When you choose to combine objects, MapInfo Pro performs two operations:
- MapInfo Pro geographically combines the selected objects. The new object represents the geographical union of the original objects and the border between the regions disappears.
- MapInfo Pro performs data aggregation. As described earlier in this chapter, data aggregation is a process where MapInfo Pro calculates what the column values for the new object should be, based on sums or averages of the original objects.
Your setup of the Layers window depends on whether you want to copy the result object to another layer (and, thus, save the original objects) or combine the objects in the original layer (and, thus, lose the original objects).
If you want to copy the result object, make the region's layer selectable and another layer editable. Specify a target object, then select the objects using any selection command and on the SPATIAL tab, in the Edit group, from the Combine list. This will display the Data Aggregation dialog box where you tell MapInfo Pro how to combine the data. Fill in this dialog box and click OK to combine the objects to combine the objects' data. This method was discussed earlier in this chapter.
If you want to combine objects in the original layer, make sure that the layer is editable, select the objects in the layer, and on the SPATIAL tab, in the Edit group, click a commbind commond from the Combine list. Do not set a target. The Data Aggregation dialog box displays. After the operation is complete, a new object will be added to the layer, and the original objects will be deleted.