Application
Bylaws

Dealing with Large ".pdf" Maps

Often, the maps that are linked as official maps on sponsor's web sites are very large .pdf (Portable Document Format) files. While they may be excellent, detailed maps, using them can be confusing or difficult. Often they appear to be too small to read or, when printed, are too small to read or print incompletely, depending on the printing options you select. Following are a few tips on using these large files to your advantage. (These tips relate, specifically to Windows Vista users. Procedures may be slightly different for earlier versions of Windows or on Macs but the principles should apply.)

Reading the Map On-Screen:

Your first step should be to make the map image fill your whole computer screen. Do that by:

• Maximizing your browser's window, causing it to use the entire computer screen and

• Closing "favorites" or other unneeded boxes that consume valuable territory within your browser's window.

Now, look carefully at the browser window that is displaying your map.

• Opening a .pdf file should have invoked the "Adobe Reader" application within your browser and added a new "toolbar" above the image.

• Look for a little box that indicates the display size of the image.  It might say something like "66.7%".

• (If you can't find the % box, right click on the Adobe toolbar above the image and make sure the "Select & Zoom" toolbar entry is "checked".) "

• Try changing that percentage to something like 100% or even larger, whatever you need to be able to read the map clearly.

Ohhh ... that's better.", you say, "But now I can't see the part of the map I'm interested in!"

• Ok, look again at the Adobe toolbar at the top of the image and find the little image of a hand.

• Click it and your mouse pointer becomes a little hand!  With it you can click anywhere on the map and drag the image around to see any portion of the map that your little heart desires.

"Better still!" you say. "But, I want to take a printed copy of this map of the trail with me. I tried printing it already but I either got just the top-right corner of the map or the whole thing printed but it's so tiny that it's useless."

Well, read on ...

Printing All or Part of the Map:

Unfortunately, most browsers aren't too smart about printing these things so you'll just have to compensate. Computer geeks call this a "work-around" but I call it a pain in the butt. There are several "work-arounds" for printing all or part of your map.

• Your printer may have a "poster printing" mode. If it does, you can simply put your printer into that mode by changing your printer's "Properties". To do so, instead of using your browser's print button, use the "File / Print..." command and click on the "Properties" button in the dialog box to change to the poster mode. Then you can click the "Print" button to print the map over multiple pieces of paper. Finally, you must carefully tape or glue them together for a full-sized map.

• Or, you can be unlucky, like me, and find that the printer driver supplied for Windows Vista by Hewlett-Packard for my ancient hpdeskjet 960c no longer supports advanced printing functions like poster mode ... "Oh, CRAP!" sez me.

Now you need to find a software package to take your image and print it out over multiple pages OR you can copy page-sized portions of the .pdf map to a graphics program and print it from there. Fortunately, there are the means to do either of those things without purchasing or downloading any new software.

• Printing the Whole Map over Multiple Pages:

• First we need to copy the whole map onto your computer's clipboard. To do so, look on the Adobe toolbar for a little picture that looks like camera. That's the Adobe "Snapshot" tool. It will let you copy all or part of the map. With the Snapshot tool selected, right-click anywhere on the image and choose "Select All". Then right-click on the image, again, and choose "Copy Selected Graphic". This will cause the entire image of the map to be copied to your clipboard.

• Now, we need a program into which we can paste the image. In Windows Vista that program is Microsoft's "Paint" (MSPaint). So ... open it, already! (It's usually under "Accessories" in the "All Programs" window.)

• In MSPaint, simply choose the "Edit / Paste" command and the .pdf image will be displayed in Paint. Of course, you're free deface or otherwise alter the image within MSPaint but I'll leave that up to you. My object is to get the beast printed.

• In MSPaint, choose the "File / Page Setup..." command to open a dialog box. In the scaling portion of the dialog box choose the "Fit to:" option. This option will inform you about how many pages it will take to print the map at the size percentage shown in the "Adjust to:  XXX% normal size" selection above the "Fit to:" option. (If that's too many pages you can change the "Adjust to:  XXX% normal size" by selecting that button. Change the percentage to another value and reselect the "Fit to:" option and see how many pages it will take now.

• You can see what each printed page will look like by choosing "File / Print Preview" command or just take it on faith and go with "File / Print...".

• With any luck, your multiple-page map will now print and you can repair to the kitchen table, pop open beer and proceed to trim and tape or glue the pieces of your new masterpiece together!

• Printing Just a Portion of the Map on a Single Page:

• You may regard your pasted-together map as a masterpiece but, take it from me, it will be a pain to deal with on the trail. To me, a better solution is to print just the portion of the map that you really need on a single piece of paper. You will be much less likely to find it torn or mangled when you need to consult it.

• Let's go back to that browser window that is displaying the .pdf image of the map. Select the Snapshot tool again but this time left-click on a corner of the part of the map you want to print and drag the cursor to the diagonally opposite corner of the part of the map you want to print and release your mouse's button. Adobe Reader will tell you "The selected area has been copied." Didn't get it right? Not to worry ... just do the selection process again and again 'til you do get it right.

• Now, back in MSPaint, do the "Edit / Paste" thing again. In the "File / Page Setup..." dialog box you can choose the "Fit to:" option and force the program to use "1 x 1 page(s)". Remember to use the "File / Print Preview" command to be sure how the thing will print out.

• You can even get fancy-schmantzy and make a custom version of your map. Just copy another portion of the .pdf image, say, for instance, that handy-dandy distance scale, and paste it into MSPaint, moving it wherever you want.

• Now you have a REAL masterpiece! Finally, if you want to be really cool you can follow Bill Hoffman's example and put your custom, one-page map in a plastic sheet protector and hang it around your neck while you ski. Then you'll always be able to see just where you are!

Wow! If you read this far you deserve a prize! Well, sorry, I don't have any prizes. But, I would appreciate you letting me know if tried any of the techniques and how well they did or didn't work for you.  Use this e-mail link.