Map drawing

Map drawing by hand
(that means without the aid of a computer! An online computer map drawing guide is given below.)

Please use the class handout.
 
 

The following guide was presented at the National Educational Computing Conference, 1999 (NECC'99). It is a helpful guide for using the National Geographic Website to obtain computer images of maps of any region in the world and to custom their appearance to fit your needs for a particular research project.  This guide is reproduced with the permission of Dr. Holvoet.  Any questions about the guide can be sent to Dr. Holvoet at the email link below.

What Are We Doing?

These instructions will help you locate a map online, copy it, paste a copy into a Microsoft Word document, make changes to the map, and save the resulting document. Such documents could be used for student worksheets, handouts, brochures, press releases, bulletin boards, etc. You will need a printer for this to be effective and a color printer works best for some applications, such as bulletin boards and brochures.

1. Open Microsoft Word. Choose New, Blank Document.

2. Open an Internet browser (e.g., Netscape, Explorer). Make the browser window the active window by clicking on it or choosing it in the Finder.

1. Go to National Geographic Maps by typing this URL into the location line. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions

2. Click on Atlas.

3. Choose a map by clicking in the area of interest and then taking links to the country, state, etc. note that you can choose each map with or without detail. You could simply click on the map and print it, but here we are assuming you want to make changes to the map.

4. Put your mouse over the map. Hold down the mouse button until you see a menu.

5. Choose Copy this Image.

1. Switch to Microsoft Word. Use the Finder in the upper right corner of the monitor screen to do this, if you can't see the window for the application. You should see a blank page.

2. From the Edit menu, click on Paste (you can use keyboard shortcuts, if you prefer). The map should appear on your page.

3. Change the size of the map.
- Click on the map. You should see "handles" (little squares near each corner of the map). Place your cursor on a handle. It should change to a diagonal two-headed arrow.
- Click-and-drag on a handle to change the size of the map. Generally you should not make the map bigger as the quality degrades when this is done.

4. Move the map.
- Put your mouse over the map. You should see a 4-headed arrow. If you click-and-drag when this cursor is showing, you can move the map to a different position on the page.

5. Add lines or add color to lines on the map
- Go to the View menu, click on Toolbars, then click on the Drawing toolbar. This toolbar may appear at the bottom of the window or beside the window. It depends on how your preferences are set.
- Choose AutoShapes from the Drawing toolbar, then click on Lines.
- Drag your cursor onto the shaded area of the lines menu. Then click-and-drag that menu (palette) onto your document.
- Click on the Scribble tool in the lower right of the palette. (If you aren't sure which one it is, simply let the cursor lie on each tool a few seconds until the name of the tool appears.)
- Click on the map. It must be selected before the next step will work.
- Move back to the drawing toolbar. Click on the down arrow beside the Line Color tool. It looks like a paintbrush with a small downward pointing arrow beside it (labels will appear if you hold your mouse over the tools).
- Note that you can move this Line Color palette onto your document just as you did with the Lines palette. If you can't see the colors, click on your map and try again. Choose a color (I chose blue to highlight the rivers).
- Put your mouse where you want to begin and click-and-drag to draw. In the demonstration, I simply traced a river. Let go of the mouse button when you are finished. You should see your line with "handles" around it. If you donÕt like the color of the line, simply choose a different color from the palette.
- If the line is not thick enough, you can make it thicker by choosing a thicker line from the Line Style tool (icon with three solid lines) on the Drawing toolbar.

6. Add color to areas of the map
- Be sure your map is selected (i.e., has handles). Click on it , if it isn't.
- Outline an area of the map using the Scribble tool (as we did in #5). Be sure the two ends of the line connect to form a closed shape. Note this will block out any writing or features under that shape.
- Click on the arrow next to the Fill Color tool (paint bucket icon) from the Drawing toolbar. This will give you the Fill Color palette. You can move this palette onto your document if you wish.
- Click on a color. The shape you just outlined should change to that color. If it does not, click on the shape to select it and then try again. If color spreads outside the shape, you did not fully enclose the shape.
- If you don't like the way this looks, be sure it is selected (i.e., has handles) and hit Delete on your keyboard.
- This particular modification of maps is very nice if you are trying to illustrate the spread/demise of a culture through time. You can use several maps of the same area and used filled colors (try the Fill Effects, Pattern menu to use less toner and provide a slightly more professional appearance). Note that you may have to redraw part of the map and put labels on top of the fill to show all that you want.

7. Add text labels to the map
- If you want to add regular text directly on the map, you will need to create a text box. This box will block out any of the drawing that falls unde it. I use this when I want to take a non-detailed map and add only a few features to it.
- Click on the Text Box tool (icon of lined paper) from the Drawing toolbar.
- Move your cursor into the area where you want to place the label. You will note that the cursor looks like a plus sign. Click-and-drag diagonally until you have created a box.
- Click inside the box. The cursor will change to an I-bar. You can begin to type the label.
- Note that if you type a label that is longer than the box, you can't see some of it. To fix this, move your cursor onto one of the handles around the text box and make the text box larger by click-and-drag. Try to make the box just the right size.
- To change the color of the text, drag your mouse across it to select it (it should be highlighted). Click on the small arrow next to the Font Color tool (icon of an A with a colored bar under it) on the Drawing toolbar. You will get a palette you can move to your document.
- Click on a color. Your selected text will turn this color. To see it, click outside the text box.
- If you don't want a border around your text, select the text box (handles will show), then click on the Line Color tool in the Drawing toolbar. Choose No Line from the top of the palette.
- You can move the text box after typing by placing the cursor on the shaded edge of the text box (be careful not to get on a handle). You should see a 4-headed arrow. Click-and-drag to move the box into position.

8. Add WordArt to the map
- WordArt adds very fancy labels that are nice in brochures or if you are using maps to make a bulletin board border. You may think of other applications. It does take more time to print and causes the document to take up significantly more memory.
- Click on the map.
- Click on the WordArt (slanted A) tool in the Drawing toolbar.
- Select a WordArt Style by clicking on your choice, then clicking OK.
- Type in the word or words you want. You can change the font, but initially use the one chosen as it generally looks best. Click OK.
- Your WordArt will appear in the middle of your map. You will also see that you have acquired a WordArt palette. You can use the WordArt Format tool (icon of paintbrush and bucket) on that palette to change the colors and size of the WordArt. It takes some experimenting to get it right.
- You can move the WordArt to the desired position by clicking on it to select it (handles will show), moving the cursor on top of the WordArt (4-headed arrow), and then clicking-and-dragging to the desired position. The WordArt can be positioned on or off the map.
- You can change the shape of the WordArt by choosing the WordArt Shape tool on the WordArt palette. Click on a shape and click OK.

9. Rotate your text
- This is useful when you want to label vertical features on your map, e.g., a river or mountain range. You can only rotate text that you have created.
- If the text is in a text box, select the text you want to rotate by clicking on it.
- Go to the Format menu and click Text Direction.
- Click on the orientation you prefer.
- If the text is WordArt, select the WordArt by clicking on it.
- Click on the Rotate tool (circular arrow) from the WordArt palette.
- You will note that the handles of the selected WordArt all change color and shape. Put the cursor (a circular arrow) over a handle and click-and-drag until you have achieved the orientation you desire.
- Click outside the WordArt to see how it looks.

10. Add text above and below the map
- This feature allows you to make handouts, exams, worksheets, brochures, newsletters, etc.
- Click on your map to select it.
- Go to the Format menu and choose Picture........
- Click on Wrapping (it looks like a file folder tab). Choose an option. For most handouts, top and bottom is the best choice. For small pictures in a brochure or newsletter, you might prefer tight wrapping. Click on OK.
- Begin typing your text. Format text just as though it was only word processing. All of the text may initially appear above or below your map. Don't worry, you will fix this.
- When you have completed the text, click on the map.
- Put the cursor (4-headed arrow) inside the map. Click-and-drag the map to position it where you want it in the text. This takes a little practice.
- Change the wrapping style if the one you chose makes the text difficult to read.

11. Save your work
- You save the document just like you do any word processing document (File menu, Save)
- Note that you can only see the map when you are in Page Layout View (View menu, Page Layout). But it will print regardless of the view on the monitor screen.

12. Put in the reference
- Put a note on the handout, etc. with the name of the site where you got your map, the URL, and the date. This is a good referencing method.

Transfering Your Learning

You can do all these things with any image that you take from the Internet. These will work for in-class use. You will want to be sure you get permission for the use, however, if you plan to publish your work in a local newspaper, on the web, or any other major public forum.