I just want to comment that the Maptitude
manual is really very good. Most of us do not bother to read documentation
anymore, even when it arrives in the shrink wrapped box (that is not a .pdf file
on the software CD) because overall, documentation is pretty rotten, although
in the last year of two it is improving.
But Caliper from the beginning is
different. I teach Maptitude to public health folks and I explain to them that
really, one can learn Maptitude on their own. They never believe me. But I have
many emails from students after the course is over who tell me how good the
manual is.
Not that most of you do
not know this, but I just wanted to
give Caliper some feedback.
Dick
Hoskins
WA DOH
Olympia, WA
From: Peter H. Van Demark [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, December 20, 2004
8:35 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: [Maptitude] problems
retrieving my workspace files after closing Maptitude
Richard:
>All of these (I think) are valid Maptitude
files, All GIS layers have
>several files and at least one for the
topology of the polygons and at
>least one for the data & attributes,
and others.
>
>Peter (Caliper wizard) any ideas?
I'll try. Maptitude works with two basic types of
files:
- Settings files, that remember how to recreate a
window
- Data files, that contain the geographic or
tabular data used in those windows
A workspace (.wrk) is a setting file for a group
of windows, while a .map
file has settings for a map window, a .dvw for a
dataview window, etc.
Geographic data sets in Caliper formats come in
two types:
- Standard (.dbd)
- Compact (.cdf)
Each of these extensions represent the main file
for the geographic data
set. Compact (.cdf) have fewer additional files
and standard (.dbd) have
many other files, such as some of those that you
listed. Maptitude knows
which files should be in the set, and the
Tools-Geographic Files command
knows how to manage the set when copying,
renaming, deleting, etc.
When you open a map it has pointers to the
geographic data sets needed to
display each layer. If a geographic data set is
not where the .map file
thinks it is, you are given a chance to find it.
When you resave the .map
file the new pointers are stored.
If a .map file has the same file name as a
geographic data set, and all the
files are in the same folder, you might get
confused, but Maptitude won't.
When you use the File-Open command and choose a
file type, just the files
with the appropriate extensions are listed in a
folder.
The tabular data for a geographic data set will
share its file name, and
have an extension appropriate for its file type: .dbf
for dBase, .bin for
fixed-format binary, etc. There can also be a set
of files associated with
the tabular data, such as a dictionary file (.dcb
for fixed-format binary,
for example) and an index file (.bx for
fixed-format binary). Again,
Maptitude know how to manage these sets of files.
Some final things on workspaces:
- When you close Maptitude, it saves a workspace
with everything as it was
when Maptitude closed. The QuickStart dialog box
has a Restore the Previous
Session choice that opens this file, so you can
start where you left off.
- When you save a file, such as a workspace,
Maptitude adds it to the list
of the most-recently-used files at the end of the
File menu. You can just
pick a recently-saved workspace from there,
without having to remember
where you saved it; but you should keep track of
where you file things!
- If you rename, move, or delete some or all the
files in a geographic or
tabular data set, Maptitude probably not be able
to use that data set. So,
use Maptitude to manage them, and everything will
go smoothly.
All of this is well covered in the User's Guide,
if you want to learn more.
Good luck!
Peter
----------------------------------------------------------------
Peter Van Demark
Director of GIS Products and Training
Phone: 617-527-4700
Caliper
Corporation
Fax: 617-527-5113
1172
Beacon Street
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Newton MA 02461-9926
Web site: http://www.caliper.com
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