FME reads and writes MapInfo Extended TAB files.
The MapInfo Extended TAB Format is a proprietary format used by the MapInfo Pro mapping product. It was introduced in MapInfo Pro 15.2. MapInfo Native format files are often called TAB files. Advantages of MapInfo Extended TAB over the original MapInfo TAB format include support for tables larger than 2 GB as well as Unicode support.
Precisely MapInfo Extended TAB Product and System Requirements
|
Format |
Platform |
Operating System |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Reader/Writer |
FME Desktop License |
FME Server |
FME Cloud |
Windows 64-bit |
Linux |
Mac |
|
Reader |
Available in FME Professional Edition and higher |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
|
Writer |
Available in FME Professional Edition and higher |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
MapInfo Formats
The MapInfo Extended TAB can also read and write "native" TAB files (that is, files that can also be read by the MAPINFO and MITAB readers). The MapInfo Extended TAB reader may have better performance than MAPINFO or MITAB when reading native TAB files.
The table below compares FME-supported MapInfo formats.
snippet used in MapInfo formats
MapInfo Format Comparison
|
MapInfo Format |
Supports Tables over 2GB |
Unicode Support |
Stores Attributes and Geometry in One File |
Field Character Limit |
Available on Mac or Linux |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Precisely MapInfo TAB (EFAL) Reader/Writer (Technology Preview) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
|
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
|
|
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Overview
MapInfo files store both feature geometry and attributes. A logical MapInfo file consists of several physical files, having the following filename extensions:
|
Filename Extension |
Contents |
|---|---|
|
.tab |
The main file for a MapInfo table, associated with the appropriate DAT, MAP, ID, and IND files. |
|
.dat, .gpkg |
Tabular data for a table. Geopackage (.gpkg) (read-only) is an alternative way for a MapInfo Extended dataset to store attribute data. |
|
.id |
An index to a MapInfo graphical objects (MAP) file. |
|
.map |
Contains geographic information describing map objects. |
|
.ind |
An index to a MapInfo tabular (DAT) file. |
These extensions are added to the basename of the specified MapInfo file.
Note: In this chapter, references to file are references to the logical MapInfo file, not the multiple physical files that comprise it.
Geometric entities present in MapInfo may have display properties, such as pen and brush width, pattern, and color. In addition, each entity has a row of attributes associated with it. A single MapInfo map file can contain many different types of geometry; however, the associated attributes must have the same number and type of fields for each entity in the file.
Reader Overview
The MapInfo Extended TAB reader considers a dataset to be a TAB file and its related files in a single folder.
Writer Overview
The MapInfo Extended TAB writer is able to produce both Native and NativeX table types. Table handling options can be used to determine if the existing files will be overwritten or not.
Each MapInfo Extended table maps to a single file with the equivalent name in the specified folder.