There are two approaches to using LandView®:
1) Querying one of the LandView databases and viewing the query results as selected objects on a map, or
2) Searching the MARPLOT® map and viewing the search results as a selection of LandView database records. These approaches are described below.

1)Querying the databases and viewing the query results as selected objects on a map

In LandView choose a database from the LandView Startup Menu. If you choose 1990 Census Data, you can select the Census database containing data for a specific type of census geography from the labeled file folder tab buttons.

For example, to find census data for Washington County Indiana you would first click on the States tab to bring up the states database screen. You would then press the Switch to List View button to scroll through the entire database of states alphabetically. Going through list view in a database is a good way to find data records if you are not sure of the precise name of the item you are looking for. After you have highlighted Indiana, you can then click on the Switch to Form View button in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. This will allow you to view census data for Indiana in the customized screen. The next step is to click on the Counties tab to bring up a list of Indiana counties. You would then again press the Switch to List View button to scroll through the entire database of states alphabetically. (Please note that places, congressional districts, counties, MCDs, tract/BNAs, and census block groups nest hierarchically within state. For that reason, the list views for the above geographies will be limited to the current state selected under the States tab.)

Another way to find data records is by choosing the Query function by pressing the Query button on the customized screen. This will bring up a screen that allows you to plug in a search criterion. The default field to search will be "County" for this example, although you can choose any other field to search on. For example, if you were searching for all the counties named Washington in the entire U.S., you would type in "Washington" into the county box and then press the ENTER key. The customized form will reappear with the first county in the match list. The left-hand portion of the screen will indicate that it found 31 records out of 3231 that matched the criteria. For more information on screen controls and indicators see Introduction to FileMaker® and Query.

However you manage to find a particular data record, you can show the selected item on the map by choosing Show on Map on the customized screen. A Show on Map Options box will appear that allows you to select what you would like to view: Pressing the Current button will map the current record showing in the form. Pressing the All button will map all records in the set and then highlight the records in the found set. Pressing the Only button will map only records in found set.

Using the query for "Washington" mentioned above, the Current button will map the county shown on the form. The All button will map all counties in the entire U.S. and then highlight by using tiny red squares the 31 selected counties. The Only button will map just the 31 counties found by the query.

Whether you look for a single item or a group of items, the system will bring the MARPLOT program forward, and the record(s) will be selected (MARPLOT places tiny red squares around the border of selected polygons, or around the symbol of selected point objects). For polygon objects like states, counties, and census tracts, MARPLOT will zoom in so that the selected object(s) just fits the screen.

The Thematic Mapping function is another way to view database results on a map. Once you have chosen a summary level from the choices under 1990 Census Data, highlight the statistic of interest and press the Thematic Mapping button from the customized screen. This function allows you to set colors and patterns for objects on the map, based on values in a database field. For example, you can display counties in various colors based on the Median Household Income. See Thematic Mapping for more details on this feature.

2)Inquire into the map and view the results as a selection of database records

Details on making inquiries into the map using MARPLOT can be found by choosing Help from the MARPLOT program. The following is a brief summary of how map objects can be selected in MARPLOT, and how the results can be shown in LandView:

MARPLOT has a tool bar on the left margin.The MARPLOT tools appear as a list of icons along the left edge of the map window. When you have unlocked one or more layers, the list of tools extends to include tools for creating new objects on the map. (For more information, see Tools and Layer List in MARPLOT Help.) The top-most tool is the arrow, or selection tool. With it, you can click on any map object to select it. You can also drag a rectangle (or a circle with the Ctrl Key pressed) to select all objects within the area you specify. You can also search for map objects by choosing the Search option from the List menu. The result of a search is a list of objects (search collection) that you can cause to be selected by choosing Show All on Map.

Whenever you have one or more map objects selected, you can add to the selected set by "Shift-Clicking" additional objects. To view database information on selected map objects, choose Get Info from the LandView Databases section of the Sharing menu. (A shortcut for Get Info is to press Ctrl+I). LandView will come forward and provide you with a list of categories (databases or map layers) that were chosen, and how many records were selected in each. Press the Switch to List View button to view a list of the records found. If you want to look at the selected database records then you can do that also.

In the Census databases, there is a Summarize button, which will sum numeric fields for the selected (or queried) record set. An example of how this can be used is:

Select a set of census tracts from MARPLOT (perhaps these are tracts that are within a certain radius of an EPA-regulated facility), choose Get Info. This will bring you back into LandView under the Tract /BNA tab. You will notice in the left-hand column that under Found the number of records found is noted. If you want to view the list of census tracts then press Switch to List View. Otherwise the Summarize button can be pressed. The population, income, and other demographic data fields will be summed for the selected tracts, thus giving you the demographic characteristics for a radius around an EPA site. Alternatively, you can select export from the file menu, specify the fields to be contained on each record, and the file type to be exported. You then can import that file into your database or spreadsheet program for further analysis.