Q: How do I import the a shapefile coverage study from TAP6 into Maptitude mapping software?

A: Start by running Maptitude.

ShapeFiles can be used with several other software packages.  A free ShapeFile viewer is available from ESRI.  ShapeFiles from TAP can be combined with other ShapeFiles (roads, building locations, etc.) available from numerous sources on the internet.

March 2, 2011 Note:  The shapefiles for a coverage study are created automatically in TAP6 and do not need to be exported as described above for earlier versions.  The shapefile will be named with the Task Description you entered when you created the Task in HDCoverage.  The file will be located in a folder with that same name, in the /MAPPING/MAP FILES" folder where TAP is installed.

  1. Create a new Map, such as the state you need.
  2. At the Maptitude menu, Click File then Open
  3. Under the Files of Type pull down menu select: ESRI Shapefile (*.shp)
  4. Find your file in the TAP Mapping folder (SWTAP\MAPPING\MAP FILES)
  5. Select your shapefile. The TAP shapefile name will be the same as the Task Description entered when the coverage study was set up.
  6. Click Open. Your shapefile will be opened in Maptitude.
  7. The Save As box will appear.
  8. Give a file name for the Maptitude dbd file.
  9. Select the folder for Maptitude studies.
  10. "Sample Coverage Study" is an example of a file name you could use.
  11. There will be progress bars displayed showing the status of building the new map of coverage information.
  12. The Map will open showing just the coverage points. All of the points will be black.
  13. Select the state map by clicking your mouse on the map.
  14. Go to the Map menu.
  15. Select the layers option.
  16. Select the add layer button.
  17. Select the Sample Coverage Study.dbd file or the file name that you just created.
  18. Click open.
  19. Your file now shows up in the layer list.
  20. Select the move up button and move your file up in the list (the 2nd or 3rd layer is fine. You can change the location later if your data is covered up or covers up something else).
  21. Click close.
  22. Your coverage study now shows on map, but all of the points are black.
  23. Be sure that you select your coverage layer shown in the Maptitude menu pulldown list.
  24. Next, click the Color Theme Map Wizard (This is a button with three triangles on the Maptitude toolbar. You can hold mouse the buttons to display the button function.)
  25. Select the field you want to use, such as DBU_FIELD for the computed field strength . This is the field (or column) in the TAP shapefile that contains the computed field strength value. 
    March 2, 2011 Note:  For TAP TalkBack studies, the field will be the "TALKBACK" field in the shapefile database.  For assigning a Color Theme for a TalkBack study, see the section below.
  26. Maptitude offers various ways to automatically classify the data to be plotted., such as equal distribution of values, etc. Since we are plotting field strength information to see particular levels, we want to set the levels manually. Click the Manual button. This will bring up the Manual Theme box.
    1. The program will read the values from the database.
    2. The map will be redrawn with default levels, usually assigned as equal numbers of points in each level assigned by Maptitude.
    3. Usually, you will want to see field strength values computed in TAP that relate to particular receiver hardware configurations.
    4. For example, suppose you use the TAP Required Field utility to determine that the field strength necessary for a mobile receiver unit is 39 dBu, and a handheld unit requires 50 dBu. (These numbers are for this illustration only. You determine the actual values for your system based on receiver manufacturer’s specifications, system gains and losses, etc.)
    5. In this example, you will need to set up at three levels: -9999 to 39, 39 to 50, and 50 to 99999.
  27. In the Number of Classes box, type in the number of levels that you have (3 for example)
  28. In the Class Settings section, highlight each line in the Classes list.
  29. You will make these changes in Class Settings (as an example):
    1. First line: From -9999 (inclusive) to 39 (not inclusive). This will plot all the points with a field strength value below 39 dBu. In our example, these would be points with values below the minimum required field for any of the receivers under consideration.
    2. Second line: From 39 (inclusive) to 50 (not inclusive). This will plot all the points at 39 dBu and above (adequate for our sample mobile unit) but below 50 dBu (not enough for our sample handheld radio).
    3. Third line: From 50 (inclusive) to 9999 (inclusive). This will plot all the points at 50 dBu and above for service to the handheld units.
  30. When you are finished setting the values, click the Styles tab. This will allow us to set the graphical information for each of the value ranges, or "classes".
  31. In the Styles box, you can select each of your levels and give a name to each level to appear in a legend.
    1. When you highlight one of the levels, type in a name for the legend. In the example, the legends could be:
    2. "No Service" for the –9999 to 39 range
    3. "Mobile Service" for the 39 to 50 range
    4. "Handheld Service" for the 50 to 9999 range.
    5. Then click the Style button.
    6. Select the color, icon, and size of the icon. Click OK.
    7. Repeat the Style process with each of the levels until you have the colors, icons, and legend names the way you want it.
  32. Once you have finished the style process, click on Apply.
  33. Once your map has been redrawn, click on OK.
  34. Your map and legend are now in a readable form.

TalkBack Studies in Maptitude

For TalkBack studies, instead of plotting ranges of field strength values as described above, you will plot two or more categories, such as "No TalkBack Service" and "My Mobile" where each talkback level computed is labeled with the description of the Mobile Facility database record used for the talkback calculation, such as "My Mobile" in this example.

For a TalkBack study in Maptitude, follow steps 1 to 25 as described above, then use this procedure to assign properties (color, etc) to the TalkBack categories.

  1. On the Color Theme Layer form click the "Settings" tab.
  2. In the "Field" box, select the TALKBACK data field.
  3. In the "Method" box, select "List of Values"
  4. The "# Classes" value will be set automatically after you set the "Styles" value.
  5. Click the "Styles" tab.
  6. You should see an entry for "No TalkBack Service" plus one entry for each Mobile Facility used. (Ignore the "Other" item.)
  7. Select each of the entries and click the Style button to select the color and fill pattern you want for each level.
  8. When you are done, click the OK button to display the TalkBack study on the Maptitude map.

 

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