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Mapinfo Tutorial: Necessary, Referenced by This Symbol
Mapinfo Tutorial: Necessary, Referenced by This Symbol
MapInfo Tutorial
-This tutorial is intended as a starting point for users who are new to MapInfo.
-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:
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What is MapInfo?
MapInfo is a commercially available Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software package. Using
the familiar Windows Icons Menus Pointer (WIMP) Graphical User Interface (GUI), it allows the user to
import geographically referenced data and to create thematic maps of different variables.
Basic GIS:
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) were defined by Burrough (1996) as "a powerful set of tools for
collecting, storing, retrieving, transforming and displaying spatial data from the real world." GIS include
"a database system in which most of the data are spatially indexed" (Smith et al, 1987), and these data
may be displayed as tables or maps in GIS software packages such as MapInfo.
Geographical Information Systems may be either 'raster', i.e. a continuous surface stored as cells, or
'vector', stored as discrete point, line and polygon objects with attached attributes. MapInfo is a vector
based GIS.
Points - single data locations, with an x and y co-ordinate.
Lines - connections between two points. A point may be seen as a line with only one set of x and y co-
ordinates.
Polygons, or regions - a closed area composed of points which are joined by lines.
Attributes - the text attached to any point, line or polygon entity. This may be an address for a point
representing a house, a name for a line representing a road, or a land use type for a region representing
a forest.
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Raster: Vector:
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File formats:
To use a coverage, or map layer, in MapInfo, a number of files are required.
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.
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.
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When You Open MapInfo Via Start > Programs > MapInfo > MapInfo Professional 7.5 In Windows.
A dialog box will appear inviting you to open either a table or a workspace. For now, click cancel.
Take a look at the MapInfo window.
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MapInfo has a title bar including minimize, restore or maximize, and close buttons.
Below the title bar is the menu bar with the following menus.
File: Menu commands which are normally found in the file menu of other applications are also found
here for MapInfo.
Edit: This is also the case for the Edit menu.
Tools: The Tools menu is an important feature of MapInfo. It is from here that you may run programs
from MapInfo's programming language, MapBasic, load new tools, launch the Mapping Wizard Tool,
view the Metadata (data about the data, such as its source) and access the Universal Translator.
Objects: The Objects menu does not by default have any active items, and is used only for advanced
tasks.
Query: The Query menu allows the selection of certain entities by a number of methods.
Table: The Table menu allows manipulation of data tables, such as adding new columns, importing and
exporting tables, and geocoding.
Options: The Options menu allows the user to alter aesthetic aspects of their maps, such as line and
symbol styles.
Window: The Window menu is used to create new windows of different types, and arrange existing
windows on the screen.
Help: Opens MapInfo's help system. This is a very useful feature, especially its index.
Relevant menu items are discussed in the appropriate sections of the tutorial.
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Other menus may appear on the menu bar during your use of MapInfo. For example, should you create
a map window, a Map menu will appear.
The main area of the MapInfo window is taken up by the workspace. This area forms a background on
which browsers, maps, legends, graphs and layouts may be opened, each in a new window.
Toolbars
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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Toolbars – continue 1
Toolbars – continue 2
The main toolbar has selection tools, view tools such as zoom in, zoom out, and pan,
layer management tools, and other tools such as a measurement tool, statistics tool and
legend control tools.
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Toolbars – continue 3
The drawing toolbar contains tools for drawing new line and region entities, and for other
features such as adding text.
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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Toolbars – continue 4
However, before we can play with any of these features, we must first import some data.
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The first thing to do is to obtain some data in a format suitable to use in MapInfo, or which are suitable to
be converted into these formats.
MapInfo may import files in the following formats:
MapInfo tables with which we can work have the extension .tab (for example, filename.tab). However,
for those data that were in other file formats such as Delimited ASCII (.txt), Excel (.xls) or MapInfo
Interchange format (.mif and .mid), they must therefore be converted into .tab files before we can begin
to use them in MapInfo.
Opening tables in different file formats for making maps and graphs may also be
done in stage 1, Data, and stage 2, Maps, of the Mapping Wizard Tool.
To open a MapInfo table (.tab), go to File > Open. Navigate to the directory where the table is stored,
select it, and click Open.
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Data can be exported from drive test tools such as TEMS Investigation or planning tools such as Asset
and TEMS Cell Planner Universal in MapInfo Interchange Format, providing a .mif and .mid file for each
coverage. Data which is supplied to you from other sources are also likely to come in this format. This
part explains how to convert these two files to a MapInfo table, a .tab file.
Open MapInfo (Start > Programs > MapInfo > MapInfo Professional 7.5). Go to Table > Import.
Navigate to the directory where your .mif file is stored. Open the .mif file.
The Import Into Table dialog box will appear asking you to save the .mif file as a .tab file. It is advisable
to use the same filename. Save the .mif file as a .tab file now.
The table can now be opened using File > Open.
This procedure also applies to .dxf files, .img files and Ordnance Survey MasterMap files (.gml).
This part explains how to convert a .xls file to a MapInfo table, a .tab file. Data that are in comma
separated values (.csv) files, has to be converted into Microsoft Excel (.xls) in Microsoft Excel.
Go to File > Open. Navigate to the directory where your Excel file is stored. From the drop down menu
Files of Type, select Microsoft Excel (*.xls). Select your Excel file and click Open.
The Excel Information dialog box appears, asking for the range of cells in the Excel sheet which contain
the data you wish to import. By default this is the whole sheet. If the column headings are in the top/first
row of the Excel sheet as they always be, from the drop down menu Named Range:, select Other…, a
dialog box appears, alter the starting range to A2, Click OK, tick the Use Row Above Selected Range for
Column Titles button. Click OK. The table now opens in a browser.
If your Excel file is not in this format, e.g. if there are extra rows of headings, edit a copy of your Excel
sheet (in Excel) so that it has one row of headings only, and no other text than the headings and the
data itself, before attempting to import it into MapInfo.
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This part explains how to import Graphics file into MapInfo. Go to File > Open. Navigate to the directory
where your Graphics file is stored. From the drop down menu Files of Type, select Raster Image
(*.bil;*.sid;*.gen;*.ntf;*.ecw;*.url;*.tif;*.grc;*.bmp;*.gif;*.tga;*.jpg;*.pcx;*.jp2;*.j2k;*.png;*.psd;*.wmf;
*.emf). Select your Graphics file and click Open.
The MapInfo dialog box appears, asking you whether
to display,
ArcGIS is another piece of GIS software. It has some similarities to MapInfo. It has many features which
MapInfo does not have, although most of these are related to analysis of the physical environment, for
example, producing Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), viewsheds and stream networks. However, it is
much more complex to use than MapInfo,
requires far greater computing power,
extensive memory, high processor speed
and the latest operating system, and as such
is far more expensive to buy, and less user
friendly, particularly to non GIS specialists.
However, data may be moved between ArcGIS
and MapInfo, and vice versa.
When you install MapInfo, ArcLink is not
selectable/installed if you choose Typical
Workstation installation.
To import ArcGIS data (.e00 files) into MapInfo
go to Tools > ArcLink > ARCINFO->MapInfo.
In the left hand field, choose the files you wish
to export from ArcGIS to bring into MapInfo.
Use the select all button to select all the files in
the current directory. Use the right hand field to
choose where to save them. It is advisable to
leave all the boxes checked. Click Translate.
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It may be that the data you open in MapInfo is already attached to map data, in which case, ignore this
section entirely! However, you may have data in spreadsheets and other tables imported into MapInfo
which does not have attached map data. You may still produce graphs or run queries on these data.
However, if you wish to use these data to make maps, you must combine the tables without map data
with a table of the same geography which has map data attached.
Add fields
This part explains how to add new data fields to the existing tables which contain the map data.
Table > Maintenance > Table Structure:
A dialog box appears, showing a list of fields, with their
name and type. Don't worry about the checkboxes in the
indexed column, but do not uncheck any boxes that are
already checked.
Click the Add Field button. A field appears at the bottom
of the list. Give your new field a name, preferably the
same name as the column of data in the table you wish
to import data from. Choose an appropriate type for your
data, for example, character, integer (whole numbers) or
float (decimal numbers).
Do this for each new column of data you wish to add. If
you wish to remove a field, first make sure it is selected
and click the Remove Field button.
Make sure the Table is Mappable checkbox on the right
is ticked. Click OK.
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The processes described in section two have greater potential when used in combination than
individually. Downloaded data may be opened directly in MapInfo, or have to be converted into a suitable
file type and then imported. Data which are not mappable may be added to tables of the same
geography which are. This allows greater flexibility in the types of data that can be used in MapInfo.
Once your MapInfo table is complete, you can finally begin making maps!
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Thematic maps are maps which are of one particular variable. This may be, for example, a map showing
the area of each ward. Producing professional thematic maps is one of MapInfo's great strengths.
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.
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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Step One: Choosing the type of map and the colour scheme.
From the selection of buttons down the left hand side of the wizard, select the type of map you want.
Different types of map are appropriate for different types of data. The top button, ranges, is selected by
default. We will leave this selected for our example, as we are going to make maps of the different ethnic
groups in Bradford in terms of their percentage of the population at ward level.
Step One: Choosing the type of map and the colour scheme. – continue 1
Also available are bar chart and pie chart maps, which produce a graph in each geographical area (such
as a ward), graduated symbol maps, which show the count of the data for the chosen variable within
each geographical area as a symbol, the size of which varies according to the count, dot density maps,
where the density increases according to the count, individual maps, where each geographical area has
its own colour, and grid maps, which show
variables as a continuous surface as one
would see with a raster dataset. These,
however, may be difficult to interpret.
Choose the table which contains the variable you wish to map from the
drop down list of all open tables.
From that table, choose the variable you wish to map from the drop down
list Field. This is one reason why your variables need self explanatory
names, so that you can be sure you are using the right one.
At the bottom of the Field list is Expression... This command is used for
mapping mathematical functions of other variables. We will make a map
of the white population of Bradford as a percentage of the total
population. Select Expression... now.
A dialog box appears. The panel on the left invites you to type an expression, but it is easier to use the
drop down menus on the right until you are familiar with MapInfo.
From the Columns menu, choose the column which stores the white
population. The name of this column appears in the panel on the left.
Type a / after this. From the Columns menu, choose the column
which stores to the total population. When the expression appears
in the panel, put parentheses () around everything you have so far.
Type *100 at the end. Your panel should now read something like
this: (white/total)*100
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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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Ranges: This allows you to alter the number of categories you have, and the ranges included in these.
The default is equal count, i.e. an equal number of wards within each category. However, for some
applications it may be necessary to alter the ranges, for example, to be directly comparable to other
maps with different input data. Click OK when you are happy.
Styles: This allows you to change the colours of each category, if you wish. Select the category by
clicking its button (which shows its current colour). It is advisable to just change the foreground colour
and leave everything else as is. It is also advisable to leave all the other settings in the Styles dialog as
their defaults.
Legend: While your ranges and style may not require any customisation, your legend almost certainly
will. MapInfo gives your legend a default title of the table name and field or expression to be mapped.
Change this to a name which actually makes sense and is grammatically correct, such as The White
Population of Bradford as a Percentage of the Total. In some cases a shorter title is OK. A subtitle may
also be added. The fonts of these may be changed, if you wish.
Legend: – continue
Choose whether or not you want to show the record
count, i.e. the number of wards that fall into each
category. This appears as a figure in brackets at the
end of each range in the legend. Normally is it not
necessary to show this, especially when the equal
count method has been used to assign the ranges.
The fewer the areas on the map, the less necessary
it is. However, if you do choose to show the record
counts, be sure to explain what these figures are, for
example, using the subtitle.
Click OK when you are happy.
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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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Layer control
Once you have made your map, an important feature of MapInfo is Map > Layer Control.
A map in a GIS may be made up of several layers. For example, a map of the British Isles may
have a region layer showing the outline of the British Isles, a line layer showing major roads, a
point layer showing major settlements and an attribute layer showing text labels for the points
and lines. Layer control allows the user to add, remove, reorder and customise layers.
Cosmetic Layer: This is the topmost, transparent, layer, which cannot be moved or deleted. It is here
that titles etc may be added.
From left to right, the checkboxes for each layer
represent:
Visibility: Can the layer be viewed in the current
map window? If not, it may mean that the table
containing the data for that layer is not open.
Editable: This must be checked in order to be
able to make changes to a layer.
Selectable: Objects must be selected if they are
to be used in analysis such as queries. More
than one layer may be selectable at the same
time. If a layer is editable it is automatically
selectable.
Auto-label: Labels the layer with the first column
of the data in the browser, i.e. with the leftmost
column of the data table. This feature is
unchecked by default.
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The Info Tool on the Main Toolbar (an i) is also important. Select this, and then click on any entity of
interest in the map. The Info Tool brings up information about the entity. On the example map above,
clicking on a ward brings up the zone ID, zone name and total population. In a more complex map, the
Info Tool would bring up information about all the thematic layers. Click the Pointer Tool on the Main
Toolbar to exit the Info Tool.
The Distance Tool on the Main Toolbar (the one which looks like a ruler)
may also be of use. Select this, then use it to draw a line along which you
would like the distance measured. The distance appears in a dialog box.
Lines may have many nodes, each created by clicking the mouse. Double
click to begin a new distance line. Click the Pointer Tool on the Main
Toolbar to exit the Distance Tool.
Hold the mouse pointer over a tool on any of the toolbars to see what it
does.
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Creating graphs
MapInfo can also be used to create graphs of the variables in the tables. We will create a graph to show
the number of people in each ethnic group in each ward of Bradford in 1991, as an example.
Data in tables which are not mappable may be used to create graphs.
Step Two: Choose the table in which the variable you wish to create a graph of is stored from the drop
down menu at the top.
Select the field(s) from the table you wish to make a graph of. Click the Add>> button to add these fields
to the graph. For this example, select all the fields except the total population.
If you wish to add variables from more than one table, choose the next table from the drop down menu
at the top and add fields from it in the same way.
Choose the field with which you want to label the x-axis of your graph. Choose whether the series is in
rows or columns. In our case, the series is in columns.
Click OK.
Graphs often require a lot of modification. Graphs should have appropriate descriptive titles, and the
axes should be appropriately labelled. The graph should be sized such that all the columns are clearly
visible. This can be achieved using the options from the Graph menu, which appears when you create a
new graph window. Make sure
the graph you wish to
modify is the active window,
and choose from the
appropriate options below.
The most important thing
about your graph is that it
is clear.
Graph Menu
Graph > Formatting... Allows you to change the colour scheme of your graph. It is advisable to make all
other changes to your graph before changing the colour scheme, in order to ensure its clarity.
Graph > General Options This is an important menu item for improving the clarity of the graph. The
General tab allows you to alter the distance between graph items, and their depth (if any). The tabs have
preview windows so that you can see how your changes will affect the final graph. The Look tab allows
you to change the position of labels in relation to other items. The Display Status tab allows you to hide
the legend, but don't!
Graph > Series Options Select the series which you wish to modify by clicking on it before selecting
this menu item. This item allows you to add data labels or trend lines. Data labels are only appropriate
for graphs with few items, otherwise the graph becomes too cluttered, and trend lines are only
appropriate for certain types of graph such as scatter graphs.
Graph > Grids and Scales Allows you to alter the gridlines that are visible and the positions of the axes
in relation to the graph. The Category Axis is MapInfo's term for what is commonly known as the x-axis.
Graph > Titles Give your graph an appropriate title, such as "A stacked column graph to show the
population of Bradford by ethnic group, at ward level, for the 1991 census." Make sure you label the y-
axis. Make sure the boxes for items which you do not want to label are blank. Click Apply, then OK.
Do not forget to source your data. This may be a legal requirement, depending on where you got your
data. If it is a legal requirement to include the data source, the source will say so explicitly, but it is good
practice to include the data source anyway. You could use the footnote option from the Titles menu item
for this.
Graph > 3D Viewing Angle If you have chosen a three dimensional type of graph, this option allows you
to change the angle from which it is viewed.
Graph > Save As Template Allows you to save your graph setting as a template for future use.
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Creating layouts
Layouts may also be created in stage 4, Publish, of the Mapping Wizard Tool.
Select Window > New Layout Window, or alternatively choose the New Layout button on the toolbar.
The New Layout dialog box appears.
If you wish to make a layout containing just one frame, choose the frame from the drop down menu now,
and click OK. Creating a layout for one frame is better than printing it directly as you can resize and
reorientate it in relation to A4 paper, as well as adding text boxes such as titles.
If you are including a map in a layout, MapInfo automatically includes its legend.
If you wish to produce a blank layout, which you may use for
text, choose No Frames, and click OK. However, it is probably better to use a word processing package.
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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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Aligning frames: Aligning frames is an important part of presentation. Frames may be aligned
horizontally or vertically. Select the frames you wish to align, holding down the shift key to select multiple
frames. Right click in the layout, and choose Align Objects. A dialog box appears. It is advisable not to
try to change the horizontal and vertical alignment at the same time. Choose which you want to change,
and select which edges you wish to align from the drop down menu, for example, for vertical alignment
you may wish to align either the top or bottom edges, and if the frames are the same size both will be
aligned anyway. Leave the With Respect To menu option as Each Other, and click OK. If you wish to
move the aligned frames, select them all, and they can be dragged as a block.
Adding text: Select the text tool on the drawing toolbar, which by default is floating. The text tool is the
A. Click on the layout where you want the text, and type. Select the pointer tool on the main toolbar,
which is also floating by default. Double click on the text to get the text object dialog box. From here the
text, spacing and alignment may be altered. The font may be altered using the Style (Aa) button. Click
OK when you are happy. The pointer tool may also be used to drag the text. Text objects may be aligned
with other objects in the layout using the method discussed above.
The zoom in and zoom out tools on the main toolbar, the magnifying glasses with plus and minus signs,
are always useful when working with layouts.
If you find you need more pages for your layout, choose Layout > Options, where you can alter the
layout size in terms of number of pages, then click OK.
You can also use Layout > Options to produce a Layout Template which may be used to make multiple
layouts with the same structure. This is useful for uniformity in major pieces of work.
The layout may appear to be blank or made up of boxes of plain colours when the layout is not the
active window. Don't worry, you have not lost your work! If you wish to be able to view the contents of a
layout window when it is not the active window, go to the Layout menu and choose Layout > Options,
and set Show Frame Contents to Always. Click OK.
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Standard practices
We have already touched on some issues of standard practice throughout the tutorial, such as always
having a legend for each map. However, there are a number of other issues relating to standard practice
which are important.
North Arrow: Including a north arrow on maps is standard practice. Go to Tools > Tool Manager. Scroll
down the list to North Arrow, and tick the two checkboxes beside it. If the checkboxes next to ScaleBar
are not checked, check those too. Click OK. The floating toolbar Tools appears.
Choose the icon for North Arrow. Click on a map in a map window or layout where you want your north
arrow to be. A dialog box appears. There are 19 styles of north arrow to choose from, which are
previewed in the box on the left.
You can change the colour of the north arrow. The default is red. It is advisable to change the
foreground brush colour to black, but to leave the foreground pen, background brush and background
pen as they are.
The north arrow may be resized using the box at the bottom right. The default is 15% of the window size.
Important: Leave the Rotate north arrow to match projection button pressed.
You can also show the Magnetic Declination by selecting the button. This is unnecessary for maps of
small areas such as one district, but would be important for maps of larger areas, for example, the whole
of the British Isles.
Choose OK when you are satisfied with the settings for the north arrow. The north arrow appears where
you initially clicked.
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Scale: If you have not already done so, go to Tools > Tool Manager and enable the ScaleBar tool by
checking the boxes beside it and clicking OK.
Select the ScaleBar tool on the floating Tools toolbar. Click where you would like your scale bar on a
map in a window or layout. A dialog box appears.
Choose the width of your scale bar, preferably a round figure. Choose the units of distance which you
would like your scale bar to represent, for example, kilometres. Leave the colour settings as they are. If
you wish to change the font of the scale labels, select the font (Aa) button on the right, make your
changes, and click OK.
Choose OK when you are satisfied with the settings for the scale bar. The scale bar appears where you
initially clicked.
If you wish to change the units of your scale go to Map > Options. However, you will have to create a
new scalebar with the new units as any existing scalebar will not automatically change.
North arrows and scale bars are not easily edited, moved or removed in MapInfo. Make sure, therefore,
that you have selected the right location and settings before clicking OK.
Scales may be represented in three ways: verbally, such as "one metre equals fifty kilometres",
graphically, using a scale bar, and by what is known as a representative fraction, such as 1:50,000. In
cartography, it is good practice to include all three representations of scale on a map. However, this is
not usually possible for the thematic maps created in software packages such as MapInfo. It is therefore
important to include the graphical representation of scale on your maps since the verbal representation
and representative fraction are missing.
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Data Sourcing: Including the source of the data is standard practice in mapping, and in some cases is a
legal requirement. Online data sources will tell you how to cite their data, and it is important that you do
this. For example, for 2001 census data you must include the following citation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Census output is Crown copyright and is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of
HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland
Source: 2001 Census; Dataset
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Where Dataset could be either 'Key Statistics', 'Census Area Statistics' or 'Standard Tables'.
Map Projection: Including the map projection is also standard practice. The map projection can be
found by going to Table > Maintenance > Table Structure and choosing the projection button. For the
types of data we have used in this tutorial, the projection will normally be British National Grid.
Including these things is necessary in order to make your map look professional.
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File > Save Table: This command will only be available if changes have been made to the table since it
was last saved.
Table > Export: Tables may be exported in MapInfo Interchange Format (.mif), as delimited text files
(.txt), database files (.dbf) or .dxf files.
Windows containing maps, graphs and legends may also be exported using the
Save Window to File option from stage 4, Publish, of the Mapping Wizard Tool.
Maps, legends and graphs must be exported one window at a time. Make sure the window you wish to
export is the active window, and size the window to minimise the white space. Choose File > Save
Window As.
A dialog box appears allowing you to choose from a variety of image formats to save your file. Bitmap
(.bmp) is selected by default, but it is not advisable to choose this due to the large file sizes created.
.jpg or Windows Metafiles, .wmf, are probably the most advisable.
When exporting a map, do not forget to export its legend. You will have to do this separately. Since the
map and its legend are saved as separate files, be sure to give them filenames which show clearly which
legend belongs to which map!
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Exporting to ArcGIS
Click Translate.
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Click OK when you are happy with the options you have
chosen.
50
Select tools
A layer containing entities which you wish to select must be made selectable using Map > Layer
Control.
To select entities within a circular area, use the radius select tool on the main toolbar.
To select entities within a rectangular area, use the marquee select tool on the main toolbar.
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.
To deselect entities in a layer and begin again, use Query > Unselect All.
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Queries
Use Select Records from Table to choose the table containing the records you wish to select.
Use the box to the right of 'that Satisfy' to enter the criteria by which the records are to be selected. The
Assist button provides help with this, construction an expression with drop down menus for columns in
the table, mathematical operators, and functions.
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.
Structured Query Language (SQL) is universal between many software packages and applications, and
is independent of any hardware of software you may be using.
SQL is used for creating subsets of tables. For example, you may wish to calculate variables such as
population density (population/area).
Using your data in queries is another reason why your tables and files need self explanatory names as
otherwise you would quickly lose track of what your query is about!
We will create a query to find all the wards in Bradford
which were greater than or equal to 90% white in 1991.
This section of the tutorial demonstrates features of MapInfo which users may require in future. If you do
not have the files discussed in these examples then you do not need to use the feature! However, all of
these are useful for future reference when additional data may have been obtained.
Creating points
Points may be added to maps which have already been created, for example, if you had a .tab file such
as ward boundaries for Bradford, and a point coverage, perhaps imported from ArcGIS, of all the high
schools in Bradford with x and y co-ordinates. Open the two relevant files.
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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Geocoding
Geocoding means adding geographical data to tables of data without co-ordinates, such as addresses,
so that they can be displayed on a map. This is related to adding columns of data to mappable tables, as
discussed in Section Two, Part Three.
Geocoding may be done by address, by boundary, or by postcode. Two tables are required - the table of
addresses (the geocode table) and the search table, for example, a table showing the National Grid co-
ordinate of the centroid of each postcode unit.
Go to Table > Geocode. A dialog box appears. Choose the Geocode table and search table from the
drop down lists, and choose the appropriate columns where the X and Y co-ordinates of the points are
stored. Then choose between automatic and interactive
mode.
Automatic mode requires no further input on the point
of the user, but will not geocode points for which there
is not an exact match. Interactive allows the user to
choose the nearest alternative when there is not an
exact match (e.g. to assign the point to the adjacent
postcode unit). Click OK to begin geocoding.
The results may be displayed as a map layer.
If you cannot see the results of your geocoding operation
the layer containing the results is probably not the top
layer. Go to Map > Layer Control and change the order
of the map layers to rectify this.
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Redistricting
Redistricting allows spatial units to be combined into larger spatial units based on their common
characteristics. For example, enumeration districts may be combined into wards. MapInfo also sums the
data for the newly combined units, and provides totals of these data. There are two methods to do this.
The first method is non-systematic, with the choice of spatial units to be combined entirely subjective.
This uses the same process as discussed in Section Two, Part Three, where a new field is added to the
existing table to receive the summed data, the spatial units to be combined (which must be adjacent) are
selected, and the column is updated (using Table > Update Column).
However, the usual way to perform a redistricting operation is to use Window > New Redistrict
Window (or to use the New Redistricter icon on the toolbar). A dialog box appears.
Choose the table you wish to work with from the drop down list. Choose the field containing the spatial
units you wish to combine. Choose which of the Available
Fields on the left you wish to know the value of for the
new spatial unit and transfer these over to the right using
the Add >> button. Use the shift key to select all the
fields. Use the << Remove button to move fields from the
right back over to the left if you do not wish to include
them. Do not remove the field representing the spatial
unit though, for example, zone ID. Click OK.
The results of the Redistrict operation appear on the map
and in a new browser window entitled District. In the
browser, click on in the symbol field to change the
symbol for that record.
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Redistricting – continue
To make the new districts permanent and save them to the table, go to Redistrict > Assign Selected
Objects.
If you do not wish to overwrite your original table with your new one, save a copy of your work before
beginning, and give the new table another title.
Buffering
Buffers are used to show distances from objects. Firstly, make sure the layer containing the objects you
wish to buffer is selectable using the Layer Control dialog box (Section Three, Part One). Then select
the object(s) you wish to buffer using the methods discussed in Section Four, Part One.
Go to Objects > Buffer. A dialog box appears allowing the user to select the distance they would like to
buffer, and whether they would like one buffer around all the selected objects or one around each. Click
OK when you are happy.
If you cannot see the results of your buffering operation the layer containing the results is probably not
the top layer. Go to Map > Layer Control and change the order of the map layers to rectify this.
You may wish to add your own drawing objects to a map. Firstly make sure the Cosmetic Layer you
work with is editable using the Layer Control dialog box (Section Three, Part One).
Use the tools on the drawing toolbar (Section One, Part Two) to add objects to the map.
To save your changes go to Map > Save Cosmetic Objects. Give the table a new name.
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What is the point of being able to do the tasks in the tutorial separately when the Mapping Wizard Tool
does it all for you, you may ask? Well, the Mapping Wizard Tool performs only the simplest functions at
each stage of the process and lacks the flexibility of the individual stages. However, the Mapping Wizard
Tool is particularly useful for users who are new to MapInfo specifically or to GIS in general.
The Mapping Wizard Tool is opened by going to Tools > Mapping Wizard Tool > Run Mapping Wizard
Tool
Welcome: The Mapping Wizard Tool dialog box appears, with a welcome panel explaining in simple
terms what the Wizard does. Use the buttons at the bottom of the dialog box to navigate through the
Wizard.
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1. Data: Allows you to open the table from which you wish to make a map (Section Two, Part Two). You
may open MapInfo tables (.tab), dBase files (.dxf), delimited ascii files (.txt), Lotus 123 worksheets
(.wk*), Microsoft Excel sheets (.xls), Microsoft Access files (.mdb) or DBMS files.
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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2. Maps: Choose the table where the geographical data for the map you want to make is stored. This
may be a MapInfo table (.tab), a MapInfo workspace (.wor), or imported map (.mif and others), a raster
image such as a bitmap (.bmp) or .jpg, or a DBMS file.
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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3. Analyse: Choosing Create Thematic Layer opens the three stage Create Thematic Map wizard
discussed in Section Three, Part One. Choosing Create Graph opens stage one of the Create Graph
wizard discussed in Section Three, Part Two.
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4. Publish: This allows the user to create a layout, as discussed in Section Three, Part Three, or save
the window to a file, as discussed in Section Three, Part Four.