>>>>I need to create a web site that displays mapping data. I am on a shoe string budget so ERSI is out of the question. I have a data set that is updated once a quarter. I need to plot points on a map, zoom in or out on the map, add a tag that display the name of the point and provide a hyperlink to another page. This is all available in MapPoint.
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>>>>Saving the MapPoint map as HTML does not provide for zooming which is crucial. I looked at the MapPoint SDK but in my quick reading it looks like I have to use Microsoft's Web Service to drive the site. I have a problem linking to an outside site to display basically static pages.
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>>>>Does anyone have any ides?
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>>>Ok, well you are going to have to use a webservice, unless you want to purchase all the GIS data for all of the maps you are going to do. Even if you purchase the GIS data, you will need to store it locally and put it in some type of database. You could try using flash, but if you are doing mapping on a shoe-string budget, I think you are in the deep end w/ no water wings. I really don't see how you are going to do it, but if you want to paint the maps I do have some watercolors. :)
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>>>Morgan
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>>If we could write the Web Service and host it than that would be fine. The documentation that I have found only talks about access MS web service, not writing one.
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>Ok, why do you have a problem w/ MS Web Service? Why don't you want to access it? Any valid reasons? I would call it the best of form for a webservice from a webform, but I don't see any other options for you.
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>I mean, what else do you really expect to do? You might be able to host your own MapPoint webservice, but I can beat it will cost a pretty penny.
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>Morgan

The issue is, not all of the client's users have access to the internet. Besides, when the service is hosted outside of your own network, what do you do when you cannot access it?? Phone lines cut, denial of service attacks, hardware failure are all issues that you can deal with if the service is losted locally. If it is an extrenal source, what can you do? Especially if the fault lays between you and the service provider.

It is not like we need all of the functionality of the web service. Data is only updated quarterly. We want an off line process to generate the maps, we just need to send them to the client. The HTML version of the MapPoint maps do not allow for Zooming. We want the zoom capability. If every computer had MapPoint installed on it or MS had a plugin to view MapPoint files in IE there would not be a problem.

Worst comes to worst, we may just have to generate extra maps to build the drill down but I was hoping to avoid that.