Datamine Discover KB - Open/Import

How do I add more WMTS or XYZ Tileserver layers in MapInfo?

kbadmin — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 00:55:56 GMT

Occurrence

In QGIS or ArcGIS you can link XYZ Tile Server (also known as WMTS) web layer to add more Base Maps, such as OpenStreetMaps.org. It is also used by many webmap providers such as Google Maps and Mapbox.

MapInfo Pro has the same Base Maps layer such as Bing aerial and Precisely, but how can I add more?

Solution

You can create your own TAB and XML files based on the examples in C:\Program Files\MapInfo\Professional\TileServer. OSM_Roads is the OpenStreeMap XYZ Tileserver example (that is no longer published in the Mapinfo menu).

In Discover 2021 a new tool was added to help you create your own Tileserver tab files.

To do this go to Discover>Import>XYZ Base maps

The URLs can be found by searching the internet for "XYZ Tile servers" and you will find source such as this -

https://www.spatialbias.com/2018/02/qgis-3.0-xyz-tile-layers/

https://www.hatarilabs.com/ih-en/how-to-add-a-google-map-in-qgis-3-tutorial

Note While this is technically possible, you should make sure to check the terms and conditions for the website regarding using their map tiles i.e. : Occurrence

I have an ESRI File Geodatabase (.gdb) folder from ArcGIS Pro - can I import this into MapInfo Professional?

Solution

You can go to Home>Open>Universal data and open the Formats>More Formats, then select the ESRI Geodatabase (File geodb Open API) FILEGDB format. Select the folder named ending in ".gdb" (not the files within it).

Note the styles and colours will not be preserved.

Note: When you import a File GDB file colours and linestyles etc are lost. You can retrieve colours by storing these as an RGB code attribute in the SHP file. These colours can then be re-applied using Discover>Table Utilities>RGB Colourizer, or the Discover>Data Entry tool, which can also batch apply pat ...

How do I update or link tables to my Access/Excel file?

kbadmin — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 03:38:44 GMT

MapInfo Pro can open Access database of Excel files directly, so that any changes to the data (i.e. new rows added or cell values changed) are automatically shown in MapInfo Pro.

There are 2 methods to do this -

1. Create a linked TAB file

Simply go to HOME>Open>Table, and change the file type to Excel or Access. Make sure to not tick the Create copy in MapInfo format option.

The downside of this method is the browser attribute data will be read only in MapInfo. You can create points from the coordinate data in the table, but when these are moved in the map, or values changed, or new rows added, you will need to use Spatial>Create>Create Point (make sure to tick Overwrite points) to sync the browser and map coordinates and points.

Also the file will be locked, so you will need to close the file in MapInfo to edit it in Excel/Access, or overwrite it with a new copy.

If you receive an update file, you can simply copy and paste over the existing Access/Excel file with the same name. Note that structural changes such as adding/removing fields or changing field names are not supported by this method and will require a new tab file to be created by repeated Home>open table.

If new rows are not appearing, open the TAB file in Notepad and mark sure no ranges is defined on the Excel file i.e. if it looks like this -

File "DH_Collars.xlsx"

Type XLS Titles Range "DH_Collars!A2:U58"

Delete the "!A2:U58" and save the TAB file and reopen it.

2. Create a ODBC database table

MapInfo can open any database table by using Wi ...

Bing Aerial Base Maps no longer works in MapInfo Pro

Josh Knight — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 05:05:40 GMT

Occurrence

Occurs on a older version of MapInfo Pro.

Symptoms:

1/. Opening a workspace incorporating Bing content returns an error

2/. All HOME>Open>Base Maps (the Bing Aerial, Hybrid, Roads) are inactive / greyed out.

3/. All and File >Tile Server Maps options are greyed out

Solution

Install the latest Discover MapInfo bundle which is available from this KB -

https://discoverkb.dataminesoftware.com/questions.php?questionid=818

The MapInfo Premium component, which enables the Bing functionality, is a separate license from MapInfo Pro, and is only sold and provided on a annual subscription basis.
Maintained customers will need to apply a patch to re-enable it when it expires.

Bing Maps has a limited license period, which is specific to each version of MapInfo Pro. Bing Maps, Add Bing Roads to Map and the Move Map to features cease working after this date:

• MapInfo Pro 2023 on December 31st 2024

• MapInfo Pro 2021 on December 31st 2021

• MapInfo Pro 2019 on December 31st 2020

• MapInfo Pro 17.0 on December 31st 2019

• MapInfo Pro 16.0 on December 31st 2017

• MapInfo Pro 15.0 and 15.2 on December 31st 2016

To obtain a fix to use Bing beyond these dates contact support and provide your Discover license serial number at MapInfo Professional provides a GELink tool (previously the Google Earth Connection Utility) in the Tool Manager.

To use this tool -

1. Navigate to HOME>Tool Extensions, and click the Registered tab. The click the Load Tool icon (and enable autoload so this step can be skipped next time) -

2. Then under the Running tab, Right-click on the GELink tool and select Export Map option -

Unable to open TAB files linking Access or Excel files in MapInfo Pro 64-bit

kbadmin — Sun, 18 Sep 2022 23:45:38 GMT

Occurrence

In 64-bit MapInfo Pro, I receive an error or crash when trying to open TAB files that linked to an Access or Excel file. Or MapInfo is simply crashing when trying to open a workspace.

Note that if you save the XSLX file in Excel as a CSV or legacy 97-03 XLS format, these still open.

Solution

This is due to Microsoft not supporting side-by-side installation of Office 32bit and 64bit versions.

There is a workaround that has been tested with Office 2013 or Office 2016 (365) installed. If you are using Office 2010, it is recommended you upgrade to a newer supported version of Office first.

In the start menu, open the Datamine folder and find the "Access Database Fix". Run this shortcut and click OK on the prompt to apply.

Note that this fix is not permanent, and may break when Windows Update automatically updates your Office installation. If this occurs, the fix will need to be run again from time to time.

If the issues persists, please do the following -

How do I display a Open Street Maps layer in Mapinfo Professional?

kbadmin — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 07:05:48 GMT

Occurrence

In MapInfo Professional or later, I can display the Bing maps and Precisly maps. However the OpenStreeMap roads option has been removed

How do I display a layer from the openstreetmap.org?

Solution

You can open the file -

C:\Program Files\MapInfo\Professional\TileServer\OSM_Roads.tab

The Xml files can also be modified to display the cycleways or black and white version of open street maps.

When I open a Excel file in MapInfo 2019, all the fields default to Character type

kbadmin — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 04:43:59 GMT

Occurrence

In MapInfo 2019, when I go to Open Table and select a Excel file, all the fields default to Character type. But in Excel they are formatted Number type.

Solution

This issue is fixed in MapInfo 2019.1 which can be downloaded with the latest Discover bundle here -

https://discoverkb.dataminesoftware.com/questions.php?questionid=818

This is a regression defect introduced in MapInfo 2019. To workaround the issue, you can save the Excel file as a CSV. A CSV file can still be eited in Excel, and it will defualt to the appropriate fields types when opened in MapInfo.

TAB files created in MapInfo Pro 64-bit cannot be opened into 3rd-party applications.

Josh Knight — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 00:18:37 GMT

Issue

TAB files created in the latest 64-bit version of MapInfo Pro cannot be opened by 3rd party applications, such as Leapfrog Geo. They may also not be supported (in rare cases) in 32-bit Mapinfo Pro 15.0.

Solution

There are a number of enhancements to the TAB file format, which may not be backwards compatible with 3rd party programs.

For advanced users:

The following Mapbasic statement (typed into the MapBasic window) will save a table with a backwards compatible blocksize (512) and charset (WindowsLatin1), and as a standard NATIVE (non-unicode, whereas the new NATIVEX is unicode).