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MapInfo Tutorial
-This tutorial is intended as a starting point for users who are new to MapInfo. -Hints and important points are highlighted throughout the tutorial. -Background information about Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is included where necessary, referenced by this symbol.
-Throughout the tutorial, menu commands are shown in the following format: Menu > Item, with intermediate submenus where necessary. -It is recommended that the sections are studied in the order by following the pages. -The Mapping Wizard Tool is a user friendly way to import data, create a map and publish the map all in one. This wizard duplicates tasks which are discussed separately in other stages of the tutorial, and is referenced by this symbol:
filename.tab - a MapInfo table. filename.map - the co-ordinates of the data. filename.dat - the attribute data. filename.id - an index file containing the links between objects in the .map file and attributes in the .dat file. filename.ind - an index file for the .dat file, in order to allow searches. Important: Do not delete or not/miss copying any of these files for a given coverage. MapInfo requires all of them for a coverage to work/shown. Only if you wish to delete the entire coverage and not use it again should you delete any of these files, in which case delete all the files associated with a given coverage name. Otherwise, should you delete one, you will probably lose your work or coverage not been able to shown in MapInfo.
You may also have: filename.wor - a workspace, which saves information about the location of open tables and maps. It is important to individually save all tables and maps which have been edited before exiting MapInfo, even if you do save the workspace. Deleting a workspace will not result in the loss of data, as the tables which were used in the workspace remain unmodified. However, maps, graphs, layouts and the like would be lost if they had not been individually saved. If there are unsaved tables, MapInfo will prompt the user with a save dialog box on exiting the program.
Below the menu bar is a toolbar which features the following icons, from left to right:
New Table: Creates a new MapInfo table, and invites you to open either a new browser window or new map window in which to view this. Open: Opens a MapInfo table. Open WMS Table: Opens a sample data table from the MapInfo server. WMS stands for Web Mapping Services. It is necessary to be connected to the internet in order for this to work. Save Table: Saves the table. Print Window: Prints the active window. This may be a map, legend, browser, layout, graph etc. Cut: Cuts the selected object or area Copy: Copies the selected object or area. Paste: Pastes objects or areas which have been cut or copied. Undo: Undoes the last action performed, where possible.
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The tools toolbar by default includes tools such as Run MapBasic program (also accessed by Tools > Run MapBasic Program and Run Mapping Wizard Tool (Tools > Mapping Wizard Tool > Run Mapping Wizard Tool). However, more tools may be added to this toolbar using Tools > Tool Manager.
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However, before we can play with any of these features, we must first import some data.
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or register the Graphics with at least three set of x and y co-ordinates as control points in Image Registration dialog box. It is advisable to locate position at the edge/corner of the Graphics as control points (top left, top right, bottom left and bottom right). Click OK. The table now opens in a mapper.
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Creating thematic maps Make sure the table or tables from which you wish to create thematic maps are open. Window > New Map Window or alternatively use the New Mapper icon on the toolbar. When your new map appears, right click on the map and select View Entire Layer so that the map fits the window. Open a new map window for every thematic map you wish to create. This way, your original map is left blank and can be used as a base map from which to create further maps. Map > Create Thematic Map MapInfo has a user friendly three stage wizard to create thematic maps. The Create Thematic Map wizard may also be accessed by choosing the Create Thematic Layer option from stage 3, Analyse, of the Mapping Wizard Tool.
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Leave the range button selected. From the list in the centre, choose a colour scheme for your map. This is previewed in the panel on the right.
Don't worry if you can't find a colour scheme that is exactly what you want. These colour schemes are just a starting point, and you may change individual colours later. When you are happy with your selection, click next.
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It is usual to tick the ignore zeroes and blanks box, especially for 1991 census data which include a Shipping ward. Click next.
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If you are unhappy with the ranges, styles or legend select Map > Modify Thematic Map, after making sure the map you wish to modify is the active window. This brings up a dialog box which is the same as step three of the Create Thematic Map wizard, from which you can make changes. If you wish to change something from steps one or two you will have to start again.
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The Create Graph wizard may also be accessed by choosing the Create Graph option from stage 3, Analyse, of the Mapping Wizard Tool.
Step One: Choose the type of graph you require from the menu on the left. Choose an appropriate subtype from the preview window on the right. For our example, we will choose a column graph using the Clustered template. Click next.
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The axis across the bottom of the graph is the x-axis, which is used to show the independent variable, i.e. the variable against which the dependent variable, which is on the y-axis (up the side of the graph) is measured. In our example the x-axis would show the ward, and the y-axis a count of people in each ethnic group.
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Once you have created your layout there are a number of things you can do to improve the presentation. It may look a bit of a mess at this stage, especially if you created a layout for many open windows. Most of the commands from the Layout menu may be accessed by right clicking anywhere in the layout window.
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Moving and resizing frames: Click anywhere in the frame to select it. Frames may be moved by dragging with the mouse, and resized using the handles at the corners. Click outside the frame to deselect it.
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To select entities within a polygon area, use the polygon select tool on the main toolbar.
To select entities within an area enclosed by a polygon, use the boundary select tool on the main toolbar. Individual entities in selectable layers may also be selected by clicking on them. To select all entities in a layer, use Query > Select All. To deselect entities in a layer and begin again, use Query > Unselect All.
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For Store Results in Table, choose a name which is more self explanatory than the default, Selection, otherwise when you have done many queries all your tables will have similar names (Selection, Selection2, Selection3 etc) and it may become difficult to remember which is which.
Sort Results by Column allows you to choose which column, if any, you wish to sort the new table by. However, if there is no particular reason for doing this it is better to leave it as none, because it is then easier to see which records have been omitted from the old table by the query as the records in the new table will be in the same order. It is useful to leave the Browse Results box checked to view the new table after the query.
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Go to Table > Create Points. A dialog box appears. From 'Create points from table,' choose the table containing the points from the drop down list. Choose the columns in that table which contain the X and Y co-ordinates for the points you wish to create, and choose an appropriate symbol to represent the points.
It is important to set the projection of the co-ordinates for the new points. To find out the projection of the existing map, make sure it is the active window, then go to Table > Maintenance > Table Structure. Click the Projection button. Match the projection of the co-ordinates of the points to this. Click OK when you are happy with your options. Then go to Window > New Map Window (or use the New Mapper button on the toolbar) to view the points overlaid on the boundary map.
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DBMS stands for Database Management System. Such systems are often used in GIS.
Choose MapInfo (*.tab), and press the Open button. Navigate to the folder where you have saved the table you wish to use, select the table, and press the Open button on the dialog box. The table appears in a new map window.
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If you are using the same table as above, miss out this stage and go straight on to stage 3, Analyse.
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