Set up arcmap for nautical paper charting including setting up of product library

Question

I would kindly request for assistance to set up my ArcMap 10.7 from scratch to produce nautical paper charts. I would be grateful if all necessary steps including setting up of the product library from scratch is stated. Any documents or videos are very welcome. The guides on Esri are not helping

PaulinaKarkauskaite · Answer

@GabrielAweya for the complete production functionality you should have your NIS in an enterprise database. If you don't have access to an SQL Server or Oracle geodatabases, you can download the database server installer from My Esri and use the SQL Server Express instance on your machine for the NIS: https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/install/database-server-desktop-engine/intro-desktop-database-server-installation.htm

An alternative to having replicas for your paper charts could be to skip the geodatabase/replica creation process. Instead, you can create the paper chart database manually and associate it to the Product Library.

* To skip the replica creation process when creating the paper chart product, you have to check the "postpone the database creation" box when adding the panels in the New Nautical Instance wizard.
* Once the product is created in Product Library, you need to create the paper chart database manually by creating a file geodatabase, importing the chart schema and importing the data. The chart schema XML can be found in the ArcMap installation location.
* When you have your database ready, you can associate it to the paper chart product (instance/panel node) in the Product Library: https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/extensions/production-mapping/choosing-an-instance-database.htm

GabrielAweya · Answer

Thank you very much for your piece. It has really been on of help. I would however want to ask about the creation of a new nautical product.

When I try to create one in a paper chart it gets stuck at registering replica. I have attached an image for your reference.
Secondly, with the ENC it tells me my database isn’t versioned. I use a coke geodatabase and I can’t access the geodatabase administrator to version it. Could you help me with that too?

IMG_4230.png

PaulinaKarkauskaite · Answer

Hello @GabrielAweya

The NIS and Product Library geodatabases are required for creating nautical charts in ArcMap.

For creating the NIS database, you can follow the steps in this guide: https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/10.7/extensions/maritime-charting-guide/admin-nis-sql-server/creating-the-nis-workspace-in-an-enterprise-geodatabase.htm

For the Product Library, you can download the preconfigured workspace schema for the maritime Product Library from the Maritime product support page: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=df30e1f503204ab0a7d2aa88e277f3df The product library schema for ENC and Paper chart production is called "ENC_and_Paper_Chart_Product_Library.xml".

You can import the schema using the Import XML Workspace Document tool.

If your Product Library will be stored in an enterprise geodatabase, you can find the guides for setting SQL or Oracle geodatabases: https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/extensions/maritime-charting-guide/admin-pl-sql-server/introduction-to-configuring-the-nautical-product-library-in-sql-server.htm

If your Product Library is in a file geodatabase, you can skip the enterprise geodatabse configuration steps and follow the documentation under the following topic:

* Preparing the Nautical product library for production

Once your databases are ready for production, you will have to Import or create data in the NIS. Once you have the data in the NIS, you can define the chart product in the Product Library and create your nautical chart by following this guide:

* Finishing in the data frame

Please let us know if there are any specific steps in the configuration that are unclear.

Also, if you are interested in automated paper chart creation using the web-based Custom Chart Builder tool, you can register for the webinar that will be held on May 23: https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-enterprise/announcements/increase-paper-chart-production-efficiency-through-automation-webinar/