Author Topic: Can we size map before or during export to PDF?  (Read 511 times)

Learning K

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Can we size map before or during export to PDF?
« on: May 27, 2012, 01:35:47 am »
Excuse my great ignorance here.

Yesterday I experimented by adding a clickable PDF to my website and it worked -- YAY!!!! ;D ;D

But it was too large for the screen, meaning that the viewer would have to scroll up and down as well as side to side to see the whole map and get to the desired branches.  It was a simple test map, much smaller and simpler than the ones on Connect which are easy to view, and so I would not have expected it to be so big.  I can certainly add a full map, smaller image so the viewer can decide whether or not to download the PDF version and follow the links.

But is there any way that the map may be sized (usually smaller, but still readable) before it is exported to PDF, or that the PDF itself can have margin settings?  Or is this something that needs to be handled when the PDF is loaded on the site?  I don't know if I have options there as it is a DIY site, but I would like any advice anyone can give me.

Thanks,
Kathy

WindyCity

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Re: Can we size map before or during export to PDF?
« Reply #1 on: May 27, 2012, 03:37:42 pm »
Try fitting your NM maps to fit the screen before exporting them (though I doubt this will solve the problem). However, once you've exported a map to PDF, wouldn't a user be able simply to scale (zoom) it to fit his/her screen? I use Adobe Acrobat or Skim for viewing PDFs, and it's a trivial task to zoom a file to any size I want. (Maybe I'm missing something, Kathy. That would't surprise me.  ;))
« Last Edit: May 28, 2012, 09:31:41 am by WindyCity »

Learning K

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Re: Can we size map before or during export to PDF?
« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2012, 08:12:56 am »
Thanks, WC.  I just tried every possible command in NM5 (changing print options, changing font sizes, changing screen views) and exported to PDF and the view size of the map was always the same.  But there is a tool bar that I had not seen at the top of the PDF that allows an easy resize to view the whole map at a glance. 

The look is the same on the website when the PDF opens, with a simple resize option most people probably know about.  And resizing the PDF still allows the hyperlinks to be active.

So all in all, it's not a problem.

Gideon

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Re: Can we size map before or during export to PDF?
« Reply #3 on: July 20, 2012, 12:42:36 pm »
PDF is a vector format, so it can be resized to whatever size you need it at the viewer end, which is why we don't have sizing options included in PDF export, whereas we do for bitmap image formats (png, jpeg etc).

Learning K

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Re: Can we size map before or during export to PDF?
« Reply #4 on: July 21, 2012, 02:18:48 am »
Thanks, Gideon. 

I have not had much experience with PDF but am learning to really appreciate it.  The png images and PDFs produce beautiful reproductions of the maps.