Category Archives: Printing

Digimap Roam: Printing PDFs from Chrome

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We are getting a few reports from users experiencing issues when printing PDF maps using Chrome web browser. Unfortunately, the map watermark and any semi-transparent annotations are being printed as solid filled features. We have discovered that this occurs when the PDF is viewed and printed from within the Chrome browser, using Chrome’s in built PDF plugin.

We have investigated this problem and discovered that the bug is with Chrome and occurs with all PDFs with semi-tranparent layers not just those created by Digimap. The problem only happens on Windows computers with versions of Chrome released since the end of April (Chrome 34.0.1847 onwards).

Digimap users with Chrome should see a warning when they open the Print… window, informing them about the problem.

Print interface showing chrome alert

As the alert message suggests you can disable the plug-in to prevent it from opening PDFs or you can use the following workaround.
Printing from Chrome alternative method

  • Create your printable map as normal it will appear at the bottom of your web browser.
  • Don’t click the file name to open the PDF, click the little arrow and choose ‘Open with system viewer’.
  • Providing it is installed on your machine, the map will open in Adobe Reader which will print the semi transparent layers correctly.

We hope that the issue is resolved by Google who develop the Chrome browser, it has been reported to them. Should you wish to disable the plug-in entirely then you can follow the instructions with the image below. You can also download the map as a file to your computer, and then open it directly with Adobe Reader, this is usually the best option anyway as it allows you to print the PDF multiple times or store it if you don’t want to print it just yet.

Disabling Chrome PDF plugin

  • Type Chrome://plugins into the web address bar in chrome, this opens a list of all the plug-ins you have installed for Chrome.
  • Scroll down to the Chrome PDF Viewer on the Plug-ins page and click on the blue “Disable” link.
  • You will no longer have the option to view PDFs in the web browser.
  • Use this page to reactivate the plug-in if you want to reverse the change in the future.

 

If you need any assistance with opening your PDF map, please contact the EDINA helpdesk:

  • Email: edina@ed.ac.uk
  • Phone: 0131 650 3302

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Historic Digimap: Printing options improved

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Ancient Roam in Historic Digimap has had its print options updated so it now has the same set of options as the other Roam facilities. The two big changes to note are that you can now print up to A0 and that you can print a single county in areas where several overlap.

Until this change was made it was impossible to print an area with overlapping maps without printing all the counties available rather than just the one(s) you were viewing on the screen. Any print files now generated in areas with overlapping counties will only show those which are displayed on screen.  This allows you to have the control over how much information is on your map and to make the decision to show more or less information.

Overlapping Counties Print from Amcient RoamSingle County Print from Ancient Roam

Sometimes it can be an advantage to show multiple counties as even though the sheets overlap the actual map information doesn’t. However in the example above you can see how the counties overwrite each other in the map on the left and so produce a very confusing and fairly useless result; by switching one county off you can produce a much clearer print map such as the one on the right. [Click on the images above to view larger versions of the maps.]

The ability to print maps up to A0 brings Ancient Roam into line with the other Roam facilities so you can now print at this very large size in any Digimap collection.

 

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Digimap Roam gets Carto features

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We have introduced a raft of new print options to Digimap Roam;  some of these were previously only available in Carto, others are new altogether:Select your print scale in Digimap Roam

– Select your own scale for the printed map (within sensible limits)
– Print OS MasterMap at up to 1:100 scale (Carto’s limit is 1:500)
– Print at paper sizes up to A0
– Print landscape or portrait orientations (not available in Carto)

The new print options along with the formats already available mean that printing from Roam is now more flexible and powerful than Carto.

We have also added an extra zoom level to Roam’s screen maps called Building View. This shows OS MasterMap at around 1:500,  making it easier to add detailed annotations such as new buildings to your map.

OS MasterMap Views in Digimap Roam

© Crown copyright/database right 2013. Ordnance Survey/EDINA supplied service.
FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLYScales shown are the default print scales, screen map scale varies depending on the pixel size of your monitor / device.

With these enhancements Roam can now perform many of the tasks previously only possible with Carto.

Unfortunately, Carto has become difficult to maintain and needs to be replaced. These changes to Roam, along with some extra features planned for the coming months, will enable it to take the place of Carto. Once all the enhancements to Roam are made we will retire Carto completely; we intend to do this at the end of July 2013.

If you have any concerns about the withdrawal of Carto then please let us know:

  • Email: edina@ed.ac.uk
  • Tel: 0131 650 3302

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