Pitney Bowes MapInfo Professional - Manual (Page 423)

MapInfo Professional has a table for tile servers that consists of a TAB file and XML file. These files
contain the information necessary to communicate with a tile server and retrieve tiles correctly. This
information includes server URL, coordinate system and bounds, and other parameters for retrieving
the proper tiles.
After opening a tile server table in MapInfo Professional, you can add it as a layer to a map. Tile server
layers act as an underlying base map, so they are added to the bottom of the layer list by default. Tile
server layers do not have attribute data, so they cannot be edited and labeled. They are meant to be
used as backdrop images.
Tile Server Display Properties
Display properties can alter the appearance of the tiles returned from a tile server. Tile server images
are rendered using the same display attributes as raster images. This includes:
• Translucency
• Transparency - on/off and transparent color
• Brightness
• Contrast
• Grayscale versus color
Tile Server Coordinate System and Reprojection
Tile server layers do not support raster image reprojection. This means that a map's coordinate system
will be set to use the tile server coordinate system if a tile server layer is visible in a map. If the map
displays tiles from two different tile servers in different projection systems, then MapInfo Professional
uses the projection system of the tile that is most visible on the map.
You cannot change the map coordinate system when a map has an active tile server layer.
Tile Server Authentication
Since the tile server functionality uses internet connectivity to obtain the images to draw, it is possible
that the connection may require layers of authentication. If authentication is required, MapInfo Professional
prompts you when the tile server table is opened. If the authentication fails, the table does not open.
Adding a Tile Server Layer to your Map
To add a tile server layer to your map (using the same way you add any other TAB file as a layer in a
map):
1. Open the tile server table by selecting File > Open. The Open dialog box displays.
2. From the Files of type drop-down list, choose MapInfo (*.tab).
3. From the Look in list, navigate to where the tile server file is, select it from the list, and then click
Open. The tile server displays as the bottom-most layer on the map.
If the tile server table is open, and you want to add it to one of several maps that you currently have
open, then:
1. Open the Layer Control by selecting Map > Layer Control.
2. In the Layer Control list, select the map name to add the tile server layer to and click the Add Layers
button.
3. In the Add Layer dialog box, select the tile server table and click OK.
The tile server displays as the bottom-most layer on the map and as a tile server layer in the Layer
Control list.
423 MapInfo Professional User Guide
Chapter 16: Working with Data from a Web Service