Help! I may have really fouled up.
I was having problems with CC3 crashing when I tried to make new maps. SO I uninstalled and reinstalled the programs beign sure to save my campaign area map elsewhere (My Documents). I reinstalled CC3 and reapplied the patch and everything is running fine. However, the version of the map I saved is not the .fcw, it is .jpg version. Is there anything I can do to recreate the map from this file easily, or do I just start it over from scratch?
Comments
A .JPG file is simply a compressed bitmap file. A bitmap file is not the same as a vector file (like the .FCW files created in CC3). A bitmap file contains information on each bit or pixel that makes up the image. A vector file contains a description of each piece that makes up the image (more like a book describing a scene). A bitmap file is limited to a certain resolution because the pixels are set to a certain size. While the image can be expanded, the pixels expand in size with the image and the amount of information within the bitmap doesn't change with the size so the pixels simply appear larger. In a vector file, because it is a description of a scene, the image itself can be any size the user desires while maintaining the resolution quality (the pixels never appear larger because more pixels are added to complete the image).
All this to say that a bitmap file is basically one-dimensional. It contains one single entity (the whole image) and CC3 can only work with that single image as one entity in a map. A vector file can be easily worked with in CC3 because it can discern each piece that makes up the whole image within.
Good luck with your project. I know what it's like to have to redraw a map from scratch. You at least have a JPG file to work from. I've lost maps before without anything left to work from except my memory. I am positive that if you run into any snags, you will be able to find quite a bit of help here in this forum or on the Yahoo mailing list.
You've exported a snapshot of your map, not saved a copy of the map. Unless you can find the FCW, the best you can do is trace your JPG onto a new map.
city01_001, make changes, save as city01_002, etc.
The next city I work on becomes city02_001, etc.
Did the search for .fcw files, found lots of shortcuts to them in the documents and settings/recent directory but none of them pointed to anything that still exists. :-(
These programs typically cost a small licensing fee, but if they can retrieve days or weeks of work, checking them out could be a true timesaver (i've even seen free ones out there). A quick search on your favorite search engine for something like "application to retrieve deleted data" will reveal lots of possibilities. Hope this works out for you.
forum.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=1431
p.s. Linda K gave me permission to link to that forum as we have a large number of CC3 users there (myself included), and additionally we are part of the CC3 Affiliate program.