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The Best of Both Worlds – Map-making and GIS Functionalities in Adobe Illustrator

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Original article from Directions Magazine on October 4, 2017.

Modern cartography—the art, science, and technology of making maps—consists of manipulating and displaying geographic elements in a graphic environment. Traditionally, GIS software has offered users limited ability to manipulate the graphic attributes (hue, brightness, saturation, transparency, line thickness, text, etc.) of geographic elements, while graphic design software has treated geographic features as it would any other graphic elements, without regard for how they are connected in predictable ways to other geographic elements and to Earth itself. Additionally, in the real world, natural or artificial boundaries and features are constantly changing and cartographers need to update maps at different scales and in different styles to reflect these changes. Therefore, cartographers need an efficient and reliable way to bridge the divide between GIS and graphic design software.

First launched 30 years ago, Adobe Illustrator has long been the professional standard for graphic design, especially for creating vector graphics. For more than 20 years, Avenza’s MAPublisher has provided extensive GIS functionality inside Adobe Illustrator. I discussed the synergy between these two programs with two experts:

  • David Lambert, Director of Cartographic Production for National Geographic’s commercial retail mapping products, which includes its well known Trails Illustrated outdoor recreation map series, and
  • Tom Patterson, Senior Cartographer at the National Park Service’s Harpers Ferry Center, in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, which designs most of the interpretive media that is found in national parks—including maps, brochures, outdoor signs, visitor center exhibits, films, and digital kiosks.

 

“Map Illiterate” vs. “Map Aware”

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In the past, many map makers have also used Macromedia FreeHand (acquired by Adobe in 2005 and since discontinued), CorelDRAW, Canvas, or even more recent entrants with a map-specific slant such as Ortelius, proving that a graphics environment has long been regarded as a good and viable one for their trade. As well, for many years, Esri has offered an Illustrator export option from its GIS products, proving that Illustrator, in particular, has long been the preferred work environment for making maps. However, Lambert points out that those files exported from Esri’s GIS products are devoid of geographic properties once imported into Illustrator. He has been with National Geographic for 21 years. His team used to work with Illustrator, which was already the graphic design standard, but used Esri software to design maps, which they then exported as Illustrator files from Esri and imported to Illustrator. “Once we brought that into the Illustrator format, it lost all geospatial awareness,” Lambert recalls. In essence, the file became “map illiterate.” In 2011, he switched to using MAPublisher after learning how easy it made it to incorporate GIS data into Illustrator workflows.

To explain the advantages of using MAPublisher to keep graphic elements “map aware”, Lambert cites three examples:

  1.  The Great Salt Lake has shrunk in size over the years. “Prior to 2010, somebody would export a lake boundary and then bring it into Adobe Illustrator, where it might be re-scaled and transformed with an Illustrator function to fit the area of another map,” Lambert recalls. Now, with MAPublisher, National Geographic can use the same lake boundary in its maps of Utah, of the United States, and of the world, in each case simply reprojecting it on the fly without having to first export it to GIS software.
  2. Many of National Geographic’s nearly 300 outdoor recreation maps overlap one another at different scales. When, for example, Great Smoky Mountain National Park produces a new trail dataset reflecting changes in trails, National Geographic can now incorporate those changes much more quickly than ever before by simply transforming them through different map projections in the geospatially-aware files.
  3. The boundary between Pakistan and India is constantly changing. National Geographic can now make each change just once, then move it from its world map to its map of Asia and other products.

 

Starting in a Common Projection

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National Geographic starts working on any new map products in MAPublisher. “We want to get off on the right foot, so we make sure that they are all in the common projection from the very beginning,” Lambert explains. His team uses MAPublisher right from the start to georeference files and then to incorporate additional GIS data from federal, state, and county agencies into them. “For example,” Lambert says, “if we get a data set from the National Park Service, we are able to quickly import it and split it into the different layers and styles throughout our entire map series. We can see which trails might be hiking trails, horse trails, or mountain biking trails and quickly apply our styles. We also receive information from the U.S. Geological Survey, such as national hydrological data sets.”

MAPublisher allows users to work in a GIS environment from inside Adobe Illustrator. For example, they can bring in a transportation data set from a county, then click on a road in Adobe Illustrator and bring up a MAPublisher viewing panel to display its attributes, such as its name, whether it is paved, and, if it is not, its clearance. “We can see all the information that these agencies are assigning to these different lines,” Lambert says. “Adobe Illustrator and MAPublisher work together seamlessly.” By contrast, he points out, with other programs you have to exit one and go into the other.

Reconciling Conflicting Data

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Most of Patterson’s work revolves around making those very familiar black-banded brochures that visitors receive when they enter a national park. He began using MAPublisher in the mid-1990s, when Avenza introduced version 1.0. “We had just started converting our maps from manual production to digital production using Adobe Illustrator as our primary drawing software,” he recalls. “Soon afterward, geospatial data started becoming more available and the quality greatly improved. Of course, we wanted some means to bring these data into the graphic environment of Adobe Illustrator. MAPublisher provided us with the ideal tool for doing just that.”

Early on, Patterson’s team only used MAPublisher to import geospatial vector data into Adobe Illustrator to produce non-georeferenced maps. As the years went by, however, it saw the value of creating entirely geo-referenced maps.

To create a new map of a national park, Patterson’s team begins with an Adobe Illustrator template that contains all of the map layers that it would use for a typical NPS map—including lines, area colors, symbols, and labels. For even greater efficiency, it employs targeted layers with graphical styles applied to them. “A big part of our process at the beginning,” he explains, “is going on an online digital scavenger hunt, essentially finding whatever data we can that is in the public domain, from which we can compile our maps. We then import these various geospatial data sets into the Adobe Illustrator environment with MAPublisher.”

“The most time consuming aspect of map production is reconciling conflicting data,” says Patterson. “For example, analyzing and fixing different road data sources that don’t match with one another is an arduous process. However, thanks to the data manipulation tools in MAPublisher—which allows us to select, sort, and manipulate data by attribute—this task is now much easier.”

Patterson’s team updates NPS maps every year or two or three, depending on each park’s popularity. Working with a geographically-aware MAPublisher document allows it to take the previous printing of its map and import new data into it, which then drops into place where it should. For example, if a park builds a new trail, the park GIS specialist will send Patterson’s team a shapefile for that trail that it can quickly and easily import using MAPublisher. “It just works seamlessly,” says Patterson. Additionally, almost all NPS maps have shade relief art in the background. “We generate the shaded relief and then manipulate it using Avenza’s Geographic Imager tool in Adobe Photoshop. The result is a geographically aware Photoshop file of the shaded relief, which MAPublisher will automatically register to map line work in Adobe Illustrator.”

Geospatial PDFs

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Another very important feature of Avenza’s software, Patterson says, is that it enables his team to save all of its printed maps as electronic files in geospatial PDF format for dissemination via the Avenza Maps app and accompanying digital map store direct to digital devices such as smart phones and tablets. Park visitors can then download and use these maps on their location-enabled mobile devices and, because the maps are geospatially aware, a little blue dot will show their location at all times as they explore a park, even in the absence of a cellular data connection.

Before publishing a new map of a national park, Patterson’s team typically field checks it, saved as a geospatial PDF, using the Avenza Maps app on an iPhone. “We refer to this draft map as we canvas the park,” Patterson says. “We can take notes right in the Avenza Maps app, drop locator pins, and record tracks. When finished field checking, we e-mail the data to ourselves and import it into the working map file through MAPublisher. The notes and tracks that we recorded in the field are used to update the final map, improving accuracy.”

One goal of Patterson’s team is to increase online access to NPS maps. “We are pretty excited about some of the new capabilities in MAPublisher,” says Patterson, “particularly, saving our park maps as Web tiles. We are going through a multi-year transformation right now, converting our maps from the UTM coordinate system to the Web Mercator coordinate system for compatibility with Google Maps, Bing Maps, and Apple Maps. We do all of this through the ‘Export Document to Web Tiles’ feature in MAPublisher, which is really pretty cool.”

Patterson’s team also recently began experimenting with MAPublisher’s Map Web Author tool, which allows quick and easy creation of data-rich and interactive HTML5 web maps from GIS data. It produced a prototype for Harpers Ferry National Historical Park that contains layered information and the ability to explore the map interactively. For example, it allows park visitors to compare contemporary photographs to those taken during the Civil War era at various viewpoints throughout the park.

Other Specialized Illustrator Plugins

There are dozens of plugins that extend Illustrator’s capabilities, for example to edit vector data, concatenate multiple paths, or precisely position nearby objects. Here is one list of Illustrator plugins. CADtools and VectorScribe are particularly noteworthy in this context, because they show that a professional base of CAD users like Illustrator as their working environment, just as GIS and mapping professionals do.

HotDoor’s CADtools 10 plugin provides an extensive set of CAD capabilities—including drawing, editing, labeling, dimensioning, transformation, creation, and utility tools—inside Illustrator. For example, users can insert dimensions or labels on objects, paths, or points in space, which update in real time in response to changes in the artwork. The can also move, transform, and measure objects with precision.

VectorScribe enables users to reduce file sizes by eliminating excess points while maintaining the shape of paths; slide points along paths, extends paths, or trim them; accomplish complex vector editing, such as adding points to tangencies, reverse paths, or smoothly connect curves to straight lines; edit corners on dynamic shapes; or dynamically measure distances and areas along paths.

Conclusions

The sources of geospatial data now include unmanned aerial vehicles (UAS), the Internet of Things (IOT), and myriad consumer devices and, consequently, the amount of available geospatial data is growing exponentially. At the same time, professionals and consumers now expect location to be routinely embedded in everything they do on their digital devices. MAPublisher helps cartographers keep up with this accelerating cycle of supply and demand by making it easier and faster for them to make beautiful maps. Recent attempts by other GIS software vendors to address the increasing demand for cartography and map creation within the Adobe environment is evidence that making maps in Adobe Illustrator is the preferred way to go. With MAPublisher leading the way, it is a workflow that is here to stay.

Avenza Maps 3.3 released

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We’re excited to announce that we’ve completed the release of Avenza Maps 3.3 for iOS and Android. We addressed some early user feedback and made a few point releases to resolve those issues (3.3.1 for Android and 3.3.2 for iOS). We’re also working on another minor update that addresses some additional user feedback.

Avenza Maps 3.3

This update contains new features and performance improvements as well as fixes for reported bugs. Some highlights are mentioned below, for the full release notes see below.

Redesigned Measure Tool. This tool has been completely redesigned and renamed — now known as the Draw and Measure tool. It features an improved interface which lets you draw shapes and measure more easily. While in a draw or measure mode, you can now quickly tap anywhere to enter a segment for a line or area. In addition, there are two precise input modes to enter segments: Point By Point and Course and Distance. Long press anywhere on the map to enter precise input mode. For Point By Point, simply enter the coordinates (lat/long, easting/northing or MGRS/USNG) to add a segment at an exact location. The Course and Distance mode allows you to enter the heading (angle) and distance from an initial location.

You can also now draw circles. Using only two points — an initial center point and a second point at any distance away — which means you can now draw circles that can act like buffers. It even works with the Point By Point and Course and Distance modes to enter specific distances or coordinates. Best of all, shapes and areas can now be saved as a map feature to your map. They can be exported as KML, CSV or GPX or even SHP (if you have Avenza Maps Pro). New style settings are available to adjust line thickness, stroke and fill colors, and opacity.

Release Notes

  • Redesigned Measure Tool (now known as “Draw and Measure”)
  • New advanced drawing capabilities, including tap anywhere to draw a segment and tap and hold to access “point by point” and “course and distance” modes
  • Draw, edit, save, export and import areas. Draw areas including circles using only two points.
  • Reorganized Settings including new settings to change location dot color and line and area colors including opacity
  • Record GPS Tracks will continue to run even when the map is closed
  • Map Store improvements including ability to preview map extent
  • Improved Map Store user registration workflow

 

You can get Avenza Maps now from the App Store and Google Play.

Best Practices for Processing and Importing Maps into the Avenza Maps App

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Avenza Maps is capable of importing and displaying georeferenced maps in several different formats. The app processes a map by rasterizing and tiling it on import. The speed and result of processing will vary depending on the type of file used and the size and dimensions. We’ll discuss the types of files allowed and the advantages of each.

Usually larger files take longer to process than smaller ones with some exceptions. An image may have a very high resolution but a small disk size due to image compression. It is recommended that images be less than 100 megapixels for upload to the app. A geospatial PDF file with many vector features may also take a long time to process. In this case, you should convert the file to an image to avoid having to rasterize vector data in the app.

Maps can be loaded into the app faster by processing them before import. Maps can also be preprocessed by uploading them to the Avenza Maps Store or using the Export to Avenza Maps tool in Geographic Imager or MAPublisher.

Comparison of Allowed File Types

GeoTIFF

A GeoTIFF is a TIFF file (Tagged Image File Format) with spatial information embedded in the file. This format is typically the preferred format for uploading directly to Avenza Maps without preprocessing. Since this is an image format, the app doesn’t need to rasterize the file on import meaning processing times will generally be faster compared to PDF’s, and it will maintain the native resolution.

It is also possible to import a normal TIFF file by zipping it with a TIFF World File (TFW) and either a WKT or PRJ file which contains projection information. It is best not to do this for the sake of simplicity. Usually, any GIS software that can produce a world file will also be able to save to GeoTIFF.

Geospatial PDF

A Geospatial PDF stores spatial data in either raster or vector format as well as associated attributes and layer information. Files should comply with the Adobe Acrobat PDF 1.7 specification which has been standard since 2006.

Avenza Maps rasterizes geospatial PDF files on import which discards layer and attribute information. PDF files typically take longer to process than image files. There is also a chance that the file may process incorrectly (e.g. discarding labels).

Despite this, there are some instances when it may be preferable to use a geospatial PDF file. For example, the map may already be in this format and isn’t worthwhile to convert to another format. Geospatial PDF files tend to be smaller than image files so they would be a good solution if device storage space or download speed is an issue. Also, occasionally converting from PDF to TIFF degrades the image quality and may make maps illegible.

To ensure a geospatial PDF file has a good balance between size and quality, open the file in Adobe Acrobat and go to Advanced > PDF Optimizer. This is especially helpful if the map contains large raster images.

JPEG

JPEG is an image format like TIFF but it does not have the ability to store spatial information. To load a JPEG into Avenza Maps, it must be zipped with a JPEG World File (JGW) and either WKT or PRJ file. JPEG files are compressed so this may be an option to consider if file size is a consideration, however, a better alternative would be to compress a GeoTIFF file.

Processing Maps with MAPublisher, Geographic Imager, and the Map Store

It is best to process maps before loading them into the app because desktop computers are more powerful than mobile devices. It also avoids having to process the file each time the map is loaded onto a device. Geographic Imager and MAPublisher each have a utility to export to an Avenza Maps package with the capability to upload directly to the Avenza Map Store if you have a vendor account.

Running these utilities produces a folder that contains a ZIP file with a thumbnail to show a preview of the map, a reference file, and a folder called tiles that contains a tiled version of the map in PNG format. This ZIP file can be imported into the app in the same way as other files.

Uploading a map to the Avenza Map Store processes the map the same way. To use the store, register a vendor account on the Avenza Maps website.

Difference Between Lines and Tracks When Exporting from Avenza Maps

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There are two methods of exporting GPS tracks from Avenza Maps in KML format: as a line and as a track. Which option to select depends on the intended purpose. Lines are much simpler than tracks and store only the position of each vertex in the line as latitude longitude and elevation. Tracks contain a complete description of how the path moves through space including the position at one-second intervals, the time at which each position was recorded, the compass angle of the heading, and the velocity. Lines take up much less storage space than tracks. To switch between exporting to Lines or Tracks, select Track Export in the Export Settings screen.

Export Settings screen

Tracks are useful in applications where the GPS position at a given time and space is important. For example, in Google Earth there is an option to record a tour that moves to predetermined places on the globe. This would be useful if you wanted to follow along on a hiking path or do a virtual walkthrough of a proposed building development. To make a tour from a track, open the KML file in Google Earth, select the track in the places panel, and click the Play Tour icon. The animation below shows a walk through Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, Canada. Lines contain only the location information: latitude longitude and elevation. Export to line when the time data is not important such as if you are making a map of a hiking trail.

Play tour in Google Earth
A tour of Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, Canada using Google Earth

KML Code for Lines and Tracks

KML (short for Keyhole Markup Language) is an XML notation for displaying spatial data in web applications. It was developed for use with Google Earth and can be read by many programs. Avenza Maps uses KML to import and export placemarks, lines, and tracks. You can view and modify KML files in any text editor. The KML element used for lines is called a Linestring which is defined as “a connected set of line segments”. A Linestring element contains a coordinates tag which is a list of longitude and latitude positions in decimal degrees and elevations in meters.

KML Linestring code sample

Tracks use the KML element “gx:Track” which contains several tags.

  1. when – the date and time a point was recorded in UTC
  2. gx:coord – the location of the point in decimal degrees and the elevation in meters
  3. gx:angle – the current heading in compass degrees (i.e. 0 degrees is north, 90 is degrees east and so on)
  4. gx:value tag defined as “speed” – the current speed in meters per second

There are equal numbers of each of these tags. A full description of the vertex includes all the tags in the same sequence. For instance, the first when tag, coord tag, angle tag, and speed tag, describe the first vertex in the track.

Track KML code sample

 

Top Reasons to Create a Free PDF Maps Account

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#1 – It’s free!

PDF Maps accounts are free for personal use.

#2 – It’s easy to do

Creating a PDF Maps account is quick and easy. It can be done in the app and takes less time than reading this blog post.

#3 – Have access to maps anytime

If you lose, break, change or upgrade your device you don’t lose the maps you have purchased. They are linked to your account, so you can always re-download them at any time. It doesn’t matter if you change brands or operating systems, your maps are always available.

#4 – Share maps on multiple devices

You can download any map you have purchased unlimited times onto five different devices.

See this Avenza blog article for advice on this process.

#5 – Better access to help

Having a PDF Maps account enables Avenza to provide you a higher level of support.

 

If you are interested in using PDF Maps in a commercial, governmental or educational environment please see PDF Maps licensing and contact Avenza Sales or see

Also, learn more about about PDF Maps on its dedicated site www.pdf-maps.com.

New Image Data Type Available in MAPublisher

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Do you have pictures and images you want to insert as an attribute in MAPublisher?

MAPublisher 9.4 introduces a new data type called Image. To work with the Image data type, you’ll have to take a look in the MAP Attributes panel. The Image data type can be used in the same way as the other data types in the MAP Attributes panel. Use the Edit Schema dialog box to edit or create the Image data type as an attribute.

For this example, we have a point layer called “Point of Interests”. Let’s create a new attribute column with Image data type called “Picture”.

Edit Schema with a new data type "Image Data Type

We added a fourth attribute to this point layer (existing attributes were PlaceName, Note, and PhoneNumber).

Let’s insert an image into the attribute cell. Click the “No image…” hyperlink in the attribute cell. It will open the Edit Picture dialog box. Click Let's insert an image file to an attribute cell to browse for an image to add to the attribute cell. Once the image is added, a preview of the image will be visible in the Edit Picture dialog box.

Inserting a photo as an attribute value

There are other controls in this dialog box.

Edit Image Attribute Window: button for Select an image Select and insert an image to the attribute cell. Use this button to replace the existing image to something else. You can insert jpg or png file.
Edit Image Attribute Window: button for Export image attribute as jpg or png Export image as jpg or png
Edit Image Attribute Window: button for removing image from the attribute cell Remove image from the attribute cell
Edit Image Attribute Window: button for navigation control (zoom to fit) Navigation control – zoom to fit
Edit Image Attribute Window: button for navigation control (zoom to actual size) Navigation control – zoom to actual size
Edit Image Attribute Window: button for navigation control (zoom in) Navigation control – zoom in
Edit Image Attribute Window: button for navigation control (zoom out) Navigation control – zoom out
Edit Image Attribute Window: Textbox to change the name of the imageChange the name of the image

 

After clicking OK, the image will be listed in the attribute cell. The cell shows the file name of the image (it will be the file name of the image by default but you can change the name of the image to anything else). Also, hovering the mouse pointer over the image name in the attribute cell will show a quick preview of it.

An image file is inserted to an attribute cell as image data

The Image attribute type also supports images exported from PDF Maps (in KML format) and images exported to Google (in KML format).

 

The iTunes of Maps: A New Business Model for Map Publishers

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Originally published in Directions Magazine. http://www.directionsmag.com/articles/the-itunes-of-maps-a-new-business-model-for-map-publishers/280993

By Joe Francica

Summary:
In September 2010, Avenza Systems, Inc. released the first version of PDF Maps for the Apple App Store where both free and for-pay versions of maps in the Geospatial PDF format could be downloaded for use with the iOS operating system. Currently, over 100,000 maps are now available for download. Are users likely to download maps normally found in a print version to their iPhone or iPad? Editor in Chief Joe Francica sat down with Avenza president, Ted Florence for more details on the “the iTunes of maps” business model – selling maps the way iTunes sells music.

Directions Magazine (DM): The transition from publishing printed paper maps to the digital world is a difficult one for many publishers who have been in the map business for many years. Why has the transition been so slow when we’ve had online mapping and the platform, the Internet, for many years?

Ted Florence (TF): Most publishers who have heretofore catered to the printed map audience have neither the means, the know-how nor financial capability to jump into the digital world, and hence a real catalyst was required. That is the essence of where Avenza’s PDF Maps app and digital map store solution come in. While the migration from analog product to digital product has unfolded over the last few years and the better part of the last decade for book and music publishers, map publishers (save for those with means of their own) have only been able to enviously sit back and watch as their printed map businesses have started to struggle. And recognizing that catalysts like Apple, with iTunes and iBooks, and Amazon, with Kindle, have made themselves available to music and book publishers, one could argue that were it not for those catalysts, music and books may not have made the migration either. Furthermore, the cost of transitioning can be very expensive and even prohibitive for many publishers, not to mention that undertaking such major initiatives as creating their own app or mapping device could likely distract most publishers from their main business of producing and delivering maps. So again, despite the fact that the paper or analog to digital transition has proven to be a viable model in the book and music industries and the demand for digital maps has increased with the advent of powerful smartphones and tablets, the map industry has lacked a similar manner of both transitioning and ultimately transacting in maps and has thus been faced with the simple dilemma of how to make that transition, at least until now.

DM: You’ve come up with a new model to support the transition by taking the archive of printed maps and exposing a new delivery method for the publishers. Can you explain the business model in some detail?

TF: The business model for the Avenza PDF Maps app and map store solution is very simple. Think of it basically as iTunes or Kindle but for maps.

The PDF Maps app and solution is an all-encompassing solution for the use, distribution and sale of digital versions of paper maps to mobile devices. Similar to iTunes for music, the Avenza PDF Maps solution includes both an app for users to discover, purchase and use maps directly from and to their devices, as well as a back-end store to facilitate the transaction and delivery of the maps. The app on the smartphone or tablet device contains all the functionality for using maps both on- and offline, including locating oneself, measuring, plotting points, importing and exporting points, and much more, all of which goes well beyond traditional paper map usage. Users can carry around dozens of maps on their device just like they are now accustomed to carrying around a library of music or books. On the other side of the equation, and again like iTunes and Kindle, the app has a built-in map store which connects users to a vast and growing library (currently over 100,000 titles) of maps from around the world and representing multiple genres and publishers. Users may browse and search through this catalog and quickly and easily find, purchase and download the map or maps of their choice, may of which are offered free of charge. Maps are then immediately and automatically delivered wirelessly to the device.

Any geo-referenced map may be uploaded to the system and made available for purchase in a fully electronic manner similar to the way in which music, videos, books and apps are currently sold and delivered.

Additionally, users may add their own maps directly into the Avenza PDF Maps app via a variety of methods. This is particularly useful for private and public-sector organizations that have a need to use their own private maps out in the field while doing work on tablets or smartphones such as iPads and iPhones. So the insertion of maps into the app is not exclusively dependent upon a purchase and download from the in-app map store.

DM: If your new model is essentially “the iTunes of maps” why wouldn’t one of the larger publishers like National Geographic or Rand McNally try to use their brand to do this themselves?

TF: This is certainly an option for all publishers, and some will do that, however, as many publishers are finding, the development and ongoing maintenance of such a dedicated app is very time-consuming and costly. That is why one of the business models in the Avenza PDF Maps solution is a customized or OEM offering of the Avenza PDF Maps app whereby publishers can avail themselves of the functionality and transaction model of the Avenza PDF Maps solution without the time and overhead required to do it all themselves. Moreover, though, as we look at the trail blazed in the music and book industries by iTunes and Kindle, we find that all the various publishers have gravitated to a one-size-fits-all solution in which all music publishers provide their offerings through a single place, iTunes, and all book publishers do so though a single place like Kindle or iBooks. What we do not see are dedicated apps for each publisher. We do not see individual music players and digital stores for Sony, Arista, Def Jam or Geffen nor do we see individual readers and digital stores for Penguin, Random House or Harlequin. Furthermore, on the user side, the fragmentation of the offerings is really not ideal or desirable as users do not want to have dozens of music and book apps on their devices in order to find, maintain and use their content. Simply put, why reinvent the wheel? We have seen how successful the digital music and book transition has become under this model, so why should we try to be any different in transitioning the map industry?

DM: Give us a better understanding of the app delivery method. How do you envision the store to function and what “departments” will you have in the store to make it easy to find content?

TF: Just like with iTunes, iBooks and Kindle, users can access a digital map store directly from within the Avenza PDF Maps app on their device. From within the map store they can browse various map categories or genres such as tourist, transit, recreation, nautical, aeronautical and special purpose, or enter any search term that might apply to a map they are looking for such as a geographic place or term or a particular map use case such as cycling or camping. Additionally, the map store interface allows for finding maps near to one’s current location, browsing recent additions to the map store and browsing the most popular maps at the time. Searches by publisher or brand may also be performed should users have a particular brand or publisher loyalty.

Once they have located a particular map of interest they can simply touch the listing to reveal more information about a map such as publisher, date of publication, file size and full description and even see a full preview of the map in order to feel comfortable that they have found a map they want to purchase. Then, as is done with music in iTunes, they simply touch the “buy” button and complete the transaction.

On iOS devices (iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches) the payment comes seamlessly via the user’s iTunes account and then the map is delivered to the device. Essentially the system functions with the same elegance and simplicity that users are accustomed to when purchasing music and books.

DM: What does the store look like in three years? How do you envision the model developing over time?

TF: Currently there are over 100,000 maps in the map store from over 200 government and commercial publishers and more are being added all the time, every day. We expect this to continue to grow and eventually become the de facto place to purchase maps, much like iTunes has become the place to get music. It would not surprise me at all if we had over one million maps and many millions of users within two to three years. Just ask yourself this: If you need a map of a particular place for a particular use on your device, do you know where to get it? Well, we intend to answer that question for everybody, with the answer being the Avenza PDF Maps store.

There is no other model like this catering to the map industry and as more and more users discover it and more and more publishers realize it to be a viable and costless solution for them to enter the digital map business we see it indeed becoming the iTunes of maps.

We are currently working on an Android version of the solution followed by Windows Mobile and possibly Blackberry, as well as a Web-based interface and store for users who might prefer to do their map shopping on a computer screen rather than on the mobile devices themselves. This is something that music and book purchasers are already able to do, so why not maps as well? As these platforms are unveiled, continued growth is anticipated as new audiences get added. There is no doubt that there is a demand for this type of user and publisher solution so essentially the sky is the limit.

Using QR Codes to Deliver Maps Electronically

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Updated: August 6, 2015 – New URL syntax for QR codes

Delivering mobile maps just became even easier for Avenza Maps vendors. This is a brief overview of how vendors can easily create QR codes (Quick Response Codes) to help promote, sell, and deliver their maps electronically.

A QR code is a two-dimensional barcode that can be easily scanned using any modern mobile device. When scanned, the mobile device automatically launches a web browser to direct the user to a website or other action. In our case, the map product page (free or purchase) in the Avenza Map Store.

These QR codes can be strategically placed on printed maps, signage, websites, advertising and anywhere else your maps are promoted.

This is an example of such a QR code:

When scanned on a device that has Avenza Maps installed, this code will automatically launch the Avenza Map Store listing for Avenza’s Amsterdam map. From there, one can browse details about the map and immediately purchase it. In this case, the QR code contains a special URL to which only the Avenza Maps app will respond.

 

Create a QR Code to launch an Avenza Map Store product listing

Previously, two types of URL syntaxes—one each for Android and iOS—were used to create QR codes for map downloads. This is no longer the case. With the most recent update to the Avenza Map Store, only one URL syntax will be needed to create QR codes compatible for both Android and iOS.

The new URL syntax now shares the same link from the Avenza Maps site and will look like this: http://avenzamaps.com/maps/{mapsku} (e.g. http://avenzamaps.com/maps/62190). Adding a title to the URL is optional: http://avenzamaps.com/maps/{mapsku}/{title}. If a title is added, any spaces in the title should be replaced with dashes. For example, a map listing that has a SKU number of 61290 and a title of Amsterdam Netherlands will yield the URL http://avenzamaps.com/maps/62190/amsterdam-netherlands. To retrieve the URL of one of your maps, go to your Avenza Map Store vendor page, view one of your map listings and copy its URL.

Once you’ve retrieved the URL of one of your maps, simply go to one of the QR code generators recommended below:

https://qrcode.littleidiot.be
http://www.visualead.com/qurify2
http://createqrcode.appspot.com
http://qrcode.kaywa.com

Some sites provide an option to download the QR code in different formats. We recommend saving the QR code as a high resolution image or SVG.

 

Examples of QR codes to deliver maps from the Avenza Map Store

As described earlier, QR codes can be used with Avenza Maps to drive a map purchase, but they can also be used to effect the download of any map within the Avenza Map Store.

QR codes with the Avenza Map Store can be a very effective way to deliver a free map, such as those found in transit shelters, tourist offices, car rental counters, parks, and trail heads. In such cases, for example, a QR code can be placed on a transit map in a bus shelter or on a signpost at a trail head, and anyone equipped with the Avenza Maps app who may be looking at that map can scan the code and immediately get the map delivered to their device. Here is an example of such a sign Avenza used recently at an event in San Diego, CA.

Imagine seeing such a sign on a hotel concierge desk, city tourist office or in an airport and how easy it would be to quickly obtain a map for that city.

Here is an example of how the City of Stavanger, Norway has employed a QR code on their city maps placed in popular and high foot-traffic areas.


Photo and map courtesy of Stavanger Guide Maps Norway.
Notice the QR code in the lower right corner directing viewers to the Avenza Maps app.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area has also implemented QR codes by adding them to posters placed in Visitor Centres and other strategic areas to allow visitors to get their hands on the park map before hitting the trails.

qrcode

What else can you do with QR codes and maps?

  • QR codes can be strategically placed on printed maps, signage, websites, advertising and anywhere else your maps are promoted.
  • They can be placed on a paper map product to offer a digital copy of the printed map to someone who buys the paper one.
  • They can be used in magazine and newspaper articles to offer a map for sale for a destination mentioned in the article. If a map is used in an article a QR code can be used to offer that map.
  • QR codes can be placed on websites to enable the purchase of a map that is shown and offered for sale on that website.
  • They can be used on maps and map signage, such as those in Stavanger or on a hiking trail head map sign, to offer the same map that someone may be looking at on the sign.
  • They can be used on signs on hotel concierge desks, travel agencies, airports and train stations and any other place where travels congregate.
  • The ideas one can come up with are endless and we encourage everyone reading this to explore and exploit the use of Avenza Maps QR codes in their sales and distribution tactics.

Sell Your Maps Digitally to Mobile Devices

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As we have all seen over the last decade, the distribution and consumption of music, videos and books has moved to a digital model and so, the question then becomes, why not maps? Similarly to the aforementioned media types, maps are also very conducive to both the distribution and use in a digital and mobile way. As we see organizations like Borders, Blockbuster and Kodak succumb to this digital revolution, we map-makers must adapt or suffer a similar fate.

Many of you may be struggling with the issue of selling your maps digitally, tackling the question of the “mobilization” of your content and wondering how to attack the new markets.

But what if there were a generic iTunes/iBooks/Kindle type environment where a map publisher, like many of you reading this, could offer their maps for sale just like musicians and book publishers currently do with their songs and books? There is and it’s called the Avenza Map Store, accessible through the PDF Maps app.

Right now, the Avenza Map Store has more than 100,000 maps from publishers all over the world and we are looking for more as we strive to become the “iTunes of maps”. Map sales in January have already more than doubled December in terms of both units and dollars and December was higher than previous months already.

Signing up to become a map store vendor is free. We encourage and invite everyone to do so.

So here is the gist of the system and the thinking behind it.

 

What is PDF Maps?

The award winning PDF Maps app is an all-encompassing solution for the use, distribution, and sale of digital versions of paper maps to mobile devices. It includes both an app for users to use, discover and purchase maps directly using their devices as well as an in-app store to facilitate the transaction and delivery of the maps.

Think of it like iTunes, iBooks or Kindle, but for maps.

The app loads georeferenced maps and has functionality for locating (via GPS), measuring, plotting points, importing and exporting points and much more, this goes well beyond traditional paper map usage.

 

Why PDF Maps? What are the advantages?

The PDF Maps app and the connected map store responds to the demand of both map users and map producers for a 21st century digital map consumption and delivery solution. In an era where a vast amount of content is shifting from analog to digital delivery and use, the map industry demands a similar solution for its users and producers.

For the user it solves four major problems:

  1. How can I use a map I really like on my mobile device instead of the often less-desirable ones Google and other streaming services offer?
  2. Google and other streaming services fail to perform when there is no Internet connection such as when hiking or traveling in remote unconnected areas.
  3. Services that rely on a bandwidth connection are very undesirable when outside your home network area due to the high cost of data roaming charges.
  4. Google and other streaming services, as well as many existing mobile apps, do not always offer a useful map for a particular purpose such as hiking, boating, and visiting national parks which leaves much desire for a “better” map.

 

For publishers it responds to the following specific needs:

  1. With paper map sales declining, how can I get my content into the digital age for the mobile device market?
  2. Devices like Garmins, TomToms and in-car navigation systems are usually closed to outside map content and thus map producers cannot easily, if at all, make their maps available to users of these systems.
  3. In an effort to get into the digital marketplace it has to be easy, efficient, and inexpensive to repurpose existing content and map libraries. In most cases existing map libraries can be easily ported to the PDF Maps system and existing production processes do not need to be drastically modified, if at all, in order to produce new content for PDF Maps and the Avenza Map Store
  4. With digital map use there is no printing, production quantity guesswork, inventory to manage, distribution and returns to account for.
  5. Updates to the maps are controlled by the vendor and can be instantly made available to the marketplace, while at the same time, older redundant content can be instantly removed and discontinued.
  6. Immediate, easy and effortless entry into the digital map marketplace.

 

Available now for iOS. For more info visit PDF Maps site and the Avenza Map Store site.

Hope to see your content in the map store soon.

PDF Maps on Daily Planet [VIDEO]

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[Video archived] Ted Florence provides a demonstration of the PDF Maps app for iPad. He compares a basic looking Google map of Algonquin Park to a very detailed map of the park which is available on the Avenza Map Store. Combined with using the built-in GPS, it provides a great offline navigation solution.

In addition to showing off the map, Mr. Florence loads a TTC map of Toronto and imports waypoints shared through email. This feature allows for collaboration between people who use the same maps. Importing and exporting waypoints can also be done through Dropbox or iTunes, as demonstrated here. Look for more sharing options in future releases.

PDF Maps is available on the App Store.

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