Has anyone else noticed that large shapes do some odd things in MapPoint?
The attached screenshots are from MP2006 North America.
The shape deliberately crosses the International Dateline, and even crosses itself.
Normally when a shape crosses itself, it becomes clear. Ie. it looks like MapPoint counts the number of times a shape covers a point. If it is an odd number, then it is in the shape. Even it is outside. (hmm sounds similar to my "point in polygon algorithm!)
But here (image 1), the shape wraps around the Earth and overlaps itself. The overlap is shaded in and not counted as an overlap. Rather than supporting a true wraparound, it looks like MapPoint makes its coordinate system big enough to handle the shape, if that makes sense?
When I zoom in (image 2), things get really wacky, and MP's workaround really does breakdown.
This post isn't a criticism as such - more of an observation. How often do people create such big shapes? I was deliberately pushing the boundaries to see what MapPoint could do / would do, and whether a planned program should support wacky shapes like this.
Incidentally zooming out to a globe is also broken in this circumstance - even when the overlap is removed. It looks like MapPoint has a problem determining which side of the shape is inside or outside - sometimes preferring to draw the poles shaded, and sometimes the equatorial region.
Richard