Displaying Data in a Map Window - MapInfo_Pro - 2023

You use Map windows to display the geographic objects from your table on a map. Map windows can display information from many tables at once, with each table a separate layer.

Opening a Table in a Map Window

You can create your maps or edit existing maps. You can open a Map window on the HOME tab, in the File group, from the Open list, by clicking Table and navigating to one or more tables.

Alternatively, on the HOME tab, in the Windows group, click New Document, and click Map from the list, to create a new map from a list of open tables.

Getting Around in the Map Window

There are a wide variety of commands that allow you to zoom, pan, and move objects around the Map window. Zooming allows you to look more closely or more widely at a particular geography. Panning allows you to move around a map left, right, up, and down. Moving selected objects in an editable layer is useful when you want to get your map right.

You can zoom using the mouse wheel or use the + and - keys on the keyboard, to zoom in and out more precisely.

• When you press +, you zoom in by a factor of 2.
• When you press -, you zoom out by a factor of .5.

You can pan in your Map window using the scroll bars or the Arrow keys Up, Down, Left, and Right.

Further, you can move an object in an editable layer more precisely by selecting it and using the following key combinations.

• Ctrl+Arrow ­ moves the editable, selected objects 1 pixel at a time
• Ctrl+Shift+Arrow ­ moves the editable, selected objects 10 pixels at a time

Changing a Map's Zoom Level

You change a map's zoom level by specifying certain parameters in the Change View dialog box.

To change a map's zoom level right-click on the Map window and click Change View to open the Change View dialog box.

The Change View dialog box allows you to set various parameters of the map including:

• Display the current zoom, scale or cursor position in the status bar (the default unit of distance is miles which is specified on the MAP tab, in the Options group, by clicking Map Options).
• Change the zoom, scale, and the center point of the current map view.
• Behavior of the map when you resize the window.
• Resize the map to fit the new window, keeping the view the same.
• Set the map to preserve the current scale, so that resizing the window has the effect of letting you see more or less of the map.

Setting Margins for a Map Window when Printing

To specify margin settings:

1. Make the Map window active.
2. On the HOME tab, in the Output group, click Page Setup to open the Page Setup dialog box.
3. Specify the desired margin settings.
4. Click OK.

Editing Text in a Map

To edit the text you have just created:

1. On the MAP tab, in the Selection group, click Select, and Select.
2. Double-click the text to open the Text Object dialog box with the text in the Text box.
3. Position the cursor in the text box and make your changes.

   Choose either 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 line spacing.

   Choose Left, Center, or Right justification.

   Select label line properties, if necessary.

   Select rotation angle, if necessary.

4. Click OK.

Adding Grid Lines to a Map

The grid lines on a map are a visual reference for the coordinate system of the map. You would add a grid to your map, using a specific projection and spacing, to easily identify locations. You can select to show grid lines that are the same as the map projection that was used to create the map, or you can select another coordinate system, such as Latitude/Longitude.

To add or edit the grid on your map:

1. On the MAP tab, in the Content group, click Add To Map, and select Gridlines to open the Add Gridline dialog box.
2. From the Selected Coordinate Systems drop-down list, select a coordinate system to use for the grid on the map. The default setting, is to use the coordinate system that the map is currently set to.
3. Select the Use Auto Spacing check box to have MapInfo Pro calculate the optimum spacing at any zoom level and then set the Horizontal and Vertical spacing of the grid lines.

   You would set the spacing to optimize viewing an area at a specific zoom level. If you did not select the Use Auto Spacing check box, then changing the zoom level may result in poor visibility of the map, such as when zooming out to view the entire country after setting the grid line spacing for viewing a city.

4. Click OK.

The grid is a specialized layer on the map, so you can hide or show it in the same way as any other layer on the map. In the Explorer window, toggle the Visible check box located before the Gridline layer name to turn visibility to off and hide the grid.

You can add as many Gridline layers to the map as you need and hide or show them as necessary.

Changing Grid Line Properties

Use the commands on the GRIDLINES tab to control how a grid displays on a map. The GRIDLINES tab is available on the ribbon after selecting a gridline layer for a map in the Explorer window. For a complete list of commands, see GRIDLINES Tab.

Adding Another Grid to the Map

You can add as many Gridline layers to the map as you need and hide or show them as necessary. On the MAP tab, in the Content group, click Add To Map, and select Gridlines to open the Add Gridline dialog box. To hide a grid, in the Explorer window, toggle the Visible check box located before the Gridline layer name to turn its visibility to off.

Changing Grid Line Spacing

To modify the grid spacing for an existing grid layer on the map, select the Gridline layer name in the Explorer window. This displays the GRIDLINES tab on the MapInfo Pro ribbon. On the GRIDLINES tab, click Gridline Properties. The Gridline Properties dialog box shows the existing grid spacing, which you can change. You cannot change the projection for an existing grid, which displays at the top of the dialog.

Changing the Display Style for Grid Line Labels

The commands in the Style and Labels groups control how the labels on grid lines display and how they are placed relative to their grid line.

The style commands are:

The label placement commands are:

Making the Grid Transparent

You can make grid lines transparent to control how much importance the grid has to the map design and to make information behind the grid lines more visible. To do this, select the Gridline layer name in the Explorer window. This displays the GRIDLINES tab on the MapInfo Pro ribbon. On the GRIDLINES tab, in the Translucency group, move the Layer slider. Zero percent makes grid lines opaque and 100 percent makes them completely transparent.

Make the labels for grid lines transparent, so that they do not obscure information behind them. To do this, move the Label slider.