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Exploring Florida Maps Help: General
- How do I download maps?
- Which file type should I use?
- How can I edit maps?
- How can I add maps to my webpage?
How do I download maps?
Windows: Right mouse click on any of the maps and choose save image to disk. Select the destination folder and click save. You can also click and drag the map to your desktop.
Macintosh: Control click on any of the maps and choose download image to disk. Select the destination folder and click save. You can also click and drag the map to your desktop.
Note: Each piece of clipart will appear in two different sizes for you to choose from. If you want a very small image, you can use the methods described above to select the tiny thumbnail version that appears on the gallery menu page.
Which file type should I use?
For multimedia presentations (e.g. Keynote or Powerpoint) or web pages, use either the full-sized map or select the thumbnail if you want a very tiny map. These images are in either the GIF or JPEG format. Either of these file types works well on webpages or in presentations. We select the more appropriate of the two types based on the characteristics of the map so that you get the best quality at a reasonable file size.
If you want to print the map it is recommended that you download the PDF file. If you try to print from a GIF or JPEG map, the result will usually be disappointing since these files are too low in resolution for quality printing. The PDF files, however, are larger and may take somewhat longer to download if you have a slow connection to the Internet.
How can I edit maps?
After downloading the map, launch your image editing program (e.g. Photoshop Elements). Click on the file menu and choose open. Select the file you downloaded from the dialog box and you may now edit the graphic.
If you want to add color to a black and white map, you must change the mode from "indexed color" (which has only black, white, and a few grays) to "RGB color." To change the mode in Photoshop Elements, go to the "Image" menu and scroll down to "Mode." Then select "RGB Color" from the mode dropdown menu. For more information about colorizing black and white maps, please see the coloring clipart section of our Clipart, ETC website. The process of colorizing a black and white map is exactly the same as colorizing black and white clipart.
How can I add maps to my webpage?
Using a web page development program (e.g. Dreamweaver or Frontpage) click on the insert image button and select the downloaded map from the dialog box.
Exploring Florida Maps is a part of both the Maps ETC and Exploring Florida websites.
Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology © 2008
College of Education, University of South Florida.