autobound 9 training
TRANSCRIPT
Training Guide
What is autoBound?
Redistricting Data Development
Census Data Import
Incorporate Voter Files (Geocode/Aggregate)
Incorporate Election Results (Disaggregation)
Calculate new data columns
Quality Control
Plan Management
Plan types – House/Senate/Congressional Single/Multi-County/User Defined
Plan Storage and Access by users
Plan Development Plan Management
Plan Editing
Analysis – Comparison/Constituency/Compactness
Output – Reports/Maps/Internet
Architecutre Data – ESRI Shape Files
Automated – Files used to run automated redistricting
Calculations – Temporary copy of the DB used during Calculations
Geocoded Voters - Voter Files
Incumbents – Geocoded Location of Voters
Merge – Temporary copy of the DB used during Dissaggregation
Statewide – Completed Database file
Styles – Labeling Styles
Thematic Maps – Arcview Layer Files containing Thematic demographics
2000 Plans – 2000 Plans in autoBound format
Workspaces – ESRI File Goedatabases ABPlans – Default Workspace for autoBound
Active Matrix – Custom Active Matrix for plan type
Coalition.gdb – Coalition Manager Files
Congressional Plans (User Created Plan Type)○ A PA Test Plan (User Created Plan)
House Plans (User Created Plan Type)
Incumbents – Folder where incumbents for this plan typeare stored
Senate Plans (User Created Plan Type)
Architecture Program
Program Files (x86) on 64 bit systems
Program Files on 32 bit systems
Contains the autobound software
Analysis – ESRI Layer Templates for View Manager
Georules – Geocoding Rules
Google – Template files for plan output to the Internet
Graphics – Graphics used in Map production (Flags etc.)
Layerbackup – Plan Templates, Map Layers for plans
Reports – report templates in Crystal format
RES – Icons used by autobound
Support – Additional Graphics used by the software
Themes – System and user created map themes used for redistricting
Upgrades – Upgrades to the software downloaded by the autoboundadministrator.
Installation Download autoBound from Citygategis.com
If you are running autoBound on Windows Vista or Windows 7, then you must be
logged in as an administrator AND run all programs listed on this page as
Administrator by right-hand clicking on the application and selecting run as
administrator
autoBound installer will attempt to register itself to the Windows
Register. Some Antivirus and Spamware products prevent edits to
the registry. You may need to disable these products beforehand.
Run the Executable using the password provided to you and follow the instructions
After the completion of the installation run the Autobound 9 Administrator from your
desktop
Click Yes to Register the Extension with Arcview
Configuration Run the Desktop Administrator from your desktop. If this is the first time you are
running it, then right hand click and run as Administrator.
If prompted to register with Arcview, select Yes.
Click Ok, a password is not required unless you set it in the Configure my Autobound
Installation menu.
A yellow triangle indicates that portion of configuration has not been completed.
A Green Check indicates the task has been completed.
Select Configure my autobound installation.
Enter the Installation Key provided to you by Citygate. If you do not have a serial number
then your data set will be limited to the State of Indiana.
If you plan to share your plans with others using Google maps then you will need a Google
key for your website. Click “Get Google Map Key” button to start the process
If you plan to use autobound in a standalone mode, then select the top option in the “How
autobound is used menu”. Otherwise, select the bottom option
In single user mode, the software does not enforce any permission settings
If you have selected multi-user environment, then you can set passwords for the Autobound
Administrator and register with Citygate’s Redistricting USA website for sharing plans.
Configuration Select “Setup defaults for my State
Select your state
Enter your Agency Name. This text will appear at the bottom of your reports
Select the layers used for redistricting. Typically, County, Voting Districts and Blocks
Select the folder used to store the Census and other data
Select “Setup or manage workspaces and libraries The Configure Workspace tab allows you to create the areas to store plans
Choose the Master Workspace Folder. This folder will be used to store all created plans
Workspaces are folders created under the Master workspace folder
AB Plans is created by default
You can create other workspaces by clicking the plus button
The Configure Plans tab allows you to create plan type and setup and the default workspace
where they are stored.
Plan types can also include incumbent files. Incumbents files are point shape files containing
the location of the incumbents.
Including additional information such as Name, Party and Picture allows
the information to be displayed during redistricting
Configuration Select “Setup or manage workspaces and libraries - Continued
The Configure Active Matrix Tab allows you to configure tables which display the results of
the redistricting process. Available fields are displayed on the left.
Use the add button to add fields from the table to the spreadsheet.
You can also use the spread sheet editor by clicking to perform more complex editing tasks by
clicking the “Launch Workbook Designer” button.
Spreadsheets can be saved for specific plan types or custom created.
Use the Save As button to create custom spreadsheets.
During redistricting various spreadsheets can be swapped in and out of plans.
This option allows you to have political information displayed for some redistricting sessions
and Census only for others.
Select Allow users access to autobound○ If Networked environment was selected in the Configure My autobound option then you
must give users access to autobound using this tool.
○ Use the Plus button to add a user.
○ Select the user and change their access settings using the check boxes on the right.
○ Click Apply modifications to save your changes.
Database development Select Manage my Census and Political Data to access data management
tools in autoBound.
Select Load Census Data for My State to install 2010 Census Data. This option allows you to download the Census data for your state. Currently 2000 Census with
2009 population projections are available through this site.
You must have the ability to FTP, if you wish to use this service. If FTP is not available to you,
you can request the file on CD or make other arrangements to receive the file.
You can directly download files from Citygate, from and CD/DVD or a network location.
You can also change the location of your master data folder from this menu.
Merge My Political Data provides access to disaggregation tools This option allows you to merge and disaggregate Election results or any other data collected at
one geographic level in order to make the data available at all levels. For example, election
results are available at precinct level. This tool will disaggregate them to blocks then aggregate
them to CCD, Places, Counties and State.
Merge files can be in Txt, CSV, Access or Dbase. Since Shape files use Dbase, Dbase format
is preferred as the need for field renaming is removed from process.
A step by step wizard allows you to perform the process
The disaggregation process, creates a folder called merge in the Master Data folder.
All disaggregation related files are stored in that folder until the process is finalized by the user .
At that point the data in the Statewide folder is updated with the disaggregated data.
Database development
Disaggregation of Election Results
= 8 =9
800 900
19
33
44
1
0
22
20
16
85
2000 Voting
Age Persons
1% of the population
Sample Precinct
• After Disaggregation, Add block results and compare with precinct Numbers
• If different, Add/Remove difference to block with the largest population
• If results in a negative number then remove from 2 blocks with the largest populations
• Can set population Thresholds for Disaggregation
• When disaggregating, your political data should only contain numerical data – String data can not be disaggregated
• When disaggregating, you should insure that your political data does contain NULL values.
Although the software manages NULL values. At times the create difficulty during disaggregation
Database development Select the file containing the election results or data that you wish to merge
If the data is not based on precincts then select the bottom radio box and the appropriate layer once the layer list is displayed
Click Next to preview your data
Click Next to review the Census data layer which will be used for matching
Verify that matching fields exist in the two datasets
Click next to identify columns for matching
The left box will contain the columns from the political data
The right box will contain the columns from your Census Data
The Administrator checks for duplicate field names between your existing Census data and the political data. Duplicate field names are not allowed.
Click Next to begin the matching process
Any errors or unmatched features will be listed in an error log
After reviewing the results, click Next to select the field used for disaggregation, typically population or voting age population
Click Go to begin the process. Adding 15 fields to the State of Indiana required approximately 20 minutes.
You may finalize your merge after the process has been completed or review the results in the merge folder before proceeding
Database development Select Geocode Voter Files to import your voter database.
This option allows you to geocode voter files then aggregate and merge them to your data
Voter files can be a database file or have already been geocoded
If already geocoded, you must be certain that the base geography used matches to Census
The process, summarizes the points at block level, then aggregates them to other geographic levels.
Select the file to be geocoded If using a database, MS Access, Dbase, Excel and Txt are supported. However, if possible
convert you file to Dbase format. Shape files use Dbase. By using Dbase field name changes during the process will not be required.
Click Next to review your data Identify the fields containing the Address and Zip code. The address must be in a complete
form e.g. 123 Main St. stored in a single field.
Identify the fields containing political or demographic data your interested in.
Click Next to select the fields used for the import process. Select the field containing the address
Select the field containing the Zip code
Select the field used for summarization. If you have previously used this file, the information selected in your last session will be displayed.
Click Next and select the resulting file name then Click Go to process
Database development
Block 101 6 5 1 8 4
Aggregation of Registered Voters
Block 101
Party = D
Gender = F
.
.
.
• Geocode to Census Lines (if needed)
• Summarize by Selected Field(s)
• First 1000 records are scanned to identify
possible options in the summary field
• Aggregate at block level
• Aggregate to other levels
Database development Select Calculate or Edit my database to add, remove or calculate new fields
Calculations are performed on a copy of the data which is stored in the Calculations folder
Other options in the system are locked out until calculation are completed
You can add, remove or calculate values in the fields in you database
Fields are listed on the left. Selecting a field will display its type and state totals at the top
You can view the database by selecting Preview database
Commands can be stacked in the SQL command area, then processed in batch mode
When adding a field, be sure to make the field wide enough to store the statewide total
The optimize database option, identifies fields that are less than the user defined value at the
state level
After all edits are made, you can either Finalize the database and update the Statewide folder
or Cancel the updates and abandon your changes
Select Quality Control My Database to check you data for errors This tool verifies that all data needed for redistricting is loaded into your system
You can select fields and verify that the totals at all geographic levels match up
Any errors found will be listed in an error log and saved to DBErros.txt in the statewide folder
Errors in totals can be corrected to match the summary of the blocks
Configure Workspaces and Plans Configure workspaces allows you to create Folders in your system where
plans can be stored The Master Workspace Folder stores all PLANS created by autoBound
This folder is typically stored in a different area than your Census Data Folder
By default, autoBound creates the AB Plans workspace folder for plans to be stored in
An autoBound plan is a windows folder stored in a workspace under the Master workspace folder.
You can create any number of user defined workspaces
Each workspace is essentially a windows folder in the master workspace folder
Workspaces can be organized by Plan type e.g. (House, Senate and Congressional) or by Plan Origin e.g. (Publicly Submitted, Democrat, Republican etc.) or by individual users e.g. (John’s Area, Sam’s Areas etc.)
You can also create your own workspace storage scheme.
To add a new workspace, use the +. To remove a workspace use the X button. Workspaces must be completely empty if you wish to remove them. You can also use the Windows Explorer to remove workspaces and their contents.
Once you create workspaces and plans. The Master workspace can not be simply moved to another location. If you wish to move a workspace after plans have been created, you will need to insert a file called “CopyOpt.par” in every plan in the workspace. The file can be empty. The existence of this file will indicate to the autoBound software that the path for the plan may have been changed and the file links in the Arcview project will have to be updated. AutoBound will automatically delete the CopyOpt.par file after it completes the update of the paths in the project.
Configure Workspaces and Plans Configure Plans allows you to create default plan types for use by your
users when creating new plans in autoBound You can create an unlimited number of Plan types in autoBound
Plan types can be based on the number of districts and/or incumbent files such as (House,
Senate and Congressional, School Board) or based on users creating plans (Jim’s House,
Publicly submitted House etc.) or any other configuration required by you implementation.
To create a plan type, click the + Button. Enter the Plan Type Name, The default number of
districts and the workspace where the plan will be stored.
You can also define an Incumbent file for the Plan type.
AB Plans – Default autoBound workspace
Active Matrix – Area where user created active matrix files are stored
Coalition.gdb – The File Geodatabase for the Coalition Manager
Colorado – User created workspace (could be named anything)
Congressional Plans - User created workspace (could be named anything)
House Plans - User created workspace (could be named anything)
iowatest – User created plan
NE Unicam 2000 Legislative Plan – User created plan
:
:
Shared Plans – Special folder used by autoBound for sharing plans
Incumbents – Folder used to store the Incumbent Point files
Senate Plans - User created workspace (could be named anything)
Configure Workspaces and Plans Configure your Active Matrix
Autobound displays the results of the redistricting process in an Excel compatible
spreadsheet called the Active Matrix.
Multiple spreadsheets can be used in the same plan or be created for use in different plan
types.
The Configure Active Matrix tab allows you to customize the matrix
Use the fields from your database to add columns in the default matrix.
Any formulas that you create on the first row, will be copies to all rows, when districts are
added during the plan creation process
You can customize the spreadsheet using the Launch Workbook Designer button
In the Workbook Designer, you can open a Spreadsheet that has been customized in any of
your plans. You can then save that as the Default AutoBound Matrix or click the Save As to
save it under a new name.
If you wish to add your own calculations or field names, It should be outside of the range of
cells used by autoBound. The Range of cells used by autoBound is defined as the area
where field names from your Census Database are used as Column Names and Rows where
the district number is used as the row heading.
If you enter a column name which is the same as a field name in the Redistricting Database,
autoBound will assume that you intent for autoBound to total the values from the field in the
database under that column. Do not enter your own formulas, they will be cleared by
autoBound during any calculation made in the plan.
Allow users access to autoBound If you selected the network environment with other users in the Configure
my autoBound Installation then Allow users access autoBound option will
be available. Otherwise this menu will not be visible and no additional
configuration is required.
Autobound will require users to enter a user name and password, before
accessing plans
Your system administrator should still configure the system such that users
can not access one another’s files. Autobound can not prevent users from
accessing one another’s files, if Autobound is not used in the process.
Add users, using the + Button. Remove users using the X button.
Removing a users does not remove the plans that they may have created.
After adding the user, select the user from the list, then set access controls
from the right side of the screen.
Click Apply Modifications to save your changes.
You can now begin making plans in autoBound.
autoBound District Editor The autoBound District Editor is an ArcView GIS Extension
The extension is installed during the program installation
To activate the extension, Select Customize from the Arcview Tools menu
Then turn the Autobound 9 – Redistricting Software on
Autobound adds to icons to the Arcview Interface
Select the “AB9 Plan Manager” button
A list of your plans grouped by workspace is displayed
The first group are recent plans
You can sort by any column
Double click on a plan name to open it
Move the mouse over a plan name to see a thumbnail picture of the plan
Any comments which may have been entered will also be displayed
autoBound District Editor Plan Management Tab allows
Open an existing plan
Create a New Plan
Copy a Plan
Delete a Plan
Close a plan
Under the Plan Utilities Tab
Access to the plan can be given
to other users (This option is
only available if networked option
was selected in the AutoBound Administrator)
Comments can also be added or edited for any selected plan
The Reports Tab allows you to run any existing reports for a selected plan
without opening the plan.
The autoBound Settings displays your user name, the Path to the Master
Workspace, your Census data folder and the number of plans in the system
To open a plan, select the plan name then click Open Selected Plan or
double click on the plan name.
autoBound District Editor To Create a plan, select “Create a New Plan” from the Plan Management Tab
Select the Plan Type – Plan types
available are configured in the administrator
You can use another plan of the same type
as a template for creating this plan
You can import a plan and use it to create
a new plan
Or create an empty plan
Autobound allows you to create your own
color and labeling schemes. These can be
stored in the program folder under the “Themes” folder
Enter the Plan name – Plan names can essentially folder names. Windows
rules for naming folders applies. e.g. spaces are okay \ is not!
Enter comments for the plan
By default, autoBound will store the plan in the designated are for the plan
type, add the incumbent file is one is assigned and load the default matrix.
You can modify any of the default options by clicking the More Options arrow
autoBound District Editor
autoBound District Editor Autobound automatically organizes the Arcview Table of
contents by grouping layers under Transportation, water,
Redistricting Layers and Plan Boundary
Redistricting Layers contains Census geography, population
and any political data which you may have added
The Census Data layer group contains layers from your Master
data folder. These files are in ESRI Shape file Format
Plan Boundary contains the plan boundary shapes. This
layer is stored in an ESRI File Geodatabase called AB9PLAN.gdb
The Plan Boundary File Geodatabase is stored in the Plan folder under the
selected workspace in the Master Workspace folder
Autobound has predefined scale dependent display ranges set for most
layers used in the redistricting process. You can change these settings
using the Arcview Properties window
To make these changes permanent for all new plans, edit the layers in the
Themes folder in the autoBound program folder.
autoBound District Editor All autoBound tools are available in the docked menu
Tools are grouped by type
Current District is the Target district to which selected areas
are assigned. You can set the Target District by clicking the
district number, selecting the Set Target option or using the
Ctrl key in combination with Assign Area or Select Area
options and clicking into a district
Active layer is the Census layer from which geographies are
selected. You can set the Active Layer by clicking the Layer
name or selecting the Select Layer option
Zoom to District – zooms to the extent of the Current District
and highlights the district with a red boundary. Use the Clear
selection to clear the red highlight
Assign Area – Assigns from the Active Layer to the Current
District. Click in the map to assign an area, drag a box to
assign any geographies that intersect the box or use the Alt
key combination to draw a “lasso”. Double mouse click to end,
ESC to Cancel
autoBound District Editor Select Area allows you to select the areas to be assigned then
use the Assign Selected button to assign them. When using
this tool, you can use the Shift key combination to add or
remove from your selected set
Assign Selected, assigns all selected features to the Current
Target District
Select using overlay allows you to use another polygon (or
Area) layer for selection of feature from your Active Layer. For
Example, you can use city boundaries to select the VTDs
Use the Select Overlay layer option to select which layer will
be used. A Slider bar allows you to adjust precision by which
selections are made.
When adding a non-Census Layer to autoBound. You must
insure that the layer is already projected to: Geographic Coordinate System: GCS_North_American_1983
Datum: D_North_American_1983
Prime Meridian: Greenwich
Angular Unit: Degree
Not doing so, will result in errors in the redistricting layer.
autoBound District Editor Clear selection, clears the currently selected geographies. It
also clears any graphics displayed on the screen such as highlighted districts
Select district, selects the geographic from the active layer that are entirely within the Current District.
Undo, reverses the last edit made to the districts
History displays a calendar with the previously executed commands. You can roll back to any previous step in the history of the plan. Use the Shift key to select the beginning and ending of the dates on the
calendar, you wish to review.
Click the command in the list to view the thumbnail preview of the step
Double click the command or Click Preview on map to display the history over the existing districts with a red boundary highlight. Clear selection removes the highlighted boundaries
Click Retrieve to roll back the plan to the selected history. This process generates a new history backup
With the exception of the starting and ending points for each previous day, the system automatically removes backups older than the last 3 sessions
To permanently keep a backup, select the backup and click Keep Permanently.
To remove a backup click Remove
autoBound District Editor Backups are stored in a folder called Plan Backups in the plan
folder
Within each backup folder, commands are organized in
sequentially numbered folders containing a copy of the plan
File Geodatabase, Snap shot of the screen, a copy of the
Active Matrix and a text file containing the command which
initiated the creation of the backup the username and time
Each backup history file is a complete copy of the autoBound
Plan database
Save snapshot allows a copy of the redistricting database to
be saved as a history snap shot. Checking the Share with
others checkbox will make the snap shot available to other
plans through the import plan option.
Snap shots are not removed by the system
autoBound District Editor The District Manager tool allows the configuration of multiple districts to be changed at one
time
Add allows the total number of
districts in the plan to be increased
Remove, removes the selected
district from the plan and renumber
the remaining districts
The Save and Load options allow a
text file to be created where all district
numbers can be resequenced
Erase, clears the boundaries of the
selected districts
Rename allows the selected district
to be renamed to another district. The
target district must be empty
Switch allows two selected districts to be swapped
Merge allows multiple districts to be merged into a single district. The last district selected will
be the one merged to
Lock will allow the selected districts to be locked from edit
Unlock will unlock selected districts
Changes in the District Manager can be undone using Undo or History
autoBound District Editor Set Target, sets the district to which selected geography will be
assigned
Select Layer, selects the active layer from which geographies
are selected
Select Overlay Layer, works with the Select Using Overlay tool
and identified the layer used as the selection template
Label options allow you to label Census geographies with
attributes. The option also allows conditional labeling of the
districts. e.g. Red text when deviations are not met Select the fields which will be used for labeling then click the + button
The attributes will be stacked in the order which you select them
You can change the text color using the Color button
Saving the labeling style will make the style available to other users
To label districts, select Plan Boundary from the Left Tab
You can create conditions using the tools provided
Conditions can result in text displayed in different colors or with symbols
Reset colors, resets the district colors
autoBound District Editor The View Manager allows map layers to be added or removed from your plan
Layers are grouped by type
Analysis group allows access to layers
which are created during analysis
performed by you. If the analysis has
not been performed the layer will not
be available.
The Census Data layers can be turned
on or off , but not removed
Demographic categories layers are
created based on US wide layers. The
color scheme my not work for your
specific area. You can customize these |
layers using Arcview. They are stored
in the autobound program folder under
Layerbackups>Thematic Maps
Access to ESRI and Microsoft Bing online layers is also provided here. Arcview 9.3.1 or later is
required for Microsoft Bing layers
autoBound District Editor – Analysis tools
Display Statistics will display a window which allows values
from the Census database and your political data to be
displayed. When the Select Area tool is used the totals for the
selected features is updated in the Statistics window Use the select fields button to select field for display
Click the check box next to the field to display the field in the bar graph
The Bar Graph can display summary for the selected geographies or create
a bar graph for each selected geography
The Analysis field compares the totals for selected geographies to the target
value and identifies the number of districts which could fit in the selected
area. For this feature to work, the Analysis Field must also exist in the Active
Matrix with a Target Value
Check plan for Errors allows you to find Unassigned and
discontiguous area in the plan.
Click Start to begin the review process
Double click on the error list or click Zoom to, to display the error
Identify splits, identifies areas in the plan where geographies
have been split. You can select the layers to be checked. A
report is generated after the analysis has been completed.
autoBound District Editor – Analysis tools
Recalculate Plan, recomputes the totals for the districts and
updates the Active Matrix. Perform a detailed calculation, if
you have made a great deal of block level edits. Detail
calculation, reconsolidates Census geographies making up a
district to the highest level possible, there by reducing the plan
size and improving performance
Compare plans, allows you to compare the current plan with
Other plans in the workspace, an external shape file or the
plan itself at an earlier stage and identify differences The areas of difference will be highlighted with red X’s
A report outlining the differing geographies will also be displayed
Core constituency, allows you to compare the current plan with
Other plans in the workspace, an external shape file or the
plan itself at an earlier stage and identify areas that are the
same This report allows a member to identify how much of his district has
remained the same and which district the new portions of his district came
from
A report outlining the information will also be displayed
autoBound District Editor – Analysis tools
Compactness, provides access to compactness analysis tools
within autoBound. 5 of the most common methods for calculation of compactness are included
Additionally, users can choose to create their own compactness
measurement using the custom option
Street view provides access to Microsoft Bing and Google
Street views. Click into the map to display street views for the
selected area. An internet connection is required. This option
is primarily designed to support identification of new polling
locations.
autoBound District Editor – Coalition Builder
The Coalition Builder tools is designed to allow comments from member to be captured and used during redistricting
Members can identify areas in their plans that of interest for either keeping or removing during this process
Selections are limited to Census geographies
The Coalition Manager database is shared between users with access to your workspaces
Multiple Coalition Builder databases can be created. e.g. House, Senate, Congressional etc.
Use the Coalition manager tool to Create, Delete, Add or Remove Coalition databases
Edit area allows you to select areas from the Active Layer and mark them as Keep/Add Area to District or Can Remove Area
If an incumbent file exists, the software will automatically load information regarding each district. Otherwise, you can manually fill in the form.
Areas okay to remove will be highlighted in Green O’s. Areas not Okay to remove are highlighted in Red X’s.
View areas allows you to select an area and view information from the Coalition Manager Database
autoBound District Editor – Reports and Output
Run reports provides access to redistricting reports
The Crystal Portion of Arcview must be installed for the Reports to function
Crystal Reports is not required to run reports. But is required if you wish to customize or create your own reports
Each time a report is run, a copy of the report is saved in the Plan folder. These copies can be quickly accessed through the Run Existing Reports Tab
You can make plans available for viewing using Broadcast to Internet option Plans shared this way are only available for viewing. They can not be edited
Select the Active Matrix columns you wish to include
Select an output folder where the html files are to be created
If you wish for autobound to automatically upload to a server, provide login and address information
AutoBound will generate several HTML files along with a Google Maps mashupready for placing on the Internet
If you have registered on redistrictingusa.com, you can upload plans and make them available to the public using this site. FTP is the file transfer protocol used. Your Firewall must allow FTP file transfer.
Presentation mode, increases the text size in the map and Matrix
autoBound District Editor – Data Exchange
Export spreadsheet allows you to export the Active Matrix to
several formats including HTML and Excel.
Export Plan allows you to export the plan as a Shape file or a
Block Equivalency text or dbf file. You can also export plans in
autoBound Exchange format. Autobound Exchange format
will only export the boundary. It is suitable for sending copies
of your plan to other Caucuses, if you do not wish for them to
see any of your analysis data.
Import plan allows you to import plans from Block Equivalency
files in Text or DBF format, autobound Exchange format or
ESRI shape file. When shape files are imported, you can specify the accuracy of the match in
the geographies.
Areas of where autoBound could not determine an accurate import, will be
highlighted on the map after the import is complete.
Backup plan creates a backup zip file of the entire plan.
autoBound District Editor – Utilities
Label Field has been replaced with Label Options in the Edit
Tools Tab
None Political, remove references to party registration from
the incumbent file
Automated Redistricting allows autoBound to create
automated plans based on Random or Incumbent starting
locations
Options allows you to turn Pop up error messages on or off
Show detailed log, displays the system log as commands are
processed
autoBound District Editor – Active Matrix
Print Active Matrix allows you to print the spreadsheet
Print preview provides access to a preview of the pages before
printing
Page setup allows access to parameters used to control the
printing of the spreadsheet
Save Matrix allows the saving of different version of the Active
Matrix in your plan. Saved versions can be loaded from the Active
Matrix Combo box in the Assist tool
Save as BMP allows the matrix to be saved as a Window bitmap
file. It also allows the file to be loaded as a graphic in the layout
Copy selected, copies the selected cells in the Active Matrix
Paste selected, pastes the copied cells in the Active Matrix
Toggle Assist – Hides and shows the autoBound Assist tool
Insert Columns allows you to add new columns to the Active
Matrix containing values from Census or you political data. User
defined columns can also be added. User defined columns
should not be named after data fields in your Census or political
data. Autobound will assume the column to be a database field to
be calculated if they are named as such
autoBound District Editor – Active Matrix
Remove column will remove the selected columns. If you
remove all columns from a sheet, you must then remove the
sheet
Conditional format allows coloring of values in the Active
Matrix, based on a numerical threshold
Cell Properties provides access to the Cell formatting menu.
Color, Font, Decimal places along with other settings for the
selected cells can be modified
Bold, Italic, Underline, Align Left/Center/Right allow formatting
of the selected cells
Zoom in 25%, Out 25%, 100% set the zoom level for the
Active Matrix.
autoBound District Editor – Assist tool
The autoBound Assist tool identifies the district with the highest deviation and the 2 districts making up the plan deviation.
Clicking the District with the largest deviation in the assist tool will set it as the current district. Double clicking will zoom to the district
The Locate Adjacent Suitable district will identify neighboring district that can help correct the deviation in the Current District
An arrow will display their location on the map
Find Features Based on Selected District button will located geographies from the Active layer along the boundary which will correct the deviation.
Active Matrix Combo box will load other spreasheets into the Active Matrix. A recompute will be required
The Dynamic Checkbox, reduces the Active Matrix to the districts currently visible on the map