Pitney Bowes MapInfo Professional - Manual (Page 320)

You can pre-set adornment properties, such as the default position and style, in the Map Preferences
dialog box under the Adornments tab (on the Options menu, point to Preferences and then click Map
Window).
Adding a Scale Bar to Represent Map Scale
The map scale bar shows the scale of map representation relative to the portion of the Earth's surface
it displays. The scale bar also has the option to show the cartographic scale of the map.
About Map Scale
A map represents a portion of the Earth's surface, so each map has a scale that indicates the relationship
between a distance on the map and the distance on the ground. The scale is a ratio or representative
fraction (RF). It can be expressed as 1/100,000 or 1:100,000. In this example, one centimeter on the
map equals 100,000 centimeters (1 kilometer) on the earth. It also means that one inch on the map is
equal to 100,000 inches on the land (8,333 feet, 4 inches or about 1.6 miles). Or even 1 paperclip on
the map is equal to 100,000 paperclips on the ground. Common RFs include 1:63,360 (1 inch to 1 mile)
and 1:1,000,000 (1 cm to 10 km).
In MapInfo Professional, a map scale that does not include distance units, such as 1:63,360 or
1:1,000,000, is called a cartographic scale.
Maps are often known as large scale or small scale. A large scale map shows greater detail and has a
larger representative fraction (RF) of 1:50,000 or greater (for example, 1:10,000). A small scale map
shows more of the earth's surface and has a small RF, such as 1:250,000 to 1:7,500,000. Maps between
1:50,000 to 1:250,000 are an intermediate scale. Maps of the world that fit on to a normal sheet of paper
are very small scale, about 1 to 100 million.
The scale bar adjusts as you zoom and pan the map to accurately reflect the new map view.
The Help System contains these related topics:
• Adding a Scale Bar to the Map
• Adding a Cartographic Scale to the Scale Bar
• Resetting the Scale Bar or Cartographic Scale Value
Working with Layouts
Once you have created the perfect map, you can create and customize a page layout to showcase your
work in high-quality presentations or printouts.
MapInfo Professional offers both a classic Layout window for designing map layouts for print or export,
and a Layout Designer window that will eventually replace the classic Layout window.
The Layout Designer window contains a live map that you can edit, so that you do not need to toggle
between the layout and editing in the Map window. The Layout Designer window shows the map using
the printer resolution, so that you know beforehand what your printout will look like (you will know what
labels will be on the printed map). In contrast, the Map window shows maps using the screen resolution,
which is not an accurate representation of what the printed map would look like (labels in a Map window
may not be on the printed map). It also offers more advanced alignment tools for designing your layout
and lets you insert image files, such as a company logo, directly to the canvas.
The classic Layout window lets you add complicated geometry to your layouts and lets you work with
the Redistrict window, which the Layout Designer window does not. It also offers layout templates,
which are not yet available with the Layout Designer window.
To read more about the Layout window, see Working with the Classic Layout Window
MapInfo Professional 12.5 320
Working with Layouts