GMMS 10.1 Data Prerelease
Learn about the newest datasets available for the Global Ministry Mapping System.
What has changed between the versions of GMMS for ArcView?
- GMMS for ArcView 3.3
- GMMS 3.2 and previous versions of GMMS for ArcView
If you already have ArcView 8.3 or 9.x software, or are seriously considering acquiring it from ESRI, why do you need the GMMS? Click here to learn about the distinctions between GMMS for ArcView vs. stand-alone ArcView.
GMMS data collections are compatible with several other software packages. For specialized situations - such as field work using pocket PCs, some Internet applications, distribution requiring low cost/limited capability mapping software, or non-Windows platforms - we may recommend alternative software.
Feel free to contact us to discuss you particular application or to ask for advice regarding which solutions best meet your need. Email info@gmi.org for more information.
3.2 Overview
Global Ministry Mapping System Version 3.2
The Global Ministry Mapping System (GMMS) Version 3.2 continues the tradition of previous versions of the GMMS, combining highly-functional Geographic Information System (GIS) software with a collection of geographic data, statistical data, software extensions, and sample maps carefully chosen to help Christian ministries plan, coordinate, and evaluate international, cross-cultural work. Starting with Version 3, the GMMS concept has been extended to become a growing, integrated family of products and a vital, connected community of users.
3.2 vs 3.1
Differences between GMMS for ArcView 3.2 and 3.1
A new version of the ArcView software (9.2) has been incorporated. This new version has the following changes from ArcView 9.1:
- Direct access to data in Excel documents.
- Improved handling of Unicode character sets.
- Direct support of ECW and JPEG 2000 raster data.
- Animation support.
- Improved table display and formatting
- New geodatabase type (File Geodatabase) that allows local geodatabases of essentially unlimited size
- Includes nearly 20 GB of additional GIS data from the ESRI Data and Maps collection, including:
- Global satellite images
- Global elevation model based on the Shuttle Topography Radar Mission
- A detailed U.S. Street Map
- Demographic data and boundaries for North America and Europe
The following changes were made to data in the GMMS:
- Language mapping corresponds to the 15th Edition Ethnologue, and includes 20 additional fields of data including new ISO codes, mixed-case names, bilingualism and literacy data, and much more.
- Internal political boundaries (states, provinces) have been updated for over 50 countries. Province names now appear in mixed case with diacritics. Populated place names are now consistently in mixed case. Country boundaries have been updated to show the new Serbia/Montenegro split.
- Sample maps have been completely redesigned with a fresh look and to illustrate the range of visualization features in ArcView and the GMMS data. Thirty new sample maps have been added.
- Demographic data has been extensively extended and updated.
- Hillshade and Elevation Color raster datasets are better aligned with vector geography.
3.1 vs 3.01
Differences between GMMS for ArcView 3.1 and 3.01
A new version of the ArcView software (9.1) has been incorporated. This new version has the following changes from ArcView 9.0:
- Save As Tool to Ease Migration - The Save As tool allows you to save a copy of most documents (.mxd, .sxd, .lyr) in a format compatible with ArcView 8.3.
- Improved Quality, Stability, and Performance - includes many improvements and adds support for large data sets. In particular, a number of problems related to viewing long database field names in dialog boxes have been resolved.
- Improved Geoprocessing - ArcView 9.1 adds over 50 tools to the geoprocessing toolbar.
- New easy-to-use Merge tool to merge two or more shapefiles (including attributes if desired) into a new shapefile.
- Productivity Enhancements - Include the following:
- Pan to selection - Centers map on selected features without changing map scale
- Pause drawing button - Suspends drawing of the map. This allows multiple changes in symbology without waiting for screen redraws.
- Swipe tool - Allows you to view layers under a layer without turning layers off and on
- Ability to copy data or fields from Identity window
- Better OGC Support - ArcGIS 9.1 offers broader support of OGC map standards including WMS, WFS, and Catalog Services.
- Crystal Reports XI - The latest release from Business Objects.
- ArcPress printing extension is now included with basic ArcView
The following changes were made to data in the GMMS:
- Minor updates and corrections.
- Districts of India (polit2_adm_pl.shp) minor correction to correspond to 2001 Census; Omid district code added to attributes.
3.01 vs 3.0
A new version of the ArcView software (9.0) has been incorporated. This new version has the following added changes from ArcView 8.3:
- Elimination of Arc Toolbox as a separate application, it now runs within ArcView. It contains Geoprocessing Tools
- Eliminate the Geoprocessing Wizard, and replaced with the tools dispersed within the Arc Toolbox directory system.
- New modeling capabilities. You can now create models (flowcharts) that perform a series of geoprocessing functions that achieve the end-product you are looking for, thus eliminating many time consuming and confusing steps.
- New Label Manager toolbar. It allows you to manage all of your labels for your map project in a single interface. You no longer have to click on each layer to change your label properties.
- Improved printing and export interface.
- More projections supported. Rasters can now be projected.
- Quality enhancements such as faster startup time, bug fixes, option to index tables, and reduced memory usage.
- ArcCatalog has a Toolbar, ArcView 8x Tools, which can import to various other mapping formats including Atlas GIS (*.agf) geo files to shape files or export shapefile to other mapping formats.
- GPS support toolbar
The following changes have been made to the GMMS:
- GMMS extensions updated to work with ArcView 9
- Installer changes to facilitate uninstallation of ArcView 8.3 and extensions prior to installing version 9 and to install available service packs for ArcView 9.0 or 8.3
- Added utility to swap between standard and optional Indian-preferenced international borders
The following changes were made to data in the GMMS:
- Fixed data source path to hillshades.lyr
- Corrected some language and political border and code data errors
- Added codes to GMMS basemap world political geographic files to enable joining of more coding systems
- polit_intl1_pl.shp
- owworldc.shp
- Updated India districts in polit2_adm_pl.shp to districts in 2001 census. Local_code field added to contain India census code for districts. Indrelig.dbf district population and Christian and Muslim population updated to 2001 census. Project files using this data updated.
- A directory, Political\India created to contain country and international border shapefiles which reflect the India view of country borders (e.g. Jammu and Kashmir totally part of India). If these files are copied over the normal country and international border shapefiles, the GMMS wizard will display the India view of the country borders.
- Integrated Evangelization Status data from peoplegroups.org
- Language layer created from Widespread to show widespread languages symbolized by area according to population of language
- Upper/lower case language names added to language shapefiles
- Updated Jesus Film Status data
Learn more about GMMS for ArcView by clicking on any of the buttons at the top of the page or compare the features of the various versions of the GMMS.
For more information about GMMS 3.2 for ArcView, email gmms@gmi.org with your specific questions.
Upgrade from Atlas
I already have an earlier version of GMMS (based on AtlasGIS software). Should I upgrade to GMMS for ArcView 3.1?
GMMS for ArcView 3.1 is considerably more powerful than the earlier GMMS versions. Specifically, GMMS for ArcView 3.1 has the following features (in contrast to GMMS for Atlas 2.0):
- GMMS 3.1 software extensions provide simplified control of the 60+ layers of the Global Mission Base Map data. A large and growing number of software extensions produced by others (both free downloads from arcscripts.esri.com and commercial software) are also available.
- GMMS for ArcView 3.1 includes global shaded relief (shadows of hills) and colored elevation (green valleys, white mountaintops, etc).
- GMMS for ArcView 3.1 supports more complex geographic data (32,000 points per feature vs. only 6,500 points GMMS 2.0).
- GMMS for ArcView 3.1 map layouts can include charts, images, or other graphics (either those produced by the GIS software or pasted from other applications such as Excel), etc.
- GMMS for ArcView 3.1 can include images (such as topography, aerial photography, or satellite images) as layers in a map. Images such as scanned maps or aerial photographs can be aligned with base map data, and additional geographic data can be digitized from the scanned image on-screen.
- The geographic databases included in GMMS for ArcView 3.1 have been extensively updated and improved since version 2.0: language mapping and databases have been fully updated to the current 14th edition Ethnologue; national and sub-national political geography has been comprehensively updated, and country polygons have been added to the detail data; and lakes and reservoirs have been separated from the land areas and ranked by size, allowing selective inclusion.
- The statistical databases (church and missions information) included in GMMS for ArcView 3.1 have been updated, including all new data from the 2001 Operation World and other sources.
- GMMS for ArcView 3.1 includes full-featured Crystal Reports 11, for producing highly customized reports and charts.
- GMMS for ArcView 3.1 automatically generates and places text labels to avoid overlaps.
- GMMS for ArcView 3.1 layers can be made partially transparent, allowing display, for example, of both a statistically-generated theme (such as Bible translation status of language groups) and landform information (such as shaded relief) on the same map.
- GMMS has improved protection of underlying data: changing data requires the user to explicitly start an editing session, and data changes are not committed until the end of the edit session.
- GMMS for ArcView 3.1 supports over 1,000 map projections.
- GMMS for ArcView 3.1 can directly open and display without conversion, or can convert for editing, a wide range of geographic data formats.
- GMMS for ArcView 3.1 can directly open and display a wide range of data table types without requiring conversion. A single data table can be used in several layers of a map.
- All geographic data included with the GMMS is globally seamless.
- GMMS for ArcView 3.1 data tables can be attached to multiple layers in a map.
- GMMS for ArcView 3.1 has improved handling of international character sets, including Unicode support for most text-related features.
Note that GMMS for ArcView 3.1 requires a more robust computer system and a more recent operating system than previous versions of GMMS.
Read about the most recent detailed technical requirements.
