Pitney Bowes MapInfo Professional - Manual (Page 44)

• Displaying your Excel (.XLS or .XLSX) Data
• Displaying your Access (.MDB or .ACCDB) Data
• Displaying your Comma Delimited Data
• Displaying your dBase Data
• Displaying your Lotus 1-2-3 Data
• Displaying your ESRI Shapefile Data
• Registering and Displaying your ASCII Data
• Importing and Displaying GML File Data
• Working with Data in a DBMS
• Working with Data from a Web Service
Support for Raster Images
MapInfo Professional supports raster image display. Raster images are computerized pictures. These
graphic images can be used as backgrounds for maps you create in MapInfo Professional and can serve
as a reference for your displayed data.
When you bring in a raster image to MapInfo Professional, you may need to register it (specify its map
coordinates) so MapInfo Professional can display it properly. Choosing the Raster Image file format from
the Open dialog box will bring you to the Image Registration dialog box where you can specify the
appropriate map coordinates. Once you register the image, a process that creates a .TAB file for the
image, you can open it as you would open any table in a Map window. Images that you purchase from
MapInfo Professional will already be registered.
If a raster image is georeferenced it will be automatically opened. If a raster image has an associated
world file, you will be prompted to choose the projection. If you open a raster image that does not have
any georeferencing data, you will be prompted to display or register the image.
For a full discussion of raster image display, see Registering SPOT Images in the Help System.
The MapInfo Professional raster handlers support:
• LeadTools to version 15
• MrSID SDK (3.2), to provide support for MG3 files
• Multi-threading; specifically for ECW and the Government handlers (ADRG, ASRP, CADRG, CIB,
NITF)
AirPhotoUSA provides raster images at different elevations for particular areas in the United States. The
AirPhotoUSA map handler allows MapInfo Professional users to open and display the imagery contained
in AirPhotoUSA Map files as a layer. These files are treated just like any other raster file in MapInfo
Professional. The MAPINFOW.PRJ file contains AirPhotoUSA information.
You can use the AirPhotoUSA Conterminous U.S. coordinate system without making any changes.
However, if you want MapInfo Professional to recognize and give a name to that coordinate system, or
to use it for other purposes, you must add it to the MAPINFOW.PRJ.
Understanding the Files Associated with MapInfo Professional Tables
When you open your data file, MapInfo Professional creates a table. This table consists of at least two
separate files. The first file contains the structure of the data. The second file contains the raw data. All
MapInfo Professional tables have the following two files:
• <SOMEFILE>.tab: This file describes the structure of your table. It is a small text file describing the
format of the file containing your data.
• <SOMEFILE>.DAT or <SOMEFILE>.WKS, .DBF, .XLS, .XLSX: These files contain your tabular data.
If you are working with a dBASE/FoxBASE, delimited ASCII, Lotus 1-2-3, Microsoft Excel, or Microsoft
Access file, your MapInfo Professional table will consist of a .TAB file and your data or spreadsheet
file. For raster tables, the equivalent extension might be BMP, TIF, or GIF.
MapInfo Professional 12.5 44
Data - Where MapInfo Professional Begins