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written by Nigel James
 
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MAPINFO How to...  
No. 11: Create enhanced country borders  
(References to tables, folders etc., are not applicable outside the Map Room, so if you are located elsewhere, you should substitute your own)  
   

This explains how to use MapInfo to create attractive shaded country (or other region) borders, such as those used in National Geographic and other publications. This using buffers to create the inner regions and saving them as a new table. MapInfo How to No.1 should be used for step-by-step instructions on creating maps and layouts.

 
   
1. Start MapInfo.  
 
2. Open the map table which you are going to use. The example uses the overview table from the Euromaps dataset. You could also use the politic_3 world 1:3M table from Global Insight, or any other table with regions in different colours.  
 
4. Any object which is to be used to create a buffer zone must be editable. The standard datasets are read-only, so in this case you must first make a new layer containing the countries to be buffered.  
   
5. Select the first country, then hold down the SHIFT key and click all the other countries to select them as well (alternatively, use the Marquee select tool at the top right of the toolbox to select all the countries - use whichever is easier).  
   
6. Open the File menu and click Save copy as. In the Save copy as dialog choose selection and click Save as… Save the objects in a new table in your own folder - as base countries, for example.  
   
7. Open your new table, then open the Layer control and remove the original read-only table by selecting it and then clicking the Remove button. Make your new table editable by clicking the Editable check box and click OK.  
   
8. To find a suitable border width, click one of the regions (preferably the smallest) to select it. Next, open the Objects menu and click Buffer…  
   
9. In the Buffer objects dialog, enter a suitable value (in the example opposite, the value is -10 miles). Note that the value must be negative, or the buffer will be outside the object!  
   
10. Select your choice of units and leave the smoothness as 12. This only needs to be increased when you are creating circular buffer zones, or you are buffering larger objects. Check that One buffer for each object is selected and click OK.  
   
11. After a few seconds (depending on the size of the object), a line will appear inside the country border. If it looks OK, fine. If not, click it to select it, then press the DELETE key to remove it and try again with a different value.  
   
12. When you are happy with the buffer zone, select all the other regions and apply the same buffer zone settings. Check that One buffer for each object is selected.  
   
13. You now have an inner buffer zone for each country. Save the table so that the buffer zones are part of the layer, by opening the File menu and clicking Save… Select the countries layer and save it, replacing the existing table.  
   
14. Now you can change the fill colour of each buffer zone to make it lighter than the original fill colour. To do this, select a buffer zone and click the Region style button on the drawing toolbox (bottom left button). Choose a new lighter fill colour from the palette by clicking the arrow to the right of the Fill foreground box (leaving the Fill pattern as solid). You can also remove the border by selecting N for none in the Border style box. Click OK to confirm the new colours. Repeat this for each region.  
   
15. Finally, save the base countries layer and then uncheck the Editable checkbox for the layer in the Layer control. This will prevent accidents!  
   
This is a brief and specific guide to this topic, for more general information, see: MapInfo l - an easy guide for new users  
Nigel James
Bodleian Library 2001
 
Bodleian Library Map Room