Skip To Content

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions about configuring Maritime Chart Service are answered below.

What is a Maritime Chart Service project?

A Maritime Chart Service project is an SQLite database file with an .mcs file extension that is used by mcstpk.exe to store property settings, display settings or mariner controls based on S-52 standards, visible layers as defined in the S-52DisplayProperties.xml file, and tile package information such as start and end Level of Display (LOD). The information in the project file allows mcstpk.exe to manage updates to the tile package as you apply S-57 or S-63 dataset changes.

What are locked and unlocked projects?

Projects are either locked or unlocked. An unlocked project means you have not created a tile package. In the locked state, you can modify the properties, which include changing the dataset information and modifying the display. The locked state means you created a tile package and are restricted to only checking for dataset changes. This is because once a tile package is created, the extent is fixed and it keeps a user from unknowingly modifying a display property that would cause the updated tile package to appear different from the original.

Learn more about saving as a new project

When is the datasets directory processed and what do the messages mean?

The following are the operations in the mcstpk.exe workflow where the S-57 or S-63 datasets found in the datasetsDirectory path are processed:

  • New
  • Open
  • Updates to the datasetsDirectory path
  • Check for Dataset Changes

Each time a dataset's location is processed, one of the following messages appears:

MessageDescription

No Changes

The datasets in the datasetsDirectory already have .senc files created.

Loading Complete

No log file is generated, but a dataset that previously existed is deleted.

Loading complete with Log File

New datasets and new editions or updates to existing datasets have been processed.

Loading complete with errors

An error occurred while processing one or more datasets.

Note:

In all cases, the same processing logic is used, which is the same logic used and logged when running a map service with Maritime Chart Service capabilities enabled.