MapInfo EasyLoader

Version 2019

User Guide
Table of Contents

1 - Introduction

Database Support and Requirements 4

Getting Started 5

2 - Uploading Data

Understanding Your Data 9

Uploading Tables 12
About Upload Options 17
Using the Map Catalog 19

3 - Productivity Aids

Shortcuts by Keystroke 23
Using Command-Line Flags to Run MapInfo
EasyLoader 24
Command-Line Flag Descriptions 26
Locating the MapInfo EasyLoader Log File 37
Locating the MapInfo EasyLoader Configuration
File 37

4 - History of Changes

New in MapInfo EasyLoader 17.0 39

New in MapInfo EasyLoader 16.0 39
New in MapInfo EasyLoader 15.2 40
New in MapInfo EasyLoader 15.0 40
New in MapInfo EasyLoader 12.5.1 41
New in MapInfo EasyLoader 12.5 41
New in MapInfo EasyLoader 12.0 41
1 - Introduction
MapInfo EasyLoader is a utility to upload MapInfo® TAB files to a remote
database. The spatial information in the TAB files is maintained in the
remote database and is available for viewing and analyzing in MapInfo®
Pro.
For a list of what is new in this release of MapInfo EasyLoader, see History
of Changes.

In this section
Database Support and Requirements 4
Getting Started 5
 Introduction

Database Support and Requirements

MapInfo EasyLoader uploads data to these databases:

• Oracle
• SQL Server
• Microsoft Access
• PostgreSQL / PostGIS
The database must be able to handle spatial geometry. If the databases does not have spatial object
type support, then MapInfo EasyLoader only uploads XY data for a table: XY or XY with a MapInfo
Key (MICode). MapInfo EasyLoader opens only one server connection at a time.
MapInfo EasyLoader is available as a download on the web or it installs with MapInfo Pro into the
\Tools directory.

Software Requirements

To work correctly, MapInfo EasyLoader requires the following:

• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.1 (KB3102433)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=49981
• Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable (x64) 14.0.23918 (vc_redist.x64.exe)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=51682

MapInfo Pro installs these requirements. You do not need to install these when running MapInfo
EasyLoader on the same machine as MapInfo Pro.

System Requirements

This product is tested on the following Microsoft Windows Desktop Operating Systems:
• Windows 10 64-bit
• Windows 8.1 64-bit
• Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1
• Windows 2012 Server R2 64-bit SP1
• Windows 2008 Server R2 64-bit SP1

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 Introduction

Getting Started

You can either start MapInfo EasyLoader from within MapInfo Pro or separately if you downloaded
your MapInfo EasyLoader from the web. To launch MapInfo EasyLoader from within MapInfo Pro,
see Starting MapInfo EasyLoader from within MapInfo Pro.
To start MapInfo EasyLoader:
Double-click the MapInfoEasyLoader.exe file in the EasyLoader directory.
When you download MapInfo EasyLoader from the web, you download a zip file. When you
extract the files from this zip, it creates an EasyLoader folder with all of the files necessary to run
MapInfo EasyLoader including MapInfoEasyLoader.exe.

MapInfo EasyLoader is a single window within which you can set everything necessary to upload
data tables to a database.

Name Icon Description

Database Connection Select the connection to the database you want to upload tables to. You
can use existing database connections created from the Microsoft Start
menu or from in MapInfo Pro.

Manage Connection List and Create a new connection by selecting New Connection from the
Choose a Connection Database Connection list and then clicking this button.

Output Directory Select a path location to save live access files to.
Unless you select not to create them, MapInfo EasyLoader saves .tab
files to your machine that contain database access information. MapInfo
Pro uses these files when accessing the tables that MapInfo EasyLoader
uploads. If you select not to create these files, you can create them later
from within MapInfo Pro. A live access file has the same name as the
upload file with a _srv extension, such as YourServerTableName_srv.tab.

Browse for an Output Directory Select a different directory from what is in the Output Directory list by
(Folder) clicking this button.

Source Table Lists the data tables to upload to the database.

To add tables, click the Browse for one or more tables to upload button
and then select Add Tables or Add Tables from Folder.

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 Introduction

Name Icon Description

Server Table Shows the table name as it will appear on the database server. You can
click on the name to change it.

Operation Select for each table what you would like to do in the database:
Create a New Table creates a new table in the database using the
source table name.
Replace Existing Table replaces an existing table in the database that
has the same name as the source table.
Append to Existing Table appends the contents of the source table to
an existing table in the database that has the same name as the source
table.
For more details, see Table Processing Options.

Catalog By default, upload tables are added to the map catalog on the database
unless you clear the check box in the Catalog column.
MapInfo Pro uses the Map Catalog on the database for spatial indexing.
Select this check box to add a new Map Catalog or clear it to unregister
a table from the Map Catalog. For information about the Map Catalog
and what options you can set, see Using the Map Catalog. If you do
not add the upload table data to the Map Catalog now, then you can do
so later in MapInfo Pro.

Upload States Gives information about the upload. If there was an error with the upload,
then hovering the mouse pointer over the image in this column shows
more information.

Map Catalog This command is available when you are connected to a database
connection. Selecting this command displays the Map Catalog window
where you can edit data on the database. For more information about
the Map Catalog, see Using the Map Catalog.
Owner Name - You can filter the list of tables by selecting the Owner
Name.
Unregister - Unregisters a table from the database.
Copy - Copies the selected row as comma separated values (csv).
Close - Closes the Map Catalog window.

Options The drop-down list has following command options:

Options opens the Options dialog box where you can access the Server
Table Processing options. For details, see Server Table Processing
Options.

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 Introduction

Name Icon Description

View Log opens the EasyLoader.log file in a text editor. This file contains
the database connection information currently in use to upload data
tables with. For details, see Locating the MapInfo EasyLoader Log
File.
Close When Complete is off by default. When set, MapInfo EasyLoader
closes after finishing the upload.

Help
Online Help opens the product help. You need access to the internet to
view this.
PDF Help opens the product help as a PDF file for printing and for
viewing when you do not have access to the internet.
About MapInfo EasyLoader opens a message dialog box displaying the
version of MapInfo EasyLoader.

Start or Resume Uploading Tables Starts the upload process or continues the process if you put it on pause.

Pause the Upload Pauses the upload process, which you can resume later.

Cancel the Rest of the Upload Stops and cancels the upload process.

Starting MapInfo EasyLoader from within MapInfo Pro

MapInfo EasyLoader is a tool that ships with MapInfo Pro and can be launched as a tool within
MapInfo Pro.
To start MapInfo EasyLoader from within MapInfo Pro:
1. In MapInfo Pro, on the HOME tab, in the Tools group, click Tools to open the Tools Manager
window.
2. On the Running tab, double click MapInfo EasyLoader to open the MapInfo EasyLoader dialog
box. If you do not see it listed on the Running tab, then locate it on the Registered tab.
To load MapInfo EasyLoader into the current session of MapInfo Pro, click the Load Tool (Run)
icon beside it.
To reload MapInfo EasyLoader for all subsequent sessions, select the AutoLoad check box.
To load MapInfo EasyLoader for the current session and all subsequent sessions, select both.

3. Continue with the steps under Upload Tables.

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2 - Uploading Data

In this section
Understanding Your Data 9
Uploading Tables 12
About Upload Options 17
Using the Map Catalog 19
 Uploading Data

Understanding Your Data

Before uploading MapInfo tables, you need to know how your database manages spatial data from
MapInfo Pro. There are database-specific restrictions for some geometry types, text objects, and
coordinate systems. There are also situations in which geometry is considered invalid by a database.
Know these restrictions before uploading MapInfo Pro tables to your database.
Text objects are unsupported by MapInfo EasyLoader. For example, MapInfo EasyLoader discards
text objects when uploading a TAB file to Oracle.

Unsupported Geometry

A MapInfo Pro map may contain geometries that are unsupported by the database that the results
are stored in. MapInfo EasyLoader skips unsupported object type and inserts the attribute data. No
message displays.
• Oracle does not support arcs, ellipses, rectangles, and rounded rectangles.
• PostGIS does not support arcs, ellipses, rectangles, and rounded rectangles
• SQL Server does not support arcs, and lines that do not have distinct points.
SQL Server uploads invalid geometry objects and converts them to valid using a SQL server
command, but SQL Server does not upload invalid geography objects. Attempting to upload invalid
geography objects causes MapInfo EasyLoader to fail. This is a limitation of SQL Server and not
of MapInfo EasyLoader. Due to this SQL Server limitation, upload only as geometry.

Loading Oracle Spatial Data

There are things to be aware of when uploading data tables to an Oracle database, such as:
• You cannot replace version-enabled tables in Oracle. This would make child versions of these
tables obsolete.
• Oracle has a limit on identifier names, which cannot be more than 30 bytes. For details, see
http://docs.oracle.com/database/121/SQLRF/sql_elements008.htm#SQLRF51129. The total
number of bytes for table names, columns names, primary key constraint names (table name +
"_PK") and index names (column name + "_IX") must not exceed 30 bytes. The number of bytes
that each character uses is dependent upon the character set that Oracle is using. If you see the
message "Identifier is too long", then make server table names or column names shorter.

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Validating Oracle Data

There are two functions that allow you to validate data in Oracle:
1. SDO_GEOM.VALIDATE_GEOMETRY( )
2. SDO_GEOM.VALIDATE_LAYER( )
These functions may result in validation errors due to the tolerance level set by MapInfo EasyLoader.
You may get error messages such as:

"ORA-13356 adjacent points in a geometry are redundant", or

"ORA-13022 polygon crosses itself"

To resolve these errors, reset the tolerance within the USER_SDO-GEOM_METADATA by adjusting
them downwards (by a factor of 10) and rerun the validation.
Note: If you adjust the tolerance, you must re-create the spatial indexes because they use the
tolerance when they are created.

To view the unsupported geometries in Oracle, see Unsupported Geometry.

Loading for Oracle Locator

MapInfo EasyLoader loads data for the Oracle Locator, which is the same as loading data for Oracle
Spatial.

Loading PostGIS Spatial Data

MapInfo EasyLoader uploads MapInfo tables into PostGIS, which stores spatial data in a geometry
column called sp_geometry. Unsupported data types are ignored resulting in an empty record in
the sp_geometry geometry column. For a list of unsupported data types, see Unsupported
Geometry.
MapInfo EasyLoader uploads a table with a Serial datatype for the primary key column. This allows
the database to automatically increment the key column.
To check if a geometry object is valid in PostGIS, use the function called isvalid. The following is
an example SQL statement:

select isvalid(sp_geometry) from test

Loading Microsoft SQL Server Spatial Data

Microsoft SQL Server Spatial includes Geography and Geometry data types. Geography fields hold
geometries specified in the Lat/Long coordinate system. Geometry fields hold geometries specified
in all other coordinate systems. If you choose to upload to a Geometry field type, then MapInfo

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 Uploading Data

EasyLoader runs the SQL Server Spatial MakeValid( ) function to fix any geometry that SQL Server
Spatial deems invalid. This may shift point locations for certain geometries.
In the Options dialog box, MapInfo EasyLoader enables you to control how the geometry data in
a native table is uploaded to SQL Server Spatial.
Keep the default selection of Always Geometry to have MapInfo EasyLoader upload geometry
objects to Geometry fields regardless of the coordinate system they use.
Select Auto Select to have MapInfo EasyLoader automatically decide whether the geometry object
is uploaded to a Geography field (in cases where the geometry object uses the Lat/Long coordinate
system) or a Geometry field (in cases where the geometry object does not use the Lat/Long
coordinate system).
Note: When the Auto Select option is selected, if for any reason a geometry object that uses the
Lat/Long coordinate system cannot be uploaded to a Geography field, it will instead be
uploaded to a Geometry field.

To view the Unsupported Geometries in SQL, see Unsupported Geometry.

MapInfo EasyLoader supports uploading MapInfo native tables into SQL Server Spatial. SQL Server
Spatial allows spatial data to be stored into two data types; Geometry and Geography. SQL Server's
rules that define what a valid geometry or geography are different than MapInfo Pro's rules. The
SQL Server Spatial's Geography data type does not support:
• polygons that contain self-intersecting boundaries
• geography instances that span more than one hemisphere
• lines/polygon boundaries that have two successive, identical nodes
The SQL Server Spatial's Geometry type does not support:
• polygons that contain self-intersecting boundaries
• lines/polygon boundaries that have two successive, identical nodes
Refer to SQL Server books online for complete information on the rules that define these two types
at:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-in/sql-server/
This means that you may have geometry data that are valid in a MapInfo TAB format that cannot
be loaded into SQL Server Spatial without correction/edits. MapInfo EasyLoader aborts the upload
if it comes across the geometry that SQL Server rejects. It will display the primary key of the record
that contains the rejected object. A "MapInfo Upload Utility Error" message displays.
You may want to try the following steps to make the geometry acceptable to SQL Server.
• Use MapInfo Pro's Clean operation on the Object menu to correct the geometry.
• If your upload was to Geography type and it fails, try loading it to Geometry, correct the instance
using the MakeValid( ) method on the Geometry type, and uploading the instance again. You will
need a working knowledge of SQL and access to a SQL Server Spatial client to use this approach.

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 Uploading Data

Consider the following example. Let us suppose the Geometry update failed for the row (state =
'Florida').
• Selectively update the offending geometry, using the MakeValid( ) method.

update states_geom set geom = geom.MakeValid( ) where state = 'Florida'

• Force an operation that does not alter the geometry, but forces a topology construction. Here, we
perform a union of the Geometry with its own start point.

update states_geom set geom = geom.STUnion(geom.STStartPoint()) where

state = 'Florida'

• Now this query will attempt to create a Geography instance from the reformed Geometry.

select state_name, Geography::STGeomFromWKB(geom.STAsBinary(), 4269)

from states_geom, where state = 'Florida'

Uploading Tables

For instructions to start MapInfo EasyLoader, see Getting Started with MapInfo EasyLoader. To
start MapInfo EasyLoader from within MapInfo Pro, see Starting MapInfo EasyLoader from within
MapInfo Pro.
To upload MapInfo TAB files using MapInfo EasyLoader:
1. From the Database Connection list select your existing connection created previously in MapInfo
EasyLoader.
To create a new connection from MapInfo EasyLoader, select New Connection and click the
Manage Connection List and Choose Connection button. Follow the instructions under Creating
an Oracle Connection or Creating an ODBC Connection.

2. From the Output Directory list select a directory to save live access files to or select Do Not Create
.tab Files.
Unless you select not to create them, MapInfo EasyLoader saves .tab files to your machine that
contain database access information. MapInfo Pro uses these files when accessing the tables
that MapInfo EasyLoader uploads. If you select not to create these files, you can create them
later from within MapInfo Pro. A live access file has the same name as the upload file with a _srv
extension, such as YourServerTableName_srv.tab.
To select a different directory from what is in the list, click the Browse for an Output Directory
(Folder) button.

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 Uploading Data

3. Click the Browse for one or more tables to upload button located beside the Source Table
column heading in MapInfo EasyLoader. Add individual tables for upload by selecting Add Tables
or a folder of tables by selecting Add Tables from Folder.
In the dialog that opens, navigate to the table or folder and select it. The tables that you select
display in MapInfo EasyLoader and are the tables that you will upload.

4. The Server Table column shows the table name as it will appear on the database server. Click
on the name if you want to change it.
5. In the Operation column, select how to upload each table.
• Create a New Table creates a new table in the database using the name in the Server Table
column.
• Replace Existing Table replaces an existing table in the database that has the same name as
in the Server Table column.
• Append to Existing Table appends the contents of the source table to an existing table in the
database that has the same name as in the Server Table column.
For details, see Table Processing Options. For instructions on how to append multiple tables
to a table in the database, see Appending Multiple Tables to an Existing Table on the Server.

6. By default, upload tables are added to the map catalog on the database unless you clear the
check box in the Catalog column.
MapInfo Pro uses the Map Catalog on the database for spatial indexing. Select this check box
to add a new Map Catalog or clear it to unregister a table from the Map Catalog. For information
about the Map Catalog and what options you can set, see Using the Map Catalog. If you do not
add the upload table data to the Map Catalog now, then you can do so later in MapInfo Pro.

7. Click Start or Resume Uploading Tables to start the upload process.

To pause the upload, click this button again.
To cancel the upload, click Cancel the rest of the upload .

MapInfo EasyLoader provides status information for the upload and displays the message "Upload
Completed" when finished.
For information about how to set the spatial object types and the server processing options for an
upload, see About Upload Options.
Note: On some operating systems, such as Windows 7, when you select Add Tables in MapInfo
EasyLoader the resulting Open dialog has a drop-down list on the Open button. From this
list, you can select Show previous versions. This is a Microsoft system feature that lets you
recover deleted files, view or restore a file you saved over, and lets you compare versions
of a file side by side.

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 Uploading Data

Creating an Oracle Connection

You must have Oracle Client software installed, which does not come with MapInfo EasyLoader.
Before you create a connection in MapInfo EasyLoader to an Oracle database server, you will need
to know the server name, and the user ID and password to use.
To connect to an Oracle database in MapInfo EasyLoader:
1. From the Database Connection list, select New Connection and then click the Manage Connection
List and Choose Connection button.
2. In the Database Connection dialog, select the Oracle radial button.
3. Fill in the Server Name, User ID, and Password fields.
4. Click OK to create the connection and close the dialog.
Note: Click the Manage Connection List and Choose Connection button for an existing connection
to edit its connection information.

Creating an ODBC Connection

These instructions assume that you have Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) set up beforehand.
You can create new ODBC connections by following these instructions if you know the database
name to connect to and the user ID to access the database with.
To connect to a database using ODBC:
1. From the Database Connection list, select New Connection and then click the Manage Connection
List and Choose Connection button.
2. In the Database Connection dialog, select the ODBC radial button and then click the button
beside it.
3. In the Select Data Source dialog, select an existing ODBC connection by doing one of the
following:
• On the File Data Source tab, use the Look in drop-down list or the Up button to locate the
database you want to upload to and select it.
• On the Machine Data Source tab, double-click the data source driver you want to connect to
and navigate to the database you want to upload to and select it.
If you do not have an existing ODBC connection, click New to open the Create New Data Source
wizard and create one. Select the connection after creating it.

4. Click OK to use your selection.

The Database Connection dialog populates with the ODBC connection information. Click OK
to save your selection.

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 Uploading Data

Table Processing Options

This section describes the table options available in MapInfo EasyLoader from the Operation list.
All operations use the name that you specify in the Server Table column. By default the name in
this column is the same as the source table.
Create New Table A server table is created with the name that you specify in the Server Table
column. If this option is chosen and a table with the same name already exists
on the server, an error message displays. Use a different name or choose the
option Replace Existing Table to upload the table.
Replace Existing When this option is selected, if a server table of the same name already exists,
Table it is dropped and a new table is created to match the MapInfo table being
uploaded. This option uses the table name from the Server Table column. You
can change this to the name of an existing table on the server.
Append to The MapInfo table is appended to the server table named in the Server Table
Existing Table column when the server table exists and the structure of the two tables match.
Otherwise, you get an error and the table is not uploaded. For Oracle Spatial,
the tables must have the same table structure and be in the same projection.
When there are multiple tables selected, the Table Append dialog box opens.
For instructions, see Appending Multiple Tables to an Existing Table on
the Server.

When there are multiple tables selected in MapInfo EasyLoader, then selecting or clearing the
Catalog check box applies to all of the tables in the selection.
Appending Multiple Tables to an Existing Table on the Server
The Table Append dialog box opens when you select more than one table in MapInfo EasyLoader
and then either enter a new name in the Server Table column for one of those tables or select
Append from the list in the Operation column.
In the Table Append dialog box, select an operation from the Operation for Collected Table list for
uploading the tables:
• Create New generates a new server table to append all selected tables to.
• Replace drops the existing server table and then creates a new table to append all of the selected
tables to.
• Append appends all of the selected tables to an existing server table.
If the dialog includes a Server Table Name field, then enter the name of the server table that you
want to create, replace, or append to. If it does not include this field, then MapInfo EasyLoader uses
the name that you entered in the Server Table column.
All tables must have the same table structure and be in the same projection. Tables will not append
if their table structure differs.

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 Uploading Data

Uploading Tables with Time and DateTime Columns

Time and DateTime data types sometimes require conversion because of variations from server to
server, and between the server and MapInfo data types. The following table shows how the data
types are converted from MapInfo Pro to each server.

From MapInfo Pro To Oracle To MS Access To MS SQL Server

DATE DATE DATETIME* DATETIME*

TIME TIMESTAMP(3)* DATETIME* DATETIME*

DATETIME TIMESTAMP(3) DATETIME DATETIME

* The MapInfo data type will be extended on the servers. When the same data comes back to
MapInfo Pro, the data type will be as is indicated on the server. This conversion is consistent with
MapInfo Pro behavior when a MapInfo table is saved to a server using MapInfo Pro.
On servers that do not support DATE or TIME data types, the data is converted to a DATETIME
type. In this conversion, part of the data will be missing because the MapInfo types contain either
the date or the time, but not both. The server default values for the date or the time are used to fill
in the missing data. Conversions to DATETIME are made for SQL Server versions earlier than
version 10 (prior to SQL Server Spatial).
For example, if the server does not support the MapInfo DATE type, the upload process converts
the DATE type to a DATETIME type. The date value comes from the MapInfo table, but the time
value is filled in with the server default value for time. The following table shows how the MapInfo
data types are converted when they are not supported on the server and what default value are
used to fill in the missing data:

MapInfo Data Type To Server Data Type Server Default Values Databases

MapInfo DATE type DATETIME/TIMESTAMP type midnight: 12:00.00.000 AM All databases

MapInfo TIME type DATETIME/STAMP type current date MS Access, MS SQL

Server*

MapInfo TIME type DATETIME/STAMP type first day of current month and year Oracle

* SQL Server versions earlier than version 10 (prior to SQL Server Spatial).

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 Uploading Data

About Upload Options

This section explains the settings in the Options dialog box, which describe how to process tables.
To open this dialog in MapInfo EasyLoader, click Options and then select Options from the list.

Server Table Processing Options

Exclusive User You can speed up load time on large tables when you are the only one
attempting to update or upload the table. If you do not select this option,
MapInfo EasyLoader verifies after each commit that no other updates are
made to the table while it is being uploaded. Selecting this option prevents
this test from occurring, which can improve runtime performance for large
tables.
Create Primary This creates a primary key for the Create New Table and Replace Existing
Key Table operations. This primary key is created in the MI_PRINX column for
Oracle Spatial, SQL Server Spatial, and PostGIS, or MI_SQL_REC_NUM for
XY and MICODE. These columns contain sequential numbers generated by
MapInfo EasyLoader. These columns are always created, but do not have to
be a primary key. The Append to Existing Table operation does not create a
primary key.
Grant Public Full This grants PUBLIC read and write access to the server table.
Access
Create Spatial This creates a spatial index called <tablename>ind on the geometry column
Index of tables. When building your own spatial index, for your specific requirements,
clear this check box to save loading time.
For Oracle Spatial tables, this creates a spatial index called <tablename>_SX
on the geometry column. The index tiling level is based on the
SDO_TUNE.ESTIMATE_TILING_LEVEL function. For tables with fewer than
7500 rows, the tiling level is restricted to eight (8). After the index is built, the
ANALYZE table function is run on the index table. The spatial index is R-Tree
for Oracle 8.17 or later.
Create IDENTITY Creates the primary key column with IDENTITY properties. When selected,
Column (SQL SQL Server automatically generates the primary key column values for new
Server only) rows, so that you do not need to add them manually.
Create Indexes When uploading a new table or replacing an existing table, this indexes all
of the columns that are indexed in the original table. By default, this option is
not selected.
The table upload begins when you select this check box and click OK.

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Note: If the column name length is too long, the index creation fails. The
name length limit varies per database.

Style Column Specifies whether per-row styles are loaded with the data. You can set the
name of the column in the text box beside the Style Column check box. The
default column name is MI_STYLE.
Note: To load per-row styles, the MapInfo Map catalog for the database
must contain the following columns: RENDITIONTYPE,
RENDITIONCOLUMN, RENDITIONTABLE, and NUMBER_ROWS.
For more information, see MAPINFO_MAPCATALOG Table
Structure on page 20.

Commit Interval Specifies a commit interval for uploading. MapInfo EasyLoader commits the
inserted records when the commit interval is reached. The default commit
interval is 1000. If the commit interval is set to 0 (zero), the whole range of
records is inserted as a single transaction, before a commit is issued.
Table Errors A value of zero (0) to 100 that is the percentage of table upload failures
Threshold % allowed before the upload stops. A value of 100 allows the upload to complete
no matter the number of failures.
Insert Errors A value of zero (0) to 100 that is the percentage of insert failures allowed on
Threshold % a table before the table upload stops. The percentage is the number of rows
that fail based on the number of rows in the table. A value of 100 allows the
process to complete no matter the number of failures.
The Error Threshold percentages work together. An insert failure for a row in
a table counts towards the Table Errors Threshold.
Schema Name Specifies a schema name when uploading tables to SQL Server, or
PostgresSQL and/or PostGIS.
Spatial Object Specifies an object type, which depends on the server connection in use. For
Type details, see Spatial Object Type Options on page 18.

Spatial Object Type Options

Choose from Oracle Spatial (depending on the type of connection), MICODE (XY with MapInfo Key),
XY, PostGIS Spatial, or SQL Server Spatial. The default for loading spatial data is SQL Server
Spatial (Auto Select) if this option is available. Otherwise, MapInfo EasyLoader defaults to the
MICODE option.
Oracle Spatial Use this option if the server is Oracle Spatial.
MICODE (XY with This option stores the data as XY coordinates on the server and creates the
MapInfo Key) server table as a point table. If the MapInfo table to be uploaded is not a point
table and this option is chosen, the centroid is abstracted and stored on the
server table, if you instruct it to do so. The difference between XY and

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MICODE is that the MICODE provides a MapInfo key as the spatial index,
making its performance superior to XY.
XY This option is the same as the MICODE option, except that this option does
not create a spatial index.
PostGIS Spatial Use this option with a spatialized PostgreSQL database.
SQL Server Spatial Use these options if the server is Microsoft SQL Server Spatial:
Auto Select – MapInfo EasyLoader automatically decides whether to upload
the geometry object to a Geography field (if the geometry object is using a
Lat/Long coordinate system) or to a Geometry field (if the geometry object
is using another coordinate system).
Always Geometry – MapInfo EasyLoader always uploads the geometry object
to a Geometry field, regardless of the coordinate system specified for the
geometry object.

Note: When the Auto Select option is selected, if for any reason a geometry object that uses the
Lat/Long coordinate system cannot be uploaded to a Geography field, it will instead be
uploaded to a Geometry field.

Using the Map Catalog

The MAPINFO_MAPCATALOG is a registry table for databases that stores metadata about geometry
tables in the database. Using both the table name and owner name as the key, the
MAPINFO_MAPCATALOG identifies the geometry column, geometry type, projection, projection
bounds, and table and feature level rendition information. The MAPINFO_MAPCATALOG is used
by a number of MapInfo products, including MapInfo Pro, that access map data from databases.
If a Map Catalog does not exist, it can be created during the upload process by selecting the check
box in the Catalog column for the table being uploaded. The user account for the server connection
must have permission to the MapInfo schema on the server to create the map catalog. If it does not
have adequate permissions, then creation will not succeed and the table will not upload. If this
happens, ask the database administrator to grant you permission to the MapInfo schema.
After the table is uploaded, an entry is made in the MAPINFO.MAPINFO_MAPCATALOG to represent
that table. A separate entry is made for every table you upload.
If the table is made up of a single type of object, then the server object type is restricted to that type,
otherwise the type is ALL. Also, the symbol clause generated is based on the server type. For
example: After uploading the table states.tab the server type will be x.2 (polygons), where x is a
number that represents either IDS, SQL Server, or Oracle Spatial, and the symbol clause will have
only the information for a polygon.
Note: See also, Loading Microsoft SQL Server Spatial Data.

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Unregister Tables from the Map Catalog

The Map Catalog stores the metadata used by MapInfo Pro and other MapInfo products to open
tables with geometry data. If your database has a Map Catalog, you can delete entries in the catalog
that are no longer valid.
Note: If the Map Catalog is present and there are no entries in it, the Catalog check box beside
the table name in MapInfo EasyLoader does not enable.

To unregister entries from an existing Map Catalog:

1. Select the data owner from the Owner Name drop-down list. The Tables Registered in Map
Catalog list populates with columns of information for each registered table.
2. Select the table or tables you want to unregister from the Map Catalog and then click the Unregister
button.
3. Click Close when you are done.
The Copy button copies the selected rows in a comma separated format to the clipboard, which you
can then paste into other applications.

MAPINFO_MAPCATALOG Table Structure

MAPINFO_MAPCATALOG has the following table structure:

SPATIALTYPE FLOAT
TABLENAME CHAR(32)
OWNERNAME CHAR(32)
SPATIALCOLUMN CHAR(32)
DB_X_LL FLOAT
DB_Y_LL FLOAT
DB_X_UR FLOAT
DB_Y_UR FLOAT
VIEW_X_LL FLOAT
VIEW_Y_LL FLOAT
VIEW_X_UR FLOAT
VIEW_Y_UR FLOAT
COORDINATESYSTEM CHAR(254)
SYMBOL CHAR(254)
XCOLUMNNAME CHAR(32)
YCOLUMNNAME CHAR(32)
RENDITIONTYPE INTEGER
RENDITIONCOLUMN CHAR(32)
RENDITIONTABLE CHAR(32)
NUMBER_ROWS INTEGER

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The following script may be used to modify an existing MAPINFO.MAPINFO_MAPCATALOG to

add the rendition columns if they do not exist. Run this script as user MAPINFO.

ALTER TABLE MAPINFO.MAPINFO_MAPCATALOG ADD RENDITIONTYPE INTEGER;

ALTER TABLE MAPINFO.MAPINFO_MAPCATALOG ADD RENDITIONCOLUMN CHAR(32);
ALTER TABLE MAPINFO.MAPINFO_MAPCATALOG ADD RENDITIONTABLE CHAR(32);

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3 - Productivity Aids

In this section
Shortcuts by Keystroke 23
Using Command-Line Flags to Run MapInfo EasyLoader 24
Command-Line Flag Descriptions 26
Locating the MapInfo EasyLoader Log File 37
Locating the MapInfo EasyLoader Configuration File 37
 Productivity Aids

Shortcuts by Keystroke

This section lists the short-cuts available in MapInfo EasyLoader.

Command Icon Shortcut

Manage Connection List and Choose a Connection Ctrl+D

Browse for an Output Directory (Folder) Ctrl+N

Source Table Ctrl+T

Add Tables from Folder Ctrl+F

Map Catalog Ctrl+M

Options Ctrl+O

View Log Ctrl+L

Online Help F1

PDF Help Alt+F1

About MapInfo EasyLoader Shift+F1

Start or Resume Uploading Tables Ctrl+U

Pause the Upload Ctrl+P

Cancel the Rest of the Upload Ctrl+S

The following are shortcuts for selecting and deleting tables in MapInfo EasyLoader's table list.

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Command Shortcut

Scroll the list of tables Page up, Page down

Top of list Home

Bottom of list Bottom

Move between columns Right Arrow, Left Arrow

Select a single table Click

Select tables in the list Ctrl+Click

Select a range of tables Shift+Click

Select all tables Ctrl+A

Unselect all tables Ctrl+Shift+A

Delete selected tables Delete

When there are multiple tables selected in MapInfo EasyLoader, then selecting or clearing the
Catalog check box and choosing from the Operation list applies to all of the tables in the selection.

Using Command-Line Flags to Run MapInfo EasyLoader

You can run MapInfo EasyLoader from the Windows command-line to apply specific upload
parameters or invoke MapInfo EasyLoader with upload parameters from a custom script or application.
To open MapInfo EasyLoader from the Command-Line window, on the Windows Start menu type
cmd. Change directories (cd) into the folder that has the MapInfoEasyLoader.exe file in it, and then
type MapInfoEasyLoader.exe. MapInfo EasyLoader opens on your screen and is ready to use.
To upload a table when you open MapInfo EasyLoader from the Command-Line window, modify
the following example. It uploads a table (/T) called states.tab and gives it the server table name
mystates, grants all rights (/G) to make mystates public, and specifies that per-row styles are being
loaded with the data (/Y).

MapInfoEasyLoader.exe /T C:\data\states usa.tab;mystates /G /Y

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If a path contains spaces, use quotation marks around it, for example:

MapInfoEasyLoader.exe /T "C:\data\states usa.tab;mystates" /G /Y

MapInfoEasyLoader.exe /g /P R /s "DRIVER={PostGreSQL
UNICODE(x64)};DATABASE=QADB;Server=MiProPostGIS;UID=pro;PWD=pro;Port=5432"

For a list of available command-line flags, see Command-Line Flags Descriptions.

For instructions on how to locate the MapInfo EasyLoader state file, which stores command-line
flag settings for the session, see Locating the MapInfo EasyLoader Command-Line Flags RSP
File.

Mixing Command-Line Flags and MapInfo EasyLoader Window Options

Command-line flags may be mixed with the MapInfo EasyLoader user interface by using a Windows
shortcut. This makes it easier to set flags as your default while being able to override them from the
interface. These flags are only available from the command-line.
To create a shortcut for MapInfo EasyLoader that includes preset flags:
1. Right-click on the MapInfoEasyLoader.exe file and then select Send to and Desktop (create
shortcut). The resulting file saves to your desktop.
To place in a different location, right-click and select Create shortcut, and then move the resulting
shortcut file.

2. Right-click the shortcut file and select Properties to open the Shortcut Properties dialog.
3. On the Shortcut tab, within the Target edit box, add command-line flags to the end of the path.
Separate the flags with spaces.
To have the flags take effect, launch MapInfo EasyLoader using this shortcut. You can override the
settings by changing them in the MapInfo EasyLoader window.

Locating the MapInfo EasyLoader Command-Line Flags RSP File

Closing MapInfo EasyLoader saves a state file with the command-line flags used on startup and
set during the session. The file is called MapInfoEasyLoader.Settings.rsp and is saved under the
AppData folder (for example, C:\Users\<UserID>\AppData\Roaming\MapInfoEasyLoader.Settings.rsp).
The AppData folder is in a path like C:\Users\<UserID>\AppData. If you cannot see the AppData
folder, it is because it is hidden. To locate it, on the Microsoft Start menu in the Search programs
and files field type %AppData%.
This file contains all of the flags used to start MapInfo EasyLoader regardless of whether you used
the command-line. It includes the default flags and their settings, such as /CommitInterval,

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/TableUploadErrorThreshold, /InsertRowErrorThreshold, and /StyleColumnName. This flag also

records the settings made during the session that affect startup flags. You can use the information
in this file to restart EasyLoader via the command-line using the same settings as the previous
session.
To customize or automate your MapInfo EasyLoader experience, you can create your own state
file by starting MapInfo EasyLoader from the command-line with the /SaveCommandArgs flag.
You can then use this state file to restart EasyLoader via the command-line with the /CommandFile
flag to apply the same settings as the previous session. MapInfo EasyLoader does not create the
MapInfoEasyLoader.Settings.rsp file when you use the /SaveCommandArgs flag.

Command-Line Flag Descriptions

The following flags specify upload parameters when launching MapInfo EasyLoader from a
command-line. Many of the arguments have a long form and a legacy short form, such as the
command to set a schema name when you upload a table: /SchemaName and /B.
Use a space or an equal sign (=) to separate a command argument and its value. This example
sets a target schema name, /SchemaName=schema_name or /B schema_name.

Do Not Treat Empty (Zero-Length) Strings as Null: /NoTreatEmptyStringAsNull

This flag is used to override the default upload behavior so that empty strings are not treated as
NULL values, but are maintained as zero-length string values. This flag is added for backward
compatibility with 32-bit EasyLoader behavior. The default behavior is to treat empty strings as NULL
values.
Note: Since Oracle treats zero-length strings as indistinguishable from NULL, this flag is not
applicable for Oracle.

Syntax: /NoTreatEmptyStringAsNull

Help: /?, /Help

This flag shows the list of available command-line options.
Syntax: /?
Syntax: /Help

Append All Tables to One: /A, /AppendAll

This flag uploads multiple tables to a single table, when the table structures are the same.
Syntax: /A
Syntax: /AppendAll [ =server_table_name ]

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server_table_name is optional for specifying a server table to append to.

Set the Application Locale: /AppLocale

This flag sets the locale at runtime. It requires an ISO language code in the four character form as
outlined by Microsoft's Language Culture Names list
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee825488(v=cs.20).aspx.
Supported languages are:

Cs–CZ Czech – Czech Republic

da–DA Danish – Denmark

de–DE German – Germany

en–US English – United States

es–ES Spanish – Spain

fi–FI Finnish – Finland

fr–FR French – France

he–IL Hebrew – Israel

it–IT Italian – Italy

ja–JP Japanese – Japan

nl–NL Dutch – Netherlands

pl–PL Polish – Poland

pt–PT Portuguese – Portugal

ru–RU Russian – Russian Federation

sv–SE Swedish – Sweden

tr–TR Turkish – Turkey

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zh–CN Chinese (Simplified) – China

Syntax: /AppLocale=languagecode

/AppLocale=fr-FR

Schema Name: /B, /SchemaName

This flag specifies a schema name when uploading tables to SQL Server. If you do not supply a
schema name, then this flag uses the user's default schema on the server. On SQL Server, the
default is usually set to dbo.
Syntax: /B string_value
Syntax: /SchemaName=string_value

/SchemaName=MIPROUSER

Create Indices for all Locally-Indexed Columns: /C, /CreateIndexes

When uploading a new table or replacing an existing table, this flag tells MapInfo EasyLoader to
automatically index columns on the server table when they are indexed on the local table.
This flag does not make or reset column selections. Instead, use the MapInfo EasyLoader user
interface. For details, see Create Indexes under Server Table Processing Options and Mixing
Command-Line flags and MapInfo EasyLoader Window Options.
Syntax: /C
Syntax: /CreateIndexes

Input Command File: /CF, /CommandFile

This flag loads command-line arguments from an input file. Each line in the file must contain only
one command. MapInfo EasyLoader skips blank lines and comments that begin with a hash tag (#).
You must specify the path to the input file with this flag.
You can use the state file that MapInfo EasyLoader automatically creates under the AppData folder
with the name MapInfoEasyLoader.Settings.rsp as input. For details, see Locating the MapInfo
EasyLoader Command-Line Flags RSP File. You can also generate a state file using the
/SaveCommandArgs flag.
Syntax: /CF CommandFilePath
Syntax: /CommandFile=CommandFilePath

/CommandFile=C:\MyFiles\EasyLoader\Commands\myCommandFile.txt

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Convert WKB on Oracle: /ConvertWKBOnOracle

This flag passes geometries as WKB (Well-Known Binaries) to an Oracle server for conversion to
the SDO_GEOMETRY type. Only use this flag with OCI connections. By default, MapInfo EasyLoader
does this conversion before passing geometries to the Oracle server to improve performance. You
would only use this flag to work around WKB to SDO_GEOMETRY conversion problems.
Syntax: /ConvertWKBOnOracle

File Directory for Server Table(s): /D, /OutputFolder

This flag generates a TAB file in a specific directory location to access a remote database with. The
new .tab file name appends _srv.tab to your server table name, yourServerTableName_srv.tab.
The directory must be valid to upload a table to it. An empty directory is considered valid.
Syntax: /D string_value
Syntax: /OutputFolder=string_value
If the path contains spaces, use quotation marks around it.

/OutputFolder="C:\my work folder\Tables\My Upload Tables"

Exclusive Use of Table: /E, /ExclusiveUse

This flag improves load time on large tables when you are the only person updating the table. This
flag does not guarantee that MapInfo EasyLoader can obtain exclusive use of a table. After each
commit, MapInfo EasyLoader checks the maximum value of the primary key column (called
MI_PRINX) to detect if entries were been made by other processes. This flag prevents this check,
which improve the upload time for large tables.
Syntax: /E
Syntax: /ExclusiveUse
You can use this flag in a MapInfo EasyLoader shortcut, see Mixing Command-Line flags and
MapInfo EasyLoader Window Options.

Log File name: /F, /LogFileName

This flag specifies the name and location of the log file created when MapInfo EasyLoader uploads
a table. By default, a log file named EasyLoader.log is created in the TEMP directory. If you specify
a file name but do not provide a path, then MapInfo EasyLoader saves the log file to the same
directory as the EasyLoader.exe file.
Syntax: /F string_value
Syntax: /LogFileName=string_value

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This example shows only the name of the log file, which saves to the same directory as
MapInfoEasyLoader.exe.

/F myLogFile.txt

/LogFileName=myLogFile.txt

This example specifies the full path for the log file. If the path contains spaces, use quotation marks
around it.

/F "C:\my work folder\myLogFile.txt"

/LogFileName="C:\my work folder\myLogFile.txt"

Table Folder: /Folder

This flag loads all tables from a folder. Use a semicolon (;) to separate each element.
Syntax: /Folder=FolderName;ServerOperation;AddToMapCatalog;IncludeSubFolders
Where:
• FolderName is the name of the root folder.
• ServerOperation is the default server operation for the folder, use Append, CreateNew, or Replace.
The default is Append.
• AddToMapCatalog creates an entry for the folder tables in the Map Catalog. This is set to true by
default, so set to false to not add an entry in the Map Catalog.
• IncludeSubFolders includes subfolders when querying for the folder's tables. This is set to true by
default, so set to false to not include subfolders in the query.
The following example does not include the optional AddToMapCatalog and IncludeSubFolders
elements, both of which are set to true by default.

/Folder=C:/MyData;CreateNew

The following example does not include tables in subfolders under MyData. The third
AddToMapCatalog element is blank, because it is set to true by default.

/Folder=C:/MyData;CreateNew;;false

Grant All: /G, /GrantAll

This flag grants all rights as Public. By default, this is not set and tables are private.
Syntax: /G
Syntax: /GrantAll

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Do Not Create a Spatial Index: /I, /NoCreateSpatialIndex

This flag prevents MapInfo EasyLoader from creating a spatial index on the uploaded table. By
default, this flag is turned off and MapInfo EasyLoader creates a spatial index.
For Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) and User Defined Object (UDO) tables, MapInfo EasyLoader
creates a spatial index and then issues the "update statistics medium" statement.
Syntax: /I
Syntax: /NoCreateSpatialIndex
For more information, see /NoCreatePrimaryKey, which controls the unique index.

Create Automated Key Column for SQL Server: /K, /AutomatedKey

This flag automatically generates unique key column values in SQL Server, so that you do not need
to fill the key manually when you insert a new row. The key column is called MI_PRINX or
MI_SQL_REC_NUM depending on the spatial object type that is selected: MI_PRINX is for spatial
types and MI_SQL_REC_NUM is for XY types.
Syntax: /K [ IDENTITY | NO_IDENTITY ]
Syntax: /AutomatedKey [ IDENTITY | NO_IDENTITY ]
The key column is created with the IDENTITY property by default, so you do not need to include
the IDENTITY property. If you want to turn this off, use the NO_IDENTITY property.

/AutomatedKey

/AutomatedKey=NO_IDENTITY

You can use this flag in an MapInfo EasyLoader shortcut, see Mixing Command-Line flags and
MapInfo EasyLoader Window Options.

List of MapInfo Tables: /L, /TableList

This flag specifies a text file that lists the tables to upload. The format of each line in the text file is
the same as for Table Specification: /T[able].
Syntax: /L [ TextFile | Path ]
Syntax: /TableList=[ TextFile | Path ]
Where:
• TextFile is the name of the text file that lists the tables to upload.
• Path is the full path location to the text file.
This example shows only the name of the file, which is located the same directory as
MapInfoEasyLoader.exe.

/L ListOfTables.txt

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This example shows the path to the file. If the path contains spaces, use quotation marks around
it.

/TableList="C:\my work folder\Tables\ListOfTables.txt"

Spatial Object Type: /M, /SpatialObjectType

This flag specifies the object type to use: either MICODE for XY with MapInfo key or XY for XY only.
MapInfo EasyLoader does not display for any value other than MICODE and XY.
Syntax: /M [ XY | MICODE ]
Syntax: /SpatialeObjectType=[ XY | MICODE ]
Examples:

/M XY

/SpatialObjectType=MICODE

Start Application Minimized: /Min, /Minimized

This flag starts MapInfo Easyloader in a minimized state. This does not alter the behavior of the
/NoStart flag. By default, this is set to false.
Syntax: /Min
Syntax: /Minimized

Do Not Auto Start the Table Load: /NoStart

This flag disables the auto start behavior, so that MapInfo EasyLoader does not automatically
connect and begin to upload tables, even if the connection and tables are specified. By default, this
is set to false.
Syntax: /NoStart

Run Without User Interface: /NoUi

This flag runs MapInfo EasyLoader without a user interface. This is useful when running MapInfo
EasyLoader from a batch file for auto loading tables.
This flag requires a connection and a list of tables to upload. At minimum, you would include a server
connection string flag /ConnectionString or the Oracle connection string flag /OracleConnectionString,
and a list of MapInfo tables /TableList or a folder of tables /Folder. You do not need to include the
/QuitWhenDone flag with /NoUi.
Syntax: /NoUi connection tables
Where:
• connection is either /ConnectionString or /OracleConnectionString.

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• tables is either /TableList or /Folder.

Connection String: /O, /OracleConnectionString

This flag sets a connection string for Oracle Spatial.
Syntax: /O [friendly_name]user_name/password@server_name
Where:
• friendly_name is optional for setting a specific name for the connection identifier.
• user_name is the Oracle user name to connect with.
• password is the password for the Oracle user name.
• server_name is the name of the server you are connecting to.
This example sets a connection string without defining a name for the connection identifier.

/OracleConnectionString=myUid/myPwd@oraserver11gr2

This example sets the same connection and names the connection Oracle1. If the connection name
has spaces, use quotation marks around it.

/OracleConnectionString=[Oracle1]myUid/myPwd@oraserver11gr2

For ODBC connections, see Server Connection String: /S, /ConnectionString.

Default Server Operation: /P, /ServerOperation

Use this flag to specify what to do with the upload tables in the server.
• A appends to an existing server table.
• C creates a new server table. If the table you are uploading has the same name as a table on the
server, the upload fails.
• R replaces an existing server table.
Syntax: /P [ A | C | R ]
Syntax: /ServerOperation=[ A | C | R ]

/P A

/SpatialObjectType=C

Exit after Upload: /Q

This flag closes MapInfo EasyLoader after completing the upload.
Syntax: /Q
Syntax: /QuitWhenDone

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Server Connection String: /S, /ConnectionString

This flag passes an ODBC connection string to the program. The ODBC Connection dialog box
does not display when you supply enough information to connect.
Syntax: /ConnectionString=[ (friendly_name)connection_string | user_name/connection_string ]
Where:
• friendly_name is optional for setting a specific name for the connection identifier.
• user_name is the Oracle user name to connect with.
• connection_string is the ODBC connection string.
This example uses a data source (DSN).

/ConnectionString=DSN=MyDataSource

This example sets a connection name to MyDBConnection. It then uses the full connection string
to the database, where items in all capitals are connection string parameters.

/ConnectionString=[MyDBConnection]UID=MyId;DATABASE=MyDB;
HOST=MyServer;SERVER=MyServer_tli;SERVICE=sqlexec;PROTOCOL=onsoctcp

This example sets a connection name to My Data Source. It uses a data source
(FileDSN=C:\Tenop\MyDataSource.dsn) with a user ID (UID=MyUserID) and password
(PWD=MyPassword). If the connection name has spaces, use quotation marks around the entire
connection string.

/ConnectionString="[My Data
Source]FILEDSN=C:\Tenop\MyDataSource.dsn;UID=MyUserID;PWD=MyPassword"

For ODBC connections, see Connection String: /O, /OracleConnectionString.

Save Command Response File: /Save, /SaveCommandArgs

This flag creates a state file when MapInfo EasyLoader shuts down that contains the command-line
arguments used to start MapInfo EasyLoader and that were set during the session. You can use
this state file to restart EasyLoader on the command-line with the /CommandFile flag to apply the
same settings as the previous session.
MapInfo EasyLoader automatically creates a state file that you can also use with the /CommandFile
flag. It is located under the AppData folder with the name MapInfoEasyLoader.Settings.rsp (for
example, C:\Users\<UserID>\AppData\Roaming\MapInfoEasyLoader.Settings.rsp). MapInfo
EasyLoader does not create the MapInfoEasyLoader.Settings.rsp file when you use the
/SaveCommandArgs flag.
Note: The AppData folder is in a path like C:\Users\<UserID>\AppData. If you cannot see the
AppData folder, it is because it is hidden. To locate it, on the Microsoft Start menu in the
Search programs and files field type %AppData%.

Syntax: /SaveCommandArgs=StateFilePath

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Where, StateFilePath is a TXT file and any valid path location.

Example:

/SaveCommandArgs=C:\MyFiles\EasyLoader\Commands\myCommandFile.txt

Table Specification: /T /Table

This flag passes a single table name to MapInfo EasyLoader.
Syntax: /Table=TableName(;ServerTableName;UploadRange;ServerOperation;AddToMapCatalog)
Where:
• TableName is the .tab file name to upload.
• ServerTableName (optional) is the server table name. If left empty, MapInfo EasyLoader uses
TableName.
• UploadRange (optional) is the range of table rows to upload. The range is a starting number and
ending number with a comma (,) separator. A range of three to six would be 3,6.
• ServerOperation (optional) is the server operation for the table. Use Append, CreateNew, or
Replace.
• AddToMapCatalog creates an entry for the table in the Map Catalog when set to true. By default,
this is set to true, so you do not need to specify it in the command-line.
This example includes all parameters.

/T C:\data\states.tab;mystates;1,500;CreateNew;true

This example leaves the upload range value empty, so that it uploads all of the rows in the table. It
excludes the Map Catalog entry, so an entry is not created for this table in the Map Catalog.

/Table=C:\data\states.tab;MyOtherStates;;Replace

This example includes only the path to the table to upload.

/Table=C:\data\aTable.tab

If the path of the upload file contains spaces, use quotation marks around it.

/Table="C:\My Documents\tables\aTable.tab";MyTable;;Replace;true

Do Not Create a Primary Index: /U, /NoCreatePrimaryKey

This flag prevents MapInfo EasyLoader from creating a primary key when uploading a table. It is
turned off by default. When uploading to Oracle Spatial, MapInfo EasyLoader creates a primary key
on the MI_PRINX column and names the key table_name_PK.
Syntax: /U
Syntax: /NoCreatePrimaryKey

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Also see Do Not Create a Spatial Index: /I, /NoCreateSpatialIndex, which controls the spatial
index.

Commit Interval: /X, /CommitInterval

This flag sets a commit interval. MapInfo EasyLoader inserts records to the database and then
commits them when it reaches the commit interval. The same interval value applies when creating
the spatial index for Oracle Spatial. If the commit interval is set to zero (0), MapInfo EasyLoader
inserts the entire range of records as a single transaction before issuing a commit.
Syntax: /X integer_value
Syntax: /CommitInterval=integer_value
Where, integer_value is an integer value. The default value is 1000.
This example sets the commit interval to 500, so that MapInfo EasyLoader commits all of the records
to the database every 500th record.

/CommitInterval=500

Style Column Name: /Y, /StyleColumnName

This flag loads per-row styles with the upload data. If you do not provide a name for the column to
use, MapInfo EasyLoader uses the default MI_STYLE column name. If you do not want to create
a style column on the server table, include the NO_STYLE parameter.
Syntax: /Y ( string_value ) ( NO_STYLE )
Syntax: /keyword=( string_value ) ( NO_STYLE )
This example uses the column called TableStyleCol to load per-row styles.

/Y TableStyleCol

/StyleColumnName=TableStyleCol

This example uses the default column called MI_STYLE to load per-row styles.

/Y

/StyleColumnName

This example does not create a style column on the server table.

/Y NO_STYLE

/StyleColumnName=NO_STYLE

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SQL Server Auto Select Geometry: /Z, /AutoSelectSqlServerSpatial

Use this flag to upload the table as a Geometry data type in Microsoft SQL Server Spatial regardless
of the coordinate system in the native table.
Syntax: /Z
Syntax: /AutoSelectSqlServerSpatial
For more information, see Loading Microsoft SQL Server Spatial Data.

Locating the MapInfo EasyLoader Log File

MapInfo EasyLoader saves a log file called EasyLoader.log under the AppData folder (for example,
C:\Users\<UserID>\AppData\Local\EasyLoader.log).
The log file contains the database connection information currently in use to upload data tables with.
You can see the contents of this file from within MapInfo EasyLoader by clicking Options and View
Log.
If you experience difficulty uploading your data and you wish to review the upload settings that
MapInfo EasyLoader last used, see Locating the MapInfo EasyLoader Configuration File.

Locating the MapInfo EasyLoader Configuration File

MapInfo EasyLoader saves a configuration file called MapInfoEasyLoader.Recent.xml to your system

under the %AppData% folder (for example,
C:\Users\<UserID>\AppData\Roaming\MapInfoEasyLoader.Recent.xml).
This file lists the MapInfo EasyLoader settings for the last upload, such as output folder location,
connection settings, and data tables uploaded. Look at this file when you experience difficulty
uploading your data and you wish to review the upload settings that MapInfo EasyLoader last used.
Do not edit this file. Deleting the configuration file returns MapInfo EasyLoader to its default settings
and MapInfo EasyLoader replaces the configuration file when you next start it.
The AppData folder is in a path like C:\Users\<UserID>\AppData. If you cannot see the AppData
folder, it is because it is hidden. To locate it, on the Microsoft Start menu in the Search programs
and files field type %AppData%.

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4 - History of Changes
This section provides a history of features and enhancements that have
been added in each version of MapInfo EasyLoader.

In this section
New in MapInfo EasyLoader 17.0 39
New in MapInfo EasyLoader 16.0 39
New in MapInfo EasyLoader 15.2 40
New in MapInfo EasyLoader 15.0 40
New in MapInfo EasyLoader 12.5.1 41
New in MapInfo EasyLoader 12.5 41
New in MapInfo EasyLoader 12.0 41
 History of Changes

New in MapInfo EasyLoader 17.0

There are new command-line flags available:

• Do Not Treat Empty (Zero-Length) Strings as Null: /NoTreatEmptyStringAsNull

New in MapInfo EasyLoader 16.0

MapInfo EasyLoader is now a 64-bit release that works with MapInfo Pro 64-bit releases 15.2 and
16.0. As a result, it uses 64 bit Oracle and ODBC drivers. Oracle Text is not supported.
MapInfo EasyLoader has a new look and feel that makes it easier to use and gives you new features.
With this release you can:
• Pause and cancel your uploads. For an overview of the new interface, see Getting Started.
• Work with both native MapInfo TAB files and NativeX (extended) TAB files.
• Work with files in different character encodings, because MapInfo EasyLoader now supports
Unicode.
• Apply error threshold options for better error handling. For details, see the descriptions for Table
Errors Threshold % and Insert Errors Threshold % settings under Server Table Processing
Options. These settings are made in the Options dialog.
• Use keyboard shortcuts as a faster way to access commands. For details, see Shortcuts by
Keystroke.
Several files are available for tracking and logging MapInfo EasyLoader settings:
• EasyLoader.log contains the database connection information currently in use to upload data
tables with. For details, see Locating the MapInfo EasyLoader Log File.
• MapInfoEasyLoader.Recent.xml lists the MapInfo EasyLoader settings for the last upload, such
as output folder location, connection settings, and data tables uploaded. For details, see Locating
the MapInfo EasyLoader Configuration File.
• MapInfoEasyLoader.Settings.rsp contains all of the flags used to start MapInfo EasyLoader. For
details, see Locating the MapInfo EasyLoader Command-Line Flags RSP File.
The command-line flags that you use when launching MapInfo EasyLoader from a command-line
have been updated. They now have longer names that are more user friendly. Instead of using /O
to set the oracle connection string, you can use /OracleConnectionString. Shorter flags, like /O,
still work, but using the longer flags is more intuitive. Also, there are new command-line flags
available:
• Help: /?, /Help

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 History of Changes

• Set the Application Locale : /AppLocale

• Input Command File: /CF, /CommandFile
• Convert WKB on Oracle: /ConvertWKBOnOracle
• Table Folder: /Folder
• Start Application Minimized: /Min
• Do Not Auto Start the Table Load: /NoStart
• Run Without User Interface: /NoUi
• Save Command Response File: /SaveCommandArgs
The following command-line flags have been retired and are no longer available.
• /R Replace the server table. You can choose to replace the server table when using the new
/Folder flag, which uploads all tables from a folder.
• /V Oracle version. MapInfo EasyLoader gets the Oracle version from the Oracle connection string.

New in MapInfo EasyLoader 15.2

MapInfo EasyLoader 15.2 is a 32-bit release that works with the MapInfo Pro 15.2 64-bit release.
MapInfo Pro 15.2 supports Unicode and requires the PostgreSQL Unicode ODBC drive. MapInfo
EasyLoader does not yet support Unicode and requires the PostgreSQL ANSI ODBC drive. You
must have both drivers installed when both products are on the same machine.
This release fixes the following issue:

Issue Number Description and Resolution

MIPRO-49213 Oracle: Problems with MapInfo EasyLoader and EPSG-Code 25832.

When MapInfo EasyLoader uploads a table, it does not put a SRID entry in the Oracle meta
data table (SDO_GEOM_METADATA) and the resulting geometry column has NULL in the
SDO:SRID column. As a result, the spatial index is not generated and MapInfo Pro cannot
generate geographic queries.

New in MapInfo EasyLoader 15.0

MapInfo EasyLoader 15.0 is a 32-bit release that works with the MapInfo Pro 15.0 32-bit release.
There are no new features or fixes.

MapInfo EasyLoader 2019 User Guide 40

 History of Changes

New in MapInfo EasyLoader 12.5.1

MapInfo EasyLoader 12.5.1 is a 32-bit release that works with the MapInfo Pro 12.5.1 64-bit release.
There are no new features or fixes.

New in MapInfo EasyLoader 12.5

This release fixes the following issue:

Issue Number Description and Resolution

MIPRO-40742 Non-English versions of MapInfo EasyLoader do not launch.

New in MapInfo EasyLoader 12.0

MapInfo EasyLoader 12.0 supports the following database versions:

• PostGIS 2.0 – Note that when uploading files to a PostGIS 2.0 database, spatial objects upload
as a geometry spatial data type.
• SQL Server 2012 – MapInfo EasyLoader processes any invalid geography using the SQL Server
2012 MakeValid( ) function, so that the geography is valid.
The server table processing option Grant Public Access to Table has been changed to Grant Public
Full Access to Table.
This release fixes the following issues:

Issue Number Description and Resolution

MIPRO-12309 A message displays when appending a native table with a MI_PRINX column in an Oracle
Spatial database with an OCI connection, "Table cannot be Appended—It has a different table
structure."

MapInfo EasyLoader 2019 User Guide 41

 History of Changes

Issue Number Description and Resolution

MIPRO-12320 When uploading a table with no geometry into MapInfo EasyLoader 11.5, an error message
appears: "Table cannot be Appended—It has a different table structure."

MIPRO-32642 MapInfo EasyLoader is unable to import to "geography" data type in SQL Server 2008 SP2.
You will need to upgrade to SQL Server 2012. SQL Server 2012 uses the function STIsValid( )
to check if a geography data type is well formed and recognized as a valid object based on its
OGC type. The MakeValid( ) function is also used that converts an invalid geography data type
into a valid one. In MapInfo Pro 12.0, you can use the extended spatial methods in SQL Server
2012 to manage valid geography data types. Refer to the SQL Server 2012 MSDN library for
more information.

MapInfo EasyLoader 2019 User Guide 42

Notices
 Copyright

© August 2019 Pitney Bowes Software Inc.

Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment
on the part of the vendor or its representatives. No part of this document may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without
the written permission of Pitney Bowes Software Inc., One Global View, Troy, New York 12180-8399.
© 2019 Pitney Bowes Software Inc. All rights reserved. Pitney Bowes Software Inc. is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Pitney Bowes Inc. Pitney Bowes, the corporate logo, MapInfo, Group 1 Software, and
MapInfo EasyLoader are trademarks of Pitney Bowes Software Inc. All other marks and trademarks
are property of their respective holders.
Contact information for all Pitney Bowes Software Inc. offices is located at:
http://www.pitneybowes.com/us/contact-us.html.
libtiff © 1988-1997 Sam Leffler, © 2019 Silicon Graphics International, formerly Silicon Graphics Inc.
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subject of copyright protection and other intellectual property rights owned or licensed to TomTom.
The use of this material is subject to the terms of a license agreement. You will be held liable for
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This product contains 7-Zip, which is licensed under GNU Lesser General Public License, Version
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Products named herein may be trademarks of their respective manufacturers and are hereby
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MapInfo EasyLoader 2019 User Guide 44

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