MapInfo Professional

These instructions are based on MapInfo Professional version 16.0 and assume you have set the default coordinate reference system to British National Grid (EPSG 27700).

While MapInfo Professional can open GML 3.2.1 files without prior translation, for performance and compatibility reasons, we recommended you use the universal translator in MapInfo to convert the GML supply to MapInfo .TAB files prior to loading the data.

The sub-sections below provide alternative instructions for working with GML data in MapInfo Professional.

Loading and displaying the GML supply

To load and display the GML supply directly into MapInfo Professional:

  1. Open an existing project or create a new one.

  2. In Home, click Open > Universal Data.

MapInfo Professional UI showing the Home > Open > Universal Data action.
MapInfo Professional UI showing the Home > Open > Universal Data action.
  1. In the Specify Data Source dialog:

    • Format: Select GML (Geography Markup Language).

    • Dataset: Click …, navigate to and select the GML file on your computer.

    • Click OK.

Specify Data Source dialog showing a dataset being added in GML format
Specify Data Source dialog showing a dataset being added in GML format
  1. In the Select Layers dialog, select the layers you want to load, and click OK.

MapInfo Professional Select Layers dialog.
MapInfo Professional Select Layers dialog.

Your GML data now displays in the Maps panel and map area. The data is un-styled and will look similar to the following example:

MapInfo Professional UI showing Maps panel and map area.
MapInfo Professional UI showing Maps panel and map area.

Converting GML to MapInfo TAB

To convert the GML supply to MapInfo TAB in MapInfo Professional:

  1. Open an existing project or create a new one.

  2. In Table click Universal Translator.

MapInfo Professional UI showing the Table > Universal Translator action.
MapInfo Professional UI showing the Table > Universal Translator action.
  1. In the FME Quick Translator dialog click Translate.

MapInfo Professional FME Quick Translator tool.
MapInfo Professional FME Quick Translator tool.
  1. In the Set Translation Parameters dialog:

    • Reader:

      • Format: Select GML (Geography Markup Language).

      • Dataset: Click …, navigate to and select the GML file on your computer.

    • Writer:

      • Format: Select MapInfo TAB (MAPINFO).

      • Dataset: Click …, navigate to and select the folder in which to store your TAB files.

    • Click OK.

MapInfo Professional FME Quick Translator tool - Set Translation Parameters dialog.
MapInfo Professional FME Quick Translator tool - Set Translation Parameters dialog.
  1. When the conversion is complete (about 30 seconds), close the FME Quick Translator dialog.

MapInfo Professional FME Quick Translator tool showing translation progress.
MapInfo Professional FME Quick Translator tool showing translation progress.

To load the converted MapInfo TAB files in MapInfo Professional:

  1. In Home click Open > Table.

MapInfo Professional UI showing the Map > Table action.
MapInfo Professional UI showing the Map > Table action.
  1. In the browser dialog, select MapInfo (*.tab) as the file type, navigate to the folder in which you stored the converted MapInfo TAB files, select the layers you want to open, and click Open.

File system Open dialog showing selection of MapInfo.tab files.
File system Open dialog showing selection of MapInfo.tab files.

Your data now displays in the Maps panel and map area. The data is un-styled and will look similar to the following example:

MapInfo Professional UI showing data in Maps panel and map area.
MapInfo Professional UI showing data in Maps panel and map area.

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#345: Adding What's next networking links

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