Maghnia University Center

The Institute of Sciences and Technologies

Department of Hydraulics

Geographic Information System

SIG under Mapinfo 6.5
DERNI Smail

Academic year 2017/2018

 Introduction to GIS :

Nowadays, there is increasing pressure on natural resources (land, water,...);

The issues of land management are becoming increasingly complex and
multidisciplinary.

So

Need information to: Describe and manage the territory at the economic level.
environmental, organize actions and evaluate their impacts.
Need for efficient tools to: Analyze, manage, structure, and communicate this
information.

Brief history:

Since ancient times, geographical information has been collected by navigators, geographers and
surveyors. For centuries, mapping techniques have been developed to inventory
precisely the nature and location of phenomena

Disadvantages of paper maps:

Need to reduce the amount of information to maintain a readable representation;

Difficulty in extracting information and combining it with others;
Paper maps are static, difficult to update;
- The collection, compilation, drawing, and editing are long and expensive.
So:
Need up-to-date geographic information that is available and easily accessible to carry out
analyses and syntheses
Definition

A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer system that enables, based on

various sources, to gather and organize, to manage, to analyze and combine, to develop and
present geographically localized information (according to semantic and spatial criteria)
contributing particularly to the management of space.

Possibility then to:

Arrange the objects in a georeferenced system;

Convert graphic objects from one system to another;

Eases the overlay of maps from different sources;

Extract all geographical objects located at a given distance;

Merge objects that have a common characteristic (for example: all the
houses connected to a drinking water network;

Define areas by combining several criteria (for example: define the areas
floodable depending on the nature of the soil, the relief, and the proximity to a river.

The main areas of use of GIS:

Urban planning (cadastre, roadways, sanitation networks).

☞ Transport (planning of urban transport).

Marketing (client localization, site analysis);

Tourism (management of infrastructure, tourist routes).

Health (epidemiology, risk management).

Civil protection (disaster management and prevention).

☞ Hydrology (modeling…).

Forestry (mapping for management, specific crops).

Telecoms (installation of antennas for mobile phones).

Etc.

The contributions of the GIS:

☞ Information stored clearly and definitively.

Management of a multiplicity of attribute information on objects.

 Understanding phenomena and risk forecasting (simulations).

Quick conception of maps.

Localization in space and time.

Quick reaction capability to events impacting the territory.

Accuracy of costs or benefits.

Definition of itineraries and adapted plans.

Main user groups of the GIS:

Public authorities;

Local authorities;

Design offices;

Research centers;

Network managers;

Public organizations;

Universities and Grandes Écoles.

Components of a GIS:

A Geographic Information System is made up of 5 major components

Data acquisition modes:

In practice, geographic data comes from different sources, has
different modes of acquisition, are on different media, we say they are
multisources.

Digitization:

Digitization allows for the retrieval of the geometry of objects arranged on a

plan or a pre-existing map. It involves moving a cursor on a map placed on
a table to digitize and previously set in coordinates.

The table is responsive to the electrical signals emitted by the cursor. It can locate these
signals on the table plane with a precision of the order of one-tenth of a millimeter.

Electric balayage (Scanning)

Electronic scanning (done with a scanner) or another means of capturing a plan.

existing. It is faster than manual digitization.

Photogrammetry:

Aerial photogrammetry is systematically used to create maps.

average scale. It is also adopted in countries whose mapping coverage
and the geodesic is deficient and used for the creation of large-scale plans for a
cost that can be very advantageous.

Satellite images (Remote sensing):

Remote sensing is a very convenient way to create the data to be input into GIS.
This involves using the recorded images under specific and rigorous conditions,
transmitted by satellite.

Import files:

One way to reduce entry costs and retrieve existing data is to

convert to the desired format, unit system, and projection system.

How does a GIS work?

A display in the form of thematic layers:

Geographical objects organized into themes or entities.

1 theme = 1 type of information

Display in the form of overlapping layers

For objects, 2 models of representation:

Vector model (geometry, attributes);

Raster model (map type).

Vector model:

Drawing-type data defined by its

geometry and its attributes.

Geometry of objects: Position and shape of

objects

Position: geographic coordinates (latitude

and longitude) (in a defined projection system (x, y))

Shape: limit of objects defined by their elementary constituents (points, arcs and arcs of
polygon).

Object attributes: For each vector layer, a sheet containing information

alphanumeric type.

This information describes the object (nature and characteristics). The content of these sheets can ...
evolve according to the needs of the project.

Model
raster :
Reality is broken down into a regular and rectangular grid, organized into rows and
columns, each cell of this grid having a shade of gray or a color. The
Juxtaposition of the points recreates the visual appearance of the layout and each piece of information.

A forest will be "represented" by a set of points with identical intensity.

MapInfo :

Commonly used in research offices dealing with geosciences and the environment
in general.

MapInfo = typical general-purpose office SIG;

Varied thematic analysis, statistical analysis, query;

Opening a large number of file formats (Excel,… plus all types of raster);

Essentially designed for small-sized databases.

Data structure on Mapinfo Professional:

In Mapinfo, data is grouped and organized into tables.

A table corresponds to a set of files that are manipulated at the same time by the
software.

TAB: MapInfo Professional table description file;

.DAT, .XLS, .DBT, .MDB: file containing the database associated with the table
(tabular data) ;

.MAP: file of cartographic objects, containing geometric information;

ID: file linking the records of the database and the

map objects;

.IND: database index file (optional);

.MIF and .MID: concern the export and import of data (to other
The .MIF file contains the structure of the table and the associated geometry.
The .MID file contains the tabular data;

WOR: Document Mapinfo Professional. It does not contain the data (which are
in the tables), but lists all the necessary tables and manages their
utilization.

Start Mapinfo 6.5:

By clicking on the icon below:

Interface
Toolbar
standards

Toolbar
general

Drawing toolbar
1- Géo- référencement = Calage = Géo-localisation = géocodage

N.B.

Before starting Map info, it is mandatory to create a folder in the 'My' folder.
documents » in which all the files of your map project are stored.

It is prohibited to move or transfer files from your project to another directory.

Start Mapinfo 7.5 by clicking on the icon below.

Open a Raster image

Remark
If you click on DISPLAY, your image will then be displayed in MapInfo but will not
will not understand "scale", meaning that all measurements (area, perimeter, length)
that you can calculate using the software will not be suited to reality.
And here is your image now georeferenced. The scanned image now appears in
a MapInfo window

2- Creation of a table (or layers)

The creation of a table must be preceded by a stage of reflection on the modeling of the phenomenon.
to be integrated into the GIS. This is a fundamental aspect that will enable rational use and
easy of the GIS. A step not to be overlooked!

A collection of semantically similar objects corresponds to a table (that is, 'layer',

common term used more conventionally by other GIS

All objects in the same table must be of the same geographic type (point, line or...
polygon.

Each geographic object stored in a MapInfo table has a certain number of attributes.
(or fields), which are defined during the creation or modification of the table structure.

MapInfo manages different types of attributes: character, integer, short integer, floating point, fixed point, date,
logic.

From the File menu, you can Create a new table and access the dialog box
Structure of the new table.
 Choice of visualization type
Type of visualization after the table creation

Create Define the structure

Predefined structure
If the new table is to have
a structure similar to a
existing table, specify it here

Types of Fields

Champions Field Management

Each field will correspond to a Define their position relative to each other,
column in the table, and must be by adding or by removing
filled for each entity of the
layer.

Projection
Define the projection
From the windowStructure of the new tableyou can create and manage the fields. Before you
create them, don't forget to choose or check the projection system of the table and the map
(UTM WGS 84 systems) in order to allow data overlays.

Structurer la table de données en fonction des informations nécessaires.

Save your table in your working folder using the Create button.

Once the table is created, it does not contain any records, if you chose to open it in
a map window, a blank window appears, but the layer is present and editable. Open it
layer control of the menu card to check or modify this state.

If the layer of the scanned and aligned map does not appear in the layer control window, you
click on Add to add this layer.
3 Modification of a table structure

Modifying the table structure should be avoided as much as possible, because adding or
Field removal can disrupt the table. It is therefore important to check the attribute data.
after this type of intervention.

You can access the structure modification through the menu Table > Manage tables > Edit
the dialog box structure appears:
This dialog box is identical to the one that appears when creating a table and is manipulated from
the same way.

The type of projection cannot be changed from this window.

To modify a projection system (and distort the entities according to the new system of
projection), save the table under a different name from the file menu > Save table
under...(the projection system can then be modified by clicking on the projection button of the
registration window.

This interface allows you to add columns (fields) to later enter the data.
supplementary information concerning the layer objects.

The submenu Management tables also allows you to rename a table or delete it.
definitely from the computer. This operation is irreversible!

This is practical in that a MapInfo table is actually made up of several files.

The software then deletes them all at once, or renames them all to the same name.

The modifications made to the structure of a table are immediate (it is possible to revert
backwards, and it is unnecessary to save the changes, saving the changes is
immediate).

4- Open/close an existing table

 Choose the item "File/Open" or via the shortcut "Ctrl+O";
Choose the table to open and optionally the desired type of visualization;
Validate.

5- Visualize a map in its entirety

With the tools in the floating menu, it is possible to move around (zoom+, zoom-,…);
To view a map in its entirety, select the item 'Map/Show entire layer.'
or by shortcut "Ctrl+K".

Select the Common layer, then Validate.

6- Visualize the tabular data associated with the map

To visualize the data associated with the map, select the 'Window/Data' menu, or by
shortcut 'F2'.
In MapInfo Professional, only one window is active at a time:

The 'Map' menu appears only when a 'map' window is active;

- Le menu «Données» apparaît uniquement lorsqu’une fenêtre « données » est active.

The graphic and tabular data are linked: select an object on the map or on the table of "
data" amounts to the same thing.

If it proves difficult to find a selected piece of data in the attribute table (or
inversely), click on the menu "Select/Search the selection."
The 'Information' tool allows you to view the data associated with your graphic objects.

7- Close a table

To close a table, select the item "File>Close table";

It is possible to select multiple tables to close simultaneously, using the 'Ctrl' key and
"Shift" as previously stated;

To close all tables, select the item 'File/Close All';

 However, by closing all the tables, the MapInfo document is also closed.

8- Creation of graphic objects

When one wants to modify, add or create objects in a layer (or table), one first creates the
graphic objects and it is then that we modify the attribute table.

Add the table on which you wish to add graphic elements to the current map from
of control layers.

Still in the layer control, check the Modifiable box.

From the Display button... of the layer control, check Show nodes, the software
will then display all the nodes of the entities in the table.

If you have just created your table, it is normally already displayed and editable.
Before starting the creation of objects, you can define their style (color, thickness...) to
starting from menuOptions>Style (either polygon, line or symbol).

Depending on the type of geographic objects you want to create, you have several tools:

For a polygon table, use the polygon tool. (or the other shape tools)
predefined solid geometric shapes) from the drawing bar.

For a table of rows, use the line tool polyline or arc of a circle from the bar
of drawing.

For a point table, use the symbol tool. from the drawing bar