Drawing TAP 4 Coverage Studies with TAP 5 HDMapper

Drawing TAP 4 Coverage Studies with TAP 5 HDMapper™

Q: Can I use the TAP 5 HDMapper to draw maps of coverage studies computed with TAP 4?

A: TAP includes a utility for writing coverage studies into the ShapeFile format used by HDMapper.

For example, suppose you have a coverage study computed and plotted with the TAP 4 Map Window as shown below:

From the TAP6 Map menu, select "Plot TAP4 Coverage" item. (If you want to create a shapefile but not draw the map, select the "Shapefile from TAP4 Coverage" item.)

On the list of TAP Tasks that is displayed, select the study you want to plot in HDMapper:

If the study is a tile study you will be prompted for the type of ShapeFile to write:

TAP Coverage Studies (Radial, Contour, or Tile) are written to ShapeFiles as shown below:

Radial studies (including "Advanced –End Only" radials) are written as Point ShapeFiles
Contour studies are written as Polygon ShapeFiles
Tile studies can be written either as Points, or as small rectangles centered on each tile points (a Polygon ShapeFile). The choice will affect how the ShapeFiles can be plotted. Typically, point ShapeFiles can be drawn with symbols or TrueType fonts to represent each location. Polygon ShapeFiles can be plotted with each polygon (or tile point) colored or shaded to represent a particular value. Point ShapeFiles will show the individual points, while Polygon ("rectangle") ShapeFiles will show as a continuous area with different colors and fill patterns to represent different points.

After you select the type of ShapeFile to write (for Tile studies) a progress form will be displayed:

When the conversion is completed you will be given the option to draw the map with HDMapper:

If you click the Yes button, the coverage map will be drawn. You can then adjust the field strength levels and colors and add other ShapeFiles to the coverage map: