Microsoft MapPoint
Encyclopedia
Microsoft MapPoint is both a technology ("MapPoint Web Service," previously known as MapPoint .NET) and a specific software program created by Microsoft
that allows users to view, edit and integrate maps. The software and technology are designed to facilitate the geographical visualization and analysis of either included data or custom data. Numerous acquisitions (Vexcel, Vicinity Corporation
, GeoTango, etc.) have supplemented both data and feature integration.
MapPoint is intended for business users but competes in the low-end geographic information system
("GIS") market. It includes all of the functionality of the most recent version of Streets and Trips
, the consumer mapping software, at the time of development, as well as integration with Microsoft Office
, data mapping from various sources including Microsoft Excel
, and a Visual Basic for Applications
(VBA) interface allowing automation of the MapPoint environment.
The MapPoint technology is used in
Streets and Trips Planner 98, a consumer mapping application included with Office 97 Small Business Edition), which was slated to be included in the Office 2000 Premium Edition suite, but never was.
New versions have not always been at the same time as the equivalent Office releases despite being numbered similarly; notably the 2002 release was excluded from the Office XP suites due to a lack of equivalent programmability, and 2006 was released well before Office 2007. The program's icon and toolbars were not updated until the 2009 release to stay consistent with modern software applications.
Version 2009 sporting an overhauled interface and claimed better Office integration was released in late 2008. The core map rendering engine remained the same and the GIS data was not updated as recently as one might expect of a product released in 2008, leaving out subdivisions, roads and other features that were completed in 2007 and which are shown on online mapping systems. Further, the 2009 version replaced all built-in icons with icons that were mostly brown or darker colors. This made them difficult to see on the map and resulted in users trying to restore the icon sets from version 2006.
Old versions 2004 and 2006 both included 336 pushpin symbols. The 2009 version replaced these symbols with a new set of 46 pushpins. A new template can be used to add missing pushpin images to the program. The full range of pushpins were reintroduced in MapPoint 2010.
The software is available for Microsoft Windows
, and includes a less-featured edition entitled Pocket Streets for the Windows CE
family of products, such as Pocket PC
, and Windows Mobile
for Smartphone
and Automotive.
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
that allows users to view, edit and integrate maps. The software and technology are designed to facilitate the geographical visualization and analysis of either included data or custom data. Numerous acquisitions (Vexcel, Vicinity Corporation
MapBlast
MapBlast! was a web mapping service launched in the mid 1990s by Vicinity Corporation. It allowed website owners to incorporate maps in their own web pages, and was later syndicated across most major Web, wireless, handheld and interactive TV platforms including Yahoo!, Excite, Lycos, ATT...
, GeoTango, etc.) have supplemented both data and feature integration.
MapPoint is intended for business users but competes in the low-end geographic information system
Geographic Information System
A geographic information system, geographical information science, or geospatial information studies is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographically referenced data...
("GIS") market. It includes all of the functionality of the most recent version of Streets and Trips
Microsoft Streets and Trips
Microsoft Streets & Trips, known in Europe as Microsoft AutoRoute, is mapping software developed and distributed by Microsoft. Functionally the latest version is a subset of Microsoft MapPoint targeted at the average consumer to do a variety of map related tasks in the North American region...
, the consumer mapping software, at the time of development, as well as integration with Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
, data mapping from various sources including Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
, and a Visual Basic for Applications
Visual Basic for Applications
Visual Basic for Applications is an implementation of Microsoft's event-driven programming language Visual Basic 6 and its associated integrated development environment , which are built into most Microsoft Office applications...
(VBA) interface allowing automation of the MapPoint environment.
The MapPoint technology is used in
- End-user desktop software:
- MapPoint (for North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n and Western EuropeWestern EuropeWestern Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
an business users) - Microsoft Streets and TripsMicrosoft Streets and TripsMicrosoft Streets & Trips, known in Europe as Microsoft AutoRoute, is mapping software developed and distributed by Microsoft. Functionally the latest version is a subset of Microsoft MapPoint targeted at the average consumer to do a variety of map related tasks in the North American region...
(for North American home users) - Microsoft AutoRoute (for Western EuropeWestern EuropeWestern Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
an home and small business users) - EncartaEncartaMicrosoft Encarta was a digital multimedia encyclopedia published by Microsoft Corporation from 1993 to 2009. , the complete English version, Encarta Premium, consisted of more than 62,000 articles, numerous photos and illustrations, music clips, videos, interactive contents, timelines, maps and...
encyclopediaEncyclopediaAn encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
(Atlas functionality)
- MapPoint (for North America
- Web-based services:
- The Bing Maps website maps.bing.com
- The Microsoft Virtual Earth development platform
- The MapPoint Web Service using SOAPSOAPSOAP, originally defined as Simple Object Access Protocol, is a protocol specification for exchanging structured information in the implementation of Web Services in computer networks...
XMLXMLExtensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards.... - The Virtual Earth Map control, an ActiveXActiveXActiveX is a framework for defining reusable software components in a programming language-independent way. Software applications can then be composed from one or more of these components in order to provide their functionality....
control, which lets users make requests via JavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
to an AJAXAjax- Mythology :* Ajax , son of Telamon, ruler of Salamis and a hero in the Trojan War, also known as "Ajax the Great"* Ajax the Lesser, son of Oileus, ruler of Locris and the leader of the Locrian contingent during the Trojan War.- People :...
map object
- The MapPoint Web Service using SOAP
Versions
Microsoft MapPoint as the software is typically updated every two years and available in both upgrade and full packaged product form; the current version is 2011. Previous versions were released starting with 2000 (developing from ExpediaExpedia
Expedia is an Internet-based travel website based in the US with localised sites for 21 countries...
Streets and Trips Planner 98, a consumer mapping application included with Office 97 Small Business Edition), which was slated to be included in the Office 2000 Premium Edition suite, but never was.
- MapPoint 2000, initial release
- MapPoint 2001, very similar to 2000; more of a data update
- MapPoint 2002, updated interface to Office XPMicrosoft Office XPMicrosoft Office XP is a productivity suite written and distributed by Microsoft for their Windows operating system. Released on March 5, 2001, it is the successor to Office 2000 and the predecessor to Office 2003, and was known as Office 10 in the early stages of its development cycle...
style - MapPoint 2004, last version to run on Windows 9xWindows 9xWindows 9x is a generic term referring to a series of Microsoft Windows computer operating systems produced since 1995, which were based on the original and later modified Windows 95 kernel...
- MapPoint 2006, significantly updated GPS integration and features, last version supported on Windows 2000Windows 2000Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
- MapPoint 2009, updated interface with bigger icons, core engine remains the same
- MapPoint 2010, many user and API enhancements, including the ability to show/hide map symbols and labels by type
- MapPoint 2011, significantly updated map data and points of interest
New versions have not always been at the same time as the equivalent Office releases despite being numbered similarly; notably the 2002 release was excluded from the Office XP suites due to a lack of equivalent programmability, and 2006 was released well before Office 2007. The program's icon and toolbars were not updated until the 2009 release to stay consistent with modern software applications.
Version 2009 sporting an overhauled interface and claimed better Office integration was released in late 2008. The core map rendering engine remained the same and the GIS data was not updated as recently as one might expect of a product released in 2008, leaving out subdivisions, roads and other features that were completed in 2007 and which are shown on online mapping systems. Further, the 2009 version replaced all built-in icons with icons that were mostly brown or darker colors. This made them difficult to see on the map and resulted in users trying to restore the icon sets from version 2006.
Old versions 2004 and 2006 both included 336 pushpin symbols. The 2009 version replaced these symbols with a new set of 46 pushpins. A new template can be used to add missing pushpin images to the program. The full range of pushpins were reintroduced in MapPoint 2010.
The software is available for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, and includes a less-featured edition entitled Pocket Streets for the Windows CE
Windows CE
Microsoft Windows CE is an operating system developed by Microsoft for embedded systems. Windows CE is a distinct operating system and kernel, rather than a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows...
family of products, such as Pocket PC
Pocket PC
A Pocket PC is also known by Microsoft as a 'Windows Mobile Classic device'. It is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer, personal digital assistant , that runs the Microsoft 'Windows Mobile Classic' operating system...
, and Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...
for Smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
and Automotive.
Online
In 2002, Microsoft launched a free online MapPoint service. This was superseded by MSN maps, Live search maps, and Bing Maps.External links
- Review 1: Microsoft MapPoint
- Review 2: Mapping Software Solutions Under $500
- Review 3: MapPoint and Maptitude Destinations Known
- ninemsn Maps & Directions Microsoft MapPoint, more places, route multiple destinations, plan trips quickly and get real-time GPS functionality with this mapping ...
- MP2K Magazine, an independent magazine/community for MapPoint technologies
- Map Forums Forum for Microsoft MapPoint / Virtual Earth Discussion
- MapElves Wiki MapPoint and Virtual Earth Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) List and Wiki
- New features of Mappoint 2006, A user review of new features of MapPoint 2006
- MapPoint discussion group - microsoft.public.mappoint
- MP2K Magazine Newsgroup
- MapPoint Web Service discussion group - mappoint.webservice
- Live Search Maps - Australia Mashup
- New USB GPS "Stick" receiver for MapPoint 2009 u-blox 5 technology used in GPS units bundled with MapPoint 2009 with GPS Locator
- Overview of the New Features in Microsoft MapPoint 2010 Richard Marsden highlights the new features in MapPoint 2010 including the "Map Settings" or cartographic layer pane, new programmatic capabilities for GPS control, GPS import/export and several other major enhancements including MapPoint 2009 "Fixes".
- Mapping-Tools.com specializes in a range of tools and add-ins for MapPoint. Some are freeware, some are commercial. Also includes a number of information articles about using MapPoint and programming MapPoint. Articles include how-tos, and reference material (e.g. pushpin listings).