Mapopolis 4.0 User’s Guide
Table of Contents
1 Introduction to Mapopolis
2 Explanation of Maps
2.1 Types of Maps
2.2 Nomenclature of Maps
3 Basics
3.1 System Requirements
3.2 Installation
3.3 Quick start
4 Map View Screen
4.1 Map View Screen Toolbar
4.11 Zooming In and Out of Map
4.12 Rotating Map
4.13 Changing Level of Detail
4.14 Accessing the Menu Features
4.15 Accessing the Find Features
5 Menu Screen
5.1 Maps
5.2 Find
5.3 Directions
5.4 Maplets
5.5 GPS
5.6 Settings
5.7 Help
6 Maps Screen
6.1 VFS and external memory
7 Find
7.1 Street address
7.2 Any feature by name
7.3 Street intersection
7.4 Place by category
8 Directions
9 Maplets
9.1 create a maplet
9.2 add a location to a maplet
9.3 edit info
9.4 edit locations
10 GPS
11 Settings
12 Appendix
13 Latest Updates and More Information
14 Disclaimer of Warranty
1 Introduction
Mapopolis is a map viewer for Palm computers.
Maps can be scrolled by dragging the Palm's stylus across the screen and can be zoomed to 16 levels of magnification. The level of detail shown on the maps can also be varied.
Mapopolis includes a powerful find feature, which allows streets, landmarks, and businesses to be searched and selected by name and businesses or landmarks to be searched and selected by category and name. The selected item or items is then highlighted on the map. Street intersections or street addresses can also be located.
Multiple maps can be stored on the Palm as well as external memory cards and accessed by Mapopolis. When contiguous maps are present on the device, an option allows them to seamlessly join to form a single continuous map.
Mapopolis also works with Global Positioning System (GPS) devices that use the NMEA protocol at 4800 baud. It can automatically scroll the map so that the GPS position is always at the center of the map.
Mapopolis has the ability to automatically generate point-to-point-driving directions on the fly from your handheld. Selecting from the map or using an address Find feature sets start and end points. Directions can be viewed as turn-by-turn text, which also displays distance, as well as a highlighted route on the map.
2 Explanation of Maps
There are principally 3 different types of maps that we offer to the user. They are the Basic, Enhanced, and Premium maps. Our maps collectively cover the United States. Each county map file contains information for one county or county equivalent. The map data source for the Basic and Enhanced maps is the US Census Bureau's TIGER ’99 database. The Basic and Enhanced maps are updated when the TIGER database is updated. This is generally once a year. The map data source for the Premium maps is licensed from Navigation Technologies, which also provides map data for MapQuest. The premium maps are regularly updated twice a year. Map files are currently available from the Mapopolis web site.
2.1 Types of maps
Basic maps contain the least amount of information among all of the maps and also use the least amount of memory. The basic maps only contain street data, but do not contain address information, water boundaries, city and town boundaries. This ultimately means that the user can not search for specific addresses and cannot narrow their search to a city or town using a basic map.
Enhanced maps are the next step up from basic maps. They contain all of the same street data found in the basic maps as well as street address information, water boundaries, city and town boundaries, and alternate street names. These maps support street address lookup and you can specify your search to a specific city and town. This comes in handy when searching for a long street that might span two cities or a common name street such as “Main St.” that is present in every city. All of the functions in Mapopolis 4.0.1 are supported on the enhanced maps except for "directions". Enhanced maps are approximately 50% larger than the basic maps.
Premium maps contain the most information compared to Basic and Enhanced maps. The data is licensed from Navigation Technologies and hence differ slightly from the basic and enhanced maps, which are derived from the US Census Bureau's TIGER map database. We regard the street data in the Premium maps to be more accurate than the Basic and Enhanced maps. Premium maps support all of the functions of Mapopolis 4.0.1. The major difference between the Basic and Enhanced maps is that Premium maps support driving directions. Due to our licensing agreement with Navigation Technologies, the premium maps come in 2 formats: GPS enabled and not enabled. The GPS enabled premium maps are more expensive due to a larger royalty on them. Premium maps are approximately three times larger that Basic maps.
2.2 Nomenclature of Maps
The maps generally begin with the name of the county then the two-letter abbreviation for the state. For example: Queens county of New York State would start with QueensNY. The next letter following the name is a “B”, “E”, or “P” to indicate that it is a Basic, Enhanced, or Premium map, respectively. The letter after that is a “G” or “N”, and indicates whether GPS is enabled or not. The letter after that is a “M” or “C”, to indicate if it is for the Palm OS or for the Pocket PC platform. At the end is a two-digit number that denotes the version or release of the map. And finally, there is either .pdb or .mlp at the very end of the map name that denotes the file type for Palm OS or Pocket PC, respectively. To recap, if a map were named QueensNYPNM00.prc, that map is of Queens county in New York state, it is a premium map that is not GPS enabled for the Palm OS platform and it is release number 00.
3 Basics
3.1 System Requirements
Mapopolis requires a Palm OS device running Palm OS 3.0 or later and at least 1 MB of memory. An Internet connection is required to download map files.
3.2 Installation
First, HotSync the application file Mapopolis.prc to the Palm device using Install App. Second, download maps from the Mapopolis web site and sync them to the Palm. Map files have names such as MiddlesexMABNM00.pdb, which contains the basic map information for Middlesex County, Massachusetts, is not GPS enabled, is for the Palm OS and is from release 00.
3.3 Quick start
Once you have the application installed on your handheld. Tap the Mapopolis icon from the launcher screen to open the application. You will see the “splash screen” stating the version of Mapopolis along with two buttons: “Start” and “Quick Guide”. Tap “Start” to go to the map selection screen, or tap “Quick Guide” to get some short tips about using the application. After tapping “Start” you will see the maps selection screen. Highlight the map you want to view by tapping on it then tap “view” to see the map. You will then see the map view screen.
4 Map view screen
Scroll or move the map by dragging the stylus across the screen. When the stylus is lifted, the new map will be rendered. Interstate highways are displayed in black. All other streets are displayed in gray. On color displays, each type of feature is rendered in a different color.
At low magnifications, landmarks and businesses are not displayed. At higher magnifications, landmarks and businesses are displayed as gray squares.
An airplane icon always represents airports.
An item that has been selected with the find function is displayed at all magnifications. Selected streets are displayed as bold, black lines. A circular icon represents selected landmarks or businesses.
North is always to the top of the screen, east to the right, etc. If the screen is rotated, then a small box will appear on the bottom right pointing out the direction of North.
Mapopolis will draw up to 1000 features in any view. When that number is exceeded, Mapopolis stops drawing and displays the word MAX in the lower right corner of the screen.
Because of the limited display of the Palm, not all street names can be displayed clearly. When the screen is tapped near a landmark or business icon, a pop-up box will appear showing its name and additional information about it if it exists. When the screen is tapped near a street, if the street has assigned addresses, a house icon will appear along the street and a pop-up box will appear with the approximate street address and any alternate street names. If the street has no assigned addresses, the name alone will be displayed. Tapping on the pop-up box will remove it.
4.1Map View Screen Toolbar
4.11 Zooming In and Out of the Map
Tapping the double left arrow decreases the magnification by a factor of four. Tapping the single left arrow decreases the magnification by a factor of two. Tapping the right arrow button increases the magnification by a factor of two. You can also zoom in using the “up” hardware button and zoom out using the “down” hardware button. The zoom buttons will be grayed when the map is at the limits of magnification. If you tap on the screen, then tap the zoom button, the zoom will center on your tap.
4.12 Rotating Map
Tapping the left turn arrow will rotate the map 90 degrees counterclockwise. This will shift the direction of North, a small box will appear on the bottom right of the screen with an “N” and points an arrow in the direction of North. If the box does not appear on the screen, then the direction of north is towards the top of the screen.
4.13 Changing Level of Detail
The level of detail shown in the map can be increased by pushing the “+” button and can be decreased by pushing the “-“ button. The buttons will be grayed when the map is at the limits of available detail.
4.14 Accessing the Menu features
There are two ways to access the Menu features. The first is to tap the “menu” button in the toolbar while in Map view. Or you can tap the silkscreen menu button on the bottom left of the silk screen area close to where you enter graffiti. More on what the Menu features do later in the manual.
4.15 Accessing the Find features
There are two ways to access the Find features. The first is to tap the “menu” button in the map view and then tap “Find”. Or you can tap the silkscreen magnifying glass icon on the bottom right of the silkscreen area. More on how to effectively use the Find features later in the manual.
5 Menu Screen
The map that is currently viewed is written at the top of the Menu screen. The rest of the Menu Screen displays buttons to access other functions for Mapopolis.
5.1 Maps
Lists the maps and maplets that are in RAM and can also list maps and maplets saved onto external memory. This function allows the user to change which map to view, as well as beaming and deleting maps. It also allows the ability to copy maps to external memory and vice versa.
5.2 Find
Comprises of all the search functions in Mapopolis. There are four different ways to search in Mapopolis: by any feature by name, street address, street intersection, and place by category.
5.3 Directions
Can generate directions from one point to another on a county map. The start and end points can either be selected from the map or you can input a street address using a search feature. Directions are graphically represented on the map by a bold line that traces the route from the start point to the end point and also with text, which dictates turn by turn directions.
5.4 Maplets
Using this function you can create a small map that contains your personal location data. Each maplet created is specific to a county map.
5.5 GPS
Facilitates the connection between a NMEA compatible GPS device at 4800 baud and Mapopolis. Once the connection is set, you can view your position in the map view screen.
5.6 Settings
Allows for the modification of preferences for Mapopolis.
5.7 Help
Have brief tips on how to use Mapopolis. It is intended for the beginner and is not as thorough as this manual.
6 Maps screen
The Maps screen presents the list of available maps and maplets on the Palm device. Once a map is selected by tapping its name and highlighting it, the map can be viewed, beamed, or deleted by tapping the appropriate button.
Load Contiguous Maps checkbox- checking this box will load all adjacent county maps, they will appear as one large map. This will allow you to create a map of your metro area from several county maps and they will work together.
6.1 VFS and External Memory
Palm OS 4.0 uses a system called Virtual Filing System (VFS). This system will acknowledge applications and databases stored in external memory. But the system cannot access applications and databases directly from the external memory. Mapopolis must copy the map from external memory to RAM first before being able to view or beam the map. Mapopolis does not need to move the map to RAM in order to delete it though.
Go To Card button: Presents the list of stored maps and maplets in external memory.
Copy button: Copies the selected map to external memory, if your PDA is VFS compatible. Mapopolis will create the directory: Palm\Programs\Mapopolis if it does not already exist and will copy the map to that directory. There are other ways to copy maps to external memory using other third party applications. We suggest using Mapopolis to do this task because Mapopolis will preserve the label of the map when copied to external memory and will also keep all of the maps in one place in external memory.
Remember, in order to view a map that you have saved in external memory, you must have enough RAM for that map. The Mapopolis program copies the map to RAM first and then views it from RAM. When you exit Mapopolis, a prompt will say: "Some maps were automatically transferred to RAM. Would you like to have these maps removed from RAM?" Selecting "yes" will delete only the maps that you copied to RAM from the external memory during that session. Maps that you have copied to RAM from the external memory from a previous session and decided to keep in RAM will not be deleted. Those maps must be deleted manually by using the delete function in Mapopolis.
Incidentally, it is possible to move Mapopolis to external memory and run the application off of the card.
-For VFS compatibility fixes: see Appendix
7 Find
There are several ways to search for features on the maps. Features can be searched by name, or by category for landmarks and businesses. The map can also be searched for street intersections or for street addresses. Use the pick list in the title bar to choose which type of search you want to perform. If you are searching on an enhanced or premium map, you can refine your query by using the pick list below the title bar in any search feature to select a specific city or town to search in.
7.1 Street address
Select from the pick list in the title bar “Street Address” to search for a street address. Enter the address number and street in the "address" field. Enter the number of the street, a space, then the street name. Ignore directional indications like north and south, both versions will appear in the search result if they exist on the map. From the results in the bottom box, highlight the address you want. The “Go To” button will bring you to the map view screen with the address in the center of the screen. If there is more than one entry ">1" and you select “Go To”, the application will zoom out until all of the entries are displayed and you can choose to zoom in on the address you want. The Highlight button will highlight the selected address without changing the position of the map. Select the "Go To" button or “Highlight” on the bottom right of the screen. A house icon will also mark the selected address.
Ex: If you are searching for 225 East 81st Street, you would enter “225 81”, then select “Find”. The result would be 225 E 81st St and 225 W 81st St. Select 225 E 81st St, then “Go To” or “Highlight” to see the address in the map view screen.
7.2 Any feature by name
Select from the pick list in the title bar “Any Feature By Name” to search for a feature by name. Enter the first few letters of the feature name. Then check street, business, city/town, or landmark and tap “Find”. All matching feature names will be displayed. Scroll through the list by tapping the up and down arrow icons.
The feature name will be followed by >1 if the name occurs more than once in the map file. If more than 35 features match the request, the last item in the list will be (view more matches). Tap this entry to view the next set of matches.
To select a feature, tap its name and then push either the Go To button or the Highlight button. The Go To button will cause the map position to change to view the selected feature. The selected feature will also be highlighted. The Highlight button will highlight the selected feature without changing the position of the map.
7.3 Street intersection
Select from the pick list in the title bar “Street Intersection” to search for a street intersection. Enter any part of the name of each street and tap “Find”. Select the first street by tapping its name in the top box. All streets that intersect the first street and contain the second street search string will appear in the lower box. Tap the second intersecting street in the lower box and then push either the Go To button or the Highlight button.
The Go To button will cause the map position to change to view the selected feature. The selected intersection will also be highlighted. The Highlight button will highlight the selected intersection without changing the position of the map.
7.4 Place by category
Select from the pick list in the title bar “Place by Category” to search for a business or landmark. Businesses and landmarks are arranged in categories. Tap a category in the category list to view all the businesses or landmarks under that category in the place list box below. Scroll through either list by tapping the up and down arrow icons.
Check the “maplets only” check box if you are interested only in the locations that you have created in your maplets.
The business or landmark name will be followed by >1 if the name occurs more than once in the map file. If more than 35 business locations or landmarks match the request, the last item in the list will be (view more matches). Tap this entry to view the next set of matches.
To select a feature, tap its name and then push either the Go To button or the Highlight button. The Go To button will cause the map position to change to view the selected feature. The selected feature will also be highlighted. The Highlight button will highlight the selected feature without changing the position of the map.
8 Directions
Mapopolis now supports automatically generated on the fly driving directions. The start and end points can either be set by selecting them from the map or by using the “find” button and inputting an address.
Once the start and end points are selected, tap “Find Directions”, you should then receive the message “Route found. Tap View Results for a turn by turn listing. Tap OK to view the route on the map.” Tap “OK” and then tap either “view text” for a written turn-by-turn set of directions, or “view map” to see the route traced in Bold on the map.
When viewing on the map, tapping the box with an “R” on the top right of the map view will bring you straight to the turn-by-turn text. Tapping the “M” on the top right of the directions text view will bring you to the map with the route highlighted.
9 Maplets
Maplets are user-built collections of landmarks and businesses that appear as part of a base map. For example, you might create a maplet called my places and add the locations of your house, your office, your favorite store, etc. Each of these locations will then appear as part of the map on which they were defined.
Maplets can be shared. They are saved to your PC when you HotSync. From there, they can be emailed to others, posted on your web site, etc. They can also be beamed just like normal maps. The Mapopolis web site has a Maplet Exchange where you can post your maplets and download those built by others. Maplets are backed up when you HotSync to the backup directory, typically C:\Program Files\Palm\UserName\Backup. Your system may store the backup directory in a different location.
Any sets of maplets based on a county map will all appear together on your map. So you can build one maplet of personal points, one of your important business locations, and one for your out-of-town visitors. They can then be individually shared.
9.1 Create a maplet
Tap “Create a New Maplet” once you are in the “maplets” screen to create a new maplet. Enter the author's initials, the maplet name and maplet description. The author's initials and maplet name are used to create a system name for the maplet. Author's initials are included to differentiate maplets created by different authors if the names happen to be the same. Then tap “Create Maplet” to finish the process.
9.2 Add a location to a maplet
Tap Add a Location to a Maplet, tap “Add a location to a Maplet” from the maplets screen. The maplet must be created prior to adding locations. The map screen displays the message Tap Position for New Location. The map may be dragged or zoomed until the desired location is found. Tapping the screen selects the position for the new maplet location. An input form opens for the user to enter information about the location. Make sure you highlight the intended maplet for the location in the “maplet to contain the new location” box.
9.3 Edit info
From the “maplets” screen, select the maplet from the list and choose either Edit Info to edit the maplet's name, author, and description.
9.4 Edit locations
From the “maplets” screen, tap Edit Locations to edit individual locations. Information about the location and its position can be edited using this function.
10 GPS
Mapopolis supports GPS devices that conform to the NMEA 0183 standard at 4800 baud. Depending on the GPS device, it can connect to the HotSync port or to the springboard slot of a visor. In the case of the Handera 330, GPS devices can connect through the Compact flash slot. The “use CF connection” checkbox must be checked if the GPS is connected to the CF slot for a Handera 330, otherwise the default connection is through the HotSync port.
A typical procedure when using the GPS device is to first connect the GPS device to the PDA using whatever connections came with the GPS device. Turn on the PDA and power on the GPS device if it has an external power source. With Mapopolis open, tap “Menu” then “GPS”, and then “Start GPS”. Be patient it might take up to a minute for the position to become fixed. Once the position is fixed, the coordinate properties will show values.
Auto-scroll map checkbox- when checked, the map will scroll automatically to keep the GPS position at the center of the screen.
Keep device power on checkbox- If the GPS device draws power from the handheld, checking this will keep the GPS device powered up even if the PDA turns off.
11 Settings
Show Street Names- show street name labels
Show City/Town Names- shows city/town boundaries along with their names, display of street names is turned off
Show Landmarks- shows icons for landmarks
Show Businesses- shows icons for businesses
Show Un-named Streets- display streets that are un-named
Show Water- display water graphics and water lines
Show Scale Bar- displays a reference scale bar in the lower right of the map screen
Show Coordinates- displays GPS coordinates of the point at the center of the map screen
Use Large Text – uses larger text for street names so it is easier to read. The trade off is that less street names can be displayed on the screen.
Show Splash Screen at Start - show the initial splash screen at program start
Search whole card for maps – searches whole card for maps instead of only searching the directory: Palm\Programs\Mapopolis. If you have all of your maps in the Mapopolis directory, it is best to keep this box unchecked to cut down on load time when Mapopolis is opened from the launcher. Then Mapopolis only has to search in a specific area of the external memory instead of the whole card.
12 Appendix
This section will be updated in the near future.
13 Latest Updates and More Information
The Mapopolis map database will be updated frequently with more business locations and the latest street information so visit the Mapopolis web site for the latest maps and software releases.
If you have any questions or comments about Mapopolis, please go to our contact page and contact us at the appropriate email address.
14 Disclaimer of Warranty
The Software is provided "AS IS," without any warranty or representation of any kind. ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED. Please see the accompanying license for full terms and conditions of use.
Copyright © 2001, Mapopolis.com, Inc.