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Troubleshooting WIMS 3
Having technical difficulties with WIMS 3? On this page, we present the most common technical problems encountered when
using WIMS 3, and solutions for how to fix those problems. If you have further technical difficulties, you can ask your
local IT/TIS or GIS specialist for help, or you can look on the WIMS 3 Message Board
(http://rachel.des.ucdavis.edu/wims/) for further information
and assistance.
Common WIMS 3 Error Messages I am trying to understand this weird WIMS 3 error message Download this handy Excel workbook guide to WIMS 3 error messages, last updated December 2007. WIMS 3 Desktop Installation Problems and Error Messages "Can't find project or library" error appears when using Access 97 You must download and install the OCX files that are provided on the WIMS 3 download page. Newly created Areas do not appear when using the Access 2000 version in Access 2000 Convert the WIMS 3 Access to the Access 2002 version. Do this in Tools > Database Utilities > Convert Database > Convert to 2002-2003 version. When using Access 2002 in MS Office XP, the expression "on-click" you entered as the event property setting produces the error "Object or class does not support the set of events" Be sure to download and install MS Office XP Service Pack 3 (SP-3) that is available from the Microsoft website. When I create a new Area record on the WIMS 3 Desktop, why does the "Save and Continue" button not automatically save the information and allow me to create a new Area record right away? The "Save and Continue" button in the New Area record was originally created to facilitate the creation of a new Treatment immediately after creating a new Area, and was not created to allow the creation of multiple Areas at a time. To create several New Areas, you must "Save and Close" to save that new record then "New Area" each time. ArcPad Installation Problems When I install ArcPad, I get a font error. I can open the ArcPad application, but then all of my pull-down menus are screwy. ArcPad 6.03 requires a new patch to work with the latest version of Microsoft Mobile Windows 2003. To obtain this patch, download it from http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=knowledgebase.techarticles.articleShow&d=27073. Next, move the entire (unzipped) file onto your Pocket PC (using Windows Explorer in ActiveSync); then tap on the application on the Pocket PC to run it. After it has been installed, turn off your Pocket PC. The next time you turn it on, ArcPad should open and run normally. The WIMS 3 toolbar does not appear when using older versions of ArcPad (6.01 or 6.02). Be sure to upgrade to ArcPad version 6.03. Even though the WIMS 3 toolbar appears in ArcPad, I keep getting a message saying that one of the WIMS 3 shapefiles is not loaded, even though all three are loaded. We have come across this problem a few times. Be sure that you have the most recent version of WIMS 3, and that the ArcPad Setup and GIS Export processes are done properly. If the situation persists, you can try uninstalling and reinstalling ArcPad, and rebooting the Pocket PC after uninstalling and reinstalling. This also occurred once when one of the shapefiles and its associated APL and VBS files were loaded twice, which is only possible if loaded from two different locations on the PPC. This should not happen if ArcPad Setup and GIS Export protocols are followed. Removing the duplicate shapefiles solved the problem. The ArcPad_WIMS folder (with all of the files) does not download onto my desktop Depending upon the OS and configuration of the your desktop with WIMS 3 (i.e., how Winzip runs or is set up), users sometimes do not get the ArcPad_WIMS folder that comes in the ArcPad zip file located in the folder with the WIMS 3 Access database. When the user attempts an ArcPad Setup or GIS Export, an error message is delivered that reminds them to do this. If this occurs, you must manually move the ArcPad_WIMS folder and associated subfolders to the same folder as the WIMS 3 Access database. Problems in the Field, using WIMS 3 in ArcPad 
Offshoots or "rogue" points appear when using streaming vertices to record a polygon in ArcPad The main bug responsible for this has been fixed, but these rogue points can still potentially occur if there are crossovers in the polygon. Try to not create a crossover when you are creating your polygon. When mapping large polygons, we recommend leaving a clipboard or shirt where you started your polygon, then returning to that exact spot to finish the polygon. My Pocket PC locks up This can occur if your GPS unit is still active when the Pocket PC powers off (while still in ArcPad). You can try turning off your GPS unit then turning it on again, or if it is truly stuck, you must do a soft reset of the Pocket PC. The "You" field in the ArcPad Occurrence and Assessment form does not remember previously entered names. This is an ArcPad bug. In the latest version of WIMS 3, this bug still occurs. My Pocket PC keeps displaying "Redraw Interrupted by User" on the screen. What does this mean? This occurs whenever you have touched the screen before ArcPad has a chance to finish the previous command. To get rid of the message, click on the "refresh" button. You may also need to repeat your previous command. My Pocket PC keeps coming up with the message "Maximum PDOP has been exceeded." This is because you have set your default PDOP option to alert you whenever you GPS unit is not receiving enough satellites or sufficiently accurate readings. To alter your options, Go to Options under the Tools Menu, and change your PDOP settings or alert settings, or simply wait until you get better satellite reception. What is meant by the message "Redraw Interrupted by User" that keeps appearing on my handheld screen? This message simply means that you have touched the screen (with your stylus or finger) before ArcPad has a chance to finish redrawing the image. ArcPad usually takes a few moments to do this, especially if you are zooming-in or zooming-out of the large image file. When you get this message, what it means is that your last command has likely been aborted. You can get rid of this message by pressing the "refresh" button, then repeating your last command. Be sure to not touch the screen again before the command has been completed! Data Transfer Errors, between the WIMS 3 Desktop and Handheld Unit The WIMS 3 Desktop freezes and crashes when I am trying to GIS Import my field data from the handheld unit. This can result if you have incorrectly entered your time data in either the Assessment or Treatment record. Remember that time spent must be entered as 24-hour (military) time or total time, without any colons or abbreviations. To fix this, re-open ArcPad, reload your shapefiles, edit those data records, then exit ArcPad. You may need to restart your computer, re-open WIMS 3, re-establish the ActiveSync, then start the GIS Import process again. "Run-time error '70': permission denied" when trying to GIS Import (or Export) (A) "Run-time error '70': permission denied" can occur when you are inadvertently doing a GIS Export or Import when ArcPad is still open on your handheld. This creates sharing violations in files, which usually must be deleted before the import will be successful. Be sure that you have actually closed and exited ArcPad, not just minimized it. To really exit ArcPad, you must Exit from the "File" menu in ArcPad. If you just click on the "X" at the bottom of the screen, you are only minimizing the program window. (B) You may encounter the above error, "Pocket PC not found" or "Path not found" when using both a Trimble GeoXT (or GeoXM) and a Pocket PC handheld unit (or even two different types of Pocket PC). This is because WIMS 3 thinks it is talking to a Trimble when the user is trying to interface with a PPC, or visa versa. If you do an ArcPad Setup and GIS Export on the Trimble and then try an export on the PPC without first doing ArcPad Setup, you will get an error. Similarly, if you do a Setup and Export on first the Trimble and then the PPC, collect data on both, and then try to Import from the Trimble without doing ArcPad Setup, you get this error (because the PPC was the last unit you interfaced with). To solve this problem, go to Tab 2 of ArcPad Setup, and tell WIMS 3 what it should be communicating with (i.e., the name and location of the folder where the WIMS 3 folder resides, which is "Disk" for the Trimble and "SD Card" for the PPC). (C) Editing Assessment or Treatment polygon vertices in ArcPad makes it impossible to import the data directly from the Pocket PC with GIS Import (halts with an error message, "Runtime error "6": Overflow"). This has to do with a value in the header of the shapefile that gets changed or corrupted. The only workaround that we've discovered is to make another copy using Arctoolbox (Data Management Tools, Features, Copy Features). Be sure to save the new shapefile under the same name in a different folder or rename it to a WIMS 3 name before trying to do GIS Import (i.e., the SHP, SHX, DBF, and PRJ files for the assessment or treatment shapefile). Users should only edit polygons in ArcMap or Arcview, not in ArcPad. (D) If WIMS 3 is installed and set up separately on two computers (desktops) in an office, and a user tries to GIS Export from one desktop and import on the other, the imported data will NOT be visible (even though it may have been imported), even if all the information in the support tables is exactly the same. This is because the primary keys for AREAS will be different on the two computers. We've seen this problem in workshops where we tried switching GeoXTs to different computers because of communication problems. Users should be managing the Access database on only 1 computer in an office. GPS-related problems My Pocket PC unit does not recognize my GPS unit. Use FindGPS (The binocular icon under GPS Preferences in ArcPad 7.x, or a separate extension which can be downloaded and installed for ArcPad 6.0.3) to search the COM ports on your handheld for the GPS. You may need to repeat this more than once to find your GPS unit. Once you have found the GPS unit, select the "Force Parity to None" option and save it. My GPS unit has problems maintaining a fix This problem can occur even if you are using very expensive GPS equipment! Try to get a fix in an open area on a cloudless day, if possible. We have seen that older Pharos GPS units have intermittent problems maintaining a fix. There is a troubleshooting section in Appendix of the User's Manual about this. Units with a SiRF Star III chipset (e.g., GlobalSat BC-337, Holux ) are better at quickly getting and maintaining a fix. Many models are also WAAS capable for increased accuracy if you can receive WAAS signals in your area. This is not so much a recommendation for any particular unit as a reminder that there are several models of CompactFlash and Bluetooth GPS units that can be used with WIMS 3. As time passes and technologies constantly improve, there will likely be better, cheaper GPS units available. I have another question that you don't answer. Where do I go? You can post your WIMS 3-related questions, problems, suggestions, or other thoughts at the WIMS 3 Message Board, which has been designed to support all WIMS 3 users. This site is at http://ice.ucdavis.edu/wimsnew/. You can use this site to find out who else is using WIMS 3; we expect that soon a users' network will develop. TNC staff can also seek WIMS 3 training (see our web page containing notes for TNC staff) or ask for help from the Enterprise Help Desk, since they are now trained in WIMS 3! 
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Updated February 2008 ©The Nature Conservancy, 2005 |
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Troubleshooting