MapMarker : A Tutorial.

I hope the information contained here will be helpful to you.
This is how I would use MapMarker .......


The Examples Provided

There are three images provided :

Click here for more information on the examples provided.

./eg_pics/ourworld.rppm
For use if you have the photo-widget installed as part of your "wish".
./eg_pics/ourworld.xbm
This is for use if you don't have the photo-widget.
./eg_pics/genome.gif
Provided as an example for the image-conversion.
All file references here assume that you are in the root MapMarker directory.
If you haven't already seen the different features of MapMarker, and wish to use it, it may be an idea to do so before trying the tutorial.
It is a guide to the functions available.

Throughout this tutorial, I will use the ourworld examples provided.

Now let's make a start.


If you haven't yet set up MapMarker and want to do so now, Click here to see how it's done.

Start by loading the Image :

Loading An Image
Invoke the "Load_Image" menu button.
When the browser appears, it will be in the root MapMarker directory. Go to the sub-directory "eg_pics" and select the file.
It will now be loading.

The accepted image formats are :

  1. *.gif - converted to rppm (via rgb for now)
  2. *.rppm - for colour images, but you need the photo-widget installed in your "wish".
  3. *.xbm - basic b/w pictures.
Now load the mapfile :
Loading A Mapfile
Invoke the Load_Map menu button, and use the browser in the normal fashion.
NB // Mapfiles should have the suffix "map" If this is now saved, every time you choose the mapfile eg_pics/ourworld.map for loading, you will be offered the option of loading the image file also. This is a feature of MapMarker, any mapfiles saved will contain as the first comment line the full pathname for the image being marked. This allows easier reloading of images being marked in small sections.

You will see a map of the world, with certain marked-up areas. These consist of :

  1. Africa - polygon - points to html document.
  2. Australia - polygon - points to a clickable map.
  3. Canada - rectangle - points to a clickable map.
  4. South America - polygon - points to html document.
  5. United Kingdom - polygon - points to a clickable map.
The URL's linked to these shapes point to real files, so if you select one of the objects by clicking on it and invoke the "Test_URL" button, your selected browser will be called, parsing it the URL linked to the selected object.
These all point to external files.

Have a play using this example. Create new shapes. This is done by selecting one of the radiobuttons under the Create menu.

Each time you create a new object, a window will appear asking for a URL and a piece of annotation text. This is set as the default which you can switch of by turning off the Options-Force Annotation checkbutton. I suggest that you do not turn it off in general, because a mapfile cannot be saved unless every object has been annotated with a URL. In this case, however, it doesn't really matter.
It will also contain a string in its URL box. This is a defult string read from the mapfile. If you wish to change this string, invoke the Options-Set Default_HTML button.

If the neccesity arises that multiple similar objects need to be created, go to the Options-Single_Edit_Mode checkbutton and switch it off. The default setting allows creation of one object at a time. Once this has been done, the canvas bindings are returned to the defaults. They can also be reset to these at any time using the Options-Default Edit Mode button.

Another thing you should try is the edit-functions. Both the defaults and the functions found under the attributes of objects. This proves useful for grouping objects visually when marking up an image.

N.B.//
There is no reference here to the "Mode" Menu options.
If you wish to experiment with this, save the mapfile, then switch to the other mode.
You will be asked for a filename to save a modified image to. Do not try to save it under the same filename as the original file.

Unfortunately this only works for rppm's at present.

For more information on the "Mode" menu, click here.


That's about all there is to it. The more you use it the more natural it becomes (hopefully). I haven't told you about setting the options available under the Options menu. You can see how all this is done and what each one means by clicking here.

All that remains is a guide to making your first map.

---

Gudge.