Metric maps

srednasoft

Hi,

I'm a new user and I'm having problems understanding the size/scaling of the maps.
In Norway we use meters, km etc.

E.g.
How do I emulate a 1:10000 map in the real world?
(1cm on the map is 100m in real life)

How do I configure the map units?

Monsen

Map units are more or less abstract units of measurement. Usually, one would use 1 map unit equals 1 mile for imperial maps, but also 1 map unit equals 1 km for metric maps.

Since scale, such as 1:10000 is only relevant on paper, this part is only configured for the printout, not the map itself.

So, if you want a map that covers an area of 2000x1000 km, just start a new map using the wizard, and use 2000 x 1000 as the dimensions. If you insert the scale bar, it does say "Scale in Miles" by default, but this is easily fixed by exploding the symbol, the edtiting the text to say "Scale in km".

To print the map later at the 1:10000 scale, then in the print box, just enter "1cm" for paper distance, and "0.1" as the drawing distance (1cm on paper equals 0.1 one drawing units = 100m on the map). Unless scale is really important for the printout, I would just do a fit to page however, and leave it up to the scalebar to illustrate the map size.

srednasoft

OK, so I can just use the units for what ever measure I like.

I have tested this now:
Map size 2000x1000
Drawing units inches
Inches per unit 1
Display format Numeric
Decimal places 5

When I measure the distance over the map I get about 2000 (units/inches) as configured.
If I change Display format to METERS i get about 50.89m. That is a little bit confusing when measuring on the map...
I understan that CC3 is doing a calculation from inches to meters, but how does that affect the map/scale/distance?

Should I just drop the meters display format and use a scale bar for reference (with meters/km) or is there a way to get m/km correctly on the distance to?
(This was maybe a very stupid question, but I'm still a little bit confused...)

Lets say that I want to draw a map over a small town 500m x 400m and I want to measure the distances in meters.
How do I do it?

Monsen

In most cases, I would recommend leaving the "Drawing Units" dialog alone. By default, it uses "numeric" as a display format, which is fine. You'll notice that if you create a new map as I described above, and then measure the length of the scale bar, you'll see that the length matches. All you have to do is to interpret this number as a distance in km. The number itself will be correct (as long as you don't touch the drawing units dialog).

If you really wish to set the drawing units, set the following values:
Drawing Units: Meters
Inches per unit: 39370.08 (If you are using map scale in km) or 39.37008 (If you are using map scale in meters)
Rescale: Uncheck (Very important)
Distance display format: meters

srednasoft

Thank you very much Monsen for very good answers :-)

I think I understand the consept of the map scaling/units/meters thing now.

The clue about not checking RESCALE was a very good one and it solved the meters/km problem.
I made a map 1x2 units large and used the settings you gave for km. The distances is now 1000mx2000m when using the distance tool.

Again, thank you from Norway!!

Monsen

You're welcome. Good luck with your mapping.

(And I'm a Norwegian too :-) )

Vedran

Hi, there!

When creating and printing maps in CC3 they have a double border. Is there a way to avoid that border? I want a map to be print to the edges of a paper so that I can put them together like a puzzle.

Another problem is what width and heigth should I use to set a drawing map so that if fits to typicall A4 paper and how to make a CC3 print it that way? For instance: A4 paper is 210mm*297mm. The ratio is 1.414. Map that I'm trying to make would represent 280*400 km/miles (metric is irrelevant, ratio is 1.429). How can it be done?

Monsen

You can get rid of the map border by simply hiding the MAP BORDER layer. Hidden layers won't print.

As for the printing. As long as you have the correct scale ratio (1:1.414) for your map, and in the print dialog, you enable the Fit to Page scaling option, the printout should fit the A4 sheet as much as is possible. Remember that most printers can't print all the way to the edge of the paper though, and that the margins do vary (many ink jet printers require a larger bottom margin than the other margins for example, because it is where it grips the paper), making the real ratio needed for that printer something other than 1.414 for that particular printer.

(And in the future, please start your own topics when you wish to post a question, instead of re-using an ancient topic which didn't even have anything to do with your question.)