Feature Week: Folders and WYSIWYG Printing

Over the years I’ve had a number of users ask for a way to organize markers, lines and polygons within a map. There have also been requests for a way to print only some objects, or to print markers with labels and shapes without, and so on. Today’s post covers a new way to do just that: folders.

Start by adding a folder to the map the same way you would any other object: right-click on the map background or click + Add New Object in the left bar.

The details dialog for markers, lines and polygons now has a folder dropdown. Choose a folder at creation time, or move objects between folders the same way you would set any other property.

Individual folders will show up as boxes in the left bar alongside other object types. Objects without folders will remain in their object type box, e.g. Markers.

As with the Markers and Shapes boxes, you can use the checkbox to show or hide all objects within a folder. If you want to hide labels for a folder, perhaps because they’re too noisy, the settings box now has a third, custom label option.

When set to “some”, each folder gets a label toggle at the bottom. Click on it and “Labels Shown” will change to “Labels Hidden”.

Alongside these changes, printing has moved to a what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) model: what you see on the screen is what you get when you print a map. If an object is visible when you click print, it will show up on the print. If it’s hidden, it won’t. If it has a visible label, that label will show up on the print. If the label is hidden, it won’t.

Because this requires a form POST, I can now only offer the “share or save this configuration” link for a blank map, not one that has objects on it. However I think the extra flexibility when printing is worth the cost.

Daren R. Sefcik says:

January 15, 2015 at 1:13 pm

This is an awesome feature (folders) and the Bulk Ops make it easy to change multiple items at once, I was thinking of emailing you about this but wanted to check your blog first, CalTopo just keeps getting better and better, nice work Matt!!