topic Re: Adding Shape File With Access VBA in ArcObjects SDK Questions

Adding Shape File With Access VBA

DavidDuncan — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:16:21 GMT

Good Morning,
Here's my scenario: I have an access database, an arcMap (.mxd) file, and a shape file. What I would like is for the user to be able to click a button on an access form and have a certain shape file added to the ArcMap file (which is acting as a template). I would then modify the definition query of the shapefile to reflect information taken from the database.
I've been able to open the arcMap file, and add the shape file, but that's when things get weird. The loading animation doesn't stop spinning, and the map display area stops refreshing (it just displays whatever was on the screen last). While the shape file can be found in the "layers" box, you have to "flip" back and forth between different tabs to make it appear (once again, a screen refresh problem).
Is what I'm trying to do possible? I'm willing to write this within arcMap if I have to, but I think it would be easier, for the users, to keep all functionality contained in the database.

Program Info: Access 2003
[INDENT] [INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT] ArcMap 9.3[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
Here is the VBA code from my database:

Option Compare Database
Option Explicit

Private arcMapApp As esriArcMap.Application

Public Sub setUpMap()
'Opens ArcMap, adds the shapefiles, and then modifies their representation
On Error GoTo errorHandler

[INDENT] Dim productKeyCheck As IAoInitialize

Set productKeyCheck = New AoInitialize

'We check to make sure that no other instances are running with this key
If productKeyCheck.IsProductCodeAvailable(esriLicenseProductCodeArcView) Then
   'Initialize ArcView
[INDENT] productKeyCheck.Initialize esriLicenseProductCodeArcView
openMapTemplate
addShapeFiles[/INDENT]
Else
[INDENT] MsgBox "Product Code Unavailable For Use", vbExclamation, _
"Product Code Unavailable"[/INDENT]
End If

productKeyCheck.Shutdown

Set productKeyCheck = Nothing[/INDENT]
Exit Sub
errorHandler:
MsgBox Err.Description, vbExclamation, "Error in setUpMap"
End Sub

Private Sub openMapTemplate()
'Opens ArcMap and sets the global variables
On Error GoTo errorHandler

[INDENT] Dim arcMapDocument As MxDocument

Set arcMapDocument = New MxDocument
Set arcMapApp = arcMapDocument.Parent

arcMapApp.OpenDocument CurrentProject.Path & "\Distribution_Plot_Template.mxd"

Set arcMapDocument = Nothing
[/INDENT]Exit Sub

errorHandler:
MsgBox Err.Description, vbExclamation, "Error in openMapTemplate"
End Sub

Private Sub addShapeFiles()
'Adds the shapefiles to the map template
On Error GoTo errorHandler

[INDENT] Dim pMap As IMap
Dim pFeatureLayer As IFeatureLayer
Dim pFeatureWorkspace As IFeatureWorkspace
Dim pMxDocument As IMxDocument
Dim pWorkSpaceFactory As IWorkspaceFactory

Set pWorkSpaceFactory = New ShapefileWorkspaceFactory

Set pFeatureWorkspace = pWorkSpaceFactory.OpenFromFile(CurrentProject.Path & _
"\Claim_Shapefile\", arcMapApp.Hwnd)

   'Set up the feature Layer
Set pFeatureLayer = New featureLayer
Set pFeatureLayer.FeatureClass = pFeatureWorkspace.OpenFeatureClass("Goldstone_Brookbank_Claims_605")
pFeatureLayer.Name = pFeatureLayer.FeatureClass.AliasName
pFeatureLayer.Visible = True

   'Get the document
Set pMxDocument = arcMapApp.Document

   'Initialize the map and add the shape file to it
Set pMap = pMxDocument.FocusMap
pMap.AddLayer pFeatureLayer

Set pMap = Nothing
Set pMxDocument = Nothing
Set pFeatureLayer = Nothing
Set pFeatureWorkspace = Nothing
Set pWorkSpaceFactory = Nothing[/INDENT]
Exit Sub
errorHandler:
Set pMap = Nothing
Set pMxDocument = Nothing
Set pFeatureLayer = Nothing
Set pFeatureWorkspace = Nothing
Set pWorkSpaceFactory = Nothing
MsgBox Err.Description, vbExclamation, "Error in addShapeFiles"
End Sub

Here are some screenshots from ArcMap:

When it first opens:

After clicking on the source tab in the layers view (note that I had navigated between windows before taking this screenshot, hence the code image in the non-refreshing map area).

Moving back to the "display" tab

Re: Adding Shape File With Access VBA

vincentLahaye — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:20:10 GMT

I'm not sur if it will resolve your problem, but add these line (modifiy for your code) at the end of AddShape method, can help you to refresh your TOC.

itfMxdocument.ActiveView.Refresh();

itfMxdocument.UpdateContents();

Vincent

Re: Adding Shape File With Access VBA

DavidDuncan — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:40:20 GMT

Just tried out the modified code.

Your hunch was right, while it did cause the shape file to be listed in the layers box, it did not solve any of the other issues. Thanks all the same.

Re: Adding Shape File With Access VBA

vincentLahaye — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:13:27 GMT

to modify defenition expression use :

IFeatureLayerDefinition itfDefinitionLayer = itfFeatureLayerP as IFeatureLayerDefinition;
itfDefinitionLayer.DefinitionExpression = yourfield + " = " + yourvalue
itfMxDocumentP.ActiveView.Refresh();

Your major problem seems to be your shapefile. Something wrong with your shapefile. Try to use Toolbox FeatureClasstoShapefile to generate your shapefile from Access if you can and see the result manually.

Vincent

Re: Adding Shape File With Access VBA

DavidDuncan — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:26:03 GMT

Your major problem seems to be your shapefile. Something wrong with your shapefile. Try to use Toolbox FeatureClasstoShapefile to generate your shapefile from Access if you can and see the result manually.

I don't think anything's wrong with the shape file; I tried adding it manually in ArcMap and it worked just fine. Besides, the data needed for the shapefile isn't in the database. The shape file contains a map of an area, divided up into sections. The access database contains financial information about each of these sections. If a section meets certain monetary criteria, access will modify the definition expression so that it is drawn in ArcMap.

Thanks for the "modify definition expression" code by the way.

Re: Adding Shape File With Access VBA

DavidDuncan — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:29:05 GMT

Found a solution!

If you save the map while it's stuck in the "spinning globe" phase, close the program, and then open the newly saved file, the shape information appears just fine.

To achieve this in the code, I first modified "openMapTemplate()" into a more generic "openMap()" subroutine

Private Sub openMap(filename As String)
'Opens the given file in ArcMap
[INDENT] Dim arcMapDocument As MxDocument

Set arcMapDocument = New MxDocument
Set arcMapApp = arcMapDocument.Parent

arcMapApp.OpenDocument filename

Set arcMapDocument = Nothing[/INDENT] End Sub

And then changed the end of "addShapeFiles()" to this:

   'Initialize the map and add the shape file to it [INDENT]Set pMap = pMxDocument.FocusMap
pMap.AddLayer pFeatureLayer

arcMapApp.SaveAsDocument CurrentProject.Path & "\MapCopy.mxd"
arcMapApp.Shutdown

openMap CurrentProject.Path & "\MapCopy.mxd"[/INDENT]

It's not the most elegant of solutions, but it'll get the job done.