Modern offices and workplaces are transforming significantly, driven by new technologies and shifting remote and hybrid work expectations. Physical layouts of workplaces are evolving to encourage communication, teamwork, and ultimately productivity. To understand how spaces are used, companies need more information – namely data, maps, and organizational platforms.
One such platform, Microsoft Places, aims to improve the employee experience by creating a connected work environment to help facility managers and IT professionals optimize office layouts, employees and visitors easily find their way around complex office layouts, and teams efficiently book meeting rooms and other resources. To do all of this, a key component in Microsoft Places is the ability to view floor plans, enabling management and employees to configure and see up-to-date office layouts.
How is indoor mapping benefiting Microsoft Places?
In our increasingly interconnected world, indoor mapping software has become an essential part of the built world by enhancing navigation, safety, and efficiency within complex indoor spaces. Indoor mapping technology makes it possible to create accurate, detailed indoor maps of building layouts. Microsoft Places is designed for smart building management, including room bookings, wayfinding, and occupancy insights. IMDF is highly scalable and can handle complex indoor layouts and large facilities, making it suitable for enterprise-scale projects.
Facility managers can easily add walls to make rooms and meeting areas, desks and furniture, and amenities such as restrooms, and other workspaces. Interactive indoor maps also offer wayfinding to help employees find colleagues and sections where teams are grouped together. Best of all, no matter your floor plan or layout, it can be exported and converted into a map used in Microsoft Places.
What are IMDF files and how are they used in Microsoft Places?
To get indoor maps into Microsoft Places, you need IMDF (Indoor Mapping Data Format) files. IMDF is a GeoJSON-based data export used for indoor positioning. As a foundational and comprehensive framework for indoor digital maps, IMDF files provide venue layouts with high spatial accuracy, standardize points of interest such as rooms and sections, and enable customization to include a high level of detail relevant to a building.
By using IMDF, Microsoft Places can provide a flexible, scalable, and interoperable foundation for its indoor mapping and smart building functionalities.
What does Mappedin do to prepare an indoor map for IMDF?
Mappedin has worked strategically with industry partners on the IMDF specification since its inception. All of Mappedin's indoor mapping solutions and maps are developed with IMDF export in mind and strictly adhere to high data standards and Microsoft’s specific IMDF specifications. To achieve this, indoor maps need to be aligned and positioned accurately to real-world coordinates and the data layers need to be correctly structured (e.g. points, walls, rooms) on export. Mappedin’s Microsoft Places IMDF files maximize compatibility, ensure proper floor plan parsing, data building, and validation, and provide an easy way to get maps into the Microsoft Places platform.
What key Mappedin features help create maps for Microsoft Places?
Mappedin has made it easy for anyone to become an expert mapmaker with AI mapping to craft data-rich maps with no prior training.
Mappedin AI mapping can help you:
- Detect walls: Identify building internal and external walls and boundaries, creating the foundation for an accurate 3D map.
- Recognize windows, doors, stairs, and elevators: Spot important features like entry points, stairs, and elevators, so your map reflects the full layout and helps users navigate efficiently.
- Label rooms and objects: Automatically detect and apply labels for rooms and objects, making your map fully functional and ready to use as soon as it’s generated.
- Cut costs: Save time and resources by drastically increasing the speed of floor plan conversion to fully interactive maps.
Other useful features include real-time collaborative mapping (with your team), viewing your maps in 3D, and sharing and embedding maps on your website or through a QR code. For those who require indoor map data to be used on other platforms or different use cases, you can export to different file formats including a safety PDF, SVG, glTF, MVF (GeoJSON) and Microsoft Places IMDF.
How to make Mappedin indoor maps for Microsoft Places
Simply sign up on Mappedin and start mapping right away. Along with in-product help and indoor mapping tutorials and guides, these blog articles have useful mapping tips and tricks:
- From floor plan to map: 10 useful indoor mapmaking steps
- 5 tips and tricks for making your best indoor map
- Essential tips for effective map publishing
- Enrich and organize your maps with these best practices
The Mappedin YouTube channel also has a playlist to highlight key indoor mapping features such as the dashboard and introduction to all mapping tools, including how to add geometry and objects, adding safety annotations, managing workspaces, and much more.
How do I configure Microsoft Places to work with IMDF files exported from Mappedin?
Follow this detailed guide and tutorial on how to configure Microsoft Places and use an IMDF file exported from Mappedin.
You’ll learn how to:
- Match Mappedin rooms with conference rooms
- Match objects with desk pools
- Run the Microsoft Places install script
- Create buildings and floors, rooms, and desk pools,
- Configure and upload Mappedin maps to Microsoft Places
Key takeaways of using Mappedin for Microsoft Places
Mappedin makes it simple to export a Microsoft Places IMDF:
- Ease of use: Mappedin helps you easily create indoor maps for Microsoft Places.
- No cost: The ability to export an IMDF for Microsoft Places is at no cost and is available on all Mappedin subscription plans (including Free, Plus and Pro).
- Detailed guide: The configuration guide helps you get your maps into Microsoft Places.
- Industry expertise: Mappedin offers guidance and expertise, having helped set IMDF standards.
- Scalability and flexibility: Mappedin scales indoor mapping and navigation solutions with you and can help you build and export maps at greater scale.
Start mapping and get maps into Microsoft Places
Mappedin provides indoor mapping tools and solutions to streamline map creation and converting floor plans to be used in your Microsoft Places integration. Sign up to start mapping today.
Get in touch with us anytime to learn how to create connected workplaces for in-person and hybrid environments.
Frequently asked questions
How much does exporting IMDF to Microsoft Places cost?
Mappedin lets anyone create and export floor plans to Microsoft Places IMDF for free and is available in all Mappedin subscription plans. It’s easy to get started: sign up for free to start mapping, download as Microsoft Places IMDF, and configure your Microsoft Places.
How does a Microsoft Places IMDF differ from an Apple IMDF?
Mappedin’s Microsoft Places IMDF is specifically designed to easily import your floor maps into Microsoft Places. Apple IMDF is compatible with Apple’s Indoor Maps Program and follows a separate process related to submitting IMDF to Apple Business Register.
I have many buildings and floors, how do I automate the mapping?
For business and property owners, GIS developers, and IT professionals, contact our sales team to learn how we can help you export for multiple venues and buildings.
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