Create the Output Map
When the Map, Layer, Dataset and Data File options have been used to configure the MapLink Pro Studio project structure, and the Feature Book has been used to define the detailed display characteristics of the features in the map, the output map may be generated. This map is then loaded into run-time applications using MapLink Pro API calls.
The output map is a complex structure comprising several files, as follows:
- The map file, with an extension .MAP. This defines the overall structure of the map, contains values for map-wide properties such as the coordinate system, and includes information extracted from the Feature Book that allows the features to be rendered. The name of the map file will by default be the name used at the Map level of the corresponding MapLink project, but this can be overridden at map creation time.
- The palette file, with an extension .PAL. This contains the palette of colours used in the map, including any user-defined colours. The palette file will have the same name as the map file.
- One or more map detail layer files, with extension .DTL. These files contain sufficient information, derived from the Layer Loading Strategy settings, to allow the run-time software to determine when to load tiles from the appropriate layer. The map detail layer files will have the same names as the Layer names used in the corresponding MapLink project.
- For each layer, one or more files containing the map data, with extension .TMF. In the case of layers containing raster data, the layer will also include one or more TIFF files. The names of the map data files follow the names of the corresponding map detail layers, with 8-digit suffixes indicating the position of each file in the tiling scheme used for the layer.
All files in the output map are created in the same directory. This makes the output map easily portable and completely self-contained.
Three options are available for output map creation:
This is the default option, and should normally be selected except in the case of large multi-layer maps, when one of the options below may be found more suitable.
- Include selected layers only.
Sometimes it may be preferred to generate only a subset of the layers in the map. For example, one or more of the layers may be very time-consuming to generate, in which case there may be a need to check the contents of the other layers without having to regenerate all layers. This option allows you to create a new map with just the selected layers included.
- Merge: Since MapLink Pro Studio 5.0, this option has been disabled due to issues with attribute handling and raster layer generation. It may be enabled in a future release.
To create the output map
- Select Map | Create Output Map to access the Create Output Map dialogue.
- Choose a location and name for the output map.
- Choose the appropriate option in Map File Generation.
- In the case of the Include selected layers only and Merge options, use the include and exclude buttons to create the desired subset of layers in the map. Note that a map must have at least one layer.
- Press OK to start map creation. At this point the Map View will be cleared if some part of the active layer was being displayed. A message will be displayed when the output map has been successfully created.
The Map View is cleared during map creation because data for all layers of the map is loaded and processed in turn in order to create the output map. In order to avoid unnecessary overheads in memory usage, the data in the active layer is discarded at this point.
How long will it take to create the map?
It will take somewhat longer to create the output map than to process each layer in turn within the MapLink Pro Studio project. The main reason for this (apart from the time taken to write the data to disk) is the need to perform clipping on layers for which tiling is defined.
Can I create more than one map at a time?
Batch processing allows you to load and create output maps from a series of projects listed in a batch file.
