ProFantasy Community Forum

Symbol issues

MarkBurtonMarkBurton
in Mapping with ProFantasy's Software
I'm working on my first map and well into it a strange problem started. When I place some symbols everything is fine. However when I place other symbols all I get is the outline. They show correctly in the side bar. If I start a new map and place them they work just fine but nothing I do seems to get them to work in the map where I need them. I'm sure I've got some kind of setting problem but for the life of me I can't figure it out.

Thanks in advance.
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Comments

  • MonsenMonsen Administrator 🖼️ 46 images Cartographer
    Try placing the symbol outside the map border entirely. Does it show up correct now? If so, the problem is your sheet order (Most probably, the symbol needed a sheet you didn't already have, and inserted this automatically, which may lead to the sheet appearing in the wrong place)
    If it doesn't look ok outside the map border either, it might be that you have another symbol of the same name in the map. CC3 treats all symbols with the same name as the same symbol, so it doesn't insert the definition again, it just uses the definition already in the map. You should be able to use the symbol manager to determine if this is the case.
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  • sdavies2720sdavies2720 Traveler
    Another possibility is you placed a different version of the same symbol on the map. I found I did this a lot early on when I was playing with styles and learning the software.

    BACKGROUND
    The first time that you place a symbol in a map, CC3 places a symbol definition in the map (basically a mini-map with all the drawing commands for the symbol). Every subsequent time that you place that symbol in the map, CC3 places a reference back to the original definition. This makes the file sizes smaller, and everything probably more efficient.

    Early in the history of CC2, Profantasy decided to name some of the symbols the same even though they were in different 'styles'. I suspect that this was done so that one could automatically change the style of a map by copying everything into a blank that had the other symbol style loaded.

    If I'm right, you have one or more symbol definitions in the map that are from the outline symbol set, and you are trying to place filled versions of those symbols, but the filled versions have the same name as the outline symbols. So instead of overwriting the old symbol definition, CC3 uses it and you get an outline-only symbol.

    HOW TO FIX
    1. Back up your map, and work on a copy. I'm going to tell you to take a step that is irreversable, and while I don't expect it to cause problems, it might.
    2. Delete the outline symbols you don't want.
    3. Purge Symbols (Symbols>Purge Symbols). This will delete any symbol definitions that aren't being used.
    4. Place a filled symbol that was giving you problems before.
    5. Let us know how it worked.

    Step 3, purging symbols, will also kill symbols that you have defined within this map, and might have other ramifications that I'm not aware of (for instance I'm not sure if it kills symbol fills that are not being used). If the purge causes you problems, you can instead create a new blank map, place the couple of filled symbols you want, delete them, then copy & paste in the map that was giving you problems -- that should just get you the new symbol definitions without doing the purge.

    Steve
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  • MarkBurtonMarkBurton
    Well, I worked through the suggestions given with no success until I tried cutting a pasting a symbol from a map where they were working to the map with problems. Not only did the symbol come in correctly but suddenly all the other filled symbols were working as well. I had to go ahead a purge symbols to fix the symbols I had tried while I was still having problems but after that everything was fine.

    At least until I hit my next problem. ~sigh~ Off to research font issues...

    Thanks for the help.

    - Mark
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  • MonsenMonsen Administrator 🖼️ 46 images Cartographer
    Ahh. This is caused by the fill style the symbol needs is not defined in the map. The copy from another map trick actually brings with it the fill style definition, so it is a good workaround.
    Not many symbols that use this kind of fill style though. Were these ProFantasy symbols?
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  • MarkBurtonMarkBurton
    Yes, they were Profantasy symbols from a variety of sets.
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