Microsoft MapPoint

Microsoft MapPoint is both a technology ("MapPoint Web Service," previously known as MapPoint .NET) and a specific software program created by Microsoft that allows users to view, edit and integrate maps. The software and technology are designed to facilitate the geographical visualization and analysis of either included data or custom data. Numerous acquisitions (Vexcel, Vicinity Corporation, GeoTango, etc.) have supplemented both data and feature integration.

MapPoint is intended for business users but competes in the low-end Geographic information system ("GIS") market. It includes all of the functionality of the most recent version of Streets and Trips, the consumer mapping software, at the time of development, as well as integration with Microsoft Office, data mapping from various sources including Microsoft Excel, and a Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) interface allowing automation of the MapPoint environment.

The MapPoint technology is used in
 * End-user desktop software:
 * MapPoint (for North American and Western European business users)
 * Microsoft Streets and Trips (for North American home users)
 * Microsoft AutoRoute (for Western European home and small business users)
 * Encarta encyclopedia (Atlas functionality)
 * Web-based services:
 * The Bing Maps website maps.bing.com
 * The Microsoft Virtual Earth development platform
 * The MapPoint Web Service using SOAP XML
 * The Virtual Earth Map control, an ActiveX control, which lets users make requests via JavaScript to an AJAX map object

Versions
Microsoft MapPoint as the software is typically updated every two years and available in both upgrade and full packaged product form; the current version is 2009, while the current version of the Streets and Trips counterpart is 2008. Previous versions were released starting with 2000 (developing from Expedia Streets and Trips Planner 98, a consumer mapping application included with Office 97 Small Business Edition), which was slated to be included in the Office 2000 Premium Edition suite, but never was.


 * MapPoint 2000, initial release
 * MapPoint 2001, very similar to 2000; more of a data update
 * MapPoint 2002, updated interface to Office XP style
 * MapPoint 2004, last version to run on Windows 9x)
 * MapPoint 2006, significantly updated GPS integration and features
 * MapPoint 2009, updated interface, core engine remains the same

New versions have not always been at the same time as the equivalent Office releases despite being numbered similarly; notably the 2002 release was excluded from the Office XP suites due to a lack of equivalent programmability, and 2006 was released well before Office 2007. The program's icon and toolbars have also not been updated since the 2002 release to stay consistent with modern software applications.

Version 2009 sporting an overhauled interface and claimed better Office integration is planned was released in late 2008. The core map rendering engine remained the same and the GIS data wasn't updated as recently as one might expect of a product released in 2008, leaving out subdivisions, roads and other features that were completed in 2007 and which are shown on online mapping systems. Additionally, the 2009 version eliminated all built in icons with icons that were primarily brown or darker colors. This made them difficult to see on the map and resulted in users trying to restore the icon sets from version 2006.

Old versions 2004 and 2006 both included 336 pushpin symbols. The new version 2009 replaced these symbols with a new set of 46 pushpins. A new template can be used to add missing pushpin images to the program.

The software is available for Microsoft Windows, and includes a less-featured edition entitled Pocket Streets for the Windows CE family of products, such as PocketPC, Smartphone, and Windows Automotive.