Step 2: Prepare the map for MAP Web Author
Step 2 check list
- Create a working directory (recommended)
- Prepare images for callout bubbles
- Set document size for Flash map
- Populate callout bubbles with attribute information
Create a working directory
Create a new folder to store all the components for the Web Flash map and the exported Flash files. For this tutorial, the working directory is named MAPWebAuthor_Tutorial. Note: if you have downloaded the sample dataset for this tutorial, everything you need for this tutorial is included in the folder MAPWebAuthor_Tutorial.
Prepare images for callout bubbles
If you are using your own data, you may want to create an ImageFiles subfolder within the folder created in the previous step. The supported image formats for MAP Web Author are the same formats as the ones for Web pages: GIF (.gif), JPEG (.jpg), and PNG (.png). In the tutorial data, there is already an ImageFiles subfolder.
Note: if you plan to add images individually and manually, you can modify the size of the image in the callout bubbles in the Web Tag dialog box. However, if those images are added to multiple callout bubbles all at once, images should have the exact size to be shown in the callout bubbles.
Set document size for Flash map
It is recommended to set the appropriate document size for your Flash map before any work is started. The size set for the Adobe Illustrator document will determine the size of the Flash map. The document page can be setup through the Document Setup dialog box (File > Document Setup). CS4 users will need to use the Edit Artboard function to change the page size.
For the tutorial sample (Flash_Canada.ai) document size is set at 500px width x 500px height.
Populate callout bubbles with attribute information
In order for the attribute information to be tagged all at once (step b), make sure that the information to be included in the callout bubbles is prepared and ready to use (the tutorial data is already prepared). You may enter information for individual objects manually. In the tutorial sample AI file, callout bubbles will be made for the Canada Province Layer. The attribute fields to be tagged from the layer are: province or territory name (NAME); population count (Population); provincial flag image (IMAGE); capital city (CapitalCity); and official webpage link (OfficialWeb).
For example, the image file to be attached with the Ontario province polygon is ON.png. The image ON.png is in the ImageFiles folder, located in the working directory. Therefore, the image path is specified as /ImageFiles/ON.png in the IMAGE field in the attribute table.
