rrenkert@182: -------------
rrenkert@182: Functionality
rrenkert@182: -------------
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182: The MXD2map converter works as a commandline tool to transform maps from the
rrenkert@182: proprietary ArcGIS file format "MXD" to a MapServer configuration file.
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182: To transform an ArcGIS mxd file to a MapServer configuration file the mxd file
rrenkert@182: must have a valid and available data source and must not fit the restrictions
rrenkert@182: described in the appropriate section.
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182: How to use
rrenkert@182: ----------
rrenkert@182: The converter is started via the commandline running the command::
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182:   $java -jar mxd2map.jar
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182: The converter can be configured in two ways:
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182: 1. The converter.properties file (see converter.properties.sample)
rrenkert@182: 2. via commandline arguments
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182: Both take a parameter for the path to the mxd file, the outputfile and a mapfile
rrenkert@182: template for initial mapfile config. Commandline parameters have a higher
rrenkert@182: priority than the properties file.
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182: The available parameters on the commandline are::
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182:   -m or --mxd		The mxd file to convert.
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182:   -a or --map		The path to the output file. Should end with ".map".
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182:   -t or --template	The template to use for an initial mapfile
rrenkert@182: 			configuration.
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182: To have the full functionality for ArcGIS map conversion it is necessary to have
rrenkert@182: the ESRI fonts available. ArcGIS products install these fonts to the default
rrenkert@182: windows font folder "c:\\windows\\fonts". To make them available for the converter
rrenkert@182: there has to be a MapServer font set (see
rrenkert@182: http://mapserver.org/mapfile/fontset.html). The MXD2map converter comes with an
rrenkert@182: initial fontset containing all relevant ESRI fonts and the free font FreeSans.
rrenkert@182: The font set file named fonts.txt can be edited and further fonts can be added.
rrenkert@182: To use a font set, the file needs to be referenced in the MapServer template
rrenkert@182: otherwise the converter can not create character symbols and will show up errors
rrenkert@182: in the conversion process.
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182: The converter uses a separate symbol file to provide symbol sets to the
rrenkert@182: MapServer configuration. A pre-build symbol file can be referenced in the
rrenkert@182: template to have initial symbols available. If no symbol file is referenced a
rrenkert@182: new one is created by the converter if necessary. The resulting symbol set is
rrenkert@182: written to the same directory as the output mapfile named
rrenkert@182: [mapfile-name]-symbols.sym.
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182: Features
rrenkert@182: --------
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182: Currently supported features:
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182:  * The MXD2map converter can use ArcSDE database connections and local
rrenkert@182:    shapefile datasources to create a mapfile.
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182:  * Convertable symbols:
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182:    * Simple marker symbols
rrenkert@182:    * Character marker symbols
rrenkert@182:    * Arrow marker symbols
rrenkert@182:    * Any combination of character marker symbols
rrenkert@182:    * Linesymbols with pattern and cartographic attributes
rrenkert@182:    * Polygons filled with solid color and outline
rrenkert@182:    * Polygons filled with a hatch and outline
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182:  * Convertable layer:
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182:    * Feature layer
rrenkert@182:    * Layer containing unique values
rrenkert@182:    * Layer containing class breaks
rrenkert@182:    * Grouplayer with one grouplevel
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182:  * Further map attributes:
rrenkert@182: 
rrenkert@182:    * Projection and units
rrenkert@182:    * Min/max scale denominations
rrenkert@182:    * Map extents
rrenkert@182:    * Simple labeling
rrenkert@182:    * Filter and expressions
rrenkert@182: