Voyager is a powerful search tool that allows an organization or individual to manage, audit, and search for all GIS files across an organization. Voyager lets a user search for files through a spatial query on a map interface or by a text search. In addition to these methods, data can be filtered by location, file extension, theme, version, spatial reference, author, properties, keywords, geometry type, file format, or file type. Voyager lets a user quickly and easily find geographic files that may otherwise be difficult and time-consuming to locate, even in an organized data catalog. It automates the indexing of files and drastically cuts down on the time and inefficiency of managing, locating, and retrieving spatial data.
It is possible to run a number of searches in succession with Voyager. For instance, a user could perform a spatial query in and around a particular county; from that dataset, a text query could find elevation files; and finally a filter could be applied to locate only raster files. Search results can be previewed with thumbnail images. A Voyager search returns not only image files and spatial data files, but also Word, PowerPoint, and PDF files that may be related to GIS projects or data. An ArcGIS plug-in allows a user to work directly in ArcGIS — files can be searched for and then seamlessly brought into ArcMap by dragging and dropping them into the table of contents.
Voyager also allows a user to audit and clean up a data catalog. It can find duplicate datasets, maps with broken links, maps in need of a spatial reference, files without metadata, and which files are being used most often.
In addition to its spatial data management and search capabilities, Voyager allows an organization to publish a catalog of data simply by sharing its URL. An organization can save searches to highlight different data, or create different views for different user groups.
Voyager can run on a user's desktop or as a server-based solution accessed through any web browser. In either case, Voyager's automated indexing tool only requires a user to point to a location on a local computer, a server, or a web URL. Once a location is added, the files in that location are automatically indexed into the Voyager search tool, whether or not they contain metadata.
Voyager can help an organization improve productivity by allowing users to focus on their projects and tasks without wasting large amounts of time trying to locate data. Time and resources can also be saved because data that already exists within an organization will not be purchased or recreated.
About New Light Technologies
New Light Technologies (NLT) is a Washington, DC-based firm with 25+ years of experience delivering:
- Geospatial systems and enterprise GIS
- Cloud-native data platforms
- AI/ML and advanced analytics
- DevSecOps and cybersecurity solutions
NLT supports federal, state, and international organizations in operationalizing data for mission impact.