User’s Guide

Version 7.0
Title Page

MapInfo
Professional

User’s Guide

MapInfo Corporation
Troy, New York
Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of
the vendor or its representatives. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without the written permission of MapInfo Corporation,
One Global View, Troy, New York 12180-8399.

1992–2002 MapInfo Corporation. All rights reserved. MapInfo, MapInfo Professional, MapBasic, and the MapInfo
Logo are registered trademarks of MapInfo Corporation.
Contact MapInfo Corporation on the Internet at: http://www.mapinfo.com.

MapInfo Corporate Headquarters: MapInfo Europe Headquarters: Germany:

Voice: (518) 285-6000 Voice: +44 (0)1753 848 200 Voice: +49 (0)6142 203 400

Fax: (518) 285-6060 Fax:+44 (0)1753 621 140 Fax: +49 (0)6142 203 444

Sales Info Hotline: (800) 327-8627 email:[email protected] email:[email protected]

Federal Sales: (800) 619-2333

Technical Support Hotline: Toll-free telephone support is available in the U.S. and Canada. Contact
(518) 285-7283 your MapInfo sales representative for details. For international customers,
Technical Support Fax: please use the Technical Support Fax number.
(518) 285-6080
Adobe Acrobat® is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States.
libtiff  1988–1995 Sam Leffler, copyright  1991–1995 Silicon Graphics, Inc.
libgeotiff  1995 Niles D. Ritter.
Portions Copyright  1999 3D Graphics, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
HIL – Halo Imaging Library™ Copyright 1993, Media Cybernetics Inc. Halo Imaging Library is a trademark of Media
Cybernetics, Inc.
Portions hereof LEAD Technologies, Inc.  1991–1997. All Rights Reserved.
Portions Copyright  1993–2002 Ken Martin, Will Schroeder, Bill Lorensen. All Rights Reserved.
This software uses patented LZW technology for .GIF image compression and/or decompression. (Unisys United
States patent No. 4,558,302 and corresponding patents in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United King-
dom). GIF images compressed or decompressed for transmission via the Internet or via any other on-line communi-
cation capability may not be sold or licensed for revenue, or used by an Internet Service Provider or in paid
advertisements unless the user first enters into a written license agreement with Unisys. For information concerning
licensing, please contact:
Unisys Corporation
Welch Licensing Department C1SW19
Township Line & Union Meeting Roads
P.O. Box 500
Blue Bell PA 19424
Blue Marble  1993–2002.
ECW by ER Mapper  1998–2002.
VMGrid by Northwood Technologies, Inc., a Marconi Company  1995–2002 ™.
Portions 2002 Earth Resource Mapping, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Portions of this software are copyrighted by MERANT, 1991–2002.
MrSID, MrSID Decompressor and the MrSID logo are trademarks of LizardTech, Inc. used under license. Portions of
this computer program are copyright (c) 1995–1998 LizardTech and/or the university of California or are protected by
US patent nos. 5,710,835; 5,130,701; or 5,467,110 and are used under license. All rights reserved. MrSID is protected
under US and international patent & copyright treaties and foreign patent applications are pending. Unauthorized
use or duplication prohibited.
Universal Translator by Safe Software, Inc.  2002.
Crystal Reports® is proprietary trademark of Crystal Decisions. All Rights Reserved.
Products named herein may be trademarks of their respective manufacturers and are hereby recognized.
Trademarked names are used editorially, to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intent to infringe on the
trademark.
This documentation reflects the contributions of almost all of the women and men that work for MapInfo
Corporation. It was specifically produced by Marie Costa and Gayle Patenaude, with the help of Juliette Funiciello
and Ed McElroy. Colleen Cox, Managing Editor. The Documentation Department is indebted to MapInfo’s Quality
Assurance Department and, of course, to all the members of the Product Development team that engineered this
project.

MapInfo welcomes your comments and suggestions.

May 2002
Welcome...
Welcome...
to MapInfo Professional 7.0. The User's Guide explains the installation process and
the many features new to MapInfo Professional, as well as describing basic and
advanced mapping concepts. The feature descriptions are thoroughly detailed, and
the concepts are reinforced in the web-enabled interactive tutorial. Veteran MapInfo
users should peruse -What's New in MapInfo Professional, so you don't miss any of
the exciting new features and enhancements.
The Reference, an alphabetical listing of menu options and buttons, indicates feature
purpose, availability, and menu path. Additionally, succinct step-by-step instructions
on completing dialogs are provided.
MapInfo Professional online help accommodates various methods of accessing
information. Choose a Help topic from the alphabetical list of tasks or menu
commands, or use the search feature to find the pertinent entry by topic. Use Find to
search for a specific word or phrase in the Help files.
Perhaps the best method of acquainting yourself with MapInfo Professional is to
access the interactive tutorial. The tutorial provides an exciting, hands-on entree to
basic, advanced, and new features of MapInfo Professional.
Each component of the documentation set meets a specific need — together they will
help you become an expert MapInfo Professional user. We encourage all users, novice
and veteran, to become familiar with the documentation media. The information they
provide, added to your mapping creativity, will help you use MapInfo Professional to
its fullest potential.
 Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Desktop Mapping at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Making MapInfo Professional Work for You. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
MI Pro Documentation Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
MI Pro and the Microsoft IntelliMouse™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Ensuring Success with MapInfo Professional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Training Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Technical Support Offerings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Chapter 2: Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Before Installing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Navigating the MapInfo Professional 7.0 CD Browser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Install Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
MapInfo Professional 7.0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Installation Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Removing MapInfo Professional from Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Controlling Advanced System Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Chapter 3: What’s New in MapInfo Professional . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Organizing Your Data and Maps: An Overview of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . 42
MI Pro’s Building Blocks: Map Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Map, Browser, and Graph Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Getting Your Data on the Map: Geocoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Map Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Tools to Get the Job Done . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
The Power of MapInfo Professional: Editing and Analyzing . . . . . . . . . 57
MapInfo Professional in Action: An Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Contents

Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Starting MapInfo Professional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Opening a Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Mapping a Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Legends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Browsing a Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Graphing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Inverting a Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Viewing Attached Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Closing Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Exporting Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Using Workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Saving a Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Opening a Workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
How Renaming Tables Affects Workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Leaving MapInfo Professional–The Mapinfow.wor Workspace . . . . . . . 86
Starting MapInfo Professional–The Startup.wor Workspace . . . . . . . . . . 86
Saving Printer Information to a Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Additional Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Chapter 6: Working with Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Accessing Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
System Setting Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Map Window Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Legend Window Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Startup Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Address Matching Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Directory Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Search Directories for Tables and Workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Output Settings Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Printer Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Styles Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

ii MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Contents

Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Maps as Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Creating a Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Layer Control Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Manipulating Layers for Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Display Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Editable and Selectable Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
The Cosmetic Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Labeling Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Seamless Map Layers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Thematic and Raster Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Chapter 8: Geocoding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Geocoding: Assigning Coordinates to Your Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Geocoding Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Three Questions to Ask Before Geocoding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
General Procedures for Geocoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Placement of Geocoded Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Approaching the 100% Hit Rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Using Result Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Manual Geocoding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Displaying Your Data on a Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Locating Data on the Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Creating Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Dispersing Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Creating Points for Intersections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Extracting Longitude and Latitude from a Geocoded Table . . . . . . . . . 156
Guide to Geocoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Ungeocoding a Table or Selected Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Chapter 9: Selecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

What Is a Selection? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Characteristics of Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Making Selections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Selecting from the Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Unselecting Objects or Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Selecting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide iii

Contents

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

What Is Select? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Making a New Table Using a Subset of a File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
What Is SQL Select?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Saving Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Query Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Deriving Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Creating Column Aliases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Aggregating Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Group by and Order by Clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Joining Tables Using SQL Select . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Outer Join . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Finding Information within a Column of Data–the InStr Function . . . . 201
Selecting Records from One Table That Are Not in Another . . . . . . . . . 203
Selecting Even or Odd Records from a Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Selecting Highways from a StreetInfo Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Finding All Records with Duplicate Values in a Column . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Calculating the Distance to a Fixed Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data 209

What Is Thematic Mapping? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Planning Your Thematic Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Thematic Layers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Methods of Thematic Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Individual Values Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Ranged Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Grid Surface Thematic Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Prism Maps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Graduated Symbol Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Dot Density Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Bar Chart Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Pie Chart Maps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Using Update Column with Thematic Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Bivariate Thematic Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Using an Inflection Point with Thematic Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Modifying a Thematic Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Customizing a Thematic Legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Saving Your Thematic Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

iv MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Contents

Chapter 12: Creating Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Graph Type Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Creating a Graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Editing Your Graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Editing Individual Graph Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Graphing Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Selections in Graphs and Their Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Saving Your Graph. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Graph Templates and Other Support Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Chapter 13: Embedding a MapInfo Map in Other Programs . 283

OLE Embedding with MI Pro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
OLE Terms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
MapInfo Map Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Mapping with MapInfo Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Tools and Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Things to Know Before You Start. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Embedding a MapInfo Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
MapInfo Map Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Edit Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Table Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Map Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Help Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Resizing and Repositioning an Embedded Map Window. . . . . . . . . . . 295
Printing Your Document with an Embedded MapInfo Object . . . . . . . 296
Saving Your Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Sharing Documents Containing Embedded Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
MapInfo Map Objects vs. Data Map Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide v

Contents

Chapter 14: Internet Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Active Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Using the HotLink Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Creating Active Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Using the HotLink Tool in Browser Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
HTML Image Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
HTML Landing Pages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Chapter 15: Labeling Your Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Label Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Label Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Automatic Labeling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Interactive Labeling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Removing Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Packing a Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Saving Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Using Text Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

Chapter 16: Creating a Cartographic Legend . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

Cartographic Legends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Creating a Cartographic Legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Legend Wizard in Detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Modifying a Cartographic Legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338

Chapter 17: Drawing and Editing Your Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Drawing and Editing Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Making the Layer Editable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Drawing Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Drawing Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Drawing Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Editing Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Reshaping Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Snap to Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Smoothing/Unsmoothing Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Converting to Regions and Polylines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Editing Street Maps (StreetInfo) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366

vi MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Contents

Chapter 18: Redistricting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371

What Is Redistricting? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
What Can I Use Redistricting For?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Districts Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
The Target District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Using Redistricting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Redistricter Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
A Word about Records with No Graphic Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Saving New Districts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380

Chapter 19: Displaying Raster Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381

What Is a Raster Image? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Obtaining Raster Image Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Uses for Raster Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
What Types of Raster Images Can MapInfo Professional Display? . . . 384
Opening a Raster Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Registering a Raster Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Display Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Limitations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396

Chapter 20: Geographic Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399

Set Target Editing Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
Aggregating and Disaggregating Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Combining Objects with Set Target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Splitting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
Erasing Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Overlaying Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
Creating Territories by Combining Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Creating a Voronoi Polygon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
Multipoint and Collection Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
Combining Objects with Multipoint and Collection Objects . . . . . . . . 416
Object Processing and Manipulation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418

Chapter 21: Working with Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437

What Is the Layout Window?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Creating Map Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Creating a Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide vii

Contents

Working in the Layout Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448

Map Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Customizing a Layout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
Creating and Saving a Layout Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
Printing a Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
Electronic Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460

Chapter 22: Managing Your Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

What Is a Database? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464
MI Pro Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
Linked Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
Creating a New Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
Microsoft Access Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
Viewing or Modifying a Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
Saving a Table or a Copy of a Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
Copying and Renaming a Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Creating a Report for Your Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
Appending Rows to a Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
Deleting a Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Packing a Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Adding Data to a Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
Aggregating Data with Update Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490

Chapter 23: Accessing Remote Database Data. . . . . . . . . . . 495

Prerequisites for Accessing Remote Databases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
Oracle Spatial Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
Installing ODBC Drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
Creating New Data Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
Storing and Retrieving Spatial Data in a Remote Database . . . . . . . . . . 501
Making a DBMS Table Mappable (In order to Geocode Table) . . . . . . . 512
DBMS Tables and Linked Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514
Opening a DBMS Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
Downloading DBMS Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
Creating Live Remote DBMS Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
Bound Objects in SpatialWare Spatial Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
Creating a Primary Index on a Remote Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
Live Access Performance with Large DBMS Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526

viii MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Contents

Entering SQL Queries with the Expert Button. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528

Building Queries on Remote Database Tables with DBMS SQL Builder 529
Saving a DBMS Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532
Refreshing a Linked Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535
Unlinking a Table from a Remote Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536
Disconnecting from a Remote Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536

Chapter 24: Using the MapBasic Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537

Accessing the MapBasic Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539

Chapter 25: Projections and Coordinate Systems. . . . . . . . . 547

What Is a Projection? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548
Projection vs. Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549
Earth and Non-Earth Maps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
Choosing Projections for Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551
Projection Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552
Raster Images and Projection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
Choosing a Projection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555
Displaying a Map with a Different Projection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556
Saving a Map with a Different Projection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557
Using the Ocean and Grid Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558
The MAPINFOW.PRJ File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558

Chapter 26: Digitizing with MapInfo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561

Digitized Maps vs. Raster Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562
Digitizing Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562
Setting Up the Digitizing Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
Digitizer Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
Digitizer Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568
Digitizing Your Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
Tracing Existing Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570
Troubleshooting Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571
Limitations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide ix

Contents

Appendix A: MapInfo Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575

Appendix B: Advanced Geocoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577

Appendix C: Data Setting and Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597

Appendix D: Creating Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601

Appendix E: Registering SPOT Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635

Appendix F: DBMS Connectivity Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641

Appendix G: Converting Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651

Appendix H: Creating Your Own Coordinate System . . . . . . 653

Appendix I: Defining Custom Datums/Datum Conversion . 675

Appendix J: MapInfo Data Interchange Format. . . . . . . . . . . 683

Appendix K: Copyright Information for Sample Data . . . . . . 707

Glossary of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733

x MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 1
Chapter 1: Introduction
Introduction

Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter

Welcome to the MapInfo family of products. As
the field of desktop mapping continues to
➤ Desktop Mapping at a
expand, MapInfo leads the way with new
Glance
products that are designed to fulfill users’
desktop mapping needs from the most basic, ➤ Making MapInfo
Professional Work for You
with Microsoft Data Map in Excel 97, to the
most specialized with MapMarker, our premier ➤ Getting Started
address matching product.
➤ MI Pro Documentation Set
MapInfo Professional®, our flagship product, is
➤ MI Pro and the Microsoft
a comprehensive desktop mapping tool that
IntelliMouse™
enables you to perform complex geographic
analysis such as redistricting, accessing your ➤ Ensuring Success with
remote data, dragging and dropping map
MapInfo Professional
objects into your applications, creating thematic ➤ Technical Support Offerings
maps that emphasize patterns in your data, and
much more.
Among the new features are enhanced database
connectivity, powerful new object processing
and editing capabilities, an updated Crystal
Reports reporting engine, usability
enhancements, new projections as well as new
and improved tools. Chapter 3 provides a full
description of new and enhanced features.
This User’s Guide contains all of the
information you need to learn about and be
productive using MI Pro. For those of you who
want to get started right away, see our online
tutorial.
Chapter 1: Introduction

Desktop 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.

Nearly all of it has a geographic component. An estimated 85 percent of all databases

contain some sort of geographic information such as street addresses, cities, states,
ZIP Codes, or even telephone numbers with area codes and exchange numbers.
Desktop 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 pour over your database.

2 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 1: Introduction

Making MapInfo Professional Work for You

With MI Pro, the power of desktop 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 MI Pro.
For example, MI Pro 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.

Windows Compatibility
MI Pro is Microsoft Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0, Windows XP
Professional and Windows XP Home and Office compatible, so you will feel right at
home with its windowing environment. MI Pro is designed to fit smoothly into your
work environment, so it only changes the results you get, not the way you work.

Maps and Data

To begin with, you can use the data you already have, in the form it’s already in —
spreadsheets such as Lotus 1–2–3 and Excel, databases such as dBASE/FoxBASE,
Access 2000, 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 MI Pro. If you have
data that is not already online, you can create database files right inside MI Pro, or use
data supplied by MapInfo — such as census data.
Similarly, you can use any of thousands of maps available from MapInfo, everything
from street and highway maps to world maps. You can also create your own maps,
either in MI Pro or with a drawing package. Anything that can be diagrammed —
floor plans, flow charts, even brain anatomy — can be treated as a map and entered
into MI Pro.
After you’ve organized your data visually, you’ll save the results to files, or send them
to any of the dozens of printers and plotters MI Pro recognizes.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 3

Chapter 1: Introduction

Feature Rundown
MI Pro gives you the processing power of databases (including powerful SQL
queries) and the visual power of maps, plus charts and graphs. It’s an essential
business tool for data analysis, sales, and presentations.
Here is a look at some of the things MI Pro offers:
• Direct opening of files created with dBASE or FoxBASE, delimited ASCII,
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 MI Pro.
• Multiple views of your data in three formats: Map, Browser, and Graph
windows. Hot Views technology allows you to open multiple views of the
same data simultaneously and update all views automatically when you
make a change to any one view.
• Live ODBC access to remote database data such as Oracle and SQL Server.
• Seamless map layers that allow you to handle several map layers as if they
were one layer.
• Cartographic legends, 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 selections of data 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 at the end of your last work session.
• 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 and other functions 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 MI Pro.
• A layout window for preparing output.
• Improved 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.

4 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 1: Introduction

When it’s time to run MI Pro, you’ll feel right at home with its windowing
environment. After you’ve organized your data visually, you’ll save the results to
files, or send them to your printer or plotter.

Getting Started
If you have your data on hand and you can read a map, you’re just about ready to
begin. Soon, we’ll show you an example of how easy it is to put MI Pro’s power to
work for you.
But first, install MI Pro following the instructions in Chapter 2. Read through What’s
New in MapInfo Professional to get a feel for the range of mapping possibilities.
Chapter 4 provides an overview of basic mapping terms and concepts, a must read for
the new user. Do the web-enabled tutorial to learn MI Pro’s features, and become
accustomed to the more common tasks and functions.
For more product and service information, you can connect directly from MI Pro to
our forum on the Microsoft Network (Help > Connect to MapInfo Forum). Or, consult
our World Wide Web site (http://www.mapinfo.com).

MI Pro Documentation Set

In addition to the User’s Guide, MI Pro’s documentation set includes the online
Reference, online MapBasic Reference, an online version of this guide, online Help,
online Tutorial, and the StatusBar.

MI Pro Reference
MI Pro’s online Reference is a complete guide to all MI Pro menu commands, tools, and
functionality. Alphabetically organized, each entry provides step-by-step instructions
for completing dialogs and carrying out the various operations.

MapBasic® Reference
The MapBasic online Reference is a complete guide to all MapBasic commands. See
Chapter 24, Using the MapBasic Window, for a discussion of which MapBasic
commands can be used.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 5

Chapter 1: Introduction

Installing Online Documentation

Access the online MapInfo Professional Reference, online MapBasic Reference, or the
Crystal Reports User’s Guide directly from the MI Pro CD, or install the Adobe®
Acrobat Reader to access the files locally.
Choose to access any of the online manuals directly from the CD.
To install the documentation locally:
1. Install the Acrobat® Reader.
2. Copy the files from the [CD_ROM]:\PDF_DOCS folder to a local directory.
mi_ref.pdf is the MapInfo Professional Reference Guide and requires ~9 MB of
disk space.
mi_ug.pdf is this Guide and requires ~17 MB of disk space.
mb_ref.pdf is the MapBasic Reference Guide and requires ~10 MB of disk
space.
crw_ref.pdf is the Crystal Reports User’s Guide and requires 13 MB of disk
space.
arclink3.pdf contains documentation on ArcLink.
easyloader.pdf contains documentation on the EasyLoader tool.
3. From Windows Explorer, double-click on any file to automatically launch the
Acrobat® Reader and the online books.
If you’d prefer to have a printed version of the Reference Guide (version 7.0), contact
Customer Service. Copies are $29.95 plus shipping.

Customer Service
• Hours: Monday through Friday, 8AM to 7PM EST
• Telephone Number: (800) 552–2511, option 3
• Queue/Voice mailbox: 6329
• Internet address: [email protected]

Online Help
MI Pro’s comprehensive Online Help system provides the information you need to
learn and use MI Pro more effectively. You can reach the information in several ways:
• Use the Help Contents screen to choose topics from books. Click on a book to
display its topics, and choose a topic from the list.

6 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 1: Introduction

• Use the Find feature to search on a specific word. Type the word you want to
search for, and click Rebuild. MI Pro displays a list of words to help narrow
your search. Click on a word, and a list of topics displays that contain the
selected word. Double-click on the topic you want or click Display to display
the topic.
• Use the Index feature to find a topic quickly. Type the first few letters of the
word you are looking for. The topic that most closely matches what you typed
is highlighted. Click the index entry you want to display.
• Context-Sensitive Feature: Press the F1 key to receive more information on
any menu command or dialog. The Help window for that item displays. Also
click on the Help button in the MI Pro dialogs to display information on the
current dialog.
• See Also information: Click on the green underlined text in any Help window
to bring up information on related tasks or key words and phrases.
Online Help has been designed to display in half of your window so that you can
view your maps, Browser windows, and dialogs alongside the Help window. Of
course, you can always change the size of the Help window to work the way you are
most comfortable. Choose Help > Always On Top to keep the Help window on your
screen so you can continue to work in MI Pro. Or use Alt-Tab to toggle between the
Help screen and the MI Pro desktop.

Online Tutorial
Get started quickly with MI Pro’s Web-enabled online tutorial designed to give novice
users a quick introduction to MI Pro. Let the tutorial guide you through MI Pro’s main
features. Try the lessons live in MI Pro or run a live demonstration. You can go at your
own pace.
To access the tutorial directly from the MI Pro 7.0 CD Browser, choose Run MapInfo
Tutorial. You can also copy the files to a local or network area and run it locally. See
the first tutorial page to find out how.

StatusBar
MI Pro’s StatusBar along the lower edge of your screen provides helpful information
during your mapping session and allows you to make some changes directly in the
StatusBar. Choose Options > Show/Hide StatusBar to control the display of the
StatusBar.
• StatusBar Help: For instantaneous answers to “What does that command do”
simply move the cursor over the command. A brief description of the

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 7

Chapter 1: Introduction

command displays in the left pane of the StatusBar along the lower edge of
your screen.
• Zoom, Map Scale, Cursor Location: View any one of these settings in the
StatusBar. You can change which one is displayed directly from the StatusBar.
Click the arrow on the right side of the box to display a popup list of the three
options. Click on the setting you want to display. The StatusBar automatically
updates. These display settings are also controlled in the Map Options dialog
(Map>Options).
• Editable Layers: To keep track of which layer is currently editable, MI Pro
displays the layer in the StatusBar. You can change the editable layer directly
in the StatusBar Click on the arrow to the right of the box to display a popup
list of the layers in the Map window. Click on the layer you want to make
editable. The StatusBar automatically updates, showing the new editable
layer.
• Selectable Layers: The StatusBar indicates which layer the current selection is
from. If there is nothing selected, the StatusBar reads: “Selecting: NONE.”
• Browser window Records: When viewing a table in a Browser, the record
count displays in the StatusBar.
• Snap-to-Node: This S-key toggle feature is in use when SNAP displays in the
StatusBar.

MI Pro and the Microsoft IntelliMouse™

MI Pro supports the Microsoft IntelliMouse™ as follows:

Document Scrolling
In the Map, Layout, Browser, and MapBasic windows, hold down the Control key and
move the wheel to scroll the document vertically; the effect is the same as clicking on
the arrow at the end of the scroll bar.

Document Panning
In the Map and Browser windows, hold down the wheel button on the IntelliMouse™
and move the mouse to pan the document. Release the button to end the panning.
There are three panning speeds. The speed of the panning is based on the cursor’s
distance from the starting point, indicated by the origin mark. In the Map window, the
distance moved at each speed is a percentage of the zoom distance. For example, the
amount to move at slow speed is. 005 * ZoomDistance, medium speed is. 01 *
ZoomDistance, and super speed is .1 * ZoomDistance. In the Browser, the window is
scrolled by 1, 3, and 7 lines or columns for slow, medium and super speeds. When the
cursor is within 15 pixels of the starting point, there is no panning.

8 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 1: Introduction

AutoScroll
In the Map and Browser windows, click and release the wheel button to activate
AutoScroll. When the mouse cursor is moved away from the starting point the
document starts to scroll in whatever direction you move the mouse. When the cursor
is returned to the starting point, scrolling stops. AutoScroll is turned off by any mouse
click or key stroke. AutoScroll is also turned off when MI Pro loses the focus, for
example, when you Alt-Tab to another application.

Zoom
In the Map and Layout windows, move the wheel forward to zoom in on the
document. Roll back the mouse wheel to zoom out on the document. The wheel has a
series of detents; each “click” is the same as one click with a zoom tool. The mouse
wheel does not recenter the view.

Ensuring Success with MapInfo Professional

Unquestionably, MapInfo Professional can set your organization apart from
competitors; however, it also requires knowledge of the program’s basic functionality.
Here is a five-step process you can use to ensure your own success:
1. Read the documentation. The MapInfo Professional User’s Guide and
Reference (if purchased) provide all of the information needed to perform the
basic functions of the software. They are also included on the distribution CD
as PDF files. MapInfo Professional also provides an online tutorial to help get
you started.
2. Get trained. Get the most out of your MI Pro software. MapInfo Corporation
and its partners provide comprehensive training courses throughout the
world. You will learn everything from basic to advanced operations and
develop important skills along the way.
3. Check the Tech Notes. The Tech Tip Archive on our Web site contains
numerous documents from MI Pro’s Knowledge Base and a FAQ section. The
Tech Tips explain common problems and provide how-to information that
can help with specific issues. New documents are added often, so stop by
www.mapinfo.com and see what’s new.
4. Join the MapInfo-L community. The MapInfo-L mailing list is an Internet list
server that allows you to share your ideas and insight with other MI Pro
users.
For details and subscription information about MapInfo-L refer to
http://www.directionsmag.com.
Contact Bill Thoen <[email protected]> if you need help.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 9

Chapter 1: Introduction

On occasion, problems with Internet mail result in lost postings. If users are aware of
recent postings that are not in the database, please do not re-post to MapInfo-L!
Instead, please forward a copy of the posting to either Bill Thoen or the MapInfo Test
Drive Center ([email protected]).
Utilize support along the way. When you’re stopped at a critical point, Technical
Support is here to help. See the contact information section below for details on
contacting your local support center.

Training Requirements
The best way to ensure success with MI Pro software is to make certain that users are
trained in the product and version of the MI Pro software being used. Since MapInfo
recognizes that it is not always possible for the designated contact to be trained
immediately, MapInfo offers a 30-day grace period on this requirement. At the end of
the 30-day grace period, MapInfo Technical Support reserves the right to withhold
support from untrained designated contacts.
Note: Trained contacts can place an unlimited number of support calls during
the time period of a valid technical support contract.

Technical Support Offerings

MapInfo Corporation 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,
MapInfo Corporation offers a broad selection of extended support services for
individual, business, and corporate users.
Note: To utilize Technical Support, you must register your product. This can be
done very easily during installation.
Full technical support for MapInfo Professional is provided for versions 6.0 and
higher.
Extended support options are available at each of our technical support centers in the
United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. See below for how to contact the office
nearest you.

Contact Information
To receive more information on MapInfo’s technical support programs, contact a
representative in your area or one of our technical support offices.

10 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 1: Introduction

In the United States, call 1–800–FASTMAP for more information. To purchase

MapInfo technical support or renew your current contract, please contact MapInfo
Customer Service at 1–800–552–2511, and press 3 at the main menu, or send an e-mail
at [email protected].
At our European Headquarters in the UK, call 44.1753.848229, or send an e-mail at:
[email protected]
In Australia, call 61.2.8925.7344, or send an e-mail at: [email protected]

Working with Technical Support

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.

Before You Call

Please have the following information ready when contacting us for assistance on
MapInfo Professional.
1. Serial Number. You must have a registered serial number to receive Technical
Support.
2. Your name and organization. The person calling must be the contact person
listed on the support agreement.
3. Version of the product you are calling about.
4. The operating system name and version.
5. A brief explanation of the problem. Some details that can be helpful in this
context are:
• Error messages
• Context in which the problem occurs
• Consistency – is the problem reoccurring or occurring erratically?

The Support Tracking System

The Support Tracking System is used internally by the Technical Support department
to manage and track customer issues. The system also provides the ability to track
calls with accountability. This system helps Tech Support respond to all customer
issues effectively, efficiently, and fairly.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 11

Chapter 1: Introduction

Expected Response Time

Most issues can be resolved during the customer’s initial call. If this is not possible, a
response will be issued before the end of the business day. A Technical Support
representative will provide a status each business day until the issue is resolved.
Support requests submitted by e-mail are handled using the same guidelines as
telephone support requests; however, there is an unavoidable delay of up to several
hours for message transmission and recognition.

Exchanging Information
Occasionally a Technical Support representative will ask you to provide sample data
in order to duplicate your scenario. In the case of our developer tools (such as MapX
and MapXtreme), a small subset of sample code may be requested to help duplicate
the issue.
The preferred method of exchanging information is either via e-mail or our FTP site.
Use following e-mail addresses:
• United States – [email protected]
• Europe – [email protected]
• Australia – [email protected]

Use the following FTP site:

For information regarding our FTP site, please contact Technical Support.
If information cannot be provided electronically, we also accept information in the
following media formats:
• 3.5” Floppy Disks
• Zip Disks (100 meg format only)
• CD-ROMs
• Jaz Drives (1 gig format only)

12 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 1: Introduction

Software Defects
If the issue is deemed to be a bug in the software, the representative will log the issue
in MapInfo Corporation’s bug base and provide you with an incident number that can
be used to track the bug.
Future upgrades and patches have fixes for many of the bugs logged against the
current version.

Other Resources

MapInfo Test Drive Center

The Test Drive Center on MapInfo Corporation’s Web site is a forum for technical
users of our products to learn about MapInfo Corporation’s latest software offerings.
You can download trial versions of software, as well as obtain patches and fixes.
You’ll need to complete a registration form to gain access to most areas of the Test
Drive Center. This is a one-time process. As new products and services become
available in the Test Drive Center, you will not need to re-register to access them. You
can simply update your existing registration information to indicate an interest in the
new product.

MapInfo-L Archive Database

MapInfo Corporation, in conjunction with Bill Thoen, provides a web-based,
searchable archive database of MapInfo-L postings. The postings are currently
organized by Discussion Threads and Postings by Date.
Disclaimer: While MapInfo Corporation provides this database as a service to its user
community, administration of the MapInfo-L mailing list is still provided by Bill
Thoen.
More information on MapInfo-L can be obtained at the MapInfo Test Drive Center
(http://mapinfo.com/support/technical_support/lists.cfm).

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 13

Chapter 1: Introduction

MapInfo Automated Fax Support

MapInfo Technical Support’s Automated Fax Support system puts the latest Technical
Support solutions to common technical questions into your hands almost
immediately. You can access hundreds of technical documents on MapInfo products
using the system. These fax documents are updated constantly to ensure that you are
receiving the latest technical information. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7
days a week, free of charge. No support agreement is required.
To use Automated Fax Support, all you need is a touch-tone phone and a fax machine.
Here’s how:
• Call (518) 285-7283, and choose option 4.
• Follow the simple instructions.
• Select a fax using a document number or receive an index of available
documents.
• Enter your fax number and the selected documents will be delivered
immediately.

14 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 2
Chapter 2: Installation
Installation
This chapter presents the information you need
to install MapInfo Professional successfully, Chapter
whether as a single user or as a network
administrator.
➤ System Requirements
➤ Before Installing
➤ Navigating the MapInfo
Professional 7.0 CD
Browser
➤ Install Products
➤ MapInfo Professional 7.0
➤ Installation Troubleshooting
➤ Removing MapInfo
Professional from Your
System
➤ Controlling Advanced
System Settings
➤ Controlling the Location of
Application Data Files
Chapter 2: Installation

System Requirements
Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0 And Windows XP
Memory: MapInfo Professional Version 7.0 requires 32 megabytes of RAM with a
minimum of a Pentium PC.
Disk space: The space requirement for each component displays during installation.
Monitor: 16- or 24-bit color SVGA recommended.
The MapInfo Professional Installer requires that your TEMP variable be set to
a valid directory.
You must have Windows 98, 2nd edition and NT 4.0 SP6 with at least IE 4.01
SP2 installed.

Before Installing
Before installing MapInfo Professional, record your serial number in an easy-to-
remember place, such as a manual title page. A valid serial number is required for
installation. Also, please complete the postage-paid registration card provided and
return it to MapInfo Corporation. Additionally, register online by accessing the
Contact Info option on the CD Browser.
If the MapInfo Professional 7.0 installer detects an existing version of MapInfo
Professional, 6.0 or earlier, or detects that MapInfo Professional had been installed at
some time, the MapInfo 7.0 installer will copy MAPINFOW.WOR, STARTUP.WOR
and MAPINFOW.PRF from the operating system's system directory to <user profile
root>\Application Data\MapInfo\MapInfo.
Application data (appdata) files are the non-executable data files that MapInfo
Professional uses during execution. See Appendix C: Data and Settings Management.
Please note that MAPINFOW.PRF might need to be modified to point to the correct
directories for MapInfo Professional 7.0. Please perform the following:
1. Start MapInfo Professional 7.0.
2. Choose Options > Preferences > Directories.
3. Change the paths for Theme Templates and Graph Support Files to point to
where they now reside in MapInfo Professional 7.0.
• Theme Templates: <user profile root>\Application
Data\MapInfo\MapInfo\Professional\700
• Graph Support Files: <All Users>\Application
Data\MapInfo\MapInfo\Prof. . . \700

16 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 2: Installation

Navigating the MapInfo Professional 7.0 CD Browser

The initial screen of the MapInfo Professional 7.0 CD Browser includes these options:
• Install Products: Install MapInfo Professional, DBMS Support, Data, Online
Reference, and Install Utilities, including: ECW Compressor, GPS, and Meta
Data Browser.
• What’s New: Display a list and description of new and enhanced features.
• Online Reference: MapInfo Professional 7.0 provides the following online
reference documents: MapInfo Professional Reference Guide, MapInfo
Professional User Guide, MapBasic Reference, Crystal Reports User Guide, as
well as the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Run MapInfo Professional Tutorial: Click to run the HTML based,
comprehensive MapInfo Professional 7.0 tutorial.
• Other Products: Display information about MapBasic, MapInfo Discovery,
and MapInfo Pro for SQL Server.
• Contact Info: Access MapInfo’s Home Page at www. mapinfo.com; view our
Web site and register your product online.

Install Products
Click the Install Products button to install MapInfo Professional, DBMS Support,
Data, online reference manuals, and Utilities, including: ECW Compressor, Meta Data
Browser, GPS, and to learn more about MapInfo Discovery Publisher.

MapInfo Professional 7.0

We strongly recommend that you exit from all Windows programs before beginning
the installation process.
You must have Administrator rights to run the Installer on NT/2000 and Windows XP.
If your Windows Start menu does not have a MapInfo program folder, the installation
process will create such a folder. If your Windows Start menu already has a MapInfo
program folder, the installation process will create a new MapInfo icon within that
folder.
MapInfo Professional now incorporates the ability to provide its application data files
to each user. Called a Per-User install, this functionality runs the first time you run
MapInfo Professional or MapInfo Professional client on a machine, and each time the
MapInfo Professional Installer is re-run thereafter. The application data files include,
among others, the Pen Styles file, Custom Symbols files, Graph Support files, and
Thematic Legend templates.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 17

Chapter 2: Installation

To install MapInfo Professional:

1. Choose Install Products from the MapInfo Professional CD Browser.
2. Choose MapInfo Professional. The Welcome screen displays. Choose Next to
continue the installation process.
If you have MapInfo Professional 7.0 installed, the Program Maintenance
Screen displays. Choose modify, repair, or remove MapInfo Professional 7.0.
See Modifying, Repairing or Removing MapInfo Professional 7.0.
3. The License Information screen displays. Choose “I accept the terms” to
accept the terms of the agreement; choose Next to continue the installation
process.
4. The Customer Information screen displays. Enter your name, organization
name, and serial number. All three fields are required. Choose Next to
continue the installation process.
5. The Setup Type screen displays: Typical Workstation installation is
appropriate for most users; Custom Installation is appropriate for advanced
users, and Network Installation is designed for network administrators.
After Installation, the prompt: "Would you like to check our website for any
current updates to our product?" displays. If you have an Internet connection,
check Yes to be connected to the page of the MapInfo Corporation Web site
containing information about product updates.

Typical Workstation Installation

Choose this installation to install MapInfo Professional program files, Online Help,
Tools, Universal Translator, and Crystal Reports. ArcLink is not selected.
To install the Typical Workstation Installation:
• Choose Typical Workstation Installation; the Destination Folder screen
displays.
• Choose Next to accept the destination folder indicated, and continue the
installation process, or choose Change to display the Change Current
Destination Folder dialog.
• The Ready to Install the Program screen displays; click Install to begin the
Installation process. Click Back to return to the previous screen.
• The Installing MapInfo Professional 7.0 screen displays with a progress bar
indicating the status of the installation process.
• The Installation Complete screen displays. Choose Finish to return to the
Install Products screen.

18 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 2: Installation

Custom Workstation Installation

Choose this installation to select components of MapInfo Professional 7.0.

To install the Custom Installation:
• Choose Custom Installation; the Custom SetUp Screen displays.
The options for a Custom Setup include: MapInfo Professional, Tools,
Translators, and Help Files. A feature description, and the space required for
the feature and its sub-features displays in the Feature Description area. Click
on the feature icon to select the feature for installation.
When you select a feature, a menu displays allowing you to choose to install
and/or run the feature and its subfeatures from various locations, including
your local hard drive or from CD. If you select the hard drive option, the
feature will be installed on your local hard drive in the folder indicated; to
specify a different location, choose Change to display the Current Destination
folder screen.
If you choose to install a feature to your hard drive, the Space button is
enabled; choose this button to display the Disk Space Requirement dialog.
Additionally, you can choose to not install a component.

Network Installation

Choose this installation if you are a Network Administrator.

To install the Network Installation:
• Choose Network Installation; the Administrator Selection Screen displays.
The options for a Network Setup include: MapInfo Professional, Tools,
Translators, and Help Files. A feature description, and the space required for
the feature, displays in the Feature Description area. Click on the option icon
to select the option for installation.
When you select a feature, a menu displays allowing you to choose to install
and/or run the feature and its subfeatures from various locations, including
your local hard drive or from CD. If you select the hard drive option, the
feature will be installed in the path indicated; on your local hard drive in the
folder indicated; to specify a different location, choose Change to display the
Current Destination folder screen.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 19

Chapter 2: Installation

If you choose to install an option to your hard drive, the Space button is
enabled; choose this button to display the Disk Space Requirement dialog.
Additionally, you can choose to not install a feature.
See the section: “Installing MapInfo Professional on a Network Drive” for
additional details.

Modifying, Repairing, or Removing MapInfo Professional 7.0

Use the Program Maintenance feature of the CD Browser to modify, repair, or remove
MapInfo Professional 7.0. To access Program Maintenance:
1. Choose Install Products from the MapInfo Professional CD Browser.
2. Choose MapInfo Professional. The Welcome screen displays. Choose Next.
The Program Maintenance screen displays.
3. Choose modify, repair, or remove MapInfo Professional 7.0.
Modify: Display the Custom Selection dialog to change the way features are
installed.
Repair: Repair installation errors in the program.
Remove: Removes MapInfo Professional 7.0.
You can also access the Program Maintenance screen through: Control Panel >
Add/Remove Programs > MapInfo Professional 7.0.

DBMS Support
Select DBMS Support from the Install These Products screen of the MapInfo
Professional CD Browser to install DBMS Support and the IUS Driver. Close all open
applications before installing.
To install DBMS Support from the Install These Products screen:
1. Choose Install Products from the MapInfo Professional CD Browser.
2. Choose DBMS Support. The MapInfo Professional RDBMS Support screen
displays presenting two options: DBMS Support and Install IUS Driver.
DBMS Support: Click this button to install Database Management System for
MapInfo Professional 7.0. MapInfo Professional DBMS Support provides the
ODBC drivers listed in the ODBC Driver List.
If you will be using MapInfo Professional 7.0’s remote database connectivity
feature, and need to install additional ODBC drivers, see the following
section: Adding ODBC Drivers.

20 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 2: Installation

3. The Welcome screen displays. Choose Next to continue the installation

process.
4. The License Information screen displays. Choose YES to accept the terms of
the agreement and to continue the installation process.
5. The Select Components screen displays. Select the product for which you are
installing ODBC support:
MapInfo Professional version 7.0 or later
MapInfo Professional RunTime version 7.0 or later
MapInfo ProViewer 7.0 or later
6. The Choose Destination Location dialog displays. Indicate the path where
MapInfo Professional is installed. Choose the Browse button to view the
Choose Folder dialog. Click Next to continue the installation process.
7. The Select Components screen displays. Select the components you want to
install.
MapInfo Professional ODBC Connectivity Support: select this option to
install MapInfo Professional support for OpenDatabase Connectivity.
Oracle Spatial Object Support: select this option to install MapInfo
Professional support for Oracle Spatial Object. You need to install Oracle
Client version 8.1.6 or greater for this option to function.
MapInfo Professional DAO (Microsoft Access) Support: select this option to
install support for Microsoft Access tables.
8. The Select Program Folder screen displays; designate the program folder.
9. The MDAC-DAO-ODBC installer is placed below the directory selected in
Step 6 in the ODBC\Disk1 folder and run from there.
10. The MDAC-DAO-ODBC Welcome screen displays. Choose Next.
11. The Select Component screen displays. Click in the left margin of the list box
to select drivers. To cancel a selection, clear the check mark by clicking in the
margin next to the driver again. Space required for the drivers and ODBC/
MDAC files selected and space available information displays. Choose Next.
12. The Install Shield Wizard dialog displays. Click Finish to complete the setup.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 21

Chapter 2: Installation

Adding ODBC Drivers

To add ODBC drivers:

1. Access the folder where MapInfo Professional 7.0 is installed.
2. Choose ODBC\Disk1. Run Setup from that location and select Modify from
the Welcome screen.
3. The Select Component screen displays. Click in the left margin of the list box
to select drivers. To cancel a selection, clear the check mark by clicking in the
margin next to the driver again. Space required for the drivers and ODBC/
MDAC files selected and space available information displays. Choose Next.
4. The Install Shield Wizard dialog displays. Click Finish to complete the setup.

Installing the IUS Driver

To install the INFORMIX Universal Server Driver (IUS) you must first install DBMS
Support.
1. Choose Install Products from the MapInfo Professional CD Browser.
2. Choose Install Utilities.
3. Choose DBMS Support. The MapInfo Professional RDBMS Support screen
displays presenting two options: DBMS Support and Install IUS Driver.
4. Choose Install IUS Driver.The Installation Options screen displays. Choose:
Typical: Program will be installed with the most common options.
Compact: Program will be installed with minimum required options.
Custom: Choose the options you want to install; recommended for advanced
users.
The IUS Program will be installed in the Destination Directory indicated:
enter a different location or choose Browse to select a different location.
Choose Next.
5. The Select Folder for Informix Application Icon screen displays. Select a
folder for the Informix Application icons. Choose Next. The Ready to Install
files screen displays; to change any information indicated on the screen,
choose Back to return to previous screens.
6. The Installation process initiates; choose Finish when the process is complete.

22 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 2: Installation

Installing Data
To install the free data provided with MapInfo Professional 7.0:
1. Choose Install Products from the MapInfo Professional CD Browser.
2. Choose Data; the MapInfo Professional Data screen displays.
3. Choose Install Free Data.
4. The Welcome screen displays. Choose Next to continue the installation
process.
5. The License Information screen displays. Choose YES to accept the terms of
the agreement and to continue the installation process.
6. The Choose Destination Location screen displays. Specify the directory where
the data will be installed.
7. The Setup Type screen displays:
Custom Install: Choose which datasets to install. The size of each dataset
displays, as well as space required and space available. Respond Yes to the
“Would you like setup to display workspace Icons”prompt if you want to
create an icon for each data set you choose. Choose Next.
Typical Install: Install all datasets. Respond Yes to the “Would you like setup
to display workspace Icons”prompt if you want to create an icon for each
data set you choose. Choose Next.
8. The Select Program Folder screen displays if you chose to set up Workspace
icons. Select the program folder where the icons will be created. Choose Next.
9. The Start Copying Files screen displays; choose Back to return to any screen
to change selections.
10. The Setup Complete dialog displays; click Finish.

Get More Data

To learn more about our data products, click the Get More Data button in the MapInfo
Professional Data screen of the Data Installation process. If you have a Browser
installed, you will be automatically connected to MapInfo Corporation’s Web site,
where information about MapInfo’s World Wide Data Products is detailed. We have
over 350 data products to choose from—products that provide reliable and current
information.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 23

Chapter 2: Installation

Online Reference
MapInfo Professional 7.0 provides the following online reference documents:
MapInfo Professional Reference Guide, MapInfo Professional User Guide, MapBasic
Reference Guide, Crystal Reports User Guide, ArcLink, and EasyLoader
documentation, as well as the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
To install the documentation locally:
1. Install the Acrobat Reader.
2. Copy the files from the [CD_ROM]:\PDF_DOCS folder to a local directory.
3. From Windows Explorer, double-click on any of the PDF files to automatically
launch the Acrobat Reader and the online book.

Installing ECW Compressor

We recommend that you exit all Windows programs before installing.
1. Choose Install Products from the MapInfo Professional 7.0 CD Browser.
2. Choose ECW Compressor. The Welcome screen displays. Choose Next to
continue the installation process.
3. The Software License screen displays. Choose YES to accept the terms of the
agreement and to continue the installation process.
4. The Choose Destination Location screen displays. Specify the directory where
ECW Compressor will be installed.
5. The Select Program Folder screen displays. Select a folder. Choose Next to
continue.
6. The Setup Complete screen displays: choose to display the ReadMe file and/
or create a shortcut on your desktop. Choose Finish.

Installing Meta Data Browser

We recommend that you exit all Windows programs before installing Meta Data
Browser.
1. Choose Install Products from the MapInfo Professional 7.0 CD Browser.
2. Choose Meta Data Browser; the Introduction screen displays. Choose Next to
continue the installation process.
3. The License Agreement screen displays. Choose YES to accept the terms of
the agreement and to continue the installation process.
4. The Choose Install Folder screen displays. Specify the directory where Meta
Data Browser will be installed. Select Choose to display a list of directories.
5. Choose the Shortcut location. You have the option to put the icon in a new
group, into the MapInfo group, in the Start menu, on the Desktop, or to
display no icon. Click Install to begin the installation.
6. After installation is complete, select Done.

24 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 2: Installation

Installing GPS
To install Global Positioning Software from Blue Marble:
1. Choose Install Products > Install Utilities from the MapInfo Professional CD
Browser.
2. Choose GPS. You will be prompted to exit all applications before installing.
Choose OK.
3. The MapInfo Special Edition dialog displays. Choose OK.
4. The Select Destination Location screen displays. Specify the directory where
GPS will be installed.
5. The Software License screen displays. Choose YES to accept the terms of the
agreement and to continue the installation process.
6. The Add to the Start Menu dialog displays: choose Yes to add a shortcut to
the Start menu.
7. The ReadMe displays; choose OK to exit the ReadMe.

Installing MapInfo Professional on a Network

Installing MapInfo Professional on a network involves two separate procedures:
• Installing MapInfo Professional on a network drive (presumably done by the
Network Administrator).
• Setting up users with program manager icons, etc. (presumably done by the
user).

Installing MapInfo Professional on a Network Drive

The procedure for installing MapInfo Professional on a network drive is the same as
the regular installation procedure except for the following:
• Select Network Installation in the Setup Type screen.
• Continue as in a Workstation Installation, selecting features, destination
locations, etc.
A Network Installation alone does not install any files to the local hard drive.

Setting Up Clients
To permit a user to use this network installation of MapInfo Professional, run Setup as
described below:
1. Map a drive to the MapInfo Professional Install directory.
2. Select Run from the Start menu.
3. Run SETUP.EXE from the [MapInfo install directory]\AddClient.
4. The MapInfo Professional 7.0 Client Welcome screen displays. Select Next.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 25

Chapter 2: Installation

5. The License Information screen displays. Choose “I accept the terms.” Select
Next.
6. The Customer Information screen displays with the network install values as
the default. Modify for the current instance and select Next.
7. Select Install to continue the installation.
8. Select Finish to complete the client installation.

Starting MapInfo Professional

• From the Start menu, select MapInfo Professional 7.0 (or MapInfo
Professional 7.0 Client, if this is a network installation) from the Selected
Program folder. This is usually Programs > MapInfo.

Installation Troubleshooting
Temp Variable
The MapInfo Professional Installer requires that your TEMP variable is set to a valid
directory to which the user can write.

Other Issues
The Installer must be run from a drive with a letter such as G: and not from an explicit
UNC path. For example, you might have the MapInfo Professional CD in your
computer as USERSPC. Other users may share this device as USERSPC; however, it
would not contain a drive letter. The MapInfo Professional Installation program
requires a drive letter. To remedy this situation:
1. Right-click on the shared directory or CD-ROM and select Map Network
Drive.
2. Choose a drive letter to map.
3. Run the Installation Program again from the newly mapped drive letter.

Removing MapInfo Professional from Your System

Remove MapInfo Professional 7.0 by accessing the MapInfo Professional 7.0 CD
Browser, Program Maintenance screen, or by choosing the Add/Remove program
option from the Control Panel in Windows, 98, 2000, Windows NT or Windows XP.

26 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 2: Installation

Using the MapInfo Professional 7.0 CD Browser to Uninstall

To uninstall MapInfo Professional 7.0:
1. Choose Install Products from the CD Browser.
2. Choose MapInfo Professional. The Welcome screen displays. Choose Next.
3. The Program Maintenance Screen displays. Choose Remove.

Controlling Advanced System Settings

MapInfo Professional has some advanced system settings—settings that cannot be
configured through a dialog box. These settings allow you to control several low-
level, technical aspects of how MapInfo Professional runs. Most MapInfo Professional
users do not need to worry about these advanced settings.
For example, MapInfo Professional has a DDE time-out setting, which controls how
long MapInfo Professional tries to communicate with other applications during DDE
communications. If you run a MapBasic application, and that application encounters
time-out errors during DDE, you may want to increase the DDE time-out setting.
If you need to modify one of MapInfo Professional’s advanced system settings (such
as the DDE time-out setting), use the following procedure.

Modifying the Windows Registry

MapInfo Professional stores system settings in the Windows registry. To edit the
Windows 98 registry, use the REGEDIT program. To edit the Windows NT registry,
use the REGEDT32 program.
Warning Be very careful when editing the registry; damaging the registry can
cause serious problems in your operating system.

For example, to set MapInfo Professional’s DDE time-out setting, locate the following
key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MapInfo\MapInfo\Common
Within that key, edit the DDeTimeout value. If there is no value by that name, create a
new value of type string (this data type is referred to as REG_SZ on Windows NT),
and assign the name DDeTimeout to the value. Set the value’s data to be a number,
representing the number of milliseconds (e.g., enter 30000 to specify a time-out of
30,000 milliseconds, or 30 seconds).
For more information on editing the registry, see the online help for REGEDIT or
REGEDT32.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 27

Chapter 2: Installation

Descriptions of Settings
This section describes advanced settings that are stored in the registry.
DDeTimeout = number
This setting controls MapInfo Professional’s time-out setting in DDE conversations
where MapInfo Professional is the client (the application that initiates a conversation).
The number represents milliseconds. The default value is 10,000 milliseconds (ten
seconds). If you run a MapBasic application that attempts to initiate a DDE
conversation, but the conversation fails because the server application does not
respond within the time-out period, you may need to increase the DDeTimeout
number.
OffscreenBitmap = number
The number is 0 (zero) or 1 (one). A value of 1 (the default) indicates that MapInfo
Professional will process off-screen bitmaps when drawing a map. This means that if
you cover a Map window, and then bring the Map window to the front again, the map
redraws instantly. If you set this setting to zero, MapInfo Professional will not process
off-screen bitmaps. This means that when you bring a Map window to the front, you
may have to wait as MapInfo Professional redraws the map.
If you are using a video driver that is uncommon or buggy, and if you encounter
video problems with Map windows, you may be able to eliminate those problems by
setting the OffscreenBitmap number to 0.
MaxFiles = number
This setting must be an integer from 10 to 100, indicating how many files MapInfo
Professional can open simultaneously. This setting does not limit the number of tables
you can open, but it does limit the number of tables you can edit at one time (the
number of tables that have unsaved edits). The default value is 29. If you need to
work with more files simultaneously, set number to 100.

MaxORACLETILES= number
A value from 0 = unlimited tiles to infinity.

Improving Performance
To improve MapInfo Professional’s performance, increase the speed of the processor
in the machine. A video accelerator card will increase the speed of the redraw. It will
not speed up the initial draw of the map, but all subsequent redraws will be faster. A
faster disk cache will also improve performance, as will adding memory.

28 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 2: Installation

Controlling the Location of Application Data Files

During Installation
By default, the setup program for MapInfo Professional installs application data files
to locations that make sense for the typical user. After installing MapInfo Professional,
the user is free to move one or more of the application data files to another predefined
location and MapInfo Professional will find that file. For example, the administrator
of a machine might move mapinfow.pen from the per user area (its default location)
into the install directory so all users on that machine will share the same set of pens.

For IT persons responsible for a large number of MapInfo Professional installs it is not
practical to manually move application data files to realize the desired configuration.
To solve this problem we have developed a solution that allows IT persons to specify
the location of application data files by creating a setting file, call MODE.INI, prior to
installing MapInfo Professional.
1. Create a MODE.INI file in the root directory of the installer.
2. Open MODE.INI into any text editor.
3. Edit MODE.INI, modifying the code of the application data file/group whose
location you wish to change.
4. Install MapInfo Professional.
The following is a list of predefined locations for application data files supported by
MapInfo Professional, and the corresponding numeric code to be used in MODE.INI.

Code Description Location

1 per user, roaming <Current User>\Application Data
2 per user, not roaming <Current User>\Local Settings\Application
Data
3 per machine <All Users>\Application Data
4 program directory <Install Dir>

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 29

Chapter 2: Installation

The following is a list of application data files/groups and their default location:

Filename Default Location

mapinfow.clr per user, roaming

mapinfow.pen per user, roaming

mapinfow.fnt per user, roaming

mapinfow.abb program directory

mapinfow.prj program directory

mapinfow.mnu program directory

custsymb per user, roaming

thmtmplt per user, roaming

graphsupport per machine

MODE. INI File Example

Create a text file with the following syntax:
GraphSupport = 3
CustSymb = 1
ThmTmplt = 1
MapInfow.clr = 1
MapInfow.fnt = 1
MapInfow.pen = 1
MapInfow.abb = 4
MapInfow.prj = 4
MapInfow.mnu = 4

30 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 3
Chapter 3: What’s New in
MapInfo Professional
What’s New in MapInfo
Professional 7.0® Chapter
MapInfo Professional’s ® new features and
enhancements are designed to make your ➤ Enhanced Operating
Professional experience a rewarding one—one System Support
which lets you easily connect to a remote ➤ New and Enhanced:
database and make a new DBMS connection
from a variety of dialogs, and which lets you Database Support
perform Conflict Resolution faster than ever
Map Creation and Editing
before. Powerful new object processing and
Options
editing capabilities, including the ability to
create Voronoi polygons, greatly improves data Object Processing
presentation and analysis. Import GML files;
open shapefiles painlessly from the Open Map and Layout Display
dialog; and create JPEG 2000 files using Options
enhanced Save Window As capabilities. Use the
Publishing Options
Send to MapInfo MapX Mobile feature to
export a Map window to MapX Mobile format ➤ Ease of Use Improvements
for display on a mobile device. ➤ File Type Support
The following sections give a brief summary of
what’s new, and what’s better than before. For
detailed discussions of how to use the new
functionality, see the appropriate chapters in
this User’s Guide and the alphabetical entries in
the MapInfo Professional Reference. And, as
always, Help is just a click away.
Chapter 3: What’s New in MapInfo Professional

MapInfo Professional 7.0 Includes:

Enhanced Operating System Support
In addition to supporting Windows 98, and NT 4.0, MapInfo Professional® 7.0 has
been certified for Microsoft Windows 2000. Additionally, MapInfo Professional 7.0 has
earned the “Designed for Microsoft Windows XP®“ logo. This certification ensures
that the installer and program meet specific requirements for automation and
maintenance.

New and Enhanced Database Support

Database Connectivity
MapInfo Professional 7.0 supports:
• The latest versions of Oracle Spatial, 9i and 9i Locator, while continuing
support for 8.1.6 and 8.1.7.
• SpatialWare 4.6 on all of its supported platforms, including SpatialWare for
Microsoft SQL Server versions 7 and 2000 and Informix 9.21 with linked
tables and live access.
• Microsoft Access 2000 and SQL Server, versions 7.0 and 2000.
And, to make your database work more productive, MI Pro 7.0 provides a new
interface for opening remote tables; the ability to easily save tables to a remote
database using Save Copy As and to create new tables on remote databases; as well
the means to create a new table from existing tables.
Have a favorite connection setting? Use the new Startup preference setting to
automatically use that connection when beginning your MapInfo Professional
session. Or, choose to make a connection from within three dialogs: Open Table,
Create New Table, and Save Copy As.
Finally, resolving database conflicts is now simplified using the improved Conflict
Detection for Live Access.

32 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 3: What’s New in MapInfo Professional

Easy Loader
The Easy Loader user interface has had a face-lift! There are now both Main and
Options dialogs to make the Easy Loader process more efficient. If a directory is
specified, automatically generate TAB files to access tables on a remote server.
Additionally, upload text objects to an SQL server if a text-supported SpatialWare
(4.6) or later is found on the server. You can create an Identity Property which
automatically generates new keys on an SQL server: it is now the default. The “not
null” constraint is also added for other servers.

Live Access
MapInfo Professional’s support for live access to remote tables now includes
SpatialWare 4.6 on SQL Server 2000.

Ease of Use Improvements

Open Dialog
The Open dialog has been redesigned—opening new possibilities for efficient access
and management of your files. Now you can open MapInfo workspaces, as well as
DBMS tables, from this dialog; you can make a new connection; and access the Places
Bar, which speedily takes you to the directories you designated in the Preferences
option. And, where appropriate, these changes appear throughout the interface, to
make such frequently used tasks as saving a simpler process.

Find in Front Window Only

You have (as usual) many windows open, Browser windows, Map windows,
Redistrict window—and you want to perform a Query Find. Now, simply select the
Find in Front Window Only option to limit this operation to the front window.

And:
• Create files in JPEG 2000 format during the Save Window As process. Also,
display images in JPEG 2000 format.
• Enhanced support for Microsoft Excel data import option.
• For individual value themes, save categories and their associated styles in a
theme template.
• Erase and Erase outside support point, multipoint, and collection objects.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 33

Chapter 3: What’s New in MapInfo Professional

• Data Aggregation is now available for buffering.

• Create a new table from an existing table—helpful after creating a selection.
• Combine objects and store the results in a new table.
• Save Window As now supports exporting files at a user-defined resolution
allowing you to control the DPI of the exported file--and export to JPEG 2000
format.

File Type Support

Shapefile Support
Ability to open and read shapefiles directly from the File > Open dialog. And, there is
a cache option for optimal perfomance.

Raster Handlers
MapInfo Professional 7.0 includes the government raster handlers that support raster
formats frequently used by government agencies, including: ASRP; ADRG; CADRG;
CIB; NITF. Additionally, the MrSID and ECW raster handlers are now installed as part
of the default MapInfo Professional installation.

Importing
We have added the ability to import OSGB format GML files.

34 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 3: What’s New in MapInfo Professional

New and Enhanced Map Creation and Editing Options

Rotate Objects
Since rotating text and labels proved to be a much appreciated feature, we have added
the ability to rotate objects—again helping you to create effective presentations. You
can interactively rotate objects by dragging the new rotate handle.

And:
• Use the arrow keys to move a selected object in an editable layer in a Map or
Layout window. One press moves the object one pixel—use the Shift key to
move the object ten pixels.
• The backspace key can be used as a delete key to undo the last node when
using these tools: polyline, polygon, custom polyline, custom polygon,
polygon search, ruler tool.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 35

Chapter 3: What’s New in MapInfo Professional

New and Enhanced Object Processing

Voronoi Polygon
The simple interface of the Voronoi polygon feature provides access to a dynamic and
effective method for data presentation—and presenting your data clearly is what it is
all about. Create a Voronoi polygon to turn your point data into exclusive coverage
and trade areas, displaying information in a unique and dramatic way.

Polyline Split
Split by polyline, a new object processing feature, lets you easily create custom
objects. Split points, multipoints, and collections, as well as closed and linear objects.
Use a road, or a line you create, to split both closed and linear objects—and, analyze
these custom geographies using the full range of MapInfo Professional's data analysis
tools.

36 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 3: What’s New in MapInfo Professional

New and Enhanced Map and Layout Display Options

New North Arrow Tool

Using either a Tools menu option, or a button, place a North Arrow in your Map or
Layout window. You choose the style and location—as well as whether to include a
magnetic declination indicator.

And:
• Label partial objects supports labeling both polylines and regions.
• The Change View dialog allows you to change the coordinates of the Map
window’s center using Military Grid Reference coordinates.

New and Enhanced Publishing Options

Crystal Reports 8.5

MapInfo Professional 7.0 provides a new version of Crystal Reports—with its many
enhancements, including Microsoft Access back end database system, publish to
HTML, export to HTML and PDF, and OLE 2 embedding capability.

Send to MapInfo MapX Mobile

The Send to MapInfo MapX Mobile tool makes a copy of the data needed to duplicate
a MapInfo Professional 7.0 Map window and display it on a hand-held device
running MapX Mobile.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 37

Chapter 3: What’s New in MapInfo Professional

Use MapInfo MapX Mobile to create powerful, feature rich applications for any
mobile workforce. In the commercial sector, these include applications for service and
repair representatives, sales professionals, field engineers, technicians, or claims
representatives. Within government sectors, these include applications for law
enforcement professionals, health, building, and agricultural inspectors, social
services caseworkers, and other mobile professionals.

New Preferences
You want to set your MapInfo Professional work environment so that you can do your
real work—and not spend time adjusting the many variables we offer. Therefore, as
we add program options to enhance your mapping and data presentation capabilities,
we also add preference settings to make those options manageable. MI Pro 7.0
includes these new preferences:
Default Projection: designate a default table projection for creating new tables and
for importing MIF, MBI, and IMG files, as well as setting a default projection for the
Choose Projection dialog option. The Session Projection preference makes the option
available for MapBasic applications.
Default Styles: designate defaults for Line, Region, Symbol, and Text Styles—and
highlight controls for selected and target objects.
Default DBMS connection: designate your most frequently-used DBMS connection
as your default and it will automatically reconnect at StartUp.
Auto scroll: enable or disable auto scroll for each newly created Map or Layout
window.

New and Improved Tools

Coordinate Extractor Tool: updated to extract coordinates in any projection listed in
the .prj file.
TOC Utility: users of government raster formats can now build a seamless table of all
the files listed in a TOC file. The utility will create one or more seamless tables,
grouped by zone and resolution.
Universal Translator: now supports bounded, affined, and affine and bounded
projections.

38 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 3: What’s New in MapInfo Professional

Projections
• Double Stereographic Projection for Canada
• Austrian Projection
• New Zealand Projection
• Japan JGD 2000 Projection

Sample Data Improvements

• New ImagePro Aerial photography for DC area
• Increased detail in World files and country subsets
• 14 different StreetPro data sets (with MapX Mobile Geosets)
• Data dictionary Hot Link files providing an easy way to display and manage
data.
• Data Installer --changed and improved-- to categorize different geographies.

MapBasic Support
In addition to exposing all new features via MapBasic’s programmable interface, new
MapBasic options have also been added. For example, New Document Window
allows the display of map or layout windows in a dialog.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 39

 4
Chapter 4: Mapping
Concepts
Mapping Concepts
Now that you have installed MapInfo Chapter
Professional® and been enticed by the wide
variety of features and functionality in the
➤ Organizing Your Data and
What’s New in MapInfo Professional chapter,
Maps: An Overview of
you are probably anxious to get mapping. But, Tables
first, take a few minutes to read this chapter,
especially for those of you new to MI Pro. This ➤ MI Pro’s Building Blocks:
Map Layers
chapter gives you a solid understanding of the
concepts, components, and tools for successful ➤ Map, Browser, and Graph
mapping in MI Pro. Windows
➤ Getting Your Data on the
Map: Geocoding
➤ Map Objects
➤ Tools to Get the Job Done
➤ The Power of MI Pro: Editing
and Analyzing
➤ MI Pro in Action: An
Example
Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

Organizing Your Data and Maps: An Overview of Tables

To use MI Pro, you need the files that contain your records and maps that come from
MI Pro or that you created yourself. MI Pro organizes all its information, whether
textual or graphic, in the form of tables; each table is a group of MI Pro files that
constitute either a map file or a database file.
Everything you do in MI Pro begins when you open one or more tables.

Emergency medical calls thematically shaded by type of call and time of call, with response
zones shaded by number of calls

How Files Make Up a Table

When you open your data file in MI Pro, MI Pro creates a table. This table consists of
at least two separate files. The first file contains the structure of the data. The second
file contains the raw data. All MI Pro tables will have the following two files:
• Somefile.tab: This file describes the structure of your table. It is a small text
file describing the format of the file containing your data.

42 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

• Somefile.dat or somefile.wks, dbf, xls: These files contain your tabular data. If
you are working with a dBASE/FoxBASE, delimited ASCII, Lotus 1–2–3,
Microsoft Excel, or Microsoft Access file, your MI Pro table will consist of a
.tab file and your data or spreadsheet file. For raster tables, the equivalent
extension might be bmp, tif, or gif.
Your data may also contain graphic objects. Once you assign X and Y coordinates to
your data records, your table will also contain graphic objects. In Chapter 8, you will
learn how to assign X and Y coordinates to your data records so you can display them
on a map. If you already have graphic objects in your table, you will have two more
files associated with the table:
• Somefile.map: This file describes the graphic objects.
• Somefile.id: This file is a cross reference file that links the data with the
objects.
For a Microsoft Access table, there will be a file Somefile.aid associated with the table
instead of Somefile.id. This file is a cross reference file that links the data with the
objects for a Microsoft Access table.
Your table may also include an index file. The index file allows you to search for map
objects using the Find command. If you want to locate an address, city, or state using
the Find command, those fields must be indexed in your table. The index is located in:
• somefile.ind.

Opening Tables and Files

To work with your data, you must first open the file or table that contains the desired
information. To open the table:
• Choose File > Open. The Open dialog displays.
Note: If you are at the Quick Start dialog (the first dialog you see after starting
MapInfo), choose the Open a Table button. The Open Table dialog displays.
What you specify in the Open dialog depends on the following:
• Are you opening an existing MI Pro table?
• Are you opening a DBMS file?
• What views, if any, do you want to open for this table?
• Are you bringing your data into MI Pro for the first time?

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 43

Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

Opening Existing MI Pro Tables

Simply choose the appropriate table or tables. Note that although an MI Pro table
consists of two or more component files (states.tab, states.dat, states.map etc.), only
the .tab file appears in the File Name box of the Open dialog. It is the only component
file you must open.

Using Preferred View

MI Pro gives you control over how to display your table. Using the Preferred View list
box in the Open dialog, you can specify in what view you want the table to display.
There are five view options:
• Automatic – MI Pro chooses the most appropriate view. If the data is
mappable (i.e., graphic objects are attached to the data), for example, MI Pro
opens the table in a Map window. If you have a Map window displayed and
the table you want to open is mappable, MI Pro will automatically open the
table in the current Map window. If the data is not mappable, MI Pro will
attempt to open the table in a Browser window. If the table cannot be mapped
or browsed, MI Pro opens the table using the No View option (no data is
displayed).
• Browser – MI Pro attempts to open the table in a Browser window.
• Current Mapper – MI Pro attempts to add your data to the current Map
window.
• New Mapper – MI Pro attempts to open the table in a new Map window.
• No View – MI Pro opens the table, but no data is displayed.
Of the five Preferred View options, Automatic and No View will work on all tables,
regardless of what kind of data they contain. MI Pro attempts to open the table as
specified for Browser, Current Mapper, and New Mapper. If it cannot, it will open the
table according to the following rules:
• If Current Mapper is selected, and there is no Map window displayed, MI Pro
will attempt to open the table in a new Map window.
• If Current Mapper or New Mapper is selected and the data is not mappable,
MI Pro will try to open the table in a Browser window.
• If the table cannot be mapped or browsed, MI Pro will open the table using
the No View option (no data is displayed)
More information on opening tables is in Chapter 5, Basics of Desktop Mapping.

44 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

Bringing Your Data into MapInfo Professional

MapInfo Professional allows you to use data that was created in other file formats.
When you bring data into MI Pro for the first time, you need to specify its format. For
example, if your data is in Delimited ASCII format, choose Delimited ASCII from the
File Format drop-down list.
Other choices include:
• dBASE DBF
• Lotus 1–2–3
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Access
• Raster Image
• Remote Database Connection
• Workspace
• Grid Images
• ESRI ® Shapefiles
When you choose a particular file format, the File Name box will only list files that
have the appropriate extension. For example, if you choose dBASE DBF from the File
Format drop-down list, MI Pro will only list files that are in dBASE format.
Choose the appropriate file. MI Pro creates a table structure for that data. When you
open the table in future work sessions, MI Pro will treat these files as if they were in
MI Pro’s native format. The next time you want to open the table, you should choose
the .tab format for the table. If you accidently attempt to open the file again with its
original file format, MI Pro prompts you with the message:
Table definition already exists. Overwrite it?
This message displays because MI Pro has already created a table for that file. Press
Cancel and open the associated .tab file.
Also keep in mind that MI Pro supports long filenames and UNC paths. The UNC
paths allow you to access your data without having to remember your drive
mappings from one session to another.
To display your table in the Map window, your data must contain X and Y
coordinates. If it doesn’t already, you can add them using MI Pro. Assigning these
coordinates is called geocoding. More about geocoding follows later in this chapter
and in Chapter 8, Putting Your Data on the Map.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 45

Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

MI Pro supports raster image display. Raster images are computerized pictures. These
graphic images can be used as backgrounds for maps you create in MI Pro and can
serve as a reference for your displayed data.
When you bring in a raster image to MI Pro, you may need to register it (specify its
map coordinates) so MI Pro can display it properly. Choosing the Raster Image file
format from the Open dialog will bring you to the Image Registration dialog where
you can specify the appropriate map coordinates. Once you register the image, a
process that creates a .tab file for the image, you can open it as you would open any
table in a Map window. Images that you purchase from MI Pro will already be
registered.
If a raster image is georeferenced it will be automatically opened. If a raster image has
an associated world file, you will be prompted to choose the projection. If you open a
raster image that does not have any georeferencing information, you will be
prompted to display or register the image.
For a full discussion of raster image display, see Chapter 19, Displaying Raster
Images.

MI Pro’s Building Blocks: Map Layers

Computer maps are organized into layers. Think of the layers as transparencies that
are stacked on top of one another. Each layer contains different aspects of the whole
map.
In MI Pro you begin by opening your table of data and displaying it in a Map window.
Each table displays as a separate layer. Each layer contains different map objects, such
as regions, points, lines, and text.
For example, one layer may contain state boundaries, a second layer may have
symbols that represent capitals, a third layer might consist of text labels. By stacking
these layers one on top of the other, you begin to build a complete map. You can
display one, two, or many tables at a time.

46 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

Map layers form the building blocks of maps in MI Pro. Once you have created your
map of layers, you can customize the layers in a variety of ways, add and delete
layers, or reorder them. For a full discussion, see Chapter 7, Mapping in Layers.

Map, Browser, and Graph Windows

When it’s time to take a look at your tables on screen, MI Pro offers you different
formats for viewing your data: in a Map window, Browser window or Graph window.
Choose the format you want from the Window menu:
• Map windows present information arranged as conventional maps, allowing
you to visualize the geographic patterns of your data.
• Browser windows present information as tabular lists (just as conventional
databases do), allowing you to fully examine tabular data.
• Graph windows present information arranged as graphs, allowing you to
visualize and make comparisons of the purely numerical patterns.

Map Windows
Use Map windows to display the geographic objects in your table. They can display
information from many tables at once, with each table a separate layer.
You can create your maps or edit existing maps. You can open a Map window directly
through File > Open or by selecting Window > New Map window.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 47

Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

Browser Windows
Use Browser windows to view and manipulate your data records in traditional row
and column form, typically used in spreadsheets and databases. Each column
contains information about that particular field, such as name, address, phone
number, cable ID number, or order amount. Each row contains all information relating
to a single record.
You can edit records in your table, copy records, add new ones, or delete existing
records. To open a Browser directly, choose Window > New Browser Window.
To create a report of your data, use the Crystal Reports functionality included with
this version of MI Pro (Tools > Crystal Reports).

Map, Browser, Graph windows

Graph Windows
The Graph window allows you to visualize statistical relationships in graph format.
You can create many different kinds of graphs: 3D, bar, line, area, historgram, scatter,
bubble, and pie graphs. You can also choose from a number of different graph
templates. To create a Graph, choose Window > New Graph Window.

48 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

Layout Windows
The Layout window allows you to combine Browsers, Map windows, Graph
windows, and other graphic objects into one layout which can then be sent to a
printer or plotter. To use a Layout window, choose Window > New Layout Window.

Legend Windows
There are two legend windows available in MI Pro: the theme legend window and the
cartographic legend window.
The theme legend window is automatically created and details the meaning of colors,
symbols and styles on a thematic map. Display or hide this legend by using the
Options > Show/Hide Theme Legend Window menu option.
The cartographic legend displays legend frames for any map layer, not just thematic
map layers. The legend window displays the legend, or key, to the cartographic data
on your map. The legend frames can all be in one window, or can be split among
several legend windows for the same map. Therefore, each map can have one or more
cartographic legend windows containing the frames of your choice. Additionally, you
can customize the text and style of the information presented. Modifications to the
legend can be made through shortcut menus you access by right-clicking in the
legend window or through the Legend menu. To create a cartographic legend, choose
Map > Create Legend. A Map window must be active for this menu command to be
available.

Hot Views
MI Pro allows you to display your data in many different windows and with different
views at the same time. For instance, you can display the World table of country
boundaries in a Map window to view the geographic boundaries. At the same time
you can display the tabular data of the World table in a Browser window to see the
country names, population, and other data in the file. If you make a change in either
window, it is reflected in the other.
Only one view can be active at a time. To make a different window active, click on its
title bar. Notice that the menu bar changes depending on which window is active. For
instance, when you are working in a Map window when you also have a Browser
open, only the Map menu is available on the menu bar. Make the Browser active. The
Browse menu replaces the Map menu.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 49

Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

Getting Your Data on the Map: Geocoding

In order to display your data in MI Pro, your data needs to contain X and Y
coordinates so MI Pro will know where to position the data on the map. The process
of assigning map coordinates is called geocoding. MI Pro assigns coordinates to your
records by matching the geographic information in your data with geographic
information in a table that already contains X and Y coordinates.
For example, your database contains street addresses of retail stores. You tell MI Pro
to match these street addresses to the streets in a corresponding city map table. Once
geocoded, you can display these records in a Map window.
For more information on preparing your data for mapping, see Chapter 8, Putting
Your Data on the Map.

Map Objects
We mentioned earlier that maps in MI Pro are made up of layers of map objects. There
are four basic types of objects:
• Regions: closed objects that cover a given area. These include polygons,
ellipses, and rectangles. For example, country boundaries, postal code
boundaries, sales territories.
• Point objects: represent single locations of data. For example, customer
locations, restaurants, parking meters. Points can also be combined into
multipoint objects.
• Line objects: open objects that cover a given distance. These include lines,
polylines, and arcs. Examples are streets, rivers, powerlines.
• Text objects: text that describe a map or another object, such as labels and
titles.
• Collection objects: combination of region, line, and multipoint objects.
You can have each type of object in a separate layer (most common), or you can
combine objects in the same layer. MI Pro lets you create, edit, customize, and display
these objects to make maps that meet your needs.

50 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

Tools to Get the Job Done

MI Pro provides four toolbars of tool buttons and commands to give you tremendous
mapping creativity at the click of a button.
To reshape the toolbars, click and drag on their borders. Drag the title bar to move
them. To dock a toolbar, drag it to the area directly underneath the Main menu bar.
The toolbar changes shape and positions itself directly under the menu bar. You can
easily change it back to the floating view. Just click on the background area of the
toolbar and drag it away from its position. The toolbar retains the same shape as it
had before you docked it. You can also do this from the Options menu. Choose
Options>Toolbars, and in the Toolbar Options dialog select the Floating check box for
each toolbar that you want to have float and be able to move around. Clear the
Floating check box for each toolbar you want to dock. To display or hide the toolbars,
select or clear the Show check box. You can also choose whether you want to display
color buttons or larger buttons for each toolbar. Choose Save as Default to save your
arrangement. To remove a toolbar from the screen, double-click its control box.

Standard Toolbar
The Standard toolbar contains tools for commonly performed menu functions from
the File, Edit, and Window menus. It also contains tools for quick access to a new
Redistricting window and online Help.

New Table New Graph Window

Undo Cut

Open New Layout Window

New Browser Copy

Save Table New Redistricting Window

New Map Window Paste

Print Help

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 51

Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

Main Toolbar
The Main toolbar contains tools to select objects, change the view of the Map window,
get information about an object, and show distances between objects. It also contains
command buttons that allow you to change layer attributes and open a legend or
statistics window.

Change View button Accesses the Change View dialog so

you can specify settings for Map
window width, map scale, resizing, and
centering.
Grabber button Accesses the Grabber tool so you can
reposition a map or layout within its
window.

Info tool button Accesses the Info tool so you can view
the tabular data that is associated with a
map object.

Label button Accesses the Label tool so you can label

objects with information from the
related database.

HotLink button Accesses the HotLink tool, so you can

launch active objects such as files or
URLs from your Map window.

Layer Control button Accesses the Layer Control dialog so

you can specify how the various tables
in a Map window are layered and
displayed.
Legend button Accesses the Legend window for maps
or graphs.

Marquee Select Accesses the Marquee Select tool so you

button can select and search for map objects
within a given rectangle (marquee box).

52 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

Boundary Select Accesses the Boundary Select tool so

button you can select and search for map
objects within a given region.

Polygon Select Accesses the Polygon Select tool so you

button can select objects within a polygon that
you draw.

Unselect All button Accesses the Unselect All tool so you

can clear all of your object and record
selections. Performs the same operation
as the Query>Unselect All command.
Invert Selection Selects all objects or records not
included in the current selection, and
cancels the current selection.

Graph Select button Accesses the Graph Select tool. As you

click on graph objects, such as a riser
bar, pie slice, column, etc., the tool
selects the corresponding records from
the table.
Radius Select button Accesses the Radius Select tool so you
can select and search for map objects
within a circular region.

Ruler button Accesses the Ruler tool to determine the

distance between two points and the
length of some path.

Select button Accesses the Select tool to select

objects/records in a Map, Layout, or
Browser window. Also acts as the
default pointer/cursor tool.
Assign Selected Assigns selected objects to the target
Objects button district during a Redistricting session.

Set Target District Sets the target district from the map
from Map button during a Redistricting session.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 53

Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

Statistics button Accesses the Statistics window to tally

the sum and average of all numeric
fields for the currently chosen objects or
records.
Zoom-in button Accesses the Zoom-in tool to get a closer
area view of a map or layout.

Zoom-out button Accesses the Zoom-out tool so you can

get a wider area view of a map or
layout.

Drag Map Window Accesses the Drag Map Window button

button to drag an MI Pro map into an OLE
container application.

Clip Region On/Off Redisplays the entire map.

button

Set Clip Region Isolates a map region for display.

button

Drawing Toolbar
The Drawing toolbar contains tools and commands that are used to create and edit
map objects.
Add Node button Accesses the Add Node tool, which
allows you to add a node to regions,
lines, or polylines when you are in
Reshape mode.
Arc button Accesses the Arc tool, which allows
you to draw an arc the size and shape
of one quarter of an ellipse.

Ellipse button Accesses the Ellipse tool, which allows

you to create elliptical and circular
objects.

54 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

Frame button Accesses the Frame tool, which allows

you to create frames in the Layout
window to display maps, graphs,
browsers, and legends.
Line button Accesses the Line tool, which allows
you to draw straight lines.

Line Style button Accesses the Line Style dialog where

you can change the style, color, and
width of line objects.

Polygon button Accesses the Polygon tool, which

allows you to draw polygons (a closed,
connected sequence of lines).

Polyline button Accesses the Polyline tool, which

allows you to draw polylines (an open,
connected sequence of lines).

Rectangle button Accesses the Rectangle tool, which

allows you to draw rectangles and
squares.

Region Style button Accesses the Region Style dialog where

you can change the fill pattern, color,
and background, plus the border style,
color, and width of region objects.
Reshape button Toggles in and out of Reshape mode.
Reshape allows you to edit regions,
polylines, lines, arcs, and points by
moving, adding, and deleting nodes
that define them.
Rounded Rectangle Accesses the Rounded Rectangle tool,
button which allows you to draw rounded
rectangles and squares.

Symbol button Accesses the Symbol tool, which allows

you to place point symbols on your
map like “push pins.”

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 55

Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

Symbol Style button Accesses the Symbol Style dialog

where you can change the style, color,
and size of a symbol object.

Text button Accesses the Text tool, which allows

you to add titles, labels, and annotation
to maps and layouts.

Text Style button Accesses the Text Style dialog where

you can change the font typeface, size,
style, color, and background of text
objects.

Tools Toolbar
The Tools Toolbar contains tools for working with MapBasic and buttons that display
when the tools are loaded.
Run MapBasic Accesses the Run MapBasic Program
Program button dialog where you can choose an
application to run under MI Pro.

Show MapBasic Displays or hides the MapBasic

Window button window.

Map Wizard button Launches the Map Wizard, which

enables you to put data on your map
quickly, using a wizard interface.

MetaData Browser Launches the MI Pro’s MetaData

button Browser, which enables you to build
and launch geospatial metadata
requests to any NSDI clearinghouse, as
well as analyze the metadata you
receive. This tool is available when you
load the MetaData Browser from the
Tool Manager.
North Arrow button Launches the North Arrow tool that
has been loaded from the Tool
Manager. Use this tool to designate
where the North Arrow should display.
Click this button draw a rectangle in
which the North Arrow will be place.

56 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

DBMS Toolbar
The DBMS Toolbar contains tools and commands that are used to access tables
residing on a remote database.
Open DBMS Table Accesses the Open dialog, which allows
button you to access a remote database. If a
connection has not previously been
established, you will be prompted to
open a connection. This button is also
found in the Open dialog if DBMS is
installed.
Make DBMS Table Accesses the Make DBMS Table
Mappable button Mappable dialog, which allows you
make a table linked to a remote
database mappable in MI Pro.
Refresh DBMS Table Accesses the Refresh DBMS Table
button dialog, which allows you to refresh an
MI Pro linked table with the most recent
data residing on the remote database for
that linked table.
Unlink DBMS Table Accesses the Unlink DBMS Table dialog,
button which allows you to unlink a
downloaded table from its remote
database.
Change Symbol for a Accesses the Change Symbol for a
Mappable DBMS Mappable DBMS Table dialog, which
Table button allows you to change the symbol style
of a mappable DBMS table.
DBMS Disconnect Accesses the Close DBMS
Disconnection dialog, where you can
close a connection to a remote database.

The Power of MapInfo Professional: Editing and Analyzing

Now that you have an overview of tables, layers, windows, map types, geocoding,
and tools, you are ready to bring the full capabilities of MI Pro into play. For instance,
you can label areas on the map or draw on it. You can calculate distances between
health care providers and their patients and get counts on how many patients live
within a given radius of a particular hospital. (Labeling and drawing map objects is
covered in chapters 15 and 17.)

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 57

Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

Making selections from your table allows you to extract new information from sets
and subsets of your data or see patterns and distributions, getting answers to such
questions as: Which of my customers bought more than $5000 of equipment? Which
of my customers is located within a 200 mile radius of my warehouse? Which of my
customers bought more than $5000 of equipment and is located within a 200 mile
radius of my warehouse? For more on selecting, see Chapter 9, Selecting, and Chapter
10, Selecting Using Queries.
You can shade boundaries (counties, towns, states, countries) according to the total
number of customers in each one or according to the number of customers who
purchased within the last year. MI Pro refers to this as thematic mapping. For more
information about thematic mapping, see Chapter 11.

MapInfo Professional in Action: An Example

Now that you understand the basic principles of desktop mapping, you’re ready to
go. Imagine that your job is to purchase advertising time from radio stations to market
your product, a statewide tire service. You have demographic information for your
state by county, and radio stations have supplied you with their own demographics
and transmission ranges. You also have a list of your tire service center locations.

Using MI Pro, you can quickly and easily bring this information into focus and make
informed decisions about which radio stations to use to advertise your tire service.
You want to begin by viewing your service centers on a map in relation to the radio
stations, looking for the stations that reach the areas where your centers are located.

58 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

To begin building your map, open the MI Pro tables you will need: the state, county,
and street maps.
Next, open your file of service centers and tell MI Pro to geocode it by matching the
street addresses of the service centers with the street locations in your StreetInfo map.
A few more keystrokes telling MI Pro to add the tire centers to the map, and your data
suddenly leaps into view. Blue stars tell you at a glance the distribution of your tire
centers across the state. You use the same method to put the red circles representing
the radio stations on the map.
Using your file of county demographics, you ask MI Pro to shade the counties where
most of your target market (males 35 and older) lives
.

Consulting your list of radio transmission ranges, select the Buffer command and
create a buffer circle around each radio station, the circle representing each station’s
broadcast area. Just by looking you can tell which broadcast areas include the highest
concentration of tire service centers or you can ask MI Pro to give you an exact count
of the number of tire centers within each area. Tell MI Pro to shade the buffer circles in
order according to the number of service centers that fall within each circle. Shade the
circles with the most service centers red.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 59

Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

With the radius of each station’s transmission range marked, you can see which
stations broadcast in areas where your target market is (the shaded counties). But how
well do these stations penetrate that market? Which stations will reach the people
who are most likely to use your service centers?
Join the demographic information supplied by each station to the broadcast area
shown on your map. Now you can click on any point within that area and see all the
demographic information: the age and income distributions of the station’s listeners,
and the times of day when particular age and income groups are tuned in, for
example.
Even better, ask MI Pro to cross-check the radio stations that reach your best
customers with the areas where that population is highest. Fill the broadcast areas of
those stations with crosshatching.
Look at the map and choose the stations that reach your best customers in the areas
where you have the most locations. Your best bets are green-shaded circles in
crosshatched areas. Now you know where your target customers are. Click the Info
tool on these areas to see the time of day your target market is listening. Now you
know when to purchase air time.
You can save this map and use it for future planning. For example, it can help you
spot a good location for a new tire center or coordinate radio advertising with direct
marketing. Do you want to increase advertising in key areas of the state?

60 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 4: Mapping Concepts

Use the MI Pro Layout window to prepare a visually exciting and informative
presentation that features this map along with graphs and tables.
As you become better acquainted with MI Pro, you will find that its applications are
limited only by your imagination.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 61

 5
Chapter 5: Basics of
Desktop Mapping
Basics of Desktop Mapping
This chapter helps you understand and use the Chapter
basic features of MapInfo Professional®. The
online tutorial that comes with MI Pro also
➤ Opening a Table
covers basic and most commonly used features
in the software so that you can try your hand at ➤ Mapping a Table
all the features explained herein.
➤ Legends
➤ Browsing a Table
➤ Graphing
➤ Selecting
➤ Viewing Attached Data
➤ Closing Tables
➤ Printing
➤ Exporting Files
➤ Using Workspaces
➤ Saving a Workspace
➤ Opening a Workspace
➤ How Renaming Tables
Affects Workspaces
➤ Leaving MapInfo
Professional – The
Mapinfow.wor Workspace
➤ Starting MapInfo
Professional - The
Startup.wor Workspace
➤ Saving Printer Information
to a Workspace
Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Starting MapInfo Professional

Now that you have MI Pro installed and have read a little about its power and
functionality, you are ready to begin mapping and analyzing your data. To start MI
Pro, double-click on the MapInfo Professional icon on your desktop. In a few seconds,
MI Pro’s Quick Start dialog displays. Here you can choose how you want to start your
mapping session. The Quick Start dialog displays every time you start MI Pro, but
you can change this behavior in the Startup preferences (Options > Preferences >
Startup). In the Startup Preferences dialog, clear the Display Quick Start Dialog box to
deactivate the display of the Quick Start dialog.

If you had been working in MI Pro earlier, you could return to the previous mapping
session by choosing Restore Previous Session or use last workspace. Because this is
your first look at MI Pro, choose the Open a Table option to begin. The Quick Start
dialog will disappear, and the Open dialog displays.

Opening a Table
Just about everything in MI Pro starts with opening a table. As you learned in the
previous chapter, you can display the information in your tables in a number of ways
in MI Pro. This chapter presents the most common ways to view your data: by
mapping, browsing or graphing. Viewing a layout of your maps and displaying raster
images are discussed in separate chapters.
To open your table:
1. Choose File > Open. The Open dialog displays.
2. Choose the drive and directory for the table you want to open.

64 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

3. Choose the appropriate table (.tab file). When opening multiple tables, use
Shift-click to select adjacent tables and Control-click to select non-adjacent
tables.
4. Choose New Mapper from the Preferred View list.
5. Click Open.
A window containing the data from the table displays as a map.
To set a default path you want MI Pro to use when opening tables, click Directories in
Options > Preferences to display the Directory Preferences dialog. Select the Tables
path and click Modify directory. Choose the drive and directory you want in the
Choose Directory dialog and click OK. You can also set default paths for workspaces,
MapBasic programs, Import files, and DBMS SQL queries.
You can open additional tables from File > Open to add more information (layers) to
the Map window. If you want the second table to be displayed in the current Map
window, leave the Automatic option selected in the Preferred View list. MI Pro will
display the table in the current Map window automatically.
If you do not want the table to display with the first map, choose New Mapper. MI
Pro opens the second table in its own Map window.
If your data file does not contain graphic objects, you will not be able to display the
table in a Map window. You can only bring it up in a Browser. You must first geocode
the table to display it as a map. Geocoding is discussed more fully in Chapter 8.
You can also open tables without displaying them, making the data available for other
uses. In this case, choose No View from the Preferred View list box in the Open
dialog.
Use the Places Bar to quickly access the specified directory. There are four MI Pro
Professional Places options: Table; Workspaces; Import Files; Remote Tables.
Designate each directory path in Options > Preferences> Directories.
If the operating system is Windows 2000, select MapInfo Places to display MapInfo
Professional specific folders, or choose Standard Places to display the default places.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 65

Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Mapping a Table
Opening a table as a map creates a Map menu on the menu bar. Use the Map menu to
control the look and function of the map. You can change certain aspects of the active
Map window in the Map Options dialog (Map>Options), such as the map units, and if
the Map window’s projection is appropriate, specify Cartesian calculation methods.
With the Layer Control command, you can reorder the layers in the map, change the
display, add new layers, create and modify thematic maps, change the view, add
labels and text, and set/change map units and projection. These options are further
discussed in Chapter 7, Mapping in Layers, and Chapter 11, Thematic Mapping.
To create a new map:
1. Choose Window > New Map Window.
2. Choose the table(s) you wish to display in a Map window and click OK.

Legends
You can create two kinds of legends in MapInfo Professional: cartographic and theme
legends. Theme legends are those associated with thematic maps. Cartographic
legends enable you to create a legend for any map layer(s) in your Map window. The
combination of the two types makes it possible to provide cartographic data for all of
your map layers.

66 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Cartographic Legends
Cartographic legends display cartographic data for a map layer. A legend is created
for each layer in your Map window that you choose to include in the legend.
Cartographic legends can be displayed in a layout, expanding MapInfo Professional’s
presentation capabilities. You can create a legend for an individual layer, giving it
particular emphasis, or you can place legends for several layers in one legend
window. You can also customize many elements of the cartographic legend and the
legend window, including the window title, legend frame borders, and the legend
title and subtitle. Here is a brief description of how to create a cartographic legend:
1. Choose Map > Create Legend. The Create Legend – Step 1 of 3 dialog
displays.
2. Select the layers you want to use in the legend and click Next. The Create
Legend – Step 2 of 3 dialog displays.
3. Specify the legend properties and legend frame elements and click Finish.
Your legend displays on the screen.
For more details on the options available in the cartographic legend feature, see
Chapter 16, Creating a Cartographic Legend.

Theme Legends
Theme legends are created automatically when you create a thematic map. They
provide a key of the colors, symbols, and styles used in the map. Their display is
controlled via the Show/Hide Theme Legend Window command in the Options
menu. Use the appropriate command in the Map menu to modify them (Map
>Modify Thematic Map), or simply double-click on the legend to display the Modify
Thematic Map dialog.
If a theme legend is part of a cartographic legend, and you click on it to modify it, the
Modify Thematic Map dialog displays. Click the Legend button to modify the legend.
For more on theme legends and thematic mapping, see Chapter 11.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 67

Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Browsing a Table
There are times when viewing the tabular data in a table is necessary. In MapInfo
Professional, this is called browsing the table.
To browse a table:
1. Choose Window > New Browser Window.
2. Choose the table you wish to browse and click OK
The Browser shows the fields of the data table (column headings) and the records of
data (rows).

A Browse menu item is now available to give you further functionality. Choose
Browse > Pick Fields to display only the columns of data you want to see. If you wish
to show information that is only implicit in the base table, in the Pick Fields dialog
choose Expression from the Fields in Table list. For more on expressions see Deriving
Columns in Chapter 10, Selecting Using Queries, or Expression in the MapInfo
Professional Reference.
If you wish to show or hide the Browser window grid, choose Browse > Options.
You can add new records to the Browser. First, choose Edit > New Row to add a row
(or use Ctrl-E). You can enter text directly into each field. As you type, press Tab or
Shift-Tab to move from field to field. You must remember to save the new
information to the base table before exiting the program.

68 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

The square box to the left of each record in the Browser window is the select box. Click
on it to select the record in the Browser window and also in the corresponding Map
window. To add records to the selection, shift and drag to select consecutive records,
or shift-click on non-consecutive records.
Selecting records creates a subset of the table that you can browse, map, or graph, just
like the full table. More on selecting is found later in this chapter and also in Chapter
9, Selecting.
You can also create a report of your tabular data using the Crystal Reports
functionality included with MapInfo Professional. The Crystal Reports User’s Guide
has also been included online to help you get the most out of this powerful report
writing program. See the Installation chapter for information on how to access the
User’s Guide.

Graphing
MapInfo Professional’s graphing feature enables you to create detailed graphs that
allow you to visually compare your data. You can create 3D, bar, line, area, histogram,
bubble, scatter, and pie graphs. To create a graph:
1. Choose Window > New Graph Window. The first step of the Graph wizard
displays.
2. Choose a graph type, and choose a template. Click Next. Step 2 of the wizard
displays.
3. Choose the table and fields you want to graph, and click OK.
Your data now appears as a graph in a new Graph window. The Graph menu now
displays on the menu bar. Use the Graph menu to customize the look of your graph.
There are many formatting and editing options to choose from. Some of these are
specialized, based on the type of graph you created.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 69

Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

If you are using graphs created in versions of MapInfo Professional prior to version
5.5, and you bring them into version 7.0, you will not be able to use the new graphing
options on those graphs. The pre-5.5 Graph menu displays for these graphs. For
information on the older graphing options, see the MapInfo Professional Reference.

70 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Selecting
A fundamental function of MapInfo Professional is selecting objects or records so that
you can perform additional tasks on them.
Selections are temporary tables. When you make a selection, MapInfo Professional
creates this temporary table to store the records you’ve selected. You can perform
many of the tasks with a selection table that you can perform with a permanent (base)
table:
• View it in a Browser, Map (if it has graphic objects), Graph, or Layout
window.
• Cut and copy it into the clipboard and paste it into another table, or even into
another application.
• Use it to edit a table. If you want to edit only certain records in a table, you
can get those records into a selection and then edit that selection.
• Make a further selection from it.
To convert selections into permanent tables, use the File > Save Copy As command.
Once you’ve saved the temporary selection table as a permanent table, you can treat
the new table like any other table.
Selection tables are totally dependent on the table from which they were created. If
you close a base table, all associated selection tables are deleted.

Making Selections
MapInfo Professional gives you a number of commands and tools for making
selections. They fall into two categories:
• Selecting from the screen: Select tool, Invert Selection tool, Radius Select tool,
Marquee Select tool, Boundary Select tool, Select All command.
To select records with the tools, click on or encircle the associated graphic objects. To
select records with the Select All command, choose Select All from the Query menu. If
you are selecting objects with Select All in a Map window, MapInfo Professional
displays the menu option with the name of the topmost Selectable layer, for instance,
Select All from Cosmetic Layer; Select All from States.
• Selecting with queries: Select, SQL Select.
When you select records with either of these methods, you actually create a logical
expression that MapInfo Professional uses to select the records. The selected records
are stored in a query table. For example, the expression SALES > 20000 means that MI
Pro will select only those records with sales higher than $20,000.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 71

Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

In some situations, you might want to combine selecting from the screen and
querying to get the records you want. For example, you want to select all the clients
who live within 20 miles of a proposed shopping mall and earn more than $30,000.
You could first select all clients that live within the 20 mile radius using the Radius
Select tool. Then perform a query on the temporary table, selecting those clients who
make more than $30,000 a year.
MapInfo Professional calls the current selection, Selection. Once you act on the
selection (view it in a Browser or Graph window, for example), MI Pro calls it Query1,
Query2, Query3, and so forth, depending on its order in the current session.
If you make a selection through Select or SQL Select, you can override MI Pro’s
default name and give the selection a descriptive name.
See Chapter 9, Selecting, and Chapter 10, Selecting Using Queries, for more on these
topics.

Inverting a Selection
Using the Invert Selection tool or the correcponding menu command (Query>Invert
Selection), you can reverse the current selection in a Map or Browser window. Invert
Selection cancels the current selection and selects all the previously unselected objects
or records. It is available when there are records or objects selected.
Invert Selection provides a quick and easy way to select a large number of objects
from the screen. For example, you have a large table of points displayed on a street
map. You need to select most of the points for your mapping task. Instead of selecting
all of the points you need, select the ones you do not need. Then click the Invert Select
tool or choose Query>Invert Selection. Your current selection is inverted. Every object
that was not part of the current selection is now selected, and the current selection is
cancelled.

72 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Viewing Attached Data

You will often want to view the tabular data attached to your map objects. Choose the
Info button from the Main Toolbar. Click on a map object. The Info tool window
displays the data for that map object. If the table contains many fields, resize the
window to see more or use the scroll bar to access all of the fields.
If you click on a location that contains more than one map layer, the Info tool window
will show a list of all the objects for that location (small Info tool window, below). To
see the fields associated with one of the objects, click on the name of the object in the
window. The Info tool window expands to show all the data for the layer. Choose the
>> button to bring up the next object’s fields. The List button returns you to the list of
objects for the location.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 73

Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Click here
with the
Info tool to
display all
data at this
location.

Click on the layer name here to expand the Info tool

List window to show all data for the layer.

Note: If a layer is editable, you can make changes directly in the Info tool data
fields when outline boxes surround the data fields. If the layer is not
editable, no outline boxes will appear. The information in the Info tool List
window is not editable at any time.

Closing Tables
Closing a table removes it from active use in your current session. Choose the Close
command from the File menu to close tables. When you close a table, you
automatically close all views of that table. If you close a table that is displayed in a
Map window with other tables, MapInfo Professional removes that table from the
window, but the Map window remains open.
In addition, any subset tables of the original table (known as query tables) also close.
You can use the Close command for any table, whether or not it is displayed in a
window.

74 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Opening and closing tables is different from opening and closing windows in which
you view your tables. You can open a table without opening any views of the data.
Similarly, closing a window does not close the table (or tables) you are viewing in the
window. They are still open and available for use. To close a window, click the
Control-menu box in the upper-left corner of any window and select Close.
If you have made changes to a table but have not yet saved those changes, MapInfo
Professional will ask you if you want to save them before closing the table. To save
your changes, choose Save Table from the File menu.

Printing
Once you have created the perfect map or graph, you can easily print the individual
windows.
For presentation, use the Layout menu to bring together all views of your mapping
session. Here, you can combine different types of windows to create an attractive and
more informative presentation. Choose Window > New Layout Window to display a
Layout window that you can use to arrange your maps, browse tables, graphs,
legends, titles, logos, etc. See Chapter 21, for tips and techniques about working in the
Layout window.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 75

Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Setting Up the Page

Before you print your map or layout, you will need to set up your page. In the Page
Setup dialog (File>Page Setup), specify the paper size, orientation, and margins.

Printing Your Map

When you have your page set up the way you want, you are ready to print. Choose
File>Print to display the Print dialog. The Print dialog allows you to specify printer
properties, a page range in which to print and the number of copies that will print.

76 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Click the Options button to fine-tune the look of the output. A Print Options dialog
corresponding to the type of window you are printing will display (Map, Browser,
Graph, 3DMap). For maps, for example, the Map Print Options dialog displays. Here
you can specify the size of the map, how its contents will display, the scale, and its
width and height. For details on all the Print Options dialogs, see the MapInfo
Professional Reference.

Advanced Printing Options

Advanced printing options enable you to specify how you want MI Pro to print your
map or layout, and tell MI Pro how to handle color and transparency for raster and
grid images. Click the Advanced button to display the Advanced Printing dialog.

The options that are selected when you initally display this dialog are the default
settings, which are set in the Output preferences. The Advanced Printing dialog
enables you to override the default print settings for individual windows. To actually
change the default print settings, you must go to the Output preferences
(Options>Preferences>Output) and change the print settings there. See Chapter 6,
Working with Preferences for more information.

Output Methods
You can choose from two types of output methods. Click the button next to the
method you want to use. The Print Directly to Device method is the printing method
used in previous versions of MI Pro. The Print using Enhanced Metafile (EMF)
method generates an Enhanced Metafile from the print contents, which is then sent to
the printer. This method produces good quality output while reducing printing time
and spool sizes, but your printer must be able to handle the metafile.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 77

Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Note: If you are printing a map/layout that contains a translucent image, you
must select Print Using Enhancement Metafile (EMF). The Print Directly to
Device option does not support translucent images.

Display and Color Options

Additional settings control Map window borders, transparency in vector and raster
images, and color in raster images. Select the check boxes next to the option(s) you
want.
To print a border around your Map window, check the Print Border For Map Window
box (this options is not available for Layout windows).
To have MI Pro handle transparent fill and bitmap symbols in vector images
internally, check the Internal Handling for Transparent Vector Fills and Symbols box.
If you clear the box, transparency will be handled by your printer.
When the ROP method is selected, the transparent image is rendered using a raster
operation (ROP) to handle the transparent pixels. This method is used to draw
transparent (non-translucent) images on-screen. This method may or may not work
well when printing. You will need to determine if your particular print driver
handles ROPs correctly.
Check the Print Raster in True Color When Possible box to use 24-bit true color to
print raster and grid images. To be able to print a raster image in true color, the image
must be 24-bit and the printer must support more than 256 colors.
Select a dither method from the Dither Method list to use when your image must be
converted from 24-bit to 256 colors. Choose either the halftone or error diffusion
dither methods.

Overriding the Default Printer

The printer listed in both the Print and Page Setup dialogs is the default printer that
MI Pro uses for all print jobs. This can be either the Windows default printer or a MI
Pro preferred printer that you select. Set the default printer in the Printer preferences
(Options>Preferences>Printer). Both of these dialogs include the option of overriding
the default printer for an individual print job.
To use a printer other than the one indicated in the Printer preferences to print a
particular window (Map, Layout, etc.), choose either:
• File>Print. Click the Name drop-down list to see a list of the printers you
have access to, and select the one you want to use. This selection overrides the
default printer settings for this print job.

78 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

• File>Page Setup. In the Page Setup dialog, click the Printer to display the
preferences dialog for the default printer. Click the Name drop-down list to
see a list of the available printers, and select the one you want to use. This
selection overrides the default printer settings for this print job.
Note that the printer override applies only to the window you are currently printing.
To actually change the default settings, you must go to the Printer preferences and
specify a new default printer. See Chapter 6, Working with Preferences for more
information.

Exporting Files
You can export your Map window to other file formats with the Save Window As
command (File>Save Window As). This enables you to use your map in another
application, such as word processing, presentation, or desktop publishing packages.
To export a file:
1. Choose File > Save Window As. The Save Window As dialog displays.

2. Specify the Image Size settings. You can keep the image the same size as the
window or choose a custom size. If you choose Custom, also make any
desired changes to the width and height of the image. You can make these
changes in inches or in pixels.
3. If you are saving the window to a raster format, select a resolution for the
image. Metafile formats do not use the resolution option (WMF, EMF files).
4. Click the Advanced button. The Advanced Exporting Options dialog
displays.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 79

Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

If you are exporting a simple map or layout that does not contain raster or
grid images, or any transparent fill patterns, you may be able to bypass the
advanced settings. If you would like to include a border for your exported
file, though, be sure to select the Export Border check box.
5. Complete the dialog according to information in the following section, and
click OK.
6. Click Save in the Save Window As dialog. The Save Window to File dialog
displays.

7. Name the file and select a file format.

8. Click Save to save the window to the specified format.

80 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Advanced Exporting Options

The Advanced Exporting Options dialog settings allow you to apply the color,
transparency, and border handling that are available for printed maps to your
exported files. Note, however, that borders are not exported from Layout windows.
The settings are the same as in the Advanced Printing dialog. See the Advanced
Printing Options section earlier in this chapter for a complete description.
Overriding the default settings also works the same way. As with the advanced
printing options, the options that are selected when you initally display the Advanced
Exporting Options dialog are the default settings, which are set in the Output
preferences. The Advanced Exporting Options dialog enables you to override the
default export settings for individual file export operations. To actually change the
default export settings, you must go to the Output preferences
(Options>Preferences>Output) and change the settings there. See Chapter 6, Working
with Preferences for more information.

Supported Export Formats

MI Pro enables you to save to a number of formats. Windows Bitmap is the initial
default. The Save Window to File dialog sets the last-used format as the default. The
supported formats are listed below:
• Windows Bitmap (*.bmp)
• Windows Metafile (*.wmf)
• Windows Enhanced Metafile (*.emf)
• JPEG File Interchange Format (*.jpg)
• JPEG 2000 (*.jp2)
• Portable Network Graphics Format (*png)
• Tagged Image File Format (*tif)
• TIFF CMYK (*.tif)
• Photoshop 3.0 (*.psd))

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 81

Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Using Workspaces
If you work with the same tables repeatedly, you know that opening each one
individually every time you use it can be tedious. With MI Pro’s workspace feature,
you can automate this process so you can get back to the business of creating maps
and analyzing data sooner.
When you work with MI Pro you generally use many different tables and windows. A
Map window, for instance, is likely to be built of several layers. MI Pro uses workspaces
to save your work setup from session to session. Workspaces prevent you from
having to reassemble all the pieces of your earlier setup from scratch. So, you don’t
have to reopen tables, re-create maps or layouts, resize windows, or do anything else
just to duplicate what was on your desktop the last time you were using MI Pro.

82 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Contents of a Workspace
The workspace is a list of all the tables and windows you are using, stored in a file
with the extension .wor. The workspace keeps track of the following elements:
• Map, Browser, Graph, 3DMap, and Layout windows, including their size and
position on the screen
• Query tables created from base tables using either the Select or SQL Select
statements (queries will not be saved)
• Graphs
• Thematic maps
• Legend windows
• Cosmetic objects
• Labels
• Styles for fonts, symbols, lines, and fill patterns used to display objects
To view the contents in the workspace file, open the .wor file in a text editor or word
processor.

Saving a Workspace
To save your current work setup, choose File > Save Workspace. MI Pro displays a
dialog in which you name the workspace and set the directory to which it should be
saved. When you start your next session, you can open this workspace right from the
Quick Start dialog and continue where you left off.
You can change the directory path that MI Pro uses for opening or saving workspaces
in Directories preferences (Options > Preferences >Directories). In the Directory
Preferences dialog, click the Workspaces path in the Initial Directories for File Dialogs
group, and click modify. You can also simply double-click the path. The Choose
Directory dialog displays. Select the path you want to use, and click OK.
If you have edited a table (added, deleted, or modified items) you must explicitly save
those changes first using Save As or Save commands in the File menu. Saving a
workspace will not save edits you have made to tables in the workspace.
If you close a window or table and you have thematic maps, graphs, label settings or
label edits, or cosmetic objects pending, MI Pro will prompt you to save the session to
a workspace.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 83

Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Opening a Workspace
When you start MI Pro, the Quick Start dialog displays, and the last workspace you
had open is identified in the dialog. Click on it and MI Pro opens it automatically. You
can now begin working where you left off.
To open a different workspace at startup, choose Open a Workspace from the Quick
Start dialog (or File > Open and choose Workspace from Files of type.) to display the
Open dialog. Choose the workspace you want. All the tables and windows you saved
to the workspace will display.
If you are already in a mapping session and wish to open a workspace, choose File >
Open and choose Workspace from Files of type. Choose the appropriate workspace
from the list provided.
You can also open more than one workspace at a time the same way you can open
multiple files in other Windows applications using the Shift and Control keys.
If you are currently working with data in various windows, adding a workspace will
add the workspace to your current setup. This can be very useful if you have files and
windows in several workspaces to be analyzed. You can save this entire complex —
the workspace you added plus the material you added it to, by saving it as a new
workspace.
Use the Close All command to close all tables and windows. For more information
about opening workspaces, see the sections Open and Preferences in the
MapInfoProfessional Reference.

Specifying Directories and Search Paths

If you wish to set a default directory for MI Pro to use when opening a workspace,
click Directories in Options > Preferences to display the Directory Preferences dialog.
Select Workspaces, and click the Modify button. Choose the drive and directory you
want in the Choose Directory dialog and click OK.
To specify search paths that MI Pro will use to look for tables referenced in
workspaces, in the Search Directories for Tables group, click Add. Specify a drive and
directory in the Choose Directory dialog and click OK. You can set up to four paths.
Use the Up and Down keys to change the search order. Use the Add and Remove
buttons to add or remove paths from the list.

84 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

How Renaming Tables Affects Workspaces

When you change the name of a MI Pro table that is listed in a workspace, you
invalidate that workspace. Table names are stored in the workspace file. If you change
the name of the table, the workspace does not know how to find it.
For example, you might create a workspace called customer.wor which contains the
states table. If you later rename the states table to america, MI Pro will not be able to
open the customer.wor workspace. It will try to open the states table and not be able
to locate it.
There are two ways to avoid this problem:
• Make any table name changes before you start to build workspaces.
• Open the workspace table in any text editor and manually change the table
names.
• Open a workspace. Rename the table(s) using Table > Maintenace > Rename
Table and immediately save the workspace.
MapInfo Professional v. 6.0.0.32 and later places an "interactive" clause after each
open table statement to prompt you for the file location if the table is not found in the
original workspace path. The old workspace must be saved in this version to take
advantage of this feature.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 85

Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Leaving MapInfo Professional–The Mapinfow.wor Workspace

To leave MapInfo Professional, choose File>Exit. If there are any tables open that you
have edited, MI Pro asks if you want to save them. You can choose to either save them
or exit and lose those changes.
The Startup preferences allow you to automatically save your work setup to a
workspace when you exit, and display that setup when you enter MI Pro again.

To save your setup to the workspace, check the Save MAPINFOW.WOR option in the
Startup Preferences dialog. To display MAPINFOW.WOR, clear the Display Quick
Start Dialog check box when you enter MapInfo and select Load MAPINFOW.WOR.

Starting MapInfo Professional–The Startup.wor Workspace

You have yet another option when saving your work as a workspace. Instead of
starting MapInfo Professional with the mapinfow.wor, which only opens the tables
you were last working with, you can specify that MI Pro loads a particular workspace
on startup every time.
First, display the tables in the size and position you want to see them at startup. Then,
at the File > Save Workspace dialog, save the configuration as a file called startup.wor.
It is important that you save startup.wor to the MapInfo program directory or to your
home directory (where Windows configuration files such as win.ini are stored) so MI
Pro can find it at startup. For more on startup.wor, see the entry in the MapInfo
Professional Reference.

86 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Saving Printer Information to a Workspace

MI Pro enables you to save your printer information to a workspace, and restore
printer information from a workspace. These settings are located in the Startup
preferences. (Options > Preferences > Startup).
To save printer information to a workspace, check the Save Printer Information to
Workspaces box. When you save your workspace, the printer name, paper
orientation, paper size, and the number of copies will be saved. When this preference
is on, the workspace is written as a version 6.0 or later workspace. It is recommended
that you leave this preference on. If you will be sharing workspaces with other users,
particularly if they are using earlier versions of MI Pro, you may want to leave the
preference turned off.
To restore printer information from a workspace, check the Restore Printer
Information to Workspaces box. When you open the workspace, the printer name,
paper orientation, paper size, and the number of copies are restored. This is useful if
you are sharing workspaces with other MI Pro 6.0 or later users who are also using the
same printers. You may want to leave it off if you want to send the workspace to
someone who is using a different printer. If this preference is turned off, MI Pro uses
the default printer selected in the Printer preferences.

Additional Tools
MI Pro contains many additional tools that simplify mapping tasks, convert MI Pro
files to different file formats and vice versa, automate tasks for working with DBMS
tables, and more. The Tool Manager helps you run and manage these many utilities
easily.
Use the Tool Manger to run, add, edit, or remove tools from the currently registered
list of tools in the Tools menu. You can also configure a tool to run automatically upon
startup. If you performed a Custom installation, you may have elected to not install
the tools. In this case when you open the Tool Manager dialog, the list box will be
empty (Tools > Tool Manager).
A brief description of all the tools is provided below.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 87

Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

Tools
• AutoLabeler – Places text object style labels in the Cosmetic Layer of the
active Map window.
• CoordSys Bounds Manager– Enables you to check and set the coordinate
system bounds for mappable MI Pro base tables.
• Concentric Ring Buffer – Creates concentric ring buffers around one or more
map objects. The tool also computes aggregated values for underlying data
that occur within each ring. Therefore, it can be used to count how many
customers occur within each ring and their total sales. You can graph the
results.
• Coordinate Extractor – Extracts x, y coordinates for each record in your table
using any projection in the MAPINFOW.PRJ file and places them in
designated columns.
• Create Line by Length – Draws lines in the Cosmetic Layer of a specific length
and angle.
• DBMS Catalog – Allows a DBA to create a MI Pro MapCatalog table in a
remote database. The catalog is needed for downloading coordinate
information to MI Pro from a remote database.
• DBMS Count Rows in Table – Updates the MapCatalog entry of a table to the
correct number of rows.
• DBMS SQL Builder – Allows you to connect to an SQL database server, build
queries and execute SQL statements. Additionally, issue queries to preview
data and download query results to a local MI Pro table.
• Degree Converter – Converts a column of data containing DMS coordinates
to Decimal Decimals and Decimal Degrees to degrees/minutes/seconds.
• Disperse Points – Disperses points located at the same position. Points can be
dispersed systematically or randomly.
• EasyLoader – Uploads MapInfo .tab files into remote databases.
• Grid Maker – Draws a grid of longitude/latitude lines on your map, i.e., a
graticule.
• Grid Tools – Provides three grid tools: create a MI Pro native grid file from a
table of points; convert grids from any format that MI Pro can read into MI
Pro grid format (.MIG); display x, y, and z coordinates, and row and column,
of where you clicked on the grid.
• HTML Image Map – This tool allows you to create an HTML image map from
a MI Pro Map window for use in a Web page.
• Labeler – Transfer layer’s labels into permanent text objects; label current
selection; make individual labels created with the Label tool into permanent
text objects.

88 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

• Legend Manager – Take control of how MI Pro displays Legend windows.

Includes the ability to have multiple Legend windows open, and associate
each legend with a specific Map window.
• Map Window Manager – Designate the title of a Map window and default
table view.
• Mapping Wizard Tool – Enables you, via a wizard, to open data, maps,
perform analysis, and generate output. This utility is set to load automatically
when you start MI Pro.
• MapX Geoset Utility – Enables you to read a MapX Geoset into a MI Pro
Professional Map window, and write a MapX Geoset from the contents of the
MI Pro Map window.
• MDBLauncher – Launches the MI Pro Metadata Browser.
• Named Views – Save a Map window’s current zoom and center as a named
view. Return to that view by selecting the view name from a dialog.
• North Arrow - Add a North Arrowto a Map or Layout window in various
styles, and, optionally, add a Magnetic Declination Arrow. Use the North
Arrow tool to designate in which corner to position the North Arrow, or use
the North Arrow button on the Tools Toolbar to draw a rectangle and place
the North Arrow at the specified location. See North Arrow in the MapInfo
Professional Reference.
• Overview – Opens a new Map window to provide an overview of another
Map window.
• Rotate Labels–This tool allows you to rotate all the labels in a map layer at
once.
• Rotate Map Window – Enables you to rotate the contents of the current Map
window a specific number of degrees. It calculates and sets an Affine
transformation for the Map window.
• Rotate Symbols–This tool allows you to rotate all the symbols in a map layer
at once.
• ScaleBar – Create a custom distance scalebar to annotate a Map window. This
tool can also be used in Layout windows.
• Seamless Table Manager – Creates and manages seamless map sheets.
• Search and Replace – Search a character column for a specific string and
replace it with another string.
• Send to MapX Mobile - Write a custom MapX geoset and associated .Tab files
to create a user-defined subset of a map window’s background data for
display on a mobile device. See a full description of MapX Mobile under Send
to MapX Mobile in the MapInfo Professional Reference.
• Set the Minimum Bounding Rectangle Utility – Enables you to set the
Minimum Bounding Rectangle for ODBC live access based tables.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 89

Chapter 5: Basics of Desktop Mapping

• Shields – Draw decorative frames around text objects.

• Spatialize SQLServer Table - Allows an existing SQL Server table to
accomodate spatial data.
• Symbol Maker– Create, edit, and delete MI Pro symbols. These symbols
become part of the standard MI Pro symbol set.
• Table Manager – Get information about all currently open tables, including
table metadata.
• TOC Utility- Build a seamless table of all the files listed in a TOC file. Create
one or more seamless tables, grouped by zone and resolution
• Universal Translator – Import and export MI Pro data to and from other
popular mapping files formats. This utility is set to load automatically when
you start MI Pro.

Using the Tool Manager

To access the Tool manager, choose Tools > Tool Manager. The Tool Manager dialog
displays. Simply check the boxes of the tools you want to load. The tool will display in
the menu options of the Tools menu. Check Autoload as well when you want a tool to
load automatically when you start MI Pro. You can also add tools from the MI Pro
Tool directory or tools that you have created.

You can also edit the name, path, and description of a tool. Click on a tool to highlight
it and click the Edit Tool button to make the desired changes.
For more information on the Tool Manager, see the MapInfo Professional Reference.
Many more MapBasic tools are available from www.mapinfo.com and other MapInfo-
related web sites

90 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 6
Chapter 6: Working with
Preferences
Working with Preferences
Preferences allow you to change a number of Chapter
default settings, enabling you to customize
certain aspects of the program’s behavior. As
you gain experience with MapInfo
➤ Accessing Preferences
Professional®, you will probably want to ➤ System Setting Preferences
change some of these settings. This chapter
➤ Map Window Preferences
discusses the various preferences and what
they control. ➤ Legend Window
Preferences
➤ Startup Preferences
➤ Address Matching
Preferences
➤ Directory Preferences
➤ Output Settings Preferences
➤ Printer Preferences
➤ Styles
Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

Accessing Preferences
All preferences are accessed via Options > Preferences. Here is a brief description of
the preference categories:
• System Settings – Controls what information is copied to the clipboard, color
defaults, aspect ratio, paper and layout units, the number of Undo objects
permitted, how symbol types used prior to version 4.0 are drawn, and how
MI Pro handles 2-digit years.
• Map Window – Controls settings for resizing a Map window; moving
duplicate nodes; snap tolerance; units for distance and area; display of scroll
bars in the Map window; display of degrees in either decimal or degrees,
minutes, seconds form; and the display of InfoTips.
• Legend Window – Controls the legend frame default settings.
• Startup – Controls whether MAPINFOW.WOR is saved upon exiting and
loaded upon starting MI Pro; whether queries are saved in workspaces; and
the display of the Quick Start dialog upon startup.
• Address Matching – Controls the placement of house numbers when
specifying street addresses.
• Directories – Specifies default directories for opening and saving tables,
workspaces, MapBasic programs, import files, ODBC SQL queries, theme
templates, graph support files, saved queries, new grids, and Crystal Report
files. Also specifies the directories MI Pro searches for tables without fully
qualified paths referenced in workspaces or MapBasic programs.
• Output Settings – Controls the on-screen display of a raster file, the printer
output, and exporting choices.
• Printer – Controls which printer information is used for all new windows.
This printer can be the Windows default printer, or a printer you designate as
your MapInfo Preferred printer. This choice can be overridden on a per
window basis using either the File > Print, or File > Page Setup dialogs.
• Styles--Designate highlighting for selected and targeted objects, as well as
designating default object styles for region, line, symbol, and text.
Files are stored on a per-user basis. See Appendix C, Data Setting and Management
for file locations.

92 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

To open any of the preferences:

1. Choose Options>Preferences. The Preferences dialog displays.
2. Click one of the preferences buttons. The specified preferences dialog
displays.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 93

Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

System Setting Preferences

Use the System Setting preferences to control the default settings that affect how MI
Pro interacts with your system.

Copy to Clipboard
Specify what items you want to copy to the clipboard: text, bitmaps, or metafiles. MI
Pro now copies metafiles in Enhanced Metafile format (EMF). All three are copied to
the clipboard by default. Clear the appropriate check box(es) to prevent the item from
being copied to the clipboard.

Color Defaults
This preference controls how MI Pro shades thematic map layers. By default, Monitor
Setting is selected. MI Pro uses the color settings of the monitor to shade the map
when this option is selected. Click the Black & White button if you are using a color
monitor and want to shade your thematic map in gray scale. Click the color button if
you are using a black and white monitor and want to print a thematic map in color on
a color printer.

94 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

Aspect Ratio Adjustment

This setting enables you to adjust the screen size so that your printed map is the
appropriate size.

Paper and Layout Units

Use this setting to specify the units used when you measure the size of objects in a
Layout window and the size of paper in the Print dialogs. The default is set to inches.
You can choose: inches, picas, points, millimeters, and centimeters.

Number of Undo Objects

Set the number of simultaneously altered objects for which Undo information will be
saved. You cannot undo the following operations: Revert, Save, Save As, or Modify
Table, or any operations whose effects are primarily cosmetic. The default is 10 undo
operations. You can set it from 0 to 800. Setting the number of Undo objects to 0
deactivates the Undo system. After one use of the Edit > Undo option, the option
toggles to Edit > Redo.

Pre-Version 4 Symbols
Use this setting to indicate how you want to draw symbols from versions of MI Pro
earlier than 4.0. Check the Display Using True Type Font box to draw vector symbols
with characters from the MI Pro Symbols font. Clear the check box to draw vector
symbols. By default, vector symbols are drawn.

Date Window for 2-Digit Years

The default is set to Turn date windowing off, which will use the current century for
2-digit years.
If you click the Set date window to button, you can specify which century to apply to
2-digit years. For example, if you enter the number 30 (the default) in the Set date
window to box, the statements below the option indicate how the century is assigned
based on the number you type in the box. For example, based on the number 30, 2-
digit years from 00–29 are set in the 21st century, and 2-digit years from 30–99 are set
in the 20th century.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 95

Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

Map Window Preferences

The Map window preferences control the default settings for any new Map window
created in MI Pro. Some of these preference settings can be overridden for the
currently open Map window in the Map Options dialog (Map>Options). These
include the settings for resizing Map windows, specifying distance/area calculations,
and displaying coordinates in degrees, minutes, seconds.

Default Projections
Designate a default table projection for creating new tables, importing MIF, MBI, and
IMG files, and for Choose Projection options in dialogs. Override the defaults by
accessing the Choose Projection option. This feature is not available for Universal
Translator, ArcLink, or Importing DXF files.

96 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

Use the Session Projection option to designate a default MapBasic projection for
returning coordinate values using a MapBasic window or Update Column. Compiled
MapBasic applications are not affected by this preference.

Setting Warning Display

By default, MI Pro displays messages prior to closing a table warning you of the loss
of Cosmetic objects, map labels, and thematic layers if you do not save them to a table
or workspace. You can turn off the display of these warning messages. To do so, clear
the desired check boxes from the Warn Prior to Loss of group.

Resizing Map Windows

These options control the default behavior of Map windows when you resize them.
The default setting is Fit Map to New Window. This setting draws the map to fit the
resized window. You see the same view of the map that you saw before you resized
the window. Click the Preserve Current Scale button to change the view of the map
when the Map window is resized. As you shrink or enlarge the window, you will see
a smaller or larger area of the map.
This setting does not affect Map windows that are already open. To override the
preference settings for the currently open Map window, choose Map>Options.

Moving Duplicate Nodes

The Move Duplicate Nodes in settings specify whether MI Pro will move duplicate
nodes when you use the Reshape command (Edit>Reshape) to edit objects that are
adjacent to each other, such as regions. By default, MI Pro does not move duplicate
nodes. To have MI Pro move duplicate nodes that are in the same layer when one of
the connected nodes is moved, click the Same Layer button in the Move Duplicate
Nodes in group.

Setting Clip Region Method

Use these settings to specify how you want MI Pro to clip regions. You have three
choices:
• Windows Device Clipping (all objects) – The clipping is controlled by the
Windows Device Display. All objects (including points, labels, text, raster and
grid images) will be clipped at the Clip Region boundary. This is the default
setting.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 97

Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

• Windows Device Clipping (no points, text) – Use this method to emulate the
Erase Outside clipping method used in previous versions of MapInfo
Professional. All objects are clipped using Erase Outside except points and
labels. Points and labels will be completely displayed only if the point or label
point lies inside the Clip Region object. Text objects, raster files, and grid files
are always displayed and never clipped.
• Erase Outside (no points, text) – This method uses the MI Pro Erase Outside
functionality. This clipping method is used in all versions prior to MI Pro 6.0.
The Clip Region object is the Cutter object, and all other objects are Target
objects for this operation. All objects are clipped using Erase Outside,
excepts points and labels. In addition, points and labels will be completely
displayed only if the point or label point lie inside the Clip Region object.
Text objects are always displayed and never clipped.

Distance/Area Calculations
Use these settings to specify the default type of distance/area calculation that MI Pro
uses for new Map windows. Spherical is the default. Spherical calculations measure
distance according to the curved surface of the Earth. The data is first converted to
Latitude/Longitude and then a calculation is produced. Lat/Long data will always
use spherical calculations.
The Cartesian method performs calculations on data projected onto a flat plane.
Cartesian coordinates (x,y) define the position of a point in two-dimensional space by
its perpendicular projection onto two axes which are at right angles to each other.
Long/Lat projections cannot use Cartesian calculations.
To specify a calculation method for the currently active Map window, use the Map
Options dialog (Map>Options).

Displaying Metric Distance and Area Units

By default, MI Pro displays distance in miles and area in square miles. To use metric
units, check the Metric Distance and Area Units box. MI Pro will then display distance
in kilometers and area in square kilometers.

Displaying Scrollbars and InfoTips

By default, MI Pro displays InfoTips. Clear the Show InfoTips check box to deactivate
their display.
By default, MI Pro does not display scrollbars in Map windows. To display scrollbars,
select the Scroll Bars check box.
Select the Autoscroll check box to automatically activate the autoscroll feature.

98 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

Automatic Zoom Layering for Raster and Grid Layers

Automatic zoom layering options for raster and grid layers can be set in the Map
window preferences. Raster zoom layering is turned on by default, and grid zoom
layering is off by default.

3DMap Window Hardware Acceleration

This check box controls whether to use your video card acceleration capability to
display 3DMaps. Clear the box to display the 3DMap without using your video card
acceleration capability. Turning the acceleration off will reduce performance, but it
will avoid failure with certain graphic adapters and drivers.

Displaying Coordinates
By default, MI Pro displays coordinates in decimal degrees. MI Pro displays
coordinates of objects in the Object Info dialogs, and of the cursor location in the
status bar if that display option is selected. To change the format in which coordinates
display, select one of the options in the Display Coordinates group. In addition to
decimal degrees, you can display coordinates in degrees, minutes, seconds or in
Military Grid Reference System format. Coordinates are converted to the Military
Grid Reference System format using the World Geodetic System (WGS) of 1984
Ellipsoid.
To override this preference in individual maps, use the Map Options dialog
(Map>Options). Overrides to the default coordinate setting will be saved to your
workspace.
When Military Grid Reference System format is selected in either the Map window
preferences or the Map Options dialogs, the format will display in the status bar, but
not in the Object Info dialogs. If you display any Object Info dialog for an object on a
map that uses the Military Grid Reference System, the coordinates will be displayed
in decimal degrees.

Setting Snap Tolerance

This setting specifies the default tolerance in pixels within which Snap to node
operates when you are drawing objects (click the S key to turn Snap to node on). The
default is 5 pixels. Type in a smaller value to obtain a tighter snap tolerance, so that
you do not snap to other objects’ nodes as you draw. Type in a larger value to obtain a
looser snap tolerance, when you want to snap to a node even though you are
relatively far away from it.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 99

Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

Specifying a Grid Handler

MI Pro supplies a list box to select the output grid file format. By default, the MI Pro
handler (*.mig) will be selected. The available formats depend on which grid handlers
are installed. When you change the grid file format, the file extension on the grid file
name changes to reflect the selected format.

Legend Window Preferences

These settings control the defaults for how titles are specified for all legend frames in
the legend window, as well as the default text style attributes such as font and size.
The settings correspond to the settings displayed in Step 2 of the legend wizard. These
defaults are used if there are no metadata keys in the table on which the legend frame
is based. If metadata keys are present, the metadata defaults override the settings in
Step 2 of the wizard and the Legend preferences.

Legend Frame Defaults

The Title Pattern box indicates the text that displays at the top of each legend frame.
By default, the Title Pattern is “# Legend”, where ‘# ’ is the name of the layer on which
the frame is based. So, if the frame is based on the States layer, the default Pattern title
would be “States Legend.” You can change this pattern to “Legend of # ” or simply
”# .” You may wish to have no default pattern. In that case, leave the box blank.
Choose a title pattern default that suits your needs. The # character can be used in any
of the pattern text boxes as a shortcut key for the layer name.
The Subtitle Pattern box is blank, by default, but you can set your own default title
pattern for subtitles.

100 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

In the Style Name Pattern box, the default pattern is the ‘%‘ character. The Style Name
is the text that describes each symbol in a legend frame. The % character is used as a
placeholder for the type of object the legend symbol corresponds to: point, line, or
region. You can type in your own default Style Name Pattern, either using the %
character or not. For example, in a legend frame based on the States layer, a Style
Name Pattern that reads “% of # ” will display as “Region of States” next to the
symbol in the legend. The % character can only be used in the Style Name Pattern box.
To change the defaults of the style attributes for the titles the style name, or the legend
frame border, click on the desired style box to display the corresponding style dialog
and make your changes.
For more information on legends and legend preferences, see Chapter 7, Mapping in
Layers.

Startup Preferences
In general, the Startup preferences control how MI Pro behaves when you start the
program, allowing you to control the MAPINFOW.WOR workspace, as well as
whether printer information and queries are saved to workspaces

Saving and Loading MAPINFOW.WOR

These settings allow you to automatically save your work setup to the workspace,
MAPINFOW.WOR, when you exit MI Pro, and will display that setup when you
restart MI Pro.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 101

Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

To save your setup to the MAPINFOW.WOR workspace, check the Save

MAPINFOW.WOR box. To display MAPINFOW.WOR when you enter MI Pro, check
the Load MAPINFOW.WOR box. For this check box to be available, you must clear
the Display Quick Start Dialog check box.

Saving Queries in Workspaces

Check the Save Queries in Workspaces box so that queries you create during a
mapping session through the SQL dialog will be saved to the workspace.

Printer Information
The Printer Information preferences enable you to specify whether you want your
printer information to be stored in a workspace. The Save printer information into
Workspaces check box saves the printer name, paper orientation, paper size, and the
number of copies from your printer settings into the workspace. This also includes
any overrides you might have made to the default printer settings in the Printer
preferences.
When this preference is on, the workspace is written as a version 6.0 workspace. It is
recommended that you leave this preference on. However, if you will be sharing
workspaces with other users, particularly if they are using earlier versions of MI Pro,
you may want to leave the preference turned off.
To restore printer information from a workspace, check the Restore Printer
Information to Workspaces box. When you open the workspace, the printer name,
paper orientation, paper size, and the number of copies are restored. This is useful if
you are sharing workspaces with other MapInfo Professional (6.0 or later) users who
are also using the same printers. If this preference is turned off, or if the printer
indicated is not available, the printer settings for the workspace revert back to the
default printer set in the Printer preferences.

Default DBMS Connection

Specify a DBMS connection that will be opened each time you begin a MapInfo
Professional session.

Quick Start Dialog

The Quick Start dialog, as explained in Chapter 5, displays automatically when you
start MI Pro.

102 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

It is set to display by default, but you can set it so that it does not display at all when
you start MI Pro. Clear the Display Quick Start Dialog check box to prevent it from
displaying when you start subsequent MapInfo sessions.

Address Matching Preferences

Use the Address Matching preferences to specify the placement of the house number
in addresses. The default setting is for house numbers to come before the street name.
You can change it so that the house number comes after the street name.

Directory Preferences
The Directory preferences enable you to control in what directories MI Pro looks for
files.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 103

Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

Initial Directories for File Dialogs

Use this setting to specify the default directories that display in the File menu dialogs
when you open or save different files. You can specify directories for:
• Tables
• Remote Tables
• Workspaces
• MapBasic programs
• Import files
• DBMS SQL queries
• Theme templates
• Saved queries
• New grids
• Crystal Report files
• Graph support files
• Shapefile Tables
For example, to set a default directory for MapInfo to use when opening or saving a
workspace, select Workspaces, and click the Modify button. Choose the drive and
directory you want in the Choose Directory dialog and click OK.
When you choose File > Open, you can select an icon from the MapInfo Places Bar.
Click on the Workspace Directory icon to display the workspace directory you
designated in this preference.
Additionally, use this preference to search for raster and grid tables. If you open a
*.TAB file for a raster or grid image and the image file cannot be found an attempt is
made to find the image in the same location as the .TAB. If the image file is not found,
it will then use the Search Directories.

Search Directories for Tables and Workspaces

Use this setting to specify search paths that MapInfo will use to look for tables
referenced in workspaces or MapBasic programs that do not have fully qualified
paths. To specify a search path, in Search Directories for Tables group, click Add.
Specify a drive and directory in the Choose Directory dialog and click OK. You can set
up to four paths. Use the Up and Down keys to change the search order. Use the Add
and Remove buttons to add or remove paths from the list.

104 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

Output Settings Preferences

The Output Settings allow you to control raster and grid file color settings for on-
screen display, printed output, and file export. In addition, you can also specify how
you want to handle transparency in vector and raster files in both your printed output
and exported files. Other printer settings enable you to specify an output method and
whether to print a border around a Map window.
You can override the settings in the Output settings preferences in the Advanced
Printing dialog. These preferences are the default settings used in the Advanced
Printing dialog. These new settings can then be saved in a workspace.

Display Settings
The Display settings control the on-screen display of a raster or grid file. Check the
Display Raster In True Color When Possible box to display raster and grid images in
24-bit true color. This option can be executed when the image is 24-bit and the screen
color depth is greater than 256 colors.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 105

Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

The Dither Method list enables you to choose a dither method when it is not possible
to display the image in true color. Choose from either the halftone or error diffusion
dither methods. The selected method will be used if a 24-bit image must be converted
to 256 colors. This happens when the image is 24-bit, but the screen color depth of the
monitor is less than 256 colors.

Printer Settings
The Output Method options give you the choice of printing your maps and layouts
using the same method used in previous versions of MapInfo Professional (Print
Directly to Device), or using the new Enhanced Metafile printing method (Print Using
Enhanced Metafile). This process generates an enhanced metafile containing the print
contents and sends the enhanced metafile to the printer. This option can result in
much better printing performance without sacrificing quality, but your printer must
be able to handle the metafile.
A number of check boxes allow you to specify various output settings. These are:
• Print Border For Map Window – Select this check box to place a black border
around your output.
• Internal Handling for Transparent Vector Fills and Symbols – Select this check
box to have MapInfo handle transparent fill patterns and bitmap symbols for
vector images internally. Clear the box to have the printer handle them.
• Use ROP Method to Display Transparent Raster: ROP method determines
how to display transparent images. When this option is checked, the same
method is used as is used for on-screen display of transparent images. This
method may not be suitable for printed output. You should determine the
setting appropriate to your output requirements.
• Print Raster in True Color When Possible – This is similar to the Display
settings above, except it is applied to your printed output. Select the check
box to print your raster and grid images in 24-bit true color, if possible.
Also choose a dither method from the Dither Method list. Choose either halftone or
error diffusion. The selected dithering method will be used when your image cannot
be printed in 24-bit true color.
The Printing settings are used as the defaults for the Advanced Printing dialog. To
access them, choose File>Print. The Print dialog displays. Click the Advanced button
to display the Advanced Printing dialog. Change the output settings as appropriate to
override the preferences. Any changes you make will be saved to your workspace.
When you open the workspace the next time, your changes will be restored to the
dialog.

106 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

Window Export Settings

The Window Export settings are the same as those for your printed output. You can
include a border around the contents of the exported file, specify internal handling of
transparency in vector files (fill patterns and symbols), and raster and grid images,
and use true color when possible in an exported raster file. Just select the check boxes
next to the settings you want to enable.
These settings are used in the Advanced Export Window Options dialog (File>Save
Window As>Advanced). To override the preferences for window export, click the
Advanced button in the Save Window As dialog. The Advanced Export Window
Options dialog displays. Change the export settings for your file as appropriate.

Printer Preferences
Use the Printer preferences to specify the printer you want to use as the default for
your work in MapInfo. You can use the Windows default printer, which is set in the
Windows Control panel, or set up a MapInfo preferred printer.

If you select the Windows Default printer, MapInfo will always use the printer that is
currently set as the default in Windows. The settings for that printer will display in
the MapInfo Preferred Printer Setup group. You will not, however, be able to change
them in the Printer Preferences dialog. To change the Windows default printer, go
back to the Windows Control Panel.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 107

Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

To set up a MapInfo preferred printer, click the MapInfo Preferred button. The options
in the MapInfo Preferred Printer Setup group are activated. This enables you to
specify a preferred printer for new windows. Select the printer name and path from
the Name drop-down list. The printer status, type, and location display in the Status,
Type, and Where fields. Next, specify a paper size, and choose the orientation you
want: portrait or landscape.
To use a printer other than the one indicated in the Printer preferences for a particular
window (Map, Layout, etc.), choose either:
• File>Print. You can change the printer you are using in the Print dialog,
overriding the default printer settings.
• File>Page Setup. In the Page Setup dialog, click the Printer to display the
preferences dialog for the default printer. Select a different printer in the
Name drop-down list. This will override the default printer set in the Printer
preferences.
Note: The printer override applies only to the window you are currently
printing. To actually change the default settings, you must go back to the
Printer preferences and specify a new default printer.

108 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 6: Working with Preferences

Styles Preferences

Default Object Styles

Designate the default pattern, foreground, background and borders for objects.

Highlighting Objects
Specify the line and fill styles of selected and target objects, as well as highlighting
specifications in the Map window. Additionally, specify the style of selected and
target Multipoint objects. The default settings are shown in the Style boxes of the
Highlight Control group. Click on one of the boxes to display the corresponding style
dialog and change its settings.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 109

 7
Chapter 7: Mapping in
Layers
Mapping in Layers
This chapter presents the relationship between Chapter
tables and maps and how they are layered to
create the level of detail you want. It explains
the Layer Control feature, shows some of the
➤ Maps as Layers
map display options in the Map menu, and ➤ Creating a Map
discusses different types of map layers such as
➤ Layer Control Dialog
seamless, thematic, and raster, and their
relationship with the other layers in your map. ➤ Manipulating Layers for
Display
➤ Display Options
➤ Editable and Selectable
Layers
➤ The Cosmetic Layer
➤ Labeling Objects
➤ Seamless Map Layers
➤ Thematic and Raster Layers
Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

Maps as Layers
You have already been introduced to the concept of computer maps as a collection of
layers in the previous chapter. Each database table that contains graphic objects can be
displayed as a layer in a Map window. For example, you can display a table of
customers, a table of streets, and a table of county boundaries.

Think of these layers as transparencies where each layer contains a different part of
the map. The layers are stacked one on top of the other and allow you to see all
aspects of the map at the same time. For example, one layer may contain country
boundaries, a second layer may have symbols that represent capitals, and a third layer
might consist of text labels. Laying these transparencies one on top of the other builds
a complete map.
If you have geographic locations associated with the records in your database, you
can open it as a layer in a Map window. (If not, you can add them by geocoding your
table, a process that is discussed in the next chapter.)

For example, you have a table of public telephone locations with information on
frequency of use and maintenance records for Arlington, Virginia. Display the table in
a Map window. You can also display a table of city streets and a table of your service
zones as additional layers in the same Map window.
You can now see how many public telephones are in each service area just by counting
how many symbols appear within each boundary (or let MapInfo Professional® count
them for you). MI Pro can thematically shade the boundaries according to the number
of phones per area.

112 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

The point markers for the calls can also be shaded. You can use different colors or
symbols for the point markers to indicate the number of calls per phone.
Now let’s get into the specifics of creating a map.

Creating a Map
Creating a map in MI Pro begins once you open your table(s). For instance, if you
want to create a map consisting of a layer of U.S. cities and a layer of states, you can
do it in one of several ways.

No Tables Open
Choose File > Open, and select the states table and the city_1k table. Remember, to
select nonadjacent tables, hold down the Ctrl key as you click on each table. Choose
Automatic from the Preferred View list, and Click OK. MI Pro places the layers in the
correct order and displays the map.

Table(s) Open but Not Displayed

When one or more of your tables is open, but is not displayed in your Map window,
you can display them in two ways:
• Window > New Map Window

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 113

Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

If, for example, you opened both the states and the city_1k tables, but only displayed
the states table in a Map window, you can display the city_1k table with the states
table using the New Map Window command.
Choose Window>New Map Window. Choose city_1k in the first list box, and choose
states in the second list box. MI Pro draws the layers from the bottom up in the order
you list them. To ensure that your boundaries do not cover your points, list the
boundary layers below the point layers. Click OK. A new Map window of the city_1k
and states tables displays.
• Map > Layer Control > Add
You can also go through the Layer Control dialog and add the layer(s) you want to the
current map. For example, you opened both the states and the city_1k tables, but only
displayed the states table in the Map window. When you open the Layer Control
dialog, all the layers currently displaying in the Map window are listed in the dialog:
the states layer and the Cosmetic layer. The Cosmetic layer is part of every Map
window and is always the topmost layer. It is discussed later in this chapter. Click the
Add button and choose the cities layer from the popup menu. Click OK. The city_1k
layer is added to the Layer list in the Layer Control dialog. MI Pro automatically
places it in its proper position, above the states layer. Click OK in Layer Control to
display the cities.
Note: You cannot add a layer to a Map window unless the corresponding table is
open.

Creating a Duplicate Map Window

There are three ways to create a duplicate view of your Map window:
• You can create a second view of your map with the Map>Clone View
command. Clone View creates a duplicate Map window that you can then
alter to create a different view of your map, e.g., a street map of a city and a
zoomed in view of a major intersection, or use a different kind of thematic
analysis for each view. It is particularly useful when you are creating a Layout
and you want to present side-by-side views of the same location.
Note: Cloned windows in a workspace are written as MapBasic commands to the
.WOR file. These command statements cannot exceed 32,000 bytes.
• Another way to create a duplicate Map window is to use the Drag Map
Window tool. Drag the map to another part of your desktop and release the
mouse. A duplicate Map window displays.

114 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

• You can also use the Copy Map Window command in the Edit menu to copy a
Map window to the clipboard and then paste a copy of it back to your MI Pro
desktop.

Clipping a Map
Map clipping enables you to clip a portion of your map and display it by itself. Any
thematic maps, labels, or points displayed on the map will display only for the
clipped area. You can also save the clipped map in a workspace.
First, select the region you want to clip. It must be in a selectable layer. You can use
any of the selection tools. Then choose Map>Set Clip Region or click the Set Clip
Region button. The map redraws, displaying only the selected region. To revert back
to the full map, click the Clip Region On/Off button or choose Map>Clip Region Off.
To retrieve the clipped map, choose Map>Clip Set Region On or click the Clip Region
On/Off button. MI Pro remembers the clipped map until you create a new one or
discard the Map window. Using the Clip Region button, it is easy to toggle back and
forth between the clipped and the full map. When you try to clip a region when one
already exists, MI Pro will ask you if you want to replace the existing clip region.
Below is an example of a clip, using the country of Spain as the Clip Region. The
Windows device clipping method was used, which clips all text, labels, points, raster
and grid images at the clipping boundary.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 115

Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

Clipping Methods
You can choose from three clipping methods. Set the default clipping method in the
Map window preferences. This method will be used for all subsequent mapping
sessions, until you go into the preferences to change it. The clipping method is also
saved in a workspace. When you reopen the workspace, the clipping method you
chose will be restored. See Chapter 6, Working with Preferences, for more
information.
To override the clipping method for the current Map window, use the Map Options
dialog (Map>Options) to specify a different method.

Select one of the following:

• Windows Device Clipping (all objects) – The clipping is controlled by the
Windows Device Display. All objects (including points, labels, text, raster and
grid images) will be clipped at the Clip Region boundary. This is the default
setting.
• Windows Device Clipping (no points, text) – This method emulates the Erase
Outside clipping method used in MI Pro Professional prior to version 6.0, but
provides better performance. All objects are clipped using Windows Device
Clipping except points and labels. Points and labels will be completely
displayed only if the point or label point lie inside the Clip Region object. Text

116 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

objects, raster files, and grid files are always displayed and never clipped
with this method.
• Erase Outside (no points, text) – This method uses the MI Pro Erase Outside
functionality. This clipping method is used in all versions prior to MI Pro 6.0.
The Clip Region object is the Cutter object, and all other objects are Target
objects for this operation. All objects are clipped using Erase Outside, excepts
points and labels. In addition, points and labels will be completely displayed
only if the point or label point lie inside the Clip Region object. Text objects
are always displayed and never clipped with this method.

Layer Control Dialog

The key to controlling your map layers is the Layer Control dialog. You can access it in
two ways: Choose Map>Layer Control, or click the Layer Control button in the Main
Toolbar. Layer Control enables you to manipulate the layers and their attributes to
control the display of the map.

The dialog shows all the layers that make up the current Map window and the status
of the layer attributes. These attributes are: visible, editable, selectable, and auto label.
The icons above each check box column represent the attributes. ToolTips display over
the attribute icons when you move your cursor over them to help familiarize yourself
with each icon. It is easy to change a layer’s, or multiple layers’, attributes using the
check boxes. You also have options available to change the Display and Label settings;
modify any thematic maps you have displayed; and reorder, add, or remove layers.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 117

Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

Manipulating Layers for Display

Layer Visibility
The visible attribute in Layer Control controls whether a layer is visible on the map.
For example, to make a layer invisible, clear the layer’s visible check box. The layer
will no longer display in the Map window. The table, however, is still open. To make
more than one layer invisible, select the layers you want. Use the Shift key to select
contiguous layers. Use the Control key to select non contiguous layers. Select the
visible check box for one of the selected layers. All the layers’ visible check boxes are
cleared. When your map re-displays, the selected layers will no longer be visible. This
feature is especially useful when you want to focus on only one or two layers of a
multi-layered map.

Reordering Layers
Map layers display in the order that they are listed in the Layer Control dialog, with
the bottom layer drawn first and the top layer (which is always the Cosmetic Layer)
drawn last. It is important to order your layers correctly.
For example, you have a layer of customer points and a layer of census tracts. If the
layers are incorrectly ordered in the Map window, MI Pro might draw the customer
points first and then display the census tract layer second. Your points would be
obscured by the census tract layer.
You can reorder how layers are displayed in a Map window two ways. You can still
use the Reorder buttons. Select the layer(s) you want to reorder and choose either the
Up or Down button to move the layer(s) to a position above or below its current
position. Another way to do it is to click on the layer and drag it to its new position.
When you click and drag a layer, the cursor changes. As you move the cursor, a
marker displays to the left of the layers indicating the layer’s new position when you
release the mouse. If you cannot move a layer to a particular position (e.g., attempting
to move a layer above the Cosmetic layer), the cursor changes to a circle with a slash
through it to let you know that you cannot move the layer to the proposed position.
You can also do this with multiple layers at a time. Since the Cosmetic layer is always
the top layer, reordering has no effect on it.
Layer order is also important when you use the Select tool. The Select tool selects
objects from the topmost Selectable layer. If you have several objects at the same
location, it is difficult to select the exact one you want. You can reorder your layers in
Layer Control so that the layer you want to select from is the new topmost layer.

118 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

Ordering Objects in a Layer

MI Pro does not allow you to control the front-to-back ordering of objects within a
single map layer. If you are editing a table, and you draw a line on top of a circle, the
line might appear in front of or behind the circle; you cannot control whether it is in
the front or the back. You can, however, control the front-to-back ordering of objects in
a Layout window.
If you need to control the ordering of objects (e.g., you need to make sure that your
lines display on top of your regions), put the different object types in separate layers.
Put your line objects in one table, and put your region objects in another table. Then
use the Layer Control dialog to order the layers.

Adding and Removing Layers

Using the multi-select functionality, it is very easy to add or remove multiple map
layers. To add more than one layer to the map at a time, click the Add button. Select
the layers you want from the list. Use the Shift key to select adjacent layers, and use
the Control key to select nonadjacent layers. Click OK. The layers are added to the
Layer list. MI Pro orders them for you automatically. Removing layers works
similarly. Select the layer(s) you want to remove and click the Remove button. The
selected layers are removed from the Layer list. Click OK in the Layer Control dialog
to redisplay the map.
Display settings for each layer are available in the Display Options dialog, discussed
in the next section.

Display Options
The Display Options dialog enables you to customize the display for each layer in a
Map window. In Layer Control, either select a layer and click on the Display button,
or double-click on the layer to bring up the Display Options dialog. There, you can
change the default styles for the layer, set the zoom at which a layer displays, and
show line direction, object nodes and centroids.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 119

Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

Display Mode
When you first open a Map window, boundaries, lines, points, and text are all
displayed using defaults in the map file. You can change how objects display by using
the Display Mode section of the Display Options dialog.

For example, you want to change the display of your streets to dashed red line. In
Layer Control choose the street layer and choose the Display button. This brings up
the Display Options dialog. Select the Style Override check box to activate the Style
Override button (large gray button). MI Pro only displays the override buttons that
are appropriate for the type of objects in the layer. For example, if the layer contains
streets, a line style override button displays. Click on it to access the Line Style dialog
where you can change the width, style, and color of the streets. If the layer contains
labels, a font style override button also displays.
For boundary layers, the Style Override button brings up the Region Style dialog
where you can change both the fill and borders of boundaries. The Symbol Style
dialog displays when you want to override the style for layers containing symbols or
points. The Style Override is only in effect during the current work session, as are the
other display settings. To make them permanent, save the table to a workspace.
For raster layers, the Style Override button brings up the Adjust Image Styles dialog.
where you can adjust the brightness, contrast, grayscale, translucency, and
transparency.

120 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

Zoom Layering
Sometimes you want a map layer to display only at certain zoom levels. Zoom Layering
controls the display of a map layer so that it displays only when the map’s zoom level
falls within a preset distance.

For example, you have a layer of streets and a layer of ZIP Code boundaries. When
you zoom out past 10 or so miles, the streets look like a black smudge in the window.
This is because the zoom (window width) is too wide to show detailed street maps.
Use Zoom Layering to tell MI Pro to display the street layer only when the zoom is set
to a distance that allows you to see the street detail properly, for instance, less than 5
miles.
The first map doesn’t have zoom layering set for its street layer. At a zoom of 15 miles
across, notice how difficult it is to see any detail. The second map has zoom layering
set to display the streets when the zoom is less than five miles. Therefore, the streets
layer does not display when the window is set at 15 miles.
To set zoom layering, select a layer in the Layer Control dialog, and choose the
Display button. The Display Options dialog displays. Click the Display within Zoom
Range box to activate the zoom distance boxes. Specify a minimum and maximum
distance within which you want the layer to display. Note that you cannot change
Display settings for more than one layer at a time. If you have more than one layer
selected, the Display, Label, and Thematic options are unavailable.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 121

Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

Different layers in the same Map window can be displayed at different zoom levels.
For example, you have a layer of streets, a layer of county boundaries, and a layer of
state boundaries. You want the streets layer to be visible only when the zoom level is
less than eight miles. You want the county boundary layer to display when the zoom
level falls between 20 miles and 200 miles. You want the states boundary layer to be
visible only when the zoom level is greater than 100 miles. You can set a different
zoom level for every layer in your Map window.
The default zoom layering mode for raster and grid images can be set from the Map
window preferences. Select the Automatic Raster Zoom Layering and Automatic Grid
Zoom Layering check boxes to activate automatic zoom layering for these images
(Options > Preferences>Map Window).

Lines, Nodes, and Centroids

The Display Options dialog also allows you to display line directions, nodes, and
object centroids. Check the Show Line Direction box whenever you want to show in
what direction line objects are drawn. For example, on a street layer, displaying line
direction helps you determine in what direction the street numbers go. Check the
Show Nodes box to display the nodes of objects in a layer. This is helpful for many
editing procedures.
The Show Centroids box displays the centroids of each object in a layer. In MI Pro, a
region’s centroid does not represent its center of mass. Instead, the centroid represents
the location used for automatic labeling, geocoding, and placement of thematic pie
and bar charts. If you edit a map in Reshape mode, you can reposition region
centroids by dragging them.

Editable and Selectable Layers

To make changes to the graphic objects in a layer, you must make the layer editable.
You can draw objects on that layer, add text, combine, or delete objects. Only one layer
per Map window can be editable at one time.
To make a layer editable, select the Editable check box that corresponds to the layer
you want to make editable in the Layer Control dialog (choose Map > Layer Control,
or click the Layer Control button in the Main toolbar). You can also control the
editability of the layer via the Status Bar at the bottom of your screen. To change the
editable layer from the Status Bar, click the Editing box to display a list of the layers

122 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

used in the Map window. Choose the layer you want to make editable. Its name
displays in the Status Bar. To deactivate editability for all the layers, choose None.
If you only want to select objects for further analysis rather than change the objects,
make the layer selectable. More than one layer can be selectable at a time. If a layer is
editable, it is automatically selectable.
To make a layer selectable, select the Selectable check box that corresponds to the
layer you want to make selectable. To make more than one layer at a time selectable,
select the layers you want, and select the Selectable check box for one of the layers. All
the selected layers are now selectable. The multi-select functionality does not work for
the Editable attribute because only one layer at a a time can be editable in a Map
window.
For example, you want to find all customers who live within a fifty mile radius of
Boston. To create this subset, the customer layer must be selectable. If the map also
includes a layer of hospitals (which you do not want to include in the radius search),
turn off the Selectable option for the hospital layer.
Keep in mind that the Editable or Selectable options only apply to the Map window
itself. You can always select objects using the Select or SQL Select commands
regardless of whether a layer is selectable.

Using the Select and Info Tools with Selectable Layers

As discussed above, the Select tool selects objects from the topmost Selectable layer.
To select an object that is not in the top Selectable layer, you can turn off the Selectable
option in Layer Control for every layer above the layer you want to select from. Using
the multi-select functionality, you can do this in just a few steps. Select the layers, and
select a Selectable check box for one of the layers. The Selectable attribute is cleared
for the selected layers. As an alternative, you can leave all layers Selectable and use
the Ctrl key in combination with the Select tool to cycle through each Selectable layer.
The Select tool is discussed further in Chapter 9, Selecting.
When you click on a map location using the Info tool where multiple map objects
overlap, the data tied to the objects each Selectable layer is displayed in the Info tool
window. If you do not want the information for all layers to display, turn off
Selectable for those layers in the Layer Control dialog. For more on the Info tool, see
the MapInfo Professional Reference.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 123

Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

You can also view an object’s label expression in an InfoTip when you use the Select,
Info, or Label tools. InfoTips work very much like ToolTips. Using one of these tools,
place your cursor over an object. An InfoTip displays the label expression for the
object in the topmost selectable layer. To set InfoTips for a particular layer, adjust the
Selectable attribute in the Layer Control dialog so that the Tips display for the layer
you want. InfoTips are active by default, but you can turn them off in the Map
window preferences (Options>Preferences>Map window).

The Cosmetic Layer

Every Map window in MI Pro has a Cosmetic Layer. Think of the Cosmetic Layer as
the blank transparency that lies on top of the other map layers (transparencies). It can
store map titles and other graphic objects you create during a work session. The
Cosmetic Layer is always the top layer of the map. You cannot remove the Cosmetic
Layer, nor reorder it.

Working with the Cosmetic Layer

You can only make the Cosmetic Layer editable or selectable. Other Layer Control
options (labeling, zoom layering, display mode) are not available for the Cosmetic
Layer. To select fill patterns, line types, symbols, and text font for the Cosmetic Layer,
use the Line Style, Region Style, Symbol Style and Text Style commands from the
Options menu. If the Cosmetic Layer is editable, you can access the style options from
the Drawing Toolbar.
The contents of the Cosmetic Layer are linked proportionally to the map. Map objects
(except for symbols) and text in the Cosmetic Layer are proportionally linked to the
zoom level of the map. If you draw objects in the Cosmetic Layer and then change the
map’s zoom from 30 to 100 miles, the size of the objects will appear smaller.

124 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

Removing Cosmetic Objects

To clear objects from the Cosmetic Layer, choose Map > Clear Cosmetic Layer.

Saving Cosmetic Objects

The objects in the Cosmetic Layer are not automatically saved when you close a Map
window.
If you want to save objects drawn on the Cosmetic Layer, you must either save the
table to a workspace or to a table. If you close the table without saving the Cosmetic
objects first, MI Pro displays the Save Workspace Objects dialog and prompts you to
do so. You can turn this prompt off in Map Window Preferences.
You can also save the contents of the Cosmetic Layer to a table. Choose Map > Save
Cosmetic Objects. You can either transfer the objects in the Cosmetic Layer to an
existing layer on the map, or create a new layer. For more information on creating new
layers, see New Table in the MapInfo Professional Reference.

Labeling Objects
The auto label attribute in Layer Control is, by default, cleared for map layers. To
activate auto labels, simply select the check box for the layer you want to label. When
you return to your Map window, the map will be labeled automatically.
Even if you choose not to label your map, you can still see the value of an object’s
label expression using InfoTips.
If you prefer, you can label individual objects interactively using the Label tool from
the Main toolbar. When you click on the Label tool, the cursor becomes a cross hair.
Click wherever you want a label. MI Pro labels the location with information from the
layer. If more than one layer is at that location, MI Pro will label with the information
from the topmost layer.
Whether you choose to label objects automatically or with the Label tool, you control
the display, content, position, and style of the labels within Layer Control in the Label
Options dialog. For a complete explanation of labeling and the different options
available, see Chapter 15, Labeling Your Map.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 125

Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

Seamless Map Layers

Use or create a seamless map layer to treat a group of base tables as if they were one.
A seamless layer allows you to change display attributes, apply or change labeling or
use the Layer control dialog for an entire group of tables at once. You can also retrieve
information using the Info tool, and select or browse any one of the layer’s base
tables. A base table can be any regular MI Pro table. Grid layers cannot be made
seamless.
This feature is especially useful when you want to display a vector or raster backdrop
for your maps such as joining street or boundary maps. For example, you may have a
seamless layer of county boundaries made up of several individual county tables.

Opening a Seamless Map Layer

MI Pro includes sample seamless maps or you can create your own. We’ll display a
sample seamless map:
1. Choose File>Open.
2. From the mapinfo\data\USA\DC\seamless directory, choose Dcwater.
The following seamless map layer of water areas in Washington DC displays.

Notice at first glance that the seamless layer looks like any other MI Pro table.
However, the Dcmetrow seamless map layer is made up of the following base tables:
• vaarliw.tabArlington Virginia water areas.
• vaalexw.tabAlexandria Virginia water ares.
• dcwashw.tabWashington DC water areas.

126 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

The structure of each seamless layer includes the path name of each base table plus a
description that defaults to the table name (alias). To view the table structure, turn the
seamless layer off and display the seamless table in a browser. Refer to Turning the
Seamless Layer On and Off.
Other sample seamless tables include dc_water and are in the mapinfo\data\USA\
seamless directory.

Characteristics of a Seamless Layer

Since a seamless layer is actually made up of several base tables, MI Pro does treat it a
little differently than a regular MI Pro table. You can use the following MI Pro features
with a seamless map layer:
• Layer Control. Use any of the functions except Thematic Mapping from the
Layer control dialog on your seamless layer. Add, Remove, or Reorder layers
or set Display, Zoom Layering or Label options for the seamless layer (all base
tables) at one time. However, you cannot make a seamless layer editable.
• Info Tool. Retrieve information about a particular object in a base table.
• Select Tools. Select objects from the seamless layer. You can only select a
group of objects if they reside in the same base table. Press the Shift key while
clicking the Select Tool to do so. If you attempt to select several objects that
reside in different base tables, MI Pro will only select objects in one base table.
If you use the Marquee or Radius select tools and the selected area spreads
across two different base tables, MI Pro selects the table in either the center of
the circle or polygon.
• Browse Table. Display a Browser window of a particular seamless table. You
will be prompted to select a base table.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 127

Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

Experimenting with a Seamless Layer

With the Dcwater seamless layer displayed, click the Layer Control button. The Layer
Control dialog displays.

Notice the seamless layer is referred to by one name, dcwater, in the Layer Control
dialog. You can add, remove or reorder seamless layers as if they were a conventional
MI Pro layer. You can also set Label and Display options for all the tables in the
seamless layer as if they were one table. Notice the editable option for the seamless
layer is grayed.
Choose your seamless layer and experiment with order, display and labeling options.
To retrieve information from a seamless layer:
1. From the Main Toolbar, click the Info tool.
2. Click on the object for which you want information.
The Info Tool Window displays. It contains the information about the object
you selected including the name of the base table in which it is stored.

128 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

To browse the seamless layer:

1. Choose Window > New Browser Window. The Browse Table dialog displays.

Select a layer. The Select Base Table Dialog displays.

2. Type the name of the base table you want to browse. We typed XX an
unknown table.
A Browser window with the base table you selected displays. If a base table
matching your description is not found, a list of possibilities displays. Keep in
mind, base tables are treated like any other MI Pro tables. Once a base table
from a seamless table is browsed, it will be opened as any other regular MI
Pro table.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 129

Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

Specifying Search Paths

You can set search paths that MI Pro will use to look for the component tables of a
seamless layer. Choose Options > Preferences and click the Directories button. The
Directory Preferences dialog displays. In the Search Directories for Tables group, click
Add. Specify a drive and directory in the Choose Directory dialog and click OK. You
can set up to four paths. Use the Up and Down keys to change the search order. Use
the Add and Remove buttons to add or remove paths from the list.

Turning Seamless Layers On and Off

If you need to edit the structure of your seamless layer, you’ll need to turn your
seamless layer off. To turn your seamless layer off:
1. Choose Options > Show MapBasic Window.
The MapBasic Window displays.
2. Type: set table tablename seamless off
MI Pro turns off the seamless layer. Display the table in a browser to view or
edit its table structure. Use the Seamless Table Manager to add or create
seamless tables.
To turn the seamless layer on:
1. Choose Options > Show MapBasic Window. The MapBasic Window displays.
2. Type: set table tablename seamless on
MI Pro turns the seamless layer on again.

Creating/Compiling a Seamless Layer

To create your own seamless layer, run the Seamless Table Manager. Your seamless
layer will be most useful if you use homogeneous tables that ideally have the same
projection and the same number of columns. For example, you may want your
seamless layer to contain several counties, each stored in a separate base table, or an
interstate highway that runs between several states, each stored in a separate base
table. If your tables are not homogeneous, maps and labels will not display correctly
and map items will not be selectable. Grid tables cannot be made seamless.
To use the Seamless Manager:
1. Tools > Tool Manager.
2. Check the Loaded box next to the Seamless Table Manager tool.
3. Click OK. The Seamless Table Manager tool is added to the Tools menu.
The Seamless Manager will prompt you for information and create your
seamless layer.

130 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 7: Mapping in Layers

Thematic and Raster Layers

When you create a thematic map in MI Pro, it is a layer just like any other. It is
identified in Layer Control by its theme, for instance “State by Population” or
“Customers by Sales.” You can turn the thematic layer display on or off and modify it
directly through the Layer Control dialog rather than going to Map > Modify
Thematic Map.
For more information about creating and modifying thematic maps, see Chapter 11,
Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze Your Data.
Raster images are also layers in MI Pro. They appear in the Layer Control dialog just
like any other layer. The display style of raster images can now be changed on a per-
layer basis within the Layer Control dialog. Highlight the raster layer in the Layer list
and click the Display button. In the Display Options dialog, select the Style Override
check box and click the Style button. The Adjust Image Styles dialog displays, where
you can make changes to the transparency, brightness, contrast, and translucency
settings.
For more information about working with raster images, see Chapter 19, Displaying
Raster Images.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 131

 8
Chapter 8: Geocoding
Geocoding
In all likelihood, you have data records that you
want to display in MapInfo Professional®. After Chapter
all, that is one of the main reasons for this
program — to see how your data is distributed
geographically so that you can make better ➤ Geocoding: Assigning
decisions about your business.
Coordinates to Your
Records
Before you can view your data on a map, you
must first assign geographic coordinates to
➤ Geocoding Methods
each record so MI Pro knows where to spot the ➤ General Procedures for
record on the map. This process is known as Geocoding
geocoding. ➤ Approaching the 100% Hit
Rate
➤ Using Result Codes
➤ Manual Geocoding
➤ Displaying Your Data on a
Map
➤ Locating Data on the Map
➤ Creating Points
➤ Dispersing Points
➤ Creating Points for
Intersections
➤ Extracting Longitude and
Latitude from a Geocoded
Table
➤ Point Blank Guide to
Geocoding
➤ Ungeocoding a Table or
Selected Records
Chapter 8: Geocoding

Geocoding: Assigning Coordinates to Your Records

To display your data records on a map, you must first assign X and Y coordinates to
each record. MI Pro assigns these coordinates by matching geographic information in
your database table to geographic information in another table (referred to as a search
table) that already has X and Y coordinates associated with it.

For example, you want to assign X and Y coordinates to a customer record whose
address is 127 Winston Ave. MI Pro reads that address and looks for a matching
address in the search table, such as a StreetPro table. (This search table already has X
and Y coordinates associated with its records.)
When MI Pro matches 127 Winston Ave in your table to 127 Winston Ave in the search
table, it assigns the corresponding X and Y coordinates to your record. The geocoded
point becomes part of your database. You can then view these points by displaying
your table in a Map window.

134 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 8: Geocoding

Geocoding Methods
Now let’s look at the variety of ways you can geocode your table.

Geocoding by Address
When you geocode your table with street addresses, MI Pro matches the addresses in
your table to the street names and address ranges in a StreetPro table (which is sold by
MI Pro) and assigns X and Y coordinates to your records. When you display your
records, MI Pro will spot the record at the location of the record’s address. MI Pro
places the record on the proper side of the street, offsets it from the side of the street to
the specified distance, and insets it from the end of the street the specified percentage
of the line.

Geocoding by Boundary
In desktop mapping, the term boundary is used to designate enclosed regions or areas
such as countries, cities, and ZIP Codes. When you geocode your table with
boundaries, MI Pro matches the boundary name in your table with the boundary
name in the search table. MI Pro assigns the boundary centroid X and Y coordinates to
your data records. The centroid of a boundary is its approximate center point.
For example, you have a table of wholesale outlet stores. You want to assign X and Y
coordinates to each record according to county. MI Pro reads the county name from
your table, matches it with the county name in the search table, and assigns the
county centroid coordinates to each of your records. The outlet locations will display
at the county centroid in a Map window.

Geocoding by US_ZIPS.TAB (ZIP Code Centroid File)

US_ZIPS.TAB is a point file that is included with the base MI Pro package. The file
consists of ZIP Code centroid points for every ZIP Code in the United States. This file
can be used to geocode any database that includes ZIP Code information.
You can use any of the above methods to geocode your records, or you can use a
combination of address and boundary geocoding to increase the potential for a
successful match.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 135

Chapter 8: Geocoding

Three Questions to Ask Before Geocoding

It is important to know your data and what you want to use it for before you select a
method of geocoding. Ask yourself these questions:
What kind of geographic information do I have in my database?
Do you have street addresses, towns, cities, ZIP Codes, states, countries? Do you have
potentially ambiguous information? For example, if you have a database of customer
street addresses, will you have 125 Main Street in Smithtown and a 125 Main Street in
Nassau? If so, you may have to refine your search using town boundaries or ZIP
Codes.
What kind of maps do I have to work with?
You will need computerized maps that are at the level of detail that match your data.
For example, if you want to geocode a database of customers in specific counties by
street address, you will need maps of the desired counties that go to street level. A
map of the United States that only goes to a county level would not work for you. You
can purchase the appropriate maps for your geocoding application from MI Pro or
your reseller.
How geographically accurate does the placement of my data have to be?
Taking into account the first two questions, you must decide how accurate the
geocoding must be. If you are trying to pinpoint the locations of cable wires, crime
scenes, or fire hydrants, a high degree of accuracy is needed. In this case, you should
geocode your data to street level.
If, however, you are going to use your data to thematically shade ZIP Code
boundaries, town boundaries, county boundaries, state boundaries, or country
boundaries, you do not need a high degree of accuracy. Therefore, geocoding against
boundary files such as USZIPBDY is fine. The USZIPBDY.TAB file is also included.
Since this file does not include point ZIP codes (ZIP codes assigned to a single
building or company), the hit rate may not be as good. Geocoding with US_ZIPS.TAB
is generally preferable.

136 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 8: Geocoding

General Procedures for Geocoding

To assign X and Y coordinates to the records in your table, choose Geocode from the
Table menu. MI Pro displays the Geocode dialog, where you enter the following
information:
• The name of your table for which you want to assign X and Y coordinates.
• The column in your table that contains the geographic information that will be
used for matching.
• The name of the search table containing the geographic information that will
be used for matching.
• The search table column containing the geographic information for matching:

The dialog also offers you the option of geocoding your data automatically or
interactively. When you geocode a table automatically, MI Pro geocodes exact matches
only and ignores all other records. It is the faster method, since MI Pro requires no
user interaction once the geocoding process begins. When you geocode a table
interactively, MI Pro pauses when it fails to match a record and lets you select from a
list of close matches.
We recommend that you geocode your table automatically first and then go back and
geocode interactively to match the remaining records.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 137

Chapter 8: Geocoding

Placement of Geocoded Points

When you are geocoding to street level (by address), you can specify certain aspects of
the resulting points’ position in relationship to the street. You can specify the offset of
the point from the side of the street, and the inset of the point from the end of the
street.

Street Offset
The street offset is the distance the geocoded point is set from the side of the street. To
set this distance:
1. Choose Table>Geocode. The Geocode dialog displays. Fill in the table and
column information for the dialog.
2. Click the Options button. The Geocode Options dialog displays.

3. In the Offset Address Location group, specify a distance and distance unit. If
you choose 12 meters, the point will be offset 12 meters back from the side of
the street. You can specify any distance from 0–32,767.
4. At this point, you can specify a street inset, or click OK to return to the
Geocode dialog.

138 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 8: Geocoding

Street Inset
The street inset is the distance a geocoded point is set from the end of the street. You
can specify a distance, or you can set the inset to be a percentage of the length of the
street. To avoid skewing the position of inset points, MI Pro performs a proportional
calculation that insets the points located at either end of the street the specified
percentage or distance, but that decreases the inset as point locations approach the
center. Points located at the center of the street remain in their original position. To set
the street inset:
1. With the Geocode Options dialog still open, choose how you want to specify
the street inset in the Inset Address Location group: as a percentage of the
length of the street, or as a distance. Click the radio button next to the option
you want.
2. Specify one of the following:
Percentage–Specify a percentage to calculate the street inset. The percentage
can be from 0–50.
Distance–Specify a distance and distance unit. You can specify any distance
from 0–32,767.
3. Click OK to return to the Geocode dialog. Double-check your geocoding
settings, and click OK to geocode the table.
MI Pro uses the last inset and offset settings you specified as the default settings for
your next session.
If you specify a street offset of a given distance and set the street inset to zero, you
may get unexpected, albeit correct, display results. Points located at the end of
adjoining or intersecting streets might overlap each other. On your screen, they will
look like they are located on the wrong street. If you specify a street inset, the problem
will correct itself.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 139

Chapter 8: Geocoding

Approaching the 100% Hit Rate

MI Pro can rarely assign X and Y coordinates to all of your records on the first try,
especially when geocoding to street level. It is not uncommon to have a geocoding hit
rate of under 50% on your first attempt. The information in your database may not
exactly match the information in the search table. MI Pro-based maps are updated
regularly, but may not include the most recent changes (for example, new
subdivisions or ZIP Code boundaries).
And there can be other problems. The abbreviations that you use in your table may
not match the abbreviations that MI Pro recognizes. For example, the records in your
table may use abbreviations like Circ. for Circle and Pl. for Plaza. MI Pro only
recognizes Circle or Cir for Circle and Plaza or Plz for Plaza. When it cannot match an
abbreviation, it does not geocode the record.
That is why MI Pro gives you the option of geocoding your database interactively.
There are a number of methods for geocoding records that don’t have an exact match.
The following is a list of potential geocoding pitfalls and how to avoid or rectify them.

Spelling Errors in Your Data Records

Keep in mind that MI Pro looks for exact matches. If the information in your database
does not exactly match the information in the search table, MI Pro ignores that record
during an automatic geocoding pass. Lasalle St and La Salle St are not exact matches
nor are Main St and Maine St.
If you go through the geocoding process again using the interactive mode, MI Pro will
give you a list of close alternatives. Choose the closest match by scrolling through the
list with the Up and Down buttons. You can also choose Ignore if the correct
alternative is not listed.
MI Pro generates its list of close alternatives alphabetically. For example, if MI Pro
cannot find Booker St in its database, it will generate a list of alternatives that are close
to Booker St alphabetically (Bookman St, Brooker Ave, Brooks St). However, if the
spelling error occurs in the first letter of the address (Booker St should really be
Zooker St), you will either have to use the Up and Down keys to scroll to the correct
spelling or enter the correct spelling directly.

140 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 8: Geocoding

Incorrect Address Number in Your Data Records

If your record has an address number that does not match the one in the table you are
matching against, MI Pro skips the address during automatic geocoding and gives
you a list of known address ranges during interactive geocoding. Select the closest
address range from the list or press Ignore to skip the record. Depending on the
precision with which you want your records to spot on the map, choosing a close
address range is probably fine.
You can also have MI Pro select the closest address from the list automatically. Select
Options in the Geocode dialog. MI Pro gives you the option of assigning the closest
address number when an exact match cannot be found.
Choosing the closest address does not change the address in your table. MI Pro only
uses the coordinates from that address to spot your record at that location.

Incompatible Abbreviations
If you geocode automatically and find that you have an extremely low hit rate, your
database of street addresses may use abbreviations that MI Pro does not recognize.
For example, all of your records might use Str as the abbreviation for Street. MI Pro,
on the other hand, uses the abbreviation St for Street. Another example: Your database
contains addresses that spell out the street numbers (127 Fourteenth St) while MI
Pro’s table uses the numbers (127 14th St).
Instead of editing all your records, a potentially time-consuming task, you can change
which abbreviations are recognized. There is an abbreviation file (mapinfow.abb) that
you can modify so that MI Pro will recognize your abbreviations. For more, see the
Advanced Geocoding appendix.

Ambiguous Address Produces More Than One Location

Sometimes your table may contain records that have the same address, but lie in
different towns. If you only geocode by street address, MI Pro cannot differentiate
among the records to give each one unique coordinates.
To solve this problem, MI Pro allows you to geocode against a boundary in addition to
the street address to find the correct match.
For example, you want to geocode your database of records in Cook County, Illinois.
One address in the database reads 200 Washington St. Within the county of Cook,
there are eight towns. Four of these towns have a Washington St. Three of the four
towns have a 200 Washington St.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 141

Chapter 8: Geocoding

By telling MI Pro to search against the street table and a boundary table, there is a
much better chance of finding a correct match. MI Pro can then differentiate between
200 Washington St in Chicago and 200 Washington St in Urbana.
To refine a search, select the column in your table that contains boundary information
(TOWN, CITY, ZIPCODE). Next, select a MI Pro table that also contains that
boundary information you need. If you purchased your county street map from MI
Pro, two of the files included are filenames.tab (where filename is the state and county
abbreviation), which contains the street information, and filenamemc.tab, which
contains the town boundaries (minor civil divisions) for that county and
filenamecb.tab (city boundaries). Use these files to refine your search.
When refining your search, it is sometimes better to use ZIP Codes rather than town
boundaries. Town boundaries tend to fluctuate more than ZIP Code boundaries.
Furthermore, town boundaries are subject to regional interpretation.
If refining the search with a boundary is still not enough, you can tell MapInfo
Professional to search in additional boundaries for the match. Choose the Options
button in the Geocode dialog to bring up the Geocoding Options dialog. Select the
item that is labeled Use a match found in a different boundary.
Note: Keep in mind that even though ZIP Codes are more effective for geocoding
than town boundaries, you cannot use the US_ZIPS.TAB file that comes
with MI Pro for refining your search because it is a point file. Searches can
only be refined using boundaries. Use USZIPBDY.TAB for this purpose.

142 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 8: Geocoding

A Note on Interactive Geocoding

When you geocode interactively and select any of the preceding options, you are not
changing the data record. You are merely redirecting MI Pro to look for different
information.
For example, your data record reads Cherryville St. When you geocode interactively,
you find that the data record should read Cherry Vale St. You select Cherry Vale St
from the list of alternatives. Although MI Pro assigns X and Y coordinates from
Cherry Vale St to that record, you have not altered the record in any way. To change
the spelling in your database, you must edit the record in a Browser window.

Using Result Codes

You can also create a field into which MI Pro writes a result code for each record in
your geocoded table. A result code is a number indicating what steps MI Pro took to
match the record or why the match failed. You can use these result codes to search for
different types of geocoding problems. For more information on result codes, see the
Advanced Geocoding appendix.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 143

Chapter 8: Geocoding

Manual Geocoding
Automatic and interactive geocoding work well for records that have easy matches.
Sometimes, however, you know where a point should be on the map, but the location
data does not allow for a match. Manual geocoding is the process of placing your data
records on the map by clicking its location on the map. Use the following steps to
connect a browser record with a location on the map:
1. Open the table with the reference map in it.
2. Open your table and add it to the current Map window.
3. Choose Map > Layer Control. Select your table and make that layer editable.
Click OK.
4. Choose Window > New Browser Window. Select the table to geocode.
5. Choose Window > Tile Windows. You will now see the Map and Browser
windows displayed side by side.

6. Scroll through the Browser to find the record that you would like to geocode.
Click in the box to the left of the row to select the record.
7. Click in the title bar of the Map window. The Symbol tool on the Drawing
Toolbar is now available.
8. Select the Symbol tool.
9. Click on the map where you want the point placed for the selected record.
10. Choose File > Save. The selected record is now geocoded. Repeat steps 6–10
for each record you would like to manually geocode.

144 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 8: Geocoding

Displaying Your Data on a Map

Once you have assigned X and Y coordinates to your records, you are ready to display
these points on a map. Choose Window > New Map Window to open a new window
with the table displayed or choose Map > Layer Control > Add to add the table to an
existing Map window.
The geocoding operation permanently changes the table to include these new graphic
objects. You do not need to save these objects again unless you make subsequent
changes to them.
To change the point symbols, choose Layer Control, highlight the layer, and choose
Display. Click on the Style Override box to make the Style button active. Click on the
Style button to bring up the Symbol Style dialog. Choose a new symbol or change the
size and color of the existing symbol. Click OK twice to go back to the Map window.
The layer redraws with the new symbol. Keep in mind this change only affects the
work session. Changing the style through Layer Control does not affect the table, only
the displayed layer.
To change the symbol style permanently, make the layer editable and select all the
points in the layer (Query > Select, that satisfy obj). Choose Options > Symbol Style.
Make the appropriate changes. When you are through, choose File > Save Table.

Locating Data on the Map

Once you have assigned X and Y coordinates to your data records and displayed them
on a map, you can use the Find command (Query>Find) to locate individual records
or objects.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 145

Chapter 8: Geocoding

MI Pro shows the closest match when you type in a

few characters and click OK.

The Find dialog is very similar to the Geocode dialog. You can specify a table to
search, a column to search, and an optional refining boundary column. Additional
options provide the same options as in the Geocode Options dialog: offset and inset of
address locations and fallback settings that give you more choices when an exact
match cannot be found. As in the Geocode Options dialog, MI Pro remembers your
Find Options settings and uses them as the default for your next session. If you have
multiple windows open, select the Find in Front Window Only prompt to search in
the front window
Once you have filled in the dialog, MI Pro prompts you to enter the object’s name (or
geographic location) in a second dialog. MI Pro searches the table, highlights the
found record in a Browser window, locates the object on the map, and marks it with a
symbol as specified in the dialog.
You can use the Find command only on an indexed field in a table. For more
information on indexed fields, see Table Structure in the MapInfo Professional
Reference. For more information on the Find command, see Find in the MapInfo
Professional Reference.

146 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 8: Geocoding

Creating Points
You may have a file that contains X and Y coordinates that you want to display in MI
Pro. While the geographic information exists in the table, no points have been created
so you cannot display the table in a Map window. The Create Points command under
the Table menu allows you to create points for each record in your database that has
X-Y or longitude/latitude coordinate information.
MI Pro uses the coordinate fields in your table to create point objects. Records that
already have graphic objects associated with them will be skipped during the Create
Points operation.
For example, you have a table showing transmitter tower locations that was created
by recording coordinates using a global positioning system. You want to display the
locations on a map in MI Pro. The table already has X and Y coordinate information. It
cannot display in a Map window, however, until you create points for the file that MI
Pro can read.

To create points:
1. Open the table for which you want to create points.
2. Choose Table>Create Points. The Create Points dialog displays.
3. Choose the appropriate table from the drop-down list. In the Get X and Y
coordinate information lists, the lists default to XCOORD and YCOORD.
4. The Multiply X and Y coordinates allows the user to place a multiplier on the
coordinate columns if necessary. If you want to specify a projection other than
longitude/latitude or the default Table Projection preference, choose
projection. In some cases you will need to specify a negative multiplier
depending on the locations quadrant. For locations in North America the X
coordinate is negative. In Africa and Australia, the Y coordinate is negative.
For locations in and around South America both coordinates are negative.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 147

Chapter 8: Geocoding

5. Click OK. MI Pro updates the table to create point objects.

6. To display the table, choose Window > New Map Window, or choose
Map>Layer Control>Add to add the table to an existing map.
For more information on creating points, see Create Points in the MapInfo
Professional Reference.

Creating Points from an Excel or Lotus Table

To create points for an Excel or Lotus table:
1. Choose File > Open.
2. In the Files of type drop-down list, choose the type of table that you want to
open, Excel or Lotus. Click Open.
3. A dialog displays. Specify the portion of the worksheet you wish to access.
You may use a named range or choose Other from the drop-down list and
specify the rows and columns to include.
4. If your worksheet uses the first row for column names, select the Use Row
Above box. Click OK. Remember to use the drop-down box to modify the
range accordingly, such as "Al" to "AZ".
5. You now have a browser view of your worksheet in MI Pro. This table is
currently a read-only table and cannot be edited in MI Pro.
6. Next, make sure that your coordinate information is in decimal degrees (if
longitude.latitude) and not in degrees, minutes, seconds. If your coordinates
are in degrees, minutes, seconds format, go to the Degree Converter section
later in this chapter. If it is a different coordinate system, it must be in numeric
columns.

148 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 8: Geocoding

7. Check your table structure to ensure that your coordinate columns are
numeric. Many times, numeric columns containing coordinate information
are brought in as character columns because the first row is used as a header.
Choose Table > Maintenance > Table Structure. The Modify Table Structure
dialog displays listing each field name and type. If the coordinate fields are
decimal, integer or float, click OK and go to step 13. If your coordinate fields
are listed as character, follow steps 8–11.
8. Choose File > Save Copy As. Give your table a new name, e.g., Samples2.tab.
Click Save. A copy of your worksheet is saved.
9. Choose File > Close and close the worksheet that was opened.
10. Choose File > Open. Choose the new table that you saved, e.g., Samples2.tab.
Click Open. An editable copy of your original worksheet displays.
11. Choose Table > Maintenance > Table Structure. The Modify Table Structure
dialog displays. Select your coordinate columns and change the type to Float.
Click OK.
12. You will be asked to verify the changes. Click OK. Your browser closes,
indicating that the changes have been made.
13. Next, determine whether your points are in longitude/latitude or in another
projection. Follow the instructions in the next section for each of these cases. If
you are unsure of what projection your coordinates are in, contact the source
of the data.

Creating Points, Longitude/Latitude

If your point information is in longitude/latitude, do the following:
1. Examine the browser for your data to determine which columns contain the
latitude coordinate (Y), and the longitude coordinate (X).

2. Determine the multiplier for the X and Y columns based on the quadrant of
the Earth in which the points fall. For example, if the points are expected to
fall in Kansas, the X value is expected to be between -102 and -94. In the above
browser, the data for X (Lon) is close to +98. The multiplier should be -1 to
create the points correctly. The Y (Lat) values are in the correct range and
require a multiplier of +1 ( +1 will not change the value).
3. Choose Table > Create Points.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 149

Chapter 8: Geocoding

The Create Points dialog displays.

4. Insert the proper values in the Get X coordinates, Get Y Coordinates boxes,
and the Multiply X and Multiply Y boxes. Click OK.

Creating Points in a Projection

To create points using a projection, do the following:
1. Examine the browser for your data to determine which columns contain the
latitude (Y) and longitude (X) coordinates. In the example below, the easting
(x) and northing (y) values are in US State Plane Coordinate System (1927)
Mass Mainland Zone.

2. Choose Table > Create Points.

150 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 8: Geocoding

The Create Points dialog displays.

3. Click on the Projection button and choose the projection category and
member.
Click OK.

Degree Converter
The Degree Converter tool is part of the toolset that ships with MI Pro. It converts
coordinate information to decimal degrees from a degrees, minutes, seconds format. It
can also convert the columns back to degrees, minutes, seconds from decimal degrees.
Before using this program, make sure that you have two new columns available to
hold the converted data. You can also use the Degree Converter to convert a single
Latitude/Longitude coordinate to either decimal degrees or d/m/s.
To load the Degree Converter from the Tool Manager, choose Tools>Tool Manager and
select the Loaded check box next to the name of the program. Degree Converter will
be added to the Tools menu for your current session of MI Pro. To have the tool load
automatically each time you open MI Pro, select the Autoload check box.
You can also run this program with the Run MapBasic Program command, as well as
any of the other tools in the Tool Manager.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 151

Chapter 8: Geocoding

Choose Tools>Run MapBasic Program, as shown below. Select dmscnvrt.mbx from

the Tools directory, and click OK. The Degree Converter tool is added to the Tools
menu.

To use Degree Converter:

1. Choose Tools >Degree Converter.
2. Choose Tools > Degree Converter > Convert Column to Decimal Degrees. The
Convert DMS to Decimal Degrees dialog displays. Select the table containing
the columns for conversion. Choose one of the columns containing the
coordinate information. You will have to run the program once for the
longitude (X) column and once for the latitude (Y) column.

3. Enter the DMS Separator. You should be able to look at your table and
identify the character separating the degrees, minutes, and seconds.

152 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 8: Geocoding

4. Choose the column for the converted results. This must be a decimal or float
field. Click OK.
5. Browse your table to see the new column of coordinate information in
decimal degrees. Repeat this procedure for your other coordinate column.
You are now ready to use the Table > Create Points command.
Note: The Degree Converter may also be used to convert decimal degrees back to
degrees, minutes, seconds. Use this functionality if you must return the
data to its original format.

Dispersing Points
Depending on how you have geocoded your table, you may have several points that
are placed at the same location, making it difficult to tell if you are viewing one point
or many. For example, if you geocode a table of students by census tract, and view the
results on your map, it appears that there is one dot at the center of each tract when
there actually may be several there. To see all of your data, you may want to disperse
the points over a small area. There are three methods for dispersing points: the
Disperse Points tool (a utility that comes with MI Pro), equal dispersion, and
dispersion to the right.

Disperse Points Tool

The Disperse Points tool is a MapBasic program that ships with MI Pro. The program
disperses points located at the same position. There are two methods for dispersing
the points: systematically or randomly. Disperse Points is loaded from the Tool
Manager:
1. Choose Tools>Tool Manager. The Tool Manager dialog displays.
2. Select the Loaded check box next to the Disperse Points tool, and click OK.
The Disperse Points tool is added to the Tools menu.
To use Disperse Points:
1. Choose Tools > Disperse > Disperse Points. A dialog displays showing your
tables. Choose the table containing the points to be dispersed. Click OK.
2. A warning displays suggesting that you save a copy of the table if you have
not already done so. If you are working with a copy of the original table, click
Continue.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 153

Chapter 8: Geocoding

3. Choose the appropriate method for dispersing points and click OK. Each
method is described below:

Systematically Points are dispersed roughly one symbol width

N,S,E,W,NE,SW,NW,SE: away from the original point in eight possible
directions.

Systematically “Around The Points are dispersed roughly one symbol width
Clock” away in a clockwise fashion.

Randomly Points are clustered around the original loca-

tion in a random pattern. In this case, the
points can end up overlapping each other.
Randomly with Call Out Lines Random dispersion with a callout line to
indicate the original location of the point.

4. The Zoom Level dialog displays. Enter the zoom level at which you will
typically view the table. This is so the dispersal distance can be customized to
that particular zoom level. Click OK.
Note: The program works slightly faster if you do not display the table you are
dispersing.

Warning This program permanently changes the table. Save a copy of the table
before running this program.

Equal Dispersion
The equal dispersion method disperses points at equal distances from the center.
1. First, select all of the points that have the same location. This can be done with
either the Radius Search Select tool or the Marquee Select tool.
2. Choose Options >Show MapBasic Window to open the MapBasic window.
3. Click so that your cursor is in the MapBasic window. Type RANDOMIZE and
press Enter.
4. Type UPDATE SELECTION SET OBJ = CREATEPOINT(CENTROIDX(OBJ) +
(0.01)/(COS(CENTROIDY(OBJ) * .01745)))*(RND(1) - .5), CENTROIDY(OBJ)
+ 0.01*(RND(1) - .5)) and press Enter.

Dispersion to the Right

The dispersion to the right method disperses points to the right of the point.
1. First, select all of the points that have the same location. This can be done with
either the Radius Search Select tool or the Marquee Select tool.
2. Choose Options > Show MapBasic Window to open the MapBasic window.

154 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 8: Geocoding

3. Click so that your cursor is in the MapBasic window. Type RANDOMIZE and
press Enter.
4. Type UPDATE SELECTION SET OBJ = CREATEPOINT(CENTROIDX(OBJ) +
0.01 * RND(1), CENTROIDY(OBJ)) and press Enter.
The table will be automatically updated. If the new Map window has not distributed
the points satisfactorily, click on the title bar of the Map window choose Edit > Undo
to restore the objects to their original positions.
To disperse points for the entire table, substitute your tablename in the above
examples wherever it says SELECTION.
Note: The dispersal weight, in the equation of the update statement above, is a
number that regulates the object’s new X and Y coordinates. In the above
example, the dispersal weight is 0.01 degrees (longitude and latitude). The
maximum X or Y distance (in miles) that the point is dispersed is equal to
(69 * the dispersal weight). The dispersal weight is adjustable — the larger
the weight, the greater the dispersal distance. In the example above, the
dispersal weight is about right for dispersing points on a county-wide or
state-wide basis, but not for a street-level dispersal. If you find that your
objects are not being dispersed enough or are dispersed too much, increase
or decrease the weight.

Creating Points for Intersections

Many people working with street files are often interested in information that is
located at intersections. For some, their only concern is the intersections. In MI Pro
you can geocode to intersections in your street file with the Table > Geocode
command, but it would be easier to work with a table that contained only
intersections. For example, a municipality is interested in tracking the types of traffic
control devices at each street intersection. It would be beneficial for them to make an
entire layer that contains the intersection of every street.
To create points for every intersection in your table, do the following:
1. Choose File > Open and open your street file.
2. Make two copies of the street file and give each copy a new name. Choose File
> Save Copy As and save your table under a new name. Repeat this step and
save the file under another name.
3. Choose File > Open and open the two files that you created.
4. Choose Query > SQL Select. Fill in the following SQL Select statement. This
query matches the two street files against each other where the streets
intersect and are not the same named street.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 155

Chapter 8: Geocoding

5. Choose File > Save Copy As and save the resulting table.
6. Open the newest table and ungeocode it. Choose Table > Maintenance > Table
Structure and clear the Table Is Mappable box.
7. Then geocode the unmapped table to one of the copies of the street file.
Note: You may have duplicate points at the same location if a street intersects
another street of the same name more than once.

Extracting Longitude and Latitude from a Geocoded Table

To extract the longitude and latitude coordinates from a geocoded table, you can
either create a new table containing the latitude and longitude for each of the points in
your original table, or use the update command to put the longitude and latitude into
the original table. The original table must be geocoded for these processes to function
correctly.

Extracting Latitude and Longitude into a New Table

In this example we will create a new table, called CUSCOORD, that contains the
latitude and longitude for each of the points in the original table, Customer.
1. Choose File > Open and open the table as a Browser.
2. Choose Query > SQL Select and fill in the dialog as shown below.

156 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 8: Geocoding

Note: Any columns from the CUSTOMER table that you would like to appear in
the CUSCOORD table should be listed in the Select Columns box; then add
the centroidX(obj) and centroidY(obj) functions to this list.
3. Click OK to execute the query.
4. Choose File > Save Copy As and save the resulting CUSCOORD table.
Original Table:

Resulting Table:

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 157

Chapter 8: Geocoding

Extracting Latitude and Longitude into the Original Table

The following process will let you update your original table with the latitude and
longitude coordinates.
1. Under Table >Maintenance >Table Structure add two new columns to your
table. Choose Add Field and name the columns. They should be defined as
decimal (13,6). For this example, the columns are called Xcoord and Ycoord.

2. After adding the columns, click OK. When you return to your main MI Pro
window, the file will not be displayed. To redisplay your table, choose
Window > New Browser Window.
3. Next, choose Table > Update Column. Specify your table and your column to
update. In the example below, we are updating the Xcoord column. The Get
Value from Table portion of the dialog will be the same table as specified in
the Table to Update box. In the Value portion of the dialog, you can type in
Centroidx(obj) or you can click on the Assist Button to display the Expression
dialog. There, click on Functions and choose Centroidx from the list and click
OK.

158 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 8: Geocoding

Fill in the Update Column dialog as shown below and click OK.

4. Repeat step 3 to update the Ycoord column. Substitute Centroidy(obj) instead

of Centroidx(obj).

Table in a Projection Other than Longitude/Latitude

MI Pro maps have two attributes that affect the coordinates of objects within the map;
these are the coordinate system of the map and the coordinate settings of the Map
window. To correctly extract the x and y coordinates of a projected earth map, both the
Map window and the map’s internal coordinates must reflect the same coordinate
system. In MapBasic, the SET MAP statement sets the coordinate system for the Map
window, while the COORDSYS clause sets the internal coordinates.
To extract coordinates from a projected map in the native coordinate system of the
table:
1. Display a map of the geographic area that you are working in.
2. Choose Options > Show MapBasic Window to open the MapBasic window.
3. Type: "SET COORDSYS TABLE <TABLENAME>". Tablename is the table that
you are extracting coordinates from.
4. Press Enter. This sets the internal MapBasic coordinate system equal to the
table given.
5. Now update the x, y values with the CentroidX and CentroidY functions.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 159

Chapter 8: Geocoding

Using the Coordinate Extractor Tool

The Coordinate Extractor tool is another MapBasic program that ships with MI Pro.
Coordinate Extractor offers you another way to display the coordinate information in
your mappable table in a browser. The program extracts the coordinates from the
objects in a table and places them in columns using the table’s native projection or a
different one of your choice. It will also create the coordinate columns for you if you
specify it. Coordinate Extractor is loaded from the Tool Manager:
1. Choose Tools>Tool Manager. The Tool Manager dialog displays.
2. Select the Loaded check box next to the Coordinate Extractor tool, and click
OK. The Coordinate Extractor tool is added to the Tools menu.
To use the Coordinate Extractor:
1. Choose Tools > Coordinate Extractor> Extract Coordinates. The Coordinate
Extractor dialog displays.
2. Select the table that you want to extract the points from.
3. Indicate the columns you want to use for the X and Y coordinates, or click the
Create new columns to hold coordinates button to have the tool add the
columns. When you click this button, a dialog displays asking you to name
the columns.
4. Select the Browse Results check box to have the results displayed in a Browser
window after the operation is completed.
5. Click OK.
The Coordinate Extractor tool can be used on mappable tables that contain at least one
geographic object. The tool cannot be used on the following types of tables:

query read-only
seamless remote
raster

It is recommended that you use float type columns for the coordinates. Other column
types may not be able to fit all the coordinate information in the column. If you select
character columns, the coordinate values will include six digits after the decimal
place.
To take out the coordinate information after you have used Coordinate Extractor,
revert the table.

160 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 8: Geocoding

Guide to Geocoding
This section includes some tasks that will be useful in handling records after you have
geocoded your table.

Selecting Points Not Geocoded

Your geocoded table may have records that did not geocode, or you may have added
new data to your table that has yet to be geocoded. There is a simple selection that can
be performed to get a Browser list of the records not geocoded.
1. Open your table if it is not open already, and choose Query > Select.
2. Fill in the dialog as displayed below. The expression used is “NOT OBJ.” This
selects all of the records that are not objects, i.e., not geocoded. Click OK.

Locating Newly Geocoded Points

One of the most satisfying results of geocoding is seeing your points displayed
correctly on the map. Depending on the settings of your map, newly geocoded points
may or may not be visible immediately. Follow the steps below to attempt to locate
newly geocoded points on the map.
1. Make sure that the Map window is active by clicking in its title bar.
2. Choose Map > Layer Control. Make sure that the table you geocoded is listed
in the Layer Control dialog. If it is not listed, click the Add button and add
that layer.
3. In the Layer Control dialog move the geocoded table to the top, just below the
cosmetic layer, to ensure that the points are not obscured by any other layer.
4. Make sure that the geocoded layer is set to visible. Click OK and exit Layer
Control.
If your points are still not visible, proceed to step 5.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 161

Chapter 8: Geocoding

5. Choose Map > View Entire Layer. Select your table and click OK. This should
put all of the points from your table in view. You may see that your points are
on the map, but are not in the location you expected them to be. If they seem
misplaced, see the section on Ungeocoding a Table.
6. If your points still do not display, choose Map >Layer Control. Select the layer
containing your geocoded points, and click Display.
7. Select the Style Override check box and choose a symbol style that will stand
out on your map. Click OK, and click OK again to exit Layer Control.
After following these steps, if you have not found the points that you geocoded, try to
select all of the ungeocoded records as described in the section Selecting Points Not
Geocoded.

Ungeocoding a Table or Selected Records

Ungeocoding is the process of removing objects that have been attached to data
records. There are times when it will be necessary to ungeocode an entire table or
selected records in a table. For example, you have geocoded a database of customers
using US_ZIPS.TAB. Later, you want to geocode the database again, using street
addresses instead of ZIP Code centroids since the geocoding will now be more
precise. MI Pro allows you to delete all graphic objects associated with this table. You
can then geocode your database again, using more specific coordinates. Ungeocoding
only selected records from your table is useful when the location information changes
for a relatively small number of records, such as address changes in a geocoded list of
customers.

Ungeocoding a Table
To ungeocode an entire table:
1. Choose Table > Maintenance > Table Structure. The Modify Table Structure
dialog displays.
2. Clear the Table Is Mappable check box. Click OK.

Warning This action will remove all graphic objects from your table. This action
cannot be undone. If you are unsure of losing your points, save a copy of the table
first.
3. A warning dialog appears. If you are sure about removing all the objects, click
OK.
All graphic objects have now been removed from your table.

162 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 8: Geocoding

Make sure that you don’t ungeocode your source tables. Unless you have created a
backup of that table, you will no longer be able to display that table as a map or use it
for geocoding.

Ungeocoding Selected Records

To ungeocode selected records:
1. Display your geocoded table as a map, and select the records that you would
like to ungeocode.
2. Choose Map > Layer Control and set the layer to be editable.
3. Choose Edit > Clear Map Objects Only. This removes the object on the map
while maintaining the record in the browser.
Note: To undo this operation, choose Edit > Undo Deletion.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 163

 9
Chapter 9: Selecting
Selecting
This chapter presents the ins and outs of
selecting records from tables. As you use Chapter
MapInfo Professional® you will find yourself
selecting records quite often. This chapter
covers an overview of selecting and the ➤ What Is a Selection?
methods using tools from the Main toolbar. The ➤ Characteristics of
discussion on selecting using queries is found Selections
in the next chapter.
➤ Making Selections
➤ Selecting from the Screen
➤ Unselecting Objects or
Records
➤ Selecting Tools
Chapter 9: Selecting

What Is a Selection?
While MI Pro allows you to attach data to objects on a map, its true analytical power is
its ability to group and organize data. Once your data is broken down into logical
groups, you can analyze it based on one or more variables.

For example, you have a basket of fruit. You want to organize the fruit into different
categories, based on one or more variables:
• Put all the apples into one group
• Put all the citrus fruit into one group (oranges, lemons, grapefruit)
• Put all the fruit that begins with a vowel into one group (oranges, apples,
apricots)
There are many different ways that you could group the fruit. Some fruit would fall
into more than one category (oranges are citrus fruit and also begin with a vowel).
You could also use more than one variable to group your fruit — put all the citrus fruit
that begins with a vowel into one group.
MI Pro can create similar groups with your data. MI Pro refers to these groups as
selections. A selection is a subset of data that has been grouped together based on one
or more variables.

166 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 9: Selecting

For example, you have a table of customer records. You could create a subset of all
customers who live within a 50 mile radius of Prague. Or, you could create a subset of
all customers who purchased over $1000 of merchandise. Or, you could create a
subset of all customers whose last name begins with the letter “B”.
The statements above used to create these subsets are known as queries. A query is just
another word for a question — which of my customers spent more than $1,000?
Which of my customers lives within 50 miles of Prague?
As with the fruit example, there are many different ways to group your data. Some
data records will obviously fall into more than one category. You could also use more
than one variable to group your data. Which of my customers lives within 50 miles of
Prague and purchased over $1000 of merchandise?

Characteristics of Selections

Selections are temporary tables. When you make a selection, MI Pro creates this
temporary table to store the records you’ve selected.
You can perform many of the tasks with a selection table that you can perform with a
permanent (base) table such as:
• View it in a Browser, a Map window (if it has graphic objects), a Graph or a
Layout window.
• Cut and copy it into the clipboard and paste it into another table, or even into
another application.
• Use it to edit a table. If you want to edit only certain records in a table, you
can get those records into a selection and then edit that selection.
• Make a further selection from it.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 167

Chapter 9: Selecting

To convert selections into permanent tables, use File > Save Copy As. Once you’ve
saved the temporary selection table as a permanent table, you can treat the new table
like any other table.
Selection tables are totally dependent on the table from which they were created. If
you close a base table, all associated selection tables are deleted.

Making Selections
MI Pro gives you a number of commands and tools for making selections. They fall
into two categories:
• Selecting from the screen: Select tool, Radius Select tool, Boundary Select tool,
Polygon Select tool, Marquee Select tool, Invert Selection tool,Select All
command. To select records with the tools, click on or encircle the associated
graphic objects. To select records from a layer at the same time, choose Query
> Select All.
• Selecting with queries: Select, SQL Select. When you select records with either
of these methods, you create a logical expression that MI Pro uses to select the
records. For example, the expression SALES > 20000 means that MI Pro will
select only those records with sales higher than $20,000. (Select and SQL
Select will be explained in the next chapter).

Selecting from the Screen

To select objects from the screen, the layer that contains the objects must be Selectable.
To make a layer Selectable, choose the Layer Control command from the Map menu
and select the Selectable check box for that layer.
When you select map objects in a Selectable layer, MI Pro highlights the objects using
the settings defined in the Highlight Control section of the Preferences dialog
(Options menu). When you select map objects in an Editable layer, MI Pro places edit
handles (little squares) around the extents of the object you selected.

168 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 9: Selecting

If you have more than one Selectable layer in a Map window, MI Pro selects objects
from the topmost Selectable layer. For example, you have a Selectable layer of county
boundaries and a Selectable layer of state boundaries. If the county boundaries are in
the topmost layer in the Map window, MI Pro selects objects from the county layer. If
the state boundaries are in the topmost layer in the Map window, MI Pro selects
objects from the states layer. When you use the Select tool, MI Pro also displays
InfoTips for the topmost Selectable layer. As you move your cursor over the objects,
InfoTips display the object’s label expression. You can turn off the InfoTips in the Map
window Preferences (Options>Preferences>Map window).
Likewise, if you perform a boundary search, the boundary object that you want to
search should be in the topmost layer. For example, you have a layer of ZIP Code
boundaries and a layer of state boundaries. If you want to select all objects that fall
within a ZIP Code boundary, the ZIP Code layer should be the topmost boundary
layer. If you want to select all objects that fall within a given state, the state layer
should be the topmost boundary layer. You can reorder the layers by choosing Map >
Layer Control.
If you want to select objects from tables other than the topmost table, hold down the
Ctrl key when you are selecting an object. For example, you have a layer of states, a
layer of counties, and a layer of cities. All three layers are Selectable. You want to
select objects in the states table, but it is the bottommost layer in the Map window.
Hold down the Ctrl key and click on the map with the Select tool. You are now in the
second layer. Hold down the Ctrl key and click on the map again with the Select tool.
You are now selecting objects from the third layer, the states layer.

Unselecting Objects or Records

You may choose to:
• Unselect one object or record from a group of selected objects or records.
• Unselect a group of selected objects or records.
• Unselect all selected objects.
To cancel the selection of one object or record from a group of selected objects or
records, hold down the Shift key and click on the object or record with the Select tool.
When you click on it, the selection is cancelled.
To cancel the selection of all selected objects, you can either click on the Map window
where there are no objects or choose the Unselect All command from the Query menu.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 169

Chapter 9: Selecting

Selecting Tools
MI Pro includes several tools on the Main toolbar to allow you to choose records for
further viewing and analysis, including:
• Select tool
• Radius Select tool
• Marquee Select tool
• Polygon Select tool
• Boundary Select tool
• Invert Selection tool
Each tool is discussed below.

Select Tool
Use the Select tool to select objects one at a time or to select all objects that are
generally in the same area. You select an object by clicking on it.
To select an object:
1. Make the layer that you want to select objects from Selectable (Map > Layer
Control).
2. Choose the Select button from the Main toolbar.
3. Click on an object in the Map window. If that object’s layer is Selectable, MI
Pro highlights the object. If the layer is Editable, MI Pro puts edit handles
around the extents of the object. If the layer is neither Editable nor Selectable,
MI Pro does not allow you to select the object.
4. Choose Window > New Browser Window to display selected records in a
Browser. Choose Selection from the list of tables. MI Pro creates a Browser of
the new temporary table. To select records from the Browser, simply click on
each record with the Select tool.
To select multiple objects individually, click on the first object to select it. Hold down
the Shift key and click on another object. MI Pro selects that object, too. If you select a
second object without holding down the Shift key, MI Pro unselects the first object
and selects the second object.
When selecting a point object, you generally want to position the Select tool in the
center of the symbol. However, some symbols have a hot spot that you must hit in
order to select it. For example, the hot spot on the golf flag symbol is the base of the
pole.

170 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 9: Selecting

You can also move the selected object(s). Hold down the mouse button and drag the
object to its new location or press the up, down, left and right arrow keys to move the
selected objects 1 screen pixel in the corresponding direction. If you press the Shift key
when the arrow key is selected, the object will move 10 pixels. Since the moves are
made in screen pixels, the zoom level affects how far the object is moved.
Finally, you can also rotate selected objects, select an object. The object is highlighted
and bounded by four edit handles and a fifth handle below the lower right corner.
Click on the fifth handle (rotate handle) and hold down the mouse button. Rotate the
highlighted box to the desired angle. A rubber banding box is drawn representing the
rotated object. If the Shift key is pressed while the rubber banding box is being
drawn, the rotation will be limited to 45 degree increments. The following objects
types can be rotated: Line, Polyline, Polygon, MultiPoint, Collection, Arc, Ellipse,
Rectangle, Round Rect (Points cannot be rotated).

Radius Select Tool

The Radius Select tool is used to select all objects that fall within a given radius. For
example, you have a table of blood donors and a table of blood donation sites. Using
the Radius Select tool, you could create a temporary list of blood donors that live
within a one-half-mile radius of each blood donation site.
Note that the Radius Select tool selects all objects whose centroid falls within the
circle. The object doesn’t have to be completely bounded by the circle.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 171

Chapter 9: Selecting

To select objects within a radius:

1. Make the layer you want to select objects from Selectable (Map > Layer
Control).
2. Choose the Radius Select tool from the Main toolbar. The cursor becomes a
hand when moved over the Map window.
3. Click on a place on the map that you would like to use as the center point of
your radius search. For example, if you want to select all the fire hydrants that
fall within two miles of a fire station, click on the fire station and use that as
the center point.
4. Hold down the mouse button and drag the mouse away from the center
point. MI Pro draws a circle around the point and reports the radius of the
circle in the StatusBar (lower left corner of the screen).
5. When you have the desired radius release the mouse button. MI Pro
highlights all map objects that fall within that circle.
6. To see a list of all the records that fall within that circle, choose New Browser
Window from the Window menu. Choose Selection from the list of tables. MI
Pro creates a Browser of the new selection table.

Marquee Select Tool

The Marquee Select tool is used to select objects within a rectangle. By clicking and
dragging using the Marquee tool, you create a dotted rectangle, or marquee box
around objects you want to select. All Selectable objects in the topmost Selectable
layer will be included in the marquee box. To select objects from a layer below the
topmost Selectable layer, in Layer Control, make sure it is Selectable and turn off
Selectable for the layer(s) above.
To select objects within a rectangle:
1. Make the layer that you want to select objects from Selectable (Map > Layer
Control).
2. Choose the Marquee Select tool from the Main toolbar. The cursor becomes a
hand when moved over the Map window.
3. Click on a place on the map outside of the area you want to include in the
marquee box.
4. Hold down the mouse button and drag the mouse to form a dotted rectangle
around the points you want to select.
5. When you have reached the desired rectangle size release the mouse button.
MI Pro highlights all map objects that fall within that rectangle.
6. To see a list of all the selected records, choose Window > New Browser
Window. Choose Selection from the list of tables. MI Pro creates a Browser of
the new selection table.

172 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 9: Selecting

Polygon Select Tool

The Polygon Select tool selects map objects within a polygon that you draw on a map.
To select objects with the Polygon Select tool:
1. Make the layer that you want to select from Selectable (Map>Layer Control).
2. Choose the Polygon Select tool from the Main toolbar. The cursor becomes a
pointing hand when moved over the Map window.
3. Click anywhere on the map. This is the first end point of the polygon. Move
the cursor over your map in any direction. A line is drawn from the point
where you clicked to the cursor. Click to create another endpoint. Continue to
move the cursor and click until you have the desired number of sides to your
polygon.
4. To close the polygon, make your last click as close as possible to the first click.
MI Pro closes the polygon and selects the objects that are within it.

Boundary Select Tool

If you want to select objects that fall within a given region or boundary, use the
Boundary Select tool. When you use this tool, MI Pro selects all objects within any
boundary on the map, such as state or county boundaries, police precincts, or sales
territories.
For example, you have a layer of states and a layer of retailers. Using the Boundary
Select tool, you could click on a state and create a temporary list of all the retailers in
that state.
To select objects within a region:
1. Make the layer that you want to select objects from Selectable (Map > Layer
Control).
2. Choose the Boundary Select tool from the Main toolbar. The cursor becomes a
cross hair when moved over the Map window.
3. Click within a boundary object. MI Pro selects all objects that fall within that
boundary.
4. To see a list of all the records that fall within that boundary, choose Window >
New Browser Window. Choose Selection from the list of tables. MI Pro creates
a Browser of the new selection table.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 173

Chapter 9: Selecting

Invert Selection Tool

The Invert Selection tool is a convenient way to select many objects at once. You
simply select the few objects that you don’t want, and then invert the selection to
select all the objects you do want.
1. Make the map layer that you want to select from Selectable (Map>Layer
Control).
2. Make the Select tool active, and click on one or two map objects.
3. Click the Invert Selection tool. MI Pro selects all the objects that are not part of
the current selection, and cancels the current selection.
You can also find Invert Selection in the Query menu.

Other Search Methods

You can draw your own polygons and search for objects within them. For example,
you have a table of city streets and a table of retail businesses. Since streets are made
of lines and not boundaries, you cannot search within a city block. However, you
could create boundaries by tracing the street map with the Polygon tool. You could
then search for objects within that boundary.
You can also create search polygons with the Buffer command. The Buffer command
is used to create boundaries around points, lines, or other boundaries. For example,
you want to search for all customers who live within five miles of Interstate 90. Using
the Buffer command, you could create a polygon that would encompass any area
within five miles of Interstate 90.
You could even use the Buffer command to create a boundary around another
boundary. For example, you want to search for all radio stations that are located
within twenty miles of a given county. Using the Buffer command, you could create a
polygon that would encompass any area within twenty miles of the county boundary.
To perform a polygon search, two layers must be Selectable: the layer containing the
objects you are selecting, and the layer containing the boundary you want to use in
selecting those objects.

174 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 10
Chapter 10: Selecting Using
Queries
Selecting Using Queries
In the previous chapter, you learned how to Chapter
make selections from the screen using tool
buttons such as Radius Select and Boundary
Select. In this chapter you will learn to make
➤ Selecting Using Queries
selections using the powerful query features in ➤ Making a New Table Using a
MapInfo Professional®: Select and SQL Select. Subset of a File
Each section of the chapter is followed by a ➤ What Is SQL Select?
walk-through example of that section’s major
concepts.
➤ Saving Queries
➤ Query Templates
➤ Deriving Columns
➤ Creating Column Aliases
➤ Aggregating Data
➤ Group by and Order by
Clauses
➤ Joining Tables Using SQL
Select
➤ Outer Join
➤ Selecting Records from One
Table That Are Not in
Another
➤ Selecting Even or Odd
Records from a Table
➤ Finding All Records with
Duplicate Values in a
Column
➤ Calculating the Distance to
a Fixed Point
Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

Selecting Using Queries

A query is just another word for a question.
There are two query builders available under the Query menu in MI Pro, Select and
SQL Select.

SQL query to determine homes affected by airport noise pollution

In the case of Select, you have a table of information and you ask MI Pro to select a
subset of it. For example,
• Which of my customers spent more than $20,000?
• Which of my customers live in Vermont?
In the case of SQL Select, you have a table(s) of information and you ask MI Pro to:
• Derive new columns – columns that calculate new values based on the
contents of your existing columns.
• Aggregate your data so that you see only a listing of subtotals instead of
seeing your entire table.
• Combine two or more tables into one results table.
• Show only the columns and rows that interest you.

176 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

What Is Select?
Select allows you to query a table. It allows you to select records and objects from a
table according to their attributes. You can use it to highlight objects in a Map or
Browser window that meet certain criteria. You can also create a results table that you
can browse, map, or graph like any other table.
For instance, by formulating queries with Select, you can ask MI Pro to:
• Show only ZIP Code regions where the average household income is above
$65,000.
• Show only ZIP Code regions where the median age is 42.
• Show only the ZIP Code regions where the household income is above
$65,000 and the median age is 42.
• Show only records for all orders received in July or September.
• Show cities of over 100,000 people in Texas, California and Florida.
When you are working in a Browser, MI Pro highlights the records meeting the
criteria of the query. When you are working in a Map window, the graphic objects of
the chosen records are highlighted. When you are working in both windows, the
objects in both are highlighted. In all cases, MI Pro automatically creates a working
table called Selection that contains the results of the query. You can browse, map, or
graph this table like any other table. The table can also be saved as a separate table
with Save Copy As.

Creating Expressions
To perform a Select query, you must create an expression. An expression is a logical
statement that is used to ask your question. For example, you have a table of
apartments for rent. If you want to create a temporary table of all apartments that cost
less than $800 a month, you could use the expression:
• RENT < 800
where RENT is the name of a numeric column that contains the per month rent rate.
MI Pro searches the apartment table for all records that satisfy this condition and puts
those records in a temporary table that you can map, browse, graph or carry out
additional queries.
You can also perform mathematical operations on your data. For example, you want
to create a temporary table of all apartments that have a total cost of less than $800.
Total cost is equal to the sum of the rent and the monthly utilities.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 177

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

You could use the expression:

• RENT + UTILITIES < 800
You are telling MI Pro to add the number in the RENT column and the number in the
UTILITIES column and then compare that number to 800.
There are two ways of creating an expression. The first method is to type in the
expression directly. When you are creating very simple expressions, this method is
usually faster. The second method is to press the Assist button in the Select dialog and
build your expression using the pop ups in the Expression dialog. This method is
particularly useful when you are just learning how to build expressions or when you
are building very complex expressions.
The Expression dialog gives you three pop ups that you can use to build your
expression: columns, operators, and functions. Each is discussed below.

Columns
This pop up lists every column in the table from which you are selecting. If the table
contains derived columns from previous queries, those columns will also be listed.

Operators
This pop up contains mathematical and logical operation symbols. The mathematical
operators in this pop up include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division,
greater than, less than, and equal signs. You can use these symbols to create
mathematical formulas.
For example, from your table of sales representatives you want to select those sales
representatives who, on the average, gross more than $2000 per month. Gross sales is
computed by adding together sales and commission.
You have two columns in your table: TOTAL_SALES, which is total sales for the year
for each representative and COMMISSION, which is total commission for the year for
each representative. You could build the following expression:
• (TOTAL_SALES + COMMISSION) / 12 < 2000
This expression tells MI Pro to add the number in the TOTAL_SALES column with the
number in the COMMISSION column. However, this gives you gross sales for the
year. We want average gross sales for the month. Therefore, we divide the sum by 12,
which will give us a monthly average. We then compare that figure with 2000.

178 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

The Operators pop up also includes logical operators conjunctions AND, NOT, OR
and LIKE. The LIKE operator can be used with two wildcard characters: ’%’ and ’_’.
The ’%’ character matches zero or more characters. The ’_’ character matches only one
character.

Functions
This pop up contains mathematical functions that take one or more parameters and
return a value. You use functions to perform basic mathematical functions on the data
in that column. For example:
• abs(<number>)
takes the absolute value of the numbers in the specified column.
For example, a meteorologist wants to select all days where the temperature in her
city was more than 10 degrees warmer or cooler than the national average. She has a
column in her table, AVG_DIFF, that contains the difference between the national
average and city average. She could create the following expression:
• AVG_DIFF < –10 Or AVG_DIFF > 10
This expression tells MI Pro to select all records that have an average difference less
than -10 or greater than +10. However, she could also create the following expression:
• abs(AVG_DIFF) > 10
This expression tells MI Pro to select all records where the absolute value of the
average difference is greater than ten.
The Functions pop up contains many other functions, including area, perimeter, sin,
cos, and date-related functions. For a complete list of functions, see Appendix D,
Creating Expressions, in the MapInfo Professional User’s Guide.

Steps Using Select

In general the process for selecting objects using Select is:
1. Choose Select from the Query menu.
2. Specify the table from which you want to select records.
3. Create a logical expression that will be used to select records.
4. Choose a column on which to have the query sorted (optional). By default,
the query is unsorted.
5. To see a list of the records you have selected, select the Browse Results check
box.
6. MI Pro creates a Browser of the new selection table.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 179

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

MI Pro names the table Query1. It will name the next temporary selection table
Query2. You can override MI Pro’s default name and give the selection a descriptive
name. Type the new name into the Store Results in Table box. The table can also be
saved as a separate table with Save Copy As.

Example: Selecting
MI Pro makes finding information and locations easy. You can use the Select feature to
create subset databases of your information. As an example, we will use the sample
world table to select particular countries with a literacy rate greater than 90%.
Open the world.tab table, and choose Query > Select to display the Select dialog.

Do the following:
1. Complete the Select dialog:
From the Select records from table drop-down list, choose World.
Click on Assist. The Expression dialog displays.

2. Complete the Expression dialog as shown in the following figure:

From the Columns drop-down list, choose Literacy.
From the Operators drop-down list, choose > (the greater than sign).

180 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

Type 90.
Click Verify to confirm the syntax of your expression. Click OK to close the
Verify dialog.
Click OK to close the Expression dialog. The Select dialog redisplays.
Make sure the the Browse Results check box is selected.
3. Click OK to select the countries.
MI Pro creates a Browser that contains the selections. Notice that the
selections display in both the World map and Browser.

Making a New Table Using a Subset of a File

Many of the data sets that are used with MI Pro include more objects and information
than necessary for some projects. In many cases it is easier to work with a subset of the
complete data product. For example, if you were tracking crime statistics for a certain
county by census tract, you would not need the census tracts for the entire state. You
could extract just the census tracts for the county.
There are two ways to create a new table that will contain a subset of the records from
an existing file. You can interactively select the objects representing the records you
would like to put in the new table using one of the select tools. Or, you can use the
SQL Select command to choose a subset of objects based on an SQL function.
Saving the resulting table is the same procedure, whether you choose the objects
interactively or use an SQL select statement.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 181

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

Note: Many of the queries on the following pages can be done either by using
Query > SQL Select or through the simpler Query > Select dialog. Because
SQL Select is more versatile and more commonly used, the SQL Select
dialog is used in the following examples.

Interactively Selecting Objects

1. Choose File > Open and open the table in a Map window.
2. Select the objects that will make up the subset with the Select tool, Radius
Search Selector tool, or Polygon Search Selector tool. Shift-click to select
multiple objects. Your map will look similar to the one below.

3. Choose File > Save Copy As and save the Selection table. The table can be
saved with any filename.

What Is SQL Select?

A selection is a subset of data rows in a table, chosen based on the contents of one or
more columns from the table. You create selections by formulating questions, or
queries, about your data. How many customers live in the state of Idaho? Which
police precinct has the highest rate of violent crime? MI Pro stores the results of these
questions in temporary tables called query tables.
In the first part of this chapter, we discussed selections and query tables as a result of
using Query > Select. We now turn our attention to an extremely powerful and useful
feature in MI Pro, querying by SQL Select.

182 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

While MI Pro’s Select command lets you formulate sophisticated queries, SQL Select
goes even further. The records in the query table generated by the Select command
don’t have any information in them that isn’t contained in the records of the base
table. They are, in fact, the same records. They have been arranged so that they can be
viewed together.
With SQL Select you can create query tables containing information that was only
implicit in the base table(s).
The SQL Select dialog is one of the most elaborate ones in MI Pro. But don’t be
intimidated. Once you learn what each box is used for, it is fairly simple to create
powerful selection statements. You can type directly into the boxes or you can use the
pop up menus on the right to enter items into the boxes.
The easiest way to describe the dialog is to walk you through an example, step-by-
step. This example uses data from the WORLD table included in MI Pro, so you can
try out this SQL Select exercise yourself. We have included a brief description of the
parts of the dialog with each step. A complete description of each box is given after
the example.

Example: Computing Population Density Using Area( )

In this example, we’ll use the world map to create a table of all the countries that have
a population density of over 500 people per square mile. The following formula
computes population density:
• POPULATION / AREA
While the world table has a population column (pop_1994), it does not include a
column for country area. However, since the world table has graphic objects
associated with the records, MI Pro can compute the total area for each country.
Open the world.tab table, and maximize its display by clicking the window’s
maximize button. Choose Query > SQL Select to display the SQL Select dialog.
To complete the SQL Select dialog, do the following:
1. In the From Tables box, choose WORLD from the Tables drop-down list.
You can specify more than one table in an SQL statement. This example uses
only one table, WORLD.
2. You should fill in the From Table box before you fill in the Select Columns
box. MI Pro uses the tables in the From Tables box to generate the list of
columns in the Columns drop-down list.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 183

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

3. Place your cursor in the Select Columns box and delete the asterisk (*). In this
example, we will specify a list of columns to be included in the resulting
query table, instead of including all columns.
Remember, the query table is the temporary table that MI Pro creates to store
the results of the query.
4. Select Country from the Columns drop-down list.
5. Select pop_1994 from the Columns drop-down list.
Now, we need to compute population density. Remember, population density
is computed by dividing population by area. There is no area column in the
table. However, there is a function, Area, which will compute the area of any
mappable object. Since the world table is mappable, MI Pro can compute the
area of each country and, therefore, the population density of each country.
6. Select the division sign (/) from the Operators popup.
7. Select Area from the Functions popup.
This will create a derived column. A derived column is a column that contains
the results of calculations performed on another column or columns. When
MI Pro creates the query table, it will include two columns: The Country
column and the pop_1994/Area(obj, “sq mi”) column, which is our
population density column. MI Pro includes a units statement with all
geographic functions. If you wanted MI Pro to return the area in square
kilometers, you would change “sq mi” to “sq km.”
Now, we need to build an expression that will select only those countries
whose population density is over 500 people per square mile.
8. Tab to the Where Condition box.
9. Select pop_1994 from the Columns drop-down list.
10. Select the division sign (/) from the Operators drop-down list.
11. Select Area from the Functions pop up.
12. Select the greater than sign (>) from the Operators drop-down list.
13. Type the number 500.
We have now built the expression “Select all countries whose population
density (pop_1994/Area(obj, “sq mi”)) is more than (>) 500 people per square
mile.”
14. Leave the Group by Columns box blank.
15. Tab to the Order by Columns box.
16. Select Country from the Columns pop up.

184 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

The Order by Columns box allows you to specify in which order the records
in the query table will be displayed. By selecting Country, MI Pro will list the
records in alphabetical order, according to country name.
17. Tab to the Into Table Named box.
18. Type DENSITY.
By default, MI Pro names the query table Query1. Subsequent query tables
will be named Query2, Query3, and so on. You can change the name of the
query table by typing in a new table name in the Into Table Named box. MI
Pro will name the query table DENSITY.
19. Click Verify.
MI Pro checks the syntax of your SQL statement. If there are any errors in
your statement, MI Pro gives you an error message telling you what the error
is and which box contains the error.
20. Make sure that the Browse Results check box is selected.
MI Pro creates a Browser of the query table. If you do not select Browse
Results, MI Pro still creates the temporary query table but doesn’t display it.
To display the table, you would have to choose the Browse option in the
Window menu and select DENSITY from the drop-down list.

21. Click OK.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 185

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

MI Pro creates the following table:

The first column contains the country name. The second column contains the
population density. Note that the countries are listed in alphabetical order (Order By:
Country) and the population density for each country listed is over 500 people per
square mile (pop_1994/ Area(obj, “sq mi”) > 500).

186 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

Example: Computing Population Density with SQL

To set up an SQL Select statement that selects only those states with a high population
density, do the following:
1. Choose File > Open Table and open the States table in a Map window.
2. Choose Query > SQL Select and fill in the SQL Select dialog as shown below.

This will create a new table, HIDENSTY, that contains only those states with a
relatively high population density (population divided by total area). The
asterisk (*) in the Select Columns box transfers all of the columns in the
STATES table to the HIDENSTY table.
3. Choose File > Save Copy As and save the Selection table. The table can be
saved with any filename.

Saving Queries
Any query created using the Select or SQL Select commands can be saved as an MI
Pro query table. Query tables consist of a .TAB file and a .QRY file. After you have
executed a Select or SQL Select statement, choose File > Save Query to save the query
as a table. When you open this table, the tables on which the query is based are re-
opened and the query is re-executed.
Note: Queries made against other queries cannot be saved as a table or in a
workspace.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 187

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

Saving Queries to Workspaces

You can also save queries in workspaces. When you open a workspace that contains a
query, the query will execute and any windows created by the query will redisplay.
Unlike saving a query as a table, a separate .TAB file is not created when you save a
query to a workspace.
Note: To save queries in workspaces, the Save Queries in Workspaces check box
must be selected in the Startup preferences (Options > Preferences >
Startup). This check box is selected by default.

Query Templates
Query templates enable you to save Select or SQL Select statements as templates and
reload them. This saves you the trouble of having to rebuild a query each time you
want to use it. Both the Select and SQL Select dialogs have Load Template and Save
Template options to enable you to do this easily. Query templates are useful for re-
creating a query with an updated version of the table used in the original query, or for
executing a query on a table that has the same fields as the table on which the query
statement was created.

Saving a Template
After you have finished writing your Select or SQL Select query, click the Save
Template button to save the query to a template, or query file. The Save Dialog to
Query File displays. Give the query file a name, select a folder, and click Save. Query
files are saved with a .QRY extension and are saved in the directory specified in the
Directories preferences (Options > Preferences > Directories).
Note: The query does not need to be complete or syntactically correct to save it to
a template.

Loading a Template
You can load any saved query template. To load a template, click the Load Template
button. The Load Dialog From Query File dialog displays. It lists the .QRY files. Select
the .QRY file you want to use, and click Open. The Select or SQL Select dialog
displays with the values from the template already filled in. Simply execute your
query to create the query browser.

188 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

Deriving Columns
A derived column is a column in a query table whose contents are created by
applying an expression to the values of columns already existing in some base table.
In the example above, population density was a derived column.
By default, the Select Columns box contains an asterisk (*), indicating that all of the
columns in the base table are to be included in the query table. If you don’t want all of
those columns, you should delete the asterisk and list only those columns that you
want to use.
You aren’t limited to creating one derived column. You can create as many derived
columns as you want. Note that the more derived columns you create, the longer it
will take MI Pro to execute the query.
You can also created derived columns based on the aggregate functions count, sum,
avg, wtavg, max, and min. For example:
• sum(Population).
would give you the population for the entire world.
• sum(Area(obj), “sq mi”).
would give you the area for the entire world.

Creating Column Aliases

When MI Pro creates a derived column, it uses the expression itself as the name for
that derived column. That can be awkward. You can, however, specify an alias for the
column.
For example, the population density column in our DENSITY Browser was titled:
• Population / Area(obj, “sq mi”)
We can rename that column so that it is more descriptive. To rename the column, add
the new name to the Select Columns box when you are listing the columns. The alias
must follow the expression. It must also be separated from the expression by a blank
space and enclosed in quotes. For example:
• Country, Population / Area(obj, “sq mi”) “POP_DENSITY”
When MI Pro creates the temporary query table, the population density column will
now be named POP_DENSITY.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 189

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

You can use aliases to rename any column in a table, not just derived columns. For
example, if each country in your table is a separate sales territory for your
corporation, you might want to rename the Country column “TERRITORY”. The
procedure is identical:
• Country “TERRITORY”, Population / Area(obj, “sq mi”) “POP_DENSITY”
Make sure mapinfo/data is the directory that displays in the Directories list box.
If it is not, you may need to double-click on the data directory in the
directories list box.

Example: Computing Total World Population Density

In this example, you will practice several SQL Select features:
• Create derived columns based on an aggregate function.
• Rename columns by typing column aliases.
• Create a new results table based on the WORLD table.
• Perform SQL Select on the new table.
In this example, you have a table of world population statistics (WORLD). You would
like to create a table that shows the population density of the entire world. Use the
following formula:
• TOTAL POPULATION / TOTAL AREA
While the WORLD table does not have total population or total area columns, we can
derive them by applying the sum() aggregate function to the Population column and
the Area function. We will do this in our first query.
Open the world table, and maximize its display by clicking the window’s maximize
button.
Choose Query > SQL Select. The SQL Select dialog displays.
From the SQL Select dialog, do the following:
1. In the From Tables Box, choose WORLD from the Tables drop-down list.
2. Tab to the Select Columns box and delete the asterisk (*).
3. Select Sum from the Aggregates drop-down list.
4. Select Population from the Columns drop-down list.
After you select Population, the cursor will be on the inside of the end
parenthesis [)]. Move it to the outside with the right arrow key.
Sum (Population) will create a derived column that will compute the total
world population.

190 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

5. Press the spacebar once and type the column alias “Total_Pop”.
Remember, an alias has to be separated from its expression by a blank space.
The Sum(Population) column will appear in the results table as Total_Pop.
6. Select Sum from the Aggregates drop-down list.
7. Select Area from the Functions drop-down list.
After you select Area, the cursor will be on the inside of the end parenthesis
[)]. Move it to the outside with the right arrow key.
Sum(Area) will create a derived column that will compute the total area.
8. Press the spacebar once and type a column alias “Total_Area”.
The Sum(Area(obj, “sq mi”)) column will appear in the results table as
Total_Area.
9. Leave Where Condition, Group By Columns, and Order By Columns blank.
10. Tab to the Into Table Named box.
Type in TOT_POP_AREA as the name for this table.
11. Click Verify. Click OK.
12. Make sure that the Browse Results check box is selected.

13. Click OK.

MI Pro produces a query table named TOT_POP_AREA containing two columns. The
first column will return a value for the total population and the second column will
return a value for the total area.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 191

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

Now that we have the total population and total area, we can compute the world’s
population density by performing an SQL Select on the TOT_POP_AREA table we
just created. In this SQL Select, we will divide the total population by the total area.
Choose Query > SQL Select to display the SQL Select dialog.
Fill in the dialog as follows:
1. In the From Tables Box, choose TOTAL_POP_AREA from the Tables drop-
down list.
2. Tab to the Select Columns box and delete the information from our last query.
3. Select Total_Pop from the Columns drop-down list.
Remember, Total_Pop is the column we created from our last query.
Notice that when you select Total_Pop, COL1 appears in the Select Columns
field. This is the column number of that field. When choosing derived
columns from a previous query, MI Pro uses the column number instead of
the name. Columns can be referred to by name or number, where the number
designates the order the column has in the Select Columns box. COL1 and
COL2 refer to the first and second columns, respectively.
4. Select the division sign (/) from the Operators drop-down list.
5. Select Total_Area from the Columns drop-down list.
COL2 displays in the Select Columns field.
6. Leave Where Condition, Group By Columns, and Order By Columns blank.
7. Tab to the Into Table Named box.
Type WORLD_DENSITY as the name of this table.
8. Click Verify. Click OK.

192 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

9. Make sure that the Browse Results check box is selected.

10. Click OK.

MI Pro produces a query table named WORLD_DENSITY that will return a value for
the population density in people per square mile for the entire world.

Aggregating Data
When you aggregate data, you perform a mathematical operation on all of a column’s
values in all of the records in your table. Unlike the Select command, which only
allows you to perform mathematical functions on individual records, SQL allows you
to aggregate (or summarize) data across records.
MI Pro looks for each unique set of data values in the specified column or columns and
creates one row for each such unique set. When you aggregate data, you need to
specify:
• How the records will be grouped.
• How the data will be aggregated (summarized).

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 193

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

For example, you have a table of sales representatives and their sales figures for the
past three months:
SALES_REP MONTH SALES
John May 1200
Cathy May 900
Julie May 1100
John June 900
Cathy June 1400
Julie June 600
John July 1200
Cathy July 700
Julie July 1000

MI Pro could also compute the total sales for each representative by specifying in the
SQL Select dialog:
• Select Columns: SALES_REP, sum(SALES)
• Group by Columns: SALES_REP
SALES_REP sum(SALES)
John 3300
Cathy 3000
Julie 2700

or MI Pro could compute the average sales for each representative:

• Select Columns: SALES_REP, avg(SALES)
• Group by Columns: SALES_REP
SALES_REP avg(SALES)
John 1100
Cathy 1000
Julie 900

or MI Pro could compute the total sales for each month:

• Select Columns: MONTH, sum(SALES)

194 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

• Group by Columns: MONTH

MONTH sum(SALES)
May 3200
June 2900
July 2900

MI Pro has six aggregate functions:

• Count(*): counts the number of records in a group. It takes * as its argument
because it applies to the record as a whole, and not to any particular field in
the record.
• Sum (expression): calculates the sum of the values in <expression> for all the
records in a group.
• Average (expression): calculates the average of the values in <expression> for
all the records in a group.
• WtAvg (expression): calculates the weighted average of the values in
<expression> for all the records in a group.
• Max (expression): finds the highest value in <expression> for all records in a
group.
• Min (expression): finds the lowest value in <expression> for all records in a
group.

Group by and Order by Clauses

You can group your SQL query by a particular column so that all rows that contain the
same value are grouped together. Specify this column in the Group by column box in
the SQL Select dialog. When used in conjunction with aggregate functions, rows with
the same value in all grouping columns are treated as a group. Duplicate rows are
suppressed and aggregate values are reported for derived columns based on the
aggregate functions. Specify the column(s) by name or by position number as listed in
the Select Columns box. When using derived columns, you must specify the column
number.
Along the same lines, you can tell MI Pro to order the results of your query in a certain
way. By default, MI Pro orders records by their ascending value (which is alphabetical
for character fields). When you list more than one column, MI Pro orders the records
by the first column. Records with identical values in the first Order by column are
ordered by their values in the second Order By column. Like the Group By clause
above, use column names or position number. For derived columns use the number.
Do not use “col” with the position number.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 195

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

For more on Group By and Order By, see the discussion under SQL Select in the
MapInfo Reference.

Joining Tables Using SQL Select

When performing an SQL Select operation with multiple tables, MI Pro needs to join
information from the records in the various tables. You may have a map table
containing only graphic objects and their names and a table of statistical data for some
geographic region. You want to display the statistical data on the map table. You
could use SQL Select to create a query table in which your statistical data and map
data are joined in one table.
Whenever you are working with multiple tables, you must put a statement in the
Where Condition telling MI Pro how to match up the rows in the different tables.
For example, you have the World table that contains countries and a table of economic
statistics (Eco_Stats), also broken down by country. You want to create a temporary
query table that contains both sets of data:
• Select Columns: * (an asterisk indicates include all columns in the query table)
• From Tables: World, Eco_Stats
• Where Condition: World.Country = Eco_Stats.Country
The two columns that you want to match do not have to have the same name. For
example, you have a table of international customers (Int_Cust) that contains a sales
territory column (TERRITORY). This column contains continent names, since your
company breaks up its sales territories according to continent. If you wanted to
temporarily join the two tables:
• Select Columns: *
• From Tables: World, Int_Cust
• Where Condition: World.Continent = Int_Cust.TERRITORY

Example: Total Population and Area by Continent

Given that MI Pro can aggregate data, we could compute total population and total
area for every continent in the world. We want to create a table with the following
information:
• Number of countries per continent
• Total population per continent
• Total area of each continent

196 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

We also want the continents to be listed in alphabetical order.

Open the world.tab table, and maximize its display by clicking the maximize button.
Choose Query > SQL Select to display the SQL Select dialog, and do the following:
1. In the From Tables Box, choose WORLD from the Tables drop-down list.
2. In the Select Columns box, choose Continent from the Columns drop-down
list, and choose Count(*) from the Aggregates drop-down list.
Press the spacebar once and type the column alias “COUNTRIES” as the
column alias. Remember, an alias has to be separated from its expression by a
blank space. The Continent Count(*) column will appear in the results table
as COUNTRIES.
3. Select Sum from the Aggregates drop-down list.
4. Select Population from the Columns drop-down list.
After you select Population, the cursor will be on the inside of the end
parenthesis [)]. Move it to the outside with the right arrow key.
Sum (Population) will create a derived column that will compute the total
world population.
5. Press the spacebar once and type the column alias “Total_Pop”. The
Sum(Population) column will appear in the results table as Total_Pop.
6. Select Sum from the Aggregates drop-down list.
7. Select Area from the Functions drop-down list.
After you select Area, the cursor will be on the inside of the end parenthesis
[)]. Move it to the outside with the right arrow key.
Sum(Area) will create a derived column that will compute the total area.
8. Press the spacebar once and type a column alias “Total_Area”.
The Sum(Area(obj, “sq mi”)) column will appear in the results table as
Total_Area.
9. In the Group by Columns box, choose Continent from the Columns drop-
down list.
10. In the Order by Columns box, choose Continent from the Columns drop-
down list.
11. In the Into Table Named box, type POPULATION as the name for this table.
12. The Count(*) counts all the records in the table. However, since we are
grouping the countries according to continent, MI Pro reports the number of
countries in each continent and puts it in at a column called COUNTRIES (the
alias).

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 197

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

The resulting query table is shown in the following figure.

Where Condition
A number of enhancements to formulating the Where condition in SQL joins allows
MI Pro to join tables in a more logical, simpler way.

198 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

Order of Fields
The order of fields used in the Join does not matter. Either of the following syntaxes is
acceptable:
Select * from A,B where A.field1 = B.field1
Select * from A,B where B.field1 = A.field1
However, keep in mind that when you switch the order of geographic operands, the
geographic operator must also change. The following statements will produce
identical results:
Select * from states, cities where states.obj contains
cities.obj
Select * from states, cities where cities.obj within
states.obj

Order of Clauses
The order in which Join clauses are performed does not matter. For example, each of
the following are valid clauses:
Select * from Us_custg,States,City_125
where States.state = City_125.state and States.state =
Us_custg.state and Us_custg.order_amt > 10000
Select * from Us_custg,States,City_125
where States.state = City_125.state and States.state =
City_125.state and Us_custg.order_amt > 10000
Select * from Us_custg,States,City_125
where Us_custg.state = States.state and
Us_custg.order_amt > 10000 and States.state =
City_125.state

Error Handling
If an invalid Where condition that uses an OR as a logical operator is detected, MI Pro
will indicate an error has occurred. Usually this error will display whenever MI Pro
cannot find a join between two tables. For example, if you have specified the
following incorrect condition:
Select * from A,B where A.field1 = B.field1 or A.field1 =
B.field2
The error “No join specified between A and B. Invalid join
condition in Where clause” displays.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 199

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

Outer Join
An SQL outer join refers to the process of joining data from a larger table and a
smaller table where you would like the result to be all the records in the larger table
joined to whatever records matched from the smaller table. A problem arises if this is
done as a standard join. A standard join in SQL Select will yield a table of only those
records that matched. You would like to have empty fields where there is no match.
For example, suppose you have a table containing a listing of all of the apartments in
a building. There is also a table containing records for each of the tenants. The tables
each have a field with the apartment number in it. Your task is to generate a table of
all of the apartments and the tenants occupying the apartments. Some of the
apartments will be vacant and have no match in the tenant field.
The first step is to create a subset of the data where you can successfully match the
apartment to the tenant.
1. Choose Query > SQL Select. Set up the following SQL query:

2. Click OK. Your selection appears as a query browser. You will need to save
this query to a base table.
3. Choose File > Save Copy As. The Save Copy As dialog displays. Choose the
appropriate directory for your file and name it RESULT.TAB. Click Save.
4. Choose File > Open Table and open the RESULT table. This table includes all
of the records from both tables where there was a match.

200 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

5. Next, you must select the records from the APARTMNTS table that had no
match in the tenants table. Choose Query > SQL Select and set up the
following SQL query:

6. The resulting query table is a list of all of the apartments that are not in the
RESULT table. To include these records in your RESULT table, you must
append them. Choose Table > Append Rows to Table.
7. Append the last query table to the RESULT table. This will append the list of
vacant apartments to the list of occupied apartments. See Chapter 22,
Managing Your Tables, for more information on appending rows.

Finding Information within a Column of Data–the InStr

Function
The InStr funtion is used to locate a substring within a larger string. This function is
useful for searching a character field to find the position of a specific character or
group of characters. It can also be used to find any occurrence of the substring.
For example, you want to select all of the streets in the POINTS table that contain the
word “Main” in the STREET column.
Set up your SQL Select statement as follows:

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 201

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

In the above example, if the InStr function finds the word "Main" anywhere in the
STREET column of the Points table, it will return a value greater than zero (the
position of the first letter of "Main" in the string being searched).
The syntax of the INSTR function is as follows:
INSTR ( position, string, substring)
where:
position is the starting position of the search
string is the text string or field containing the string to be searched
substring is the text string that you are searching for
For example, if you want to find the position of the word "test" in a given text string,
the InStr function will look something like this:
INSTR(1,”This is a test of the Instr function”,”test”)
When this statement is executed, the value 11 will be returned.
Note: If the string that you are searching for does not exist in the larger string, the
value 0 will be returned.
For more information, see Appendix D: Creating Expressions.

202 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

Selecting Records from One Table That Are Not in Another

The following SQL statement allows you to select records from one table that are not
in another table based on a field common to both tables. For example, if you have a
table, STATE1 and want to select all of the records from STATE1 that are not in
CITY125.
1. Choose Query > SQL Select.

Note: The statement syntax is as follows: NOT columnname IN (SELECT

columnname FROM secondtable)
2. This SQL statement produces a query of all records in the table STATE1.Tab
that do not exist in CITY125.Tab.

Selecting Even or Odd Records from a Table

Every record in a table has a sequential record number or a RowID. Suppose you want
to select every other record from your table. The easiest way is to check the table
through RowID.
To select records that have an odd record number, do the following:

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 203

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

Choose Query > SQL Select. Fill in the dialog as shown below:

Note: RowID is a function, not a column name in the Soils table

To select records that have an even record number do the following:
Choose Query > SQL Select. Fill in the dialog as shown below:

Note: RowID is a function, not a column name in the Soils table.

204 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

Selecting Highways from a StreetInfo Table

If you are using MI Pro StreetInfo products, you may want to create a separate layer of
just the highway data. The following selection demonstrates a typical selection of
highways.
1. Choose File > Open. Select your StreetInfo file. In this example, the table
name is NYSHCHES.TAB.
2. Choose Query > SQL Select. Fill in the dialog as shown below.

This will create a new table called HIGHWAYS that contains all the primary
roads contained in the StreetInfo NYSCHES table.
3. Choose File > Save Copy As and save the HIGHWAYS table. The HIGHWAYS
table can now be added to your map as a separate layer.
Note: The above SQL Select statement selects all of the primary roads as defined
by the CFCC codes. To determine the class of the streets that you want to
select, use the Info tool on a few of the streets that you want to select, or
refer to your StreetInfo documentation for explanations of the classes.

Finding All Records with Duplicate Values in a Column

Often data is entered into tables by many different users. Sometimes data is repeated,
or there is common information in several different records. This section explains how
to find all rows in a table that, for a given column, share a value with another row.
This is accomplished by performing two SQL Select statements.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 205

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

The first SQL Select statement produces a query table with two columns. The first
column is a list of all unique values in the data column and the second column lists
the number of times that each unique value occurs. The second SQL statement
compares each data column value with all rows in the Query table where the count is
greater than one.
In the example below, there is a table EMPLOYEE that has two columns Id_Num and
Name. To find the duplicate values, perform the two SQL Selects, modifying them
where indicated.
1. Choose Query > SQL Select and fill in the dialog as shown below.

Substitute the name of your data column for ID_Num and the name of your
table for EMPLOYEE. The number 1 in the Group By Columns box will group
the row by ID_Num (the first column). The 2 Desc in the Order by Columns
box will arrange the records in descending order based on the values in the
count(*) field (the second column).
This SQL Select statement returns a query table with two columns. The first
column contains every identification number possessed by at least one
employee. The second column contains the number of employees that have
that identification number. The rows are sorted by the number of employees
that have each id number (i.e., the count).
2. Next, choose Query > SQL Select and fill in the dialog as shown below.

206 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

Also, change EMPLOYEE to the name of your table and ID_Num to the name
of your data column.
In the example, the SQL statement returns a query table containing all of the
rows from EMPLOYEE with duplicated data column values. The where
condition selects all rows from EMPLOYEE that have an identification
number that is the same as one of the ID numbers in the Count_By_ID query
table. This sub-select finds all identification numbers that occur more than
once.

Calculating the Distance to a Fixed Point

In MI Pro it is possible to calculate the distance from one point to another. This
example shows how to calculate the distance from a fixed point to every point in a
geocoded table and store the result in another table.
1. Determine the location of the fixed point. To find the position of a symbol on
the map, double-click on the symbol with the Select tool. In this example, the
X value is -101.697209 and the Y value is 36.050036.
2. Choose Query > SQL Select and fill in the dialog as shown below, substituting
your X and Y values for the values mentioned above. As in the previous SQL
query, replace EMPLOYEE with the name of your table, and ID_Num with the
name of the relevant column from your table.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 207

Chapter 10: Selecting Using Queries

3. Click OK. The resulting query table contains last names and first names plus a
new column called DISTANCE which records the distance between the fixed
location (-101.697209, 36.050036) and the point associated with each row of
the table.
4. To save the results in a permanent table, choose File > Save Copy As, and save
the CUSTDIST table.

208 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 11
Chapter 11: Using Thematic
Mapping to Analyze your
Data
Using Thematic Mapping to Chapter
Analyze Your Data
Thematic mapping is a powerful way to ➤ What Is Thematic Mapping?
analyze and visualize your data. You give ➤ Planning Your Thematic
graphic form to your data so that you can see it Map
on a map. Patterns and trends that are almost
➤ Thematic Layers
impossible to detect in lists of data reveal
themselves clearly when you use thematic ➤ Methods of Thematic
shading to display the data on a map. Mapping

You can create thematic maps with MapInfo ➤ Individual Values Maps
®
Professional using the following methods: ➤ Ranged Maps
ranges of values, graduated symbols, dot
density, individual values, bar and pie charts
➤ Grid Surface Thematic Maps
and continuous grid. There are also several ➤ Prism Maps
variations on and options within these
➤ Graduated Symbol Maps
methods, such as bivariate thematic mapping
and inflection point, that give you even more ➤ Dot Density Maps
ways to analyze your data. ➤ Bar Chart Maps
➤ Pie Chart Maps
➤ Using Update Column with
Thematic Mapping
➤ Bivariate Thematic Mapping
➤ Using an Inflection Point
with Thematic Mapping
➤ Modifying a Thematic Map
➤ Customizing a Thematic
Legend
➤ Saving Your Thematic
Settings
Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

What Is Thematic Mapping?

Thematic mapping is the process of enhancing your map according to a particular
theme. At the cornerstone of the theme is the data in your table. Themes represent
your data with shades of color, fill patterns, symbols, or bar and pie charts.
With MapInfo Professional, you create different thematic maps by assigning these
colors, patterns, or symbols to map objects according to specific values in your table.
MI Pro’s bar and pie charts allow you to make data comparisons for each record.
The Thematic Map feature uses a series of three dialogs to help you choose the type of
thematic map you want, the table(s) and fields that will be used to construct the map,
and a variety of options to customize your map.
MI Pro’s thematic templates make it easy to start constructing a theme. Just choose a
template that represents the type of thematic map you want. The templates are fully
customizable and can be saved as new templates for future thematic mapping needs.
More than 40 templates ship with MI Pro.

210 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Types of Thematic Maps

With MI Pro you can create seven types of thematic maps, as listed under Type in the
Step 1 of 3 dialog, below.

Each has its own purpose and unique attributes. For example, using Ranges of Values,
you could thematically shade a map of the world according to population density.
You could shade the countries with graduated shades of red, the darkest red
representing the most densely populated countries, and the palest red representing
the least densely populated countries. At a glance you can see the distribution of the
world’s population.
You are not limited to representing numeric values with thematic mapping. Nominal
values also may be shaded thematically. For example, you have a table of
underground cables. Those cables that haven’t been serviced in the past six months
are labeled priority status. Using Individual Values, you can shade the cables
according to their repair status. All records with the same value will be shaded the
same.
See the individual sections later in this chapter for more information on each type of
thematic map.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 211

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Planning Your Thematic Map

Before you create a thematic map, it is important to know about the elements that
make up a thematic map and how they are put together. This section will discuss
thematic variables, where you can obtain your data, using data from the same table or
another table, and the arrangement and display of thematic layers.

Thematic Variables
The data that you display on your thematic map is called the thematic variable.
Depending on the type of thematic analysis you are performing, your map can show
one or more thematic variables. Ranges of values, grid shading, graduated symbols,
dot density, and individual values maps all examine one variable. With bar or pie
charts, you can display more than one thematic variable at a time.
A thematic variable can also be an expression. Choose Expression from the field list in
place of a data field to construct a statement that derives information from the data in
your table(s). Although an expression can be made up of more than one variable (e.g.,
POP_1990 – POP_1980), for purposes of thematic mapping, a complete expression is
equivalent to one thematic variable. See Chapter 10, Selecting Using Queries, and
Appendix D, Creating Expressions, for more detailed information.
You can also create bivariate thematic maps, where one map object, such as a symbol,
represents two different pieces of data. The symbol color, for example, can represent
one thematic variable, and the symbol size can represent another.

Where to Obtain the Data

Before you begin your thematic map, you need to decide what information you want
to display and locate where that information resides. It can either be in the table on
which you are basing the map, or it can be in another table.
If the data is in the same table on which you are basing the map, choose the desired
field directly in the Field list box in the Thematic – Step 2 of 3 dialog.
If the data is in another table, you must first bring the data into the table on which
you’re basing the thematic map. This requires creating a temporary column using
Update Column.
Each situation is described below.

212 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Using Data from the Same Table

If you are using data from the same table, choose the table and field on which you
want to base your thematic map in the Thematic – Step 2 of 3 dialog.
For example, you have a table of parking meters that contains the location of the
parking meter and the last time the parking meter was emptied. Using Individual
Values you want to shade the parking meter symbols according to the last time each
meter was emptied. MI Pro will assign a color to each time. In Step 2 of 3, choose the
parking meter table as your table, and choose the field that contains the time each
meter was emptied.

Using Data from a Different Table

The Join feature within the Thematic – Step 2 of 3 dialog enables you to use data from
other open tables to create a thematic map. Choose Join in the Field list box to display
the Update Column dialog where you can create a temporary column in the base
table.
The temporary column can contain data taken directly from the other table, or you
can aggregate the data to create derived information for the temporary column.
For example, you have two tables: a table of county boundaries and a table of police
stations. You want to shade the table of county boundaries according to the number of
police stations in each county.
To do this, all the information you want to use must be in the county table. Therefore,
you must add police station data to this table.
Using Update Column, you create a temporary column in the county boundaries table
that will store the police station information. To create this column, the two tables
must have a link so that MI Pro can access the data that goes into the temporary
column. The link can either be a matching field (like county name), or you can make
the link geographically (police stations contained within counties).
An example later in this chapter explains more about Update Column.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 213

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Thematic Layers
When you create a thematic map in MI Pro, the thematic shading is added to your
map as a separate layer. It is drawn on top of the base map layer.

Separate Layers
Separating thematic layers from the base map layer provides you with several
important options:
• Graduated symbol thematic maps do not require that your base map contain
point objects. Instead, graduated symbol objects are built regardless of the
map object type. Therefore, even if your base map contains region or line
objects, you will still be able to create a graduated symbols map.
• You can have multiple thematic layers per base map layer. In some cases, you
do not have to add another base layer to the map to create another thematic
layer. You can display more than one thematic layer at a time, as well as
perform bivariate thematic mapping.
• You can use Layer Control to turn the display on or off for a given thematic
layer. The layer it is based on can continue to display. You can also set
individual zoom layers on thematic maps.

Ordering of Thematic Layers

To display thematic layers properly, they must be in a specific order. This is especially
important when you want to display more than one thematic layer at a time. For
example, you would want pie or bar charts for an area map to display on top of
regions that are shaded in order to see them.
The following lists the order of map layers from top to bottom (note that map layers
are drawn from the bottom up):
1. Pies, Bars, or Graduated Symbol thematic layer.
2. Dot Density thematic layer.
3. Ranged thematic layer – where Color or Size Attributes are applied.
4. Ranged (or Individual Value) thematic layer – where All Attributes are
applied.
5. Major layer or base layer.
6. Grid thematic layer.
When you create a new thematic layer, MI Pro automatically inserts it into its proper
place.

214 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Displaying Thematic Layers

You can turn the display on and off for thematic layers the same way you can for other
map layers. All the display settings in Layer Control are also applicable to thematic
layers, enabling you to set a zoom level for each thematic layer. You can also access
the Modify Thematic Layer dialog through Layer Control by clicking the Thematic
button.
Thematic layers are always drawn after their base layer. Therefore, they appear above
their base layer in the Layer Control list, and are indented to distinguish them from
other map layers.
Thematic layers are displayed in the list with this naming convention:
<Thematic type> with/by <variable-list>
The type of thematic map is noted first, followed by the list of variables used to create
the map. For example, a pie thematic layer that uses commuting data is listed this
way:
Pies with ComAlone, ComCarpool...
The variable list is truncated if there is not enough room to display each variable used
in your thematic analysis.

Methods of Thematic Mapping

The following sections offer general information on the methods available for creating
thematic maps. For more information on any of these methods and options, see the
Create Thematic Map Command in the MapInfo Professional Reference or Thematic
Mapping in the Online Help.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 215

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Individual Values Maps

Individual Values maps show points, lines, or boundaries that are shaded by
individual values contained in a particular field. You can use both numerical and
nominal values in individual values maps. MI Pro gives each unique value its own
color or symbol. When an individual values map uses symbol types, the symbols are
taken from the base table.
For example, a soft drink distributor maintains a table of the supermarkets that buy
soft drinks from him. Each supermarket sells the distributor’s brand of soft drink for a
different price. If the distributor shades the supermarket points by price, using
individual values, all stores that sell the soft drink for 49 cents are shaded one color,
all stores that sell the soft drink for 51 cents are shaded another color, and so on. Each
unique value is assigned its own color. The distributor is able to see the price
distribution among the supermarkets and can determine where he should increase his
sales volume, based on the price.

216 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

If you are shading your points, lines or boundaries using nominal data, you can shade
only by individual values. Nominal data is either non-numerical data (name, type of
cuisine served, or brand of automobile sold) or numeric data where the numbers
represent non-numeric data like an ID number. Dates are considered numeric data
and can be used in both ranged and individual values maps.
For example, you have the results from a consumer survey. One question on the
survey reads “What is your favorite Sunday afternoon activity?” The possible
responses are:
1. Sleeping
2. Watching TV
3. Taking a drive
4. Reading
5. Playing or watching sports
6. Visiting museums or art galleries
7. Going to the movies
You want to shade each consumer point with the response for the favorite Sunday
activity. The SUNDAY column of your table contains the number that corresponds to
the consumer’s favorite activity. However, the numbers in this column do not
represent quantitative values. Going to the movies is not greater than Playing or
watching sports even though 7 > 5. When numbers are used as names instead of
values, you must shade your objects by individual values. The numbers are only used
to reference the pastimes so color can be assigned to them.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 217

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Ranged Maps

When you create a ranged thematic map, MI Pro groups all records into ranges and
assigns each record’s object the color, symbol, or line for its corresponding range. For
example, you have a table of weather stations for your television viewing area, and
you want to shade the locations according to their reported snowfall amounts.
With the Ranged map feature, MI Pro groups the snowfall amounts into ranges. For
instance, all weather stations that received between zero and five inches of snowfall in
the past month are grouped into one range. Stations receiving between five and 10
inches are in a separate range. Sites that received between 10 and 15 inches are in a
third range, while those stations reporting greater than 15 inch snowfall amounts are
in a fourth range.
All records are assigned to a range and then assigned a color based on that range. For
instance, the weather stations reporting the 15 plus inches of snow are shaded red.
The other ranges are shaded in lighter shades of red with the last range in gray
(default colors). When you display the map, the colors make it readily apparent which
locations received the most and least snow accumulation.

218 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Ranges are also useful when the size of the region is not directly related to the
magnitude of the data values. In our population density example at the beginning of
the chapter, countries that are small in size can be very densely populated, and
countries that are large in size may not be densely populated. Differences like these
are more readily apparent when the regions are shaded in this manner.

Types of Ranged Values

MI Pro can create ranges automatically using five methods: Equal Count, Equal
Ranges, Natural Break, (Standard Deviation), Quantile, and Custom. To set ranges
manually, use Custom.
Equal Count has the same number of records in each range. If you want MI Pro to
group 100 records into 4 ranges using Equal Count, MI Pro computes the ranges so
that approximately 25 records fall into each range, depending on the rounding factor
you set.
When using Equal Count (or any other range method), it’s important to watch out for
any extreme data values that might affect your thematic map (in statistics, these
values are referred to as outliers). For example, if you tell MI Pro to shade according to
Equal Count with this database:
John 5000 Andrea 7000
Penny 6000 Kyle 5500
Miguel 4500 Angela 7500
Linda 5000 Elroy 6000
Ben 100 Mark 7000

Ben and Miguel are grouped in the same range (since they have the two lowest
values). This may not produce the results you want since the value for Ben is so much
lower than any of the other values.
Equal Ranges divides records across ranges of equal size. For example, you have a
field in your table with data values ranging from 1 to 100. You want to create a
thematic map with four equal size ranges. MI Pro produces ranges 1–25, 25–50, 50–75,
and 75–100. (Since ranges use "=>" and "<=", they need to overlap.)

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 219

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Keep in mind that MI Pro may create ranges with no data records, depending on the
distribution of your data. For example, if you tell MI Pro to shade the following
database according to Equal Ranges:
John 100 Andrea 90
Penny 6 Kyle 1
Miguel 4 Angela 92
Linda 95 Elroy 89
Ben 10 Mark 10

MI Pro creates four ranges (1–25, 25–50, 50–75, and 75–100). Notice, however, that
only two of those ranges (1–25 and 75–100) actually contain records.
Natural Break and Quantile are two ways to show data that is not evenly distributed.
Natural Break creates ranges according to an algorithm that uses the average of each
range to distribute the data more evenly across the ranges. It distributes the values so
that the average of each range is as close as possible to each of the range values in that
range. This ensures that the ranges are well-represented by their averages, and that
data values within each of the ranges are fairly close together.
Quantiling enables you to build ranges that determine the distribution of a thematic
variable across a segment of your data. For example, you can quantile state
population by urban population to illustrate how urban population is distributed
across the United States. Your legend will not indicate that you have used Quantile to
build your ranges. You can customize the legend so that it shows which field you
used to quantile the table.
When you create ranges using Standard Deviation, the middle range breaks at the
mean of your values, and the ranges above and below the middle range are one
standard deviation above or below the mean.
You can also define your own ranges using Custom.

Customizing Range Styles and Inflection Point

When you customize range styles, you can choose which attributes to display on your
map: color, size, or all attributes. The size attribute becomes available when you are
working with point and line data. You can change the size of each symbol, or use
graduated symbols to represent your ranges.

220 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Another effective way to customize the display of ranges of data is by inserting an

inflection point between ranges. An inflection point is a color style that provides you
with a second interpolation of your data. This option is useful for showing two sets of
contrasting information, like data that contains positive and negative values such as
profit and loss figures, or population growth.
The colors of the top and bottom ranges spread to, but never reach, the inflection
point color. They only approach the inflection point. For example, if the inflection
point is white, and the top and bottom range colors are blue and red respectively, the
color spreads from blue to white, and from white to red. The ranges closest to the
inflection point are either very pale blue or red, but they never actually become white.
See the example at the end of this chapter for more on using an inflection point.
For more information about customizing ranges and other Create Thematic Map
options, see Create Thematic Map Command in the MapInfo Professional Reference.

Grid Surface Thematic Maps

MI Pro takes thematic mapping to a new level with a method that displays data as
continuous color gradations across the map. This type of thematic mapping, known as
grid mapping or surface theme mapping, is produced by an interpolation of point
data from the source table. MI Pro generates a grid file from the data interpolation and
displays it as a raster image in a Map window.
Grid theme maps are appropriate analytical tools in traditional GIS environments and
other industries where the data points have measured values that reflect those
locations. For example, use grid shading to illustrate temperature changes, snowfall
amounts, or change in elevation. The illustration below shows the light to dark
gradual transition across the United States, which represents low to high average
annual temperatures. The continuous shading allows you to derive measurements at
places other than where measurements were taken.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 221

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Grid Image Files

Grid mapping produces a file type called a grid image. When you create a grid
thematic map using MI Pro’s grid handler, MI Pro generates a default file name of
tablename_fieldname with the extension .mig (e.g., Uselev_elevfeet.mig). In the Step 2 of
3 dialog MI Pro displays the path and the root file name, where you can change it as
necessary.
You can have other grid file handlers installed. To set the default grid writeable
handler, go to the Map window preferences (Options>Preferences>Map Window)
and specify a grid handler. The available handler formats depend on what grid
handlers have been installed. Changing the default grid handler will change the
default file extension of the grid file name.
Grid files are stored by default in the data directory specified as a preference (Options
Preferences>Directories>New grids). Grid files can be opened from the File > Open
command like other MI Pro supported file types. All other thematic layers are
temporary and can only be saved in a workspace.

222 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

When you open an MI Pro table that has a grid filename associated with it, MI Pro
searches for the file if it cannot find it immediately. For example, the search capability
can simplify opening tables if your .TAB file refers to an image that resides on a CD-
ROM drive, and different letters are used to designate the CD-ROM drive on different
systems.
MI Pro uses the following search order:
1. Search for the file where specified by the FILE tag in the .TAB file.
2. Search for the file in the same directory as the .TAB file.
3. Search for the file in the Table Search path specified in the Directories
preferences (Options>Preferences>Directories>Search Directories for Tables).
MI Pro either opens the table as though it found the file in the specified location, or it
will report an error because the file could not be found in any location.

Grid Handlers
MI Pro includes read-only grid handlers to support the direct opening of the
following grid file formats:
• DEM–USGS ASCII(*.dem)
• DTED–levels 1, 2, and 3 (*.dt0, *.dt1, *.dt2)
• GTOPO30 (*.dem)
• Marconi (*.grd, *.grc)
You can open these grid file types directly from the Open dialog. You will see the file
extensions listed next to the Grid Image file type in the Files of Type drop-down list in
the bottom of the dialog. Because the handlers are read-only, they cannot be used to
create grid files during the thematic mapping process.
If the relief shading option is enabled, a separate file will be created to store the
hillshade information. The hillshade file is stored in the same location as the grid file
and has the same base name as the grid but with the extension ".mih". If the grid file is
read-only, e.g., it’s located on a CD-ROM, the .mih files will be created in the same
location as the .tab file. The .tab file will contain a new metadata key, for example:
"\Grid\Hillshade File" = "d:\tmp\AntiochSouth.mih"

Vertical Mapper Grid Handler

MI Pro also includes the Vertical Mapper Grid handler to enable users who do not
have the full Vertical Mapper add-on product by Marconi to open, view, and print
Vertical Mapper Grid (*.grd, *.grc) format files.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 223

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

The Vertical Mapper Grid files can also be opened directly in MI Pro. The *.grd
extension is listed with the other Grid Image formats in the Files of Type drop-down
list.
Currently, grids using the Vertical Mapper handler cannot be modified in the Modify
Thematic Map dialog. They are read-only. They must be modified within Marconi
original Vertical Mapper source application. In addition, you cannot create .grd or .grc
files in MI Pro, however, you can convert *.grd fiels to *.mig files with Gridtools.mbx.
You must use the Vertical Mapper application, which runs within MI Pro, to create
them.

Grid Interpolation
MI Pro provides two interpolators for creating grid themes: Inverse Distance
Weighting (IDW) and Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN).

IDW Interpolator

The IDW interpolator is best suited for data values that produce arbitrary values over
the grid, that is, data that does not have any relationship or influence over
neighboring data values, such as population. This method of interpolation also works
well for sparse data.
The IDW interpolator calculates the value of grid cells that cover the mapping area.
Each data point value from your source table that is considered in the calculation for a
cell value is weighted by its distance from the center of the cell. Because the
interpolation is an inverse distance weighting calculation, the farther the point is from
the cell, the less influence its value will have on the resulting cell value.
MI Pro’s grid mapping process begins by determining the minimum bounding
rectangle (MBR) of the source table. The grid is divided into equal sized square cells of
some size. For example, using the Grid default template, the States table in MI Pro’s
sample data set creates a grid dimension of 200 cells by 303 cells. By calculating the
number of cells in the grid and knowing the dimension of the MBR, MI Pro
determines that each cell needs to be 18.1 by 18.1 miles square. (Your cell size will be
in whatever distance units you have set for the Map window. To change the units, go
to Map > Options > Map Units).

224 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

The settings for the IDW interpolator are controlled via the Settings button in the Step
3 of 3 dialog. The illustration above shows the settings for the States table if you are
basing the grid theme on the Grid Default or Grid Gray Default templates that ship
with MI Pro. Note the cell size number represents both the height and width of the
cell. Any change to the cell size will result in an automatic update of the grid
dimensions.
With the cell size and the source points and values known, MI Pro calculates a value
for each cell. This value is determined by calculating a distance-weighted average of
the points that lie within the specified search radius. Points are inversely weighted by
their distance from the center of the cell.
In IDW, the exponent determines how much influence each point will have on the
result. The higher the exponent the greater the influence closer points will have on the
cell value. Exponents can range from one to 10.
You can also choose an aggregation method for the z-values of source data points that
are in the same grid cell. Choose from: average, count, sum, min, and max.

TIN Interpolator

The TIN interpolator works best for terrain data and for data points that have a linear
progression or relationship to each other across the grid, such as temperature.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 225

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

The TIN interpolator produces triangles from a network of points that more closely
reproduces the original map terrain than the IDW interpolator. It draws lines between
points, dividing them into triangles and connecting all the points that it can. It creates
a mesh of connectivity so that the grid points can be interpolated. The interpolation is
not influenced by the neighboring original data values, so you do not get the "false
bumping" of data that you can get with the IDW interpolator.
Included in the Grid templates in the Create Thematic Map–Step 1 of 3 dialog are two
templates that work best with the TIN interpolator. The TIN interpolator settings are
specified in the Step 3 of 3 dialog. Click the Settings button to display the TIN
Interpolator Settings dialog.

As in the IDW interpolator, the cell size indicated in the TIN interpolator is square: the
number represents both the height and width of the cell. The grid dimensions are
automatically updated when the cell size is changed.
The TIN settings can be manipulated to give more or less detail to the map terrain.
The Tolerance setting controls whether closely spaced points are discarded. The
tolerance is a fraction of the diagonal length of the bounding box of the points.
The Distance value controls the output. For non-zero distance values, only edges or
triangles contained within a sphere centered at mesh vertices are output. This is
useful to constrain the triangulated irregular network to a specified distance;
otherwise, the triangulation will cross concave regions.
The Feature Angle setting controls the angle (in degrees) that defines a sharp edge.
This setting is used for smoothing the final grid. If the difference in angle across
neighboring polygons is greater than this value, the shared edge is considered
"sharp."

226 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Grid Appearance
Once the cell values are calculated, MI Pro groups them into a color spectrum that is
bounded by the minimum and maximum values in the table. The grid’s appearance is
controlled in the Grid Appearance dialog, which you can access by clicking the Styles
button in Step 3.

Inflection Methods
You can control how the color is spread by specifying an inflection method, and the
number of inflection points. The Number of inflections drop-down list shows
numbers 2–16, but you can type any number between 2 and 255. You can also apply a
rounding factor to the inflection values. If the inflection method is based on cell count,
you may not see the effects of the rounding factor until the inflection values are
calculated. The inflection methods are listed below:
• Equal Cell Count–Sets the inflections so that approximately an equal number
of grid cells fall between each inflection value.
• Equal Value Ranges–Spreads the inflections evenly between the minimum
and maximum values of the data range.
• Custom Cell Count–Use this method to specify your own percentages.
• Custom Value Ranges–Use this method to specify your own values.
The Grid default template assigns blue to the minimum value and red to the
maximum value. These minimum and maximum values are also expressed as
percentages of the range. These color settings/values are known as inflection points
and will display in the legend with a particular color, value and percentage. If a cell
has the exact value as the inflection point, it will display that color on the map. A cell
value that falls between two inflection points displays with the color that is in
between the colors of those inflection points.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 227

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

When you increase the number of inflections, MI Pro chooses default colors for the
new inflections. The last inflection color remains the same. New ones are inserted
between the new last inflection and the one before it.
To change the color of an inflection point, double-click on the color swatch and choose
a new color from the palette. To edit the inflection percentages/values, single or
double-click on a value. You can type the new value right over the old value.

Relief Shading
Relief shading allows you to shade your grid surface map according to a virtual light
source. MI Pro adjusts the brightness of each grid cell based on its orientation to the
light source. This enables you to take surface slope and direction into account relative
to the direction of the light.
The brightness values that MI Pro assigns to each cell correspond to light striking the
surface. The light source can be the sun shining on a topographic surface. The
maximum brightness is assigned at points where the sun’s rays are perpendicular to
the surface (the slope directly faces the light source). As the slope faces turn away
from the light source, lower brightness values are assigned.

228 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Grid Translucency
The translucency setting allows you to set how much you can see through the grid
layer. For example, in a boundary map, you may want to be able to see the boundaries
as well as the topological terrain. A translucency setting of 0% produces a completely
opaque image. A setting of 100% produces a completely transparent image. Set the
translucency according to how much of the details in the layers underneath the grid
you want to see.

Final Adjustments
You can make other color adjustments to your grid surface map. You can set the
contrast and brightness level, or show the grid in gray scale. You can also invert the
inflection colors using the Flip Colors button.
Once the inflection settings, any relief shading, and other color settings are finalized,
you are ready to produce the map. MI Pro generates the grid theme map layer as a
raster image. The inflection points grade from one color to another in smooth
transitions to illustrate the distribution of the data.

Zoom Layering
Zoom layering for grid layers is now controlled in the Map window preferences. To
change the zoom layering setting for a grid surface map that you are currently
working with, go to the Map Options dialog (Map>Options) and either activate or
turn off zoom layering. The setting is turned off by default.

Working with Grid Theme Layers

The grid thematic layer is different from other thematic layers in that, once it is
created, it is independent of its base layer. Because it is a type of raster image, it can be
reordered in the Map window as a separate layer. If the data in the base layer changes,
the grid will not automatically update. In that case, you must re-interpolate the grid.
The layer displays in Layer Control with a default layer name of table name_fieldname.

Info Tool and InfoTips

You can use the Info tool to get information on individual grid cells. When the Map
window is active, click on the Info tool button on the Main toolbar to select it and click
on the map. The Info tool displays the surface grid’s name and the data value
associated with it. The information in the Info tool window is read-only in this
instance, as you cannot change the cell’s value.
When InfoTips are active, hovering the cursor over a grid cell will display the cell’s
value.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 229

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Grid Tools Utility

The Grid Tools utility contains three tools that help you get the most from your grid
layers.
Note: Grid Tools replaces the DEM2Grid utility included in earlier versions of MI
Pro.

Converting Grid Files

The Grid File Converter enables you to convert any grid file supported by a grid
handler to an MI Pro grid file (.mig). You must provide a color file that defines the
inflection points of the new grid file. The tool gives you the option of generating relief
shading for the new file, and opening the file after the conversion. It replaces the
DEM2Grid MapBasic utility included in earlier versions of MI Pro.
To load Grid Tools, choose Tools>Tool Manager, and select the Loaded check box next
to the Grid Tools utility. Then choose Tools>Grid Tools>Create MapInfo Grid from
Other Grid File to display the dialog.

To select the input and output grid files and the color file, use the corresponding
Browse buttons to navigate to their respective locations. Select the Relief shading
check box to activate relief shading for the converted grid file. Click the Relief Shade
Options button to display the Relief Shade Options dialog, where you can specify the
angle of the light source and the vertical scale factor. Select the Open and Map Grid
File check box to have MI Pro display the grid in a Map window.

230 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Other Grid Tools

In addition to the Grid File Converter, Grid Tools enables you to create a MI Pro grid
file from a table of points. This works best if the records in your table represent a
regular grid of points. Choose Tools>Grid Tools>Create MapInfo Grid from Table of
Objects to display the dialog.
Finally, loading Grid Tools places a grid "info tool" on the Tools toolbar that you can
use to display the x, y, and z coordinates of a mouse-click location in a grid layer. Click
on the button to activate it, and then click anywhere on your grid layer to display the
coordinates for that location.

Clipping a Grid Map

MI Pro’s grid feature allows you to clip the grid map with a table of region objects. MI
Pro generates a rectangular grid based on the MBR of the source table. In order for the
grid boundary to follow the outline of your map boundary, specify that the grid be
clipped by the map or another table of boundaries. MI Pro first creates a single object
out of all objects in the clipping table and then clips the grid to match it. Set the
clipping table in the Step 2 of 3 dialog under Grid Options.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 231

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

If your source data points do not extend beyond your clipping region, your grid map
will not be completed filled with grid cells. To avoid this, in the Interpolator Settings
dialog for IDW Interpolation (reached by the Settings button in the Step 3 of 3 dialog),
type a value in the Grid Border box to represents the miles you want added to the grid
that will meet or exceed the source table’s MBR. This value will add the same amount
to all four sides of the grid.

Areas with missing grid cells

3D Viewing
MapInfo Professional contains a 3D viewing capability. Based on Microsoft’s
implementation of OpenGL software graphics interface, it allows freehand tilt and
rotation of the image. The traditional pan, zoom, and Info tools also operate in the
3DMap window.
You can create a 3D view of any map that contains a continuous grid layer. For
example, by importing digital elevation model (DEM) files or interpolate from a layer
of points that contain elevation values. The image of any other layers will be draped
over the 3D surface. Keep in mind, the 3D surface is not limited to representing
elevation. It can also be used to show property value, sales potential, population
density, air temperature, etc.

232 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Use the Create 3DMap command (Map > Create 3DMap) to create a 3D view of a Grid
Thematic map when the Grid Thematic map is in the active window. You can rotate,
zoom, and pan the 3D view. Additionally, you can clone the 3D view.
The 3DMap window is a stand-alone window. Therefore, if you modify the tables in
the Grid Thematic map used to create the 3DMap, choose the Refresh Grid Texture
option in the 3DWindow menu to update the 3DMap. To change the settings in an
existing 3DMap window, select Properties on the 3DWindow menu.

Creating a 3DMap
To create a 3DMap:
1. Create a Grid Thematic map or open an existing grid layer. See Grid Surface
Thematic Maps for more information.
2. Choose Map > Create 3DMap. The Create 3DMap dialog displays.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 233

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

From this dialog you can set:

Camera: Specify the camera position and orientation.
Light: Designate the position and color of the light source.
Appearance: Specify appearance attributes including Units, Resolution, and Scale.
Units is only available when first creating a 3DMap. Resolution and scale are available
later as well.
To create a 3DMap using the default settings click OK. The 3D View of the map
displays.
The map below displays land elevations in the United States. It is available from the
MI Pro CD. Open the Elev_ft.mig file from the NAmrca\USA\Grid folder.

234 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

The 3DWindow Menu

When the 3DMap is the active window, the 3DWindow menu displays in the menu
bar. This menu also displays as a shortcut menu when you right-click in the 3DMap
window. The 3DWindow menu contains the following commands:
Refresh Texture: Regenerate the image that is used for the texture on the grid. If the
tables used in the 3DMap change or objects are updated, use this option to refresh the
map.
Clone View: Create a clone of the 3DMap window.
Previous View: Return to the previous view of the 3DMap.
View Entire Layer: Re-center the 3DMap in the window. If you zoom or pan the map
from view, use this option to redisplay the map in the window.
Viewpoint Control: Displays the Viewpoint Control dialog.

ViewPoint Control Dialog: In addition to duplicating the functionality you have with
the selection and the zoom tools, the ViewPoint Control Dialog has a Mapper View
button that will reposition the 3DMap window to match the view from the original
Map window.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 235

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

WireFrame: Toggle between a wireframe and surface representation of the grid. This
option is not saved to a workspace. Additionally, cloned 3DMap windows have the
surface representation of the grid, even if the cloned window is in wireframe mode.
You can also toggle the wireframe mode on and off with the ‘W’ key on the keyboard
when the 3DMap window is active. Here is an example of a wireframe map:

Properties: Display the 3DMap Properties dialog displaying the current 3DMap
settings. Use this dialog to modify the Light and Appearance settings of the active
3DMap. Additionally, display this menu by right-clicking when in the 3DMap
window.

236 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Manipulating a 3DMap
To manipulate the view of a 3DMap window, choose the Select tool. Click and hold
the left mouse button in the 3DMap window. As you move the mouse the viewpoint
will be rotated around the focal point. The Info, Grabber, and Zoom tools are available
for use within the 3DMap window. The Info tool will return the grid elevation value
at a selected point.

Prism Maps
Prism maps offer another way to create a three-dimensional view of your map. In a
Prism map, the height of the geography is raised according to a specified column
value from your table or a derived value from an expression—the greater the value,
the higher the height of the geography. Each geography becomes a prism, allowing
you to compare data values of objects relative to each other according to the height of
each prism.
Prism maps are created using region layers. Other closed objects such as rectangles,
ellipses, and rounded rectangles are also included in the Prism map, as well as the
region portion of Collection objects. Point objects are not included in the Prism Map.
The prism effect does not interfere with the display of other components in a Map
window, including other map layers, themes, or labels. When the Prism map is
created, the image from the original Map window is "pasted" on the resulting 3D
objects.

Note: Creating a Prism map from complex geographical objects (e.g. high
resolution boundaries) requires a significant amount of memory and time.
Memory resources may run out on some systems.
The 3DWindow menu is shared between 3DMaps and Prism maps. When a Prism
map is the active Map window, the 3DWindow menu displays on the menu bar.
The commands in the 3DWindow menu for Prism maps are the same as those for
3DMaps. You can control the view of the map, create a duplicate view, and set the
map’s point of view, enabling you to choose the angle that will best emphasize the
prism effect of the raised geographies.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 237

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Creating a Prism Map

To create a Prism map:
1. Make sure a Map window is the active window and that it contains a region
layer.
2. Choose Map>Create Prism Map. The Create Prism Map dialog displays.

3. In the Choose Layer and Column group, choose the layer to map, and choose
a column value. Only numeric columns from the layer you chose display in
the dialog.

238 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

To use a character column, create an expression. Choose Expression from the

Column drop-down list to display the Expression dialog.
Select the character column you want to use, and use the Val() function to
convert a character string to a numeric value. This function returns zero for
any character string that has no numeric meaning.
4. In the Appearance group, specify the Background color. This color is used for
the window’s background. Also specify the Light color. This color is the
lighting for your map. It acts as a "cover" to the camera lens as it views the
map.
5. In the Camera group, choose the camera’s position and orientation. The
Horizontal Angle measures the rotation of the map around the center point of
the grid. This value can range from 0–360 degrees. The Vertical Angle
measures the rotation in elevation from the start point directly over the map.
This value ranges from 0–90 degrees.
6. Click OK. The Prism map displays in your Map window.

Bivariate Prism Maps

Because prism maps preserve the display of other map elements, including themes,
you can easily add a second theme to your prism map, such as ranges or individual
values, to create a bivariate map.

Map and Browser Editing

If you change a row value of an object in a Prism map or edit an object directly in a
Map window, the Prism map will reflect these changes. For example, if you change a
data value that was used directly in a Prism map, or as part of an expression that was
used to calculate a value, the prism height of the corresponding objects will change to
reflect the new value. This includes single row changes and column updates.
When you move objects in a Prism map, the Prism map object that is based on the
original object will also move. When you add objects to the Prism map, they will
display flat because data values for new objects are initially set as zero.
Sometimes an object in a Prism map displays the incorrect texture or image. This
usually occurs when the geometry of an object has changed for some reason, for
example, as a result of map clipping, moving the object, or adding or removing nodes.
Use the Refresh Texture command in the 3DWindow menu or the shortcut menu in
the Prism map window to correct the display.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 239

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Modifying a Prism Map

To modify a Prism map, choose Properties from the 3DWindow menu, or right-click to
display the shortcut menu, and then choose Properties. The Prism Map Properties
dialog displays.

In addition to modifying the Background and Light color settings, you can specify
InfoTips and set a scale for the Z direction (vertical) of the map.
The InfoTip information can come from any column in the table or valid expression.
The values will display when you hover the cursor over an object using a tool that
supports ToolTips.
A scale for the Z direction is calculated during the initial creation of the Prism map. If
you decide to modify it, keep in mind that the values used for the prism height may
greatly exceed the x and y dimensions. For example, in a Prism map of population,
values could easily be in the millions. The scale must be small enough so that the
objects can be viewed. A scale value >1 will exaggerate the topology in the Z
direction; a value <1 will scale down the topological features in the Z direction.

240 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Graduated Symbol Maps

Graduated symbol maps use symbols to represent different values. You can use
graduated symbols regardless of the type of map object with which you are working.
For instance, use graduated symbols to show the number of housing units by city.
When you select the graduated symbols option, MI Pro varies the size of each symbol
according to the value in the sales order field.
Or you can represent how much interest each customer has expressed in a given
product by assigning a symbol whose size is proportional to the customer’s interest.
Graduated symbols maps work best when you use numeric data. If you are working
with a layer of restaurants, it makes no sense to create graduated symbols based on
the type of cuisine each restaurant serves. However, graduated symbols are
appropriate when you want to show the number of hamburgers sold at 20 different
fast food restaurants.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 241

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

There are three attributes you can customize on a graduated symbols map: the color,
type, and size of the symbol. To change the symbol’s attributes in Thenatic Step 3 of 3,
choose Customize Settings and click on the symbol icon in the Customize Graduated
Symbols dialog to access the Symbol Style dialog. The default symbol is a red circle.
In the Customize Graduated Symbols dialog, the size of the symbol in the Symbol box
is the size for the value listed in the at Value box. All values between the high value
and zero have interpolated point sizes. If you want the symbols at the low end to be
larger, increase the point size.
You can also display symbols for negative data values. To change it, click Options in
the Customize Graduated Symbols dialog. There is a separate symbol picker so that
you can make this symbol as distinct from the symbol for positive values as you want.
When you click the icon a different Symbol Style dialog displays, enabling you to
choose a different symbol type, change the color or the size, or change any
combination of the three attributes. The default symbol for negative values is a blue
circle, and all values between zero and the low value (a negative number) also have
interpolated point sizes.

Dot Density Maps

Dot density maps use dots to represent the data value associated with a boundary or
region. The total number of dots in a region represents that region’s data value. If you
have 10,000 senior citizens in a county, and each dot represents 100 senior citizens,
there would be 100 dots in the county boundary.
Dot density is particularly useful for showing raw data where one dot represents a
large number of something: population, number of fast food restaurants, number of
distributors who carry a brand of soda, etc.
For example, if you have a table of age demographics broken down into ZIP Codes,
you could use the dot density option to show the concentration of small children in
each ZIP Code boundary.

242 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

There are three customizing options for dot density maps. You can specify the value of
one dot. For example, you have a table of population statistics, broken down by
county. There are 20,000 high school students in Rensselaer County, New York. If you
shade Rensselaer County according to the number of high school students using the
dot density method, each dot could represent 200 students. In that case, there would
be 100 dots in Rensselaer County.
When you increase the value each dot represents, you decrease the number of dots
that display on the map. You could modify your dot density map so that one dot
represents 400 students. In that case, there would only be 50 dots in Rensselaer
County.
A second option is to change the size of the dots according to your needs, either large
or small. If you are working with large populations, or large counts of something,
make the dot size smaller so that the distribution of dots is easier to see. Conversely, if
your working with a small data set, making the dot size larger might illustrate your
analysis more clearly.
Note: Distribution of dots is random within the region. If you shade states according
to population, the dots for New York are spread out throughout the state; they are not
concentrated in New York City, where the majority of the state’s population lives.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 243

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Thirdly, in the Customize Dot Density Settings dialog, change the color of the dot to
either red or black to add more variety to the final map. You can create multiple dot
density maps on the same layer by varying these options.

Bar Chart Maps

Unlike thematic maps for single variables such as ranges of values or graduated
symbols, a thematic bar chart map allows you to examine more than one variable per
record at a time. A bar chart is built for every map object at the centroid of the object,
enabling you to analyze the thematic variables in a particular chart by comparing the
height of the bars. You can also examine the same variable across all the charts in your
map.
For example, you have a table of U.S. state boundaries containing 1980 and 1990
population. Using bar charts, you can create a thematic map that displays a two-bar
chart for each state: one bar representing 1980 population, and the other representing
1990 population. You can compare the population growth within each state between
1980 and 1990, or you can examine several states and compare one state’s population
or population growth to another’s. For best results, use no more than four to six bars
per bar chart in your analysis.

244 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

You can customize the color of each bar, create a frame around each chart, and fill the
empty space inside the frame with a pattern or color. In addition, you can change the
bar chart’s orientation, such as displaying horizontal bars instead of vertical (the
default). You can also control where to display the chart: over the object’s centroid (the
default) or any of eight other locations.
You can also change the type of bar chart. In our example, you can create a multi-bar
chart, where each thematic variable has its own bar, or a stacked bar chart with each
thematic variable on top of one another, or a graduated bar chart, where the bars are
graduated in size based on some value. You can also scale the bars in a multi-bar chart
independently from one another. To show negative values in a bar chart map, the bars
extend in the opposite direction to the chart’s orientation. Note that negative values
do not display in stacked bar charts.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 245

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Pie Chart Maps

Thematic mapping using pie charts also enables you to examine more than one
variable per record at a time. Like comparing the height of the bars in bar charts, in
pie charts you compare the wedges in a single pie, or examine a particular pie wedge
across all of the pies. Pie charts also enable you to compare parts of a whole.

Both pie and bar charts are particularly useful for analyzing demographic data. For
example, you have a table of demographic information for the United States. Your
table shows the populations of several major demographic groups. Using pie charts,
you can show the population of each demographic group, and see what fraction of the
pie it makes up in each pie. This enables you to see the distribution of demographic
groups on a per state basis, or across the entire United States. You can also look at one
demographic group and see how the population of the group varies in different states.
For best results, use no more than four to six pie wedges per pie chart in your analysis.
You can customize the color of each pie wedge as well as the borders of the wedges
and the whole pie. You can also specify the angle at which you want to place the first
pie wedge, and whether the variables go in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.
Like bar charts, you can also change the pie’s orientation. The default is to place the
pie over the centroid of the object.

246 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

You can choose from graduated pies or half pies. Graduated pies will graduate the
size of the pies according to the sum of their components. With half pies your data
will be distributed across half a pie instead of a whole pie.

Using Update Column with Thematic Mapping

As explained earlier in this chapter, you can use data from another table to construct
your thematic map using Update Column.
Update Column creates a temporary column in your base table and automatically
inserts data into it for your map. This data can be a field taken directly from another
table, or aggregated from other data.
For example, you have a table of U.S. state boundaries and a table of U.S. city point
locations. Using ranges of values you want to shade the states table according to the
percentage of each state’s population living in urban areas. For MI Pro to calculate this
percentage, the population for the cities must be in the states table.
First, to use data from another table, make sure that both the base table and the table
from which you want to obtain the data are open. Next, choose Create Thematic Map,
and in the Thematic – Step 1 of 3 dialog choose Ranges. In the Thematic – Step 2 of 3
dialog, choose states, since this is the table you want to shade.
In the Field drop-down list, choose Join. The Update Column for Thematic dialog
displays. Table to Update is already set to States, and Column to Update is
automatically set to Add New Temporary Column.
Choose the city_125 table in the Get Value From Table box. If that is the only other
table open, MI Pro automatically displays its title in the list box.
When you create a temporary column for a thematic map, the field must be a numeric
field. This is true for all thematic maps except individual values.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 247

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

In our example, we are looking for the percentage of the population living in urban
areas in the United States. To perform this calculation, we must obtain a total of the
city_125 population – the total of the population of each city in a given state. The
results are put into the temporary column. Therefore, In the Calculate box choose
Sum. In the of box, choose Tot_pop.
To put the data from the city_125 table into the temporary column of the states table,
there must be a link between the two tables that MI Pro can use to access the data. MI
Pro can often make this link automatically. In this example, both our tables have a
state field. If you choose Join in the Update Column for Thematic dialog, you can see
that MI Pro has already set up the Specify Join dialog with the STATE fields from both
tables. If the join were not calculated automatically it would be necessary to specify
the matching fields or geographic join.

248 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Choose OK. MI Pro calculates the sum and returns you to the Thematic – Step 2 of 3
dialog. The Field list box displays the temporary column you created: SumOfTot_pop.
The states table now contains all of the data you need to create your thematic map.
Now, let’s create the map. We have all the data, but we still need to calculate the
percentage. That information does not exist as a field in the table, so you must build
an expression to derive it.

In the Thematic – Step 2 of 3 dialog, choose Expression in the Field list box to access
the Expression dialog. The expression SumOfTot_pop/Pop_1990 * 100 will give you
the answer as a percent. Choose Verify to ensure that your syntax is correct, and then
choose OK. You are returned to the Thematic – Step 2 of 3 dialog, and the Field list box
displays the expression you created. Choose Next to go on to the Thematic – Step 3 of
3 dialog.
Click the Ranges button and choose either Equal Count or Equal Ranges to customize
the ranges, whichever gives you the best representation of your data. Use Round By
to round to a decimal place or whole number. Customize the styles to best illustrate
your analysis by clicking the Styles button.
When you choose OK, MI Pro displays the map in a Map window.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 249

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Bivariate Thematic Mapping

Bivariate thematic mapping uses point or line objects to represent two thematic
variables. For example, a star can represent one variable, such as the number of
teenagers, while a blue fill for the star represents their annual purchase amounts.
To create a bivariate map in MI Pro, you create two thematic maps, and layer one over
the other so that the objects display two variables.

Types of Maps and Variables

The only types of thematic maps suitable for bivariate mapping are ranged and
individual values maps. You can choose between two combinations for a bivariate
map, depending on your data:
• two ranged maps
• one ranged map and one individual values map
Prism maps can also be used for bivariate theme mapping. See the Prism Maps section
for more information.
If you have a non-numeric variable, one of your maps must be an individual values
map. You cannot create a bivariate map with two non-numeric variables.

250 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Displaying Attributes
To display two variables within one symbol, it is important to choose a different
symbol attribute for each variable. For example, you cannot choose color for both
variables because one color will overwrite the other. Choose from the following
combinations:
• color and symbol type
• color and size
• size and symbol type
Symbol type should only be used for nominal or non-numeric data, as there is no
inherent association between a symbol type and a quantity.

Example of Bivariate Thematic Mapping

To illustrate this process, suppose as a sales manager you want to know which
businesses have generated the most sales in your territory. You have a table of
customers with their total sales and sales representative.
First, you must decide what combination of thematic maps to use. Because you are
working with sales representatives (non-numeric data) and total sales (numeric data),
you must create both an individual values map and a ranged map.
Second, decide how you want to display the data. You can use a combination of color
and size attributes to display your thematic variables. You want to assign a color to
each sales representative and use a different size symbol to represent each range of
sales figures. Note that this is different than a graduated symbols map, where the
symbol is scaled to one value. Here, the size of the symbol represents a range of
values.
Third, you must create a separate thematic map for each variable. For the Individual
Values map, use the table of customers as the table and choose Sales_rep as the field to
which to assign values. MI Pro assigns each sales representative a different color.
Next, create a ranged thematic map that shows the customers’ total sales. Choose the
customer table as the table, and choose Sales as the field. Divide the total sales into six
ranges with approximately the same number of customers in each range. In the
Thematic- Step 3 of 3 dialog choose the Ranges button, change the number of ranges
to six, and verify that the type of range is set to Equal Count.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 251

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

To show the ranges as sized symbols, choose Styles in the Thematic- Step 3 of 3 dialog.
In the Autospread Group choose Size. The symbols in the Styles group change to
graduated size. However, the only variable you want to display is size, as the
symbols’ color is coming from the individual values map. Choose Options to display
the Apply group and choose the Size button again.
Note that the selection in the Apply group overrides any selection you make in the
Autospread group. To specify or change which symbol attributes display, you must
choose Options, and choose the Color or Size button in the Apply group.
The symbols become hollow circles that are graduated in size. Choose OK, and your
ranged map draws over the individual values map. The symbol color from the
individual values map indicates the sales representative, and the size of the symbol
represents a range of total sales figures. The map legend lists the bivariate map as two
separate thematic maps, in effect displaying two legends. The legend does not
combine the two variables.

Note: If you do not see both variables displayed on the map, make sure your
variables did not overwrite each other. Also check Layer Control to see that
the Display box is checked on both maps.

252 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Using an Inflection Point with Thematic Mapping

In thematic mapping, an inflection point is a color style you insert between ranges. It
provides a second way to interpret your data.
The inflection point is placed where there is a distinct marker between the ranges of
values above it and the ranges of values below it, or where a numeric shift in your
data occurs. Most often, the inflection point is inserted as close to the zero value as
possible, since zero marks the shift between positive and negative values, or at the
mean of your data values.
The inflection point enables you to see this shift on your map. You see two different
color spreads in your ranges. Instead of spreading toward each other, the top and
bottom range colors both approach the color of the inflection point.
Another type of inflection point map is a grid surface thematic map. Here every color
that displays in the legend is an inflection point. Values that fall between these
inflection points display with a blend of the two colors. This allows you to see a
continuous gradation of color across the map. See Grid Surface Theme Maps earlier in
this chapter for a discussion on this type of thematic map.

Example of an Inflection Point Map

To show positive and negative population growth in the United States, you can insert
an inflection point close to where the zero value is in your ranges. The top and bottom
range points will spread, or graduate, toward the inflection point: one for increased
population, and one for decreased population.
Because of the many steps involved in creating an inflection point map, let’s start with
a summary of the process:
1. From the thematic dialog, create an expression to show population growth.
2. Create the ranges.
3. Determine where among the ranges the inflection point should lie.
4. Choose the style for the ranges.
5. Specify the range position for the inflection point.
6. Set the style for the inflection point.
7. When done, tell MI Pro to create the map.
Each step is discussed below.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 253

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

To show population growth, you must create an expression. In our example, the
expression: (POP_1990 – POP_1980)/POP_1980 * 100 will give you the answer as a
percent. Choose Expression from the drop-down list of the Thematic-Step 2 of 3
dialog to create this expression. It will display in the Field list box in the Thematic –
Step 2 of 3 dialog. Choose Next to go on to Step 3.
Choose Ranges to customize your ranges. When you use an inflection point, it is
important that your data distribute well across the ranges. You may want to increase
the number of ranges, or compare the distribution of the data between Equal Count,
Equal Ranges and Natural Break to see which gives the best representation of your
data.
For our example, choose Equal Ranges, and set the number of ranges to 14. You may
also want to use Custom to adjust the range values so that zero is the minimum value
in one range, and the maximum value of the range below it. This is optional. Choose
OK. You are returned to the Thematic – Step 3 of 3 dialog.
Examine the preview before you create the inflection point to locate where you want
to place it. When you choose an inflection point, you must choose a number that
identifies the position of a range in the legend. Count the ranges in the preview
legend until you get to the range with a zero at one of its ends. If your Legend Label
Order is Descending, count the ranges up from the bottom. If it is Ascending, count
down from the top.
Choose Styles in the Thematic – Step 3 of 3 dialog. The styles for each range display.
You can keep the default color spread between the ranges (red to gray), or you can
choose a different color spread. For this example, keep the top range at red, and
change the bottom range to blue. Next, choose Options to display the Inflection
group. In the Inflection at box, choose 2 for the second range, as you determined
above. The default is None, meaning no inflection point.
To choose the style for the inflection point, click inside the Style box in the Inflection
group. The Fill Style dialog displays. Select the color for the inflection point and click
OK. The default style is a white fill with no pattern.
When you have made all of your selections, choose OK. Preview your legend in the
Thematic – Step 3 of 3 dialog. Your legend will not show explicitly where the
inflection point is, as your range colors only approach the inflection point. You can,
however, state what the inflection point is in the legend title or subtitle. Choose OK
again to display your inflection point map.

254 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Modifying a Thematic Map

Once you create your theme, it is likely that you will want to change something about
it. MI Pro provides two ways to reach the Modify Thematic dialog where you can
customize a variety of settings, styles, and legend components. Choose Map > Modify
Thematic Map or double-click on the theme’s legend frame within the legend window
to display the dialog.
When you are modifying a map, a quick way to change a number of settings at once is
to change the template of the current theme. Perhaps you want a different color
spectrum for your range of values map. From the Modify Thematic Map dialog, click
the Merge button in the Templates group. The Merge a Template into the Current
Theme dialog displays with a list of the same type templates as your theme (all range
of values templates, for example.) Choose the new template and click OK. The
settings in this template will now be applied to your theme.
The Merge feature is only available once you have created the thematic map.

Customizing a Thematic Legend

When you create a thematic map, MI Pro automatically creates a legend that explains
what the colors, symbols, or sizes represent. MI Pro offers two types of legend
windows: the cartographic legend window that can display information about any
layer in a Map window, and the theme legend window for thematic and graph layers.
Each type is discussed below.

Cartographic Legend Window

Style information about the layers in your map, whether they are thematic or not, can
be displayed in a cartographic legend window. The layers can be in one legend
window, or you can create a window for each layer. Each thematic or map layer
legend resides in its own legend frame. You are not limited to the number of frames in
a cartographic legend window.
The following discussion will be limited to creating and customizing thematic
legends. For a general discussion on cartographic legends, see Chapter 16.
To display a thematic legend in a cartographic legend window, create the thematic
map in the normal way by following the three Create Thematic Map dialogs. By
default, MI Pro creates a new cartographic legend window or adds your theme to a
legend window if one exists for the Map window.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 255

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

If you want to display the legend in a particular legend window, at the Thematic –
Step 3 of 3 dialog click the Legend button. The Customize Legend dialog displays.
From the Into Window drop-down list, choose the name of the legend window. You
can also choose to create a new window or to not add your theme to a legend window
at all.
From the Customize Legend dialog you can also change the look of the legend by
editing the titles and subtitles. You can customize how MI Pro displays the ranges in
the legend. For example, to make the ranges easier to read, you can summarize the
top and bottom ranges, as shown below.

Note, however, that changing range labels in the legend does not change the actual
ranges in the map. To combine ranges or create different ranges, you must recalculate
them in the Modify Thematic Map > Customize Ranges dialog.
You can quickly return to the Customize Legend dialog from the cartographic legend
window by double-clicking on a legend frame or by right-clicking on the frame and
choosing Properties. The Modify Thematic Map displays. Click the Legend button
and you are back to the Customize Legend dialog to make any necessary changes.
Note, too, some of the other properties of the cartographic legend window. A right-
click on a selected legend frame displays a shortcut menu where you can add frames,
refresh the legend styles or layout, delete the frame and show frame properties. Click
on the Properties menu to return to the Modify Thematic Map dialog. If you right-
click outside a frame but within the legend window, the shortcut menu would refer to
properties about the legend window, such as legend window title and scrollbar
behavior.

256 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Selected cartographic
legend frame

Theme Legend Window

The theme legend window is MI Pro’s original style legend that allows you to display
legends for thematic maps and graphs only. MI Pro always creates a theme legend
window for a thematic map, but its display is determined by the choice you make in
the Customize Legend dialog and whether a theme legend window is already
displayed.
To display a thematic legend in this type of window, from the Create Thematic – Step
3 of 3 dialog, click on the Legends button. At the Customize Legend dialog, choose No
Window from the Into Window drop-down list. No Window refers to the cartographic
legend window. By choosing No Window, your theme legend will not be placed in a
new or existing cartographic legend window. Click OK twice and MI Pro generates
the thematic map. To view the legend, choose Options > Show Theme Legend
Window or click on the Show/Hide Legend button. If a theme legend window is
already displayed, the new theme legend is added to it.
If you wish to make changes to the look of the legend information, double-click on it
in the window and the Customize Legend dialog displays.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 257

Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

Use the theme legend window if you wish to embed your legend in a Map window.
This is accomplished via the Legend Manager, a MapBasic application that you can
add to your Tools menu. Go to the Tools Manager, choose Legend Manager, select the
check box labeled loaded and click OK. For more information about customizing a
legend, see Customizing a Legend under Create Thematic Map in the MapInfo
Professional Reference and Cutomizing the Legend of a Thematic Map in MI Pro’s
Online Help.

Saving Your Thematic Settings

MI Pro provides a way to save your themes and the templates from which you created
them.

Saving Thematic Map Layers

To save your thematic maps, use File > Save Workspace. A workspace is a listing of all
the tables and settings used in a map. When you open the workspace, MI Pro
Professional opens the tables and re-creates the thematic map. If you close a table or
Map window without saving your session to a workspace, MI Pro displays the Save
Workspace Objects dialog and prompts you to do so. The dialog indicates what types
of objects will be lost (e.g., thematic layers, label layers) if you do not save your
session to a workspace. You can turn off the warning prompt in Map Window
preferences.

Saving Thematic Templates

Every thematic map begins with a template from which you can then customize for
your particular needs. These settings can be saved for future use. In the Create
Thematic Map – Step 3 of 3, choose the Save As button in the Template group box. The
Save Theme to a Template dialog displays. To save your new settings to the exisiting
template, click OK. To retain both the new and the original template, type a different
name into the Name edit box. To recover any template that ships with MI Pro, copy it
from the \THMTMPLT directory on the product CD. Templates have the extension
.thm. In MI Pro 7.0 files are stored on a per-user basis. See Appendix C, Data Setting
and Management, for file locations.

258 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 11: Using Thematic Mapping to Analyze your Data

For individual value themes you can also save the actual categories in a theme
template. For example, if you choose to build an individual value theme on a table to
show land usage, you can assign a different region style to each type of land usage
(commercial, forest, residential, farm land etc.). You may then want to take those
same assignments and apply them to another table. You can do this by storing the
category in a template, it will be associated appropriately when the template is
applied to the second table.
To save individual categories in a theme template when creating a new thematic map
or for an existing thematic map, from the Modify Thematic Map dialog press the Save
As button and specify a template Name. Check the Save Individual Value Categories
box and click OK. A template is saved that can be used to apply the stored individual
categories to a second table. When you choose Map > Create Thematic Map the
template's name will appear in the Template Name field of the Create Thematic Map -
Step 1 of 3 dialog box.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 259

 12
Chapter 12: Creating Graphs
Creating Graphs
The graphing feature in MapInfo Professional®
enables you to create a myriad number of Chapter
different graphs from 3-dimensional bar graphs
to exploded pie graphs. Each type of graph has
its own set of features that you can customize to ➤ Graph Type Overview
emphasize a particular piece of information, or ➤ Creating a Graph
create the aesthetic look you want for your
➤ Editing Your Graph
graph. These features, plus additional
formatting options, give you full control of the ➤ Editing Individual Graph
look and content of the graph. Series
➤ Graphing Examples
➤ Selections in Graphs and
Their Tables
➤ Saving Your Graph
➤ Graph Templates and Other
Support Files
Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

Graph Type Overview

You can choose from 10 different graph types. Each type of graph includes at least one
graph template that you can use to create your graph. Each graph type, with a brief
description of each template, is explained below.

3D Graphs
The 3D graph option enables you to create a number of 3 dimensional graphs. Most of
the 3D template options are variations of a bar graph. Choose from any of the 3D
templates below for the look you want for your graph. Once you create the basic
graph, many more customizing options enable you to finetune its appearance,
particularly the 3D Viewing Angle feature, where you can set the angle at which your
3D graph displays.
3D Bar – A conventional bar graph in 3 dimensions.
3D Floating Cube – Each value being measured, such as population, is displayed as a
cube. The value is indicated by the placement of the cube in the graph. Cubes that
have higher values appear to float within the graph.
3D Floating Sphere – This graph is the same as the 3D Floating Cube, except that each
value being measured is displayed as a sphere.
3D Line – The values being measured for a category, such as a country or a city, are
displayed as a continuous line across the axis. The line will dip and spike according to
the values.
3D Pyramid – Each value being measured is displayed as a 3-dimensional pyramid.
This graph is based on a bar graph — the higher the value, the taller the pyramid.
3D Round – This graph is the same as the 3D Bar graph, except that the values are
displayed as cylinders instead of bars.

Area Graphs
Area graphs enable you to view your graph series as an area, where the area from the
X axis to the plot line of the data series is filled in with a pattern or color. You can
choose from the following templates:
Clustered – A clustered area graph draws area risers overlapping each other to show
the absolute relationship between data series.

262 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

Percent – The percent area graph is an area version of a pie graph. Each group
calculates the percent of the total required for each series. The axis goes from 0 to
100%.
Stacked – The area risers are stacked on top of each other. The axis is the cumulative
total of all the groups.

Bar Graphs
Clustered – The clustered bar graph is a side-by-side group of bars. This is the
standard type of two-dimensional graph.
Percent – The percent bar graph is a bar-graph representation of a pie graph. Each
group calculates the percent of the total required for each series. The axis goes from 0
to 100%.
Stacked – The stacked bar graph displays stacked groups of bars. Each stack is made
up of all series in this group, added up to obtain a total. The axis is the total value of
the cumulative points.

Bubble Graphs
The bubble graph allows you to plot values on an X-Y axis and compare a third value,
Z, by the size of the markers in the graph. The bubble graph requires three values per
marker, X, Y, and Z, in that order. Another way to think of it is that the graph is an X-Y
plot where the marker size depends on a third value, Z.

Column Graphs
Clustered – Each group of columns for a category are clustered together.
Percent – The percent column graph is a column-graph representation of a pie graph.
Each group calculates the percent of the total required for each series. The axis goes
from 0 to 100%.
Stacked – The stacked column graph shows stacked groups of columns. Each stack is
made up of all series in this group, added up to obtain a total. The axis is the total
value of the cumulative points.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 263

Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

Histogram Graphs
Histograms show frequency distribution. This graph type groups your values into
ranges based on value. It measures the number of data values that fall within each
range. The ranges are displayed as bars. Choose from these templates:
Horizontal – The orientation of the bars is horizontal.
Vertical – The orientation of the bars is vertical.

Line Graphs
Clustered – In a clustered line graph, lines draw on top of each other to show the
absolute relationships between data series.
Percent – The percent line graph is a line-graph representation of a pie graph. Each
group calculates the percent of the total required for each series. The axis goes from 0
to 100%.
Stacked – In a stacked line graph, lines stack on top of each other. The axis is the
cumulative total of the all the groups.

Pie Graphs
Pie – The pie graph displays percentages of a total as pie wedges.
Ring Pie – The ring pie graph is a variation of the standard pie graph. It looks like a
ring or donut. The total of all the pie slices is placed in the center.

Scatter Graphs
A scatter graph is a standard X-Y plot. It requires two values per marker, X and Y, in
that order.

Surface Graphs
Surface – The surface graph displays all data points as a surface, like a rolling wave.
Surface with Sides – A variation of the surface graph, where the surfaces in the graph
have solid sides.
Surface, Honeycombed – A variation of the surface graph, where the surfaces in the
graph have a honeycombed look.

264 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

Creating a Graph
As in earlier versions of MI Pro, you create a graph via the New Graph Window menu
command in the Window menu. You choose tables and fields to graph similarly, but
you are no longer limited to four fields, as you were in versions of the software prior
to 5.5.

Using the Graph Wizard

Graphing in MI Pro is done through a 2-step graph wizard, similar to the Create
Thematic Map wizard. To access the wizard and create a graph:
1. Choose Window>New Graph Window. The Create Graph – step 1 of 2 dialog
displays.
Here, select the graph type and the graph template you would like to use.

2. Click on one of the graph types shown in the Graph group. When you select a
graph type, the templates for that graph type display in the Template group.
3. Next, choose a template. Some graph types have several templates to choose
from. Others, such as the bubble and scatter graph types, have only one
template.
4. Click Next when you have selected a template. The Create Graph – step 2 of 2
dialog displays.
Here, select the table and the fields from the table you want to graph. You can
also choose what column you want to use for your labels.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 265

Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

5. Choose the table you want to graph from the Table drop-down list. The list
displays the currently open tables.
6. Next, choose the fields from the table you want to graph. Select a field from
the Fields from Table list, and either double-click on it, or highlight it (single
click) and click the Add button. Both methods will move the field to the Fields
for Graph list. You can use the Remove button in the same way to move fields
back to the Fields from Table list.
7. Arrange the fields in the desired order using the Up and Down buttons. Select
a field you want to move and use the Up and Down buttons to place it in the
position you want.
Some graph types use the first field for axis labels (bar, 3D, column), and
other graph types use the order of the fields to determine X and Y values. In
the case of bubble graphs, the field order also determines the Z value.
8. If applicable, choose whether you want to graph your series by row or by
column. This option is not available for bubble, histogram, or scatter graphs.
Click the button next to the option you want.
9. Click OK. Your graph displays in a Graph window.

Editing Your Graph

Once you create the basic graph, your ability to customize it is limited only by your
imagination. You have complete control over virtually every aspect of your graph and
every item in the Graph window. The customizing options available depend on the
graph type you have selected.

266 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

Selecting Graph Objects

To select a graph object to format it, click on the object. When you make a graph
selection, related graph objects may also be selected. For example, if you click on a
series bar in a column graph, all the series bars and the corresponding legend marker
will also be selected. If you select an axis label, all the labels on that axis will be
selected. All the items that are selected will be altered when you make your selections.

Moving and Resizing Graph Objects

To move a graph object, click on it in the Graph window and drag it to the desired
location. You can move the titles, data labels, and the legend. To resize the legend,
select it to display legend handles. Click and drag on one of the edit handles to make
the legend larger or smaller.

The Graph Menu

The Graph menu contains all the editing options to customize your graph. When you
create a graph, the Graph menu displays in the MI Pro menu bar. You can also access
the Graph menu options by right-clicking in the Graph window to display a shortcut
menu.

Formatting Graph Objects

The formatting options (Graph>Formatting) allow you to customize the line and fill
patterns of your graph objects and graph titles. You can also add color gradients,
different textures, and pictures to your graph. You can quickly access the Formatting
dialog by selecting a graph object and double-clicking in the Graph window. The
formatting will apply to whatever object is selected in the Graph window. It could be
the background, the titles, the axes, the graph series, graph markers, etc. The
formatting options that display in the dialog depend on what element in the Graph
window is selected.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 267

Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

Layout and Display

Go to the General Options command (Graph>General Options) to change the general
options for the type of graph you are creating, as well as customize its display. The
General tab displays options that enable you to customize the markers for the type of
graph you selected. For 3D graphs, you can change the shape of the risers, and the gap
between the risers. For pie graphs, you can create an exploded pie graph, as well as
specify the pie’s rotation, tilt, and depth. For bubble graphs, you can customize the
size and shape of the marker. In column graphs, you can customize the columns, etc.

268 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

Modifying Axis Attributes

The Grids and Scales dialog (Graph>Grids and Scales) is used to format graph axes,
gridlines, and perform scaling. The tabs on the left of the dialog indicate the available
axes in the graph: Category Axis, Y1 Axis, Y2 Axis (for dual-axes graphs), X Axis (for
bubble and scatter graphs), and Series Axis (for 3D graphs).

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 269

Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

When you select an axis tab, the tabs at the top of the dialog will change to reflect the
available formatting options for that axis. Each axis is described below:
• Category Axis – All graph types, except bubble, histogram, and scatter
graphs, have a category axis. The category axis defines the groups of items
that are being graphed. When category axis labels are displayed, the labels are
taken from the first row in your table.
• Y1 Axis – All graph types except pie graphs have a Y1 axis, or primary
numeric axis. This axis plots the values from the rows and columns in your
table.
• Y2 Axis – Area, bar, bubble, column, line, and scatter charts can be drawn on
two numeric axes, Y1 and Y2. When a dual-axes graph is selected, MI Pro
automatically divides the number of series in half and assigns half of the
series to one axis and the other half to the second axis. The two axes can be
drawn up or out from the same plane/base line or physically split into two
separate sections on the graph.
• X-Axis – Bubble, histogram, and scatter graphs include an X-axis. These
graphs have two numeric axes—a Y1 axis that is drawn on the left side of the
graph and an X axis that is drawn on the bottom of the graph frame.
• Series Axis – A series axis is included only in 3D riser and 3D surface graphs.
The series axis is also called a secondary ordinal or O2 axis. In 2-dimensional
graphs, the series or rows of objects being graphed are shown in the legend
area of the chart. In 3D graphs, these objects are shown on the series axis,
which is on the lower left side of the 3D graph.

Specifying Titles for Your Graph

Choose Graph>Titles to specify titles for your graph. In the Titles dialog, check the
boxes next to the titles that you want to display in the graph. The text boxes next to
those titles become available. You can use the default titles or create your own. Choose
from these titles:
• Title – Displays the main title of the graph. The title is centered over the top of
the graph.
• Subtitle – Displays the subtitle of the graph. The subtitle displays directly
underneath the main title.
• Footnote – Displays a note at the bottom right hand corner of the graph.
• Category title – Displays a title for the category axis of the graph. It is placed
just above, below, or next to the category axis labels.
• Value title (Y1) – Displays a title for the primary numeric (Y1) axis of your
graph. You can use the title to explain what is being plotted on this axis.
• Value title (Y2) – Displays a title for the secondary numeric (Y2) axis of your
graph. In dual-axes graphs, the primary (Y1) axis shows some of the groups

270 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

in your data, and the secondary numeric (Y2) axis plots other groups of data.
You can use the title to explain what is being plotted on this axis.
• X-Axis title – Displays a title for the X-axis, where applicable. Histogram,
bubble, and scatter graphs include a numeric X-axis.
• Series Axis – Displays series labels along the lower left side of a 3D graph.
Series titles can further describe the information that is being graphed on this
series axis. These titles normally correspond to the series labels displayed in
the legend.

All graphs can include a title, subtitle, and footnote. Most graphs can also include a
Category Axis title and a numeric Y1-Axis title. Other axis titles may be available
depending on the graph type. Titles can be moved from their default positions by
clicking and dragging them to the desired position. To change other elements in the
title, such as the font or the text color, select the title directly in the Graph window and
choose the Formatting command in the Graph menu.

Editing Individual Graph Series

You can apply formatting changes to an individual series in your graph, as well as to
the whole graph. The Series Options command in the Graph menu is available
whenever a series is selected in your graph. If no series is selected, the message, “No
series is selected” displays when you attempt to access the dialog.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 271

Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

To format an individual series;

1. Click on a riser (area, bar, line, marker, pie slice, etc.) or a legend marker to
select a series.
2. Choose Graph>Series Options. The Series Options dialog displays.
3. Make the desired changes in each of the dialog tabs and click OK. You can
also apply changes as you go by clicking the Apply button. The Apply
operation applies your changes to the graph without closing the dialog. This
enables you to see your changes in the Graph window, continue working, and
experiment with different options without having to close and reopen the
dialog.
4. Click OK when you are finished.
The options available in the Series Options dialog depend on the graph type you have
selected. Each of the dialog tabs is explained briefly below:
• General – Contains general formatting options for a series for each type of
graph. For instance, in 3D column graphs, you can change the riser shape; in
bubble graphs and other graph types that may use markers such as line
graphs, you can change the shape of the markers. In pie graphs, you can
manipulate the individual pie slices. You can detach a slice from the pie,
delete a slice, or restore the pie back to its original state. In many graph types,
you can also display the selected series as another graph type. For example, if
you create a bar graph, you can change a selected series to display as a line or
an area, contrasting that series to the rest of the series in the graph.
• Data Labels – Specify whether you want to display data labels for the selected
series and where you want to place the labels. Data labels show the actual
values from your table.

272 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

• Number – Specify how you want to display data label numbers. You can
choose from a number of categories: general, number, currency, date, time,
percentage, fraction, scientific, special, and custom. This tab is available when
the Data Labels box is checked in the Data Labels tab.
• Trendlines – Contains formatting and display options for trend lines. This tab
is unavailable for 3D and pie graphs. You can display a trend line according to
different types of regression: linear, logarithmic, polynomial, or exponential.
You also have several other display options. You can display the equation
used to create the trendline, show the coefficient values, or specify that the
trend line display in the same color as the series.

Graphing Examples
This section of the chapter provides some examples of the types of customization you
can have with your graphs. The first example illustrates some of the ways you can
customize a pie graph. The second example demonstrates how you can customize a
3D graph using the 3D viewing angle feature.

Exploding a Pie Graph

Creating a basic pie graph is easy using the Graph wizard. Simply select the
table and the fields you want to graph. You can also graph a subset of a table,
as shown below, by browsing the selection, and using the Save Copy As
command to save the selection as a permanent .tab file. This example graphs
selected states from the States table.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 273

Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

The General Options for pie graphs enable you manipulate the look and rotation of
the pie slices easily. The left side of the dialog shows a preview of what the finished
pie graph will look like. You can change the tilt, or the angle at which you view the
pie. You can give the pie a 3D look by using the Pie Depth setting.

You can also rotate the pie or explode the pie. When you explode the pie, you detach
all the slices away from the center. You can also detach an individual slice away from
the pie center using the Series Options (Graph>Series).
The graph on the next page shows the same pie graph, based on the General Options
settings indicated above.

274 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

3D Graphs - Using the 3D Viewing Angle

The 3D Viewing Angle feature enables you to display your 3D graph at different
angles, as well as customize other aspects of the graph’s position, such as its rotation
and position in the Graph window. The 3D graph below graphs the same selection
from the States table that was used in the pie graph, but graphs different columns of
the table. Here, the angle of the 3D graph has been rotated, and the thickness of the
walls of the 3D cube has been changed.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 275

Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

When you choose the 3D Viewing Angle option, a number of preset angles for your
graph display. You can choose one of these, or use the Advanced options to create
your own angle, position, and rotation. The Advanced portion of the dialog displays
additional controls that allow you to scroll through the presets more quickly, and
manipulate the angle and position of the graph manually.

Use the controls along the bottom of the graph preview to scroll through the preset
viewing angles. You can also select one from the drop-down list.

Rotating Your 3D Graph

Use the options at the lower right of the dialog to manipulate the graph. In the Rotate
tab, you can click directly on the arrows to rotate your graph in the direction indicated
by the arrow. A preview of the graph in its new position displays above. You can also
rotate the graph one click at a time using the X, Y, and Z buttons.

Panning Your 3D Graph

Use the Pan tab options to move the graph across the window. Again, click directly on
the arrows to move the graph in the direction indicated by the arrow, or use the X and
Y buttons to move the graph one click at a time. Use the Zoom buttons to zoom the
graph in and out.

276 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

Customizing Cube Walls

The Walls tab helps you change the dimensions of the 3D graph walls. You can alter
the length and thickness of the walls directly using the arrow keys on the wall image
on the left side of the tab, or use the X, Y, and Z buttons.

Moving Your 3D Graph at an Angle

The Move tab options are used to move the graph diagonally across the window.
Click the arrows on the diagram in the Move tab to move the graph in the direction
indicated by the arrow, or use the X, Y, and Z buttons. The X button moves your graph
from the top left to the bottom right of the window. The Y button moves your graph
from top to bottom. The Z button moves your graph from the bottom left to the top
right of the window.

Above, the same graph that was shown earlier is displayed here using a different
preset angle. The walls of the cube have also been removed, as well as the values for
the Value Axis, in the Display Status tab of the General Options dialog.
All of the 3D Viewing Angle options have been used in this graph. The graph has
been rotated about 90 degrees from the earlier example. The Pan and Move options
have also been used to position the graph. And the Walls option has been used to
increase the thickness of the floor of the cube.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 277

Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

Selections in Graphs and Their Tables

Selections you make in your graphed table will also be highlighted in your Graph
window. Conversely, using the new Graph Select tool, selections in the Graph
window change the current selection in the graphed table.

Table Selections
In a graphed table, any selections you make in the table with the Select tool will be
reflected in the corresponding Graph window as long as the selected table row or map
object corresponds to an object in the graph. For example, in a bar graph, one or more
of the bars will be highlighted. In a pie graph, one or more of the pie wedges will be
highlighted. The selection in the Graph window uses the same pen and brush styles
that are used to highlight selected objects in the Map window.

Using the Graph Select Tool

When you select objects in a Graph window using the Graph Select tool, you also
change the current selection in the graphed table. Your Graph window selection must
correspond to a row in the table. Your Graph window selection will be reflected in the
Map or Browser window.

278 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

If you select an object in the Graph window that does not correspond to a row in the
table, any other selections in the Graph window are cleared. As in other types of
windows, selecting multiple objects by shift-clicking works the same way in Graph
windows—either adding the target object to, or removing it from, the selection.
Note that selecting graph objects with the Graph Select tool is not the same process as
selecting objects in the Graph window to edit the graph object. The default mode is to
select graph objects with the Select tool in order to edit them. To select graph objects
for the purpose of changing the selections in the table, you must use the Graph Select
tool.
In some graph types, there is no relationship between the graph objects and the rows
in the table, e.g., histograms. The Graph Select tool is unavailable for these graph
types. Selections in the Graph window will not highlight any records or map objects
in the table.

Saving Your Graph

Graphs are saved to workspaces. For each Graph window in the workspace, MI Pro
will save a uniquely named .3tf file in the same directory as the workspace. The name
of the graph file is:
<workspace name>, <window title>.3tf
The <workspace name> is the root name of the workspace being saved and <window
title> is the title of the Graph window being saved. For example, if you save a
workspace named “my ws.wor” and it contains a Graph window with the title,
“Scatter Graph,” MI Pro creates the graph file “my ws, Scatter Graph.3tf” in the same
directory as the original workspace, “my ws.wor.”

Graph Templates and Other Support Files

MI Pro stores the various graph template files in folders in the GraphSupport
directory. The GraphSupport directory is located in the MI Pro directory by default in
versions 6.0 and earlier. In MapInfo Professional 7.0 files are stored on a per-user
basis. See Appendix C, Data and Settings Management, for file locations. Other
support files containing numerous kinds of fill patterns, as well as the 3D viewing
angle files, that help you format your graph are also located in this directory.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 279

Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

Each type of support file stored in the GraphSupport directory is listed in the table
below, according to the name of the folder in which the files are stored:

Folder Name File Description

3D Viewing Angles Files correspond to the preset viewing angles available in the 3D
Viewing Angle dialog (Graph>3D Viewing Angle).
Gradients Files correspond to the preset gradients available in the Choose
Gradient dialog (Graph>Formatting>Fill tab).
Pictures Files correspond to the pictures available in the Choose Picture dialog
(Graph>Formatting>Fill tab).
Templates Contains the available graphing templates, listed in the Graph
wizard (Create Graph – step 1 of 2 dialog).
Textures Files correspond to the textures available in the Choose Gradient
dialog (Graph>Formatting>Fill tab).

Location Preferences
Using the Directory preferences, you can change the location where MI Pro looks for
all the support files. To do so:
1. Choose Options>Preferences>Directories. The Directory Preferences dialog
displays.
2. In the Initial Directories for File Dialogs group, select Graph Support Files.
3. Click Modify. The Choose Directory dialog displays. It shows the current
location of the Graph Support files. Navigate to the directory where you want
to store the files, and click OK. The new location of the files displays in the
Initial Directories list.
4. Click OK to close the Directory Preferences dialog.
Although the location of the GraphSupport directory can be changed, the names and
locations of the support file folders inside the GraphSupport directory cannot. MI Pro
looks in the GraphSupport directory specifically for the appropriate support folders
and files as listed above.

Saving a Graph Template

You can easily add to the available set of templates when you create a graph by saving
an existing Graph window as a template file. For example, you prefer the legend to
display on the left side of the Graph window instead of on the right (the default
position). You can make this modification in the Graph window and then choose
Graph>Save As Template.

280 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 12: Creating Graphs

1. Make the modifications in the Graph window that you would like to save as a
template.
2. Choose Graph>Save As Template. The Save Graph Template dialog displays.
It shows the template folder that corresponds to the type of graph you are
saving as a template.
3. Name your graph template and click Save.
The next time you create a Graph window, the saved template file will be available in
the Graph wizard for that graph type.

Note: You can save a template file to a location other than the
GraphSupport\Templates directory; however, it will not be available unless
you save it to a folder in the Templates directory.

Using Graphs From Earlier Versions of MI Pro

If you are using graphs created in versions of MI Pro prior to version 5.5, and you
bring them into version 7.0, you will not be able to use the new graphing options on
those graphs. The pre-5.5 Graph menu displays for these graphs. For information on
the older graphing options, see the MapInfo Professional Reference.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 281

 13
Chapter 13: Embedding a
MapInfo Map in Other
Programs
Embedding an MI Pro Map in Chapter
Other Programs
MapInfo Professional® brings its power of map ➤ OLE Embedding with MI Pro
display, creation and editing right into your ➤ OLE Terms
favorite application so that you may build a
➤ MapInfo Map Object
map where you need it. This chapter covers the
basics of OLE and the MI Pro features that you ➤ Mapping with MapInfo Map
may use in other applications to create dynamic
➤ Tools and Menu Commands
maps.
➤ Things to Know Before You
Start
➤ Embedding a MapInfo Map
➤ MapInfo Map Features
➤ Resizing and Repositioning
an Embedded Map
Window
➤ Printing Your Document
with an Embedded
MapInfo Object
➤ Saving Your Map
➤ Sharing Documents
Containing Embedded
Maps
➤ MapInfo Map Objects vs.
Data Map Objects
Chapter 13: Embedding a MapInfo Map in Other Programs

OLE Embedding with MI Pro

MapInfo Professional’s OLE embedding capability turns your applications such as
word processors and spreadsheets into “mini-MapInfo” programs where you can
create, display and edit a map for presentation, reporting or publishing. OLE is a
process known as Object Linking and Embedding whereby a server application (such
as MI Pro) provides information that is stored in a client application that can accept
OLE information (such as a word processor). MI Pro’s OLE embedding functionality
allows you to embed a Map window in any application that accepts OLE objects and
use some of MI Pro’s features to create, display and edit the map directly in that
application.

OLE Terms
Before we get into the how-to’s of embedding maps, let’s define some common OLE
terms.
Object: Any information that is embedded through OLE, whether it is a map, chart,
spreadsheet data, sound effect, or text. With MI Pro’s OLE embedding, you embed a
Map window as the object.
Embedding: Inserting an OLE object from a server (e.g., MI Pro) into a container
application (e.g., Microsoft Word) to allow editing and output in the context of other
information. An embedded object is a copy of the object from the server. Once in the
container, the object is no longer linked to the source object from which it came.
Embedding vs. Linking: An embedded item is stored as part of the document that
contains it. A linked item stores its data in a separate file. MI Pro only supports the
embedding aspect of OLE.
Container or Client: The application that accepts (contains) the embedded OLE
object. Examples of containers include word processors, spreadsheet programs,
databases, and presentation packages.
Server: The source application that creates OLE objects for use by a container. MI Pro
is the server that creates the MapInfo Map object that can be embedded in OLE
containers such as Microsoft Word or Excel.

284 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 13: Embedding a MapInfo Map in Other Programs

Live object vs. static image of object: Embedding an object in a container using OLE
means the object is “live;” that is, you can edit the object in some manner using the
features of the server from which the object came. The container must accept the
object as a live object. If it cannot, only a static picture (bitmap or metafile) will be
embedded.
Activation: An embedded object must be activated to allow editing. This means that
the server program from which it was created must be running in the background
while you are working in the container application. To activate an object, double-click
on it. Depending on the program, the menu bar of the application will change to
reflect the available features of the server, or the application will open a separate
window.

MapInfo Map Object

You may find you want to include a map in your presentation or report that lets you
convey statistical information geographically. MI Pro OLE Embedding enables you to
embed a map window, known as the MapInfo Map Object, that shows all your data
layers alongside other information such as charts and graphs, tabular data and text.
With MI Pro OLE Embedding you can build the map directly in your OLE container
application, or you can create it in MI Pro and drag the Map window into your
application for additional editing or output. Because the MapInfo Map Object is a live
OLE object, you are in fact running MI Pro in the background. When the Map window
is active in the container, the menu and toolbar of your application change to reflect
the MI Pro features that become available. This subset of features is called MapInfo
Map. (Some OLE containers will create a separate window for the object.) With the
click of a button or by choosing a menu command, you have MI Pro functionality in
your application where you need it.

Mapping with MapInfo Map

MapInfo Map provides a variety of map display, viewing and editing capabilities,
including:
• Opening multiple tables at once
• Controlling individual layer properties such as display and labeling
• Creating and modifying thematic maps
• Manipulating the Map window view
• Finding information associated with a map layer
• Controlling map projection and units

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 285

Chapter 13: Embedding a MapInfo Map in Other Programs

Because MapInfo Map is a subset of MI Pro features, using them in your container
application is the same as using them in MI Pro. So, Layer Control and Thematic
Mapping work the same way whether you are creating a map in MI Pro or in your
word processor.
Let’s look in more detail about what you can do with MapInfo Map.

Tools and Menu Commands

MapInfo Map allows you to create, display and edit map layers in a Map window
directly in your OLE container application such as Microsoft Word or Corel Draw. You
can also bring over an existing Map window from MI Pro to your container via Drag
and Drop or by pasting from the clipboard. When the Map window is embedded in
the container and is active, MapInfo Map is running and replaces much of your
application’s menu bar with its own menu and tool bar. From there you can access the
power and flexibility of MI Pro.

Tools
MapInfo Map’s Toolbar consists of seven tools to help you change the view of your
Map window, get information associated with a layer, and access MapInfo Map help
topics. These tools include: the Grabber, Zoom In, Zoom Out, Info Tool, Change View,
Drag Map Window, and Help. When you activate the map, these tools replace any
tools the container application displays.

Menus
MapInfo Map replaces all container menus except File and Window with five MI Pro
menus: Edit, View, Table, Map and Help. Under each menu, selected MI Pro features
have been included, as outlined below.
Edit: Copy, Paste. Allows you to copy a Map window to the clipboard to transfer it
back to MI Pro or an OLE application.
View: Toolbar, Legend. Controls the display of the Toolbar and thematic map legend
(if any).
Table: Open, Close, Close All. Allows you to open and close multiple tables at the
same time.

286 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 13: Embedding a MapInfo Map in Other Programs

Map: Find*, Layer Control, Create Thematic Map, Modify Thematic Map, Change
View, Previous View, View Entire Layer, Options, Redraw Window. Most of
MapInfo Map’s functionality is found here where you can locate objects, control the
display and look of each map layer, analyze and display data thematically, and
manipulate the view of the map contents within the Map window.
Help: Help Topics, About MapInfo Map. Direct access to instructions on embedding
a MapInfo Map in OLE applications.

Shortcut Menu
A shortcut menu is available while you are editing your embedded MapInfo Map in
another application. To access it, click the right mouse button. Choose from Layer
Control, Change View, Previous View and View Entire Layer.

Limitations
Although MapInfo Map enables you to build a map very easily in your container
application, not all of MI Pro’s features are available in the context of map embedding.
Among them are editing map objects such as regions or polylines, querying a table for
further analysis, geocoding to a table in the Map window, or displaying tables in other
types of windows (Browser, Graph or Layout windows).
However, with MI Pro’s drag and drop capabilities you can still perform these
functions in MI Pro and bring over the Map window to your OLE container
application for final viewing, formatting and editing enhancements.

Things to Know Before You Start

System Requirements
MapInfo Map is an OLE server application that runs under 32-bit MI Pro. You must
install MI Pro 32-bit to engage MapInfo Map. On the client side, only container
applications that support OLE embedded objects can run MapInfo Map.

Registering OLE Objects with Containers

Once MI Pro has been installed on your system, the MapInfo Map Object will be
registered automatically and listed as a choice in the Object dialog of any container
application that accepts OLE objects.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 287

Chapter 13: Embedding a MapInfo Map in Other Programs

Embedding a MapInfo Map

Now that you have had an introduction to MapInfo Map Object and what it can do for
you as you work in another application, let’s get down to the specifics of embedding
an OLE object.

Getting Started
Although containers vary in their handling of OLE objects, there are some behaviors
that are common to all. There are three ways that containers accept embedded OLE
objects such as a Map window:
• Insert > Object where you can choose the object to embed from a list.
• Edit > Paste (or Paste Special) to embed an object that was previously copied
to the Clipboard.
• Drag and drop from the application to the container using the Drag Map
Window tool.
The method you choose depends on which application you are in at the moment
(server or client) and how much you want to do to create the final map.

Creating a New Map Window in Your Container

You just decided that adding a map to your presentation will lend great support to
some conclusions you have reached about your data. In this case, you will need to
build the map from scratch in your presentation application. The instructions below
apply to any type of container application.
To embed a MapInfo Map Object in your application:
1. Position the cursor where you wish to place the Map window.
2. Choose Insert > Object (will be under Edit > Insert > Object in some
applications).
A dialog displays listing all OLE objects the application can accept.

288 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 13: Embedding a MapInfo Map in Other Programs

3. Highlight the MapInfo Map item and click OK. A default Map window of the
world and MapInfo logo displays. The Map window is also in an active state
(surrounded by a hatched border), meaning that MI Pro is running in the
background. Your application’s menu has changed to reflect MapInfo Map
Object’s menu.
4. To begin building your map, choose Table > Open. The Open MapInfo Table
dialog displays.
5. Choose a table from the appropriate directory. Shift-click or control-click to
choose additional tables to be opened at the same time. Click OK when you
are through.
The tables display as map layers in the Map window. You can now label the
layers, change the display, create or modify thematic layers, resize or
reposition the Map window, or prepare the document for final output.

Bringing a Map Window into Your Application

You have been working long and hard on a map in MI Pro that would really give your
sales report some visual interest. Since the map is nearly complete, it is more efficient
to copy it to your text document instead of making a new map in your word
processor. You can either copy the Map window to the Clipboard or use the Drag Map
Window tool to embed it directly in your document.

MapInfo Professional User’s Guide 289

Chapter 13: Embedding a MapInfo Map in Other Programs

To copy a Map window from MI Pro using the Clipboard:

1. In MI Pro, make the Map window active and choose Edit > Copy Map
Window. The object is copied to the Clipboard. Note: To copy the Map
window all objects on the map must be de-selected. If there are any objects
selected, the Copy Map Window command will not be available.
2. Switch to your container application and position your cursor at the location
where you want to place the map.
3. Choose Edit > Paste to paste from the Clipboard to your document. The Map
window displays.
Note: The map is not active at this time. If you want to make changes to the map
content, such as changing the view, creating a thematic layer or adding
labels, you will need to start MapInfo Map. Double-click on the map to
activate it and start MapInfo Map.
If you only want to resize or reposition the object within your document, you
do not need to start MapInfo Map. Select and change the inactive object
according to the methods for your application.
In many OLE applications you can also choose Edit > Paste Special to paste the
MapInfo Map into your document. Paste Special allows you to choose from three
types of objects: the MapInfo Map object which can be activated and edited; Picture, a
graphic image format that cannot be edited; and Bitmap format, also a non-editable
graphic image. See your application for more on Paste Special.

To copy a Map window from MI Pro using the Drag Map Window tool :
1. With both MI Pro and your container application running, adjust their
placement on the screen so that you can see them side by side (To tile MI Pro
and another application running under Windows, click on the taskbar with
the right mouse button and choose Tile Vertically). Position your cursor in
your container where you want to place the map.
2. In MI Pro, make the Map window active. Click on the Drag Map Window tool
on the Toolbar. The cursor becomes a hand and handle, indicating you can
begin the drag operation.
3. Click anywhere within the Map window (except the title bar). The cursor
changes to the hand grasping the handle for the “dragging” operation.
4. Drag the cursor to the container and click at the point where you want to drop
the map. When positioned over a valid drop target, the cursor changes again
to the DropCopy cursor. If the position cannot accept the object, the cursor
will display a circle with a slash through it.

290 MapInfo Professional User’s Guide

 Chapter 13: Embedding a MapInfo Map in Other Programs

This operation will only drag and drop a copy of the object. Moving and