Summer was a busy period for the product development team behind Optioneer. The main focus of the latest release is on geospatial data management, editing and analysis.

As a result of the latest changes, Optioneer evolved into a simple-to-use, standalone GIS tool which includes functionality necessary to support early stages of linear infrastructure projects.

These latest features allow:

Please note: all example videos below were recorded using a sample project space in Optioneer which is not based on, or related to, any real development happening in the area.

Collections allow for creating bespoke datasets from layers uploaded to Optioneer. This allows quick and versioned changes to data that is taken into account by Optioneer. As a result of using collections, the data model can be updated over time, new layers can be added and removed from analysis. Changes in underlying datasets can be tracked, effectively allowing to create various versions of the same dataset. This feature has a profound impact on the main functionality of Optioneer - being able to link planning, environmental and technical decision making to geospatial constraints evolving over the project lifetime.

Learn more about collections by watching this video.

Polygons drawn in the Optioneer interface can now be converted into data layers which can be used in the analysis! This simple and powerful feature allows to capture information which is not present in GIS data, digitise any additional information and develop bespoke project data without leaving the Optioneer interface. Layers can be used in conjunction with Data Collections (see above) to develop the project space in more detail over time.

See how this works in practice in this video.

Individual data layers can be now edited directly in Optioneer. The colour and opacity of individual features (fill and outline) can be easily changed in the 'Map Controls' panel, allowing to configure the way that the map looks. Moreover, the layer description and name can be changed and saved. Overall, the feature allows for very easy manipulation of visualisation parameters of each data layer in Optioneer.

See how to use this feature in this video.

Results can be now managed and viewed in a much more ergonomic fashion thanks to the new Options Library. The new result management system allows to filter, group and sort results in a convenient way. Moreover, metrics specific to results can be added as columns, effectively allowing for comparison of dozens of results at the same time!

See the new Options Library in action in this video.

Polygons drawn in Optioneer can be now analysed in real time. This allows to understand any interactions with constraints that polygons might have, within their own footprint or a defined buffer. On top of identifying constraints, access considerations and land ownership challenges can be evaluated as well.

Summary of the feature and how to access it can be found in this video. A quick manual on how to best use the feature and its limitations can be found in this article.

Core changes were made to the visualisation engine behind Optioneer mapping capability which allows to upload much larger, detailed and sophisticated datasets to the Optioneer interface. The previous limitation of 100,000 features per layer is now removed which means that even detailed features, such as individual buildings, can be used in Optioneer on a 'country' scale. The improvement is based on the principle of 'tiling' - the dataset is split into small chunks (tiles) which are loaded depending on the zoom level of the map.

See this video to see the system in action!

Line editing is now improved by allowing to vary the accuracy of line representation and introducing a convenient way of removing unnecessary vertices by clicking the 'backspace' key. A couple of simple improvements making day-to-day work with Optioneer a little bit more convenient.

A whole set of user experience improvements centred around the Map Controls panel which now has more room for the same GIS functionality. Moreover, a few new cool features were added to the map tools in the left-top corner i.e. full-screen button and 'fly back to project extent' button.

See a full walkthrough of the new functionality in this video.