ANTIALIAS [true|false]

Should TrueType fonts be antialiased.

CHARACTER [char]

Character used to reference a particular TrueType font character. You'll need to figure out the mapping from the keyboard character to font character.

FILLED [true|false]

Sets the symbol to be filled with a user defined color (See the CLASS object). For marker symbols, if OUTLINECOLOR was specified then the symbol is outlined with it.

FONT [string]

Name of TrueType font to use as defined in the FONTSET.

GAP [int]

Given in pixels. This defines a distance between symbols for TrueType lines. As of MapServer 5.0 this also applies to PixMap symbols.

When drawing the symbol along a line segment, a negative GAP will will add 180 degress to the angle. The TrueType and PixMap symbols are always oriented along the line. A GAP of 0 (the default value) will cause MapServer to use the symbol as a brush to draw the line.

IMAGE [string]

Image (GIF or PNG) to use as a marker or brush for type PIXMAP symbols.

NAME [string]

Alias for this font to be used in CLASS objects

LINECAP [butt|round|square|triangle]

Sets the line cap type for the cartoline symbol. Default is butt. Works with the CARTOLINE symbol only!

LINEJOIN [round|miter|bevel]

Sets the line join type for the cartoline symbol. Default is "none" - lines will not be joined . Works with the CARTOLINE symbol only!

LINEJOINMAXSIZE [int]

Sets the max length of the miter line join type. The value represents a coefficient which multiplies a current symbol size. Default is 3. Works with the CARTOLINE symbol only!

POINTS [x y] [x y] ... END

Signifies the start of the definition of points that make up a vector symbol or that define the x and y radius of an ellipse symbol. The end of this section is signified with the keyword END. Coordinates are given in pixels and define the default size of the symbol before any scaling. You can create non-contiguous paths by inserting negative coordinates at the appropriate place. For ellipse symbols you provide a single point that defines the x and y radius of an ellipse. Circles are created when x and y are equal.

Note:

If a class using this symbol doesn't contain an explicit size, then the default symbol size will be based on the range of "y" values in the point coordinates. e.g. if the y coordinates of the points in the symbol range from 0 to 5, then the default size for this symbol will be assumed to be 5.

STYLE [num on] [num off] [num on] ... END

Defines a dash style or pattern.

TRANSPARENT [color index]

Sets a transparent color for the input GIF image for pixmap symbols, or determines whether all shade symbols should have a transparent background. For shade symbols it may be desirable to have background features "show through" a transparent hatching pattern, creating a more complex map. By default a symbol's background is the same as the parent image (i.e. color 0). This is user configurable.

TYPE [vector|ellipse|pixmap|truetype|simple|cartoline|hatch]

• vector: a simple drawing is used to define the shape of the symbol.
• ellipse: radius values in the x and y directions define an ellipse.
• pixmap: a user supplied GIF image will be used as the symbol.
• truetype: TrueType font to use as defined in the FONTSET.
• cartoline: allows for different designs of line ends (mitered, rounded, beveled). More information can be found in the Cartographic Symbols document.
• hatch: produces hatched lines throughout the shape.

• 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.

The following example creates a dashed line with 10 pixels on, 5 off, 5 on, 10 off ...

SYMBOL
  NAME 'dashed1'
  TYPE ELLIPSE
  POINTS 1 1 END
  FILLED true
  STYLE 10 5 5 10 END
END

SYMBOL
  NAME "natcap"
  TYPE TRUETYPE
  FONT geo
  FILLED true
  ANTIALIAS true
  CHARACTER "r"
END

SYMBOL
  NAME "triangle"
  TYPE vector
  POINTS
    0 4
    2 0
    4 4
    0 4
  END
END

SYMBOL
  NAME "cross"
  TYPE vector
  POINTS
    2 0
    2 4
    -99 -99
    0 2
    4 2
  END 
END

SYMBOL
  NAME "circle"
  TYPE ellipse
  FILLED true
  POINTS
    1 1
  END
END

SYMBOL   
  NAME "downwarddiagonalfill"
  TYPE vector
  TRANSPARENT 0
  POINTS
    0 1
    1 0
  END   
END

SYMBOL   
  NAME "cartoline"
  TYPE cartoline
  LINECAP butt
  LINEJOIN miter
  LINEJOINMAXSIZE 1
  STYLE 10 5 END
END

SYMBOL
  NAME 'hatch-test'
  TYPE HATCH
END                   

LAYER
  ...
  CLASS
    ...
    STYLE
      SYMBOL 'hatch-test'
      COLOR 255 0 0      
      ANGLE 45
      SIZE 10
      WIDTH 3
    END
  END
END