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MapInfo Training
MapInfo Training
N (+) 41 12 23
W E
(-) 41 12 23 Equator
S
Coordinate Systems
Longitude
• Used to describe the East – West position of a
point
• The X-Axis
• It is reported as the number of degrees East (to
–180.0 degrees) or west (to +180.0 degrees)
of the Prime Meridian (0 degrees)
• Represented by vertical lines running from
North to South.
• Lines of Longitude are farthest apart at the
Equator and intersect at both poles, and are
therefore not parallel.
Lines of Longitude
Prime Meridian
N
W E
(-) 76 02 14 S (+) 76 02 14
Converting Lat & Longs
• MapInfo uses Latitude and Longitude
coordinates in the decimal degrees format.
• Latitude (+) 41 12 23
41 Degrees 12 Minutes 23 Seconds
41 + (12 Minutes / 60 Minutes) + (23 Seconds / 3600 Seconds)
41.206
• Longitude (-) 76 02 14
-76 Degrees 2 Minutes 14 Seconds
-76 + (2 Minutes / 60 Minutes) + (14 Seconds / 3600 Seconds)
-76.037
Projections
• A Projection is a mathematical model that
translates the location of features on the
Earth’s surface to locations on a two-
dimensional surface.
• All projections have a degree of distortion
• A map projection can preserve area, distance,
shape or direction but only a globe can
preserve everything!
• MapInfo has a wide range of projections for
displaying maps, it defaults to Latitude /
Longitude.
Projection Example
Examples of Projections
Some well known projections are:
• Mercator – Produce maps suited for navigation
• Lambert – Produce maps suited for visual
analysis
In MapInfo
• Latitude/Longitude NAD27 – Bahamas, Cape
etc.*
• Latitude/Longitude NAD83*
• Various other options
Vector Raster
Constructed by joining points Pixels are used to represent
with lines. Nodes are the start features. Each pixel covers a
and end points, vertices are set area of the ground,
the points where there is a dependant upon resolution.
change of direction. Used mainly for representing
areas.
What is it used for?
Areas of Application
• Marketing / Market Planning
o Locate customers / users, prioritize market launch
• Strategic Planning
o Business case analysis, trending, forecasting
• RF Engineering
o Enhance site selection / maximizing demographic
coverage
• Network Engineering
o Interconnect / backhaul planning
• Maintenance / Optimization
o Analysis / Mapping of network problems, complaints
MapInfo Training
Part 1: Basics
Tables: Structure
• Tables typically consist of between 3 and 4 files
associated by MapInfo
• Tables can represent either raster data, vector
data, or non-geographic data
• Tables can be in the native MapInfo format
(.tab) or external formats opened in MapInfo
(mdb, xls, dbf, jpg, gif)
• It is estimated that up to 85% of the Worlds
databases contain some sort of Geographic
information (lat/long, post code, etc.)
Tables: File Structure
* Note: Labels are not permanent additions to tables, they are merely
annotations saved in the current session (saved in Workspaces)
Maps: Layer Control
• Maps consist of tables displayed as layers
• Analogy: Each table can be viewed on a
transparency, and these transparencies are
then stacked to create a map
• Order of layers controls the appearance of your
map
• Layers can be tables, thematic views of tables,
or mapped queries
• The “Layer Control” dialog is a tool to help you
manipulate your layers
• Accessed by:
o Menu (Map > Layer Control)
o Right-Click in a map window > Layer Control
Maps: Layer Control Dialog
• Allows you to:
o Add / Remove layers
o Change order of layers (influencing map composition)
o Change layers display properties
o Control layers labelling
o Turn layers on or off
Maps: Zooming & Panning
Text Annotations
Map Frame
Legend Frame
Browser Frame
MapInfo Training
Part 2: Advanced
Thematic Maps: Description
• Map Layers can be shaded Thematically
o Object Styles (Color, line width, fill, etc..) can be
controlled based on values of tabular data associated
to that object
o Thematic Layers help display geographic trends of
data
o Types of Thematic Layers:
Ranges: Shade based on ranges of data values
Individual: Shade each unique value individually
Other: Pie Charts, Bar Charts, Graduated Symbols, Dot Density,
Grid
Thematic Maps: Creating
• First decide exactly what it is you are trying to
display
• Select Menu:
o Map > Create Thematic Map
• Select the type of thematic map to create
• Select the table containing the data
• Select the column with values to use
• Make adjustments to the legend
• Click OK!
Thematic Maps: Legends
• The appearance of your thematic map is
controlled by the final section of the wizard
• From here you can adjust the following
o Ranges
o Styles
o Legend Properties
o Legend label order
Thematic Maps: Important Points
• Appear in Layer Control above tables they are
based upon
• May be visible even if base tables are not
• Ranges can be set in a variety of ways,
including statistically calculated methods
• Styles & Ranges can be customized and saved
to templates which can be applied easily to
other tables
• Thematic layers are saved in workspaces and
are not modifications of base tables
• Thematic maps can be modified
Legends: Description
• The legend for the thematic map is displayed in
a window
• Extra components can be added to the legend
• Click the right mouse button in the legend
window and select the “Add Frames” option
• Use the wizard to add or remove elements from
the legend
• Double clicking a component in the legend
window opens the editing dialog
• This can be used to alter the appearance of the
component (title, style, etc)
Selections: Described
• Selections are subsets of table data created by
the user
o Selections can be created manually either through
map windows or browser windows
o Selections can be created automatically through query
capabilities of MapInfo
o Selections are temporary tables created by MapInfo
and can be saved to permanent tables
o Selections are also known as Queries, and are
represented in MapInfo as temporary tables named
QueryN, where N represents an integer
Selections: Using
• Selections can be :
o Added to maps as new layers
o Viewed in browser windows
o Used to edit subsets of tables
o Appended to other tables
o View / Analyze subsets of data
o Make further selections
• Selections can be made using the screen
• Or by querying the data
Selections: From Screen
• Tools: Select Tool, Radius Select Tool,
Boundary Select Tool, Marquee Select
Tool, Select All, Unselect All
• Tools can be used to make selections
directly from map windows on the
screen
• Selections can only be made from a
single table, whose selectable status is
enabled
• Selections are highlighted on the map
• Multiple selections can be made using
the Control key in conjunction with
tools
Selections: From Queries
• Allows you to create expressions based on data
fields and query tables based upon those
expressions
• For Example, you can ask MapInfo to:
o Show Post Code regions where the population >
50,000
o Show Buildings where expected revenue > $20,000
o Show Cell Sites co-located with Bell Atlantic?
Queries: Expressions
• Expressions are logical statements which ask
the questions to MapInfo
• If you wanted to know which Zip Codes had a
population > 50,000 your expression might be:
o POP_90 > 50000
• Expression are typed directly into the Select
Dialog, the expression assistant can help in
forming the expressions
• Expression can be complex containing logical
operators (such as OR, AND, NOT) and
mathematical operators (such as + / = *)
• MapInfo’s query language is SQL
Miscellaneous: MapBasic Window