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Yearly Archives: 2022

What’s New in Geographic Imager 6.6?

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We are very pleased to announce the release of Geographic Imager version 6.6, the latest version of our Geographic Imager® extension for Adobe Photoshop®. 

With Geographic Imager v6.6, we are announcing official support for all Apple Silicon processors, compatibility with Adobe Photoshop 2023 (version 24) and macOS Ventura (version 13), a brand new welcome screen design, and several performance enhancements and bug fixes.

Here’s what you can expect with the latest Geographic Imager v6.6 release:

Apple Silicon Processor Support

Our team has worked to ensure that Geographic Imager v6.6 runs smoothly with computers using any Apple Silicon chip, and as such, we can declare that Geographic Imager is now joining MAPublisher in officially supporting these processors.

Compatibility Updates for Adobe Photoshop and macOS

We want our users to enjoy a truly seamless integration with the Adobe Photoshop workspace. We are therefore happy to announce that Geographic Imager v6.6 is fully compatible with the new Adobe Photoshop 2023 (version 24) update on both Mac and Windows.

Geographic Imager v6.6 is also fully compatible with the recently released macOS Ventura (version 13).

New Welcome Screen Design

Geographic Imager v6.6 introduces a brand new welcome screen that appears upon opening the application. This window is equipped with visually appealing refreshed graphics while maintaining easy access to the License Management window. It also features several new sections that increase discoverability, such as getting started, help and tutorials, and other Avenza news or event information. There is also a Get Inspired section to provide inspiration for you, which features articles from our blog that highlights the excellent stories and tips from some of our most proficient users.

If you would like to learn more about the new Geographic Imager 6.6 features or have any questions, please check out our Support Centre.

Geographic Imager v6.6 is immediately available today, free of charge to all current Geographic Imager users with active maintenance subscriptions and as an upgrade for non-maintenance users. 

Avenza Releases Geographic Imager 6.6 for Adobe Photoshop

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Toronto, ON, December 12, 2022 – Avenza Systems Inc., producers of the Avenza Maps® app for mobile devices and geospatial extensions for Adobe Creative Cloud®, including MAPublisher® for Adobe Illustrator®, is pleased to announce the release of Geographic Imager® version 6.6 for Adobe Photoshop®. 

This version comes with official support for all Apple Silicon processors as well as full compatibility with Adobe Photoshop 2023 (version 24) and macOS Ventura (version 13). Geographic Imager v6.6 also introduces a brand-new welcome screen design with increased discoverability for users and includes additional performance enhancements and bug fixes.

Geographic Imager for Adobe Photoshop delivers an all-encompassing solution to import, edit, and export geospatial images such as aerial and satellite imagery. Work with digital elevation models, GeoTIFFs, and other popular GIS image formats, using Adobe Photoshop features such as transparencies, filters, cropping, and image adjustments, while maintaining georeferencing and support for hundreds of coordinate systems and projections.

New features of Geographic Imager v6.6 for Adobe Photoshop include:

  • Apple Silicon processor support: Geographic Imager is now officially compatible with all Apple Silicon processors
  • Adobe Creative Cloud 2023 compatibility: Geographic Imager now supports Adobe Photoshop 2023 (version 24.0) on both Mac and Windows
  • macOS Ventura compatibility: Geographic Imager also officially supports the new macOS Ventura (version 13) update
  • New welcome screen design: Improved discoverability for users with more content to aid in getting started or inspired with Geographic Imager
  • Additional performance enhancements and bug fixes

Users require a valid Adobe Creative Cloud subscription and a compatible operating system to utilize the improvements and enhancements offered in Geographic Imager v6.6. For questions and information on how compatibility requirements may affect your organization, please contact our Support Centre.

Geographic Imager v6.6 is immediately available and is free of charge to all current Geographic Imager Maintenance Program members and starts at US$349 for non-maintenance upgrades. New fixed licenses start at US$749. Geographic Imager Basic Edition licenses start at US$99. Academic, floating, and volume license pricing is also available. Visit www.avenza.com/geographic-imager for more information.

More about Avenza Systems Inc.

Avenza Systems Inc. is an award-winning, privately held corporation that provides cartographers and GIS professionals with powerful software tools to make better maps. Avenza also offers the mobile Avenza Maps app to sell, purchase, distribute, and use maps on iOS and Android devices.
For further information contact: +1 416-487-5116 – info@avenza.com – www.avenza.com

MAPublisher Virtual Training: June 12-14, 2023

Past Event

Whether you’re new to MAPublisher®, an experienced user, or simply thinking about a purchase, Avenza software training is a worthwhile experience. Get hands-on training from Avenza product specialists at one of our training courses around North America or virtually from anywhere.

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Can You Create a Map in 5 Minutes?

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The Day 13 theme of the #30DayMapChallenge was more of a question: can you create a map in 5 minutes? Well, we were up for the challenge! Here at Avenza, we used this as an opportunity to teach our marketing team (with limited GIS experience) the basics of cartography. In the weeks leading up to this day, we taught them how to perform a few simple tasks in MAPublisher to create a basic map of South America.

Simplified Steps for Creating a Map

We broke down the process of making this map into five general steps for the purpose of simplicity.

Import Data

The first step was to import country area data using the Import button on the MAP Toolbar. After import, the Artboard tool was used to adjust map boundaries to the desired position. The MAP View Editor could also be used to fine-tune the movement of the data. 

Stylize Data

The second step was to add a stylesheet to the countries using the MAP Themes button. From here a stylesheet was created by clicking the Add button and creating an area stylesheet. The stylesheet editor was then opened, and the style was assigned to the country layer. The Batch Generate Rules… button was very helpful in quickly creating categories for the data based on the desired attribute. For example, one map was created using the Population Density attribute. The categories were assigned a style based on a pre-selected colour ramp. Finally, a rule was created to create a grey style for the part of North America that attaches to South America.

Add a Legend

Using the hamburger menu button in the MAP Themes panel, step three included creating a legend for the map. Removing Rule 1 from the list and adding a title (if desired) were the only extra steps necessary here.

Add Labels

In step four, the goal was to add a label for the country names. We used LabelPro for this to make it quick and simple. We enabled leader lines to ensure all countries were labeled even if the label was too large.

Add Finishing Touches

Finally, we added a title and supplemental text and objects to the map. All of these elements were added to the document using native Adobe Illustrator tools.

Our process of creating a map in 5 minutes was recorded and condensed into a 30-second video. See it, and the other resulting maps, below!

NACIS 2022 Recap

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Avenza at NACIS 2022

A few weeks ago, between October 19th and 22nd, we had the pleasure of attending the 42nd North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) Annual Meeting in Minneapolis. NACIS provides a casual and friendly atmosphere for map-lovers from all over the world to come together and share their passion for cartography. Avenza usually conducts our presentation at NACIS as a part of Practical Cartography Day (PCD), using the opportunity to give a sneak peek at what’s to come in the upcoming year for our products, and demonstrate some of the cool functionalities of MAPublisher.

During PCD we had the chance to share the latest and greatest tools in MAPublisher and Geographic Imager, and we also got to demo some of our favourite tools within MAPublisher. This year our presentation was headed by Nick Burchell, our Director of Quality Assurance here at Avenza, and Rebecca Bennett, our Publisher Success Coordinator. Nick highlighted the new and exciting features within our software this year, such as the new attribute viewer and erase tools in MAPublisher and georeferencing storage in PSD files in Geographic Imager. Rebecca closed out the presentation with a demonstration that focused on highlighting the usage of MAPublisher tools in creating a fantasy postal map of Toronto! Check out the presentation below:

After returning from Minneapolis, we had the opportunity to get a comment from Rebecca about her first time at NACIS:

“There were so many amazing and unique presentations this year, and it was really enjoyable and inspiring to be around so many talented cartographers and GIS professionals. Everyone has their own techniques and special flair with their maps and it was evident in their presentations, and also in the Map Gallery.”

“Overall NACIS is a wonderful place to meet like minded people and share your love of maps!”

Avenza Releases MAPublisher 11.1 for Adobe Illustrator

News

Toronto, ON, November 1, 2022 – Avenza Systems Inc., producers of the Avenza Maps® app for mobile devices and geospatial extensions for Adobe Creative Cloud®, including Geographic Imager® for Adobe Photoshop®, is pleased to announce the release of MAPublisher® 11.1 for Adobe Illustrator®. This version offers full compatibility with Adobe Illustrator 2023 (Version 27.0) as well as with the brand new macOS Ventura (version 13) update. It also includes maintenance and bug fixes.

MAPublisher cartography software seamlessly integrates more than seventy GIS mapping tools into Adobe Illustrator to help you create beautiful maps from geospatial data. Import industry-standard GIS data formats and make crisp, clean maps with all attributes and georeferencing intact using the Adobe Illustrator design environment.

Users require a valid Adobe Creative Cloud subscription and a compatible operating system to utilize the improvements and enhancements offered in MAPublisher 11.1. For questions and information on how compatibility requirements may affect your organization, please contact our Support Centre.

MAPublisher 11 is immediately available free of charge to all current MAPublisher users with active maintenance and as an upgrade for non-maintenance users starting at US$649. New licenses are available from US$1499. MAPublisher FME-Auto and MAPublisher LabelPro are also available as add-ons starting at US$499. Academic, floating, and volume licenses are also available. Prices include one year of full maintenance. Visit www.avenza.com/mapublisher for more details.

More about Avenza Systems Inc.

Avenza Systems Inc. is an award-winning, privately held corporation that provides cartographers and GIS professionals with powerful software tools to make better maps. Avenza also offers the mobile Avenza Maps app to sell, purchase, distribute, and use maps on iOS and Android devices.
For further information contact: +1 416-487-5116 – info@avenza.com – www.avenza.com

Webinar: Streamlining Processes Towards High-Quality Cartography

Past Event

Hosted by Safe Software
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
10:00am to 11:00am EST

FME Auto is a powerful add-on that connects the GIS data processing environment of FME Desktop to the cartographic design and publishing environment of MAPublisher and Adobe Illustrator. We’ll be appearing at this educational webinar hosted by Safe Software (creator of FME) about harnessing the power of this add-on to automate several of your cartographic processes. Nick Burchell from the Avenza team will be joining Hans van der Maarel from Red Geographics and Mark Ireland from Safe Software to demonstrate how FME shines as part of a high-end map production workflow. During the hour, you’ll be walked through:

  • An overview of MAPublisher’s extensive cartographic capabilities
  • An overview of FME and its basic cartographic capabilities, including the Illustrator format writer
  • How MAPublisher integrates FME with Adobe Illustrator directly
  • The power of automation to achieve faster map production

Sign up here if you are interested in learning more!

Join us for the #30DayMapChallenge!

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Tomorrow is November 1st, which means it’s time to start another year of the #30DayMapChallenge! The challenge is a Twitter-based daily map challenge which involves posting a map that suits the daily theme each day and tagging it with the hashtag #30DayMapChallenge. It was first started by Topi Tjukanov in 2019 and has been growing in popularity ever since. In 2021, the challenge ended up with over 9,000 submitted maps!

The daily themes for the challenge are posted in early October each year, giving participants about a month to get a head start on planning some of their maps. Some examples of daily themes include maps that show colours, hexagons, fantasy, or islands. Some of the themes also function as a challenge, such as creating a “bad” map, the 5 minute map challenge, as well as a map that is created using new tools outside of your comfort zone.

This year, we’ll be sharing some of our own maps created by Avenza employees, and highlighting some on-theme maps from the Avenza Map Store! We’re looking forward to seeing all of the interesting and innovative maps floating around the #30DayMapChallenge hashtag on Twitter. Remember, participants can post as many or as few maps as they wish. At the end of the day, it comes down to engaging in the ever growing community of cartography-lovers.

We’ll see you on Twitter tomorrow for the Day 1 theme: points! Happy mapping!

For more information about the #30DayMapChallenge – including the 2022 daily themes, visit the official website or check out the GitHub repository!

Creating Themed Maps Using Terrain Shader

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Today we are shifting the spotlight to Geographic Imager, our plugin for Adobe Photoshop. This blog features the usage of the Terrain Shader tool, which was featured in our promotional video at the Adobe MAX conference last week!

Terrain Shader is great for adding dimension to your maps. It is commonly used to perform shaded relief, a method for representing topography on maps in a natural and intuitive way. The tool provides options to apply colourization schema and shaded relief to supported elevation data formats, such as DEM or SRTM files. Terrain Shader has several different settings that users can customize to create a shaded relief that best suits their needs.

In the spirit of Halloween, we’ve decided to show off the Terrain Shader tool by creating a fun shaded relief using a colourization schema that resembles candy corn! 

I’m starting with a DEM file covering a portion of Jasper National Park in Alberta. DEMs are imported by default using a black-white gradient, with black representing the lowest elevation and white representing the highest.

Raw DEM image

Next, you can open the Geographic Imager panel and select the Terrain Shader button.

Geographic Imager Toolbar showing Terrain Shader button

There are many different settings available in the Terrain Shader tool to customize your design. First, ensure the Colourization schema option is checked and set to “Apply colour map” which enables you to apply colour to your DEM. You can also choose the Method to stretch the colour map over a preset group of values or simply apply your colour ramp from the highest and lowest point on the DEM.

Next, you want to select any Gradient from the list and press the pencil icon to open the Colour Map editor window. From this window, you can set and adjust three different colour stops to represent the three candy corn colours you wish to apply to your map.

Geographic Imager Terrain Shader tool

When you are finished, be sure to click Save and save it as a new colour map, titled appropriately (in my case, it was “Candy Corn”). 

Finally, select Apply shaded relief and adjust the light source angle and intensity if desired. Shaded relief is what adds texture to your DEM to make it look like terrain.

Geographic Imager Terrain Shader tool

Click OK, and you have successfully created your very own candy corn mountains! This is just one fun way to make use of the terrain shader to add a personal touch to your map. See the final result below, as well as a few other examples of colourization schemas that can be used to add a more realistic feel to your terrain.

Candy corn style DEM created using Geographic Imager Terrain Shader tool

For more information about the Terrain Shader tool, check out our related Support Centre articles and tutorial!

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