Import

Avenza PDF Maps 1.4 has more new features for you to explore. One new feature is the ability to import your own KML points for use on a map. These points can represent anything from your favorite restaurants to GPS waypoints of your weekend hike. If you have MAPublisher, you can take full advantage of this feature by creating your own points with your own attributes. In this example, we'll be exporting points of interest to a KML/KMZ file from a Toronto map that we created in MAPublisher.

In a previous blog, we discussed about how to georeference Adobe Illustrator document using MAPublisher. To recap, below are four of the required items to to make georeferencing possible:

1. The scale of the map in the Adobe Illustrator document (e.g. 1 : 25,000,000, etc.)
2. Details of the coordinate system the data is in (e.g. World Robinson projection, WGS84 geodetic system, WGS84 UTM Zone 32 N, etc.)
3. The XY coordinates of one tie-in point in the coordinate system of your map in the Adobe Illustrator document
4. The map's rotation angle.

We found that the most tricky information to collect is the coordinate system of the map. It can be very easy if it is clealy indicated in a map like this:

For many years, Esri has been promoting its geodatabase format. It is a great format that has many advantages over simpler formats and has seen many improvements and enhancements with each new version. We are pleased to announce that geodatabase feature classes can now be imported into Adobe Illustrator on both Windows and Mac using MAPublisher 8.4. Unlike the other geodatabase support feature within MAPublisher, this Basic Personal Geodatabase Reader does not require the installation of Esri ArcGIS products on the same computer because it uses a different import engine.

MAPublisher 8.4 has an exciting new feature: importing data from web services. It is another enhancement to provide you with more options to access data.

You can import vector data using the Web Feature Service (WFS). It accesses web servers that deliver vector content in GML format. Similarly, you can import raster data with the Web Map Service (WMS). It accesses web servers that deliver raster content in a variety of formats.

MAPublisher 8.4 introduces two new related features: to import supported image formats directly from the MAPublisher Simple and Advanced Import dialog boxes and the Image MAP Layer feature type. To import a georeferenced image into the current MAPublisher 8.3 (and earlier) requires you 1) to create a new MAP Layer for an image to be placed, 2) use File > Place to place an image into the Adobe Illustrator document, and 3) to use MAPublisher Register Image to align with the vector work. With MAPublisher 8.4, these steps are streamlined and it will be much simpler to deal with georeferenced image files.

Below is the Simple Import dialog box. The new Format option, Image, is added to the drop-down list. Supported images include: PNG, JPG, TIF, GIF, JP2, PSD, PDD, and BMP.