Pitney Bowes MapInfo Professional User Manual

MapInfo Professional

Version 12.5

MapInfo Professional User Guide

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MapInfo Professional 12.54

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5MapInfo Professional User Guide

Chapter 1: Introduction.....................................................................................21

What is MapInfo Professional?..........................................................................22

Getting Started....................................................................................................24

Getting Support...................................................................................................26

Getting Technical Support .................................................................................27

Chapter 2: What's New in MapInfo Professional............................................29

New and Changed Features in MapInfo Professional......................................30

Data Access Features.........................................................................................32

Sample Data Enhancements..............................................................................32

New and Existing Tools......................................................................................33

Mapping at a Glance..................................................................................22

Using Your Own Data.................................................................................22

Reviewing the MapInfo Professional Features...........................................23

Accessing Your Documentation..................................................................24

Using the Status Bar ..................................................................................26

Using the Help System...............................................................................26

MapBasic Available Free of Charge on the Web........................................27

Contacting Technical Support.....................................................................27

Tell Us What You Think!..............................................................................28

New Layout Designer Window...................................................................30

New Concurrency Setting for Improved Processing...................................30

Use Your Microsoft Bing Maps License with MapInfo Professional............31

New Coordinate Systems and Projections.................................................31

New Option to Switch Cursor Styles...........................................................31

Feature Manipulation Engine (FME) 2014..................................................32

MapCAD Update........................................................................................33

Chapter 3: The Basics of MapInfo Professional.............................................35

Starting and Leaving MapInfo Professional.....................................................36

Starting MapInfo Professional....................................................................36

Exiting MapInfo Professional .....................................................................36

A Tour of the MapInfo Professional Desktop....................................................37

Working with Toolbars................................................................................37

An Overview of the Toolbars.......................................................................37

Data - Where MapInfo Professional Begins......................................................41

What is a Database and Other Basic Terminology.....................................41

What Data Can I Use in MapInfo Professional?.........................................43

Support for Raster Images.........................................................................44

Understanding the Files Associated with MapInfo Professional

Tables.........................................................................................................44

Opening Your Data in MapInfo Professional..............................................45

MapInfo Professional Data File Support.....................................................45

Opening MapInfo Tables.............................................................................48

Opening Data in Remote Tables.................................................................50

Understanding Your Data in MapInfo Professional .........................................52

What is a Layer?.........................................................................................52

Map Objects as Part of Layers...................................................................53

Managing a Map's Layers..........................................................................53

Using Workspaces..............................................................................................54

Reviewing the Windows in MapInfo Professional............................................55

Displaying Data in a Map Window..............................................................56

Displaying Data in a Browser Window........................................................57

Changing a Record's Data, Font, and Style ..............................................62

Displaying Data in a Graph Window ..........................................................62

Displaying Data in a Layout Designer Window...........................................62

Displaying Data in a Layout Window .........................................................63

Other Windows for Displaying Data............................................................63

Working with Tables in the Table List................................................................64

Accessing the Table List.............................................................................64

About the Table List Window .....................................................................64

Selecting Multiple Tables in the Table List..................................................66

Dragging and Dropping in the Table List....................................................66

Sorting in the Table List..............................................................................66

Searching the Table List.............................................................................67

Working with Layers in the Layer Control........................................................67

Accessing Layer Control.............................................................................68

About the Layer Control Window................................................................68

Adding Layers to the Map...........................................................................71

Reordering Map Layers .............................................................................72

Setting the Zoom Layering.........................................................................72

Positioning and Sizing Labels ....................................................................73

Displaying the Lines, Nodes, and Centroids...............................................74

Understanding the Cosmetic Layer............................................................74

Making the Layers "Editable"......................................................................75

Making a Read-Only Table "Editable".........................................................75

Getting Layer Information ..........................................................................75

Selecting Objects in a Layer ......................................................................76

Working with Thematic Layers..........................................................................77

Ordering Thematic Layers..........................................................................77

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Displaying Thematic Layers.......................................................................77

Converting Objects into Region Objects ....................................................78

Working with Raster and Grid Layers in Layer Control..............................78

Converting Grid Files to MapInfo Professional Grids (*.mig) .....................79

Working with Seamless Layers..........................................................................79

Features Available with Seamless Layers .................................................79

Working with MapInfo Manager Library Services............................................83

Add to Library.............................................................................................83

Saving, Closing, and Exporting Your Work......................................................84

Saving a MapInfo Workspace.....................................................................84

Exporting to GeoTIFF (*.tif) Format ...........................................................84

Saving a Table or a Copy of a Table...........................................................85

Closing a Table ..........................................................................................86

Opening vs. Importing ...............................................................................86

Exporting Your Data to a New Format........................................................87

Importing and Exporting Data in AutoCAD Format ....................................87

Cropping Images .......................................................................................87

Exporting to ASCII Format .........................................................................88

Exporting to dBase (*.DBF) Format ...........................................................88

Smoothing Map Images during Export.......................................................88

Using the Tools in the Tool Manager.................................................................89

Chapter 4: Configuring MapInfo Professional Preferences..........................91

Summary of Preferences....................................................................................92

Setting Your Preferences....................................................................................92

Setting Your System Preferences......................................................................93

Setting Your Default Units...........................................................................94

Setting Your Undo Options.........................................................................94

Setting Your Color Defaults........................................................................95

Setting Show Guides when Docking Windows...........................................95

Setting Your Date Window for Two-Digit Years..........................................95

Setting Your Copy to Clipboard Preferences..............................................96

Setting Your Image Resolution for Exporting..............................................97

Setting how to Draw Symbols for MapInfo Professional 4.0 or Earlier.......97

Setting Your Vertical Mapper Grid File Display Preferences......................97

Setting Your Aspect Ratio Adjustment........................................................97

Setting Your Startup Preferences......................................................................98

Creating a Startup Workspace...................................................................99

Setting Your Database Connection Preferences........................................99

Setting Your Directory Preferences.................................................................100

Using Search Directories..........................................................................101

Setting the Web Services Preferences............................................................102

Setting the Proxy Server Preferences......................................................102

Setting the WFS Server Preferences.......................................................103

Setting the WMS Server Preferences.......................................................103

9MapInfo Professional User Guide

Setting the Geocoding Server Preferences..............................................104

Setting the Routing Server Preferences...................................................105

Setting the Tile Server Preferences..........................................................105

Setting the Library Services Preferences.................................................106

Setting the Custom Proxy Server Preferences.........................................107

Setting up a Geocoding Server........................................................................107

Setting up a Routing Server.............................................................................109

Setting Your Performance Preferences...........................................................110

Setting Your Style Preferences........................................................................111

Setting Your Address Matching Preferences.................................................112

Setting Your Image Processing Preferences..................................................112

Setting Your Notification Preferences.............................................................113

Setting Your Map Window Preferences ..........................................................114

Setting Your Layout Window Preferences......................................................119

Setting Your Browser Window Preferences...................................................120

Changing the Browser Window Background Color..................................120

Setting Your Legend Designer Window Preferences.....................................120

Setting Your Printer Preferences.....................................................................122

Printing Caveats.......................................................................................123

Enabling or Disabling the Subdivided Printing Option..............................124

Setting Your Output Setting Preferences........................................................124

Understanding the Anti-Aliasing Export Preferences...............................127

Chapter 5: Understanding Your Data............................................................129

Working with MapInfo Tables...........................................................................130

Adding to a Table......................................................................................130

Updating a Table.......................................................................................131

Appending Rows to a Table......................................................................132

Appending One Table to Another.............................................................132

Parsing Data from One Column to Multiple Columns...............................132

Placing Graphic Information in Visible Columns.......................................135

Creating a New Table ..............................................................................136

Editing a Table's Structure .......................................................................137

Copying and Renaming a Table...............................................................138

Deleting a Table........................................................................................138

Packing a Table .......................................................................................138

Collecting Data into the Table using Update Column...............................139

Browsing a Table......................................................................................140

Creating a Report of your Data .......................................................................140

Opening an Existing Report ............................................................................141

Saving a Report ................................................................................................141

Chapter 6: Graphing Your Data......................................................................143

Selecting the Right Type of Graph ..................................................................144

Graphing Terms........................................................................................144

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3D Graphs................................................................................................144

Area Graphs.............................................................................................145

Bar Graphs...............................................................................................145

Bubble Graphs..........................................................................................145

Column Graphs........................................................................................145

Histogram Graphs....................................................................................146

Line Graphs..............................................................................................146

Pie Graphs................................................................................................146

Scatter Graphs.........................................................................................146

Surface Graphs........................................................................................147

Graphing Your Data...........................................................................................147

Creating a Graph using the Graph Wizard...............................................147

Editing a Graph.........................................................................................148

Working with Multi-Table and Multi-Variable Graphs.....................................154

Exploding a Pie Graph..............................................................................154

3D Graphs - Using the 3D Viewing Angle................................................155

Selections in Graphs and Their Tables.....................................................158

Saving a Graph..................................................................................................159

Using Graph Templates....................................................................................159

Location Preferences................................................................................160

Saving a Graph Template.........................................................................160

Chapter 7: Working with Data in a DBMS.....................................................163

Getting Started..................................................................................................164

Overview of the DBMS Access Setup Process........................................164

Requirements...........................................................................................165

Creating a Data Source Connection ...............................................................165

Creating a Data Source Connection to SQL Server.................................166

Creating a Data Source Connection to PostGIS......................................169

Creating a Data Source Connection to Oracle.........................................171

Creating a Data Source Connection to Microsoft Access .......................172

Reconnecting to your Data Source after Startup...........................................172

Connecting and Opening a Table at the Same Time................................173

Connecting to Oracle after Re-Starting MapInfo Professional.................174

About Supported DBMS Data Types...............................................................175

SQL Server Data Support.........................................................................175

PostGIS Data Support..............................................................................175

Oracle Data Support.................................................................................176

Creating a Map Catalog in the DBMS to Work with Data...............................177

Before you Begin Creating a Map Catalog Table.....................................178

Creating a Map Catalog Table Using EasyLoader...................................178

Adding a Spatial Primary Key to a DBMS Table.............................................179

Making a DBMS Table Mappable to Display it on a Map................................181

Making a Table Mappable ........................................................................181

About Updating Data Bounds in the MapInfo_MapCatalog......................183

11MapInfo Professional User Guide

Deciding to work with Linked or Live Access Tables....................................183

Comparing and Contrasting Live and Linked Access to a Table..............184

Opening a DBMS Table in MapInfo Professional...........................................185

Opening a DBMS Table............................................................................185

Creating a New DBMS Table ...................................................................187

Refreshing Live and Linked Remote Tables ............................................189

Unlinking a Table from a Remote Database ............................................189

Saving a DBMS Table ..............................................................................190

Conflict Resolution when Multiple Users Access a Remote Table ..........190

Disconnecting from a Remote Database..................................................192

Working with Styles in DBMS Tables........................................................192

Working with Remote Tables from Specific Databases.................................193

Working with SQL Server Tables..............................................................193

Working with SQL Server with SpatialWare Tables..................................194

Working with PostGIS Tables...................................................................194

Working with Oracle Spatial Tables..........................................................195

Chapter 8: Drawing and Editing Objects.......................................................201

Understanding the Drawing and Editing Tools..............................................202

Using the Drawing and Editing Commands..............................................202

Adding Nodes to an Object (Overlay Nodes Command)..........................203

Drawing Objects................................................................................................203

Specifying an Object's Spatial Attributes .................................................203

Reverting to a Previous Version ..............................................................204

Using the Ruler Window as You Draw......................................................204

Object Styles............................................................................................205

Printing Fill Patterns.................................................................................205

Drawing Polygons and Polylines.....................................................................205

Converting a Polyline to a Region............................................................207

Converting Objects into Polyline Objects ................................................207

Drawing Symbols..............................................................................................208

Changing a Symbol Style on a Map.........................................................208

Supported Fonts for Symbols...................................................................208

Working with Custom Symbols.................................................................209

Working with Text on the Map .........................................................................210

Editing Objects.........................................................................................211

Positioning and Sizing your Map Objects.................................................211

Changing your Map Object Attributes.......................................................214

Reshaping Map Objects...........................................................................215

Using "Snap To" to Select Nodes and Centroids......................................216

Setting Snap Preferences for a Visible Snap Area...................................217

Autotracing Objects..................................................................................218

Smoothing and Unsmoothing Lines..........................................................219

Converting Regions to Polylines...............................................................219

Merging One Map into Another ...............................................................219

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Chapter 9: Selecting and Querying Data.......................................................223

Selecting Your Data in MapInfo Professional.................................................224

Characteristics of Selections....................................................................225

Selecting from the Screen........................................................................226

Selecting Tools.........................................................................................227

Unselecting Objects or Records...............................................................230

Querying Your Data in MapInfo Professional.................................................231

Selecting and Using Queries....................................................................231

Making Queries using the Select Command ...........................................234

Making Queries using the SQL Select Command ...................................234

Displaying Query Results Quickly............................................................235

Creating Query Expressions.....................................................................236

Using Select to Create Queries................................................................238

Interactively Selecting Objects.................................................................239

Using SQL Select to Query Data..............................................................240

Saving Queries.........................................................................................243

Using Date- and Time-Based Data in Maps and Queries .......................244

Using Templates for Queries....................................................................250

Deriving Columns.....................................................................................250

Creating Column Aliases..........................................................................251

Aggregating Data......................................................................................251

Joining Tables Using SQL Select.............................................................253

Joining Tables Geographically (Using Geographic Operators) ...............254

Joining Two or More Tables .....................................................................255

Finding Duplicate Values in a Column......................................................256

Calculating the Distance to a Fixed Point.................................................257

Chapter 10: Creating Thematic and Other Themed Maps...........................259

MapInfo Professional in Action........................................................................260

Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze Information..........................................260

Planning Your Thematic Map....................................................................261

Methods of Thematic Mapping.................................................................262

Types of Thematic Maps .........................................................................263

Ranged Maps ..........................................................................................264

Bar Chart Maps .......................................................................................266

Pie Chart Maps ........................................................................................267

Graduated Symbol Maps .........................................................................268

Dot Density Maps ....................................................................................269

Individual Value Maps ..............................................................................271

Grid Surface Maps ...................................................................................272

Creating a Thematic Map..................................................................................273

Step 1 - Choosing a Type of Thematic Template......................................273

Step 2 - Choosing Thematic Values.........................................................274

Step 3 - Customizing Your Thematic Map................................................275

13MapInfo Professional User Guide

Working with a Thematic Map Legend.....................................................277

Thematic Maps as Layers .......................................................................277

Changing the Display Parameters of a Map ..................................................278

Modifying a Thematic Map.......................................................................278

Using the Theme Templates.....................................................................278

Saving Your Thematic Settings.................................................................279

Updating Columns using Thematic Mapping.................................................280

Adding Temporary Columns.....................................................................285

Working with Grid Surface Maps.....................................................................286

Working with Grid Handlers......................................................................287

Chapter 11: Buffering and Working with Objects.........................................289

Buffering Your Data...........................................................................................290

Understanding Buffers..............................................................................290

Creating a Buffer .....................................................................................290

Buffer Methods.........................................................................................293

Types of Buffers........................................................................................293

Editing Objects using the Set Target Model...................................................295

Aggregating and Disaggregating Data.....................................................297

Clipping a Region of a Map .....................................................................298

Overview of Combining Map Objects ......................................................298

Clearing a Target .....................................................................................300

Splitting Objects .......................................................................................301

Creating Territories by Combining Objects....................................................301

Combining Selected Objects....................................................................302

Combining Objects Using Column ...........................................................302

Creating a Voronoi Polygon .....................................................................303

Grouping Objects using Multipoint and Collection Object Types..............304

Creating and Manipulating Objects.................................................................304

Chapter 12: Stylizing Your Map for Presentations and Publishing............305

Changing a Map's Style....................................................................................306

Changing a Region's Style ......................................................................306

Changing a Line's Style ...........................................................................307

Changing a Symbol's Style.......................................................................308

Changing the Text Style............................................................................309

Labeling Your Map.............................................................................................310

About Labeling..........................................................................................310

Choosing the Label Content.....................................................................311

Using AutoLabeling..................................................................................312

About Customizing Layer Properties........................................................313

Creating Callouts .....................................................................................316

Label Styles..............................................................................................317

Labeling Interactively................................................................................318

Using Text Objects as Labels...................................................................318

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Saving Labels...........................................................................................319

Adding an Adornment to the Map....................................................................319

Adding a Scale Bar to Represent Map Scale...........................................320

Working with Layouts.......................................................................................320

Opening a Layout Designer Window .......................................................321

Adding a Map to the Layout Designer Window........................................321

Adding a Map Legend to the Layout Designer window..........................323

Adding a Thematic Map to the Layout Designer Window........................324

Adding a Table (Browser) to the Layout Designer Window......................324

Adding an Image to the Layout Designer Window...................................325

Adding Text to the Layout Designer Window............................................326

Adding Shapes to the Layout Designer Window......................................327

Saving a Layout in the Layout Designer Window.....................................328

Deleting a Frame from the Layout Designer Window...............................328

Moving Frames.........................................................................................328

Resizing Frames.......................................................................................329

Aligning Frames in the Layout Designer Window.....................................329

Editing in the Layout Designer Window....................................................330

Printing Your Layout.................................................................................331

Exporting Your Layout..............................................................................332

Working with the Classic Layout Window......................................................333

What is a Layout Window?.......................................................................333

Working in the Layout Window.................................................................334

Before You Create a Layout.....................................................................335

Creating a Layout Window ......................................................................337

Using Map Legends in a Layout...............................................................340

Moving Frames in a Layout Window........................................................340

Aligning Objects in a Layout Window.......................................................340

Creating Drop Shadows for Layout Objects.............................................341

Setting the Map Scale for a Layout Window.............................................341

Cloning a Map View..................................................................................342

Creating a Legend for your Map......................................................................342

What is a Legend?....................................................................................342

Creating a Map Legend............................................................................343

About the Legend Designer Window........................................................344

Printing and Exporting Your Results...............................................................346

Printing Your Project.................................................................................346

Exporting a Layout....................................................................................348

Save Window As Supports Raster Formats.............................................348

Chapter 13: Registering Raster Images........................................................351

Working with Raster Images............................................................................352

Determining Map Coordinates .................................................................352

An Introduction to Raster Image Registration...........................................352

Understanding Raster Images in MapInfo Professional...........................353

15MapInfo Professional User Guide

Raster Image Format Details....................................................................353

Opening a Raster Image...................................................................................354

Registering the Coordinates of a Raster Image.......................................355

Reprojecting a Raster Map.......................................................................355

Transferring Vector Map Coordinates Directly to a Raster Map...............356

Modifying Control Points for Raster Images.............................................357

Adjusting the Contrast or Brightness of a Raster Image .........................358

Adjusting the Translucency of a Raster Image.........................................358

Printing/Exporting Translucent Raster Images..............................................359

Chapter 14: Putting Your Data on the Map...................................................361

How Do I Get My Data on the Map?.................................................................362

Creating a MapInfo .tab File of Your Data................................................362

When Do I Geocode vs. Create Points?...................................................362

Displaying DBMS and Web Service Data.................................................363

Displaying your Excel (.XLS or .XLSX) Data ..................................................363

Displaying your Access (.MDB or .ACCDB) Data ..........................................364

Displaying your SQLite Data............................................................................365

Opening SQLite Tables.............................................................................366

Displaying your Comma Delimited CSV Data.................................................366

Opening Comma Delimited CSV Files in MapInfo Professional...............367

Exporting to Comma Delimited CSV Format ...........................................367

Displaying your dBase Data ............................................................................367

Displaying your Lotus 1-2-3 Data....................................................................368

Displaying your ESRI Shapefile Data .............................................................368

Registering and Displaying your ASCII Data .................................................370

Importing and Displaying GML File Data .......................................................370

Importing and Displaying GML 2.1 Files...................................................370

Using Universal Data Directly..........................................................................371

Opening Universal Data Directly..............................................................371

Working with the FME Suite.....................................................................373

Understanding MapInfo Professional's Use of the Topography Layer......373

Opening MapInfo Professional Grid Files ......................................................374

Importing Graphic Files ...................................................................................374

Geocoding - Assigning Coordinates to Records ..........................................374

What Do I Need to Know Before Geocoding?..........................................375

Understanding the Geocoding Process....................................................375

Modes of Geocoding................................................................................376

Methods of Geocoding.............................................................................376

Refining Your Geocoding Search ............................................................377

Finding an Exact Street Match.................................................................377

Placing Geocoded Points.........................................................................379

Matching Street Names............................................................................379

Matching Address Numbers.....................................................................380

Matching to Region...................................................................................380

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Selecting Records Not Geocoded............................................................382

Locating Newly Geocoded Points.............................................................382

Result Codes............................................................................................383

Ungeocoding a Table ...............................................................................383

Putting Latitude/Longitude Coordinates on a Map .......................................384

Dispersing Points Located in the Same Place..........................................384

Creating Points for Intersections..............................................................384

Geocoding Data using a Server...............................................................384

Displaying Your Data on the Map....................................................................385

Finding Data on your Map........................................................................385

Viewing a List of Open Tables..................................................................386

Displaying Data Details using the Statistics Window ..............................386

Printing Your Results........................................................................................387

Setting up the Page..................................................................................387

Printing Your Map ....................................................................................388

Viewing and Printing Text ........................................................................388

Troubleshooting Print Problems...............................................................389

Chapter 15: Working with Coordinate Systems and Projections...............391

Working with Coordinate Systems..................................................................392

Displaying Coordinates ............................................................................392

Elements of a Coordinate System............................................................392

Understanding Coordinate Systems.........................................................393

Building Blocks of a Coordinate System........................................................397

Coordinate Systems, Projections, and their Parameters..........................397

Projection Types.......................................................................................397

Datums ....................................................................................................399

Units.........................................................................................................400

Coordinate System Origin........................................................................400

Standard Parallels (Conic Projections).....................................................400

Oblique Azimuth (Hotine Oblique Mercator).............................................400

Scale Factor (Transverse Mercator).........................................................400

False Easting and False Northing............................................................401

Range (Azimuthal Projections).................................................................401

About Polyconic Coordinate Systems......................................................401

Examples of Projection Entries in the MAPINFOW.PRJ File...................401

Adding Projections to the MAPINFOW.PRJ File.............................................402

Using the New Projection in a Coordinate System...................................403

Entering a New Coordinate System (Example)........................................404

Understanding Precision in MapInfo Professional........................................404

What is Precision?....................................................................................405

Understanding Affine Transformations...........................................................405

Description of an Affine Transformation...................................................405

Using Earth and Non-Earth Maps....................................................................407

Specifying Coordinates for a Non-Earth Map ..........................................407

17MapInfo Professional User Guide

Chapter 16: Working with Data from a Web Service....................................409

Introduction to Web Services...........................................................................410

Accessing Web Services in MapInfo Professional ..................................410

Web Service Authentication.....................................................................410

Enhancing Map Data using a Web Map Service (WMS).................................412

How Does MapInfo Professional Use WMS Servers?.............................412

Supported Image Formats for WMS ........................................................412

Understanding WMS Error Messages......................................................413

Enhancing Map Data using a Web Feature Service (WFS)............................414

WFS Server Requirements.......................................................................415

Geocoding using a Geocoding Server............................................................417

What Are MapMarker and Envinsa Geocoding Services?.......................418

Geocoding a Single Address using a Geocoding Service........................419

Understanding the Geocoding Result Codes...........................................419

Creating Routing Distance and Time Buffers.................................................420

How are Time and Distance Buffers Calculated?.....................................421

Using Driving Region Buffers to Display Data..........................................422

Creating Time or Distance Buffers for Objects.........................................422

Enhancing Map Data using a Mapping Tile Server........................................422

Tile Server Authentication.........................................................................423

Adding a Tile Server Layer to your Map...................................................423

Adding a Layer to your Map from a Map Tile Server................................424

Working with Tile Servers.........................................................................426

Changing the Map Zoom to the Nearest Tile Server Level......................427

Setting Tile Server Layer Properties.........................................................427

Chapter 17: Specialized Topics in MapInfo Professional............................429

Embedding MapInfo Professional Maps.........................................................430

What You Should Know First....................................................................430

Menus and Commands Available While Using the MapInfo Map............430

Limitations of OLE....................................................................................431

Working with Embedded Maps.................................................................431

Sharing Documents with Embedded Maps..............................................431

Using MapInfo Tables with Data Map.......................................................432

Internet Connectivity and MapInfo Professional............................................432

What Are Active Objects?.........................................................................432

HTML Landing Pages...............................................................................433

Redistricting-Grouping Map Objects into Districts........................................433

What is Redistricting and How Can I Use It? ...........................................434

Using the Districts Browser......................................................................435

Using Redistricting....................................................................................436

Options in Redistricting.............................................................................436

Creating Expressions.......................................................................................437

Where Expressions Can Be Used ...........................................................437

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Constructing Simple Expressions.............................................................438

Constructing Complex Expressions..........................................................439

Entering Specific Values (Constants) into Expressions ...........................439

Using Mathematical Operators in Expressions ........................................440

Using String Operators in Expressions ....................................................440

Using Comparison Operators in Expressions ..........................................441

Using Geographic Operators in Expressions...........................................443

Using Logical Operators in Expressions ..................................................444

Understanding Operator Precedence ......................................................445

Using Functions in Expressions...............................................................446

Working with the MapBasic Window...............................................................446

Accessing the MapBasic Window.............................................................447

Running a MapBasic Program .................................................................447

Appendix A: Keyboard Shortcuts..................................................................449

Shortcuts for File Menu Items..........................................................................450

Shortcuts for Edit Menu Items.........................................................................450

Shortcut to Tools Menu Items..........................................................................450

Shortcuts to Objects Menu Items....................................................................451

Shortcuts for Query Menu Items......................................................................451

Shortcuts for Options Menu Items..................................................................451

Shortcuts for Map Menu Items.........................................................................451

Shortcuts for Window Menu Items..................................................................452

Shortcuts by Keystroke....................................................................................452

Shortcuts for the Map or Layout Window.......................................................454

When the Map or Classic Layout is Active...............................................454

While Drawing a Polyline or Polygon........................................................455

When Selecting One or More Objects from the Editable Layer or Classic

Layout.......................................................................................................455

Shortcuts for the Browser Window.................................................................456

When the Browser is Active......................................................................456

When Navigating between Cells in the Browser Window.........................456

When Editing Text within the Browser Window........................................457

Shortcuts for the Legend Designer Window..................................................459

When the Legend Designer Window is Active..........................................459

When Selecting One or More Frames in a Legend Designer Window.....460

When Repositioning Legend Frames in the Legend Designer

Window.....................................................................................................460

Shortcuts for MapInfo Professional................................................................461

Appendix B: Elements of a Coordinate System...........................................463

Projections and Their Parameters...................................................................464

Projection Types List................................................................................468

Projection Datums....................................................................................470

Units ........................................................................................................478

19MapInfo Professional User Guide

Coordinate System Origin........................................................................479

Standard Parallels (Conic Projections).....................................................479

Oblique Azimuth (Hotine Oblique Mercator).............................................479

Scale Factor (Transverse Mercator).........................................................479

False Northings and False Eastings.........................................................480

Range (Azimuthal Projections).................................................................480

Polyconic Projection.................................................................................480

Equidistant Cylindrical Projection.............................................................480

For More Information on Projections..............................................................481

Contact Information..................................................................................481

Appendix C: Manually Creating a MapInfo_MapCatalog.............................483

Manually Creating a MapInfo_MapCatalog.....................................................484

Manually Making a Remote Table Mappable...................................................485

Appendix D: MapInfo Map Interchange Format............................................487

File Versions and TAB, MIF/MID, and WOR Support......................................488

CharSet....................................................................................................496

Delimiter...................................................................................................497

Unique .....................................................................................................497

Index.........................................................................................................497

CoordSys Clause......................................................................................497

Transform Clause.....................................................................................498

Columns...................................................................................................499

Appendix E: Glossary of Terms.....................................................................501

Glossary of Terms.............................................................................................502

MapInfo Professional 12.520

Introduction

Welcome to the Pitney Bowes Software Inc. family of products. As the field of computer mapping continues to expand, Pitney Bowes Software Inc. leads the way with new products that are designed to fulfill users' computer mapping needs from the most basic to the most specialized with MapMarker, our premier address matching product.

MapInfo Professional is a comprehensive computer mapping tool that enables you to perform complex geographic analysis such as redistricting, accessing your remote data, dragging and dropping map objects into your applications, creating thematic maps that emphasize patterns in your data, and much more.

This guide contains all of the information you need to learn about and be productive using MapInfo Professional.

In this section:

• What is MapInfo Professional? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

• Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

• Getting Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

• Getting Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

What is MapInfo Professional?

With MapInfo Professional, the power of computer mapping is at your complete disposal. You can display your data as points, as thematically shaded regions, as pie or bar charts, as districts, etc. You can perform geographic operations such as redistricting, combining and splitting objects, and buffering. You can also make queries against your data and access your remote data directly from MapInfo Professional.

For example, MapInfo Professional can show which branch store is the closest to your biggest customers. It can calculate the distances between customers and stores; it can show you the customers who spent the most last year; it can color-code the store symbols by sales volume. What makes it all come together is a visual display of your data on the map.

Mapping at a Glance

Huge quantities of information are available today, far more than ever before. Data abounds in spreadsheets, sales records, and marketing files. Paper and disk store masses of information on customers, stores, personnel, equipment, and resources. Thematic maps and graphs show distribution of customers for a marketing campaign.

Figure 1: Thematic Map Example

Nearly all data has a geographic component. An estimated 85 percent of all databases contain some sort of geographic information such as street addresses, cities, states, postal codes, or even telephone numbers with area codes and exchange numbers.

Computer mapping can help you sort through all of this information, and using the geographic components in your data, display your results on a map. This lets you see patterns and relationships in the mass of information quickly and easily without having to pore over your database.

Using Your Own Data

To begin with, you can use the data you already have, in the form it is already in - spreadsheets such as Excel, databases such as Access, popular CAD packages, and other GIS applications, to name just a few. If your data is on a remote database, you can access it directly from MapInfo Professional. If you have data that is not already online, you can create database files right inside the product, or use data supplied by Pitney Bowes Software Inc. - such as census data.

Similarly, you can use any of thousands of maps available from Pitney Bowes Software Inc., everything from street and highway maps to world maps. You can also create your own maps, either in MapInfo Professional or with a drawing package. You can diagram anything - floor plans, flow charts, even brain anatomy - can be treated as a map and entered into the product.

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Chapter 1: Introduction

After you have organized your data visually, you will save the results to files, or send them to any of the dozens of printers and plotters MapInfo Professional recognizes.

If you have your data on hand and you can read a map, you are just about ready to begin. Soon, we will show you an example of how easy it is to put MapInfo Professional's power to work for you.

But first, install MapInfo Professional following the instructions in the MapInfo Professional Install Guide. If you are new to the product, or new to computer mapping, we suggest you refer to The Basics of

MapInfo Professional for an overview of basic mapping terms and concepts. Use the web-enabled

tutorial to learn about its features, and become accustomed to the more common tasks and functions.

For more product and service information, you can connect directly from MapInfo Professional to our forum (on the Help menu, point to MapInfo on the Web), or consult our World Wide Web site (www.mapinfo.com).

Reviewing the MapInfo Professional Features

MapInfo Professional gives you the processing power of databases (including powerful SQL queries) and the visual power of maps, plus charts and graphs. It is an essential business tool for data analysis, sales, and presentations.

Here is a look at some of the features MapInfo Professional offers:

• Direct opening of files created with dBASE or FoxBASE, delimited ASCII, comma delimited CSV files,

ESRI shapefiles, Lotus 1-2-3, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Access; importing of graphics files in a

variety of formats; a function for creating database files from within the product.

• Multiple views of your data in Map, Browser, and Graph windows. Hot Views allow you to open multiple

views of the same data and update them when you change any one view.

• Live ODBC access to remote database data, such to SQL Server.

• Seamless map layers that allow you to handle several map layers as if they were one layer.

• Legend Designer window, enabling you to create and customize legends for any map layer.

• Thematic maps to create analyses of your data with high visual impact, including grid surface themes,

3DMaps, and Prism maps.

• Use raster underlay capabilities to enhance your work session.

• Querying capabilities ranging from simple data selections from a single file to complex SQL queries

from one or more files.

• Workspaces that save all your settings and views so you can start where you left off.

• HotLinks that let you launch files or URLs directly from a Map window.

• OLE embedding of Map windows into other applications.

• A comprehensive array of drawing and editing tools for customizing your maps.

• Thousands of ready-made maps and functions for creating your own maps.

• Crystal Reports, the industry-standard report-writing program, allows you to create reports of your

tabular data directly in the product.

• A layout window for preparing output.

• Printing and export capabilities for high-quality output

• The ability to change the projection of your map for display or digitizing.

• Object processing functions that help to correct errors in data, set node snap tolerances for different

objects, as well as thin nodes and polygons.

When it is time to run MapInfo Professional, you will feel right at home with its windowing environment. After you have organized your data visually, you will save the results to files, or send them to your printer or plotter.

For tips to help you succeed in using MapInfo Professional, see Ensuring Your Success in the Help System.

23MapInfo Professional User Guide

Getting Started

Accessing Your Documentation

MapInfo Professional Documentation Set

The MapInfo Professional User Guide contains a subset of the information found in the MapInfo Professional Online Help system. If you cannot find the information you are looking for, refer to the Online Help system, which is installed with the product.

Accessing MapInfo Professional Documentation

You can access the MapInfo Professional files in the Documentationsubfolder located in your installation directory. You can read these files using Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available on the installation DVD or by going to the Adobe web site:

http://get.adobe.com/reader

Getting Started

This section describes that a map is the visual representation of data files where each data file displays as a layer on the map.

MapInfo Professional helps you analyze your data on a map for activities such as appraisal, conservation, forecasting, planning, surveying, demarcating, tracking, or managing. You can tailor maps to your specific uses for analysis.

A map is a visual representation of data that has location. MapInfo Professional displays data on the Earth, such as country boundaries, but can also display data that is relative to itself, such as a building floor plan. Seeing data visually on a map gives you the locations of where things are, the relative importance of things through the use of symbols or colors, and the relationships between locations.

Figure 2: World map showing relative literacy rates where each color represents a range of average values.

Data must be in the form of tables. MapInfo Professional displays data tables as layers on a map. Each table is a single layer and a map may have many layers (tables) on display. For more information about how MapInfo Professional represents data on a map, see What is a Layer?.

A data table organizes information by rows and columns, so that you can easily visualize and manage information in a database, such as SQL Server, or in data management software, such as Microsoft Excel. MapInfo Professional access data tables in a database directly or lets you import data tables to work with them directly in MapInfo Professional's native .TAB format.

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Chapter 1: Introduction

Figure 3: Map displaying three layers: capitol cities, country boundaries, and ocean layers. A Query Browser window displays a table with the results of a simple selection.

Data is represented on a map as an object, such as a point to mark a location, a polygon to mark the boundaries of a region, or a line to mark a route.

Figure 4: A simple map showing store locations as points, circles as sales territories, and lines as roads and railways.

For more information about:

• Data, see Data - Where MapInfo Professional Begins.

• Map objects, see Map Objects as Part of Layers.

In MapInfo Professional you begin by opening your table of data and displaying it in a Map window. Each table you open displays as a separate layer. Before you launch Mapinfo Professional, you will need to know where your data tables are located or you will need to set up access to your remote data source, which is described in Working with Data in a DBMS.

To help you visualize your data and give it context, open a few of the sample data tables that come with MapInfo Professional, such as country and county boundaries, roadways, or city locations. If you have not already done so, install the sample data from the MapInfo Professional DVD. For instructions on how to do this, refer to the MapInfo Professional Install Guide.

25MapInfo Professional User Guide

Getting Support

You are then ready to launch MapInfo Professional as described under Starting and Leaving MapInfo

Professional.

There is a lot of information under A Tour of the MapInfo Professional Desktop that describes how to work with MapInfo Professional. Review this section and the other sections in The Basics of MapInfo

Professional to learn how to work with this product.

For more information about working with data, see:

• Understanding Your Data

• Putting Your Data on the Map in the Help System

• Working with Data in a DBMS

Getting Support

Here at Pitney Bowes Software Inc., we are committed to your success and we provide a wide range of support to assist you in getting the results you are working toward.

Using the Status Bar

The Status Bar along the lower edge of your window provides helpful information during your mapping session and allows you to make some changes directly in the Status Bar. To control the display of the Status Bar, on the Options menu point to Show/Hide Status Bar.

Not all entries display in the Status Bar at all times. Entries display when a feature is active.Note:

• Status Bar Help: To find out what a command does, move the cursor over the command. A brief

description of the command displays in the left pane of the Status Bar along the lower edge of your

screen.

• Zoom, Map Scale, Cursor Location: View any one of these settings in the Status Bar. You can

change which one displays directly from the Status Bar. Click the arrow on the right side of the box to

display a popup list of the three options. Click the setting you want to display. The Status Bar

automatically updates. These display settings are also controlled in the Map Options dialog box (on

the Map menu, point to Options).

• Editable Layers: To keep track of which layer is currently editable, review the list of layers that display

in the Status Bar. You can change the editable layer directly in the Status Bar. Click the arrow to the

right of the box to display a popup list of the layers in the Map window. Click the layer you want to

make editable. The Status Bar automatically updates, showing the new editable layer.

• Selectable Layers: The Status Bar indicates which layer the current selection is from. If there is

nothing selected, the Status Bar reads: Selecting: NONE.

• Browser window Records: When viewing a table in a Browser, the record count displays in the Status

Bar.

• Snap-to-Node: This S key toggle feature is in use when SNAP displays in the Status Bar.

• Autotrace indicator: This T key feature is in use when AUTOTRACE displays in the Status Bar.

• Autonode indicator: This N key feature is in use when AUTONODE displays in the Status Bar.

Using the Help System

MapInfo Professional's comprehensive Help System provides the information you need to learn and use the product more effectively. You can reach the information in several ways:

• Use the Help System screen to choose topics from "books". Click a book to display its topics, choose

a topic from the list.

• Use the Search feature to search on a specific word. Type the word you want to search for in the first

field, select the matching word in the second, and then the topic in the third box. MapInfo Professional

displays the topic in the pane on the right.

MapInfo Professional 12.526

Chapter 1: Introduction

• Use the Index feature to find a topic quickly. Type the first few letters of the word you are looking for.

The index entry that most closely matches your entry is highlighted. Click the index entry you want to

display.

• Use the Favorites tab to collect and store topics you want to refer to frequently.

• Context-Sensitive Feature: Press the F1 key to receive more information on any menu command or

dialog box. The Help window for that item displays.

• Quick Access to the publications web site: Click the underlined Pitney Bowes Software Inc. name at

the bottom of each topic page to go to the Pitney Bowes Software Inc. web site. From here you have

access to product information, upcoming events, tech tips, and a complete set of documentation.

MapBasic Available Free of Charge on the Web

The MapBasic development environment is a free download available from www.mapinfo.com. To get your copy, go to www.mapinfo.com/mapbasic. There is also information there about building custom applications and integrating MapInfo Professional into your application using the MapBasic development environment. For additional SDK development environments, go to www.mapinfo.com/mapxtreme.

To obtain your free copy of MapBasic and access other resources to enhance your use of MapInfo Professional, you need to register on the Pitney Bowes Software Inc. site before accessing this download page.

Getting Technical Support

Pitney Bowes Software Inc. offers a free support period on all new software purchases and upgrades, so you can be productive from the start. Once the free period ends, Pitney Bowes Software Inc. offers a broad selection of extended support services for individual, business, and corporate users.

Technical Support is here to help you, and your call is important. This section lists the information you need to provide when you call your local support center. It also explains some of the technical support procedures so that you will know what to expect about the handling and resolution of your particular issue.

Please remember to include your serial number, partner number or contract number when contacting Technical Support.

Contacting Technical Support

Full technical support for MapInfo Professional is provided for the currently shipping version plus the two previous versions.

To use Technical Support, you must register your product. This can be done very easily during installation or anytime during normal business hours by contacting Customer Service directly.

Technical Support Contact Information

Extended support options are available at each of our technical support centers in the Americas, Europe/Middle East/Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions.

To contact the office nearest you, on the Support menu point to Contact Support, or go to our website at www.mapinfo.com/support.

Technical Support Online Case Management System

The Technical Support Online Case Management system is another way to log and manage cases with our Technical Support center. You must register yourself the first time you access this site if you do not already have a user ID.

http://go.pbinsight.com/online-case-management

27MapInfo Professional User Guide

Getting Technical Support

Tell Us What You Think!

Want to give MapInfo Professional Engineers feedback? We have an option in the Help menu for

you to provide direct product feedback to Pitney Bowes Software Inc. If you have a need for a new feature, or you need our product to do something it does not currently do, use this feature to write to us. Whether you want to complain or complement, let us know so we can meet your MapInfo Professional needs better.

To send us feedback:

• On the Help menu, point to Send Product Improvement Suggestions to open the customer feedback

form.

Our team of Product Managers and Engineers will collect your feedback and consider your request in a future release of MapInfo Professional. You will be able to track the activity on your suggestions through different statuses and maintain a list of your ideas or suggestions. Your suggestions will be grouped with other similar ideas to help us build a list of new features and workflows for the application. You may be invited to give your feedback on the scoping and implementation of these suggestions and participate in surveys that help us narrow down the priority of the features we are working on.

Our goal is to ensure that MapInfo Professional stays on the forefront of your needs and product requirements. Help us do that important work for you!

MapInfo Professional 12.528

What's New in MapInfo Professional

Thank you for upgrading to the most advanced computer mapping product in the Pitney Bowes Software Inc. software family! As the field of computer mapping continues to expand, Pitney Bowes Software Inc. leads the way with new products that are designed to fulfill your computer mapping needs from the most basic to the most specialized.

For more information about the bug fixes and corrections we have made to MapInfo Professional in this release, review the release notes at:

http://www.mapinfo.com/publications

In this section:

• New and Changed Features in MapInfo Professional . . .30

• Data Access Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

• Sample Data Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

• New and Existing Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

New and Changed Features in MapInfo Professional

You will notice the following licensing improvements:

• Overdraft licenses are now available if you purchased distributable licenses. Overdraft licenses ensure

that you do not have a service disruption if you lose a license during server migrations or failure. You

can overdraft up to 10% of the number of distributable licenses that you own, so if you own 50

distributable licenses you would have up to 5 overdraft licenses available.

• You can now repair up to 10% of the distributable licenses that you own. If you have 20 distributable

licenses as an example, then the License Server Utility will repair up to 2 broken licenses.

For details about these licensing improvements, see the License Server User Guide that installs with the License Server software.

MapInfo Professional now works with Microsoft Office 2013. You can open and save your data to Office 2013 Excel and Access files, and embed maps into Office 2013 Word documents.

Searches in a Table List window are now more discrete, using all of the terms that you enter in the search box instead of the entire phrase. A search will find any table alias that matches any of the terms (separated by spaces) that you enter.

New Layout Designer Window

MapInfo Professional provides a new Layout Designer window that will eventually replace the classic Layout window. You can continue creating your layouts in the classic Layout window for printing and

distributing maps, or take advantage of some of the enhanced features in the new Layout Designer window.

The Layout Designer window contains a live map that you can edit, so that you do not need to toggle between the layout and editing in the Map window. The Layout Designer window shows the map using the printer resolution, so that you know beforehand what your printout will look like (you will know what labels will be on the printed map). In contrast, the Map window shows maps using the screen resolution, which is not an accurate representation of what the printed map would look like (labels in a Map window may not be on the printed map). It also offers more advanced alignment tools for designing your layout and lets you insert image files, such as a company logo, directly to the canvas.

For details and instructions on how to work with the Layout Designer window, see Working with

Layouts.

New Concurrency Setting for Improved Processing

MapInfo Professional provides a new concurrency setting to improve processing speed by running some operations in parallel.

When processing objects, you can select how much of the operation to perform in parallel using more than one CPU or processor core. When concurrency is set, MapInfo Professional divides the processing to multiple cores that simultaneously perform the operation. This improves the processing time when buffering an object in a table or selection, and with overlay operations (such as Split, Erase, Erase Outside, Polyline Split, and Overlay Nodes).

By default, MapInfo Professional has full concurrency turned on, but you can select the level of concurrency as a software preference:

• None – a single processor performs the operation. This option provides the least amount of processing

speed.

• Moderate – 25% of the processors on your system perform the operation.

• Intermediate – 50% of the processors on your system perform the operation.

• Aggressive – 75% of the processors on your system perform the operation.

• Full – all processors on your system perform the operation. This is the default setting MapInfo

Professional installs with.

MapInfo Professional 12.530

+ 510 hidden pages

Pitney Bowes MapInfo Professional User Manual

Contents

Introduction

What is MapInfo Professional?

Mapping at a Glance

Using Your Own Data

Reviewing the MapInfo Professional Features

Getting Started

Accessing Your Documentation

Getting Support

Using the Status Bar

Using the Help System

MapBasic Available Free of Charge on the Web

Getting Technical Support

Contacting Technical Support

Technical Support Contact Information

Technical Support Online Case Management System

Tell Us What You Think!

What's New in MapInfo Professional

New and Changed Features in MapInfo Professional

New Layout Designer Window

New Concurrency Setting for Improved Processing