To access the Open dialog box, on the HOME tab, in the File group, click Open, and Table.
Look in
Lists the available folders and files. To see how the current folder fits in the hierarchy on your computer, click the down arrow. To see what is inside a folder, click it.
Go To Last Folder Visited button
Displays the directory that you last visited.
Up One Level button
Displays the directory one level up form the current directory.
Create New Folder button
Displays a new folder with a temporary name.
View Menu button
Lists view options for the files in the list, so you can view the list as Thumbnails, Tiles, Icons, List, or by Details. List displays the list of files and folders without details, such as file size. Details displays the list of files and folders with details, such as name, size, type, and modified date.
Open DBMS Connection
The following controls only display if a DBMS connection has been established.
Owner
Displays the owner list for the selected connection. Disabled if the connection does not support owners (Access, Excel, etc.). Only tables belonging to the selected user are shown in the table list. Each time you switch connections MapInfo Pro, the default owner is selected. If no default owner exists, then the first item in the list is selected.
Filter Tables
Displays the Filter Tables dialog box where the user can choose to filter system tables, views, synonyms/alias or regular tables. The default filtering excludes only system tables. Changes made to the filtering persist through out the session. The default is not reset, even if you select another connection or exit, then reenter the Open dialog box.
New Connection button
This button is located in the top right corner of the Open/Save dialog box. Pressing this button displays the Open DBMS Connection dialog box. The button is always available if DBMS support is on (for example, either of the DBMS dlls are present).
If a new connection is opened, then it will be selected in the Files of Type drop-down list when you return to the Open/Save dialog box. You can open a connection prior to invoking the Open/Save dialog box (on the HOME tab, in the File group, on the Open list, click Database Connection). You van also specify a DBMS connection that will be opened each time MapInfo Pro starts using the Startup Preferences Dialog Box.
Description Box
This shows the folders and files in the selected location. You can also double-click a folder or file in that box to open it.
Places Bar
The four buttons on the MapInfo Places Bar are associated with the following directory preferences: Tables, Remote Tables, Import Files, and Workspaces. Pressing one of these buttons switches the current directory of the dialog box to the directory associated with the button.
By default, MapInfo Places Bar is always displayed, even where there is no standard Places Bar. On systems that support a standard Places Bar, a set of option buttons, labeled MapInfo Places and Standard Places, allows you to toggle between the two.
File name:
Provides a space for you to type the name of the file. You can use * as a wildcard. For example, you can type *.* to see a list of all files. You can also type the full path of a file. For example, you can type C:\MYMAPS\STATES.TAB. Or, if you have used a long filename, you might type c:\mymaps\State of New York.
Files of type:
This is useful for narrowing the list of files displayed to only those files you are interested in. The tables that display are tables in MapInfo format or non-MapInfo files that have previously been opened in MapInfo Pro. Select the file format of the file you want to open or select workspace (*.wor) to open a workspace.
DBMS Connections
A list of DBMS connections will appear if a connection has been established. When you select a collection from the list, the dialog box goes into DBMS Connection Mode, (see above), and DBMS specific controls display. For dBase, Delimited ASCII, Lotus 1-2-3, Microsoft Excel, and SQLite files, MapInfo Pro displays other dialog boxes, prompting for further information. These dialog box explanations are covered according to the type of file (for example, Opening DBF format files).
Preferred View
MapInfo Pro displays your data in a window based on your selection. MapInfo Pro remembers your selection and uses it for every subsequent selection until you change it.
- Automatic - MapInfo Pro chooses the most appropriate view. If the data is mappable, such as when graphic objects are attached to the data, MapInfo Pro opens the table in a Map window. If you have a Map window displayed and the table you want to open is mappable, MapInfo Pro automatically opens the table in the current Map window. If the data is not mappable, MapInfo Pro will attempt to open the table in a Browser window. If the table cannot be mapped or browsed, MapInfo Pro opens the table using the No View option (no data is displayed).
- Browser - MapInfo Pro attempts to open the table in a Browser window.
- Current Mapper - MapInfo Pro attempts to add your data to the current Map window.
- New Mapper - MapInfo Pro attempts to open the table in a new Map window.
- No View - MapInfo Pro opens the table making the data available for other uses, but no data is displayed. You will see it in the Tables list in the Explorer window.
Create copy in MapInfo format for read/write
Use this check box to open Comma Delimited, Lotus 1-2-3, ASCII, and Excel files and save them automatically as MapInfo .TAB files.
Database
Displays when in DBMS Connection Mode. Located at the bottom of the dialog box, this text control displays the name of the database corresponding to the selected connection.
Navigation Buttons
Open
Opens the file with the name, file type, and location you specified.
Cancel
Closes this dialog box without saving any changes you have made.
See Also: