Starting MapInfo from VB.Net

[Andy Foy]

Hi

 

I've inherited a VB.NET application that starts MapInfo and then communicates with it to perform mapping actions controlled by the application user interface. It currently uses v1.0.2 of the MapinfoDotNetWrapper.dll.  If the application is installed on a system with MI 8.0 then it starts MI fine.  But if it is installed on a system with MI 10.5 or above (it may be 10.0 or above) it starts MI but does not have some of the MI 10.5 features (and hence still looks and performs like MI 8.0).  For example the layer control window is not dockable!

 

I've tried starting MI using the MapInfo 10.5 OLE Automation Type Library with the following code ...

 

Imports MapInfo

Public Class Form1

    Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

        Dim miobj As New MapInfo.MapInfoApplication

        miobj.Visible = True

    End Sub

End Class

 

It starts MI in the same way as the MapinfoDotNetWrapper.dll (i.e. without a dockable layer control).  How do I start MI 10.5 from VB.Net so that it starts MI as if I had started it from windows?

 

Can anyone help me?  I'm new to VB.Net so I might be making a really obvious error.

 

Many thanks

Andy

 

[Peter Horsbøll Møller]

Andy

The later versions of MI Pro, v10-12, still have the old layer control that can't be docked.

Normally you just never see this is it's the dockable layer control that is used by default.

If you however create your own application you can show the old layer control in stead of the new.

So the question now is how does you application show the layer control?

Peter Horsbøll Møller

Pitney Bowes Software

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Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 09:06:18 -0700
From: an...@andyfoyconsulting.co.uk
To: mapi...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [MI-L] Starting MapInfo from VB.Net

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[Andy Foy]

Hi Peter

 

My application is not doing anything with the layer control itself - it just acts as an interface to display/update data related to a MI table from a relational database.  It starts a new instance of MapInfo, opens an existing workspace and then communicates with that instance of MI to retrieve the keys of the selected feature(s) in the relevant MI table (so it can display the related data from the database) or it selects feature(s) in the MI table if the user queries them in the application interface.  All the MI interaction (apart from querying selecting features from a given MI table) are left to the user in native MI.

 

So what I don't understand is, how come I can create (open) an instance of MI and open an existing workspace but MI doesn't open the same way as it would if I opened MI and the workspace from windows?  Is there any way I can open MI from a .Net application as if it has been opened normally by windows (so that all the user's toolbar settings and positions are left as they were and the layer control is dockable)?

 

Thanks

Andy

[Andy Foy]

Hi Peter

 

I've just got round to looking at this again and now have access to a MapInfo v12 but still have the same problem. It seems that if I reference the MapInfo 12.0 OLE Automation Type library in a .NET application and start MapInfo using the following VB code:

 

Dim miobj As New MapInfo.MapInfoApplication

miobj.Visible = True

 

Then MapInfo is started with the /Automation parameter because this is what appears in the registry under the CLSID for "MapInfo.Application". In this case MapInfo doesn't have a dockable layer control (and otherwise has the look and feel of MI v8).  The same happens if I don't reference the COM object and start MapInfo using the following C# code (sorry for the mix of languages):

 

Type mapinfotype = Type.GetTypeFromProgID("Mapinfo.Application");

object instance = Activator.CreateInstance(mapinfotype);

 

According to an old post I found on the forum the /Automation parameter does the following:

 

MapInfo registers its OLE Class Factory with the OLE subsystem, which allows MapInfo to act as a behind-the-scenes OLE server to another application

 

Is it possible to start MapInfo so that I can still interact with it from a .NET application but so that it still appears "normal" to the user (e.g. has a dockable layer control)?

 

Many thanks

Andy

 

[Glen O]

I use this to start MapInfo in 1 monitor and a VB.net interface in a 2nd monitor

 

like a VB.Net remote control

 

 

 

Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Imports MapInfo
Imports System.IO

Public Class Form1
    Public mapinfo As MapInfo.MapInfoApplication

   

    Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
       
        mapinfo = New MapInfo.MapInfoApplication
        mapinfo.Visible = True
        mapinfo.Do("Set Window 1011 Max")
        mapinfo.Do("Alter ButtonPad ""Tools"" Show Fixed")
        mapinfo.Do("Alter ButtonPad ""Main"" Show Fixed")
        mapinfo.Do("Alter ButtonPad ""Standard"" Show Fixed")
        mapinfo.Do("Alter ButtonPad ""Web Services"" Show Fixed")
        mapinfo.Do("Alter ButtonPad ""Drawing"" Show Fixed")
      
    End Sub

 

    Private Sub ExitToolStripMenuItem_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles ExitToolStripMenuItem.Click
        mapinfo.Do("End Mapinfo Interactive")
    End Sub

 

    Private Sub Form_FormClosing(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.FormClosingEventArgs) Handles Me.FormClosing
        mapinfo.Do("End Mapinfo Interactive")
    End Sub

 

    Private Sub ShowMapinfoToolStripMenuItem_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles ShowMapinfoToolStripMenuItem.Click
        mapinfo.Visible = True
    End Sub
End Class

[Andy Foy]

Thanks Glen

 

What version of MI are you using?  When I execute this it still starts MI in it's 'old style' without a dockable layer control.

 

Andy

[Glen O]

MapInfo 10 you should just be able to turn it on

or open it and dock it

 

I will look at that and see if I can figure out the command  

[Glen O]

I can dock and un dock

 

how are you opening the layer control?

 

I can not get 'mapinfo.Do("Run Menu Command""M_TOOLS_SEARCH_RADIUS") to work no error just does not open

[Andy Foy]

I'm using either the menu bar ... Map --> Layer Control, or I'm using <ctrl>L.

 

Are you starting MI using the VB.Net code you posted earlier when you try and dock and undock the layer control?  If I start MI from windows I can dock/undock fine, it's only when I start MI from a .NET application that the layer control is undockable.

 

[Glen O]

using the code I posted I can open the layer control and it starts docked and I can undock it

 

how many versions of mapinfo are on your machine? 

[Andy Foy]

Strange ... I've got 2 PCs, one with only MI 11.5 and one with only MI 12.0.  I have the same problem on both of them when running your code from Visual Studio 2012 using .NET 4.5 to start MI.

 

Any ideas?

 

[Glen O]

I can send you the VB.net 2010 project

 

project settings /application

 

enable Application frame work

 

reference

 

MapInfo 10.0 OLE automation type lib

 

net framework 4.0

 

but no idea why that would be