Mapdiva, LLC | Mac OS X Software

Open the Drawing Setup window by choosing File > Drawing Setup from the main menu.

Depending on your needs, you can simply use the defaults of a new drawing, or you can refine your drawing settings in this window.

Related topic: Index Grid Layer
Related topic: Graph Paper Layer

Enter the width and height of the canvas in the Drawing Setup menu. For example, 11 by 8.5 inches for landscape oriented US letter paper. Check to enable Ortelius to subtract printer / paper margins from the canvas size automatically.

Additionally, you can set a background paper color and change your preferred units of measurement.

Open the Page Setup menu if necessary to change the page size and orientation of your printed paper.

Ortelius drawings are setup with the concept of a drawing canvas. When designing maps for printed output, make sure the size of your drawing canvas occupies the area within the print margins of your paper. Ortelius gives you the flexibility to specify your canvas size regardless of actual paper size. As necessary, Ortelius will tile your map over multiple printed sheets.

Note: By default, the Ortelius drawing window displays your map canvas. To display the area outside of the drawing canvas (that is, the paper print margins) choose View > Show Paper Margins from the main menu and zoom out from your drawing until paper margins are visible.

The Map Margins are the area on your canvas in which you will draw your map and graphics. This is also the area to which Graph Paper and Index Grid will be applied if you use them. Set the top, bottom, left, and right Map Margins. For example, 0 (zero) map area margin will size the map area the same as the drawing canvas (no margin). If you will be using an index grid or have elements such as scale or map title outside of the map area, be sure to set map margins appropriately.

Related topic: Draw Outside of the Map Area

Setting drawing units in Ortelius is incredible flexible. Choose the type of units that you want to use for measuring in paper-space: imperial units, such as inches, are common in the United States, metric units, such as millimeters and centimeters, are common internationally.

Ortelius drawings use “real-world” units of measure. Choose the type of units that you want to use for measuring on-the-ground distances: imperial units, such as feet and miles, are common in the United States, metric units, such as meters and kilometers, are common internationally.

Set map scale from the Drawing Setup window. Choose from the drop-down list a selection of commonly recognized map scales, or set a custom scale by entering the ratio of drawing units to map units. Ortelius automatically calibrates the drawing scale based on these settings.

Alternatively, you can set scale by choosing File > Calibrate Scale from the main menu.

Related topic: Setting Map Scale

Drawing Setup now allows a “prescale” to be set which is applied to styles and symbols when they are placed in this document. The default value is 100% and typically does not need to be changed.

The value is a property of the document, and is used to work with certain mapping specifications where symbols and styles are scaled up in certain situations. For example, some mapping standards have specifications for symbol sizes depicted at a certain scale (such as 100% symbol size with 1:15,000 scale maps), and larger sizes when the scale is enlarged (such as 150% symbol size with 1:10,000 scale maps). In this instance, the prescale setting can be changed to 150% and will apply to the entire document.

By default, Ortelius shows the drawing canvas and map area in the drawing window. Paper margins are outside of the drawing canvas and by default are not shown. The representation of the actual physical paper area used for printing can be shown in a zoomed-out view by choosing View > Show Paper Margins from the main menu.

User can now toggle a document’s measurement display settings between Points, Drawing Units, and Map Units. This setting is persistent, is saved with the document, and affects display of all user interface-related to distances, as well as the display of dimensions. Choose View > Display Units from the main menu to choose the document’s display units.