MM Topo User Guide

The heart of the MasterMap Topo translator is a module called UXTR - short for 'Universal Translator. UXTR can perform many translations as well as the MasterMap to MicroStation design file translation discussed here.

Example One

This example converts the sample data file '58116-SX9192-2c1.gz' from Ordnance Survey [http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/products/innovations/sampledata/OSMasterMap_Topo/58116-SX9192-2c1.gz] to four 1km MicroStation design file tiles:

C:\mm_topo> uxtrt -testR -gml=58116-SX9192-2c1.gz -lst=01.lst -clip=2 -seed=topo_seed.td7 -celllib=topo.cd7 -cfg=topo_filled.xml -diradd=add/ -dirdel=del/ -abd=uxtrt.abd

That's quite a long command line with plenty of opportunity to make mistakes. If you run it you should see four new design files in the current directory. They have a .td7 extension to make it clear that they are MicroStation V7 design files, but don't worry - you can give them any extension you want.

SX9192.td7 SX9193.td7 SX9292.td7 SX9293.td7

This is what the uxtrt test R command line parameters mean:

• -testR

Test 'R' means "Convert an OS-!MasterMap .gz file to MicroStation V7 tiles". Other tests do completely different things that we won't go into here, but to give you a flavour of the possibilities, 'C' creates a single .dgn (actually a .td7') from a single MasterMap .gz and I creates a 'myriad' directory structure. The tests go from A to Z.

Test A is actually quite useful. It doesn't do any processing but it confirms that everything is working OK.

C:\mm_topo> uxtrt -testA uxtrt.c 977 Test A OK

• -gml58116-SX9192-2c1.gz

Specifies the path to the .gz file you want to process. It is OK to specify full or relative paths so -gmlC:\Temp\58116-SX9192-2c1.gz or -gml=..\..\data\58116-SX9192-2c1.gz are both fine.

• -lst01.lst :

Specifies the 'list file' that is used to process the .gz file. Basically it is a list of tile names you want to create. The sample file 01.lst looks like this:

SX9192.td7 SX9193.td7 SX9292.td7 SX9293.td7

When the .gz file is processed graphical elements are added to the tiles in the list file. This might seem strange at first. Most people initially just want 'all the tiles' in the .gz file. This is OK at first but when you have hundreds of thousands of tiles in the same directory things get quite unmanageable. Trust me on this one.

Typically the list file contains a path. It is easy to imagine splitting the tiles down by the first two letters. Something like this:

Z:\Maps\sx\SX0000.dgn Z:\Maps\sx\SX0001.dgn Z:\Maps\sx\SX0002.dgn ... Z:\Maps\sx\SX9999.dgn Z:\Maps\sy\SY0000.dgn ...

There are better ways to do it than that (more on that later) but splitting the maps down like this is a good start. Technically all 10,000 maps in a 100km x 100km square are called a 'myriad'. Don't worry about having lots of entries in the list file. It is handled in a very efficient way and there is very little difference between processing a list file with 10 entries and one with 10,000 entries.

• -clip2

There are three 'clip modes':

** -clip0 is unclipped. ** -clip1 is clipped. ** -clip-2 is clipped and closed.

If you want 'filled polygons' then you'll want clip mode 2. If you just want plain line work (rather like Land-Line) then you'll want clip mode 1. Clip mode 0 (unclipped) is interesting but not very useful.

• -seedtopo_seed.td7

This is the seed file used to create new tiles. You'll want to make sure your working units, colour palette and a host of other things are set up just the way you want them. Notice that the seed file is also a MicroStation V7 design file.

• -celllibtopo.cd7

This is the cell library used to place cartographic symbols. It is referred to by the configuration file below. Again, this is a MicroStation V7 cell library.

• -cfgtopo_filled.xml

This is the configuration file that determines the symbology of the different mapping elements. It is an XML file and you can modify it to suit yourself. Just make sure it is still a valid XML file after you have finished editing it.

• -diraddadd/

The translator puts the 'add' files in this directory. Don't worry about this now, just make sure this directory exists.

• -dirdeldel/

The translator puts 'delete' files in this directory. Again, don't worry about this now, just make sure the directory exists.

• -abduxtrt.abd

This optional parameter tells the translator to put error messages in the file 'uxtrt.abd'. If everything goes OK this file will be empty, i.e. zero bytes. If something goes wrong this file will contain error messages. To help us solve problems we might ask you send us the 'uxtrt abend file'. 'abd' is a contraction of 'abend' which is itself a contraction of 'abnormal end'.