Introduction

The Autodesk MapGuide^® Viewer API provides developers with programmatic access to and control of Autodesk MapGuide Viewer. Using the API, you can create applications that extend the functionality of the Autodesk MapGuide Viewer. These applications can be Web-based or stand-alone. A Web-based application typically consists of HTML pages that host a map and access it programmatically with JavaScript, JScript, or VBScript code. A stand-alone application hosts the Autodesk MapGuide Viewer without the aid of a browser and is written in a programming language such as Java, C++, or Visual Basic.

Autodesk MapGuide Viewer comes in three different versions: Autodesk MapGuide Viewer ActiveX Control, Autodesk MapGuide Viewer Plug-In, and Autodesk MapGuide Viewer, Java Edition. For additional information about these versions of the Autodesk MapGuide Viewer, see "Available Versions" in the Autodesk MapGuide Viewer Help. Each Autodesk MapGuide Viewer exposes an API that contains all of the Autodesk MapGuide Viewer functionality. For a summary of APIs available in the three Autodesk MapGuide Viewers, see API Summary for Autodesk MapGuide Viewers.

About This Help System

Autodesk MapGuide Viewer API Help is a complete reference to the Autodesk MapGuide Viewer API. It provides the following information:

• This introduction and an overview of the object traversal model.
• A reference that documents the objects, methods, properties, events, and observers in the Autodesk MapGuide Viewer API. If differences exist between the Autodesk MapGuide Viewer versions, those differences are also documented.
• A set of basic and advanced examples for the Autodesk MapGuide^® Viewer Plug-In, Autodesk MapGuide^® Viewer ActiveX Control, and Autodesk MapGuide^® Viewer, Java^™ Edition.

Note: This Help system does not cover conceptual and procedural information. You can find this kind of information, including common programming tasks and examples, in the Autodesk MapGuide Developer's Guide. You can also find useful background information about Autodesk MapGuide^® in the Autodesk MapGuide User's Guide. Both of these documents are available in print and in PDF formats.

In addition to these documents, there are many other resources available to help you learn about Autodesk MapGuide, HTML, ActiveX Controls, plug-ins, and Java. Click here for additional information.

Navigating

There are various ways to navigate through the pages in this Help system. You can use the:

• Contents in the left navigation frame to go to the introductory pages for objects, events, and observers. From there, you can locate a particular item and click its link to go to its page.
• Index to look up a specific object, method, property, event, or observer by name, and click its link to go to its page.
• Search tool to find topics containing a specific word, set of words, or phrase.
• Quick Reference drop-down menu to go to objects, events, and observers. You can find Quick Reference under Contents in the left navigation frame.

Within a topic page, you can:

• Use your browser's Back button to return to a previously viewed page.
• Click the button to go to the object traversal model.
• Click the button to go to the parent of the current topic. For example, clicking this button when viewing a method will take you to the parent object for the method.
• Click the and buttons to browse through other pages within a section.

Printing

If you need to print all or part of this Help system, you can use the PDF version, which is available in the file MGViewerAPIHelp.pdf, located in the top-level directory of the Autodesk MapGuide CD. You can also view the PDF file from the Autodesk MapGuide Documentation page.

Copyright Information

Autodesk and Autodesk MapGuide are trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries.

Apple and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

Netscape and Netscape Navigator are registered trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation in the United States and other countries.

Microsoft and ActiveX Control are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Java, all Java-based trademarks and logos, Sun, and Solaris are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.