GLIMSView software

[Bruce Raup]

Hello all,

I don't think the presence of the GLIMSView software on the GLIMS website
was ever formally announced on this list, so let me first point out that
GLIMSView is indeed available, at

http://www.glims.org/glimsview/

GLIMSView is still somewhat "beta" in nature -- there are many lacking
features, which makes it a bit user-hostile in places.  But Deborah Soltesz
at USGS in Flagstaff, Arizona, has fixed many of the worst bugs, and it is
now useful.

BACKGROUND (taken from the website)

GLIMSView is a cross platform application intended to aid the process of
glacier digitization for the GLIMS project. Specifically, it allows the
users to view various forms of satellite imagery, digitize glacier outlines
within it, attach GLIMS specific attributes to segments of these outlines,
and export them to the ingest format described in the GLIMS documentation.
An ingest package created with this tool is able to be directly inserted
into a database of similar digitizations that can then be anylized for
scientific purposes. GLIMSView has been designed specifically for this
functionality.

IMPORTANT NOTES OF CAUTION

My real reasons for writing this message:  If you're using GLIMSView at all,

1.  please make sure you're using the latest version, dated 2004-05-24.  It
fixes a couple of bugs in the code that generates glacier IDs.

2.  remember to link the glacier ID with its outline segments.  This is
done by selecting the segments in one of the views, selecting the ID from
the list of IDs in the Glacier Config tab of the configuration tool, and
then pressing the "Set Lines" button.  If you don't do this, GLIMSView
won't know which glacier ID to give the segments when you export the data
for ingest (they'll be "UNDEFINED").  Unfortunately, the program gives you
no visual feedback whatsoever on what segments are linked with what IDs, so
this can be tedious.  This problem tops the to-fix list.  To make this
easier, some users create one project for each glacier to simplify things.

(Deborah:  Could you please put these cautionary notes in the Important
Notices section?)

Thanks,
Bruce

-- 
Bruce Raup                                               Phone:  303-492-8814
National Snow and Ice Data Center, U. of Colorado, 449 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309
http://cires.colorado.edu/~braup/