Coordinate System (Map menu)

This dialog allows you to tell VSP which Projected Coordinate System (PCS) the project map is in. If you have loaded your map from a SHP file with and associated PRJ file, VSP will automatically set the coordinate system from the PRJ file.

NOTE: Changing the coordinate system will not re-project or alter your map - it will only tell VSP what is the correct coordinate system for your map.

You can also change the map units (feet, meters, etc.) from this dialog. Again, this will not re-project or alter your map - it will only tell VSP what is the correct coordinate system for your map. If a coordinate system other than Local/Undefined has been set, you should only change the units if you are certain that the map units are different than those currently displayed on the dialog.

This dialog contains the following controls:

Coordinate System Type

Allows you to choose the general projected coordinate system category from the following:

Local / Undefined	Use this choice for a local coordinate system, such as a building map.
From PRJ file	Load the coordinate system from a specified ESRI PRJ file.
British National Grid	For our friends in the United Kingdom.
State Plane (NAD83)	Choose one of the United States State Plane Coordinate Systems (SPCS) using the 1983 North American Datum (NAD83).
UTM (WGS84)	Choose one of the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinate systems using the 1984 World Geodetic System (WGS84) datum.

Local / Undefined

No controls are needed for this coordinate system. It's not a projection. VSP just uses the coordinates without reference to the larger world. You will not be able to use the Map Tile Server with this coordinate system

From PRJ file

Choose PRJ File button

Press the button to choose your PRJ file and load the coordinate system from it. Only projected coordinate systems (PCS) are supported in VSP.

British National Grid

This the standard projection used on the island of Great Britain. It is based on the OSGB 1936 datum. No other controls are needed for this projection.

State Plane (NAD83)

State Plane drop list

Select one of 123 defined state plane coordinate systems (excluding Alaska Zone 1 and Guam) using this control.

Unit drop list

Select the units (Meters, Feet, or Feet US Survey) using this control.

UTM (WGS84)

Zone drop list

Choose one of 60 longitudinal zones with this control

Southern Hemisphere check box

Check this box to select the southern hemisphere.

Unit drop list

Select the units (Meters, Feet, or Feet US Survey) using this control.

Change Units button

Press this button to change the units for the coordinate system. If using a coordinate system other than Local / Undefined, only change the units if you are certain they are wrong. NOTE: changing the units will not re-project or otherwise alter the map.

Output PRJ File button

Press this button and choose a file location. A standard ESRI PRJ file describing the projected coordinate system will be written to the selected file.

Setting the coordinate system allows you to use the Map Tile Server, which will automatically display a map or other image data as a background image for your project map.