User guide

Page 8

visualise | communicate | ENGAGE The InstantAtlas Desktop Publisher

g the InstantAtlas Area Profile Template User Guide

You can type the pathname to a digital map file into the ‘File’ box. For

example, you might type ‘C:\sectors.shp’ to select an ESRI shapefile called

‘sectors.shp’ located on the C: drive of your computer (Figure 4). You can

also access a drop down list by clicking the arrow to the right of the ‘File’

box. This will list the most recently used digital map files and digital map

files saved in the ‘maps’ folder of your InstantAtlas software.

Figure 4

Alternatively, click the ‘Browse’ button to search for a digital map file

located elsewhere on your computer or network. This will open the

‘Choose your digital map file’ dialog (Figure 5). You can change the file

type you are browsing for using the ‘Files of Type’ list at the bottom of the

dialog.

Figure 5

If the size of your map file exceeds 1 Megabyte (MB) the Publisher will

warn you due to the possible negative impact on the performance (loading

and response time) of your dynamic report. There are two interrelated

reasons why the size of your map file might be large:

1. The features in your map file are very detailed

2. The number of geographic features in your map file is large

If the features in your map file are very detailed you can generalise (or

simplify) them. You can remove nodes to reduce the detail of lines, merge

geographic features, convert polygons to points, etc. If you need help to

generalise your map files, please contact your support provider.

If the number of features in your map file is large you should consider

publishing only a selection of the available features. It is difficult to specify

a maximum number of base geography features because performance is