--- Begin Forwarded Message ---
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 22:37:39 -0600
From: Dennis McClendon <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Software question <fwd>
Sender: Dennis McClendon <[log in to unmask]>
 
 
>I've been asked to recommend software for "creating maps of international
>locations" on a home computer.
 
A couple of options come to mind, depending on the patron's level of interest:
 
Acquire bitmap maps, either from the web (free from Magellan site) or from
a clip art package, and annotate them using a bitmap (paint) program.  She
probably already has a simple bitmap editor in Windows (or, one could hope,
MacPaint).
 
Second option is more sophisticated: using an illustration program
(FreeHand, Illustrator, or Corel Draw) to alter vector-type clip art maps.
These are not free, but a good all-around package can be had for $100 from
Cartesia.  FreeHand and its kin are not trivial to learn, but enough basics
to annotate and recolor a map can be learned in a few hours.
 
If she really wants to be able to map a custom-chosen swatch of the world,
perhaps spanning national borders, that might require GeoCart and its
dataset, as well as an illustration program.
 
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Dennis McClendon, Chicago CartoGraphics      [log in to unmask]
 
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