Cartesia Files -- How to Open

Question:
I'm trying to open the Cartesia file for MN and every time I try, Freehand freezes up. First I unzipped the files that I wanted to use (all the MN ones) then, in Freehand, I'm going to import and then selecting the file I want, but it is not working. Am I missing a step here?

Answer:
Never IMPORT Cartesia files. Just go to FILE/OPEN. Select the Cartesia file you want. It will open.

Welcome to Mapublisher!

Dear Class:

This week you will be introduced to a great program -- or plug-in -- called Mapublisher (see the cool brochure here). Mapublisher works within FreeHand (or Illustrator); so you don't even have to learn a new program's interface to use it.

What it does is make FreeHand a GIS. You can import GIS shapefiles, GeoTIFFs, spatial data tables, and even query things. (If you don't understand any of this, please don't panic, but just hang in there!) You can even export your map as a georeferenced shapefile or GeoTIFF when you are done.

Even more crucially, it allows you to do the following things right in FreeHand:

• Re-project your map;
  
• You can label points, lines, and polygons;
  
• Design fancy graticules;
  
• Make arbitrary coordinate systems (e.g., A-H, 1-5);
• Have Mapublisher index all of the places and create a table of contents for the back side of your map (e.g., Duluth: C-5; Minneapolis: E-4);
• You can create buffers, scales, and even systematically design visual variables; and
  
• Create very detailed and preformatted legends.

It does a lot more, but you won't even necessarily need to use it to do the above. The crucial thing is that it allows you to import all types of raster and vector data that is available online and elsewhere right into FreeHand and layer the data on top of one another so they align perfectly. For those of you using FreeHand, this plug-in will be the program that allows you to get the cartographic data you need to make your maps into FreeHand.

Unfortunately, the department only has licenses for Mapublisher in FreeHand. Those of you using Illustrator may want to test Mapublisher out in FreeHand -- at least the ins-and-outs found in the tutorial -- and then when you have your data, download the Trial Version of Mapublisher for Illustrator -- which is good for 10 days. You may want to do this over Spring Break (if you aren't going anywhere) so that you have ample time to import your data and play around.

Also, for those of you who have FreeHand, or will download a trial version of it, you can download a Trial Version of Mapublisher too. 10-day limit, though. Finally, a further drawback is that we can only use Mapublisher on seven computers at a time. So please work in groups of two or three when you are going through it.

An example of text placement craziness!

This is a snapshot from a wall map I made for a client last year using Mapublisher and an old version of Adobe Illustrator. The client wanted every single "populated place" in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, as well as all State Highways on the map. Suffice to say that 35,000 places later, my eyes were ready to jump out of my head! And yes, some of the fonts were smaller than 7 pts! :) What stinks is now in hindsight, without the pressure of a deadline, I see so many things I would have done differently. (First of all, I should have picked a typography with a Narrow style. It would have saved space, but at the time I was in love with the font I chose. I was blinded by typographic loyalty. Ugh...

At any rate, you may think the Brazil map and its labeling is a punitive exercise. But trust me, learning how to kern, curl, tweak, shape-shift, and nudge labels around one another early on in your cartographic careers will come in very handy someday when you are asked to make a detailed reference map. So please, while you are cursing your instructor's name, learn from the experience and take notes on any tricks you come up with so you can reference them in the future!

OK, that's enough lecturing for tonight. I am still very stoked about your Brazil maps thus far. I was really impressed. But keep on working them over -- there are always improvements to be made! And remember, this is going to go in your portfolio someday.

Problems exporting to PDF? Not looking right? Troubleshooting Guide.

Hi Class:

If some of you are exporting to PDF and it is just not coming out quite right, or if your colors look off and your text looks pixeled (as opposed to pickled), below are some suggestions on how to improve this.

I find the best way to make a PDF is to use the original program -- Adobe Acrobat. But it is expensive. If you are lucky to own it, instead of Exporting your document via FreeHand, instead go to File-Print. Choose Adobe PDF as your printer, and select Options. In here you will do what is recommended below for those that are Exporting from Freehand.

If you do not have Acrobat Maker on your computer, you still have options to make your exported map look much better.

If you are using Export:
PDF files are merely compressions of images and text that are meant to make large files not only easily readable but also smaller. They are for visual documents what mp3s are for CDs. They compress the image so that it is more efficient and smaller sized and portable, but in doing so one loses some of an image's properties and clarity. Like mp3s, though, you can decide how much you want to compress the image. If you over compress it, you will get pixels and ugly colors. If you under compress it, you will get an image every bit as sharp looking as your FreeHand one, but your file will be large. For this class, you do not need to worry about how large your file size is; so you want to minimize compression (or reduce distortion in the PDF). Here's how:

There is a way to NOT compress your colors, imported JPEGs (e.g., if you brought in a Brazil flag), and text in the final PDF.

Once you have gone to File-Export and chosen PDF... Select the "Setup" button. A dialog opens in which you can manage whether colors will be exported in CMYK, RGB, or both. It is important to choose the color scheme you used to create your map! You should also DESELECT "Compress text and graphics," which is selected by default. You can also tell it not to compress the colors.

Your PDF file size will be significantly bigger, but the quality will be well worth it! It will be publishable quality then, and I am hoping the weird problems will disappear. Often such discrepancies occur because the PDF is trying to compress and save space -- like an mp3 does a CD track. The finer details will be lost, just as they are in music. The problem is, sometimes on maps details are crucial for it to look good.

Finally, if all of this is failing for you, another good idea is to export your map as a TIFF. These are uncompressed raster images that retain extremely high quality. Though insanely large, this is the type of file that publishers will typically ask for. They are high enough quality to be used by printing presses. The problem with TIFF files is that they are not nearly as universally usable as PDFs or JPEGs. But still, this is an option. Only turn in your assignment in TIFF form if PDF is absolutely not working. Also, please email Ben and let him know why you turned an assignment in using TIFF. Thanks!

I'm really proud of you all!

Hi Class:

Before we constructively critique your maps today, I just want to say one thing: I'm really proud of how much work and time many of you put into your maps. You have come a long way. Some of these are absolutely magnificent for first time endeavors in map making. I am going to see if we can't get some of these posted on a bulletin board somewhere when you are done. I'll talk to the Department Coordinator. At any rate, though all of these could use a little tweaking -- as maps are never perfect -- you should be proud of yourselves for producing such great first drafts! Seriously, you are blowing the GIS & Cart class at Macalester out of the water! (My wife was grading their first reference map assignment yesterday -- a map of states in the EU -- as your maps trickled in. You have done the UofM proud!)

But let us not get complacent. There are always new tricks to learn with these programs. And after this Brazil map is finished, we are going to proceed to the next phase of mapmaking -- finding our own data, importing it, and making a map from scratch. Still, you have a great start on knowing how to lay out, design, and establish a visual hierarchy with the data you do find; which means you will be able to make a great map once you find your data!

I'm rambling. Back to looking at your Brazil maps. See you all in class shortly. Thanks again for putting so much thinking and lab time into these projects.

Best,

Ian

Assignments & Class Update

Dear Class:

As the syllabus notes, the scheduled due dates and lecture materials on the calendar are merely tentative. I thought I would take a moment right now to highlight some minor changes to the schedule.

Lab Assignments

First of all, there will only be four "graded" assignments in lab. You have finished one – Learning FreeHand. The second assignment you are currently completing – the Brazil Reference Map. It is due on March 5^th. You will also have a final project which will be worth 15% of your grade.

Thinking About What You Would Like to Map

Beginning on March 5^th and continuing through March 26^th, you will be searching for and collecting data to make your thematic maps throughout the rest of the semester. You will be introduced to several methods of importing this information during lab beginning on March 5^th. Right now you should begin thinking about what you would like to map thematically. Perhaps there is a term paper that you would like to spruce up with several maps that you have created yourself. Perhaps you are affiliated with a group that could use a nice map on their website or for a poster. Or maybe you are just interested in a random topic – political, economic, or goofy – that you would like to make several maps of. Your two thematic maps (assignments 3 and 4) may be of the same geographic area, but they must each map different types of data.

Class Assignment Due Tuesday, March 4^th

Please take some time to think about what you would like to map thematically. I would like a short explanation of what you want to map and whether you have found the data yet one week from today (on March 4^th).

Thursday, February 28, In Class Assignment

After your lab on February 27^th, you will email me a JPEG of your Brazil map (ioas@UMN). We will constructively critique your maps on Thursday and try to give one another good ideas on what they might do to make their maps more effective.

 

If you have any questions regarding due dates or what is expected of you, please email me or, for lab assignments, Ben. Thank you. I hope you are having a great weekend!

 

Best,

 

Ian

FreeHand Question: Rescaling Everything on the Map

Question

Hi Ian, I heard Ben in lab talking about a way to increase the size of a map and have all the layers increase with the same percentage but I didn't hear how to do that. I'm at the point I want to increase the size of my map but I don't know how to do it. How is it done?

 

Answer
No problem. The best way to do it is to save your file with a different name, just in case my advice screws everything up.

Then unlock every layer. Go to "Edit" and choose "Select All." Once everything has been selected hit Cntrl-G (or select Group). It will look like everything is on one layer, because it is grouped, but when you ungroup it everything will go back to the original layer.

Now that everything is grouped together you can do two things. You can choose the Scale Tool from the toolbar (or WINDOW) and resize it. Or more simply: with everything grouped together, double-click on the grouped object. Some weird handles appear around the edges of the object. If you hold down the shift key and move your cursor over a corner, click and resize the window, it will resize in proportion (x and y height will look the same dimension as the original, though you will make it bigger or smaller). You can also move it around the page at this point.