Introduction

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

GIS is used as a way to display data geographically

Instead of presenting complicated data in a table or chart, GIS allows you to display
that data on a visually pleasing and easy to read map. This can allow a researcher to
present a complex data-based concept in a instantly comprehendible form.

Of course maps are not always the best way to show your data. Depending on what
you are presenting, a table or chart might be best. However when you have data that
haws a geographic component using a map is the best way to go.

Below is a list of some of the ways that people in the Lowell community have used
MapInfo

1. Mapping asthma cases in Lowell

2. Mapping gang related incidents to determine where most gang activity
occurs
3. Mapping environmental hazards in the city
4. Mapping the ethnic breakdown of the city
5. Mapping more relevant transportation routes for city public transportation
6. Mapping elected official’s residences in comparison to ethnic and low-
income concentrations
7. Mapping church members residences for the purpose of systematically
reaching out to them

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MapInfo is but one of many GIS software programs. MapInfo 6.5 is loaded on all the
Center’s computers which are available for students to use anytime during regular Center
hours.

A Map is simply data represented geographically.

MapInfo uses several Layers of data to make a map. These MapInfo Layers are data files
called Tables. When browsing files in your computer, you can easily recognize these
MapInfo table files by their .tab extension (e. g., schools.tab).

The map below is made up of three separate Layers of data (or three Table files).

The Layers are…

Boundary.tab Streets.tab Waterways.tab

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 Lesson #1
Opening and Managing Tables

Go to >
All Programs
MapInfo
MapInfo Professional 6.5

Or: Click on the MapInfo Icon on the computer’s desktop screen

Click on File > Open Table…

Click on the drop down arrow on the Look in: window
Go to C: drive > then: Program Files
Click on: MapInfo >then: Professional 6.5
Click on: Data > then: Tut_Data
Click on: Tut_USA > then: USA
Finally click on: STATES. TAB (the “.TAB” may not be visible)

You will now see a map of the United States

Use grabber (hand) tool to move around

Zoom in/out
Click and drag with zoom in tool
to zoom in on a specific area

On the Menu bar, go to Window > New Browser Window

Note one row for each state and associated data
Click in left most box to select a row
On the Menu bar go to Window > switch back to 1. States Map window (see last 2 items
on Window menu)
Notice the chosen state is now selected on map
Hit either <SHIFT> + F4 OR Window > Tile Windows
Now you can see both the map and the browser
Hold down <SHIFT> and select a few states. You will see your selected states selected
in both map and browser.
Place your curser outside the map and click to clear the selections.

Now hold down <SHIFT> and select all 6 New England States. Zoom in if it makes it
easier to see all the states.

3
On the menu bar go to File > Save Copy As…

Highlight “Selection” Click Save As…

Save in My Documents

When saving, use New Folder button to

create a folder under My Documents called
“GIS Class Maps.”

Then, double click in that folder and use the

New Folder button again to create a folder
called “New England Data.” Double click
on the “New England Data” folder and give
your file the name “New England States.”
Then, hit “Save.”
On the Menu bar click: File > Close All

Now open your newly created table

On the Menu bar click: File > Open Table > Browse to your new folder under
My Documents > New England States.TAB
See map of just the New England States

You have created a new MapInfo table.

End Lesson #1

4
 Lesson #2
Part 1: Using Layer Control to Change Map Features

On the Menu bar click on File > Close All (always a good idea to start with this since
files can be open in MapInfo and be invisible if all map and browser windows have been
closed)

Click on File > Open Table > GIS Class Maps > New England States

On the Main Toolbar > Go to Layer Control

Note that by default, maps are

Visible
(1st column checkbox)
and Selectable
(3rd column checkbox.

Check Label
(4th column checkbox) for
New England States

Click OK
Now all states will be labeled with
the state name

Go back to Layer Control

Highlight New England States layer
Click “Label” button. In Label dialog:

Use dropdown at top (Label With…) to

change from “State_Name” to “State”
Click on the Font Styles Icon
to change color, bold font

Click “Simple” radio button under Label

Lines

Click OK, OK

5
See New England States now labeled with 2-letter state abbreviation and new font style.

Use select tool to click and drag a label away from its state. Notice label line is drawn
automatically.

On the Main Toolbar

use the Select tool
to click and drag a label
away from its state.

Notice label line is drawn

automatically

Return to Layer Control

Highlight New England States
Click “Display” button

;. .

Click Style override

Region Style button
becomes enabled
Click Region Style
button

Change Fill Foreground

color

OK OK

See new fill color

Return to Layer Control

Highlight New England States
Click “Display” button
Click Style Override, click Region Style button, change Border Color and Width

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 OK OK

See new colors and borders

Layer Control Part 2: Using Layer Control to Work with Multiple Map Layers

File > Open Table > C: (drive) > Program Files > MapInfo > Professional 6.5 > Data
> Tut_Data > Tut_USA > USA > States.Tab

Go to Layer Control
Use Up/Down buttons or click and drag to
move STATES below New England States
Click OK
See New England States within US

Return to Layer Control

Check Label box next to STATES layer
Click OK, OK
See all US labeled with full state name

Practice with Layer Control

File > Open Table > C: (drive) > Program Files > MapInfo > Professional 6.5 > Data
> Tut_Data > STATECAP and City125* (both come with MapInfo)
Challenge: See if you can figure out how to:
• change the state capitals to blue stars
• change the City125 cities to black squares
• label all the cities in City125 with the name of the city
• make the state labels disappear (all at once)

*City125 is a table of the 125 largest cities in the US.

File > Close All (choose Discard; we’ll learn about Saving this work in the next lesson)
File > Open Table > New England States. Note that display has gone back to original
style. We’ll learn to save display changes in the next lesson.

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End Lesson #2

8
 Lesson 3
Thematic Mapping: Individual Value (Category Data) Maps

There are many different kinds of thematic maps, each for a different analytical purpose.
We’ll start with a simple one that is useful for looking at category data – e.g., if you had a
table (map) of schools, restaurants, and playing fields, you might want to show each type
of site with a different symbol.

File > Open Table > New England States (see plain old green with black borders)

Window > New Browser Window. See one row for each of the New England States.
Note “State_Name” column. Each row has a different value – the name of the state.

Use the Window menu to return to your Map window.

On the Menu bar go to: Map > Create Thematic Map > Individual (2nd button from the
bottom on the left in Step 1). Choose “Region IndValue Default”

Note contents of Preview window in right side of dialog box. With this Default style,
MapInfo will assign a different color to each different value in the column you choose in
step 2.

Click Next.

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Choose “New England States” for Table and “State_Name” for Field.
Click Next

Since each row in the “State_Name” column has a different value (the name of each
state), MapInfo will assign a different color to each state.

Click OK to see your map.

File > Save Workspace.

IMPORTANT! Save your Workspace in the “GIS Class Maps” folder.
Call it “Lesson3.”
File > Close All.
File > Open Workspace (NOTE – Open WORKSPACE, not Open Table) > Lesson 3.
See your thematic map!

End Lesson #3

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 Lesson 4: Layout
Let’s create another kind of thematic map, and then design a layout for printing.

File > Open Workspace > Lesson3

On the Menu bar go to: Map > Create
Thematic Map > Graduated (from buttons
on left side). Graduated Symbol maps are
one good tool for looking at numeric data,
especially if you want to include more than
one variable in a single map.

Note the different templates that are

available. Try highlighting each one to see
the different symbols in the Preview
window. Choose one and click Next.

The Create Thematic Map – Step 2 of 3

opens.
In the Table drop down window choose
New England States
In the Field drop down window choose:
Pop_1990.
Click: Next
OK

Go to Layer Control > Uncheck the box in the Label column > OK > OK

Click “Show/Hide Legend” button on the Main toolbar.

A Legend for Thematic Map appears.

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 Go to: Window > New Layout Window.

Choose: No Frames

Click: OK

Note the Frame Tool (yellow box)

that has appeared on the Drawing toolbar. Click on the Frame Tool. Then click and drag
on the empty white “page” in the layout window to draw a large frame for your map.
When you release the mouse button, you will be prompted to choose a window to display
in your frame.

Choose your New England States Map from the dropdown. Click OK.

Click and drag with the Frame tool again, but create a smaller box for your legend. This
time, when you release the mouse button, choose your map legend (Theme Legend of …)

Click: OK.

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Your layout should look something like this.

Now use the Text Tool on the Drawing toolbar to add a title to your map.

Highlight your Title and then press the Text Style tool (note the ? on the icon)

The Text Style window appears.

Choose a Font size and text color.
Choose any of the Background
and Effects features you want.

Go to File > Save Workspace >

(type in) Layout Lesson
!! Be sure to save this workspace in
you’re GIS Class Maps folder!!!

End of Lesson 4

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 Lesson 5:
Working with Excel Tables in MapInfo
Often the data you need to work with in MapInfo will be data you have stored in Excel.
MapInfo is able to work with these files directly, so the first step is to copy the file into a
subfolder of your map files (i.e., a folder beneath your workspace folder, MyName
Maps).
On the Menu bar Click on File > Open Table >
Use the Files of Type dropdown and set it to Excel.

Browse to the GIS Class Maps folder

containing the Excel file titled
LowellMfg. Highlight the file and click
Open. The Excel Information file opens.
Now you must tell MapInfo a little bit
about your Excel file.
First, set the Named Range dropdown to
“Other…”

If the first row(s) of your Excel table contain

column headings, you need to specify the data
range for MapInfo to begin in the first row
BENEATH your column headings. In MOST
cases, this would simply mean setting the
range to begin in cell A2.
Change the default value of A1 to A2 and
click OK.

14
Now, check “Use Row Above for Column Titles.” This will instruct MapInfo to look
in the first row of your spreadsheet for column headings (also sometimes called “field
names”). Click OK.

Your spreadsheet will open in a Browser window in MapInfo.

Let’s close the table and see what happens the next time we want to use it.
There is no need to save the table at this point. MapInfo has done that automatically.

File > Close Table > Your Chosen Excel Table

File > Open Table > Your Chosen Excel Table. TAB

15
Note that your file now appears as a standard MapInfo table in the same folder where
your original Excel file resides.*

Now – how do you get to see this data on a map? There are two ways to accomplish this:

1. Geocoding. If your Excel table contains geographic information (zipcodes or

street addresses like this one), you can use the geocoding process to map your
data. Each row of the spreadsheet will become a point on the map.
2. Joining. If your Excel table does not contain address information, but can be
linked to a mapped table by matching two columns of data (e.g., you might have a
map of the US, and a row of data for each state), you can use SQL Query or
Thematic Map functions to link the data in the two tables so that it becomes
mappable.

Each of these options will be covered in another tutorial lesson.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

*Avoid Losing Your Data! DO NOT Move or Delete your Excel table!!!
Now that you have opened this Excel table in MapInfo, you will be able to open it from
now on with the File > Open Table function (without using the Files of Type dropdown
to indicate an Excel table). However, MapInfo is still “looking” at the original Excel file
each time it opens the MapInfo table (.tab) file. It has not created a new copy of the file,
just a MapInfo TAB file to accompany the Excel file and store information about the
Excel data. Therefore, you must always keep the Excel file with the other data files
you intend to use in your maps.

Changing Your Data

MapInfo can open several types of files using very similar steps to those we used here:
ASCII text files, dBase files (or any other dbf file), and Microsoft Access (*.mdb) files.

In the case of Excel files and ASCII text files, if you wish to make changes to the data,
you must do so in the original file/application (i.e., open the file in Excel and save your
changes).

MapInfo establishes read/write connections to dbf and Access files. In these cases, you
can make changes to your data through MapInfo. Be careful, though – you will also be
changing your original data file at the same time.

16
 Lesson 6
Query > Find

Suppose you have a very large and detailed map and you wish to find a particular
location on your screen.

On the Menu bar, go to: File > Open Table > LowellStreets

Then also on the Menu bar, go to: Query > Find

First, tell MapInfo what table you wish to search for locations.

We are going to search the LowellStreets

table for objects in the STREET column
(i.e., by the name of the street).

Click on the “Mark with Symbol” button

and change the symbol style to a brightly
colored circle. This will be easier to find
on your map.

Click OK and OK again to proceed to

step 2 of Query Find

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Now, try finding the Center for Family, Work and Community by typing in the address:
650 Suffolk Street.

Click OK.

A bright circle appears on the map at the location of 650 Suffolk Street.

Click the Info Tool on the Main Toolbar and click on the street next to the circle.
Note the information that MapInfo is storing for this street segment: a range of addresses
for each side of the street.

650 falls on the left side of the street in this block (an even number between 588 and
682).

Try Query > Find again. Note that this time you don’t need to specify the file to be
searched. Try finding a few more addresses.

End of Lesson 6
Lesson 7

18
 Geocoding

Suppose you have a list of addresses (for example, a list of program participants in an
Excel file). How do you get those records to show up as points on a map?

Behind the scenes, geocoding is a process very similar to the one you saw in Query >
Find. But this time, MapInfo will create a permanent map object for each row in your
table, and rather than requiring you to enter each address one at a time, MapInfo will read
through your entire table, locate each address, and create a “point object” for each row
(or record) in your table.

1. Go to File > Open Table > Lowell Streets.TAB.

2. Go to File > Open Table > Lowell Streets.TAB
3. Next go to File > Open Table. If Lowell Mfg.TAB
is available, open that table and proceed to step 9.
If not, click the drop down arrow on Files of type
4. Highlight and click on Microsoft Excel (.xls)*.
5. Double click on the file Lowell Mfg.xls.
Notice the Excel Information window pops up.

6. In the Named Range field, click on the drop down arrow

and choose Other.
7. Click to activate the Use Row Above Selected
Range for Column Titles check box

The Other Range window opens.

8. Change LowellMfg!A1:N143 to
LowellMfg!A2:N143

9. Click on the OK button. Now you should

see your browser on screen (maximize the screen
to see the whole view). Notice on the very top of
your screen next to the words MapInfo Professional,
it reads Lowell Mfg Browser.

19
 10. Go to Window and click Cascade Windows
Place the two resulting windows next to each
other so that you can see the Address field in the
Lowell Mfg Browser.

11. Hold down the Shift key and choose the

first ten boxes on the Lowell Mfg Browser.

When you Geocode you are telling MapInfo where, in a geographic area, your data lie.
MapInfo will use the street data for Lowell (LowellStreets.TAB) to match up the
addresses of the Lowell Manufactures with the streets of Lowell. Once it does so,
MapInfo can display the businesses on a map using a symbol as a location marker

To Geocode open Table on the menu bar. Click on Geocode.

1. On the Menu Toolbar, click on Window.

2. At the bottom of this list, click on Lowell_Mfg
browser to go back to it.
3. On the Menu Toolbar, click on Table.
4. Click on Geocode. The Geocode window pops up.
5. In the Geocode Table field, make sure it reads
Selection. This refers to the 10 sites
that we chose.
6. In the using Column field, click on the down arrow to
see your options.
7. Click on Address. We choose column Address
because it is the column which has the data
MapInfo needs to match up addresses.
8. In the Boundary Column field it should read none.
9. In the Search Table field, it should read LowellStreets.
10. In the for Objects in Column, it should read Street.
11. Ignore the Optional section.
12. In the upper right hand corner of this window is the
Mode section, leave it on Automatic for now.
13. Click on the Symbol button. The
Symbol Style window pops up.
14. Use the drop down arrows to change
the Font size to 12 and the Color to red.
15. Click on the OK button when you are done
editing your symbol style.

20
PLEASE DO NOT GO ANY FURTHER! Before we go forward there are some things
you need to know about the process of geocoding.

You do geocoding in two phases. First you click OK to

geocode in Automatic Mode. The program automatically
finds and connects the addresses with most (but usually not all)
of the sites. A pop-up window will appear to inform us of
how many sites were found and how many were not recognized.

We then click on Table > Geocode for a second time. This time we click the radio
button for Interactive Mode because if MapInfo has “questions” (i.e., it cannot find a
certain street address) you can interact with the program to provide the answers. If
MapInfo does not recognize a street name the process will stop and the unrecognizable
street name will appear in the Street box at the top of the Geocode window. Let’s begin
and you will see what we mean.

16. Click on the OK button to begin Interactive

Geocoding. If MapInfo does not recognize a street
name, for instance it does not recognize "1 Prince Ave"
because it doesn’t have #1 Prince Ave in its database.
Instead accept the highlighted Prince Ave, since it is
the closest choice. Similarly 101 Phoenix Ave is not
recognized. The closest match is Phoenix Ave.
• If you notice that the street MapInfo has highlighted
is correct, simply click on the OK button. If it is not
correct you can look for it yourself by using the Up and
Down buttons to scroll through the list of streets. Once
you find the proper match, click on that address and
then click on the OK button.

When the street number for an address is missing, MapInfo will highlight a range of
numbers. If you know the correct street number pick the range n which it falls, otherwise
just click on the OK button to accept the highlighted range and resume geocoding.

When you have finished, MapInfo will display a pop up window that reads: "Geocoding
of table Lowell_Mfg is complete." It will also show you how many addresses were
geocoded, were not geocoded and were previously geocoded.

21
Note that when geocoding is complete, your site location symbols don’t automatically
show up on the map.

To see your site location symbols go to

Layer Control and click the Add button.

Highlight your newly geocoded table and

click OK. You will now see your site
location symbols on the map.

Ten red star symbols show up in the

assigned locations.

Note: Once your table is geocoded, MapInfo stores each point’s location in a separate
file. You can open the table all by itself or in any combination with other tables and the
points will display in their proper location.

22
 Lesson 8
More Thematic Mapping
One of the most common types of thematic maps uses “ranges” to compare numeric data
in different regions. For example, you might want to look at population, income or other
demographic data in different towns or neighborhoods. You might also use a
“graduated symbol” to display this type of data.

In this example, we’ll make two different thematic maps, one showing population the
population change between 1990 and 2000, and the other showing the current population
density.

Go to: File > Open Table >

MVTowns

On the Menu bar, go to: Map >

Create Thematic Map >

From Type:
choose Ranges
.Click “Sort by Name” and
choose any
Region Ranges
template.
(Towns are “region” objects).
Click Next

In this step, the Table will be MVTowns

(since town boundaries are the regions we
wish to analyze). Use the Field dropdown
to choose POPCH90_00. This column
contains the total change in population
between the 1990 and 2000 censuses.

Click Next.

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 In Step 3, you see a preview of the map
data.

Click OK to see your finished map.

Click the Legend button

on the Main toolbar to display a legend of
your thematic map

24
Now, let’s create a graduated symbol map to show population density along with
population change. Go to: Map > Create Thematic Map.

This time, select

Graduated as the
Type and highlight
the Population
template.

Click Next.

You’ll notice that we don’t have a field

containing population density, but since we
do have a field containing total area and
another with total population, we can
calculate the density and show that on our
map. To do this, scroll to the bottom of the
Field list and choose “Expression…”

The Expression dialog appears

25
 Use the
Columns and Operators
dropdowns to
enter the formula:
POP2000/AREA
This will give us population
divided by area, or people
per square mile.
.
Click OK.

The Step 2 dialog now

shows our formula as if it
were a field in the
MVTowns table

Click Next >

In Step 3, we see a preview of our data. Click OK to see the map.

26
Note that your two thematic maps are layered. Together, the two thematic maps give us
much more information than either one could alone. Two of the densest areas are Lowell
and Lawrence (indicated by the largest graduated symbols).

Study the map a bit:

What town with relatively high density had little population growth?
What low density town had the highest growth?

Now, let’s modify the map a bit and see if the story it tells seems to change.

Choose Map > Modify Thematic Map OR double click in the top portion of the Legend
window to modify the MVTowns Ranges map.

27
 From the Modify Thematic Map dialog,
click the Ranges button.

Use the Method dropdown to change from

“Equal Count” (where records are broken into
groups of roughly equal size) to “Equal Ranges.”
Click Recalc

Note that now the data is broken down so

that each range covers a population change
of an additional (roughly) 1,500 people.
Note also that now almost all of the towns
fall into the category of lowest population
change.

Click OK OK to see the new map

28
Does this map tell a different story about population growth in the Merrimack Valley?
Use the “Info Tool” (the “i” button on the Main toolbar) to find out what town had the
highest population growth. The answer is below…

If you wish to save this map, use File > Save

Workspace. Be sure to save the workspace in the folder
ABOVE the folder in which your MVTowns file is
.
stored

29
 Lesson 9
Creating Map Objects

Sometimes you may need to create a new map layer not by geocoding points of data but
to show important routes (polyline objects), neighborhood boundaries (region objects), or
other information.

We’ll do this by creating objects in the Cosmetic Layer (an empty layer MapInfo creates
by default in every map window) and then saving them to a new table.

File > Open Table > LowellStreets

Go to Layer Control and make the Cosmetic Layer editable by checking the box in the
column marked with a pencil. Click OK.

Locate your Drawing Toolbar. If you’re not sure where it is, go to Options > Toolbars.

Be sure that both “Show” and “Floating” are checked. Click OK. You’ll see four
buttons at the bottom of the Drawing toolbar with question marks (“?”).

30
These are used to set the style for:

• “Point” objects

• line and polyline objects

• region (polygon, circle and ellipse) objects, and

• text.
Click each style button and set each to a different, bright color.
Now, try out each of the drawing tools (no question marks) on the
toolbar. Hints:

Click to create point objects.

Click and drag to draw lines or polylines . Double-click to

finish the object and release the tool.
Click and drag with the polygon tool to create sides of a polygon.
Double-click to close polygons.
Hold down the <shift> key while dragging with the ellipse tool to
create a circle. Hold down <shift> while dragging with the
rectangle or rounded rectangle tool to create a square.

Once you have created a few objects, select

Map > Save Cosmetic Objects.

Choose <New> to put your objects in a new

map layer/table, and click Save.

Call this file “PracticeObjects” and store it

with your other mapping data files.

31
Now, go to Layer Control.
You’ll see that PracticeObjects now
appears as a map layer. Click OK

Click Window > New Browser

window.

A browser window opens. There will be one row for every object you created.

Window > Tile Windows. Try selecting each object.

Challenge:

Try using the “info tool” to enter a unique ID for each object.

Try using Table > Maintenance > Table Structure* to add additional fields to your
table. USE CAUTION! Be careful not to modify any table other than Practice Objects.
When you are finished, use Window > New Brower Window to see your new columns.
*Note: Any time you modify a table’s structure, all views of the table (in both maps and
browsers) will disappear. Use Layer Control > Add to bring the map layer back to your
map window. Use Window > New Browser window to see the browser.

32
 Lesson 10
Dealing with Projections
Important Notes on Projections.
What is a projection?
The world is round; our maps are flat. Therefore, there will always be some
distortion. Different “projections” allow us to minimize the distortion in a
particular area we are looking at on a map. For example, we are accustomed to
seeing world maps which greatly exaggerate the size of North America and
Europe. If you have ever viewed a map of the world in which the size of
continents is accurate (accuracy of shape is sacrificed in order to achieve this
effect), you have a sense of how drastically projection can change the position of
an object on a map.
Why do projections matter to me?
For the most part, MapInfo will handle projections for you without you even
knowing. If you open multiple map layers that are stored in different projections,
it will modify the displays as necessary so that the objects line up properly (you
will see all the layers in the projection of the first map opened). If you want to
change the projection of a map, you can use the File > Save Copy As… function.
Click the Projection button in the Save dialog and choose the new projection.
MapInfo will convert all the latitude/longitude coordinates in the file to the new
coordinate system.
However, if you are bringing a non-MapInfo file into MapInfo, you must tell
MapInfo what projection the file is in. If you provide incorrect information, the
file may appear to display properly on its own, but when you try to combine it
with other layers, its position will be incorrect. This is because we have misled
MapInfo about what each latitude/longitude coordinate means.
In this map, we see Merrimack Valley
streets and town borders displayed
with Lowell streets that were translated
with an incorrect projection. The
Lowell Streets that were not projected
properly are the tiny black dot at the
bottom of the map. The larger black
area above contains the properly
projected Merrimack Valley town
boundaries and streets.

The Ruler tool lets us calculate

the size of the error that resulted from
this projection problem: 420 miles!

33
How can I change a projection?

If the projection was set properly at the time the file was translated, you can use
the File > Save Copy As.. function as described above.

If the projection given at the time of translation was not correct, you must perform
the translation again from the original file in order to correct this problem.
Without returning to the original data, MapInfo has no way of factoring out the
incorrect coordinate transformation it has performed. The error is simply carried
forward in any subsequent transformations.

How can I find out what projection a file is in?

Good question!

If a file is provided to you by an individual or organization (such as a city

engineering department), they must provide you with the projection information.
They can find the projection by opening the file in its native system (e.g.,
ArcView), and checking the projection there.

If the file is downloaded from a site like MassGIS, you will need to locate the
“metadata” (or information about the data) on the website or in the files you
download. In the case of MassGIS files, you will notice a file with a .prj
extension included in the downloaded files. Double-click this file to open it in
Notepad. In the text, you will recognize the name of a coordinate system. In
most cases, for MassGIS data, the projection is US State Plane Massachusetts
Mainland Zone 1983 meters.

Challenge: Try downloading Massachusetts county boundaries from the MassGIS

website. Try following these steps:

Go to http://www.mass.gov/mgis/massgis.htm
Choose Data Layers/GIS Database from the map
Click on Available Data Layers
Scroll down to Vector Data and choose County Boundaries
NOTE: <SHIFT> left-click on cntys.exe to download
RUN the exe and make note! of the folder you choose to hold the unzipped files

Start MapInfo
Go to Tools > Universal Translator
For Source Format, choose ESRI Shape File
For File, click the “…” button and browse to the folder you chose to hold the unzipped
files. Choose cntysp1.shp (NOT cntysa1.shp)

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IMPORTANT!!! Click the Projection button. From Category, choose US State Plane
Coordinate Systems (1983, meters). From Category Members, choose Massachusetts,
Mainland Zone 2001 (1983 meters). See below.

Click OK.

For Destination Format, choose MapInfo Table.

For Directory, choose the folder where you store your map data.
Click OK.

Now, go to File > Open Table. Browse to the folder you chose in the previous step and
open cntysp1.TAB.

One last important step – Open the MV Towns file provided with the tutorial. Go to
layer control and add cntysp1. Click OK.

Right click on the map and choose View Entire Layer > All Layers. You should see town
boundaries within your county boundaries.

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 Lesson 11
Mapping Demographic Data from the US Census

Once you have learned to download files from MassGIS, a world of interesting data
opens up to you – the US Census!

With these instructions, you should be able to download US Census Tract data for
Lowell, MA and then create a “Thematic Map” in MapInfo with the downloaded data.

Part I. Downloading U.S. Census Data

1. Go to www.census.gov/.
2. Click link Summary_File_3_(SF_3) to the right of “Census 2000” Text Icon.
3. Click link Access to all tables and maps in American Fact Finder.
4. Click third radio button from the top, Census 2000 Summary File 3 (SF3)
Click Comparing SF 3 Estimates… for a useful explanation of the
differences between Summary Files.
5. Click Detailed Tables to the right of the Summary file 3 box.

6. InTract
6. In geographic type, choose Census geographic
from type, choose Census Tracts from
the drop down file list. the drop down file list.

7. Select Massachusetts for the state.

7. Select Massachusetts for the state.

8. Select Middlesex for the county.

8. Select Middlesex for the county.

9. Choose Lowell’s census tracts.9.Hold Choose

downLowell’s census tracts. Hold down
Ctrl to be able to select more than Ctrl
one attoabe able to select more than one at a time.
time.
Choose: Lowell’s Census Tracts Choose: Lowell’s Census Tracts
3101 through 3125.02 3101 through 3125.02.
10. Click Add below the Census Tract drop down list.
10. Click Add below the Census Tract drop down
list.
11. Click Next to the right of New Census Tract list.
11. Click Next to the right of New Census Tract list.

12. You are now at the Select Table screen.

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13. Available variables are listed by their
corresponding Census number.To find Income
click the by keyword tab.
14. Type Income and click Search.

15. Choose P53, Median Household Income in

1999 (Dollars) and click Add.

16. Click Show Result

17. Data are displayed across the screen by Census Tracts.

The most efficient way to use the data is to download it
into a file, such as an Excel file. Click the Print/Download
menu at the top of the screen Click Download.

Choose the Microsoft Excel radio button,

and click OK The file is zipped , so you will
need Winzip or similar software to unzip the file.

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18. Two Excel files will download. Use the file that has data in its filename. After
unzipping and opening the data file, you will notice that the Census tract numbers
are embedded in the Geography Identifier field. After looking closely, you
should recognize the tracts, without decimals, as the last digits of the Geography
Identifier. Print the Excel sheet so that you can use it to input the data into a
MapInfo browser.

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Census data is available at both the block group and tract level. (See “Census
Geography Overview” in an Appendix to this tutorial.) In this example, suppose we
want to get a sense of where the most new housing has been built in the Merrimack
Valley. We will use a block group level file from the US Census called
housing_structure_age.TAB. (Note that the files unzipped from the download include
“bg_fields.xls,” an Excel file containing an explanation of field names).

File > Close All

File > Open Table > MVBlockGroups

File > Open Table > housing_structure_age
Note that this table opens in a browser only.

Window > New Browser Window > MVBlock Groups

Window > Tile Windows

Each of these tables includes one row or record for each block group. In order to map the
data on age of housing, we must tell MapInfo which column in each table contains
matching information (i.e., how does MapInfo know which block group is which?).

Note the column titled “LOGRECNO” in each table. This contains a 7-digit unique
identifier for each block group.

Map > Create Thematic Map > Ranges > Choose any Region Ranges template
Click Next

In this case, the map we want to shade is

“MVBlockGroups” but the data we are
analyzing is not contained in this table. Scroll to
the bottom of the field list and choose “Join….”
This will allow us to map the MVBlockGroups
table with data from another table.

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MapInfo automatically displays the Update Column for Thematic dialog.

Notice that it has automatically correctly chosen the housing_structure_age table as the
one we wish to join. However, we need to specify how this join will occur. To do so,
click the “Join…” button.

First, you will receive a message that MapInfo can’t figure this out on its own. Click OK
so that we can provide the necessary information.

Just as we did earlier, MapInfo needs to figure out which columns contain the matching
identifying information in the two tables. Set both to “LOGRECNO.”

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Click OK.

Now, let’s see where the most housing construction occurred in 1999-2000. Leave the
“Calculate” dropdown set at “Value.” Scroll through the field list to find “Built99_00.”

Click OK.

The selected field now appears in Step 2. Click Next.

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Click OK to see your map.

Note the ranges MapInfo has used by default. Let’s see if modifying the ranges would
tell a different story.

Map > Modify Thematic Map

Click the Ranges button.

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Use the Method dropdown to change the method to Equal Ranges. Hit Recalc.

Click OK, OK to see the new map.

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Now we see that there are just a few pockets of construction activity. Let’s add town
boundaries to this map.

File > Open Table > MVTowns

Go to Layer Control.

Use the Up and Down buttons to

move the MVTowns layer above
block groups (if necessary).
Highlight MVTowns and click
Display.

Check Style Override and click the Region Style

button.

Set the Fill Style to “N” (none).

Set the borders to a line color that contrasts with
the colors you have chosen for your thematic map

In Layer Control, check the box

beneath the yellow tag to turn on
automatic labels for the MVTowns
layer.

With MVTowns highlighted, click

the Label button.

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Set the Font color to match the town borders. Check “bold” and “halo” to help the
labels stand out.

Click OK until you return to your map.

Now – study your map.

What areas of the Merrimack Valley had the most new housing construction?
Do areas of high activity span entire towns or are they concentrated in small areas
within towns?

Want to save your map? File > Save Workspace…

Want to use this data for other maps? File > Save Copy As… > MVTowns as…
MVTownswithHousingData

Challenge:

Can you create a map that shows what areas have the highest percentage of
housing built before 1950?

Hint: Join first…. Then Calculate the Value of an Expression…

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 Lesson 12
Sharing Your Maps

To bring maps into PowerPoint, Word, or other applications.

File > Open Workspace > open a workspace you created in a previous lesson.

Maximize the map window.

File > Save Window As…

For now, use the default size setting (Same as Window).

Click Save.

Choose a graphics file type. For PowerPoint or other Microsoft applications, JPEG and
Windows Metafile formats work well.

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Remember where you save your file!

Now, open PowerPoint or Word. Use the Insert function to open your map image and
place it in the file.

Return to MapInfo.
Make your Legend window active.

File > Save Window As…

Repeat previous step, using caution to save the legend with a new file name
(e.g., MapLegend.jpg).
Open the legend image and position it with your map.

Experiment with using different file types and image sizes.

Note: It is best to avoid resizing images in the application. This results in a dramatic loss
of quality in your image. If the image is too big or too small, return to MapInfo and
choose File > Save Window As… again. This time, adjust the size of the image to be
saved.

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 Appendix A
A Few Terms and Concepts Related to Census Data
From: http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html; with modifications
Census block
A subdivision of a census tract (or, prior to 2000, a block numbering area), a block is the
smallest geographic unit for which the Census Bureau tabulates 100-percent data. Many
blocks correspond to individual city blocks bounded by streets, but blocks -- especially in
rural areas – may include many square miles and may have some boundaries that are not
streets. The Census Bureau established blocks covering the entire nation for the first time
in 1990. Previous censuses back to 1940 had blocks established only for part of the
nation. Over 8 million blocks are identified for Census 2000.
Block group (BG)
A subdivision of a census tract (or, prior to 2000, a block numbering area), a block group
is the smallest geographic unit for which the Census Bureau tabulates sample data. A
block group consists of all the blocks within a census tract with the same beginning
number. Example: block group 3 consists of all blocks within a 2000 census tract
numbering from 3000 to 3999. In 1990, block group 3 consisted of all blocks numbered
from 301 to 399Z.
Census tract
A small, relatively permanent statistical subdivision of a county delineated by a local
committee of census data users for the purpose of presenting data. Census tract
boundaries normally follow visible features, but may follow governmental unit
boundaries and other non-visible features in some instances; they always nest within
counties. Designed to be relatively homogeneous units with respect to population
characteristics, economic status, and living conditions at the time of establishment,
census tracts average about 4,000 inhabitants. They may be split by any sub-county
geographic entity.
Census geography
A collective term referring to the types of geographic areas used by the Census Bureau in
its data collection and tabulation operations, including their structure, designations, and
relationships to one another.

100-percent data
Information based on a limited number of basic population and housing questions
collected from both the short form and the long form for every inhabitant and housing
unit in the United States. (less data but collect from all households)
Sample data
Population and housing information collected from the census long form for a one in six
sample of households in the United States and Puerto Rico, and on a continuous basis for
selected areas in the American Community Survey. (more data but collected from fewer
households)

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