Easy Trace. What is it, and what for?
We began development of the Easy Trace package eighteen years ago deeming it would be an AutoCad–oriented digitization program (vectorizer). But the very first demonstration of the software at the COMTEC Exhibition proved that means of “paper-to-digit conversion” were badly needed not for CADs only but for GIS-technologies as well.
Characteristic of GIS usable data quickly drew a distinction between "drawing" and "cartographic" digitizing software. Specialized CAD vectorizers appeared soon and some favorites grew and established among them. Unlike this, most participants in the domain of GIS- technologies dropped out of the race.
It took us several years to equip Easy Trace with the base set of functions. Low price, simplicity, and high speed of image processing were the program’s main advantages at that time. Then we suggested an original approach to vector data extraction from the image and the package came up with competitors and passed them.
The concept of program and operator interplay enabled Easy Trace to evolve from a set of specialized tools "living under the same roof " into an assembly of interactive utilities working with thousands of objects simultaneously.
It became clear rather soon that preparation of high-quality data requires powerful means of topology control and correction. Usually, this task is related to GIS rather than digitization programs but we saw it otherwise and supplied our vectorizer with tools for detection and mass correction of topological errors.
Further increase of output data readiness and value was achieved by introduction of effective tools for attribute assignment and validation. Later, special utilities were added for relief digitization, work with polygonal coverages, modification of multilayer coordinated structures, optimization and transformation of vector data.
Such an expansion of functionality made the package a real professional tool and thus allowed us to change its name for Easy Trace PRO. It outgrew abilities of a digitization program and is being positioned now as a software complex for preparation and modification of vector data in large massifs.
And "large" means really large. Tight control of internal presentation and refined algorithms of vector data modification make a usual notebook sufficient for a topographic map of an entire region or a chart of a large plant.
Preprocessing of source images gave a powerful incentive to "developing of frontier territories". It has become possible to apply effective automatic digitization to various raster data that were previously suitable for manual tracing only.
An additional reserve of efficiency enhancement consists in ergonomics of interactive tools – it is possible to make the work several times faster by means of their careful adjustment.
We have been polishing our tools for almost two decades and constantly test their "sharpness" on "our own back", as Easy Trace Group is not only the author and supplier of the package but also an executor of real cartographic projects. So, we develop Easy Trace PRO for our own sakes first of all, and that is the reason to be sure in the package effectiveness!