digital pen & peninized forms by: george teachman national soil survey center usda natural...

National Cooperative Soil SurveyNational Cooperative Soil SurveyNCSSNCSSNRCSNRCS

Natural Resources Conservation ServiceNatural Resources Conservation Service

Digital Pen & Peninized Forms

By:

George TeachmanNational Soil Survey Center

USDA Natural Resources Conservation ServiceLincoln, NE

Digital Pen and Capturx for Excel Webinar21 May 2013

NRCSNRCSNatural Resources Conservation ServiceNatural Resources Conservation Service National Cooperative Soil SurveyNational Cooperative Soil Survey

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¡YOU DON’T NEED SPECIAL PAPER! Application: primarily, field data collection

1. Collect information on paper maps and forms using pen

2. Import data from pen into standard soil survey applications

Benefit: create usable digital data directly from a paper map or form

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Analog Data to Digital Data Data is stored in the pen

Except as a backup, the paper map or form and ink become superfluous

Analog data recorded by the Pen is downloaded to the computer and imported into an Excel ‘peninized’ form as digital data

Digital data can be manipulated like any other digital data

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Requirements - Hardware

Digital Pen and Dock USB cable can be used to charge

the pen with a car plug-in adapter

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Supported Color Laser Printer


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Requirements - Digital Pen

Easier to carry and use in the field than a tablet or laptop computer

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Short-cut to usable, digital spatial and tabular data compared to manual digitizing and data entry


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Requirements - Printer

Four-color CYMK – cyan, magenta, yellow, black

Postscript Level 2 High resolution

Laser 256 MB memory minimum

List of supported printers available


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Requirements - Printing Capability

A4: 14” x 14” Letter & legal; 8½” x 11”, 8½” x 14” Maps and forms; field data collection

A2: 23.4” x 23.4” Tabloid; 11” x 17” Maps and forms; field data collection


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Requirements – Software

Capturx for Excel v 1.2.1 Add-In to Microsoft Excel Adds Capturx toolbar to the Excel ribbon

Capturx Pen Manager v 3.4 CCE certified Supported for Windows XP and 7

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WorkflowCapturx for Excel 1.2.1 Workflow

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Save as Supporting Doc


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Peninized‘Field Note’

Form


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Printing With Capturx

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Printing With Capturx

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Choose a supported printer

Set the number of copies

Click OK


NCSSNCSSPrinting With Capturx

Printed through Capturx on a supported printer

Printed through Excel on a supported printer


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‘Field Note’Form

With Ink


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QC of ‘Field Note’ Form


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QC of ‘Field Note’ Form – Circle Invalid Data


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QC of ‘Field Note’ Form – Circle Invalid Data

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Capturx Forms for Excel 1.1

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Handwriting OCR Corrected


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Capturx for Excel Keys for reliable OCR and high quality data

Form design■ Setting field data validation rules

– Setting field to correct data type– Choice lists– Setting appropriate ranges

■ Field concatenation (of mixed alpha – numeric fields)■ Pattern matching (to a limited few special situations)

Field design conveys obvious intended content

Fields big enough to completely contain handwriting Penmanship User training and practice 23


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Capturx for Excel

Keys for effective QC Cell formatting Validation criteria

■ Numeric ranges and precision■ Text length■ Wordlists (domains; choice lists)■ Custom expressions

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Next Steps to the Finish(Run 2 Macros)

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- Click on the Macros Icon on the Developer ribbon.- Double click on CleanStyles- Double click on Rename_filledform


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Next Step to the Finish(Run Error Check)

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Workflow Summary

Digital pen Excel NASIS workflow1. Record observations on paper form with pen

2. Import pen data into Excel workbook

3. Validate and correct data■ Excel tools■ Capturx for Excel tools

4. Import Excel workbook into NASIS

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Anecdotal Time Savings P. Finnell reported it is faster entering TUDs

into NASIS using peninized 232 form than using NASIS or Pedon PC.

An SSO reports entering a pedon into NASIS is 2.5 times faster using peninized forms than any other way.

An RSS reported saving about 1.5 hours of office time per wetland determination using peninized forms rather than transcribing handwritten forms

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Forms Available for Use

Soils NASIS- 232 (Organic, Mineral,

SAS) Ledger and Legal size

- SSO Lab- Generic Field Note- Transect – ledger and

legal size- Penetrometer- Soil Stability

Wetland Determination- Alaska- Arid West- Atlantic & Gulf Coast- Caribbean- Eastern Mts &

Piedmont- Great Plains- Midwest- N. Central & N. East- Pacific Island Area- West Valleys & Coast

Ecological Site

Inventory*- CA Releve’- Forest Plot

* Not yet sanctioned (done as a demo)


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Wetland Determination Forms


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Where Do Forms Come From? Two basic types of forms

Ones used to import data into a corporate database Soils forms – 232s, Field Notes, ESI, etc

Ones used as supporting documentation Wetland Determination, map unit description, other program areas

Anyone with Capturx for Excel can create a form To import into NASIS requires a NASIS import script

Intervention from NSSC Those to provide Program support have fewer requirements To date, I have acted as the Peninized Form Czar

I work with an experienced user of the existing form Let me know if you need another type of form


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Support? Digital Pen and Forms – USDA Connect Community

Moderated community – Can request to join or I can add members Forum – Members can submit questions and answers Files – All the various forms and supporting documentation are there

Contact me at:[email protected] 402-437-5504

Adapx Technical Support [email protected] 866-208-9673

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


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Familiar, ‘low-tech’ data collection solution Pen & paper (no computer needed in the field)

Short-cut to usable digital data compared to manual data entry

Less capital outlay Each SSO already has hardware/software License fees paid by NSSC

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Future of Digital Pens Depends on field staff using the tool. If the

demand is there the pens/forms can be there.

Currently the SSD centrally funds yearly license fees for about 200 licenses.

Unless there is a significant rise in users we may do a strategic reallocation of the funds marked for license renewal.


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