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Originally written for Laptop GPS World, this review of MapPoint 2009 focuses on users of GPS navigation. If you have questions about other aspects of this product, please address them to Map Forums.

GPS and Other New Features in MapPoint 2009

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I'm finding a bit of a mixed bag so far. The positives:

- The defaults for zoom / pan / etc functionality has been changed. Pan (and zoom using the mouse wheel) option is now the default for the left button. As this is usually my preference, I like this!

- The buttons and tool bars have been given a new look. These default to being larger and are clearer. Generally a good move, although it means we have to re-learn where everything is! Similarly, some of the menu items have been moved.

- Road data has been updated.

- The routing panel now has a "Reverse Route" button

- The API looks to be unchanged. Testing of addins has been generally successful - even MPSuperShape (a .NET add-in) worked without a rebuild.

- MapPoint 2009 will run in XP/Vista x64 in 32 bit emulation mode. Note that this only works if the installed add-ins are also compatible.


The not so good:

- The help has only been partially updated. In places it looks like someone did a global find and replace. For example, the various reference sections of the API docs have a "What has changed in MapPoint 2009" listing at the top level. It says 2009, but the listed changes are all the old MapPoint 2006 changes!! (eg. night time map style, and fully implemented longitude,latitude properties on the Location object). So far, I haven't found anything that has changed in the API, other than pushpins - see below.

- The drawing tools toolbar defaults to OFF. I bet many people never find it!

- PUSHPINs
I can see we are going to get lots of support queries and complaints about these.
All those nice primary color pushpin shapes? Gone! All those numbers? Gone! All those nice symbols? Mostly gone!

MapPoint 2004 & 2006 both had 336 pushpins. MapPoint 2009 only has 46! It looks like these have been chosen to resemble those in Virtual Earth and include the place marker shape currently in vogue with both Google Maps and Virtual Earth. The first impressions of the new pins are that they are dull and are lacking in basic color selections (ie. 2 placemarkers both in 4 colors, instead of 9 placemarkers each in 8 colors)

The bad documentation? Yes, the documentation currently lists the full 336 pushpins!
I have run some tests, and have confirmed that the Pushpin's Symbol property only supports 46 pins (see attached image)
The documentation claims that the full 32K symbol space is available - but this is on the same pages that claim that 336 pins are pre-loaded.
Programs that attempt to use more than 46 pins without loading custom pushpins will fail with an exception. However, MapPoint is clever enough to substitute pushpins if you try to load a MapPoint file from a previous version.


Untested:
I'm currently only running the trial version in a virtual PC on a desktop. Therefore it isn't possible to test routing speed, or the new voice directions.
Some recent testing that I've done with MapPoint 2006 has shown that Microsoft updated the routing algorithm to be multi-threaded. Total cpu power required per route was essentially unchaged, but a route calculation was spread over one and a half cpus, and hence completed more quickly on a dual core processor. I expect MapPoint 2009 to use the same routing engine.

Richard

Attached Images

mp2009_46pins.png (8.4 KB, 18 views)

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Winwaed Software Technology LLC
http://www.winwaed.com
See http://www.mapping-tools.com for MapPoint Tools
See the Geoweb Guru for online mapping

Good work researching the Pushpin issue.. I have been meaning to get to it.

Aha!? so maybe all that is needed is to replace the .ptt in the Program Files directory?

Eric

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What I meant was: it will use its own pushpins instead of balking with an error along the lines of "there is no pushpin 100". (which is what a "myPushpin.Symbol=100" does)


Richard

__________________
Winwaed Software Technology LLC
http://www.winwaed.com
See http://www.mapping-tools.com for MapPoint Tools
See the Geoweb Guru for online mapping

This sounds really disappointing. Is MapPoint so good that they could not think of anything better than changing the smart icons and messing about with the pushpins? Apart from updating the maps, which are sub-contracted, this sounds like substantially nothing.

Having apparently diverted all resources to Live Earth - very nice, but is it really going to challenge Google Earth's lead? - they are missing good opportunities to build this application into something with real impact.

Lots more work on territories, defining and combining shapes, world geographies, VBA within Mappoint, and supporting geographical decision making was needed (just a sample).

20 years ago when Microsoft ate Wordperfect and Lotus 123 and created the Office franchise they created real value add. What a demonstration of how they have lost it. End of rant.

Back in 2001/2002 I was always happy picking up different GIS tools for the job at hand and didn't mind MapPoint's limitations. MapPoint added a lot of value with the streets, geocoding, and routing and Microsoft was sort of like throwing a warning shot across the bow for MapInfo et al to wake up.

I was worried MapInfo might respond by going into maintenance mode and just milk the remaining life out of MapInfo Pro as it would be squeezed on both ends by ESRI and MapPoint as well as new, less expensive but probably just as effective software such as Caliper and Manifold, but instead it's MapPoint that's gone into hibernation..

It does look like that could change, but I think the decision-makers regarding the MapPoint product really have to determinedly stop looking at it as a lucky cash cow that might get replaced by Virtual Earth eventually and instead should think of it as something that they really ought to invest some millions of dollars of developer time into and make it work properly and expand the capability, not make willy-nilly decisions like dropping the existing Pushpins and hobble the existing base.

Eric

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Regarding the pushpins, I still wonder if there is an easy patch such as I surmised about replacing the template (turns out MapPoint 2009 doesn't use a template for the initial map?!? - that may be another problem).

But it would be sort of dumbfounding if there is not... How about a MapPoint 2009 Service Pack 1? That would demonstrate real commitment to the MapPoint CD product's future.

Eric

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I found the updated version very dissapointing

1) New interface (Yes, I might have gotten used to it but I hate change just for the sake of change

2) Back button is gone. I imported data (pinpoints) and then was potting geo data and it kept changing my focus point. The older version had a back button that I could hit to get me right back to where I was. I couldn't find this option in the new version.

3) Sucky pushpins! Why in the world did they get rid of the pushpins that were actually usable? I'm doing some volunteer work for a local companyand was trying to show them where their members live. Every option they had sucked! (Yes, I could import my own but I'd have to do this every time.)

4) I updated Mappoint 2006 maps from the newer version of Streets and trips. I'm hoping I'll be able to do the same for newer streets at a fraction of the cost.

5) While I like the driving/routing info, it isn't my main reason for buying it. I was looking for 2 main things in the new version:
a) updated demographics
b) ability to turn on/off features

Granted, there is new data but it didn't seem worth the price. As for the turning on/off features- I'd liked to have been able to turn off city labels, tweak font sizes of some things (and not others), have better drawing tools within Mappoint, etc.

I've been using mappoint from the get-go and overall love the project however I think they're tailoring it too much to travelers and not to GIS people.

Joe Glines

2) I posted a separate thread today about the missing "Back" button. The "Forward" button was useful too.. I feel like there's something obvious I am missing.

3) Hopefully Microsoft will post the complete set to download as custom pushpins.. the MapPoint 2002 Pushpins were posted some years back:
Download details: MapPoint 2002/2004 Pushpins
Note that I'm not actually sure this includes all the MapPoint 2004 Pushpins... when did they add new ones, was it with MapPoint 2004 or MapPoint 2006? In any case, this download does not include all the Pushpins in MapPoint 2006because some were added in either MapPoint 2004 or 2006..

5a) It does have updated demographics... ?

5b) Seems like low-hanging fruit for MS to address, e.g. have a map style with no labels. People have been asking for this for as long as I can remember.

Eric

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They added the extras in 2004, because I remember they forgot to update the help file and online documentation - I have an "article" on here I think (and mapping-tools.com) that lists the full 2004 set. 2006 had the same pins, but the documentation was updated properly.

The 2004 set is still listed as "current" in the 2009 documentation...

Richard

__________________
Winwaed Software Technology LLC
http://www.winwaed.com
See http://www.mapping-tools.com for MapPoint Tools
See the Geoweb Guru for online mapping