Maptitude Help / Preferences
Edit Preferences
Use the Edit>Preferences command to set Maptitude defaults. Here is a summary of the items on each tab and where to find more information:
System Tab
| Item | Description | For more information see... |
|---|---|---|
| Map Units | Units of measurement on a map | Measuring Distance and Size,Using Legends |
| Page Units | Units of measurement on a layout | Creating Layouts |
| Language | Language to use in the legend for map units. This will change the units in the Map Units item. Checking the Translate Interface box will also translate the Maptitude menus after restarting the software. | Using Legends |
| Code Page | Code page used for legacy data that lacks explicit encoding | |
| Locale | Locale to sort data | |
| Search Path | List of drives and folders to search for files needed to open maps, dataviews, layouts, etc. | Search Paths |
| Powershell Engine | The path to the Engine that Maptitude uses for Powershell scripting. It is used toregister Pythonand other tasks. The default is the Powershell 7 engine if you chose to install the Microsoft PowerShell 7 Maptitude program part during setup, or anyPowershell 7 engine installed from Microsoft. Click ... to specify a different Powershell Engine. | |
| Startup | Options for displaying the Home dialog box, for checking for updates, and for using WRKZ instead of WRK when starting Maptitude | Starting Maptitude,Workspaces |
Map Tab
| Item | Description | For more information see... |
|---|---|---|
| Default styles | The styles for point, line, and area layers that have no style file or map file settings | Where a Layer Gets Its Style and Label Settings,Using Styles |
| Selection colors | The colors to use for the first five selection sets created for a layer; repeated for the next five sets | Showing Selection Sets on a Map |
| Default location | The map location to use when opening a geographic file; click Set from Map to set it to the current map location, or Clear to clear the default location | Saving, Closing, and Opening and Workspaces |
| Zoom factor | The factor for enlarging or shrinking a map or layout when using the zoom tools | Changing the Map Scale and Center,Moving Around a Layout |
| Segments per buffer | The number of lines used to approximate a circle when creating buffers | Creating Buffers |
| Default Settings File | The name of the Settings file to display by default when using theme or label settings | Copying Label Settings,Saving Theme Settings |
| When opening geographic databases | How to display geographic files when opened, by themselves when the option is unchecked, and with other map layers or open maps when checked | Creating a Map by Opening Geographic Files |
| Web Map Imagery Cache | The cache folder for GDAL WMS files. |
Label/Legend/Info Tab
| Item | Description | For more information see... |
|---|---|---|
| Label font settings | The default font, size, and bold or italic settings for labels. | Using Labels |
| Legend font | The default font and bold or italic settings for legends. | Using Legends |
| Legend is | Whether by default the legend is attached to the map or in a separate window. | Using Legends |
| Info styles | Styles for points, lines,areas, and images selected with the Info tool, and whether to enable each style. Check Visible Features Only to only get info on visible features in the working layer, or uncheck to get info on hidden features as well. | Displaying Data with the Info Tool |
Editing Tab
| Item | Description | For more information see... |
|---|---|---|
| Snap tolerance | The distance, in pixels or world units, used for snapping when editing line and area features | Snapping |
| Geographic editing | Whether to snap non-topological area edges | Using the Non-Topological Area Editing Tools |
| Undo/Redo | The maximum undo file size, whether to remember edit actions, and whether to confirm actions before undoing/redoing | Undoing and Redoing Map Edits,Undoing and Redoing Dataview Edits |
| Autosave | When checked, the workspace is autosaved at the chosen time interval. | Saving, Closing, and Opening Workspaces |
| Linked records | When unchecked, makes dataviews of linked records read-only. When checked, allows you to make edits to a dataview of linked records. Any edits made in Maptitudewill be deleted and overwrittenwith the data in the original Excel sheet as soon as you chooseMap>Update Linked Records. Fields added in Maptitude (such as for tagging records with nearest feature or distance) will not be deleted. | Locating Records in Your File as Points on a Map,Updating Your Linked Data |
Reporting Tab
| Item | Description | For more information see... |
|---|---|---|
| Logo | The logo to display on a report; use the buttons to choose a file or remove the chosen file | Using Overlays,Creating Areas of Influence,Creating Buffers,Creating Drive-Time Rings/Network Bands |
| Header | The text to display in the header of the report | Using Overlays,Creating Areas of Influence,Creating Buffers,Creating Drive-Time Rings/Network Bands |
| Footer | The text to display in the footer of the report | Using Overlays,Creating Areas of Influence,Creating Buffers,Creating Drive-Time Rings/Network Bands |
| Font | The font to use in reports; useful for customizing the look of reports or for specifying a language specific font (e.g., to support Chinese, Japanese, or Korean text) | Using Overlays,Creating Areas of Influence,Creating Buffers,Creating Drive-Time Rings/Network Bands |
| Export only those point features within map window | When checked, Export to Excel only includes features that are visible within the map window and ignores hidden features (e.g., features in selection sets that are hidden) or features that are outside of the area visible in the map window. When unchecked, Export to Excel includes features that are visible, hidden, or beyond the map scope. | Exporting to Excel |
| Calculate area weighted sum ("Proportional") overlay fields | When checked, Export to Excel includes both copy and proportional overlays from area color themes. When unchecked, Export to Excel just copies overlays from area color themes. If proportional overlays are not required, unchecking this option may provide faster results. | Exporting to Excel |
| Calculate drive time and distance fields | When checked, Export to Excel calculates drive time and distance fields for point layers when using the Oval or Radius tools. When unchecked, Export to Excel does not calculate drive time or distance fields. If distances are not required, unchecking this option may provide faster results. | Exporting to Excel |
| Allow me to choose the layers included in the report | When checked, Export to Excel will prompt you to choose which point layers and/or area layers with themes to include in the Excel file. When unchecked, Export to Excel will include all point layers and area layers with themes. | Exporting to Excel |
| Overlay Settings | Lets you change the overlay fields that are calculated when creating reports and calculating demographics. Click the Overlay button to display the Aggregation Method dialog box to choose the fields and aggregations to include in reports. | Combining Attributes |
File Sharing Tab
| Item | Description | For more information see... |
|---|---|---|
| Local Drives | If checked, by default have the Read Only and/or Exclusive Access options checked for opening a file on a local drive | Sharing Maptitude Data Files |
| Network Drives | If checked, by default have the Read Only and/or Exclusive Access options checked for opening a file on a network drive | Sharing Maptitude Data Files |
| Advanced | Click to display the Advanced Default File Sharing Settings dialog box and set the Read Only and/or Exclusive Access options for each drive | Sharing Maptitude Data Files |
| ODBC Data | Set the sharing path for each ODBC source, or click Clear to clear the path | Sharing Maptitude Data Files |
| SQL Server | Click to display the SQL Server Data Sharing Settings dialog box to manage SQL Server services | Sharing Maptitude Data Files |
| Oracle | Click to display the Oracle Data Sharing Settings dialog box to manage Oracle services | Sharing Maptitude Data Files |
Routing Tab
| Item | Description | For more information see... |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum Number of Rings | The maximum number of rings that can be created. | Creating Drive-Time Rings/Network Bands |
| Maximum Origin Points | The maximum number of origins that can be used. | Creating Drive-Time Rings/Network Bands |
| Minimum Time | The minimum time, in minutes, for a drive-time ring. | Creating Drive-Time Rings/Network Bands |
| Maximum Time | The maximum time, in minutes, for a drive-time ring. 240 minutes is the default. Values above 240 may fail depending on your computer's available memory. | Creating Drive-Time Rings/Network Bands |
| Resolution | Resolution is a parameter for making bands look better in areas where streets are sparse by introducing additional intervals for long links. The resolution is the maximum distance allowed between sample points. For example, a value of 0.1 introduces additional points if a link is longer than 0.1 miles long. The smaller the value, the higher the accuracy will be and the greater the processing time will be. | Creating Drive-Time Rings/Network Bands |
| Minimum Distance | The minimum length, in map units, for a distance-based ring. | Creating Drive-Time Rings/Network Bands |
| Maximum Distance | The maximum length, in map units, for a distance-based ring. 500 miles is the default. Values above 500 may fail depending on your computer's available memory. | Creating Drive-Time Rings/Network Bands |
| Vehicle Speed | If you are using a custom street layer, Vehicle Speed determines the default speed used to calculate routes based on time. If you are using a street layer from a Maptitude country package, this option is ignored. | |
| Local Drive Time | If the drive time exceeds the local drive time, then Maptitude will switch to using highways instead of all local streets. This improves processing time, though the rings will not be quite as accurate beyond this threshold. | Creating Drive-Time Rings/Network Bands |
| Maximum Routing Stops | Maximum number of stops for creating routes. 200 is the default. Values above 200 may fail depending on your computer's available memory. | Finding Routes |
| Stop Search Distance | The maximum radius to search for a node or link when adding a stop, either from a point layer or by clicking on the map. | Finding Routes |
| Maximum VRP Run Time | The maximum run-time in hours for the vehicle routing procedure. Typically it is the balancing that requires the most amount of time. If time runs out the returned routes will not be balanced. | Solving a Vehicle Routing Problem |
| Facility Location Route Limit | Maximum number of routes between clients and facilities (equal to the number of clients times the number of facilities) to use when doing facility location. 30,000 is the default. Values above 30,000 may fail depending on your computer's available memory. | Solving a Vehicle Routing Problem |
Hover Tab
| Item | Description | For more information see... |
|---|---|---|
| Font Settings | Choose a font and the size, style, and color settings for the layer name and fields | Displaying Data with the Hover Tool |
| Background Color | Choose a background fill color and opacity level | Displaying Data with the Hover Tool |
| Hover Shape Is | Choose balloon or rectangle as the shape | Displaying Data with the Hover Tool |
| Hover Mode Is | Choose to hover over the working layer or over all layers | Displaying Data with the Hover Tool |
| Delay | Set the time before the hover appears | Displaying Data with the Hover Tool |
| Timeout | Set the time until the hover disappears | Displaying Data with the Hover Tool |
| Maximum Distance from Feature | Specify the snap tolerance | Displaying Data with the Hover Tool |
Locating Tab
| Item | Description | For more information see... |
|---|---|---|
| Region | The default data region to use. | Using the Region Manager |
| Zoom to Fit | If checked, the Zoom to Fit display option will be checked by default in the Find dialog box. | Finding Locations Using the Find Command |
| Add a Label | If checked, the Add a Label display option will be checked by default in the Find dialog box. | Finding Locations Using the Find Command |
| Mark with | If checked, the Mark with display option will be checked by default in the Find dialog box. Click the sample symbol to change the symbol. | Finding Locations Using the Find Command |
| Locate by Address | When locating by address, the default for whether to automatically match (or leave unmatched without asking), or to ask you to choose the right match. | Locating Records by Address |
| Method | The default method when locating by address. | Locating Records by Address |
| Offset from Street | The default distance and units for offsetting when locating by address. | Locating Records by Address |
| Place Located Points | The default for placing points created when locating by ZIP Code or value: whether to place all points centered on the matching map feature or scattered within some distance and units of the center. Click the sample symbol to change the default symbol for located points. | Locating Records by Postal Code,Locating Records by Value |
Theme Tab
| Item | Description | For more information see... |
|---|---|---|
| Default Number of Classes | The default number of classes for color and pattern themes | Color and Pattern/Symbol Themes |
| Styles for | The default styles for the various types of themes; click a radio button, then click <Previous or Next> to choose the styles for the default number of classes | Color and Pattern/Symbol Themes,Dot-Density Themes,Pie and Bar Chart Themes |
| Scaled Symbol Style | The default icon for size point themes | Size Themes |
| Dot Density Style | The default icon for dot-density themes | Dot-Density Themes |
| Scaled Symbol Line Style | The default style for size line themes | Size Themes |
Dataview Tab
| Item | Description | For more information see... |
|---|---|---|
| Font Settings | The default font, size, color, and bold or italic settings for dataviews | Changing the Way the Dataview Looks |
| Options | If checked, by default have the Grid, Shade Every Other Row, Read Only, and/or Show Selection Sets options for the dataview | Changing the Way the Dataview Looks |
| Sort Order | When choosing Dataview>Fields>Sort, whether the default sort order is from highest to lowest or from lowest to highest | Sorting Rows in a Dataview |
| Allow All Types of Joins | If checked, the default when joining will be to allow all types of joins | More Complex Joined Views |
Freehand/Layout Tab
| Item | Description | For more information see... |
|---|---|---|
| Freehand Style | The default styles for freehand shapes (including rectangles, round-cornered rectangles, and circles), lines (including curves), and symbols on maps and layouts | Adding Freehand Items to a Map,Placing Freehand Items in a Layout |
| Freehand Font | The default font, size, color, and bold or italic settings for freehand items on maps and layouts | Adding Freehand Items to a Map,Placing Freehand Items in a Layout |
| Layout Spacing | The default spacing between items when distributing items top to bottom or left to right | Moving, Editing, and Arranging Layout Items |
| Paper Margins | Layout margins for the page in page units | Creating Layouts |
| Change Size of Freehand Items When Page Size Changes | Whether to change the size of freehand items when the page size changes, or keep them at their original size | Creating Layouts |
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