Good ways to print out the maps - SOLUTION: Put them on an IPad!

[Major SNAFU_M]

Hi all,

Update: Thanks to the help in finding the .png files from the google earth file, I have what I consider to be a good solution. The only drawback is that there are no gridlines on the maps to help with range.

Take the png files and convert them to pdfs (no security, no compression, etc.) using IrfanView (free)

Then load them onto an IPad. Using IAnnotate ($10.00) you can then mark up, save and print out the maps to your content. Review the maps, zoom in and out to look at micro/macro features, etc.






I have been trying different ways to print out the maps for planning purposes. Most of my efforts have been less than satisfactory. So I was wondering how others go about it. THe screen capture works okay, but because the zoom jumps are so large, you either can't see all of the map on one screen or the maps is needlessly small.

Printing and manipulating of the maps is IrfanView is okay, but the maps are very dark even after tweaking the display and if you push the gamma too far, then you lose details that it would be good to have on the maps.

I am mostly interested in having the entire map for planning overview and terrain examination when away from the computer.

So recommendations?

[Topo]

Using the Google earth tour, in a /programs/google folder there are the maps in png format; i convert them in greyscale, a bit of brightness and contrast and print in A3 format.

sorry for my english...

[Major SNAFU_M]

Forgive my ignorance, but isn't Google earth about "the now".  I could see the topography being useful, but the roads have surely changed, or perhaps not?

[GoodGuy]

Check out my post in this thread, it might answer a part of your question:

tm.asp?m=2915221#2925453

It depends on the region/country and - of course - the type of terrain. By saying "type", I do have the level of cultivation and development in mind.

So, if you're lucky you have a map like the one posted at the top of that thread, where you can even see individual houses and factory/train station buildings, including the complete road network, and which also verifies (if compared to Sat images) that many of the roads are a bit wider nowadays and that a number of side roads had been added. Cobblestone pavements were widely-used in towns and villages at the time, hist. photographies of the town or similar towns in the area could answer that question.
If you don't have maps or photos, some research would be in order to find answers to the following (not necessarily complete) list of questions:

1) Are the areas in question "high-density areas" or "low density areas" nowadays?
2) What was the density level like when the battle took place?
3) Did the amount of constructible zones increase after the war?
4) Did the building development push away farms, farm land or woods?
5) Was it necessary to recultivate or renaturalize regions, or did civilization demand more space?
(As quite some woods disappeared after the war in some regions, some had to give way to housing constructions, new airports, additional farm land, or were battered by shells so badly, that it turned into grassland or into something like the hilly sections in France, which resemble a mix of craters and trenches and are still visible today, even though they're a result of the trench warfare in WW1, with the myriad of barrages.)
6) What parts of the road network were built after 1945?

[Lieste]

Also GE can load layers - one of which in the tour are the BftB maps... which are 'in a folder' in the tour download 'as png files'... so some version is already available - unsure about file size/suitable printing size, but I do recall them being there, and they might be useful for A4 (A3 at a pinch) - YMMV.

[Topo]

ORIGINAL: Major SNAFU
Forgive my ignorance, but isn't Google earth about "the now".  I could see the topography being useful, but the roads have surely changed, or perhaps not?

In Google earth tour the game maps are superimposed on satellite imagery; they are in a folder in "program files/google".

[Plodder]

ORIGINAL: Major SNAFU

Hi all,

I have been trying different ways to print out the maps for planning purposes. Most of my efforts have been less than satisfactory. So I was wondering how others go about it. THe screen capture works okay, but because the zoom jumps are so large, you either can't see all of the map on one screen or the maps is needlessly small.

Printing and manipulating of the maps is IrfanView is okay, but the maps are very dark even after tweaking the display and if you push the gamma too far, then you lose details that it would be good to have on the maps.

I am mostly interested in having the entire map for planning overview and terrain examination when away from the computer.

So recommendations?

I'll quote my answer from this thread: http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2465176#

just extract the map images from the kmz file. One way to do this is to change the .kmz extension to .zip and open it by double-clicking. All the images are in the files folder.

[Topo]

Overlooked your suggestion The Plodder, thank you.

[Major SNAFU_M]

Okay.  Thanks for all of the help.  I have them all now in pdf format so I can review an annotate then on my Ipad.

[alcamatraz]

hi major snafu - I have both an iPad and a need like yours - could I ask 2 things of you?

Would you share with me what app you are using for good manipulation of pdf's, and could you share the maps you created with me if I provide a sharing location or something?

I would be very grateful.

Thanks!

[Major SNAFU_M]

Hi alcamatraz,

Provided there are not legality issues with my providing the PDFs i created of the maps, yes. Otherwise, I will list the steps out and you can make your own.

You really only need two things, and one of them if free.

Irfanview (http://www.irfanview.com/) is free and allows you to do almost any manipulation to an images you can think of. And it allows you to batch process the images. One of the things I didn't do when I converted the pngs to PDFs was to re-balance the colours and/or adjust the gamma. You may find that you want to do this to suit your needs.

The App I use, which costs $10 US, is iAnnotate. It is used by many medical students and nearly anyone else who reads or deals with lots of PDFs that they want to annotate, etc.

I admit it is a bit limited when drawing plans on a map, but it suits my needs fine and I use it for work, keep all of the manuals and MarkShot's guides on it - all annotated, bookmarked and highlighted by me.

iAnnotate is in the App store. Just search for it. I know there are other pdf viewers available. I haven't looked a them and those people who have have told me they prefer iAnnotate.

Regards,

[alcamatraz]

Thanks for the info!

I am more than happy to do it myself, and a very glad to hear about this app - I am a scientist, so often reading pdf's and wanting to make notes on them. Until now I have been using the old technique of: 'print them out and use a pen'

Perhaps iAnnotate will help me to pretend I'm living in the sci-fi future world of the movies, which is the main reason I got an iPad anyway!

Again - thanks!

Al

[Arjuna]

[:D]