1. Don't use Internet Explorer 6 to view this DVD!
The graphics are TERRIBLE! Use Netscape (any version; I use Netscape 9b2), Mozilla, FireFox, or Opera. Set Netscape 8 to Display like Firefox (right click in any window). If you MUST use IE 6, the transparent images will have ugly backgrounds, some links may not work correctly, and some images will be plain old nasty looking or unreadable! IE 7 has been released and it now has proper support for .png images (yes, I know, Microsoft is always LAST to implement years-old graphics technology in their products, go figure :( GET IT!
2. View the DVD in full sceeen mode (F11 in IE & Netscape)
You will save a lot of time & trouble moving slider bars or mouse wheeling around the pages. The images are large because they have to be in order to be readable, not because I like producing 1024x768 pixel maps!
3. PLEASE NOTE!
You must know how to open a file in your browser in order to use this CD/DVD! Always keep your browser up to date. I am not responsible if you order the CD/DVD and then cannot access the information because of an old browser or operating system (i.e. ancient MACs (newer MACs read the discs just fine) and 10 year old copies of Windows!)
4. To browse the CD/DVD:
5. In order to access the GPS files and detailed map images you must know how to use Windows Explorer or a similar file manager application such as My Computer. Simply open the GIS and GPS Files folder to start browsing the contents. I cannot refund your money if you can't access the contents of the CD/DVD. This especially applies to owners of older MACs and pre-WIN98 PCs.
These apply to all versions of the CD/DVD:
The file "Dig Location Waypoints.txt" is a waypoint list of the coordinates of each dig location. The file "Waypoints for GPS.txt" is an export file in WGS84 datum Waypoint+ text file format; please refer to the documentation for your GPS unit. This file can be uploaded to a GPS unit with the proper hardware and software. It may have to be reformatted for your particular software and GPS unit. I have instructions for a few makes of GPS; Email me at the address at the bottom of this page if you are having trouble. (Note that the file contains more than 500 waypoints and since most GPS units can only store 500 waypoints you may have to edit the file to delete waypoints! If you want the waypoints already on your GPS to stay there I suggest using the utility below to add new waypoints without overwriting your own! )
The program GPS Utility works with just about any GPS and is free for files containing 100 waypoints. If you register the program for $40 it will import an unlimited number of waypoints (note that most GPS units can only store 500 waypoints!) "Waypoints for GPS.gps" (on Version 2 and above only) is the waypoint file saved in GPS Utility's format; right click the link, select "save link as", and save it on your hard drive. Since the unregistered version can only import 100 waypoints at a time, you need to edit the file "Waypoints for GPS.gps" with a text editor such as notepad or wordpad. Right-click on the file in Windows Explorer or My Computer and select open with...and select notepad or wordpad.
The file will look something like this:
U LAT LON DEG M E WGS 84 100 +0.000000e+00 +0.000000e+00 +0 +0 +0 F ID---- Latitude Longitude T Comment W 10MICR 4X.XXXXXX -12X.XXXXXX I TENMILE CREEK AGATE IN GRAVELS W 15MILE 4X.XXXXXX -12X.XXXXXX I FIFTEENMILE CANYON AMBER 2 MILES UP CR. FROM BRIDGE APPROX LOC W 281GUL 4X.XXXXXX -12X.XXXXXX I EMERALD CREEK GARNET AREA PARK PAY TO DIG MEM. DAY _ LABOR DAY 9_5 FRI_TUES W 7DEVIL 4X.XXXXXX -12X.XXXXXX I LARGE CLAM FOSSILS etc...
All you need to do delete all but 100 waypoints, save the file as something else, open it again, and repeat until you have a gazillion files to upload to your GPS. Don't forget to leave the header information in each file or it won't work (i.e. everything between "U LAT LON DEG" and "Comment"). Then open the files in GPS Utility and follow the help to upload them to your GPS unit. Don't mess with the datum; leave it at WGS84 or your waypoints will be off!
Since I have a new garmin GPS V <big grin> I now offer the waypoint file in MapSource format (MapSource is the map viewing software that comes with many of the Garmin GPS units). Open MapSource and select File...Open....choose MPS files under Files of Type... Browse to the main directory on CD1 or the DVD and click on the file named something like "Waypoints for CD Vx.x.mps" that should show up by deafult; it should load right up.
I print the raw TIFF format maps from the mapping application I use to generate them (All Topo Maps); All Topo Maps can print the maps on multiple pages and even prints registration marks so I can align the pages to tape them together. Most of the .png format maps on the DVD look great when printed on four 8-1/2 x 11" landscape sheets but some of the larger ones look better printed on 4 or even 6 pages (i.e. when they are printed at the native scale, which is 250 dpi). I suggest DVD users open the PNG format map images in the Maps directory from your image editing program to get the best printing results. See below.
Note: if your printer supports poster printing, don't be tempted to use it! All that does is blow up the image and make it unreadable. It has to print at the native scale (250 dpi) to be readable.
The default way to print the maps is from within IE or Netscape. However, they also will look the worst and you may find it difficult to print an entire map at the native scale.
For Netscape 9: If you just want the whole map on one sheet of paper, right click on the map image, select view image, and choose File...Print Preview from the menus. Then click Page Setup, and set the orientation to landscape if the image is wider than it is tall. Click the Margins & Header/Footer tab and set headers and footers to all --blank--. The scale will say 100% but it isn't; Netscape will shrink the image to fit ont he page regardless of what you tell it to do. Now the map will print as large as it can possibly get using a web browser and still fit on one sheet. You can shrink the margins but at some point your printer will complain about the margins being smaller than the printable area. 1/4" margins are generally safe to use. The text will likely be unreadable and I don't know about you but I can't deal with maps printed at the wrong scale! If you zoom in by clicking on the image, the map will be at full scale. Then you will be printing only the portion of the map that displays in the window. Once you print one portion of the map (say, the upper left most part), then you can move the slider bars at the right & bottom of the screen to show the rest of the map (or new area) and print it. Once you have the whole thing printed, the fun begins. Match up the edges of the sheets (I use the tick marks on the edges of the maps) and use a paper cutter (or scissors, and God help you then) to slice the paper up so you can tape it together (this is called seaming). Allow a half inch overlap so you can lay the sheets on top of one another. Messy, but it works.
For Internet Explorer 7: When you open a map it will show at full scale (I am sure this behavior is new to IE 7 and it's annoying, at least to me). Click the map (again, annoying) and then click the printer icon and select Print Preview or select Print...Preview from the menu. In the middle box on top of the window, click the arrow and select "only the selected frame" (see why I dislike IE? What a pain). It should say "Shrink to Fit" in the right box; this will print the entire map. There are buttons at the top to set margins, turn headers & footers on & off, and change the orientation to landscape from portrait (see the Netscape instructions). The default margins are 3/4" in my copy of IE 7 which is ridiculously large. Use 1/4" margins or smaller. Now, here's the idiotic part: You need to select a magnification in the right box that shows the entire map. The presets won't cut it. You have to use Custom...and guess what it is. Click on the image to actually change the scale even though you just typed it in. Now, if you want to print it at 100% (full scale), forget it. IE7 will not allow you to move the slider bars and print a different portion of the image. The above is why I never ever print maps from IE! heck, I never use IE unless a website doesn't work properly in Netscape.
The Right Way: I suggest that you use your favorite image editing or viewing software that supports Image Tiling as the web browsers typically cannot print the maps in a format which makes them readable. Paint Shop Pro is one such program that can print PNG images on multiple sheets at the native resolution. A free program that I have been told works as well is PagePlus SE. To print the images in landscape format on 8-1/2 x 11 paper with registration marks in Paint Shop Pro, follow these steps:
1. Open the image that you want to print.
2. Choose View > Grid.
3. Choose View > Snap To Grid.
4. Choose View > Change Grid and Guide Properties.
5. From the Units drop down menu choose Inches.
6. In the Current image settings area, choose a Horizontal grids position of 10.5 and a Vertical grids position of 8 and click OK. There should be grid lines in roughly the form of an 8.5 x 11 landscape page on the image.
7. Now click the Selection Tool (it looks like a dotted outline of a square).
8. In the Tool Options palette (press F4 on the keyboard if you don't see it) and make sure Antialias is unmarked and Feather is set to 0. (Note: I cannot uncheck anti-alias in my version of the software.)
8. Select along the grid lines (start in the upper left corner of the Grid by clicking then move to the lower right corner of the grid rectangle and let go of the mouse button).
9. Choose Edit > Copy.
10. Choose Edit > Paste > As New Image.
11. Choose File...Print and check to make sure the scale is set to 100%.
12. Click the Options tab and check Registration marks. Click the Print button to print the image. I set my printer to the maximum possible resolution by selecting Printer...Properties and setting it to the highest quality.
13. Close the new image.
14. Go back and do steps 8-13 until each grid has been printed.
The next time you have to do this, you only have to choose the Selection tool, make sure there isn't any Antialiasing or Feathering and then follow steps 8-13 because the program remembers what the last gridline spacing was.
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Tim Fisher
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