Datamine Discover KB - Discover

Functionality replaced or retired from the MapInfo Discover 64-bit Bundle

Josh Knight — Fri, 09 May 2025 04:48:12 GMT

The following capabilities will not be available in the 64-bit version of Discover. They have been either superseded by new & enhanced functionality (as indicated), or retired.

If required, these capabilities are all still available in Discover 2015 (32-bit) (download here).

Note: Discover 64-bit can be installed and licensed on the same computer as Discover 32-bit version (Standalone or Bundle)

NOW AVAILABLE IN DISCOVER 2017

Surfaces module (note it is still deprecated by Raster - see more details below. It will only have limited bug fixes and support)
Polybuilder (Was retired by MapInfo, after being taken from Discover by Mapinfo and In Mapinfo 12.5 & 15.0 32-bit)

REPLACED

Enhanced Layer Control replaced by MapInfo Pro's Layer Control + Table List + NEW Explorer windows.

Temporal Trends replaced by capabilities in GraphMap Geolocated Graphs.

Colour Map, DigData and the Structural Data tool have all been replaced by the enhanced capabilities within the Data Entry module.

The Dynamic Scalebar has been superseded by MapInfo Pro's Scalebar (Map>Scalebar)

RETIRED

MapShop

ALG support removed from both Discover & Discover 3D (ALG data files such as ERS and ECW can be opened directly instead, open the ALG file in notepad to check)

ECW output support removed from the Convert map to registered raster tool

Geosoft GDB support removed from Discover 3D

Surfaces module capabilities in MapInfo Pro ...

What are the system requirements for the Datamine Discover 64-bit?

kbadmin — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 23:54:23 GMT

The Datamine Discover 2023 Bundle (23.x) supports and installs MapInfo Pro Advanced 2021.1 and Discover3D.

Datamine Discover supports the following operating systems:

Windows® 11 (64-bit)
Windows® 10 (64-bit)

- ARM CPU Processors such as or Qualcomm Snapdragon or Apple Macbook M1/M2 chips are NOT supported.
- Apple Macintosh OSX and Linux operating systems are NOT supported.
- Virtualisation systems such as Citrix, Apple Mac Parallels or VMWare are NOT supported.
- Windows XP & Vista & 7 & 8 are NOT supported.

Minimum Hardware Requirements

x64 Intel Core i3/i5/i7 6000+ series or equivalent CPU processor with AVX extensions (note MapInfo/Discover does not utilise multiple CPU cores in most tools.)
4 Gigabytes of RAM ...

Error: Could not connect to MapInfo Pro COM Interface

kbadmin — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 00:01:38 GMT
Occurrence

I previously had a old version of Discover installed on the computer, and have upgraded.

Every time I start MapInfo Discover I receive an error message "Error: Could not connect to Mapinfo Pro COM Interface." or "This utility must be started inside MapInfo Discover"

Solution

This issue is usually resolved by opening a command prompt (search the start menu for this and open it), and then typing in -
"C:\Program Files\MapInfo\Professional\MapInfoPro.exe" -regserver

And hit return.

If this doesn't work, uninstall both MapInfo Pro and Discover, and reinstall the Discover bundle.

If the issue persists, you will need to reset your user profile.

To "clean out" the user profile perform the following steps -

1) Delete (or backup to a separate folder) the contents of -
C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Encom

2) Go to your start menu and search for "Regedit" and open this tool.
3) Navigate in the Registry Editor to -
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Encom

4) Right click on this Key name (Encom) and delete this.

I am planning a regional exploration work program. What tools are available in Discover?

Josh Knight — Wed, 04 May 2022 04:05:48 GMT
Occurrence

How do I:

A. Add coordinates to a series of discrete point locations such as proposed regional RAB/aircore drill targets, and then add an incrementing identifier (e.g. HoleID) to each location?

B. Convert a series of proposed regional traverse lines/polylines into grid pegs/sample locations at a fixed spacing, each with coordinates and unique ID's?

C. Create a series of parallel traverse/sample line (i.e. a local grid), with pegs/point locations at fixed spacings, each with both local and real world coordinates, as well as unique ID's?

Solution

A. Add coordinates to a series of discrete point locations such as proposed regional RAB/aircore drill targets, and then add an incrementing identifier (e.g. HoleID) to each location?

1/. If a series of target locations have been added to say the cosmetic layer as points (e.g. the intersection of regional lineaments/faults with prospective stratigraphy), save these point objects to a new table (Map>Save Cosmetic Objects).

2/. Use Discover's Discover>Projection>Update Coordinates tool to create a new Easting/X and Northing/Y field to this table, and automatically populate these fields with the appropriate values. Note that by default the coordinates will ...

MapInfo & Discover Windows 11 support

Josh Knight — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 02:55:27 GMT

Occurrence

Are MapInfo Pro, Datamine Discover and Discover 3D supported on Windows 11 operating systems?

Solution
We will provide technical support and raise issues found if you are using Windows 11.
We have done testing on Windows 11 and have not found any issues, and based on the information from Microsoft we do not anticipate any major issues.
MapInfo Pro 2021 supports Windows 11.

Tips and Tricks in the 64-bit environment: MapInfo Discover

Josh Knight — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 04:14:08 GMT
Some tips to making the most of the new 64-bit environment and capabilities, particularly of MapInfo Pro. This new user interface ("64bit") version was first released by Pitney Bowes in 2014, MapInfo Pro 12.5. Pitney Bowes then released a compatible Discover add in version in 2015. The Discover addin (not MapInfo Pro) was sold to Datamine in 2017.

The major change in 64bit, apart from the new user interface and raster menu, is the Layouts have changed. since 2012 in 32bit, there has been a "Layout Designer" window. This is now the "Layout" window and old layouts are not there. any workspace containing an old layout, is automatically converted to a layout designer new layout window.

Once you have installed the 64bit version, it is not recommended or supported to use or install the previous 32bit versions, as there are conflict when opening Excel or Access files, and some tables and workspaces created 64bit will not be openable in 32bit.

1. I can't find my favourite/essential tools!!

Try typing the name or ap ...

Using Discover & MapInfo Pro in non-english

kbadmin — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 02:16:37 GMT
Occurrence

I am trying to use Discover and MapInfo Pro and having issues with numbers not displaying in correct formatting or errors.

Solution

MapInfo and Discover use a mix of unicode and non-unicode. To ensure you do not encounter issues when you Windows language is set to something other than English, you need to also change the System Locale to match the windows display format.
These are found in the Control panel, under Change Date Time Number format. Check and ensure the 2 settings match.

Discover 2019 is not opening. No error messages.

kbadmin — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 00:47:30 GMT
Occurrence

I am running Windows a very old computer, and have installed Discover 2019.

When I try to start nothing happens, no error messages

Solution

There is a known issue if running on old hardware that does not support AVX extensions. Windows 10 only supports CPUs with AVX extensions. Please see the list here of minimum processor supported for Windows 10
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/minimum/windows-processor-requirements

For example it requires it requires Intel Core i3/i5/i7/i9-7xxxx (7000 or higher).

You can workaround by deleting the Discover legacy grid handlers, but certain tools and functions will still not work. To do this open C:\Program Files\MapInfo\Professional and delete all of the files -
Discover and MapInfo Professional can import an extensive range of industry standard and 3rd party data formats.

The attached PDF (bottom of the page) list all supported formats under the following categories, and for each format details the location of the required import tool.

Tabular and Vector data (including databases, contour files, text files, GIS formats such as Shape and geopackage etc)

Raster Imagery (such as aerial photography, SPOT imagery, company logos, etc)

Gridded Surfaces (such as digital elevation models & geophysical grids, multibanded remote sensing data such as LANDSAT) - requires a 3D license for 3D visualization and processing

Drillhole & Trench data (such as collars points and downhole survey, downhole assays and wireline LAS logs) - requires a 3D license for 3D visualization and processing
GPS Data (such as GPX)
3D Vector Data (such as DXF of mine plans and drives, ore grade shells) - requires a 3D license for 3D visualization and processing
3D Resources Models (such as 3D vectors or block/voxel models, geophysical inversion models such as Magnetic or EM targets) - requires a 3D license

A range of additional formats can be imported using MapInfo's TABLE>Universal Translator (which is based on Safe Software's Feature Manipulation Engine (FME)).

How do I determine the projection of a map window or table?

Josh Knight — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 00:22:38 GMT
In MapInfo 64-bit, the projection is displayed in the Status Bar at the bottom of the Mapinfo window.

Alternatively, Right click in the mapper window and select the Projection Info from the pop-up menu. The first tab while show the Map's projection, and other tables will display each layer's projection.

To change a Map windows projection, you will need to navigate to MAP>Map Options dialog, and click projection.

The Discover menu does not start when opening MapInfo Pro

Josh Knight — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 06:01:40 GMT
Occurrence

When I open Datamine Discover from the desktop shortcut, only MapInfo menus load. There are no Discover menu tabs.

How do I start M ...

My Mapinfo window's taskbar icon or TAB file icon are not displaying correctly

kbadmin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 01:54:00 GMT
Occurrence

When I start Mapinfo/Discover - the taskbar icon is not correct or TAB file icon's are not correct.

Solution

This is caused by a corrupted icon cache in Window.

1. Navigate to C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local

2. Select Organize>Folder and Search Options, and on the View tab, enable show hidden files and folders.

3. Select the Iconcache.db and delete this.

4. Restart Windows and your icons will automatically be rebuilt and repaired.

Error: Cannot draw a grid for map XY units in degrees if not a Lat/Lon coordinate system

kbadmin — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 01:54:12 GMT

Occurrence

When creating a Map grid, or during Scaled Output, I receive the error -
"Cannot draw a grid for map XY units in degrees if not a Lat/Lon coordinate system"

Solution

Navigate to Map>Options and ensure the Distance units are NOT set to Degrees. These can be set to meters, feet, etc.

If you wish to label the Map grid with degree units, you will need to change the Projection of the Map window, under Map>Options>Projection, to a Lat/Lon coordinate system.

Error: "You can only run a single application at a time in standard mode."

kbadmin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 05:55:21 GMT

Occurrence

When attempting to open a tool, the following message is received:
"You can only run a single application at a time in standard mode."

Solution

By default, Discover and later restrict the user to only opening a single tool at a time. This is the same behaviour as MapInfo Professional's tools.

To override this and enable certain tools to be opened simultaneously, such as the Section Manager, navigate to Discover>Configuration>Settings>User Level and adjust this to Advanced.

The advanced level allows the user to simultaneously run multiple tools. However, this may result in data loss when concurrent operations are performed on the same data table.

How do I select or clip points in a TAB file that lie above or below a grid surface?

Josh Knight — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:39:32 GMT
Occurrence

For example, a topographic grid has been created of an open cut pit (e.g. by overlaying a DEM grid with a series of donutted polygons representing pit bench levels using the Surfaces>Grid Utilities>Overlay tool).

You would like to examine those portions of the original exploration drillholes (drilled from surface) that lie either within or below this pit surface (the drillhole downhole data tables have been converted into a series
of individual points by desurveying them (Drillholes>3D coordinates), and Creating Points from these new XYZ co-ords).

Solution

1/. In MapInfo, create a new float -type field in the point TAB file (e.g. 'grid_value') using Table>Maintenance>Table.Modify Structure.

2/. With both datasets open in the same map window, select all the points and run the Surfaces>Utilities>Assign Values tool. Populate the new field (e.g. 'grid_value') with the output. Save the point table.

3/. Run a query (Query>Select) to compare the original Z value field with this new field.

4/. Save this query as a table