User's guide to Ivent
Introduction
Ivent is an Windows Mobile application for handheld devices. It is used for field inventory of sample plot data. PlanStart is used for setting up a sample design, and export data to Ivent, and import it back and process the collected data.
The inventory of a sample plot includes the registration of tree and site characteristics. The application can retrieve data from peripheral devices (through Bluetooth or other radio), including a digital caliper (for tree diameter measurement), a clinometer (for tree height measurement), a GPS, and a new tree positioning device (PosTex).
Main steps
Considerable techniqualities are involved in a field inventory. In short, a field inventory includes the following steps:
- Import a stand register
- Set up a sample design
- Set up an inventory and export data to a database file
- Copy the database file to the field computer
- It is possible to distribute an inventory over several field crews just by distributing the same file created in the step above. PlanStart can handle this when importing back to the system.
- Do field inventory with Ivent
- Import field inventory data back to PlanStart
- If you have distributed the inventory to several computers, you can import them one by one until the whole inventory is completed.
Field inventory instructions
Instruction from 2008 (in Swedish) NB: This instruction is from field-studies made in summer '08 and has not been updated in accordance with the latest version of Ivent.
Settings
In Ivent's startpage you can find the menu Settings. Some of the settings are the listed below. After making changes, you must restart Ivent for the changes to take effect.
- DatabasePath
- The path to where subfolder with database files are stored. For display only. Can only be modified by editing the app.ini file directly in a text editor.
- Comport GPS
- Com-port for GPS. Default = 9. If you use an external GPS och connect it to COM9 then this setting should work.
- Comport Caliper
- Com-port for caliper. Default = 8. Set to 1 if you use Mantax caliper and Archer PDA
You may have to edit the port settings so that they match your mobile device. TDS Nomad uses two ports for Bluetooth, ports COM8 and COM9.
- CaliperModel
- Type av computer caliper. 0 (default) = Digitech Professional (Bluetooth), 1=Digitech Mantax (radio device connected to serial port)
- Species Order
- Determines the order in which tree species codes are listed when entering tree codes in forms. You can change the order by selecting a species code, and move it up or down with the buttons with arrows.
- SampleTreeSelectionMethod
- Method for selecting sample trees, that is caliper trees for which additional measurements to diameter and species are made, such as age, height and barh thickness. Systematic (default) is a modifed version of the "random" algorithm, and gives a more evenly distribution of sample trees over sample plots. Both methods are PPS-methods (probability proportional to size).
- CaliperCode1
- The species code in Ivent that corresponds to code nr 1 on the caliper.
- CaliperCode2
- The species code in Ivent that corresponds to code nr 2 on the caliper.
- ...
- CaliperCode8
- The species code in Ivent that corresponds to code nr 8 on the caliper.
Currently the calipers we are familiar with only support eigth species. If there are more species, you may have to edit the species code manually in Ivent after registering it with some other, temporary code.
The settings are stored in a file called app.ini which is located in the same folder as the Ivent program (normally Program\Ivent). If this file is missing, a new one is automatically created by Ivent at startup (which is good if your app.ini file is corrupt). If there is a file available, the settings are read from that file at startup. This can be utilized of you have several invenntory crews with the same equipment and setup: just distribute an proper app.ini file.
Notes
- If you are upgrading from an older Ivent-version you should remove the old app.ini file and replace it with one of the following*:
- English version:
- Swedish version: