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MapPoint 2002 European Edition is the latest update of Microsoft's map-based application and it provides three basic functions. It's an electronic map and options include searching for a location or finding the best route from A to B. It's also a mapping resource for other Office programs. However, its prime function is to plot location-based business data onto maps.
The real power of MapPoint comes from the geographical presentation of business information, which is also packed with demographic reference data (using up to 875MB of hard disk space). Your own data, such as regional sales figures, can be imported from a variety of sources, tied to locations, then displayed on maps.
Display options include pushpins, shading and pie and bar charts. Customisable territories allow you to group map areas relevant to your business structure.
An ideal source for imported data is Excel. Data automatically updates if you link to the source file, although, disappointingly, if you just import, there's no way to edit it inside MapPoint. You can also import from other Office (97 or later) applications and SQL Server (6.5 or later).
MapPoint determines location from only one data field - for example, a 'town' field - so repeated place names might cause trouble.
European demographic data is updated for this version and focuses, as with road map detail, on western European countries. The rest of the world has less information and maps show towns and cities only, although there's a North American version with associated map and demographic detail.
Combining all these elements together brings various opportunities to businesses and MapPoint can be used to analyse company figures geographically, plan office locations, work out delivery times and guide service personnel to customers. MapPoint supports GPS receivers conforming to the NMEA 2.0 specification or later, while Pocket Streets is included to use maps on Pocket PCs.
The program functions as a resource for other Office programs and this release features tighter integration with Office 2000 and XP, placing toolbar buttons in other programs on installation. You can export maps to other applications, as well as automatically search for addresses contained in Office files.
The 2002 release also features ActiveX controls and enhanced automation support, so developers can integrate mapping capabilities into custom applications.
MapPoint 2002 European Edition doesn't have the depth of other Microsoft products - it lacks data editing, for example - but the new territories function, the ability to save as HTML and better integration with Office suite are welcome additions.
Contact
Microsoft: Microsoft Campus, Thames Valley Park, Reading, Berkshire RG6 1WG
Tel 0870 601 0100, Fax 0870 601 0700
www.microsoft.com/office/mappoint/
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