[Gvsig_english] TIP - Using ImagePrinter to print maps to JPEG format (Windows Only)

[Simon Cropper (Botanicus Australia Pty Ltd)]

Hi,

After several weeks of pain I thought rather than constantly groaning I 
would provide something of value to others. Below is some text from a 
tutorial I am preparing about how to export your maps directly to an 
image file for insertion into a word processor. I hope it is of use to 
others...

*** Using ImagePrinter to print maps to JPEG format (Windows Only) ***

gvSIG (v 1.9, BN 1253) can print maps directly to the printer, a 
postscript file or a PDF file. Postscript and PDF files can not be 
directly imported into most standard word processors. This work around 
uses ImagePrinter to capture map output from gvSIG and send it to a JPEG 
file.

There are many ways to address this problem from simply capturing the 
screen to post processing an exported PostScript file. The former method 
is useful for webpages and coarse production but limited when producing 
high quality documents as the output is limited by the size of the 
screen (my current favourite program is GreenShot 
<http://sourceforge.net/projects/greenshot/>). With landscape maps the 
resolution is usually alright on large screens but with portrait maps, 
unless you have a vertical screen, the quality is below average. Using 
PostScript or PDF files can produce good images but few applications are 
around that allow you to easily convert a file to an image format 
suitable for insertion into a report. One program I did find was GSView 
<http://www.ghostgum.com.au/>, a graphical interface for GhostScript, 
which allows you to open a PostScript file and save it as a JPG image.

I was however looking for a direct export or print facility and after a 
period of time I discovered and tested the virtual printer ImagePrinter 
<http://code-industry.net/imageprinter.php>. ImagePrinter 1.5.5 is an 
open source program distributed under the GNU General Public License 
Version 2. This software captures the printed output from any program 
and saves it as an image. This means that a map can be quite small on 
the screen but still print at the desired resolution.

If you download ImagePrinter <http://code-industry.net/imageprinter.php> 
and install it on your system you will end up with a new printer called 
"ImagePrinter" in your "printer and faxes" directory. You can print 
directly to this printer driver from gvSIG and it will save your map to 
the directory designated in the printer options. You will need to play 
around with the printer options to get the best resolution for your 
needs and to minimize the size of the output file. Also I found that 
some elements, like the lines that form a grid, needs to be made thicker 
(2 point) and black to be readily seen in the output JPEG; everything 
else works as expected.

For those people interested, I am currently preparing a tutorial that 
will eventually be posted on my website (includes pictures and step by 
step guide). I can send copies to anyone who would like a copy sooner.

*** The End ***

Obviously this workaround can not be applied to a Linux or a Mac system. 
Anyone who knows of a program with comparable functionality that can run 
on either of these systems please let me know and I will include them in 
my tutorial.

I am hoping that eventually the gvSIG team can incorporate this 
functionality into the program.


-- 

Cheers Simon

Simon Cropper
Botanicus Australia Pty Ltd
PO Box 160, Sunshine, Victoria 3020.
P: 9311 5822. M: 041 830 3437.
mailto: scropper at botanicusaustralia.com.au 
<mailto:scropper at botanicusaustralia.com.au>
web: www.botanicusaustralia.com.au <http://www.botanicusaustralia.com.au>