Sharing Custom Symbols with Other Applications - MapInfo_Pro - 2023

If you have symbols that are unique to your organization and you wish to share them with all MapInfo Pro users, you can either distribute the symbols to these users or share the symbol files in a workgroup directory. You may want to have your System Administrator assisting with this.

Considerations:

Your symbols must be raster files in one of the formats that MapInfo Pro supports. The most common formats are Graphics Interchange Format (.gif), Joint Photographic Experts Group (.jpeg), Portable Network Graphics (.png), Tagged Image File Format (.tiff), and Windows bitmap (.bmp). For a full list of supported formats, see File Format Types Supported in the MapInfo Pro Help System. Note that MapInfo Pro does not support Arc/Info Binary Grid format (*.adf).

MapInfo Pro imposes a limitation of 31 characters on the length of the file name for a custom symbol.

Your symbol files must have unique names. If more than one symbol file has the same name, because the files are in different subfolders under the search location (a folder called CustSymb), then MapInfo Pro uses the first symbol file that it finds.

MapInfo Pro installs with symbols. The first time MapInfo Pro starts, it copies its CustSymb folder from its install location to under the user's %appdata% folder and then searches the %appdata% location. (It does not search in the MapInfo Pro install location.)

Distributing Custom Symbols to MapInfo Pro Users

If you choose to distribute your organization's custom symbols to all MapInfo Pro users, then have these users put the symbol files in to the directory named CustSymb located in their Application Data (%appdata%):

%appdata%\Roaming\MapInfo\MapInfo\Professional\<versionum>\CustSymb

To determine your %appdata% folder location, from the Start menu select Run and in the Run dialog box type %appdata%.

You can organize the symbol files in to subdirectories under CustSymb and MapInfo Pro will search the subdirectories.

Sharing Custom Symbols in a Workgroup Directory

Before you begin, take note of the considerations outlined under Sharing Custom Symbols with Other Applications.

If you choose to use a MapInfo Pro network share workgroup, then add your organization's custom symbols to the CustSymb folder located under the Application Data (%appdata%) folder of the workgroup. You would then point your MapInfo Pro installation to the workgroup directory. This is already setup correctly for you if you have a MapInfo Pro workgroup installation. If not, then see Pointing a MapInfo Pro Installation to the Workgroup Directory. For details about a workgroup installation, see the chapter titled Workgroup Installations in the MapInfo Pro Install Guide.

You can organize your symbol files into subdirectories under the workgroup's CustSymb folder and MapInfo Pro will search the subdirectories. Symbol files must have unique names even if they are organized into subfolders under the CustSymb folder.

Pointing a MapInfo Pro Installation to the Workgroup Directory

To point a MapInfo Pro installation to the shared data files, such as custom symbols, located in a Workgroup folder:

1. On the PRO tab, click Options, and Directories.
2. In the Directory Preferences dialog box, in the Workgroup Directory pane, select the Use when searching for application data files check box and type the path, or click to select the path, to the workgroup directory.
   Note: You can use named drives or UNC paths in the Workgroup Directory field.
3. Click OK to confirm your change.

The application saves this new path to your registry. Each time you open MapInfo Pro after this, the application uses this new path to access the Application Data Files.

To switch back to using your local files only and stop sharing common data files, such as symbols, repeat the above steps and clear the Use when searching for application data files check box.

Using Your Organization's Symbols on a Map

To view and use your organization's symbols on your map:

1. In the Map window, double click on a map symbol on your map. Or, instead of setting a per-object style, use a layer style override.

   The map layer must be editable, which can be set in the Layers window by clicking the Editable icon for the map layer.

2. In the Point Object dialog, click the symbol Style button.
3. In the Symbol Style dialog, from the Font drop-down list, select your custom symbols. From the list of available symbols, select one to view the symbol style.