MapInfo Pro

• 'Data-driven pages' (ArcGIS) / 'Atlas' (QGIS) 
  • The ability to use a spatial feature to define multiple page locations and output multi-page pdfs with a single export
  • This would include the ability to define a title, page number, scale, rotation in the feature attributes, which could be accessed in the layout view. This would allow the layout to show 'Page 1 of 4' etc. or an individual title per page, such as a location name.

• Map Themes/Symbology
  • Defining custom expressions per symbol within the theme categories 
    • E.g. for a roads layer, we may want to only display (and label) the smaller local roads at 1:2000 and larger roads at varying scales. Currently we'd need to separate this into 4-6 separate layers with symbol overrides. The alternative like QGIS allow us to define any number of attribute expressions within the one layer/theme, such as where road class = local, use x symbol and show between 1:1-1:2000. An entire road dataset symbology at different scales can be defined in the one layer symbol interface. 
    • The above expressions list for labels as well
  • Ability to pre-define symbol categories in the theme even if the attribute values does not currently exist.
    • If we know what set values an attribute such as 'Status' can have, we should be able to define all possible values in advance so when they are actually populated, they show up on the map as intended and not under the 'all others' category. For example, if in an inspection database, all of the statuses begin as 'Not Inspected', MapInfo does not allow us to define the symbol and legend entry in advance for the status 'Complete' as the value has to exist during theme creation. The only option is a workaround by populating a dummy 'Complete' record at the beginning.
    • There is usually an option to not show legend items if they do not appear in the data, but the user can at least still define them for when they do
  • Save one or more themed layers into a single shortcut file so another user can simply open this shortcut file to import all contained layers into their own workspace with the themes/labels already defined. 
    •  This would be similar to how you can currently open a workspace file while in MapInfo, except it would add the layers to the current map rather than creating a new one where the themes can't be transferred across. 

• Customizable templates/constraints for editing feature attributes, to make editing accurate and simple.
  • E.g. Defined drop-down lists (also with value aliases), checkboxes, number range, date picker, joined/related-table cascading lookup dropdowns, unique values, filepath selector, default values etc. QGIS has all of this, ArcGIS at least has the basic 'Domains' available so drop-down lists can be used when editing data.
  • For example, we are about to implement a new asset management system and it's very hard to recommend using our core MapInfo Pro 2019.3 software for the GIS integration if asset engineers still have to manually type all attribute data-entry such as pipe dimensions. A single incorrect character will cause edits to fail, whereas if we had a custom drop-down list or joined lookup table of pre-defined dimensions, this would take a lot of the risk away and be far more convenient.
  • Selecting and editing attributes of multiple features at once using the above forms
  • These templates allow the GIS to be utilized by more than just the power users for editing data

I'm interested in Precisely's stance on these sort of features and if any changes to this long-time core functionality is being considered. I'm impressed by the processing speed of the MapInfo raster functionality, but if I require QGIS for all complex/multi-page map production and data editing/collection, I feel that MapInfo is not serving its job as the 'all-rounder' enterprise GIS package.

Thanks, Timothy, for taking the time to write up these requests.

I'll try to dive into your suggestions and give you some ideas where possible. I won't get through all your ideas today but will come back and take a stab at the other ideas later.

I'm not trying to say that all you request is doable. I know, and so you do, that's not true. But we do have some (new) capabilities that you might find helpful. Please let us know if you think these can help you solve what you are looking to do, or if you still have to rely on other tools.

We have created the plans for the MapInfo Pro v2021 releases this year, and I know @Patrick Collins is working on a road map we can share. I'll also send you an invite to the MapInfo Lab here on the Knowledge Communities where we discuss the improvements to MapInfo Pro in more detail with our customers.

Smart Text

• Name of map in frame named "Map-1": $mb{WindowInfo(LayoutItemWinID(CurContext(1), "Map-1", 1), 1)}
• Scale of map in frame named "Map-1": $mb{MapperInfo(LayoutItemWinID(CurContext(1), "Map-1", 1), 33)}
• Layout page number: ${Page}
• Number of pages in the layout: ${Pages}

Automated layout generation

• 'Data-driven pages' (ArcGIS) / 'Atlas' (QGIS) 
  • The ability to use a spatial feature to define multiple page locations and output multi-page pdfs with a single export
  • This would include the ability to define a title, page number, scale, rotation in the feature attributes, which could be accessed in the layout view. This would allow the layout to show 'Page 1 of 4' etc. or an individual title per page, such as a location name.

• Map Themes/Symbology
  • Defining custom expressions per symbol within the theme categories 
    • E.g. for a roads layer, we may want to only display (and label) the smaller local roads at 1:2000 and larger roads at varying scales. Currently we'd need to separate this into 4-6 separate layers with symbol overrides. The alternative like QGIS allow us to define any number of attribute expressions within the one layer/theme, such as where road class = local, use x symbol and show between 1:1-1:2000. An entire road dataset symbology at different scales can be defined in the one layer symbol interface. 
    • The above expressions list for labels as well
  • Ability to pre-define symbol categories in the theme even if the attribute values does not currently exist.
    • If we know what set values an attribute such as 'Status' can have, we should be able to define all possible values in advance so when they are actually populated, they show up on the map as intended and not under the 'all others' category. For example, if in an inspection database, all of the statuses begin as 'Not Inspected', MapInfo does not allow us to define the symbol and legend entry in advance for the status 'Complete' as the value has to exist during theme creation. The only option is a workaround by populating a dummy 'Complete' record at the beginning.
    • There is usually an option to not show legend items if they do not appear in the data, but the user can at least still define them for when they do
  • Save one or more themed layers into a single shortcut file so another user can simply open this shortcut file to import all contained layers into their own workspace with the themes/labels already defined. 
    •  This would be similar to how you can currently open a workspace file while in MapInfo, except it would add the layers to the current map rather than creating a new one where the themes can't be transferred across. 

• Customizable templates/constraints for editing feature attributes, to make editing accurate and simple.
  • E.g. Defined drop-down lists (also with value aliases), checkboxes, number range, date picker, joined/related-table cascading lookup dropdowns, unique values, filepath selector, default values etc. QGIS has all of this, ArcGIS at least has the basic 'Domains' available so drop-down lists can be used when editing data.
  • For example, we are about to implement a new asset management system and it's very hard to recommend using our core MapInfo Pro 2019.3 software for the GIS integration if asset engineers still have to manually type all attribute data-entry such as pipe dimensions. A single incorrect character will cause edits to fail, whereas if we had a custom drop-down list or joined lookup table of pre-defined dimensions, this would take a lot of the risk away and be far more convenient.
  • Selecting and editing attributes of multiple features at once using the above forms
  • These templates allow the GIS to be utilized by more than just the power users for editing data

I'm interested in Precisely's stance on these sort of features and if any changes to this long-time core functionality is being considered. I'm impressed by the processing speed of the MapInfo raster functionality, but if I require QGIS for all complex/multi-page map production and data editing/collection, I feel that MapInfo is not serving its job as the 'all-rounder' enterprise GIS package.

Thanks, Timothy, for taking the time to write up these requests.

I'll try to dive into your suggestions and give you some ideas where possible. I won't get through all your ideas today but will come back and take a stab at the other ideas later.

I'm not trying to say that all you request is doable. I know, and so you do, that's not true. But we do have some (new) capabilities that you might find helpful. Please let us know if you think these can help you solve what you are looking to do, or if you still have to rely on other tools.

We have created the plans for the MapInfo Pro v2021 releases this year, and I know @Patrick Collins is working on a road map we can share. I'll also send you an invite to the MapInfo Lab here on the Knowledge Communities where we discuss the improvements to MapInfo Pro in more detail with our customers.

Smart Text

• Name of map in frame named "Map-1": $mb{WindowInfo(LayoutItemWinID(CurContext(1), "Map-1", 1), 1)}
• Scale of map in frame named "Map-1": $mb{MapperInfo(LayoutItemWinID(CurContext(1), "Map-1", 1), 33)}
• Layout page number: ${Page}
• Number of pages in the layout: ${Pages}

Automated layout generation

• 'Data-driven pages' (ArcGIS) / 'Atlas' (QGIS) 
  • The ability to use a spatial feature to define multiple page locations and output multi-page pdfs with a single export
  • This would include the ability to define a title, page number, scale, rotation in the feature attributes, which could be accessed in the layout view. This would allow the layout to show 'Page 1 of 4' etc. or an individual title per page, such as a location name.

• Map Themes/Symbology
  • Defining custom expressions per symbol within the theme categories 
    • E.g. for a roads layer, we may want to only display (and label) the smaller local roads at 1:2000 and larger roads at varying scales. Currently we'd need to separate this into 4-6 separate layers with symbol overrides. The alternative like QGIS allow us to define any number of attribute expressions within the one layer/theme, such as where road class = local, use x symbol and show between 1:1-1:2000. An entire road dataset symbology at different scales can be defined in the one layer symbol interface. 
    • The above expressions list for labels as well
  • Ability to pre-define symbol categories in the theme even if the attribute values does not currently exist.
    • If we know what set values an attribute such as 'Status' can have, we should be able to define all possible values in advance so when they are actually populated, they show up on the map as intended and not under the 'all others' category. For example, if in an inspection database, all of the statuses begin as 'Not Inspected', MapInfo does not allow us to define the symbol and legend entry in advance for the status 'Complete' as the value has to exist during theme creation. The only option is a workaround by populating a dummy 'Complete' record at the beginning.
    • There is usually an option to not show legend items if they do not appear in the data, but the user can at least still define them for when they do
  • Save one or more themed layers into a single shortcut file so another user can simply open this shortcut file to import all contained layers into their own workspace with the themes/labels already defined. 
    •  This would be similar to how you can currently open a workspace file while in MapInfo, except it would add the layers to the current map rather than creating a new one where the themes can't be transferred across. 

• Customizable templates/constraints for editing feature attributes, to make editing accurate and simple.
  • E.g. Defined drop-down lists (also with value aliases), checkboxes, number range, date picker, joined/related-table cascading lookup dropdowns, unique values, filepath selector, default values etc. QGIS has all of this, ArcGIS at least has the basic 'Domains' available so drop-down lists can be used when editing data.
  • For example, we are about to implement a new asset management system and it's very hard to recommend using our core MapInfo Pro 2019.3 software for the GIS integration if asset engineers still have to manually type all attribute data-entry such as pipe dimensions. A single incorrect character will cause edits to fail, whereas if we had a custom drop-down list or joined lookup table of pre-defined dimensions, this would take a lot of the risk away and be far more convenient.
  • Selecting and editing attributes of multiple features at once using the above forms
  • These templates allow the GIS to be utilized by more than just the power users for editing data

I'm interested in Precisely's stance on these sort of features and if any changes to this long-time core functionality is being considered. I'm impressed by the processing speed of the MapInfo raster functionality, but if I require QGIS for all complex/multi-page map production and data editing/collection, I feel that MapInfo is not serving its job as the 'all-rounder' enterprise GIS package.

Thanks, Timothy, for taking the time to write up these requests.

I'll try to dive into your suggestions and give you some ideas where possible. I won't get through all your ideas today but will come back and take a stab at the other ideas later.

I'm not trying to say that all you request is doable. I know, and so you do, that's not true. But we do have some (new) capabilities that you might find helpful. Please let us know if you think these can help you solve what you are looking to do, or if you still have to rely on other tools.

We have created the plans for the MapInfo Pro v2021 releases this year, and I know @Patrick Collins is working on a road map we can share. I'll also send you an invite to the MapInfo Lab here on the Knowledge Communities where we discuss the improvements to MapInfo Pro in more detail with our customers.

Smart Text

• Name of map in frame named "Map-1": $mb{WindowInfo(LayoutItemWinID(CurContext(1), "Map-1", 1), 1)}
• Scale of map in frame named "Map-1": $mb{MapperInfo(LayoutItemWinID(CurContext(1), "Map-1", 1), 33)}
• Layout page number: ${Page}
• Number of pages in the layout: ${Pages}

Automated layout generation

• 'Data-driven pages' (ArcGIS) / 'Atlas' (QGIS) 
  • The ability to use a spatial feature to define multiple page locations and output multi-page pdfs with a single export
  • This would include the ability to define a title, page number, scale, rotation in the feature attributes, which could be accessed in the layout view. This would allow the layout to show 'Page 1 of 4' etc. or an individual title per page, such as a location name.

• Map Themes/Symbology
  • Defining custom expressions per symbol within the theme categories 
    • E.g. for a roads layer, we may want to only display (and label) the smaller local roads at 1:2000 and larger roads at varying scales. Currently we'd need to separate this into 4-6 separate layers with symbol overrides. The alternative like QGIS allow us to define any number of attribute expressions within the one layer/theme, such as where road class = local, use x symbol and show between 1:1-1:2000. An entire road dataset symbology at different scales can be defined in the one layer symbol interface. 
    • The above expressions list for labels as well
  • Ability to pre-define symbol categories in the theme even if the attribute values does not currently exist.
    • If we know what set values an attribute such as 'Status' can have, we should be able to define all possible values in advance so when they are actually populated, they show up on the map as intended and not under the 'all others' category. For example, if in an inspection database, all of the statuses begin as 'Not Inspected', MapInfo does not allow us to define the symbol and legend entry in advance for the status 'Complete' as the value has to exist during theme creation. The only option is a workaround by populating a dummy 'Complete' record at the beginning.
    • There is usually an option to not show legend items if they do not appear in the data, but the user can at least still define them for when they do
  • Save one or more themed layers into a single shortcut file so another user can simply open this shortcut file to import all contained layers into their own workspace with the themes/labels already defined. 
    •  This would be similar to how you can currently open a workspace file while in MapInfo, except it would add the layers to the current map rather than creating a new one where the themes can't be transferred across. 

• Customizable templates/constraints for editing feature attributes, to make editing accurate and simple.
  • E.g. Defined drop-down lists (also with value aliases), checkboxes, number range, date picker, joined/related-table cascading lookup dropdowns, unique values, filepath selector, default values etc. QGIS has all of this, ArcGIS at least has the basic 'Domains' available so drop-down lists can be used when editing data.
  • For example, we are about to implement a new asset management system and it's very hard to recommend using our core MapInfo Pro 2019.3 software for the GIS integration if asset engineers still have to manually type all attribute data-entry such as pipe dimensions. A single incorrect character will cause edits to fail, whereas if we had a custom drop-down list or joined lookup table of pre-defined dimensions, this would take a lot of the risk away and be far more convenient.
  • Selecting and editing attributes of multiple features at once using the above forms
  • These templates allow the GIS to be utilized by more than just the power users for editing data

I'm interested in Precisely's stance on these sort of features and if any changes to this long-time core functionality is being considered. I'm impressed by the processing speed of the MapInfo raster functionality, but if I require QGIS for all complex/multi-page map production and data editing/collection, I feel that MapInfo is not serving its job as the 'all-rounder' enterprise GIS package.

Thanks, Timothy, for taking the time to write up these requests.

I'll try to dive into your suggestions and give you some ideas where possible. I won't get through all your ideas today but will come back and take a stab at the other ideas later.

I'm not trying to say that all you request is doable. I know, and so you do, that's not true. But we do have some (new) capabilities that you might find helpful. Please let us know if you think these can help you solve what you are looking to do, or if you still have to rely on other tools.

We have created the plans for the MapInfo Pro v2021 releases this year, and I know @Patrick Collins is working on a road map we can share. I'll also send you an invite to the MapInfo Lab here on the Knowledge Communities where we discuss the improvements to MapInfo Pro in more detail with our customers.

Smart Text

• Name of map in frame named "Map-1": $mb{WindowInfo(LayoutItemWinID(CurContext(1), "Map-1", 1), 1)}
• Scale of map in frame named "Map-1": $mb{MapperInfo(LayoutItemWinID(CurContext(1), "Map-1", 1), 33)}
• Layout page number: ${Page}
• Number of pages in the layout: ${Pages}

Automated layout generation

• 'Data-driven pages' (ArcGIS) / 'Atlas' (QGIS) 
  • The ability to use a spatial feature to define multiple page locations and output multi-page pdfs with a single export
  • This would include the ability to define a title, page number, scale, rotation in the feature attributes, which could be accessed in the layout view. This would allow the layout to show 'Page 1 of 4' etc. or an individual title per page, such as a location name.

• Map Themes/Symbology
  • Defining custom expressions per symbol within the theme categories 
    • E.g. for a roads layer, we may want to only display (and label) the smaller local roads at 1:2000 and larger roads at varying scales. Currently we'd need to separate this into 4-6 separate layers with symbol overrides. The alternative like QGIS allow us to define any number of attribute expressions within the one layer/theme, such as where road class = local, use x symbol and show between 1:1-1:2000. An entire road dataset symbology at different scales can be defined in the one layer symbol interface. 
    • The above expressions list for labels as well
  • Ability to pre-define symbol categories in the theme even if the attribute values does not currently exist.
    • If we know what set values an attribute such as 'Status' can have, we should be able to define all possible values in advance so when they are actually populated, they show up on the map as intended and not under the 'all others' category. For example, if in an inspection database, all of the statuses begin as 'Not Inspected', MapInfo does not allow us to define the symbol and legend entry in advance for the status 'Complete' as the value has to exist during theme creation. The only option is a workaround by populating a dummy 'Complete' record at the beginning.
    • There is usually an option to not show legend items if they do not appear in the data, but the user can at least still define them for when they do
  • Save one or more themed layers into a single shortcut file so another user can simply open this shortcut file to import all contained layers into their own workspace with the themes/labels already defined. 
    •  This would be similar to how you can currently open a workspace file while in MapInfo, except it would add the layers to the current map rather than creating a new one where the themes can't be transferred across. 

• Customizable templates/constraints for editing feature attributes, to make editing accurate and simple.
  • E.g. Defined drop-down lists (also with value aliases), checkboxes, number range, date picker, joined/related-table cascading lookup dropdowns, unique values, filepath selector, default values etc. QGIS has all of this, ArcGIS at least has the basic 'Domains' available so drop-down lists can be used when editing data.
  • For example, we are about to implement a new asset management system and it's very hard to recommend using our core MapInfo Pro 2019.3 software for the GIS integration if asset engineers still have to manually type all attribute data-entry such as pipe dimensions. A single incorrect character will cause edits to fail, whereas if we had a custom drop-down list or joined lookup table of pre-defined dimensions, this would take a lot of the risk away and be far more convenient.
  • Selecting and editing attributes of multiple features at once using the above forms
  • These templates allow the GIS to be utilized by more than just the power users for editing data

I'm interested in Precisely's stance on these sort of features and if any changes to this long-time core functionality is being considered. I'm impressed by the processing speed of the MapInfo raster functionality, but if I require QGIS for all complex/multi-page map production and data editing/collection, I feel that MapInfo is not serving its job as the 'all-rounder' enterprise GIS package.

Thanks, Timothy, for taking the time to write up these requests.

I'll try to dive into your suggestions and give you some ideas where possible. I won't get through all your ideas today but will come back and take a stab at the other ideas later.

I'm not trying to say that all you request is doable. I know, and so you do, that's not true. But we do have some (new) capabilities that you might find helpful. Please let us know if you think these can help you solve what you are looking to do, or if you still have to rely on other tools.

We have created the plans for the MapInfo Pro v2021 releases this year, and I know @Patrick Collins is working on a road map we can share. I'll also send you an invite to the MapInfo Lab here on the Knowledge Communities where we discuss the improvements to MapInfo Pro in more detail with our customers.

Smart Text

• Name of map in frame named "Map-1": $mb{WindowInfo(LayoutItemWinID(CurContext(1), "Map-1", 1), 1)}
• Scale of map in frame named "Map-1": $mb{MapperInfo(LayoutItemWinID(CurContext(1), "Map-1", 1), 33)}
• Layout page number: ${Page}
• Number of pages in the layout: ${Pages}

Automated layout generation

• 'Data-driven pages' (ArcGIS) / 'Atlas' (QGIS) 
  • The ability to use a spatial feature to define multiple page locations and output multi-page pdfs with a single export
  • This would include the ability to define a title, page number, scale, rotation in the feature attributes, which could be accessed in the layout view. This would allow the layout to show 'Page 1 of 4' etc. or an individual title per page, such as a location name.

• Map Themes/Symbology
  • Defining custom expressions per symbol within the theme categories 
    • E.g. for a roads layer, we may want to only display (and label) the smaller local roads at 1:2000 and larger roads at varying scales. Currently we'd need to separate this into 4-6 separate layers with symbol overrides. The alternative like QGIS allow us to define any number of attribute expressions within the one layer/theme, such as where road class = local, use x symbol and show between 1:1-1:2000. An entire road dataset symbology at different scales can be defined in the one layer symbol interface. 
    • The above expressions list for labels as well
  • Ability to pre-define symbol categories in the theme even if the attribute values does not currently exist.
    • If we know what set values an attribute such as 'Status' can have, we should be able to define all possible values in advance so when they are actually populated, they show up on the map as intended and not under the 'all others' category. For example, if in an inspection database, all of the statuses begin as 'Not Inspected', MapInfo does not allow us to define the symbol and legend entry in advance for the status 'Complete' as the value has to exist during theme creation. The only option is a workaround by populating a dummy 'Complete' record at the beginning.
    • There is usually an option to not show legend items if they do not appear in the data, but the user can at least still define them for when they do
  • Save one or more themed layers into a single shortcut file so another user can simply open this shortcut file to import all contained layers into their own workspace with the themes/labels already defined. 
    •  This would be similar to how you can currently open a workspace file while in MapInfo, except it would add the layers to the current map rather than creating a new one where the themes can't be transferred across. 

• Customizable templates/constraints for editing feature attributes, to make editing accurate and simple.
  • E.g. Defined drop-down lists (also with value aliases), checkboxes, number range, date picker, joined/related-table cascading lookup dropdowns, unique values, filepath selector, default values etc. QGIS has all of this, ArcGIS at least has the basic 'Domains' available so drop-down lists can be used when editing data.
  • For example, we are about to implement a new asset management system and it's very hard to recommend using our core MapInfo Pro 2019.3 software for the GIS integration if asset engineers still have to manually type all attribute data-entry such as pipe dimensions. A single incorrect character will cause edits to fail, whereas if we had a custom drop-down list or joined lookup table of pre-defined dimensions, this would take a lot of the risk away and be far more convenient.
  • Selecting and editing attributes of multiple features at once using the above forms
  • These templates allow the GIS to be utilized by more than just the power users for editing data

I'm interested in Precisely's stance on these sort of features and if any changes to this long-time core functionality is being considered. I'm impressed by the processing speed of the MapInfo raster functionality, but if I require QGIS for all complex/multi-page map production and data editing/collection, I feel that MapInfo is not serving its job as the 'all-rounder' enterprise GIS package.

Thanks, Timothy, for taking the time to write up these requests.

I'll try to dive into your suggestions and give you some ideas where possible. I won't get through all your ideas today but will come back and take a stab at the other ideas later.

I'm not trying to say that all you request is doable. I know, and so you do, that's not true. But we do have some (new) capabilities that you might find helpful. Please let us know if you think these can help you solve what you are looking to do, or if you still have to rely on other tools.

We have created the plans for the MapInfo Pro v2021 releases this year, and I know @Patrick Collins is working on a road map we can share. I'll also send you an invite to the MapInfo Lab here on the Knowledge Communities where we discuss the improvements to MapInfo Pro in more detail with our customers.

Smart Text

• Name of map in frame named "Map-1": $mb{WindowInfo(LayoutItemWinID(CurContext(1), "Map-1", 1), 1)}
• Scale of map in frame named "Map-1": $mb{MapperInfo(LayoutItemWinID(CurContext(1), "Map-1", 1), 33)}
• Layout page number: ${Page}
• Number of pages in the layout: ${Pages}

Automated layout generation

• 'Data-driven pages' (ArcGIS) / 'Atlas' (QGIS) 
  • The ability to use a spatial feature to define multiple page locations and output multi-page pdfs with a single export
  • This would include the ability to define a title, page number, scale, rotation in the feature attributes, which could be accessed in the layout view. This would allow the layout to show 'Page 1 of 4' etc. or an individual title per page, such as a location name.

• Map Themes/Symbology
  • Defining custom expressions per symbol within the theme categories 
    • E.g. for a roads layer, we may want to only display (and label) the smaller local roads at 1:2000 and larger roads at varying scales. Currently we'd need to separate this into 4-6 separate layers with symbol overrides. The alternative like QGIS allow us to define any number of attribute expressions within the one layer/theme, such as where road class = local, use x symbol and show between 1:1-1:2000. An entire road dataset symbology at different scales can be defined in the one layer symbol interface. 
    • The above expressions list for labels as well
  • Ability to pre-define symbol categories in the theme even if the attribute values does not currently exist.
    • If we know what set values an attribute such as 'Status' can have, we should be able to define all possible values in advance so when they are actually populated, they show up on the map as intended and not under the 'all others' category. For example, if in an inspection database, all of the statuses begin as 'Not Inspected', MapInfo does not allow us to define the symbol and legend entry in advance for the status 'Complete' as the value has to exist during theme creation. The only option is a workaround by populating a dummy 'Complete' record at the beginning.
    • There is usually an option to not show legend items if they do not appear in the data, but the user can at least still define them for when they do
  • Save one or more themed layers into a single shortcut file so another user can simply open this shortcut file to import all contained layers into their own workspace with the themes/labels already defined. 
    •  This would be similar to how you can currently open a workspace file while in MapInfo, except it would add the layers to the current map rather than creating a new one where the themes can't be transferred across. 

• Customizable templates/constraints for editing feature attributes, to make editing accurate and simple.
  • E.g. Defined drop-down lists (also with value aliases), checkboxes, number range, date picker, joined/related-table cascading lookup dropdowns, unique values, filepath selector, default values etc. QGIS has all of this, ArcGIS at least has the basic 'Domains' available so drop-down lists can be used when editing data.
  • For example, we are about to implement a new asset management system and it's very hard to recommend using our core MapInfo Pro 2019.3 software for the GIS integration if asset engineers still have to manually type all attribute data-entry such as pipe dimensions. A single incorrect character will cause edits to fail, whereas if we had a custom drop-down list or joined lookup table of pre-defined dimensions, this would take a lot of the risk away and be far more convenient.
  • Selecting and editing attributes of multiple features at once using the above forms
  • These templates allow the GIS to be utilized by more than just the power users for editing data

I'm interested in Precisely's stance on these sort of features and if any changes to this long-time core functionality is being considered. I'm impressed by the processing speed of the MapInfo raster functionality, but if I require QGIS for all complex/multi-page map production and data editing/collection, I feel that MapInfo is not serving its job as the 'all-rounder' enterprise GIS package.

• 'Data-driven pages' (ArcGIS) / 'Atlas' (QGIS) 
  • The ability to use a spatial feature to define multiple page locations and output multi-page pdfs with a single export
  • This would include the ability to define a title, page number, scale, rotation in the feature attributes, which could be accessed in the layout view. This would allow the layout to show 'Page 1 of 4' etc. or an individual title per page, such as a location name.

• Map Themes/Symbology
  • Defining custom expressions per symbol within the theme categories 
    • E.g. for a roads layer, we may want to only display (and label) the smaller local roads at 1:2000 and larger roads at varying scales. Currently we'd need to separate this into 4-6 separate layers with symbol overrides. The alternative like QGIS allow us to define any number of attribute expressions within the one layer/theme, such as where road class = local, use x symbol and show between 1:1-1:2000. An entire road dataset symbology at different scales can be defined in the one layer symbol interface. 
    • The above expressions list for labels as well
  • Ability to pre-define symbol categories in the theme even if the attribute values does not currently exist.
    • If we know what set values an attribute such as 'Status' can have, we should be able to define all possible values in advance so when they are actually populated, they show up on the map as intended and not under the 'all others' category. For example, if in an inspection database, all of the statuses begin as 'Not Inspected', MapInfo does not allow us to define the symbol and legend entry in advance for the status 'Complete' as the value has to exist during theme creation. The only option is a workaround by populating a dummy 'Complete' record at the beginning.
    • There is usually an option to not show legend items if they do not appear in the data, but the user can at least still define them for when they do
  • Save one or more themed layers into a single shortcut file so another user can simply open this shortcut file to import all contained layers into their own workspace with the themes/labels already defined. 
    •  This would be similar to how you can currently open a workspace file while in MapInfo, except it would add the layers to the current map rather than creating a new one where the themes can't be transferred across. 

• Customizable templates/constraints for editing feature attributes, to make editing accurate and simple.
  • E.g. Defined drop-down lists (also with value aliases), checkboxes, number range, date picker, joined/related-table cascading lookup dropdowns, unique values, filepath selector, default values etc. QGIS has all of this, ArcGIS at least has the basic 'Domains' available so drop-down lists can be used when editing data.
  • For example, we are about to implement a new asset management system and it's very hard to recommend using our core MapInfo Pro 2019.3 software for the GIS integration if asset engineers still have to manually type all attribute data-entry such as pipe dimensions. A single incorrect character will cause edits to fail, whereas if we had a custom drop-down list or joined lookup table of pre-defined dimensions, this would take a lot of the risk away and be far more convenient.
  • Selecting and editing attributes of multiple features at once using the above forms
  • These templates allow the GIS to be utilized by more than just the power users for editing data

I'm interested in Precisely's stance on these sort of features and if any changes to this long-time core functionality is being considered. I'm impressed by the processing speed of the MapInfo raster functionality, but if I require QGIS for all complex/multi-page map production and data editing/collection, I feel that MapInfo is not serving its job as the 'all-rounder' enterprise GIS package.

• 'Data-driven pages' (ArcGIS) / 'Atlas' (QGIS) 
  • The ability to use a spatial feature to define multiple page locations and output multi-page pdfs with a single export
  • This would include the ability to define a title, page number, scale, rotation in the feature attributes, which could be accessed in the layout view. This would allow the layout to show 'Page 1 of 4' etc. or an individual title per page, such as a location name.

• Map Themes/Symbology
  • Defining custom expressions per symbol within the theme categories 
    • E.g. for a roads layer, we may want to only display (and label) the smaller local roads at 1:2000 and larger roads at varying scales. Currently we'd need to separate this into 4-6 separate layers with symbol overrides. The alternative like QGIS allow us to define any number of attribute expressions within the one layer/theme, such as where road class = local, use x symbol and show between 1:1-1:2000. An entire road dataset symbology at different scales can be defined in the one layer symbol interface. 
    • The above expressions list for labels as well
  • Ability to pre-define symbol categories in the theme even if the attribute values does not currently exist.
    • If we know what set values an attribute such as 'Status' can have, we should be able to define all possible values in advance so when they are actually populated, they show up on the map as intended and not under the 'all others' category. For example, if in an inspection database, all of the statuses begin as 'Not Inspected', MapInfo does not allow us to define the symbol and legend entry in advance for the status 'Complete' as the value has to exist during theme creation. The only option is a workaround by populating a dummy 'Complete' record at the beginning.
    • There is usually an option to not show legend items if they do not appear in the data, but the user can at least still define them for when they do
  • Save one or more themed layers into a single shortcut file so another user can simply open this shortcut file to import all contained layers into their own workspace with the themes/labels already defined. 
    •  This would be similar to how you can currently open a workspace file while in MapInfo, except it would add the layers to the current map rather than creating a new one where the themes can't be transferred across. 

• Customizable templates/constraints for editing feature attributes, to make editing accurate and simple.
  • E.g. Defined drop-down lists (also with value aliases), checkboxes, number range, date picker, joined/related-table cascading lookup dropdowns, unique values, filepath selector, default values etc. QGIS has all of this, ArcGIS at least has the basic 'Domains' available so drop-down lists can be used when editing data.
  • For example, we are about to implement a new asset management system and it's very hard to recommend using our core MapInfo Pro 2019.3 software for the GIS integration if asset engineers still have to manually type all attribute data-entry such as pipe dimensions. A single incorrect character will cause edits to fail, whereas if we had a custom drop-down list or joined lookup table of pre-defined dimensions, this would take a lot of the risk away and be far more convenient.
  • Selecting and editing attributes of multiple features at once using the above forms
  • These templates allow the GIS to be utilized by more than just the power users for editing data

I'm interested in Precisely's stance on these sort of features and if any changes to this long-time core functionality is being considered. I'm impressed by the processing speed of the MapInfo raster functionality, but if I require QGIS for all complex/multi-page map production and data editing/collection, I feel that MapInfo is not serving its job as the 'all-rounder' enterprise GIS package.