MapInfo Pro

Hi All, I've written a small GPS utility to convert Windows GNSS sensor data to a feed that BlueMarble GeoTracker can use for live GPS in MIPro (new Win10 sensor api - no com port interface).  This works ok but we must have my utility and GeoTracker open at the same time - it would be good to feed the GPS data straight into MIPro.  How does MIPro receive GPS data?  Can anyone point me in the right direction of what files and data format it needs to be?

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Jared Clark
Knowledge Community Shared Account
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Hi Jared

MapInfo Pro has no direct support for receiving GPS data.
I see a couple of ways I would expect people to want to see GPS data in MapInfo Pro, and there's probably more that I haven't considered.

1. Place a point at my current location
This could be a point inserted into the cosmetic layer of the active map window. For each new location, the point should move (the old point should be updated with the new lat/long values).
The cosmetic layer is an easy solution as it's always available. You could consider using a temporary table instead and add this layer as an animated layer to the maps window. This will result in better rendering speed as MapInfo Pro only will render that layer when it changes.

2. Capture all locations
This is the other obvious use case: Capture all locations as I move around.
For this, you will have to insert the records into a (temporary) table and when you stop recording or when you start, you can ask the user where the table should be saved.
If you add the layer to a map, it might be an idea to add it as an animated layer as described above.

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Peter Horsbøll Møller
Principal Presales Consultant | Distinguished Engineer
Precisely | Trust in Data
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Datamine Discover (former Encom) has a GPS utility for doing this that comes with that product.  I do not believe it is provided separately.  Last I checked BlueMarble did not have a 64 bit GeoTracker tool for doing the same.  Most of the third-party GPS tools I've seen for MIPro write the GPS output data to a MIF\MID format file which is then imported into MIPro.  Probably because they did not have MFAL or newer EFAL to create a Native TAB file.  As Peter mentioned if your utility can create a Temporary table or just insert into the Cosmetic layer, it should be pretty quick and the results can be written to disk at end of GPS session.

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Bill Wemple
Principal QA Engineer
Pitney Bowes
Troy, NY
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-20-2020 03:20
From: Peter Horsbøll Møller
Subject: Live GPS file structure for MIPro

Hi Jared

MapInfo Pro has no direct support for receiving GPS data.
I see a couple of ways I would expect people to want to see GPS data in MapInfo Pro, and there's probably more that I haven't considered.

1. Place a point at my current location
This could be a point inserted into the cosmetic layer of the active map window. For each new location, the point should move (the old point should be updated with the new lat/long values).
The cosmetic layer is an easy solution as it's always available. You could consider using a temporary table instead and add this layer as an animated layer to the maps window. This will result in better rendering speed as MapInfo Pro only will render that layer when it changes.

2. Capture all locations
This is the other obvious use case: Capture all locations as I move around.
For this, you will have to insert the records into a (temporary) table and when you stop recording or when you start, you can ask the user where the table should be saved.
If you add the layer to a map, it might be an idea to add it as an animated layer as described above.

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

there is a new tool for integration of GPS data into MapInfo 64bit filling the gap BlueMarble left by not updating the GPS Tracker. You can find further information about the GeoTracker for MapInfo on our website: https://www.geoas.de/en/

I don't know of any other tool that currently allows GPS live data direct access to MapInfo 64bit.

Kind regards,
Gisbert

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Gisbert Schnell
AGIS GmbH
Frankfurt Am Main
Germany
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