The Base Maps

All digital maps used in EasyMap are listed in the Base Maps Control Window.

Base maps in LTG file format

The standard maps supplied with EasyMap have the file extension *.LTG. This closed file format can only be opened and used with the programs EasyMap or DistrictManager and not in other geoinformation systems.

More information about LTGs can be found here.

What other map formats can EasyMap use?

  • ESRI Shapefiles (.shp) - a geodata format originally developed for ESRI's ArcView software.
  • Refx2 - Self developed territory structures from the EasyMap DistrictManager Edition
  • raster maps in GeoTiff format
  • DMP - the file format from old DistrictManager projects
  • DIK - The DIK file format was used in earlier software versions of Lutum+Tappert. For compatibility reasons, EasyMap continues to support this format. When inserting, a DIK map base is dynamically converted to a LTG base map so that the inserted layers behave exactly like layers from LTG base maps.
  • TAB - a geodata file format from MapInfo.

  • KML - Plain Text - Geodata format with XML Notation

  • GeoJson - Plain Text - Geodata format with JSON Notation

  • Barrier base maps (*.bar.ltg) - further information

Note: Please note, EasyMap can not format all types of Geo-data. Especially those with files that combine different geometry types in one layer, such as areas and lines. File formats such as KML and GeoJson are defined in plain text, allowing freedom in the definition of geometries. Therefore, EasyMap can not process all combinations of this type.

Furthermore, the listing of a base map in the Base Maps control window does not guarantee that EasyMap will be able to process the data because data verification only begins after insertion of the data into the map.

Note: Due to technological constraints, EasyMap processes geo-data formatted in plain text such as KML and GeoJson much slower than LTG or SHP or TAB. Thus, we recommend that you do not use these formats in extensive analyses or as a base for your territory organization. Via map export, you can export these geo-data formats into SHP-files. Use these exported files to build your workbook and enhance the performance of EasyMap.

Inserting Internet Maps as Background Maps

EasyMap offers you an interface for integrating maps from the Internet, e.g. to load road maps into the map folder for visualization. Learn here how to insert an Internet map.

Change Base Maps

You can update all the maps in your workbook. You can also switch levels to a different territory structure without losing all settings or having to recreate the analyses.

The procedure for changing base maps is explained here.

map projections

Normally, when working with EasyMap, you do not often come into contact with coordinate systems and projections. EasyMap automatically combines maps of different projections.

If you want to know more about this topic read the chapter Projections and coordinate systems.