5. Animation of the aggregated data using Tracking Analyst - ScandinavianSection-UCLA/hGIS_ETK GitHub Wiki

The tracking analyst extension in ArcMap makes it possible to create animations based on a time/date field. Date is an attribute in our fieldtrip data, but many stops lack the date of his arrival. However, all the stops and route segments in the aggregates are in order in the “abs_seq” field. This makes it possible to generate an animation that makes the stops appear in order at a constant time interval.

5.1 prepare tracking analyst data

For the tracking analyst extension’s Temporal Wizard (see 5.2 generating a tracking analyst animation) to accept the “abs_seq” field as time/date field it needs to resemble date/time data. In our case, we can make the data looks like year data (four digits expected) by creating a new field that is populated with the query “abs_seq” +2000 in the field calculator.

5.2 generate a tracking analyst animation

  1. The “Tracking Analyst is an extension of ArcMap and it needs to be turned on. “Customize” > “Extensions”:

  1. It is also a good idea to add the toolbar for the tracking analyst. “Customize” > “Toolbars”.

  1. Next, the temporal data, meaning the stops and routes aggregates, can be added with the “Add Temporal Data Wizard” (looks like a + sign). Below is how it looks like for the stops data.

  1. Step 3 creates a temporal layer, and it is repeated for the routes aggregate as well. The layers end up in the table of contents. With a temporal layer available, the “Playback Manager” ( ) becomes available in the tracking analyst toolbar. This is where the sequence time for each stop and accompanying route segment for the animation can be set, and the animation can be played and stopped. If there are errors in the data, they are easy to spot in this interface. Here one year (stop) is set to 0.5 seconds.

  1. The temporal data has “Properties” like a regular shapefile, but have a couple of different functions to offer. In “Symbology” a “Time Window” allows the user to decide how long each record should appear in the animation. In the case of 4203 stops in Denmark this is appropriate since the map will be crowded unless the data disappears over time.

  1. Final touches can be made in terms of coloring and size, but upon satisfaction an animation can be exported using “Tracking Analyst” > “Animation Tool”. The default settings are usually appropriate.