PDFMap 2.00 review

PDFMap is a Python library which helps you create of high quality maps in PDF format

License: GPL (GNU General Public License) File size: 0K Developer: Jerome Alet

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PDFMap is a Python library which helps you create of high quality maps in PDF format. Objects of any type (either shapes or images) can be placed on a map and scaled and rotated to reflect their original dimensions and orientation. You can make each object clickable in Adobe Acrobat Reader (e.g., to access a Web-enabled application from which you've extracted the data used to create the map).

It serves successfully in drawing archaelogical objects on cave maps, but as the examples may show you, it can also draw things at a very high scale, e.g. an Europe or World map.

Each map can have an optional rasterized background which can be rotated automatically if it is not North oriented.

PDFMap can automatically draw objects on each map. Objects can be of any type (e.g. City, School, Archaeological objects, whatever you like), and are represented by shapes or images, scaled to the actual object's dimensions and orientation. Each object can also have an associated url which will render the object clickable in tools like Adobe Acrobat Reader (NB : the clickable area is always a rectangle of the actual object's dimensions, not of the representing shape's dimensions), the use of this feature depends entirely on your imagination : draw maps from a database and link back to a web enabled application which manipulates this database is just an example (and an interesting one at that, just
believe me).

PDFMap uses two types of input files :

Configuration files :

Those are used to tell PDFMap which shape or image should represent each type of object, as well as set different parameters for this object's type :pen thickness, colors, minimal and maximal size, etc...

Data files :

Those are used to feed PDFMap with lists of objects to draw. They are generally the result of an ASCII export from your favorite spreadsheet or relational database management system.

The tests/ subdirectory contains sample configuration and data files which are well commented. Read them and run the tests programs to learn how PDFMap works.