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Map Spotlight: Russell Fjord Wilderness by Aaron Taveras

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For our monthly Map Spotlight of July, we are displaying another superb honourable mention of the 2021 Avenza Map Contest: Russell Fjord Wilderness by Aaron Taveras of Cartografix. This outdoor recreation map was created to help visitors navigate the Russell Fjord Wilderness area and find the few trails that exist around the Yakutat region of Alaska. The map consists of two pages which illustrate the beautiful glaciers and rocky moraines, both of which make the area a popular destination for backcountry travel. Aaron combined essential topographic detail with recreational points of interest which resulted in a visually stunning yet useful cartographic product.

A fun fact: this map was selected to be used in the main software graphics for MAPublisher 11. It is available for purchase as a bundle digitally on the Avenza Maps Store.

Select the images below to see a detailed look at Aaron’s map

Making the Map

Aaron used both Geographic Imager and MAPublisher in the creation of this map. Geographic Imager was used in Adobe Photoshop to build the shaded relief images for the background of the map. The Terrain Shader makes it quick and easy to create a shaded relief by simply inputting a Digital Elevation Model (DEM). After this, the shaded relief image could be imported into MAPublisher and used as the background for the map.

Aaron imported his vector data and his shaded relief image into MAPublisher. MAP Stylesheet Themes were used to stylize the vector data such as the glaciers, land cover and water features. The Create Halo tool was used to create the thick and slightly transparent borders of the various parks and preserves in the region.

One of the standout features of Aaron’s map is the contour lines illustrating the terrain of the Russell Fjord Wilderness. The lines can be smoothed out using the Simplify Art tool to make them more visually appealing. The MAP Contour Tagger tool could then be used to manually create elevation labels for the contour lines, which allowed Aaron to select their exact placement in a visually appealing and uncrowded manner. Another important aspect of contour lines is that the text labels are readable, since they are usually obscured by the contour line itself. The Create Knockouts tool is perfect for ensuring that any text or features obscured by other features can be visible. Create Knockouts was used to create a gap in the contour lines where the contour labels (and other labels such as glacier names) exist.

The Grids & Graticules tool was essential in Aaron’s addition of such features to the map, with a UTM grid of 3000 meters being visible across the entirety of the map. Finally, Aaron used the Scale Bar and North Arrow features to easily ensure his finishing touches were placed correctly. Check out his north arrow that shows both true north and magnetic north and the difference between the two!

Learn more and enter the 2024 Avenza Map Contest here, and check out our other Map Spotlight blogs here!

Fixed vs. Floating Licenses: Which One is Right for You?

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When purchasing Avenza desktop software, MAPublisher and Geographic Imager, you are able to choose between two main license types: a fixed license or a floating license. This blog will cover the primary differences between the two and hopefully help you determine which setup will work best for you!

Fixed License

Fixed licenses allow for the software to be used on only one computer. This is usually sufficient for most single users or small companies, even with just a few licenses. A fixed license is, as the name suggests, fixed to a specific computer. Consequently, this means that it generally cannot be moved freely to another machine, although Avenza does allow you to move your license occasionally. For example, if you have purchased a new computer or if your main computer is being repaired and you need to transfer your fixed license to another computer. This is called rehosting a license. A license rehost is free as long as you have active maintenance on your license, or can be done for a fee if your maintenance is not active or expired.

Floating License

Floating licenses allow an organization to deploy a specific number of licenses that can be used and shared on any number of computers over a network. This is a great solution for any company that has multiple users of MAPublisher or Geographic Imager, especially if all users have their own machine. As such, this means that floating licenses do not need to be rehosted, however there must be a central server from which the licenses are provided to the users within the network. Hence, floating licenses can be further broken down into two categories: cloud floating licenses or local floating licenses.

Cloud Floating License

Cloud floating licenses connect users to their license through the internet. This does not require any additional setup on the organization’s side, and users can access and manage their licenses and servers through a cloud-based customer portal.

Local Floating License

Local floating licenses require a systems administrator at the organization to set up a local server on a computer which meets certain specifications. Only users connected to the local server will be able to check out these licenses on their client computers.

Floating licenses are often the chosen option when an organization would like to share a number of licenses between members. For example, if an organization’s license server holds two seats of MAPublisher licenses, when users on Computer A and Computer B have each checked out MAPublisher licenses, other users on the network are not able to check out a license until the borrowed licenses are checked back in.

An example environment of a floating license system

Floating licenses also give users the ability to borrow a roaming license with their laptops. This is a good solution for users who want to temporarily use MAPublisher and Geographic Imager when they are not connected to the floating license server.

For more information about the licensing options for Avenza desktop products, please contact Avenza sales. For any technical questions about setting up a license server or any other licensing issues, please contact Avenza support.

UC Spotlight: Importing XYZ Tiles into MAPublisher Documents

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Many cartographers have faced this dilemma: your map needs an extra bit of vector information, such as a missing road, but adding it would involve finding, importing, and sifting through huge datasets. Tom Patterson joined us at Avenza UC 2023 to present an easier solution to this problem with the help of QGIS. Tom showed us a simple way to add satellite images and/or raster reference maps, available as XYZ tiles, to our documents in MAPublisher. The imported images will register with your map regardless of which projection it uses. You can then use these images to manually digitize the missing data on your map in just a few minutes. With a little back and forth between MAPublisher and QGIS, from where the XYZ tiles are exported, you can fill in the gaps in your cartographic data in no time!

Tom demonstrates in his presentation how he would use satellite data from Google or Bing to complete a portion of the coastline of southwestern Tasmania. This method is also how he makes updates to the Natural Earth datasets he maintains on his website.

Check out the video of Tom’s full presentation at the Avenza UC 2023!

About Avenza UC

The Avenza User Conference is an opportunity to discover exciting new developments with Avenza’s GIS and cartographic solutions and to connect with peers and Avenza team members. Avenza users and staffers from around the globe meet virtually each May to learn what’s new with Avenza Maps, MAPublisher, Geographic Imager, and the Avenza Map Store, and see how they are being used to map our world.

The Avenza User Conference is an free annual event that grows each year with incredible speakers and participants. Get inspired by mapping and industry professionals by joining us for #AvenzaUC2025. Find more information here about next year’s conference taking place on May 8th, 2025.

Map Spotlight: Winter Trails of Methow Valley by Matt Dressler

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In this month’s Map Spotlight we are showcasing an honourable mention of the 2021 Avenza Map Contest: Winter Trails of Methow Valley, WA by Matt Dressler. This map was created to provide visitors to the region with all the information needed to plan, explore and navigate within the Methow Valley of Washington, the largest Nordic ski trail system in North America. The map provides users with valuable trail information including difficulty, trailheads, distances for each segment, elevation, parking, restrooms, ski waxing huts, warming huts, and usage restrictions. It also features detailed inset maps of the most popular areas of the trail system, including Mazama, Winthrop, and the Sun Mountain Complex. The map maximizes legibility for users through a strong visual hierarchy, minimalist color scheme, muted basemap, and horizontal labels juxtaposed with curving line features.

The map is available throughout the valley as a double-sided, wallet-sized map card (16″ x 25″ when unfolded) and also digitally on the Avenza Maps Store.

Select the images below to see a detailed look at Matt’s map

Making the Map

Matt worked in both Geographic Imager and MAPublisher to create this map. Geographic Imager was used in Adobe Photoshop to spatially reference and refine the shaded relief basemap. From there, the basemap was imported into MAPublisher and provided the foundation to construct the remainder of the map.

Matt used MAPublisher to import his vector data as well as his basemap image. Since his map contains multiple inset maps, he used the Copy MAP Objects From tool to copy his data to another temporary workspace document and crop it to the area for each inset map. He then used the Copy MAP Objects From tool again to bring each of his cropped maps back to the main document as an inset map (check out this blog to see this process in detail). In addition to the MAP Vector Crop tool, Matt also used the Simplify Art tool to smooth ultra-detailed trail lines to be more visually appealing.

Matt also used cartographic tools in MAPublisher to improve his map’s appearance. The Create Halo tool was used to create outlines for the trail lines to make them more legible. Adding halos to elements of a map is a quick and easy way to provide contrast for readers. Matt also used the Create Knockouts tool to create spaces in vector data where text overlapped in an undesirable way.

The MAPublisher LabelPro add-on was essential in Matt’s ability to expedite feature labeling, and allowed him to control and finetune the placement of his labels. Finally, due to the nature of his map being tilted by 12 degrees from North, Matt used the Scale Bar and North Arrow features to easily ensure his finishing touches were oriented correctly.

Learn more about the Avenza Map Contest here, and check out our other Map Spotlight blogs here!

UC Spotlight: Géom@tique, Cartography in the French-speaking World

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Géom@tique was founded at the end of the 1990s by introducing, for France and French-speaking countries, the distribution of MAPublisher for Adobe Illustrator. Through its position as a Value Added Reseller of Avenza products, Géom@tique is in contact, on a daily basis, with a wide variety of users who all have the desire to produce beautiful maps. With their vast knowledge of geomatics, they distribute our software, provide technical support, as well as certified training for Francophone users (one of their French MAPublisher trainings is coming up very soon). At this year’s Avenza User Conference, our friends Sophie-Anne and Alain presented with us an overview of how Géom@tique operates in France and, most importantly, highlighted the cartographic productions of some of the loyal and talented French-speaking users of MAPublisher and Geographic Imager they communicate with frequently.

Check out the video of Sophie-Anne and Alain’s full presentation at the Avenza UC 2023!

About Avenza UC

The Avenza User Conference is an annual free virtual conference for map makers, GIS enthusiasts, and geospatial professionals worldwide who share a common interest in Avenza mapping technology. The conference includes a combination of virtual sessions led by experts who will share their experiences with Avenza mapping products.

The Avenza User Conference is an annual event that grows each year with incredible speakers and participants. Get inspired by mapping and industry professionals by joining us for #AvenzaUC2024. Register here for next year’s conference taking place on May 9th, 2024.

Avenza Releases MAPublisher 11.3 for Adobe Illustrator

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Toronto, ON, October 31, 2023 – 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® version 11.3 for Adobe Illustrator®. This version offers full compatibility with Adobe Illustrator 2024 (version 28), macOS Sonoma (version 14), and the FME Auto 2023 update. It also includes performance enhancements 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.

New features of MAPublisher v11.3 for Adobe Illustrator include:

  • Adobe Creative Cloud 2024 compatibility: MAPublisher now supports Adobe Illustrator 2024 (version 28.0) on both Mac and Windows
  • macOS Sonoma compatibility: MAPublisher also officially supports the new macOS Sonoma (version 14) update
  • FME Auto 2023 compatibility: MAPublisher now supports the recent FME 2023.1 updates when using the FME Auto
  • Additional performance improvements and bug fixes

Users require a valid Adobe Creative Cloud subscription and a compatible operating system to utilize the improvements and enhancements offered in MAPublisher v11.3. For questions and information on how compatibility requirements may affect your organization, please contact our Support Centre.

MAPublisher 11.3 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$699. New licenses are available from US$1619. MAPublisher FME Auto and MAPublisher LabelPro are also available as add-ons starting at US$539. 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:  416-487-5116 – info@avenza.com – www.avenza.com

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PDF Press Release

What’s New in MAPublisher 11.3?

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We are very excited to announce the release of MAPublisher version 11.3, the latest version of our MAPublisher® extension for Adobe Illustrator®. 

With MAPublisher v11.3, we are introducing several compatibility updates! It also includes numerous performance enhancements and bug fixes.

Here’s what you can expect with the latest MAPublisher v11.3 release:

Compatibility with Adobe Creative Cloud 2024 and macOS Sonoma

We have committed ourselves to providing our users with a MAPublisher update that supports new Adobe releases as quickly as possible. We are happy to announce that MAPublisher v11.3 is fully compatible with the recently released Adobe Illustrator 2024 (also known as version 28.0). 

In addition to Adobe CC 2024, MAPublisher is also fully compatible with the new macOS Sonoma (version 14). 

FME Auto Update with FME 2023 Support

MAPublisher FME Auto is a Windows-only powerful add-on that connects the GIS data processing environment of FME Form to the cartographic design and publishing environment of MAPublisher and Adobe Illustrator. MAPublisher v11.3 is the first version of MAPublisher to provide support for the recent FME 2023.1 update.

MAPublisher 11.3 is Available Now!

If you would like to learn more about the new MAPublisher v11.3 update or have any questions, please check out our Support Centre.

MAPublisher v11.3 is immediately available today, free of charge to all current MAPublisher users with active maintenance subscriptions and as an upgrade for non-maintenance users. 

UC Spotlight: Mapping in the Wild

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Getting started with MAPublisher can be a daunting task, especially if you don’t have a background in cartography. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what the staff at SafariBookings, the largest marketplace for African safaris, was facing. But with the help of Red Geographics they were able to quickly learn how to use MAPublisher to create their own maps. At the Avenza User Conference in May of this year, Hans van der Maarel, the owner of Red Geographics presented to us how this amazing feat was achieved. Hans is a long-time partner of Avenza and user of MAPublisher and Geographic Imager. He uses the products for a wide range of cartographic projects for international clients and offers training courses and consultancy projects aimed at developing workflows for clients. In addition to that, he is currently a board member of NACIS.

By using MAPublisher together with open data, Hans and his team were able to swiftly get SafariBookings up and running and producing their very own maps. They worked with two members of the SafariBookings team, both of whom had previous graphic design and Adobe Creative Cloud experience, but were not experienced with GIS or cartography. Red Geographics offered them a personal training plan and helped them source data allowing them to start producing high-quality maps in less than a month.

Check out the video of Hans’s full presentation at the Avenza UC 2023!

About Avenza UC

The Avenza User Conference is an annual free virtual conference for map makers, GIS enthusiasts, and geospatial professionals worldwide who share a common interest in Avenza mapping technology. The conference includes a combination of virtual sessions led by experts who will share their experiences with Avenza mapping products.

The Avenza User Conference is an annual event that grows each year with incredible speakers and participants. Get inspired by mapping and industry professionals by joining us for #AvenzaUC2024. Register here for next year’s conference taking place on May 9th, 2024.

Avenza Releases MAPublisher 11.2 for Adobe Illustrator

News

Toronto, ON, July 31, 2023 – 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® version 11.2 for Adobe Illustrator®. This version comes with the brand-new Vector Basemaps tool and includes additional performance enhancements 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.

New features of MAPublisher v11.2 for Adobe Illustrator include:

  • The new Vector Basemaps tool: The new MAPublisher Vector Basemaps tool imports georeferenced vector data from an online server. Imported data is autostyled based on the zoom level and attribute information, but can also be configured or imported by users to create savable custom styles.
  • Additional performance improvements and bug fixes

Users require a valid Adobe Creative Cloud subscription and a compatible operating system to utilize the improvements and enhancements offered in MAPublisher v11.2. For questions and information on how compatibility requirements may affect your organization, please contact our Support Centre.

MAPublisher 11.2 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$699. New licenses are available from US$1619. MAPublisher FME Auto and MAPublisher LabelPro are also available as add-ons starting at US$539. 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

Vector Basemaps are Now Available in MAPublisher 11.2

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We are very excited to announce the release of MAPublisher version 11.2, the latest version of our MAPublisher® extension for Adobe Illustrator®. 

With MAPublisher v11.2, we are introducing our brand new Vector Basemaps tool! The update also includes several performance enhancements and bug fixes.

Here’s what you can expect with the latest MAPublisher v11.2 release:

Vector Basemaps are Here!

Sometimes in mapping projects we have all of our important datasets, but when it comes to putting together a map we need some surrounding context such as land use or water bodies. This is where the brand-new Vector Basemaps tool for MAPublisher comes in.

This exciting new tool gives you the ability to import georeferenced vector data to your maps from an online server. Imported data is autostyled based on the zoom level and attribute information, but can also be configured or imported by users to create savable custom styles.

Importing Vector Basemaps to Your Project

There are two ways to import vector basemap data into your document. You can choose to Select Data For MAPView, which requires an existing MAPView to pull boundaries from, or Select Data For Artboard, which allows you to specify the coordinates of a bounding box either by typing them in manually or selecting them on an online map.

After selecting your area, you can edit the zoom level (which is automatically calculated based on the size of your extents and artboard) and choose a style. The Vector Basemaps tool comes with one default style, which can later be edited and saved for reuse.

Configuring Vector Basemaps

If our default vector basemap style is not exactly what you need for your project, fear not! Once you have imported your vector basemap data, the Configure Vector Basemaps dialog box allows you to fully customize any aspect of your style. 

The Edit action allows you to make changes to any of the various stylesheets that are used to visualize your vector basemap data. The vector basemap stylesheets are edited in the same way as regular MAP Stylesheet Themes are.

The Save action allows you to save your customized basemap styles to your MAPublisher library for later use. To apply a saved basemap style, you can simply use the Apply New Basemap Stylesheets action and select your saved style from the dropdown menu. This is exceptionally helpful if you are creating a series of maps that require uniformity across their design!

Get started with Vector Basemaps by downloading our latest MAPublisher v11.2 update, and check out our support articles for Importing and Configuring Vector Basemaps to help acquaint yourself with this new tool!

MAPublisher 11.2 is Available Now!

If you would like to learn more about the new MAPublisher v11.2 features or have any questions, please check out our Support Centre.

MAPublisher v11.2 is immediately available today, free of charge to all current MAPublisher users with active maintenance subscriptions and as an upgrade for non-maintenance users. 

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