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Texas A&M Geography
How do I use the polygon tracing tool on my data?
Step 1) Upload your database

To begin using the polygon tracing tool, you must first upload a database of points that have latitude and longitude values.

This is done by clicking on the manage databases button which will bring you to the portion of the site where you can upload, validate, share, and download your personal database. Details on uploading and validating your databases are available here.

All services use the same file formats. For example input data files please review the geocoder input sample files and substitute the applicable fields for this service.

This step is shown in the following image:

Upload your database

Supported database formats

Database type File extension
Microsoft Access *.mdb
Microsoft Access 2007 *.accdb
Comma separated values *.csv
Text delimited *.txt

Database fields

The database you upload should include the following fields that contain information about your existing geocodes you want to trace polygons in:
Required input fields
Field name* Field type Field description
UniqueID Number The unique identifier for the record
Longitude Double The longitude for your existing geocode
Latitude Double The latitude for your existing geocode
AssessorId Text The assessor id of the address
StreetAddress Text The street address of the records
City Text The city of the records
ZIP Text The ZIP code of the records
* These fields can have any name, you will identify them in the third step
In addition to the input fields, your database can also contain existing fields for the polygons that will be produced after you work with the service. These fields are optional because they can be created for you automatically in the next step.
Optional output fields
Field name* Field type Field description
Processed Number Indicates non/processed records
Polygons Memo The created geographic polygons
TimeTaken Text The time the polygon tracing took
* These fields can have any name, you will identify them in the third step

Step 2) Choose your database and table

After you have uploaded your database you must select the table you want to work on. This is shown in the following image:

Select your database

Step 3) Identify your database fields

After you have uploaded your database and selected the table you want to work on you have to identify the required input fields in your database. Each of the fields you select from these drop down lists must be unique, meaning that you should only select a column in your database in just one drop down. If you select the same database column in more than one drop down, you will get an error when you try to run your database that says Duplicate output destination 'columnName'.

If your database contains the output fields, you can identify them as well. If not, you can click the Auto Generate button to have the fields created and assigned for you*. This is shown in the following image:

Identify your database fields

Step 4) Launch the tool

After you have uploaded your database, selected the table you want to work, and identified and/or created the fields. You are ready to launch the polygon tracing tool. This is shown in the following image:

Launch the polygon tracing tool

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