MAP Web Author Panel

MAP Web Author is used to export MAPublisher documents as interactive HTML5 maps for display in a web browser. Together with the map artwork, web tags (also known as callout bubbles) are included in the export. Prior to the export process, the MAP Web Author panel is used to create, edit or modify interactive objects.

Web tags can either be populated one object at a time or for a selection of objects. To create or edit multiple web tags, select artwork and click the Edit button. Using this method, the same web tag format is applied to all selected artwork. Information can be entered manually or extracted from MAP Attribute fields (when available for the object layer). At any time, web tags can be edited or modified.

Text and image formatting is created using simple HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language). The results can be checked in the Show Preview window available in the Edit Web Tag dialog box.

Additional settings such as customizing the navigation and callout bubbles are available during the export process.

Requirements

The Adobe Illustrator artboard will determine the size of the web map. It is recommended to set an appropriate document size before completing the map (using the Adobe Illustrator Artboard Tool). Using pixel units is the most practical way to determine web map sizes suitable for a web browser.

To populate web tags, MAP layers must have relevant attributes populated in their MAP Attributes tables. For example, to insert links to graphics or images, the MAP layer can have a dedicated attribute field containing a path (e.g. \images\picture1.jpg). The Source Media Folder containing the graphics must be organized properly. The supported image formats are JPEG, PNG and GIF.

HTML5 web maps do not require any plug-ins to be viewed, only an up-to-date web browser is required.

 Not just any map can be made into a web map. A print ready map does not necessarily mean that it is ready to be a web map. Extra art and unused attributes should be removed and lines should be simplified or generalized. Layers that do not require tagging will still be exported.

 Only the active artboard will be exported as a web map.

 The MAP Layer image attribute type is not supported when exporting a web map.

Using MAP Web Author

Specify the Source Media Folder

The Source Media Folder is the directory containing graphics that might be displayed in the web tags (callout bubbles). The path to this directory is selected through Specify Source Media Folder in the MAP Web Author panel options menu.

Either an Absolute Path or a Relative Path may be entered. An absolute path refers to the full folder directory path (e.g. C:\folder1\folder2...). A relative path refers to the folder path from the current location of the Adobe Illustrator document. In the example below, the relative path starts from \MAPWebAuthor_Tutorial.

If the Adobe Illustrator file is to be exchanged between computers, it is good practice to use a Relative Path to avoid having to reset the link to Source Media Folder when the files are moved.

Add, Edit and Remove Web Tags

To add or edit a web tag, select a piece of artwork and click the Edit button in the MAP Web Author panel. In the Edit Web Tag dialog box, use the options to define web tag settings (see next section). When multiple artwork is selected, any settings made in the Edit Web Tag dialog box are applied for all of the selected artwork. They may be individually modified by scrolling through the web tags or at a later time by selecting the artwork and clicking the Edit button.

To remove web tags from selected artwork, click the Remove button in the MAP Web Author panel.

 Document artwork (lines, areas, points) associated with callout bubbles are also called web art. Only web art will be searchable in a web map.

 Grouped art will not display attributes.

Selection

Select artwork in the document and the MAP Web Author panel displays if it is web art. To only select all artwork with web tags, click the All Web Art button. To select all artwork with web tags on a specific layer, select the layer in the Adobe Illustrator Layers panel, and click the Web Art On Layer button.

Export

In the MAP Web Author panel Export section, click the Export to HTML5 button to begin the export process (it opens the Export to HTML5 dialog box). See the Export to HTML5 section for detailed information.