Welcome

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

Hands on Lab
14D Automating Repetitive
Tasks with MapBasic
Peter Horsbll Mller
GIS/LI Pre-Sales Specialist
June 13, 2014

Every connection is a new opportunity

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

Automating Repetitive Tasks
with MapBasic
Time to look under the hood.
Open up the MapBasic
window to see how you can
automate data processing and
other tasks using MapInfo
Professional.
You might find some great
time savers in this session.
You do not need to be a
programmer to benefit from
these techniques.

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

MapBasic Documentation

MapBasic Help file: Help System (zip)

MapBasic Reference Guide: Reference
MapBasic User Guide: User Guide

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

MapBasic Help File
INTRODUCTION

How to read the Help File?

MapBasic Fundamentals

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

MapBasic Documentation

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

The Features of the MapBasic Window
The MapBasic window in MapInfo Professional:
Can be opened via Options > Show MapBasic Window
Records, when open, (most) actions performed by the
user in MapInfo Professional
Can also play back actions/statements
Put the cursor in the line and hit the Enter-key
Highlight several lines and hit the Enter-key
You can save statements from the window to a text file
via the MapBasic menu
You can clear the content in the window via the
MapBasic menu

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

Be adviced!

Please note that

The MapBasic statements in the MapBasic window can
be very specific. They can for example refer to a specific
window, a specific table or similar
The scenario might not be completely similar next time
you want to run a MapBasic statement. Maybe you dont
have any tables open, maybe there are no open
windows, maybe the active window isnt a map window
and so on

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

Using the MapBasic window

Open the MapBasic window

Perform one or more actions using the interface in MapInfo
Professional, that is a menu item, a button or similar
Notice that the statements are written to the MapBasic
window
Now try to execute the statements one at a time via the
MapBasic window

Remember to clean up before you repeat the actions via

the MapBasic window: Close tables or revert changes to
tables and so forth.

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

Example

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

Update Column

Normally you are limited to updating one column at a time

thru the Update Column dialog.
The MapBasic statement Update Table, however, lets you
update several columns at a time

Update table
Set column = expr [ , column = expr, ...]
[ Where RowID = idnum ]

Use the dialog to get the syntax for one column and then
modify the statement to update several afterwards

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

Exercise

Dataset
Exercise_Data\CriminalActivity.TAB

Update X with CentroidX(OBJ) thru the dialog

Modify the Update Table statement to also update:
Y with CentroidY(OBJ)
CRIMEID with RowID

Consider setting the Coordinate System with:

Set CoordSys Table C

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

 Append Rows to table

With Append Rows to Table you can insert records from one
table into another table
Using the dialog you can however not control which column is
inserted into which column.
When using the dialog the order of the columns is important
You can get around this issue using the MapBasic window

Insert Into table [ ( columnlist ) ]

{ Values ( exprlist )
| Select columnlist From table }

Using columnlist you can specify columns with names like ID,
X, Y, NAME instead of COL1, COL2, COL2, COL4
MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC
Exercise

Dataset
US\CITY_125.TAB
US\STATECAP.TAB

Save a copy of StateCap as USCities

Append City_125 to USCities using Append Rows to Table

Revert changes to USCities

Modify the statement to use column names

Modify the statement to set FIPS_Code to 00 for the cities inserted

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

Exercise

Modify your script to have the style of the state capitals as red circles
using the statement:
Set Style Symbol(35,16711680,12,"MapInfo Symbols",0,0)

And the style of the cities as grey circles using this statement:
Set Style Symbol (35,8421504,8,"MapInfo Symbols",0,0)

Use CreatePoint to recreate the points using the new style

You can set the style using Symbol Style and use this statement to get
the symbol printed to the Message window:
Print CurrentSymbol()

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

 Creating Spatial Features

You can create points using Table > Create Points.

And you can create other basic spatial features using the
MapBasic window and some MapBasic functions:
CreatePoint(x, y)
CreateLine(x1, y1, x2, y2)
CreateCircle(x, y, radius)
Buffer(OBJ, resolution, distance, units) *
MBR(OBJ)
Offset(OBJ, direction, distance, units) *
OffsetXY(OBJ, offsetx, offsety, units) *

* Some of the functions above can be used in a Cartesian

as well as a Spherical version
MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC
Exercise

Dataset
US\States.TAB
US\US_HIWAY.TAB
US\USCities.TAB (the table that we created in a previous exercise)

Create buffers around the cities based on the population

Set the size to (POP_1990 / 20000) miles or pick your own size

Set the style as blue border for cities and red for state capitals

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

From Points to Squares

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

Exercise

Dataset
US\States.TAB
US\US_HIWAY.TAB
US\USCities.TAB (the table that we created in a previous exercise)

Add four columns (X1, Y1, X2, Y2) of type Float to the table USCities
Update these with:
CentroidX(Offset(OBJ, 45, (POP_1990 / 20000), mi))
CentroidY(Offset(OBJ, 45, (POP_1990 / 20000), mi))
CentroidX(Offset(OBJ, 225, (POP_1990 / 20000), mi))
CentroidY(Offset(OBJ, 225, (POP_1990 / 20000), mi))

Create a square around each city using CreateLine and MBR

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

Solutions

Set CoordSys Table CriminalActivity

Update CriminalActivity
Set X = CentroidX(obj)
, Y = CentroidY(obj)
, CrimeID = ROWID

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

Solutions

Commit Table STATECAP As \US\USCities.tab" TYPE NATIVE

Charset "WindowsLatin1" Interactive
Open Table \US\USCities.TAB" Interactive

Insert Into USCities ( Capital, State, Pop_1990,

Num_HU_90) Select City, State, Tot_Pop, Tot_hu From
CITY_125

Insert Into USCities ( Capital, State, Pop_1990,

Num_HU_90) Select City, State, Tot_Pop, Tot_hu From
CITY_125

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

Solutions

Commit Table STATECAP As \US\USCities.tab" TYPE NATIVE

Charset "WindowsLatin1" Interactive
Open Table \US\USCities.TAB" Interactive

Set Style Symbol(35,16711680,12,"MapInfo Symbols",0,0)

Update USCities
Set OBJ = CreatePoint(CentroidX(OBJ), CentroidY(OBJ))

Set Style Symbol (35,8421504,8,"MapInfo Symbols",0,0)

Insert Into USCities
( Capital, State, Pop_1990, Num_HU_90, FIPS_CODE, OBJ)
Select City, State, Tot_Pop, Tot_hu, "00
, CreatePoint(CentroidX(OBJ), CentroidY(OBJ))
From CITY_125

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

Solutions

Set Style Brush(1, 16777215, 16777215)

Set Style BorderPen(1, 2, 16711680)

Select * From USCities Where FIPS_Code <> "00" Into

__TO_UPDATE
Update __TO_UPDATE Set OBJ = Buffer(obj, 100, pop_1990 /
20000, "mi")

Set Style BorderPen(1, 2, 3175935)

Select * From USCities Where FIPS_Code = "00" Into

__TO_UPDATE
Update __TO_UPDATE Set OBJ = Buffer(obj, 100, pop_1990 /
20000, "mi")

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC

Solutions

Alter Table "USCities"

(add X1 Float,Y1 Float,X2 Float,Y2 Float ) Interactive
Update USCities
Set X1 = CentroidX(Offset(OBJ,45,(POP_1990/20000),"mi"))
Update USCities
Set Y1 = CentroidY(Offset(OBJ,45,(POP_1990/20000),"mi"))
Update USCities
Set X2 = CentroidX(Offset(OBJ,225,(POP_1990/20000),"mi"))
Update USCities
Set Y2 = CentroidY(Offset(OBJ,225,(POP_1990/20000),"mi"))

Update USCities
Set OBJ = CreateLine(X1, Y1, X2, Y2)
Update USCities
Set OBJ = MBR(OBJ)
MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC
Get the latest
MapInfo User Conference news:
Twitter via #MapInfoUC
and follow us @MapInfo

MapInfo User Conference 2014: GIS Gets Personal #MapInfoUC