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MAPublisher is
revolutionising the way in which maps are made, and is increasingly the software of
choice, including for National Geographic, Rand McNally, USGS, XYZ, Bartholomew,
Ordnance Survey and many more. But what is it? As a graphics professional you probably use one or perhaps both of the industry
standard graphic design programmes, namely  Macromedia Freehand or  Adobe Illustrator.
Both give you almost unlimited creative control over your map design,
and ensure that you get top quality results whatever your choice of
output method. MAPublisher is a suite of Xtras/Plug-ins that turns
either of these packages into a Geographic Information System. But
hold on,
why do You need GIS, and what
could MAPublisher do for You? Don’t just take our word for it.
You can download the 10 day FREE trial version from the MAPublisher
web site
at www.avenza.com. |
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Look at the MAPublisher box carefully - its our
Edinburgh CityMap!
To start at the beginning, you can easily
import geographic data from ArcView, MapInfo, DXF, the USGS and more, which makes a wealth
of raw data (much of it free on the web) available to you. But not only that, MAPublisher
retains all the attribute information, such as names and feature codes. Each MAPublisher
layer is linked to a spreadsheet. Selecting an object gives you immediate access to the
attribute details. Of course you can edit them, add or delete columns and perform
calculations. Thus if you need to find the birth rate for a thematic map, you could divide
total births by the population and save the result in a new column. |
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What do you want with attributes, though? In fact
they are the key to MAPublisher. By creating a legend containing
your map style, you can use the attributes to almost instantly symbolise
the complete map. Most map data that you might import will contain
a code defining what each object represents. In your legend just
tell MAPublisher that you want ‘A’ roads symbolised as
a red line with a black casing, apply the legend, and the ‘A’ roads
will all change. If you need to change something, maybe the client
alters the colours, then just alter the legend and let MAPublisher
make all the changes to the map. You can also use legends to create
choropleth maps – just define the colours and let MAPublisher
work out the class ranges and shade the map.
You
can query the map to locate objects, for example to find a particular
name to make a spelling correction, to delete features, or move objects
to another layer. A simple example would be to find all short streets
where names may have to be abbreviated to fit. Another would be to
arrange particular objects in a set order within a layer, such as motorways
above minor roads.
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Of course, fundamental to MAPublisher is the use
of real-world co-ordinates within the DTP environment. Thus the Map
Location tool can tell you the co-ordinates of the cursor, perhaps
in metres of the National Grid for a GB map. It also means that new
layers can be placed in the correct location relative to existing
objects, even when the areas covered differ. You can also bring in
images and reference them to the map, for example for an air photo.
Not everyone
can keep things simple and just work with National Grid mapping. Perhaps you use the
Digital Chart of the World as a base, which comes in decimal degrees of latitude and
longitude. The Projection Editor can handle conversions between all the main projections
without any need to leave Freehand or Illustrator. Naturally, you can also control the
scale. Getting raw material from different sources into the same projection and at the
same scale thus becomes straightforward.
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The new MAPupbisher version 5.0 for Illustrator
10 and Freehand 10/MX includes the following useful new features:
| MicroStation
DGN file import |
| Douglas-Peucker
Line Generalisation |
| Plot
points in decimal degrees or DMS onto any projected plane |
| Convert
between DMS and decimal degrees |
| Create
GeoTiffs and other geo-referenced raster images |
| Store
map projections in already projected files after import |
| 'Sticky'
selection menus remember last menu selection |
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Automatic
Scale bar creation
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Automatic
Grid generation in page units
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| Simplify
Arcs |
| Bezier curve creation from GIS data segments |
| Bezier
curve support during scale transformation, projecting and area
and length calculations |
| Area
drawing tools in map units |
| Copy
and paste map data between layers |
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Automatic
grain calculation on data import
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| Updated
e00 import, now imports all components (anno, pnt, arc, poly) |
| Create grids in differing page units |
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DGN
data automatically attributed with level number during import |
 | Project data to different output map units. |
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Of
course, MAPublisher doesn’t just have applications in cartography.
Any graphics application might benefit. A CAD drawing of an engine,
for example, could be imported and the engine part
number attribute used to control the colours.
We’re convinced, as you can see from our Edinburgh CityMap,
and we think you will be too. So what does it cost? We’d love to charge you the price
of most GIS programmes, but MAPublisher is just £599 (Excl. VAT). And
if you work or study at a University or College, there is a substantial
educational discount
MAPublisher 6.0 is now available for Adobe Illustrator
10/CS and MAPublisher 5.0 for Macromedia FreeHand 10 / MX, on either the Mac or Windows platforms
If you have an older version of Freehand or Illustrator, please contact
us to discuss the appropriate
option.
Still unsure? Well, get downloading and see for yourself. Get
MAPublisher now from www.avenza.com in
a fully functional 10 day trial version, and if you don‘t
have data of your own try it with our MAPublisher ready MapInfo
or ArcView Edinburgh sample data.
Alternatively, just give us a call and
we’ll be happy to answer your questions or take your order. In normal
circumstances MAPublisher can be delivered to you within 24 hours.
Prices
start from £599 excluding VAT.
You can buy
online using  
or Switch, or Contact Us if you
require further information.
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