FAQ

How much support can I expect to receive?

In the last 15 years we have managed to provide free, unlimited support with the purchase of our components. However, we ask that you respect a fair usage policy.

Where can I find user guides?

CartoVCL comes with Winhelp files. If you are using a Windows version later than Windows XP you may need to download a patch from Microsoft to view these files. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917607. We have kept this help file format due to the excellent quality. Newer CHM files are included in more recent releases.

What type of applications can CartoVCL be used to develop?

CartoVCL has been used to develop desktop applications fo:

  • Surveying,
  • Farm Planning,
  • Market Research,
  • CAD Systems,
  • Feasibility Studies,
  • Water Distribution Management Systems,
  • Automatic Vehicle Location,
  • Property Valuation,
  • Policing
  • Forestry
  • Cellular network
  • Routing
  • and more.
Opening standard shp file returns error – Unrecognized object type

This happens because the shapefile is a 3-dimensional shapefile, i.e. has Z or M-axis values in it. Please see page 4 of the ESRI Shapefile technical description. Presently, CartoVCL does not support 3D shapefiles (even if the Z or M values are all zero).

SOLUTION
Using the source application, save/convert your shapefile to one of the 2D types.

OR, alternatively convert your shapefile to 2D using GDAL. Run the following command:
  ogr2ogr.exe -f “ESRI Shapefile” [path to the output file, including the file name] [path to the input file, including the file name] -lco SHPT=Polygon

Note: The Output file name comes before input file name in the parameters.  Eg:
  ogr2ogr.exe -f “ESRI Shapefile” C:/_Temp/output/all_properties.shp C:/_Temp/all_properties.shp -lco SHPT=Polygon

NB: substitute the SHPT parameter for the object type in your shapefile, e.g. POINT, ARC, POLYGON. (Note that shapefiles can only contain one type of geometry per layer / shapefile.)

Ogr2ogr is a file format converter which must be run within the GDAL command line environment. The GDAL library can be downloaded from here.

See http://www.gdal.org/drv_shapefile.html for more infomation.

Can CartoVCL handle 3-D maps?

No. We did develop some 3-D shp file capability many years ago, but we decided to remove support for this capability.

Where do I get mapping data?

For testing purposes we have included a small selection of sample map files with the demos (see the CartoMap Viewer demo).

However, we know that you may need real useable data. The web is full of data, but here are a few suggested links:

http://www.naturalearthdata.com/downloads/

http://thematicmapping.org/downloads/

http://freegisdata.rtwilson.com/

What about Delphi 5?

We support CartoVCL for Delphi 6 to the latest version for Delphi.

However, CartoVCL has been around since Version 1 of Delphi.

If you want a Delphi 5 compatible version, please contact support@cartovcl.com.

Is there Delphi 2007 Support?

CartoVCL was not compiled with Delphi 2007. However, Delphi 2007 is binary compatible with Delphi 2006. Use CartoVCL for Delphi 2006 if you have Delphi 2007.

Does CartoVCL support 64-bit?

Yes, it runs on 32-bit and 64-bit systems.

Specifically, it’s a 32 bit library that works on 64 bit windows.

What mapping formats are supported?

Map data can be imported into our proprietary CGF file format by means of CartoVCL Map Editor.

CartoVCL can natively use (.shp) shape files. MapInfo MAP files (graphics) can also be opened directly, although we do not recommend this unless you just want access the graphic data. The MapInfo .dat files contain the text attributes and this file is of a proprietary nature.

There are importers for the ESRI shape (.shp) file format, MapInfo export (MIF) file format, and the Autocad DXF exchange format.

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