primary Trends toolbar or go right to sub-toolbars by clicking on the 

appropriate buttons in the Manage Ecoregion dialog box (fig. 8). 

Figure 8. Manage Ecoregion dialog box. 

10
Figure 9. ArcMap project with Land Cover Trends extension. The extension zooms to a 

block identified in the Land Cover Trends toolbar, in this case block 310 of Ecoregion 6. 

ArcMap Project Setup 

In addition to the Trends database and related layers, certain data sets are useful 

for Trends researchers during their field trips, both for navigation and data entry. These 

following layers should be assembled in an ArcMap document prior to going into the 

field: 

 Current land-cover image of sample blocks: If block interpretations have been 

completed, the most recent vintage land-cover image (circa 2000) is used. If sample 

block interpretations have not been completed, the 1992 National Landcover Dataset 

(NLCD) product is used (Loveland and Shaw 1996; EPA 1993; Vogelmann and 

others 2001).

 Circa 2000 Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus images are helpful for 

comparing spectral properties with ground observations and land cover.

 Topographic maps (digital form; for example, Digital Raster Graphics).

 Detailed Street Maps for field navigation in and between sample blocks (for example, 

ESRI “StreetMap”).

 Aerial photography (for example, Digital Orthophoto Quads) or high-resolution aerial 

photography for extracting detail not available in satellite imagery. 

11
 Other data sets that would prove useful in the field may include digital elevation 

models and terrain data (hillshade, slope, and aspect), point and feature data 

(Geographic Names for information such as mines and quarries), land ownership 

data, wildfires, hydrography, and high-resolution data, such as planning and zoning 

maps. 

In the field, it is helpful to have the sample-block GIS layer overlaid on top of 

these various geospatial layers. This ability is an improvement over past fieldwork 

procedures where multiple hard-copy prints of each layer were needed. 

Waypoint Entry and Editing 

When in the field, researchers identify the drivers of land-cover and land-use 

change by documenting the observed land cover and land use, management type, 

intensity of use, and evidence of change in each 10-km sample block. At each field stop, 

researchers record a waypoint and take landscape photographs. To add a waypoint, the 

user clicks the “Add Waypoint” button in the Trends toolbar (fig. 1). Doing so will open 

the Waypoint Editing dialog box (fig. 10). 

Every time a user clicks the “Add Waypoint” button, the Trends tool 

automatically records positional information from the connected GPS unit and the time of 

the recorded observation. It also performs an overlay function to determine what 

sampling block, if any, the user is in when recording a waypoint. If the user is in a 

predetermined sampling block, this information is automatically noted in the Waypoint 

Editing dialog box (fig. 9). The Trends tool is capable of pulling positional information 

(for example, latitude and longitude) from a connected GPS receiver, or the user has the 

option of manually entering geographic coordinates through the same interface. If using 

the GPS data, the geographic coordinates will automatically appear in the “Projected X” 

and “Projected Y” fields in the Waypoint Editing dialog box (fig. 10). If opting to enter 

coordinates manually, the user should do so in the “Latitude” and “Longitude” fields in 

the Waypoint Editing dialog box followed by pressing “Transform.” The “Transform” 

button transforms the collected latitude and longitude data into the projected X and Y 

coordinates for the ArcMap project coordinate system. 

12
Figure 10. Waypoint Editing dialog box. 

After the Trends tool automatically enters the block number, waypoint number, 

time and latitude/longitude coordinates, the remaining information in the dialog box must 

be added by the user. First, the user enters land-use information for the sampling block. 

To do this, the user checks the boxes to the left of each land-cover or land-use type for a 

specific waypoint in the “Land Use” check-box list of the Waypoint Editing dialog box 

(fig. 10). The user can check more than one land-cover/land-use type and then must then 

press the “Save” button to save these inputs. 

After saving land-use inputs, the user can add observation data for a given 

waypoint. Adding observation data for a given waypoint is slightly different than 

applying a land-cover/land-use classification for two reasons. First, there can be more 

than one observation for a waypoint. Second, the observations do not follow a 

preexisting classification scheme. The user is not able to add data for an observation 

until the waypoint (for which the observation data is to be added) is written to the 

database. Thus, adding observational data remains unavailable until the user presses the 

“Save” button for a new waypoint. Each observation must be added separately. To add 

an observation the user must: 

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1. Select or type a Management Type description in the Management Type drop-down 

list.

2. Select or type an Intensity of Use description in the Intensity of Use drop-down list.

3. Type in their observation to the Observation multiline textbox.

4. Type in their observations as evidence of change in the Evidence of Change

multiline textbox.

5. Press the “Save” button.

All distinct entries for Management Type and Intensity of Use are written to 

drop-down lists to speed data entry. This means that although the user is always able to 

manually enter new text, commonly entered text is available in the drop-down lists. With 

this feature, nothing will initially show in the drop-down list until text is entered. Once 

the descriptions are entered for an observation, they should be saved to the database by 

pressing the “Save” button to the right of the Observation multiline textbox. To add a 

second observation, the user clicks the “New” button to the right of the Observation 

multiline textbox. The user can also delete an observation by clicking the “Delete” button 

to the right of the Observation multiline textbox. The user may also navigate between 

observations for editing using the navigation buttons below the observation pane. 

To edit previous waypoint, the user clicks the “Edit Waypoint” button either in 

the USGS Trends Tools toolbar (fig. 5) or the Manage Ecoregion dialog box (fig. 6). 

Pressing this button in either dialog box will open the Waypoint Editing dialog box (fig. 

10) and any data can be edited at this point. To save edits in the Waypoints Editing dialog 

box, the user must click the “Save” buttons for both the waypoint and the observations. 

Edits will be lost if the “Save” button is not clicked and the dialog box is closed. Users 

can now add media references by clicking the “Add/Edit Media Reference” button. 

Adding a Media Reference 

In addition to entering field observations, Trends researchers take pictures at each 

waypoint. To link photographs to the digital database, the user should click the “Add 

Media Reference” button in the USGS Trends Tools toolbar (fig. 5), the Manage 

Ecoregion dialog box (fig. 6) or the Waypoint Editing dialog box (fig. 10). Doing so 

opens the Add Media Reference dialog box (fig. 11). In this dialog box the user can enter 

photographs, as well as video or audio records, to the ecoregion database. To add a new 

media reference, click the “New” button at the bottom of the dialog box. Doing so will 

allow the user to enter additional details of the collected media. 

If entering a photograph, the user selects “Photo” in the Medium Type panel and 

then whether the photograph is either analog (film) or digital. If the “Analog” button is 

selected, the user can then enter the roll identification, the frame number and a directional 

bearing in integer form (for example, cardinal degrees). The user can then type in a 

description of the photograph in the “Description” box. Once film is developed and a 

digital version is available, the user can link the final photograph to the database by using 

the folder button in the “File Path” box to identify the file path. If using a digital camera, 

the user is still able to enter a bearing, description, and file path for the photograph. The 

user can also enter an “Original Source Name” in the field to identify the file name 

assigned by the digital camera. The Trends tool will automatically link a photograph 

14
reference to a sample block (if location of waypoint is within a block) or will assign a 

value of “0” to indicate the photo and corresponding waypoint is located outside of any 

sample block. The user must click the “Save” button after each photograph to add to the 

database. If there is a file path identified for a photograph, the digital version will be 

displayed in the upper-right dialog box. 

Figure 11. Add/Edit Media Reference dialog box. 

In addition to adding photographs to a database, the Trends tool also provides user 

with the ability to link audio and video files to waypoints while in the field. Audio files 

can be generated by the microphone internal to the computer or an external microphone. 

Video files can be created by an external hand-held digital video camera and then 

transferred to the field computer. To create an audio or video reference, the user must 

press the “Add/Edit Media” button in the USGS Trends Tools toolbar (fig. 5), the Manage 

Ecoregon Data dialog box (fig. 8) or the Waypoint Editing dialog box (fig. 10) to open 

the Add/Edit Media Reference dialog box (fig. 11). Here, the user enters the filename and 

a description of the contents of the audio and (or) video file. Loaded audio and video files 

can be played by clicking the “Play” button in the upper right-hand section of the 

Add/Edit Media Reference dialog box. 

If a researcher has a folder of multiple media files to add to a Trends database, it 

is possible to add them all at the same time, instead of having to add each file 

individually. To do so, the user clicks the “Batch Load” button at the bottom of the 

Add/Edit Media Reference dialog box and then identifies the folder where the multiple 

media files reside. This then automatically creates a record in the database for each media 

15
file in the folder. The user can then retrieve each new record and add in information such 

as bearing or description, ensuring to click the “Save” button after each edit is complete. 

Once there are multiple media files in the database, the user is able to scroll 

through the multiple files using the arrow buttons on the right side of the Add/Edit Media 

Reference dialog box. The double-left arrow will show the first record of the batch and 

the double-right arrow will show the last record of that batch. To only show media files 

of a certain type (for example, audio, video), the user clicks the appropriate type in the 

Media List section. Selecting a subset of media types will reduce the files available when 

using the arrow buttons to scroll through the media references. Also, if there are not 

multiple media files in the database, the Media List box will be grayed-out and 

unavailable to the user. Finally, Add/Edit Media Reference dialog box (fig. 11) also 

comes with a status bar at the bottom of the dialog box that summarizes current media 

and location information. 

Displaying the Final Field Report 

Once fieldwork is completed, Trends researchers return to their offices to 

organize and enter their field notes into a computer database. Hardcopy notes and 

annotated maps of each waypoint are retained and kept in a summary binder for the 

ecoregion. 

With the Land Cover Trends extension described in this report, no postfieldwork 

data organization or entry is required. A Land Cover Trends report can be instantly 

generated through the Crystal Reports report function of this extension. By pressing the 

“Create Report” button in the Trends toolbar (fig. 5), the user will open a dialog to 

determine what type of report to create and which blocks to include in the report (fig. 12). 

The only report type currently available in the drop-down list is “Land-Use/Land-Cover 

Relationships” and should be selected prior to clicking the “Run” button. After selecting 

the report type and the blocks to be included and clicking the “Run” button, the user will 

be shown a Crystal Report document (fig. 13). Digital reports can be edited or printed 

using the toolbar at top of the Crystal Reports Viewer. Using the “Export Report” button, 

reports can also be exported into .pdf, .xls, .doc and .rtf file formats. For additional 

backup, it may be wise to print out a hardcopy version of the database. Finally, because 

an Access database is used to store waypoint information, custom queries and reports can 

be made in Access via the trends.mdb database located in the c:\Program 

Files\USGS\Trends Extension\Data directory. 

16
Figure 12. Report Creation dialog box. 

Figure 13. Crystal Reports Viewer 

17
Added Functionality of a Tablet PC 

Although the Trends extension can be run from a laptop, there are additional 

benefits to the researcher if it is run from a tablet PC in the field. The two main functions 

that immediately help field researchers include the Microsoft Tablet PC Input Panel with 

handwriting pad and the Pen/Ink tool within the ArcGIS environment. For illustrative 

purposes, specific references to tablet PC functionality are based on a HP TC1100 Tablet 

PC; however, these features are common to all Tablet PCs. Please refer to the user’s 

manual for other types of Tablet PCs to find the corresponding button. 

The first benefit of using a Tablet PC is the ability to directly input information 

using a digital pen instead of typing it in with a keyboard. Although keyboards are 

available with tablet PCs, researchers may not be comfortable typing in a moving vehicle 

or while on foot. Therefore, in addition to keyboards (many detachable), tablet PCs have 

input panels that allow users to enter data using a digital pen, either by tapping keys on an 

onscreen digital keyboard or by handwriting notes into the Trends Extensions forms. This 

is useful for Trends researchers entering field notes as they travel by car and by foot 

throughout a study area. To access the Input Panel, press the “e” Microsoft Tablet PC 

Input Panel button on the upper left corner of the Tablet PC frame (fig. 14). 

18
Figure 14. Opening the Microsoft Tablet PC input panel 

Once the onscreen keyboard or handwriting pad is open, the user should place the 

cursor in the field where information is to be entered. This could be in a word processing 

file, an attribute field of a GIS layer, or an input field in the Waypoint Editing dialog box 

19
(fig. 15). Once the cursor is in the appropriate place, the user simply taps or writes with 

the digital pen and clicks the “Enter” button on the Microsoft Tablet PC Input Panel. By 

doing so, the information will be entered in the appropriate field or file. The example in 

figure 15 shows the phrase “pine forest” written in the Input Panel Writing Pad field and 

then automatically entered by the computer in the Observation box in the Waypoint 

Editing dialog box. A similar process is used if the digital keyboard input panel is used. A 

third option for entering data is to use the speech-recognition software available on most 

tablet PCs. However, this is only an option if the user has extensively trained the speechrecognition software to recognize his or her individual voice, and this training must be 

done by each user wanting to use this feature. 

Figure 15. Input panel for Tablet PC. 

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A second benefit of using a Tablet PC is the ability to use the digital pen to 

directly annotate maps and images. Currently, Land Cover Trends researchers annotate 

paper maps with pens and markers. They then need to keep the multiple maps and images 

organized so that information could be transferred to the appropriate place once back in 

the office. Using the extension described in this report and a Tablet PC, researchers can 

eliminate this need to annotate and organize multiple paper maps and images. This is 

done by using the Tablet toolbar within ArcGIS, a tool developed by ESRI to support 

Tablet PC for ArcGIS. Using the Tablet toolbar, Land Cover Trends researchers are able 

to make notes directly on their ArcMap documents (fig. 16). The Table toolbar creates 

graphics on the annotation of the target layer (set via the Draw toolbar). This tool is 

useful when finding areas that may need reclassification back in the office, or for noting 

interesting features. The Pen/Ink Tool is located on the Tablet PC toolbar and additional 

information on this tool can be found in ArcGIS Help. 

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Figure 16. Map annotation using Tablet PC digital pen technology 

22
Summary 

The objectives of this GIS software extension are (1) to support Land Cover 

Trends researchers in their efforts to synthesize land-cover change rates and 

consequences in the United States and (2) to demonstrate the utility of mobile-computing 

technology. This software extension could increase the productivity, ease, and efficiency 

of Land Cover Trends fieldwork and decrease the amount of postfieldwork to organize 

data. More data could ideally be obtained in the field, data collection errors could be 

reduced and data access could be easier after fieldwork. Primary benefits of the Land 

Cover Trends extension include (1) the ability to view and query spatial data in a fully 

functioning GIS environment for navigational and observational purposes, (2) a reduction 

of postfieldwork processing time by building a digital database in the field, (3) the 

elimination of potential transcription errors, (4) a standard database-management system, 

and (5) the potential for greater accessibility in sharing ecoregion databases. Although the 

extension can be used on normal laptops or personal digital assistants (PDAs), the use of 

tablet PCs provides researchers with the portability of a PDA, the large viewing screen 

and full GIS software functionality of a laptop, as well as features unique to tablet PCs, 

including the ability to annotate digital maps and to digitally record information by 

digital pen or voice. 

Although this GIS software extension focuses on the Land Cover Trends project, 

we show how mobile computing technology could further the use of geospatial 

information in other USGS field research efforts and leverage the existing USGS 

investment in GIS technology. The integrated package of GPS, GIS, and mobilecomputing technology described in this report is applicable to other field research efforts 

at the USGS and similar extensions can be developed elsewhere. We believe that the 

development and use of this extension, in addition to the results of a bureauwide 

assessment of researchers’ mobile-computing technology needs (Wood and Halsing, 

2006) will generate further discussions within the bureau on the development and use of 

mobile-computing technology at the USGS. 

Acknowledgments 

We thank the U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Analysis and Monitoring 

Program for funding this effort. Caroline Hermans, David Shaver, Christopher Soulard, 

Susan Benjamin, and Mara Tongue provided insightful reviews of this manuscript. Peter 

Ng (png@usgs.gov) is the chief software developer for the Land Cover Trends extension 

and is the primary contact for additional questions and comments on the extension 

software. 

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