Mapresso Tutorial

I. General Information
Mapresso is a free Java applet capable of displaying maps and rendering cartograms. On poweringtherim.org this tool is widely used to display our energy database. A special thanks is due to Adrian Herzog, the developer of Mapresso. [www.mapresso.com] Funding for the creation of Mapresso was provided by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office.

II. Map Navigation
Mapresso's basic functions are controlled with the tools found at the top of the map:

The items circled above are used to navigate about the map of the Pacific region. The magnifying glasses are used to control the zoom level, and the hand is used to drag the map. The (+) icon will zoom in, (-) zooms out, and the empty glass () zooms to the original extent.

III. Selecting the Dataset
The most important tool is the data selection menu, circled here:

Selecting a value from this menu will automatically display the values in the map and histogram below. Holding the mouse pointer over a country will display its data value at the top of the map. Double-clicking on a country will display all of the data available in a small window.

IV. Saving a Map

There are two methods for saving a map you have created with Mapresso. The first is to perform a "screen grab", and is the easier option:

Screen Grab: In Windows, pressing SHIFT and "PRINT SCREEN" (usually at top of keyboard) will copy the contents of the entire screen to the clipboard. It is then necessary to open an image editor, then choose EDIT > PASTE, and finally crop the image down to the region of interest.
On a Macintish, simultaneously press COMMAND (the Apple key) + SHIFT + 4. Let go of those three keys and press the space bar. The cursor will turn into a camera, and clicking on one window (the Mapresso window) will save the contents of that window alone to a PDF file on your desktop named "Picture-1". Most newer Macs come with a free copy of GraphicConverter, which you can use to convert the resulting PDF file into JPEG, GIF, PNG, etc.

Second method: generate EPS code: In Mapresso's File menu, selecting "Generate EPS Code..." will spurn a window containing code for saving the current map in Adobe's encapsulated postscript format(*.eps), which can be opened and edited with products such as Acrobat, Illustrator, and Photoshop. The code in the pop-up window should be copied in its entirety into a new *.txt file, and when completed the extension of this file should be changed to *.eps.

V. Creating a Circile (Dorling) Cartogram
This variety of cartogram replaces country boundaries with circles, which change in area and color depending on the variable selected. To activate this feature go to the Geometry menu and select Circle Cartogram. The map will reload, and variables can be selected from the drop-down menu in the same fashion as above.

VI. Creating an Area Cartogram
In the "Geometry" menu choose "Area Cartogram...":

A dialogue will pop up as pictured below:



In the "Weight" box select the variable with which you would like the cartogram to be created and click "OK". The map will be redrawn. To set the cartogram algorithm in motion it is necessary to click on the forward arrows shown below.

VII. Setting the Map Colors

The "Color" menu can be used to change the color scheme of a map you would like to print or save. Changing minimum and maximum colors can be done by selecting these items in the menu, or by simply double-clicking on the histogram where you would like to change the color. To select a predefined scheme select "Color Schemes..." from the menu and enter a code from this page.