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MapInfo Monday: WFS Auto Refresh

  • 1.  MapInfo Monday: WFS Auto Refresh

    Employee
    Posted 2 hours ago

    Have you ever used a WFS table in your map with a row filter based on the current map extent to avoid bringing down too much data? Now, when you zoom or pan, you have to refresh the WFS table to match the data to the new map extent.

    It would have been so much easier if the WFS table was automatically updated when you zoomed or panned.

    You are in luck. That is actually possible, and has been for some years now.

    Let me show you how.

    Applying Auto Refresh on a WFS Table

    MapInfo Pro v2021 introduced several improvements to the WFS tables. One of these is automatically updating the tables when you zoom or pan the map.

    This works best in combination with a map-based row filter.

    In my initial map, I have a base map open.

    image
    I pick the Feature (WFS) control from the Open dropdown.
    I select the appropriate service and the right layer from this service. I can also change the style for the objects, and control whether to use or not use Paging.
    image
    I now use the Row Filter button to open the Row Picker dialog. In this dialog, I can control which records to bring down. This can be based on attribute values, but I want to limit the data to my map extent. For WFS, this is referred to as the BBOX. I select the column that holds the geometry from the services, and in most cases, MapInfo Pro defaults to using the BBOX operator and the CURRENT_MAPPER Value.
    This does, of course, require that you have a map open.
    image
    Back in the Open WFS Table dialog, I select the Auto Update option to make the WFS table respond to map changes, and so automatically refresh.
    I have also selected the Temporary Cache option (which stores the data files for the WFS Table in the temporary folder, allowing multiple users to use the same WFS table without overwriting each other's data files).
    image
    When I click on the OK button, the WFS table is added to my map.
    image
    When you pan or zoom the map, you will see a quick glimpse of a progressbar when the WFS table refreshes the data using the new map extent.
    image
    You can use the WFS table as you normally would. You can, for example, turn on automatic labels for the layer.
    image
    Have you been refreshing your WFS tables manually until now? Let me know in the comments!
    Happy #MapInfoMonday!


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