Welcome to the ArcPad help library
Welcome to the help library for ArcPad. This library contains comprehensive documentation for all aspects of ArcPad, with the goal to address the needs of the following:
- Field workers who use ArcPad to do their job.
- GIS practitioners who prepare data for one or more field workers and want to customize aspects of the data preparation or data collection process.
- Developers who want to build custom extensions and applications with and for ArcPad.
About ArcPad
ArcPad is a mobile mapping and geographic information system (GIS) software. Mobile computing is bringing fundamental changes to the way geography is utilized with the ability to bring your work with you and to interact directly with the world around you.
ArcPad takes advantage of mobile computing and input devices such as GPS, rangefinders, and cameras to provide workers with the tools to collect, edit, update, and query GIS data in the field. Data collection with ArcPad is efficient and significantly improved with immediate data validation and availability. The end result of using ArcPad is a GIS database that is accurate, complete, consistent, and current. This leads to more accurate analysis and better decision making.
ArcPad customization
ArcPad is flexible and easy to use as is, but the ArcPad interface is also easily customizable to reflect your own preferences and the way you work. The following are just a few ways ArcPad can be customized to suit your particular needs:
- Always load the same geographic data when ArcPad starts.
- Create new toolbars that contain built-in and custom tools.
- Design custom forms to streamline data collection in the field.
- Build applets to accomplish your organization's unique goals.
- Write scripts that interact with ArcPad's internal objects.
- Develop extensions to support new file formats, positioning services, rangefinders, cameras, projections, and datum transformations.
If you work in a large organization, you may be tasked with developing a customized work environment. As a developer, you can handle many customization tasks without writing a single line of code. In fact, you can easily instruct others on how to use the customization environment to create the look and feel they want on their own. You can change or create toolbars, forms, default configurations, and so on, to help you do your work in the most efficient way. In addition, you can provide additional functionality by linking code that you or others have written to dialog box controls or tools.
ArcPad scripting reference
The ArcPad object model consists of more than 50 objects that are exposed while ArcPad is running. As long as ArcPad is running, you can access and manipulate these objects via JScript or VBScript code. Once ArcPad is closed, all of the objects cease to exist until ArcPad is started again.
You can open the ArcPad Object Model diagram from All Programs>ArcGIS>ArcPad10>Developer Help.
ArcPad XML reference
The ArcPad XML format is designed as a protocol for automation and customization of ArcPad. It is based on the XML 1.0 specification and uses the same syntax as ArcXML wherever possible (especially for symbology). ArcPad XML files can be ANSI, UTF-8, Unicode, or Unicode Big Endian encoded.