GIS247 · FAQs

General

1. How long does a licence to GIS247.com last?
2. What if my organisation signs up for training in ArcGIS (or MapInfo) and we also want access to the MapInfo (or ArcGIS) training at a later date?
3. Can I access every course and every module?
4. Is access to the training really unlimited in terms of the number of users?
5. Is access to the training material from my GIS247 account really unlimited?
6. I am only looking for GIS courses for myself. Does GIS247 cater for individual access?
7. What if I have a question while I follow the training material, can I speak to someone?
8. Will the training material on GIS247.com be up-to-date?

GIS Software

1. Do I need a licence for ArcGIS and/or MapInfo?
2. I use ArcView. Are your ArcGIS courses relevant to me?
3. I want to purchase a GIS247 licence. Do I have to provide you with my GIS software licence numbers?
4. I've been using ArcMap for some time but can't find any courses on GIS247 for ArcMap. Do you have any?

Training Support

1. We purchased a GIS247 licence without training support but now would like to purchase a package? Is that possible?
2. We bought a single email package for Training Support but have just used our last allocated email. Can we buy more?
3. My company has a GIS247 licence for both ArcGIS and MapInfo. We have 35 emails allocated in Training Support. Are these restricted to just one software package?

Technical

1. Does it matter which version of the GIS software I am using?
2. What if I change versions of the GIS software?
3. Do I need any special software to be able to access the course assets?
4. What if software patches are released for the GIS software?

Training Courses

1. I attended a Sological Solutions hosted training course. Is it still worth me accessing the GIS247 version of that course?
2. Do your GIS247 courses cover as much material as hosted training courses?
3. What if I get stuck whilst I am completing an exercise?
4. I attended a GIS hosted course and got a certificate for just turning up. Do I get a certificate for doing a GIS247 course?




General

1. How long does a licence to GIS247.com last?

Signing up to GIS247.com gives your organisation an annual licence. That is 12 months from the date that your account starts. A 2 year licence is also available with a discount for the second 12 months.

2. What if my organisation signs up for training in ArcGIS (or MapInfo) and we also want access to the MapInfo (or ArcGIS) training at a later date?

Sign-up can be upgraded to include access to both GIS software products at any time. Your assigned GIS47 training administrator will just need to contact us to request the upgrade and for a quotation on the upgrade price.

3. Can I access every course and every module?

You can access every course for which your company has licensed you to access. Currently, GIS247.com offers courses and modules in ArcGIS and MapInfo Professional so if you are licensed for either or both, you will have access to all the relevant courses and modules.

4. Is access to the training really unlimited in terms of the number of users?

YES! With an "unlimited" licence, any number of users from a signed-up organisation can be set up with access to the training for your chosen GIS software. The "unlimited" licence is perfect for large companies or government departments that have more than 10 GIS users. If your company has less users, or you are just looking to access courses yourself, a "set user" licence will be perfect : it caters for 1-9 users and costs less than an "unlimited" licence.

5. Is access to the training material from my GIS247 account really unlimited?

YES! Any set-up user can access all of the training material for the software signed up for. Therefore users who just wants access occasionally to specific topics or users who wish to go through all the training material from the beginner’s level to the really detailed spatial analysis and spatial statistics information can. Users can go through the training courses and material and course exercises as many times as they like, when they like.

6. I am only looking for GIS courses for myself. Does GIS247 cater for individual access?

Yes, through our "Set User" licence. Please see the Pricing page for more details. A "Set User" licence can be purchased for 1-9 users and represents a saving over the "unlimited" licence. It is perfect for organisations that only have a handful of users or for individuals looking to access professional GIS training online. The price of a "Set User" licence depends on the number of users (from 1 to 9) that you wish to be able to access GIS247 but starts at just £850. Please contact us for a quotation for your preferred number of users.

7. What if I have a question while I follow the training material, can I speak to someone?

When your organisation signs-up there are a number of training support options available. You can opt for email-only support where your company will be able to email a set number of queries per week. We are committed to responding to all email queries within 24 hours. If you want to be able to get "live" support, then you can choose between text-based "chat" support and voice support. "Chat" support runs through a live messaging session where you "chat" to one of our experienced trainers. "Voice" support is exactly that - a live, real-time conversation with one of our trainers to deal with your questions. Finally, you can also opt for "Premium" training support which includes all of the above options, but adds the ability for one of our trainers to actually see your computer screen to assist you. See our Training Support page (link at the top of this page) for more details.

8. Will the training material on GIS247.com be up-to-date?

Yes! As new releases of the software are made all the training material will be updated. There will also be ‘What’s New in ArcGIS/MapInfo’ courses when new versions are released. Additional training modules on specific topics will be added to the website throughout the year and additional exercises will also be made available. What's better is that as we add more material for your licensed software, you will instantly get access to that material for no extra charge.




GIS Software

1. Do I need a licence for ArcGIS and/or MapInfo?

Yes, but only if you want to complete the course exercises. The course exercises guide you through actually using the software. To do that, you will obviously need to use ArcGIS and/or MapInfo, depending on the training exercises you want to access.
Evaluations versions of the ArcGIS and MapInfo software can be downloaded for FREE from the vendor websites. An evaluation version can be used to undertake the training exercises from GIS247. To read more on evaluation versions click here...
You don't need to use the GIS software to watch the training presentations, just access to GIS247.

2. I use ArcView. Are your ArcGIS courses relevant to me?

Yes. ArcView version 8 upwards is part of the ArcGIS software suite. ArcView is the base licence to ArcGIS. Two higher levels of functionality are available to ArcGIS users via ArcEditor and ArcInfo licences. All of our online ArcGIS courses are relevant to ArcView, ArcEditor and ArcInfo licences.

3. I want to purchase a GIS247 licence. Do I have to provide you with my GIS software licence numbers?

No, we don't need any information about your software licences. We only ask that you make sure that you comply with the software vendor's licencing requirements.

4. I've been using ArcMap for some time but can't find any courses on GIS247 for ArcMap. Do you have any?

Yes. ArcMap is a program that comes part of an ArcGIS licence. Therefore all of our ArcGIS courses are relevant to you because ArcMap is the main application that ArcGIS users work with. An ArcGIS licence (whether ArcView, ArcEditor or ArcInfo) provides 3 applications: ArcMap, ArcEditor and ArcToolbox. Use of all 3 applications is taught in our ArcGIS courses.




Training Support

1. We purchased a GIS247 licence without training support but now would like to purchase a package? Is that possible?

Yes. Licenced GIS247 users can purchase training support packages at any time during their GIS247 licence period. Visit our Training Support page from the 'What is GIS247?' section for information on the type of packages available.

2. We bought a single email package for Training Support but have just used our last allocated email. Can we buy more?

Yes. Just contact us with your requirements and we'll be happy to add more emails/chats/calls (whichever package or combination of packages you want) to your GIS247 licence. Licenced users can add more training support packages to their licence at any time during their licenced period.

3. My company has a GIS247 licence for both ArcGIS and MapInfo. We have 35 emails allocated in Training Support. Are these restricted to just one software package?

No, your allocation of 35 emails can be used to ask questions of our support team for ArcGIS or MapInfo. So, you could ask 30 ArcGIS questions and just 5 MapInfo ones during your licence period or any variation on that combination. The only limit is that you have 35 queries, unless you purchase additional training support packages.




Technical

1. Does it matter which version of the GIS software I am using?

Yes as the presentations and exercises are for specific versions of the GIS software. Don’t worry though as everything is available for different versions. When choosing a course, module or exercise simply click the link for the version you are using. Remember that your GIS247 licence is to access ArcGIS and MapInfo courses, so you will get access to all of the courses for the different versions. So, if you are an ArcGIS version 9.2 user, you can access the 9.2 courses. If you then upgrade to 9.3, you will automatically be able to access our 9.3 courses.

2. What if I change versions of the GIS software?

Simply follow the training material for your new version as part of your existing license. Remember that your license is for the software type, not for a specific software version. So, if you are licensed for ArcGIS and start using GIS247.com with version 9.2 of ArcGIS, you can just switch to the 9.3 courses if and when you upgrade to ArcGIS version 9.3. There will also be ‘What’s New in’ courses available at GIS247.com when new versions of the software are released so you don’t have to go through an entire course or module for the new version if you don’t want to.

3. Do I need any special software to be able to access the course assets?

You only need an internet browser with the free Adobe FlashPlayer and Adobe Acrobat Reader add-ons. You do not have to have the GIS software installed to view the training presentations.

Although the site should work on most internet browsers, we directly support Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. It is usually best to upgrade to the latest version of these browsers so we recommend that you look into that. The presentations are Flash movies, which need the free Flash Player, available from get.adobe.com/flashplayer. Finally, the exercises are PDFs which any good pdf reader should read, although we directly support Adobe Acrobat. The free Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded from www.adobe.com/reader. See our page on Software for more detail.

Of course, you will need either the ArcGIS or MapInfo Professional software (as appropriate to your licence) installed to do the exercises. The exercises can be undertaken on a different computer to the one you view the presentations on if you wish.

4. What if software patches are released for the GIS software?

When this happens, we will research any significant changes that the patch makes to the GIS software. If there is anything important, we will add modules to GIS247.com to outline these changes. This way you can be sure that the training you receive is relevant to the exact version of the software you are using, including when you install any patches.




Training Courses

1. I attended a Sological Solutions hosted training course. Is it still worth me accessing the GIS247 version of that course?

Yes. All of the training material hosted at GIS247.com has been newly developed for this initiative. That means that the presentation material is different and accompanied by a comprehensive and professionally edited voice-over. All of the exercises have been newly developed too. That means that you won't be repeating exercises you completed when attending our hosted course. AND of course, you will be able to download the data for the exercises. This means that you can repeat the exercises as many times as you want, whereas when you attended the hosted course, you will have been able to complete the exercise once.

2. Do your GIS247 courses cover as much material as hosted training courses?

Yes. If anything, our GIS247 courses are even more comprehensive. Hosted courses have to strike a fine balance between providing delegates with sufficient information without overloading them within a day's training. Because GIS247 allows users to dip in and out of training as they see fit, rather than having to sit through an entire day, we have been able to fit even more into our courses. Plus the scripted voice-overs go into more detail than is possible with a hosted course, again because of the time constraints that come with a hosted course.

3. What if I get stuck whilst I am completing an exercise?

Firstly, our exercises have been thoroughly tested and written with our vast experience of running training courses. You will find that where that experience tells us that some users may need a little extra help, the exercise itself contains useful notes and tips to help you. Secondly, you can use your allocation of emails/chats or calls from one of our Training Support packages. With the chat/voice call options, that means actually 'speaking' to one of our trainers whilst you are doing that part of an exercise, just like if you were attending a hosted course and asked the trainer a question.

4. I attended a GIS hosted course and got a certificate for just turning up. Do I get a certificate for doing a GIS247 course?

Yes you can get a certificate, but rather than getting one for just accessing a course, we have designed a Training Assessment scheme. This means that your certificate actually means something. When you have completed all of the exercises in a course, you can fill out an assessment form (it asks you to fill in answers to questions set during the exercises) and then email that to us. We will check your answers and providing you have reached the predetermined pass mark, we will then send you a certificate. See the Training Assessment link in our 'What is GIS247?' section for more information.