Please can someone help me with my computer (I'm useless)?

Question

I'm currently in the middle of my undergradute dissertation and I'd like to include several small diagrams to illustrate points I make in my text- mainly simple maps.

What I'd like to know is whether or not there is a straightforward way I can make my own maps rather than scanning examples already published.

Each one needs only be about a quarter of an A4 page in size, a simple line map with a few dots noting certain points; however, the map is of a stretch of coastline and so needs to be an accurate representation.

I'm not after anything fancy, no contour curves or colour, just a simple black-on-white line map of the South Dorset coast (UK) that I can plot my own points on.

What is the best way of doing this? As I am not too good with computers it needs to be fairly simple!

Answer 1

THEN GO TO A COLLEGE THAT TEAHES COMPUTER AND YOU WONT BE HOPELESS BUT WOULD BE HELPFUL

Answer 2

If you can get hold of Adobe Illustrator or a drawing package that allows you to have layers, import the map (from scans, websites,etc) first. Then add a transparent layer, and using the drawing tool trace over the the outline of the map (eg. the coast) on the transparent layer and not the map layer. It's like using a tracing paper on a map. You can add the points (of towns, etc) as well. Then you can delete the original map layer and you are left with your line map. It's easier than it sound.

Answer 3

One day in high school I came across the hulk of a really old MAC. I opened it up, and it turned out that it was mostly in working condition. After a couple of hours I turned it on, but first I had to get a hold of a boot disc. A 5 inch boot disc. This dinosaur had no hard drive, a black and green CRT display and 512 bytes of RAM. It had 2 floppy drives, one to boot from, and one to store your data on. When it was running, it sounded like a 747! Large, clunky old fans. The only thing I was able to do on it was to play Digger.

Answer 4

Go to a website like www.multimap.com get the area that you are looking to make map of. Hightlight it then copy it and put in onto a word document, edit with this and expand it to A4 size.

Answer 5

Gggole map would fit the bill - enlarged maps do not have too much detail, which sounds like what you need.

Answer 6

Use Google map.

Answer 7

http://www.aquarius.geomar.de/omc/