2. Notes

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• Symbol definitions can be included within the main MapFile or, more commonly, in a separate file. Symbol definitions in a separate file are designated using the SYMBOLSET keyword, as part of the MAP Object. This recommended setup is ideal for re-using symbol definitions across multiple MapServer applications.
• There are 3 main types of symbols in MapServer: Markers, Shadesets, and Lines.
• Symbol 0 is always the degenerate case for a particular class of symbol. For points, symbol 0 is a single pixel, for shading (i.e. filled polygons) symbol 0 is a solid fill, and for lines, symbol 0 is a single pixel wide line.
• Symbol definitions contain no color information, colors are set within CLASS objects.
• There is a maximum of 64 symbols per file. This can be changed by editing mapsymbol.h and changing the value of MS_MAXSYMBOLS at the top of the file.
• More information can be found in the Construction of Cartographic Symbols document.

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