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MapInfo Monday: Creating Points from XY Coordinates

  • 1.  MapInfo Monday: Creating Points from XY Coordinates

    Employee
    Posted 10-23-2023 06:33
    Edited by Peter Møller 01-03-2024 03:39

    Happy #MapInfoMonday

    In today's article, I'll cover a feature used in many situations and by many users.

    You are sent a file with information for a large number of locations. For each location, you are also given a coordinate in the form of an XY coordinate or a Lat/Long value.

    These files come in various formats such as CSV, TXT, XLXS, and more. You have loaded this file into MapInfo Pro and want to see it on a map.

    The next task is to create points from the coordinates in the X and Y columns.
    Let's use the Quick Search option to see what options we have. I start typing what I am looking for: Create po.
    As you can see the Quick Search field starts listing potential capabilities and the second from the top is what I want. So I click on it to launch that feature. Read more about Quick Search.
    You can find the Create Points control on the Spatial tab in the Create group.
    Both ways mentioned above will bring up the Create Points dialog.
    The first thing you need to do is to ensure you have selected the correct table in the Create Points for Table list.
    You also have to check that the Projection has been set to the projection matching the coordinates in your table. If your table already is mappable, the Projection will default to the project of the table. If the table isn't mappable, it will be made mappable using the selected projection.
    You can use Add to Map options to control how you want to display the table afterward. This allows you to add it to a new or existing map window.
    Overwrite points allow you to overwrite potentially existing points. This is useful if the coordinate values have changed and you want these to be reflected in the spatial points too.
    You can also set the Symbol to be used for the points you are creating.
    Finally, you have to set where to read the coordinates. You have to select a column for the X and a column for the Y values. You can also specify a value to multiply onto the values. This can be used to change the coordinates from one unit to another or convert positive numbers to negative numbers, or vice versa.
    Also note the option Display non-numerical fields which will allow you to select character columns too.
    In my case, the dialog looks like this when I'm done configuring it.
    I hit the OK button and quickly after the resulting points are displayed in my map window.
    Have some of you never had to create points?
    Also, remember that with the support for OGR Vector Files this can be done in the open process in many cases. Read more about this in this article: MapInfo Monday: Improved way to opening CSV Files in MapInfo Pro v2021



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