MITOrtho Tools


MITOrthoTools for MapInfo 5.0

 

Overview

Components

Download

How To Use

Frequently Asked Questions

MITOrthoTools 
WebPage



Overview
The MITOrthoTools for MapInfo allows MapInfo users to incorporate online orthophotos into their views. 

Note that MapInfo Professional v5.0.0.19 or higher is needed for the MITOrthoTools  to work. If you have MapInfo Professional v5.0 or v5.0.0.18, download the v5.0.0.19 from the MapInfo technical support web page. 


Components
To use the MITOrthoTools for MapInfo, four components are needed
  1. The MITOrtho Application (MITOrtho.mbx)
  2. The MITOrtho class files (orthoPost.class and errorFrame.class)
  3. The Java 1.1 Run Time Environment (JRE)
  4. The MITOrthoPC.ini file
If you're updating your MITOrthoTools for ArcView, you only need to download the MITOrtho.mbx extension and the class files.

Download
Choose one of the following download/setup options:
Easy setup
  • Required if you don't have the JRE installed.
Custom setup
  • Recommended if you have the Java JRE installed.

Download: EASY SETUP
You must download ALL the components of the MITOrthoTools before using the application.

Download
Components
Notes
mapinfo.zip
MITOrtho Application (MITOrtho.mbx) and MITOrthoPC.ini file
  • Unzip the file. The unzipped files can be placed in any directory (Read the FAQ for more on the location of these files)
  • The MITOrthoPC.ini file does not need to be modified under the easy setup.
MITOrtho.zip
MITOrtho class files
and Java 1.1. JRE
  • Unzip the file and run setup.exe. 
  • This setup procedure will create a directory c:\MITOrtho and transfer the necessary files to this directory.

Download: CUSTOM SETUP
This setup allows you to specify the location of the JRE and the class files, and to add, remove, or modify the set of MITOrthoServers accessed by the MapInfo application. The customization is done in the MITOrthoPC.ini file.
 

Download
Components
Notes
mapinfo.zip
MITOrtho Application (MITOrtho.mbx) and MITOrthoPC.ini file
  • Unzip the file.The unzipped files can be placed in any directory (Refer to the FAQ for a recommendation on these files location)
  • You must edit the MITOrthoPC.ini file to reflect the locations of the class files and the JRE. You can also modify the list of servers.
MITOrtho class files
The MITOrtho class files
  • This zip file contains two class files. Unzip them to the same directory. 
Java 1.1 JRE
The Java 1.1 JRE
  • Download the Win32 JRE if you don't already have it.

How To Use
To load the application in MapInfo,  from the Tools menu, select Tool Manager, then Add Tool... After naming the new tool, click on the directory button and select the MITOrtho.mbx file you just downloaded. The tool will appear in the list of tools. Check AutoLoad if you want this application to be loaded every time you start MapInfo. 

Loading the Application adds a new MapInfo toolbar containing two buttons:

  • Pick Server: Click on this button to choose one an MITOrthoServer as the source for your orthophotos. You can experiment using the following servers. For more MITOrthoServers, refer to the MITOrtho homepage.
  • Get Ortho: Click on this button to retrieve the orthophoto that covers the geographic extent of the current view. 
Important Note
For this first version of the application, the user MUST set the map's projection and coordinate system in order to retrieve the right ortho images (Use the Map/Options dialog box to set the projection). The following table lists the projections for the MITOrthoServers mentioned above. 
 
Image source
Projection
ortho.mit.edu/nsdi Massachusetts State Plane meters, Mainland zone, NAD83
coast.mit.edu Massachusetts State Plane meters, Mainland zone, NAD83
ortho.edc.uri.edu Rhode Island State Plane (ft)
silo.mit.edu UTM (?)