Pie charts and column charts can also be added to maps to highlight multiple demographic or other data variables, and custom icons and pushpins can be displayed on the maps to help communicate locations of customers, retail locations or other points of interest. For developers, the new version of MapPoint includes an ActiveX Control, a more comprehensive object model and improved support for COM Add-Ins. These enhancements greatly expand the ability of corporate developers or independent software vendors to integrate MapPoint functionality within a broad range of their business applications and custom solutions. With the rich functionality possible with the ActiveX Control, developers can embed a fully functional MapPoint map within their application and integrate the maps to work with whatever location data that application is using. New features and access to mapping functionality through ActiveX will make MapPoint a good productivity option for a large group of business users.
Customers can incorporate maps into the work they do every day.
They can embed MapPoint maps into reports, presentations and Web sites using Word, the PowerPoint presentation graphics program and the FrontPage Web site creation and management tool. They can also add maps to brochures and flyers with Publisher. European pricing will be comparable but will vary per currency and is subject to currency exchange rate fluctuations. The ActiveX component may be licensed separately, with pricing to be released later this year.