My colleague at work forwarded me the PDF document ‘How do I do that in ArcGIS/Manifold: illustrating classic GIS tasks’, edited by Arthur J Lembo Jnr. of Cornell University, as a resource for learning how to use ArcGIS. I had read this document many times before, indeed it was one of the reasons for me to start using Manifold, but I hadn’t referred to it since getting ArcView. I’d had always seen this document as a Manifold resource, but it also allows Manifold users to understand how these classic GIS tasks are accomplished in ArcGIS.
Although the document is a few years old, it covers ArcGIS 8.3 and Manifold 6.0, most of the methods/functionality described are still valid and highlights that Manifold can go toe to toe with many ArcGIS features, including several that need ArcGIS extensions that are standard with Manifold Professional. Anyone, like some of the posters over at James’ blog, looking for a real alternative to ESRI products may be convinced by this document that Manifold is a fully featured GIS.
I’d say the most out of date comparison is the ‘Identifying Watershed’ section, as Manifold, with the Surface Tools extension, now has the ability to create watershed boundaries from raster data.
Some additional information on the editor – Arthur J Lembo Jnr. – Art is the man behind the GISAdvisor training videos, IMS Template and Manifold Macro Language. Art is also a regular contributor to Georeference.
The PDF of the document can be downloaded via this link.
Edit: I’ve updated the post making Art the editor not author, his students actually carried out the comparisons and are noted in each section of the document.
James- are there any Manifold guru-types who are available for consulting to help me get thru the startup curve in Manifold?
Dave
I would recommend the GISAdvisor training videos, I purchased the introductory course and found it be invaluable when I was learning the software. The introductory video covers a lot of subjects and I still refer to it today.
Also the Manifold forum Georeference is a great place to post questions – both simple and complex.
The most important part of learning Manifold is to read as much of the introductory sections and tutorials of the Manifold manual and to lookup relevant sections when you are trying to achieve a particular task. Sounds like a no-brainer, but the manual is very well written and a great resource.
On a side note – I’m not James – the name of the blog is dedicated to James Fee, I’ll let you ponder what the meaning of the title is.
Good luck!
Chris C.