As with most other GIS packages, several files are required to allow the user to open a data set for viewing within MapInfo Professional.
Minimum files required to view a map with the data previously discussed: Each time a *.MAP file is saved by MapInfo Professional its objects are sorted into a storage sequence based on an R-tree spatial index.
While a data set is being edited by a user, temporary files are created by MapInfo Professional.
In certain situations such as a power failure while editing is in progress, the temporary files may not be deleted and the changes will be lost.
A seamless table enables a single layer in a map to be derived from multiple base data sets, such as a mosaic of raster image tiles.