Maps
(For other mapping topics, see Maps - Layers and Maps - GPS Units)
The Maps screen allows you to create and edit maps for your mission. This page can be used even if you are not logged in. If you are not logged in all map areas you create will only be saved for the current session and will be lost as soon as you close your browser. If you are logged into your account, but no mission is selected, map areas you create will be saved for you (your personal areas) and will remain as you log in and out. If you have selected a particular mission, the map areas will be linked to that mission and your personal map areas will not be visible until you leave the active mission.
The maps used in Mission Manager use map datum World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS84). Map coordinates can be displayed in Decimal Latitude / Longitude, Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), US National Grid (USNG), Degrees/Minutes/Seconds, or Degrees Decimal Minutes.
Clicking on any drawn map element will open a small pop up window that allows the elements label to be edited as well as a larger field where multi lines of note may be attached to the element. Pie elements have a special feature in their popup Duplicate Pie, pressing this link will rotate and duplicate the currently selected pie element, repeated clicking will create a complete circle of pies.
The following are special keyboard keys that can be used with the Maps screen:
Key | What it does |
D or Del | When in line or area edit mode and the mouse if hovered over a node vertex, pressing these keys will delete that node vertex. |
ALT | When in edit mode, holding this key down will allow whole elements like paths and areas to be moved all at once. |
SHIFT | Holding this key down will allow you zoom a window to a selected area. |
Any objects drawn on the screen such as lines and polygons, can be hovered over with the mouse and information such as length and area will be displayed in the lower left corner of the mapping screen.
Link Arguments - You can link to a saved map view and send that link to another person who can open that map and see the same location, zoom level, grid and coords. This can be done with the copy URL button in the upper right of the map or a custom URL can be created using the following arguments:
- location - This is the center of the map expressed in any Coordinate System mode.
- zoom - The zoom level of the map.
- layer - The name of the base layer to be displayed.
- coords - The index of the coordinate system to use, 0 = Dec Lat/Lon, 1 = UTM, 2 = USNG, 3 = Deg/Min/Sec, 4 = Deg/Min.mmm, 5 = NSARC DD-MM.mmm.
- grid - Turns the grid on or off, this value should be true or false respectively.
- mark - This argument can be used with or independently of all the arguments above. If the argument is mark=true, the location in the above argument will be marked. If the value is some other value this will be considered a search string and this string will be searched for and marked.
- name - This argument can be used in conjunction with the mark argument above. The argument value will be used as the value for the marker placed on the map.
The following are sample map URLS:
Search Field - The entry box at the top of the screen is an area where search criteria can be typed - for example an address or Lat/Long. Once search criteria is typed in you can press the Find button or the Mark button. The find button will center the map on your searched area and display a bubble identifying that location. The Mark button will center the map on your area and automatically add an marker, circle or pie to the Area / Locations list at that location depending on what map tool is selected. (Note: Several different address lookup engines are used depending on what map type is displayed, i.e. Goggle, OSM, etc. If you don't find what you are looking for, try switching the map type and searching again.) Some samples of search strings are shown below:
- Sample Searches:
- 123 Main Street, San Diego Ca
- San Diego, Ca
- 92111
- Main St and Pepper Dr, San Diego Ca
- Highway 8, San Diego
- 32.830738, -116.866808
- UTM 485184 3618184 (Note: when entering UTM coordinates the map location should be near the area in question. The current UTM zone of the map displayed is used to find the typed in UTM location.)
- USNG 11S MS 87491 42805
- For many more ways to search for coordinates see GPS Coordinates.
Layers - Specifies the type of map that will be shown. These can be Google Maps, Satellite, Roads, etc.
New Group - This button will create a new group section in the map elements. In the list of map elements to the left, elements you draw can be dragged and dropped into a specific group. Group names can be changed by clicking on and typing a new name.
Map Elements - This is a list of all the elements that are displayed on the map itself. Items such as Clues on the other screens will be automatically shown on the map if their location is entered on their respective screen. Items can be added to the map such as mission areas, mission paths, markers, etc. These can be done with the buttons under this list. Individual map items can be turned on and off with the check boxes next to the item. All items in the Map Elements list can be double clicked on and that item will be centered on the map. Even groups of items can be centered on the map by clicking on their category, i.e. clicking on Clues will center all the clues on the map. The category buttons with the + / - buttons will collapse or expand the groups of items below them. Group on/off check boxes for Clues, Active Locations, Active Tracks, Finished Tracks and Area / Locations, will turn all these map elements on/off all at once. To change the name of objects you have drawn in the Area / Locations list simply click on their name and type something new.
Coords - allow you to change the coordinate display mode.
Grid - Will toggle the map grid on and off.
Editable Objects - Turns on and off the grips or nodes that make the drawn lines and areas editable.
Print Map - Will print the current display of the map to a printer. The current view and settings such as Map View, Grid, UTM, etc. will effect how the map is printed.
Import Map Data - Imports a GPX file into the current map.
Export Map Data - Select this button to download all of the currently visible map elements to a GPX, KML, or TXT file. Only elements with their visibility set on [x] will be exported. TXT files show a human readable text file that will show the coordinates of the areas exported in the coords format currently selected. Note that GPX format is the only format that can be re-imported, preserving all the supported map element types. See Maps - GPS Units wiki page to export map elements to your GPS.
Note: When using mapping tools to draw a Path or Area and the need arises to move the map or change map magnification, the Pan and map magnification tools on the upper left side of the map remain functional without affecting the Path or Area being drawn. The middle mouse button will pan the map if the Marker, Circle, or Pie tools are used.
The GPS Location Calculator is also available on this screen in the upper right hand corner . Clicking on this box opens a window which enables conversion of different types of coordinates (see below image).
The following are video tutorials of the Mission Manager Mapping Screen: