MappSmith — Finding & framing a place

• Can I cut the piece to a city's or lake's own outline?

  Yes. Search for the place first, then open Size & shape and press "Place". You can also add "Cut to this place's outline" from "+ add piece" under "Part of the object". If no outline is published for that place, the Studio says so and keeps your current shape.

• Can I use my own outline shape?

  Yes. In Size & shape press the SVG upload button and choose an SVG file. MappSmith uses the largest path in the file as the outline. The file must contain at least one path element.

• Does the frame band change when I resize?

  Yes. The band scales with the piece so it keeps the same proportion. A piece with no frame band stays without one.

• How do I change the finished size?

  Press the size pill at the top right of the map (it shows something like "240 x 240 mm"). Type a width and height and choose mm, cm, in or ft. Sizes run from 20 mm to 3000 mm. Most products also offer size buttons under the Product menu in the Layers panel.

• How do I cut the piece to a US state?

  Open Size & shape and pick the state from the US states list in the Shape menu. The map is clipped to that state's outline.

• How do I find a place?

  Press Search at the top left of the map and type at least three letters of a city, town, lake or landmark. Pick a result and the map flies there. You can also start a new map from the Projects page with "Start from a place".

• How do I frame exactly the area I want?

  Drag the map to move it and scroll or pinch to zoom. The outline drawn on the map is the plate. Only what is inside it is cut. Press Apply changes to render the new area. The Size & shape pill shows the real-world distance across the frame.

• What are the map styles in the round button on the map?

  Those are reference maps to help you find and frame a place, such as grayscale, streets, topographic, dark and satellite. They are for looking only. Nothing from them goes into your files. Every line you cut comes from MappSmith's own map data.

• What does the moving dashed outline on the map mean?

  It means the map has moved away from the area that is rendered. Press Apply changes to render the new area, or Discard to go back. When the outline is still, everything on screen is current.

• What is the satellite overlay?

  Open the round map style button and tick "Satellite overlay". It lays satellite imagery over the map you are using and under its street names, so you can see a shoreline or a field edge without losing the street you are navigating by. The slider sets how see-through it is. It never reaches your f...

• What shapes can I cut?

  Circle, Rectangle and Rounded; the shapes Ornament, Heart, Star, 6-point Star, Hexagon, Octagon, Pentagon, Triangle and Diamond; any of the 50 US states and the District of Columbia; the outline of the place you searched; or your own SVG outline. Choose them in Size & shape. Some products, su...

• Why did the name on my piece change when I searched?

  The first part of the place you pick becomes the name on the piece, for example "Salem" from "Salem, Roanoke County, Virginia". Once you type your own name in the Frame band card, searching no longer changes it.

• Why does it say the framed area is too large?

  A single frame can cover up to about three degrees of latitude or longitude, roughly the size of a large lake. Beyond that the Studio keeps showing the last place it rendered and tells you so. Zoom the map in and press Apply.