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GIPS Desktop

GIPS Desktop has all the capabilities of GIPS Pro but runs as a Windows application on your desktop. It also allows loading multiple files, with multiple scenarios, for consumption and hosting by GIPS Lite or GIPS Pro.

Licensing & requirements

GIPS Desktop only works if TARA and the GIPS add-on have been licensed. The add-on appears in your TARA license as the GIPS_HEATMAP option. It requires the tara.dll file to either be in the same directory as gips.exe or accessible on the system %PATH%, and that DLL must be the one distributed with v4.0.0 or later. See Requirements.

gips.exe is code-signed by PowerGEM. If your IT organization allowlists software by publisher, the signature is what to check for.

Loading and merging result files​

GIPS Desktop allows loading multiple WClusterTrLimSumJson.json files into one. It can either:

  • Merge all of them into one scenario, or
  • Load each file as a separate scenario.

When merging, only the first scenario of the loaded file is merged into the first scenario that is already loaded.

Managing scenarios​

Beside the scenario picker, GIPS Desktop has a pencil and a trash can. Edit Scenario Name renames the current scenario — the name readers will see in GIPS Lite and Pro — and Delete Scenario removes it from the loaded dataset after a confirmation. Neither is available in Lite or Pro, and neither touches the file on disk until you Save As... or export.

Configuring from Desktop​

See Customizing GIPS for the full configuration reference.

Writing the methodology​

The Methodology panel, opened by the tab on the right edge of the window, is edited in place through a rich-text editor: bold, italic, headings, lists, and links. In Desktop the tab is always there; in Lite and Pro it appears only when there is content to read.

Administrator options​

Settings meant for whoever installs GIPS rather than whoever configures it — today, where the map styles are downloaded from — are unlocked by creating admin.json in the configuration directory and are never exported. See Administrator Options.

Publishing to Lite or Pro​

Once scenarios are loaded and configuration is done, click Export GIPS Lite... or Export GIPS Pro... to write the web files, configuration files, data layers and their icons, the tour, and the loaded scenarios to a directory ready for your IT organization. See deploying GIPS Lite and deploying GIPS Pro.

Exporting never deletes from its destination. Export into a fresh directory if you want files from a removed layer gone.