Epi Map is a program for IBM-compatible microcomputers that produces
maps from geographic boundary files and data values entered from the
keyboard or supplied in Epi Info (see below) or xBASE files. (xBASE is
used here to refer to the file format popularized by the dBASE line of
database software, a product of Ashton-Tate and Borland International.)

Full documentation for Epi Map is contained in the on-line help file.
"Full documentation" means the entire manual, with index and rudimentary
hypertext capabilities. A plain ASCII version of the manual is available
in the file EMAP10DO.ZIP.

Epi Map is designed to be run on systems having a hard drive or other
large storage device. Installation and execution of minimal systems may
be possible using diskettes or other low capacity storage devices, but
such operation is not supported by the authors.

Data displayed in Epi Map may be counts, rates, or other numeric values.
In Color/Pattern maps, the values are represented as shading or color
patterns for each geographic entity. In Dot Density maps, randomly
placed dots proportional in number to the values are placed in each
entity. Epi Map also produces Cartograms, in which the value for each
geographic entity is allowed to control the size of the entity. Thus, a
state or country will be small on the map if the value being represented
(e.g., cases of AIDS) is small, but large if the number is large.

Outline maps are supplied with Epi Map and others can be created or
edited within Epi Map. They consist of a series of numbers representing
the coordinates of the entities in the map. These entities--countries,
provinces, states, counties, or cities--are all regions with complete
boundaries, a number of vertices, and names recorded in a special format
in the boundary (.BND) file. Some regions are also represented in
longitude-latitude (.LL) files, enabling their projection and/or
rotation using a supplied utility.

Epi Map is designed to work independently or as a companion to Epi Info,
a system of computer programs for public health work that is available
in the public domain (Dean AD, Dean JA, Burton JH, Dicker RC.  Epi Info,
Version 5: a word processing, database and statistics program for
epidemiology on microcomputers. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., 1990).  Numerical data can be
entered in Epi Info (or xBASE), manipulated and analyzed, and then sent
to Epi Map for display and printing in map form if desired.

It is not necessary to use or understand Epi Info (or xBASE) to make maps in Epi
Map, since data can be entered from the keyboard and saved directly in
Epi Map.  This is the simplest method for small data sets.

Epi Map offers a number of tools for enhancing a completed map.  You can
select the type of map, patterns of shading or color, number of dots per
unit value, and color and thickness of boundaries, and also add
three-dimensional shading, titles, legends, text, boxes, or lines.  Both
data and boundary files can be edited from within Epi Map.  Maps can be
changed in size and several different maps can be displayed on the same
screen.  Labels for geographic entities can be displayed or suppressed,
and edited in a variety of ways. Details of the finished map, are stored
in a .MAP file for later display or for printing.

Since Epi Map supports dot-matrix, laser, inkjet, and Postscript
printers and Hewlett-Packard compatible plotters, the final map may be
printed in color or black and white in a form suitable for publication.
Maps may be sent to files in the CGM (Computer Graphics Metafile), TIF,
PCX, and several other formats so that they can be imported into Harvard
Graphics, Lotus Freelance, or other commercial programs for further
enhancement or combined with other graphics.

For regular use, as in a public health surveillance system, programs may
be written so that Epi Info produces data files for mapping that will
automatically be sent to Epi Map for display and printing in a
previously constructed map format.

Epi Map and this manual are not copyrighted and may be freely reproduced
for use by others. The U.S. boundary files supplied with the system are
licensed for use only with Epi Map, and they may be freely distributed
and used only with Epi Map.  The other boundary files may be distributed
without limitation.

Primary support for Epi Map is via the "Epi Info hot line":

        Voice : +1 404 728 0545
        FAX   : +1 404 321-4043

=== eof ===