Copyright: IAGB4 1.0


Contents

Navigation

The Map Screen

The Toolbar

Map Tools

Search

Bookmark

Media Box

Interactive Map Symbols

Town Plans

User Map Pins

Print

Quiz

Map Skills

Help

Minimise, Maximise, Close


Navigation

Map navigation in the Fourth Edition is easier than ever.

Panning across the map can be achieved in a number of ways:

- use the Compass to pan in particular directions

- use the drag-hand function to pan across the map

- use screen edge cursor arrows to move in the indicated direction.

Equally, there are a variety of ways of zooming:

- double-left click to zoom in one step

- double-right click to zoom out one step

- use the Zoom Level tool to move quickly between non-adjacent zoom steps.

There are also various ways in which you can find a particular place:

- use the Search lists

- use the Finder to locate places where the Grid Reference or Lat./Long. is known

- use the Locator Map to move the view window quickly to any part of Great Britain.

The cursor will change shape as it moves over certain parts of the screen.

  The standard cursor shape is the pointer. Position the pointer on a button and click once on the left mouse-button to access any of the multimedia features or to open and close tools and functional windows.

  When the hourglass is shown, you should wait for the computer to finish what it is doing. The cursor will change back to a pointer automatically when it has finished.

  If a magnifying glass with a plus sign appears over a photograph or one of the map extracts, click once to enlarge the image.

  When a picture or map extract has been enlarged, the cursor will change to a magnifying glass with a minus sign; click once to restore the image to the original size.

  When a grab-hand appears over the map screens, holding down the left mouse button while moving the cursor across the map will reposition the map window. When the left mouse-button is held down, the hand will appear to clench until the mouse button is released.

  This cursor appears when a userpin is being added. Once the left button has been clicked to place the pin on the map the cursor will change back to a pointer automatically.

  When you move the cursor to the edges of the map window, the standard pointer will change to this arrow. When the cursor is in this form, click to move the view window in the direction indicated by the arrow.


Map Screen

After the introductory titles, the Map Screen will appear displaying, as a default, the overview map of Great Britain. Unlike earlier editions of the Atlas, the Fourth Edition features a newly designed interface and structure in which all parts of the product are accessible from this main Map Screen.

When you close the Atlas, it will store the most recently viewed map. When you subsequently open the Atlas the map will open with this most recent map window. This recall will happen by default, unless and until you change the Opening View in the Bookmark facility.

The main feature of the Map Screen is the Toolbar which runs across the base of the screen and from which all functionality within the Atlas is accessible.


Toolbar

The Toolbar holds the main menu of functions and controls available to the user, presented as a range of labelled buttons across the base of the window. These are, from the left:

Map Tools

Search

Bookmark

Add Pin

Cursor Position

Map Skills

Quiz

Print

Help

Although the position of the Toolbar itself is fixed, the function windows (such as the search list or the compass) can be moved around the screen by dragging on the top bar to prevent them from obscuring key parts of the map.

If your screen size is set to 800 x 600, or when you maximise the screen if you are running at a larger screen size, you may find that the Windows Taskbar is sitting on top of your Atlas Toolbar and obscuring it. In these circumstances, you might consider adjusting your Taskbar settings (Start/Settings/Task bar) to 'Auto hide'.


Map Tools

In this edition of the Interactive Atlas, all the Map Tools are accessible from a single menu. Select a tool by clicking on the appropriate button.

Legend

Locator Map

Distance Measurer

Scale

Layers

Compass

Finder

Zoom Level

 Click on the 'Close All' button to hide all tool windows.

When they are first selected from the Map Tools menu, the position in which these tool windows are displayed on the screen is calculated so that they do not obscure each other if you were to switch all the tools on at once.


Legend

To access the Legend, bring up the Map Tools from the Toolbar and click the Legend button.

The Legend displays a scrolling key to the symbols and features used on the maps. All vector mapping uses the same legend. This is the standard 1:250 000 legend, augmented with key elements from 1:625 000 scale mapping. Town Plans, 1:50 000 extracts, 1:25 000 extracts, all have their own particular legends which are displayed automatically.


Locator Map

To access the Locator Map, bring up the Map Tools from the Toolbar and click the Locator button. The locator shows the relative size and position of the main map window within Great Britain as a whole.

The Locator Map also displays the data scale of the current map on the bottom of the frame. The Interactive Atlas contains maps covering all of Great Britain at three data scales, equivalent to 1:6 000 000, 1:625 000 and 1:250 000.

The locator can also be used as a quick means of navigation. Click anywhere within the locator window to re-draw the main map at that location.


Distance Measuring

To access the measuring function, bring up the Map Tools from the Toolbar and click the Distance button to display the measurer dialog.

Measure distances by laying down start and intermediate points on the map using single clicks of the left mouse-button. Locate an end point by right-clicking on the map. The display box shows the aggregate distance in miles and kilometres. Use the map edge navigation arrows to scroll the map while measuring.


Scale

Selected from the Map Tools menu, clicking on the Scale button displays the Scale Bar across the full width of the window above the Toolbar. Scale is represented in kilometres by default, but can be changed to display miles by clicking on the title label at the left end of the display.

A scale bar also appears on prints of the vector maps, although not on the 1:50 000 and 1:25 000 map extracts (see also Printing).


Layers

The main national maps are made up of map features gathered together into related layers. For example, 'Relief' contains features such as spot heights and contours. The software is able to display these layers independently of each other. By turning these layers on or off, you can customise your map views. Click on 'Apply' to re-draw the map using your selected layers. Clicking 'All layers' will re-set the selection so that all layers are displayed.

To access the layers function, bring up the Map Tools from the Toolbar and click the Layers icon to display the list of available layers. The content of the list will vary depending on the features available on the particular scale of map you are viewing.


Compass

To access the Compass function, bring up the Map Tools from the Toolbar and click the Compass button.

Click on one of the eight points of the compass to move the map in the chosen direction (see also Navigation).


Finder

Finder is a useful tool if you want to position the map to exact, known coordinates. To access the Finder function, bring up the Map Tools from the Toolbar and click the Finder button.

Finder enables the user to input Grid References or Latitude and Longitude coordinates as a way of finding a particular location quickly and accurately. Click on the button with the Grid Reference / Latitude Longitude label, to switch between dialog boxes and display the text entry boxes for your search. Enter your coordinates and press the 'Go to' button or press the Enter key to re-position the map view. The map will re-locate with your co-ordinates in the exact centre of the screen. Should you input a location which falls outside the area covered by the maps in the Atlas, a message box will ask you to try again. If this happens, you may find the Locator Map tool useful to help you to orientate yourself.

Grid References.

Finder will work with a Grid Reference.with two letters and up to six numbers. (There is a full tutorial on how to use Grid References in the Map Skills section of this product.)

If you put in two letters and less than six numbers, Finder will still work, using the following assumptions: If you type in SD85, Finder will locate the position assuming the 6 figure reference SD800500, Likewise, If you type in SD8050, Finder will go to SD800500.

Latitude and Longitude

Finder works with Latitude and Longitude in the form of degrees and decimal minutes. Finder assumes that the Latitude input is North, because the Atlas coverage falls entirely within the northern hemisphere. However, because the Atlas spans the Greenwich Meridian, when typing in the Longitude you need to type in a plus sign before the number in the degree box to find a location west of the Greenwich Meridian line, or a minus sign before the number in the degree box to find a place east of Greenwich. Finder assumes a plus sign (east of Greenwich) by default, if you do not type in a plus or minus sign in the Longitude degrees box.


Zoom Level

To access the Zoom function, bring up the Map Tools from the Toolbar and click the Zoom button.

The Zoom function displays, in graphic form, the level of magnification of the current view within the overall mapping range. Current view  is shown by the position of the white arrows. Click on the map circles to move quickly between different zoom levels. To zoom out click towards the top of the column. To zoom in click towards the bottom of the column.


Search

Clicking on the Search button on the ToolbarToolbar will display the Search List. There are three tabs at the top of the list, of which Place is displayed by default.

Search Places

Search Media

Search Pins


Search Places

When the Search button is selected, the Search window will be displayed, with the Places tab active by default. The atlas contains an alphabetical list (or gazetteer) of more than 55,000 place and geographical feature names. Scroll through the list until you reach the entry you are looking for or type in the first few letters of the name. As you type in each letter, the name closest to your spelling will move to the top of the list. Double-click on an entry in the list (or press return to select the highlighted place-name) to go to that location. The place will appear in the centre of the screen.


Search Media

The Media tab at the top of the Search list gives access to a full list of more than 450 places of interest with captions and photographs, 12 videos, 99 large scale maps, and 67 town plans.

Either type in a placename from the full list and press enter, select a subsidiary  list according to media type (pictures videos, maps, town plans) or use the scroll to select a location and double-click on the placename. A media box will appear displaying a photograph with a caption, and up to two other media options for each place.


Search Pins

The Pins tab at the top of the Search window, displays a list of any pins which the user has added to the Atlas in the upper list box. In the lower list box are listed any pin groups which the user has created. Both boxes will be empty until the user has added pins to the maps.

When there are pin names listed, double-click on a named pin or type a pin name into the text box at the top of the list and press 'Enter' to have the map re-centre on the selected pin.


Bookmark

Click on the Bookmark button on the Toolbar to display the Bookmark dialog box. This function enables you to bookmark particular map views for future reference or quick access, and also to set an opening map view to replace the default opening of the last viewed map.

Use the Bookmark function once you have settled on a particular map view that you want to save. A dialog box will appear containing a text box (empty until you have added a bookmark).

Click on 'Add' to set a new bookmark. A text box will appear asking you to enter a name for your new bookmark. When you have entered the name choose OK. The name dialog will close and the name of your new bookmark will appear in the list. Bookmarks will be displayed in alphabetical order.

Highlight a listed bookmark and click on 'Go to' to jump directly to that map view.

Highlight a bookmark and select the 'Delete' button to delete a listed bookmark.

When you close the Atlas, it will store the most recently viewed map. When you subsequently open the Atlas the map will open with this most recent map window. This recall will happen by default, unless you change the Opening View. Selecting 'Set current view as opening view' will put an entry in the list automatically called 'Opening View'. There can be only one 'Opening View'. To change the opening map view delete the opening view in the list and set a new one.


Media Box

Clicking on the small image in the media box will display the picture at a larger size (see also Navigation). Click on the icons at the top of the media box to display map extracts or videos associated with this place, if available.

Camera. Click on the icon to show the photograph and caption related to the site (this is the default option). You can enlarge the photograph by clicking on it. Click again to return to the standard view.

Video Camera. Click on the icon to play the video related to the entry. Not all entries have associated videos. The video will play automatically. Use the controls to play, stop, pause and rewind. Please note that video is not intended to be shown at full screen size.

Map. Click on the icon to show a detailed map of the site, if available. Not all places have associated map extracts. Enlarge the map to full screen by clicking on it. There may be a short delay while the map image loads. When enlarged the window will display the centre of the map extract. Move around the map using the scroll bars to the right and bottom of the screen. Click again on the map to return to the standard view.


Interactive Map Symbols

On the maps, places of interest which have attached information are indicated by red symbols. Non-interactive symbols are blue. All except two symbols are standard Ordnance Survey map symbols. The non-standard symbols are:

 - the red letter M (the logo of the Millennium Commission) indicates one of 150 Millennium capital projects. The Millennium Commission uses National Lottery proceeds to support projects that are lasting monuments to the achievements and aspirations of the people of the United Kingdom. The projects named in this year's Atlas are capital projects with expenditure between £100,000 and £15M.

 - the red ? is a 'Did You Know?' feature. These are a number of particular facts about Britain, such as the geographical centre of the country, the most northerley point, and several others.

Rolling your cursor over any red symbol will bring up short text labels. More than 450 symbols will also display a small camera icon on the descriptive text label. Clicking on these symbols will display the media box, with a photograph and descriptive caption, and options to display video or large-scale maps if available (see Media).

See also Town Plans


Town Plans

Town Plans are accessed from the yellow pins on the maps, or from the Town Plans list from within the Search tool. The Town Plan will appear in a small window. Magnify the Town Plan by clicking on the image, and use the scroll bars to move around the map. Click on the Legend button on the map frame to display the Town Plan legend. Click again on the Legend button to hide the legend. Click again on the map to return to the standard view.

The London and Birmingham town plans are very much larger than those of other towns and cities, and we have therefore provided them with searchable street gazetteers. Enter a street name into the text box at the top of the list. The list will centre on the street name you have typed in, or on the nearest spelling. Press enter or double-click on the highlighted name to centre the map window on the relevant street. Note that the street names are only referenced to a grid square not to an exact point, so the street name will be within the area of the grid square in the centre of the screen. The only exception to this rule is if the street is in one of the edge squares, when the square cannot be displayed in the centre of the screen.


Map Pins

The User Pin functionality in the fourth edition of the Atlas is more powerful than ever. Now it is possible to add pins to the 99 map extracts as well as the main mapping. It is also now possible to add pictures to illustrate your own map pins. User Pin functionality is explained in detail in the following sections:

Adding Map Pins

Add New Group

Change Group Details

Edit Pin Information

Delete Pin


Adding Map Pins

Add your own annotated places to the maps using the Add Pin feature. To add your pin to the main map, click on the Add Pin button on the Toolbar. (Note that when adding a map pin to the Town Plans or the map extracts, you add a pin by clicking on the Add Pin button on the bottom frame of the map). You will see the cursor change to a target. Click again when the target is over your chosen location to locate the pin on the map. The Add Pin dialog box will appear.

Adding A Pin

The 'Add Pin' dialog box allows you to type a name for the new pin in the Pin Title box. Add the pin to an existing group or category of pins that you have already set up, or add a new group by clicking on the Add New Group button. You can enter text about the location marked by your new pin, and you can add a web address for the pin.

Adding a Web Address

Type a web address to be attached to your pin. Clicking on the pin on the map will display the Pin Information box, with the web address displayed. Clicking on the 'Go' button next to the web address will launch your browser (as long as you have a valid internet connection and browser installed) to allow you to link directly to the web address.

Adding a Picture

Click on 'Add Picture' on the 'Add Pin' dialog box. This will launch a standard windows find file dialog through which you can identify the picture file that you wish to add to your map pin. Now when you click on this pin on the map, its information panel will include your picture.

Click 'OK' to add the pin or 'Cancel' to close the dialog box.

Pins added to the maps will be listed under the Pins tab in the Search list.

Note that any added pin will only appear at the map scale to which you applied it. For example, if you add a pin while on the 1:625 000 maps (see scale function) that pin will not appear on the 1:6 000 000 or the 1:250 000 maps.


Adding Pin Group

Add New Group

Clicking on 'Add New Group' from the Add Pin screen brings up a dialog box which allows you create a new group name and assign a pin design to your new group from the sets supplied. Pin designs range from letters and numbers in different pin colours, to a range of symbols The new group name will appear in the group list in the Pins list within the Search facility.


Change Pin Group

Change Group Details

Clicking on the 'Change Group Details' button allows you to amend the group name or assign a new pin design from the set supplied.


Edit Pin Information

Edit the information attached to your pins by clicking on the pin to display the relevant pin information box. Click on the 'Edit' button on the Pin Information box to bring up the Pin Details dialog. Once you have added a picture, additional options to change or delete the picture will appear.


Delete Pin

A pin can be deleted by finding the relevant pin (either from the pins section of the Search list or directly from the maps) and clicking to display the information box attached to the pin. Click on the Edit button and select 'Delete Pin'.


Printing

Click on the print button on the Toolbar to display the Print and Save options.

Standard print will produce a basic copy of the map.

High quality print will produce a higher quality copy of the map.  This option requires more printer memory.

Save to file will save the map as a bitmap file.

Cancel will leave the print option.


Quiz

Around Britain Quiz

The Quiz is accessed by clicking on the Quiz button on the right hand end of the Toolbar. As a fun way to test your knowledge, the aim of the Quiz is to visit all 11 regions of Great Britain and answer three multiple-choice questions correctly on each region before the time runs out. You have five minutes to complete the quiz.

On the introduction screen, once you have read the instructions, click on Start to begin. When you have completed the quiz, or run out of time, you will be given your score. The maximum score is 550 points. If you succeed in completing the quiz you will be awarded a certificate, which can be printed out.


Map Skills

The Map Skills section has been designed to help in the development and application of understanding about maps and to improve map interpretation. Each Map Skill consists of an introduction, page by page information on the topic, and an activity area to test the skill in practice.

Answers to all the questions in the Map Skills activity sections can be found in the ReadMe file from which they can be printed out for classroom use.


Cursor Position

While in map view, the position of the cursor on screen is displayed as a Grid Reference or a Latitude and Longitude in this window. The display is represented as Grid Reference by default. This can be changed to show the position as a Lat/Long by clicking on the title to the left of the text display window.


Help

You can refer to this Help file from wherever you are in the product, by pressing the F1 key on your keyboard.

Should you need technical help with any aspect of the Atlas, please refer to the packaging for details of how to contact the Care Line or the publisher.


Minimise, Maximise, Close

The atlas includes the facility to display the maps as large as your monitor will allow. Click on the maximise button to fill the screen with the Atlas window. Click again to restore the window to its previous size.

Click on the minimise button to reduce the Atlas window to an icon.

Click on the close button to leave the Atlas program. Closing the program will take you through two screens of acknowledgements to those individuals and organisations who have contributed to the making of this program. Double-click anywhere on the screen to skip the acknowledgements and exit the program.