WinToMap 
by IK3SVW Max (italian home page http://space.tin.it/io/lhmon) - November,2001


GENERAL
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My intent was to reduce big maps generated by mapmap11, an utility that converts 
winAPRS maps into APRSDos maps. If you choose a large range in mapmap11, converted
maps often have more than 3000 points, not suitable for APRSDos.

WinToMap.exe is an utility that try to reduce any over-3000-points APRSDos map 
into less than 3000 points, that is the limit allowed by APRSDos program. 
It also clears single points in any APRSDos map.
The maps to be reduced cannot be in any compressed format.
Written in turbo pascal, needs at least a 286 PC and runs in DOS/Win3.x/95/98.

 

FEATURES
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WinToMap provides an automatic routine that cuts many points of every map feature.
The operation is based on two parameters:
1) The first parameter can be initially set by user and defines the minimum number
   of points that a feature must have for applying 1:2 points reduction (i.e. 50%).
2) The second parameter, initially set to about 60 points, is automatic.
   If a feature has more points than the second parameter value, the program 
   reduces the points of that feature to half of second parameter value.

Here is an example:
Assume that the 1st parameter=5 and 2nd parameter=50.
- If a feature has 5 points or less the program do nothing and leave the feature as is.
- If a feature has 30 points (between 6 and 50) the program performs 1:2 reduction,
  i.e. cuts 50% of points, so the reduced feature will have 15 points.
- If a feature has more than 50 points, the program reduce it costantly to 25 points.
  
The program try to reduce a map with inital parameter values, and if the reduced map
has still more than 3000 points, it runs again decereasing automatically the value
of the second parameter - and if necessary the first parameter - until the reduced
map has less than 3000 points.
Note That:
- This routine is not "intelligent", i.e. does not analyze features, it simply cuts points.
- The "minimum" reduction is 1:2 (50%) so maps will be hardly reduced.
- I found that this program works decently with maps that ranges between 3500 and 9000 points.


OPERATION
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When you run the program, it asks the name of map(s) to be reduced.
You can use wildcards, for example *.DMF, or SK*.DMF. The names of maps to be reduced could
also be input as a line parameter when starting WinToMap. Example: Wintomap *.DMF.
Then it asks the suffix of generated maps. Please enter up to 3 chars without leading dot.
The reduced maps will have the same name of original maps with user input suffix.
Please for reduced maps do NOT use the same suffix of original maps.
Finally it asks for the value of first parameter (minimum is 2).
For an indication of how to set the first parameter, the less the points of maps to be 
reduced the more the value of this parameter. I work with values between 4-15.
The program then starts reducing map(s). If a map to be reduced has less than 3000 points,
the program will only clears single points.
The reduction may take some time because usually a big map will not be reduced to less
than 3000 points with initial parameters value, so the program will perform reduction 
of the same map using decreasing parameter values.
The program warns if was not able to reduce a map even with maximum reduction.



IK3SVW Max