You have probably heard of the term “Metadata” for GIS but did you know that can have Metadata for your GPS information that will enhance your GIS data?  If you are a Trimble TerraSync and GPS Pathfinder Office user you can take advantage of exporting out extra important “Metadata” information relating to your GPS data collection files.

  1. In Trimble GPS Pathfinder Office: Select the type of “Export”  SHP, DXF, KML, MDB, MapInfo etc and then click on the “Properties” button.
  2. Click on the Attributes tab. 
  3. Select the appropriate check boxes for “ALL Feature Types”; Point Features, Line Features and Area Features.

You will now have detailed GPS metadata embedded in your Export files to back up your GPS work such as:  Geometry Quality,  Correction Status, File Names, Feature Names,  Date Recorded, GPS Receiver Type, Data Dictionary Name, Precisions, Positional Info and ID’s and more.  This GPS Metadata will come in handy in the future if you or someone else on your staff wants to research critical GPS Metadata about a previous GPS file and our a past project.  Most contract jobs require Metadata to verify your work.