MapInfo Pro

MapInfo Monday: Adding Gridlines to the Map

  • 1.  MapInfo Monday: Adding Gridlines to the Map

    Employee
    Posted 01-18-2021 15:33
    Happy #MapInfoMonday,
    Today I'll show how you very easily can add gridlines, a coordinate grid, to your map window.​

    Adding the Gridlines

    From the Add to Map dropdown on the Map tab, select Gridlines.

    In the dialog Add Gridline, you can set the coordinate system of the gridlines, and you can specify the spacing between the gridlines, horizontal as well as vertical. This controls the distance between the gridlines.

    If you want the gridlines fixed at the distances given, don't enable Use Auto Spacing.

    If you enable Use Auto Spacing, the dialog switches to using paper units. MapInfo Pro spaces the grid lines apart at approximately the distances you enter and then recalculates the spacing as you zoom on the map.

    Hit OK, to create the gridlines with the settings specified. I used a fixed value of 500,000 meters for the spacings. Here below you can see my initial map with black gridlines and black gridline text too.

    Notice the new Gridline layer in the Layer List. You can rename the gridline layer via the context menu of the layer. 

    Next, I will show you have to modify the gridlines.

    Modifying the Coordinate Grid

    To start modifying the gridline, select the layer in the Layer List and go to the Gridlines tab shown on the ribbon.

    From the Gridlines tab, you can set a style override for the gridline layer, manage the label font for the gridlines, and also control the Label Placement and Label Direction.

    I used the Gridline Properties, to change the spacing from 500,000 meters to 1,000,000 meters.

    You can also use the Layer List to control the order of the layers. Below I have moved the gridline layer under my base map, and made the black sea transparent. In this way, the gridlines are behind the land and only visible in the sea.

    You can also add multiple gridlines to your map, with the same or different coordinate systems. In the map below, I have one gridline layer using Popular Visualisation Mercator and another using Lat/Long WGS84.

    You could also have multiple gridline layers using the same coordinate system but using different spacing and use the Layer Settings for each to control when to display which.

    Enjoy your #MapInfoMonday!

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    Peter Horsbøll Møller
    Principal Presales Consultant | Distinguished Engineer
    Precisely | Trust in Data
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