Desktop Microsoft MapPoint 2010

The desktop version of MapPoint, is the traditional flagship of the MapPoint brand. It is also the product which we specialize in. As well as the routing capabilities of Streets & Trips, it adds data plotting capabilities, demographic data, database interfaces, and a programming interface. The resulting product is targeted at business applications, but it is also very flexible. Different editions are available for North America and Europe. The latest version is MapPoint 2010. We have a separate article describing the new features implemented in MapPoint 2010.

This site specializes in tools and add-ins for the desktop version of Microsoft MapPoint. We have a number of articles about different MapPoint features and applications, but here is a quick summary:

Route Finding

Microsoft MapPoint comes with a comprehensive road database and routing capabilities. These could be used in a similar way as the Streets & Trips product, but they can also be accessed through the programming interface. This allows more complex functions to be implemented. For example, you could print a map showing the personalized route for each of your customers. Our MileCharter MPMileage products both use Microsoft MapPoint's routing abilities to find route distances and travel times between many locations. Both can also calculate estimated costs.

Microsoft MapPoint can also be used to track an attached GPS (Global Positioning System) unit that meets the NMEA 2.0 standard. This device can also be used for interactive real-time routing.

Geographic Data Analysis and Marketing

Geographic data can be plotted in Microsoft MapPoint in a variety of forms, including shaded areas and pie charts. Microsoft MapPoint is supplied with a range of demographic data, and you can import data from your own Microsoft Excel® spreadsheets, Access databases, flat files, and ODBC connections. Both of these example maps combine Microsoft MapPoint demographic data with external data.

The top map is a part of a marketing analysis for a new golf course. The golf course was being targeted at families, so the local youth populations are important. Existing golf courses are plotted over a youth population map. Other maps were also produced to look at income, population growth, and adult populations. The golf courses are plotted as pushpins. These can be used to mark specific locations and they can have data associated with them, e.g. customer locations and properties. The Pushpin Tool is a useful add-in for managing large numbers of pushpins.

The second map plots aircraft delays for a series of airports. Pie charts illustrate both the percentage of delayed flights and the absolute number of flights. In an attempt to understand the causes for the delays, the data has been plotted over the climate data supplied with Microsoft MapPoint.

Geographic Annotation

You can also add your own lines, shapes, and annotation to Microsoft MapPoint maps. For example, it has been successfully used to draw networks, or "freeform" territories on real world maps.

This technique is used by our MPSuperShape tool to manipulate shapes, as well as import/export them to other data formats. In the example to the right, two drivetime polygons have been drawn around two sales offices using MapPoint. These mark areas within a specific driving time of each office. MPSuperShape can combine them into one, to give an effective market territory of the two offices. MPSuperShape can also find shape intersections, calculate pushpin boundary shapes, and import/export shapes in a variety of file formats.

The Single State Mapper also uses this technique to produce maps of individual states for presentation purposes.

MapPoint 2010 Versions and Purchasing

In partnership with MP2KMag, we are able to offer Microsoft MapPoint 2010 for US$269. This price includes shipping to the US. There will be an extra $10 charge for Canadian addresses, and a $70 charge for FedEx shipping to addresses outside of North America. Volume discounts are also available.

Click to buy Microsoft MapPoint North America 2010 for US$269

Click to buy Microsoft MapPoint Europe 2010 for US$269

Custom Programming

The desktop version of Microsoft MapPoint has a programming interface that allows add-ins, tools, and other customization. As well as operating the Mapping-Tools.com website, Winwaed Software Technology LLC are available for custom Microsoft MapPoint programming projects and consulting. Please ask for a quote using our contact page.

 

Further Reading

Published in January 2006, Chandu Thota's Programming MapPoint in .NET (Programming) book is both the best and most recent book about programming the desktop version of MapPoint. This book is strongly recommended and has good coverage about controlling MapPoint from .NET languages. It also includes useful about the Microsoft MapPoint Web Service.

The older Mappoint for Dummies book (Buy from the US, Buy from the UK) is also recommended. This provides an excellent and comprehensive walk-through of MapPoint's capabilities. Although it is based on the 2002 version, the programming interface has seen few changes in MapPoint 2009. The menus and toolbars have been redesigned, but all of the original operations are still available. Unlike Chandu Thota's book, this book is really about using MapPoint as an application. It only has an introduction to using the programming interface.

Also see Microsoft's own MapPoint pages for further details about the desktop version of MapPoint.