Why can I use MapInfo to do some editing instead of having to use MapEdit all of the time?
The major reasons that MapEdit is so handy are that it is all in one place, it allows you to do multiple things at once, and it preserves TOPOLOGY. Topology in itself is not an easy concept to grasp. It is often referred to as rubber sheet geometry in that it is the relationships between geometric objects, rather than the shape of the objects. When you get your TIGER coverages up on the screen, all of the lines are connected at various points and they form a network of one kind or another. If one of these lines anywhere within the TIGER dataset is disconnected, it throws the entire network off (and is EXTREMELY difficult to repair – thus – run your backups daily if you are adjusting lines). We realize that MapInfo is fun and that there is a lot there to explore, but even little mistakes made in MapInfo can lead to weeks of repairs. These mistakes are less likely in MapEdit and they can be checked on a regular basis to save everyone time and effort.
