User guide

© GeoWise Ltd. 2011
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Digital map files come in a number of different formats, three of which are
supported by the Publisher:
1. ESRI shapefile
2. MapInfo interchange file
3. MapInfo Table Structure file
ESRI shapefiles have a .shp file extension (e.g. districts.shp). MapInfo
interchange (also referred to as MID/MIF) files have a .mif file extension
(districts.mif). MapInfo table structure files have a .tab extension
(districts.tab). All are accompanied by supporting files. You must have a
digital map file in one of these three formats to be able to publish a
dynamic report.
The supporting files required will depend on which file format you have
your digital map data in. For ESRI shapefiles you will also need a .dbf file
with the same name as the .shp file (districts.dbf) For MapInfo interchange
files you will need a .MID file with the same file name as the .MIF file
(districts.MID). Finally for MapInfo TAB files, you will need a number of
additional files with the same filename but with the following extensions:
.DAT, .ID, .MAP and .IND. These files need to be located within the same
folder as the digital map files. Please note that all digital map files may be
supplied with other supporting files not listed here – the extensions listed
are the only ones explicitly required for use with the InstantAtlas Publisher.
If you do not have digital map files for your geographies of interest, please
contact your support provider.
Digital map files can be classified according to the geometry of the
geographic features they describe:
1. Polygon (e.g. the boundaries of New York boroughs)
2. Lines (e.g. the Canadian rail network)
3. Points (e.g. cities in Scotland)
The Publisher supports the upload of digital map files of all three geometry
types listed above. The geometry type of the digital map file you choose
for your base geography dictates how the map(s) in your published report
will look.
Figure 3 illustrates how the map of your dynamic report will look if you
publish using polygon, line and point digital map files as base geography
respectively.
Figure 3
Digital map files can have different geographic coordinate systems. The
Publisher will accept digital map files with any geographic coordinate
system. If you publish a report and the geography in the map looks
distorted you need to check the projection of your map files. If you need
help with this, please contact your support provider.