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+++ b/doku/source/functionality.txt	Mon Jul 18 15:12:24 2011 +0200
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+-------------
+Functionality
+-------------
+
+The MXD2map converter works as a commandline tool to transform maps from the
+proprietary ArcGIS file format "MXD" to a MapServer configuration file.
+
+To transform an ArcGIS mxd file to a MapServer configuration file the mxd file
+must have a valid and available data source and must not fit the restrictions
+described in the appropriate section.
+
+How to use
+----------
+The converter is started via the commandline running the command::
+
+  $java -jar mxd2map.jar
+
+The converter can be configured in two ways:
+
+1. The converter.properties file (see converter.properties.sample)
+2. via commandline arguments
+
+Both take a parameter for the path to the mxd file, the outputfile and a mapfile
+template for initial mapfile config. Commandline parameters have a higher
+priority than the properties file.
+
+The available parameters on the commandline are::
+
+  -m or --mxd		The mxd file to convert.
+
+  -a or --map		The path to the output file. Should end with ".map".
+
+  -t or --template	The template to use for an initial mapfile
+			configuration.
+
+To have the full functionality for ArcGIS map conversion it is necessary to have
+the ESRI fonts available. ArcGIS products install these fonts to the default
+windows font folder "c:\\windows\\fonts". To make them available for the converter
+there has to be a MapServer font set (see
+http://mapserver.org/mapfile/fontset.html). The MXD2map converter comes with an
+initial fontset containing all relevant ESRI fonts and the free font FreeSans.
+The font set file named fonts.txt can be edited and further fonts can be added.
+To use a font set, the file needs to be referenced in the MapServer template
+otherwise the converter can not create character symbols and will show up errors
+in the conversion process.
+
+The converter uses a separate symbol file to provide symbol sets to the
+MapServer configuration. A pre-build symbol file can be referenced in the
+template to have initial symbols available. If no symbol file is referenced a
+new one is created by the converter if necessary. The resulting symbol set is
+written to the same directory as the output mapfile named
+[mapfile-name]-symbols.sym.
+
+
+Features
+--------
+
+Currently supported features:
+
+ * The MXD2map converter can use ArcSDE database connections and local
+   shapefile datasources to create a mapfile.
+
+ * Convertable symbols:
+
+   * Simple marker symbols
+   * Character marker symbols
+   * Arrow marker symbols
+   * Any combination of character marker symbols
+   * Linesymbols with pattern and cartographic attributes
+   * Polygons filled with solid color and outline
+   * Polygons filled with a hatch and outline
+
+ * Convertable layer:
+
+   * Feature layer
+   * Layer containing unique values
+   * Layer containing class breaks
+   * Grouplayer with one grouplevel
+
+ * Further map attributes:
+
+   * Projection and units
+   * Min/max scale denominations
+   * Map extents
+   * Simple labeling
+   * Filter and expressions
+