How to create Raster Map

Raster map is the map based on the image file in JPG, BMP or PNG format.

To create and to use Raster map, the following programs are needed:

1. SASPlanet (http://www.sasgis.org/). Download link: SASPlanet 181221 
2. SmartPTT Dispatcher (http://smartptt.com/download/) 

It is recommended to use Raster maps for not vast regions where the distortion is not noticable.

How to Create Raster Map:

1. Download and install SASPlanet.

 

2. Click on the tab Source and choose Internet + Cache.

 

 

4. Choose required type of the map. ATTENTION! Offline maps using is prohibited by the license agreement of some companies (Google, 2Gis, Yandex etc.). We recommend to use OpenStreetMap (OSM) as in our example.

5. Find the necessary area in SASPlanet. Use the following way, if you need to open area with concrete coordinates:

Click on the tab Go! and choose Go to…:

 

 In the opened window check the point Coordinates. The Latitude and Longitude fields could be changes manually. Then click the button Go to.

 

 

6. To highlight the region the map of which is being created, click on the tab Go! and choose Selection Manager ->Rectangular Selection.

  

To create the first point which is one of the right-angled map corners, hover mouse pointer over the map and left-click. Highlight the region where the desired area is located. To fix the highlighted area, just left-click. 

 

7. After the region is fixed, the  Selection Manager window will appear. (If for some reason the Manage selection window didn’t appear, click on the tab Go! -> Selection Manager -> Last Selection).

 

 

8. Make sure that all parts of the map are displayed correctly. To do it zoom in and zoom out on some part of the map. Then choose Stitch tab in the appeared window. Set the following parameters:

• Output format: JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
• Save to: specify the path to the folder where these files should be saved to.
• Zoom: specify the same zoom as on the map. (It's very important to get finally the correct map!)
• Create bitmap-fix file: Tick .map to enable creation of MAP file.

Then click Start.

Now there are MAP file and JPG file in the specified folder.

 

9. Open MAP file with Notepad application. All the necessary data can be found at the end of this file.

10. Map image can be linked to geographical coordinates by means of Raster Mapconfiguration dialog in Dispatcher SmartPTT (Settings/Raster Map Settings menu).

Select Image of Map: Select the JPG created by stitching in Manage selection window (SASPlanet).

Coordinates are put down on the blank fields of Raster Maps window as follows:

1)   Longitude (X) and Latitude (Y)

To fill the Longitude and Latitude fields in, use the MMPLL values (1, 2, 3, 4) from the file Miami_1.map.

MMPLL values for 3^rd and 4^th points in the TXT file are used for 4^th and 3^rd  points in Raster Maps window accordingly (i.e. exchange their places).

2)   Values of X and Y

To fill X and Y fields in, use the MMPXY values (1, 2, 3, 4) from the file Miami_1.map. Instead of value “0” use “1”. Then instead of values which are different from “0” use 1 less (for instance, 958 instead of 959).

MMPXY values for 3^rd and 4^th points in the TXT file are used for 4^th and 3^rd  points in Raster Maps window accordingly (i.e. exchange their places).

After filling all the fields in, make sure that all fields were set AS IN THE INSTRUCTION. Next click the button Finish and save the map.

How to use the created map:

To show created Raster map, use Map / Raster Map menu.

 

Specify the path to the folder where the created map was saved to, choose it and click the button Open. The created Raster map will be opened: