[Xastir] setting up maps in xaster for newbies

[Curt, WE7U]

On Mon, 4 Jul 2011, MJ Inabnit wrote:

> New to list and new to this computer.  I'm running Mint 11 now and would like 
> to use Xastir in both internet connected and non-internet connected mode.  I 
> used Xastir on my netbook and loaded up maps I downloaded from the internet 
> (Tiger something?).  The problem was that even after loading the maps, I 
> couldn't get street labels figured out--it showed the streets but didn't 
> identify the streets or highways.  Basically, I'd like to download and use 
> maps that will show street map detail and perhaps lakes/oceans and other 
> major details.  Xaster has tons of settings that are not all that easy for a 
> non-map geek like me.  So I guess my question is HOW to get these details and 
> eliminate all the unnecessary details.

What version of Xastir are you running?  (Help->About)

Have you heard of Open Street Maps?  You can snag the Shapefile extract files from them and use them directly in Xastir.  With another library or two loaded to make Shapefiles fast you should be in good shape with them.  Search for "Cloudmade Shapefile Extracts" and you should find them.  Once you navigate into the directories containing the downloads for the country/state of your choice, you only need the file with "shapefile" in the name.

If you don't like the look of those, with a bit of work you can use the raster OSM tiles instead.  With Xastir-2.0.0 or later it's easy to use them over the 'net, but for stand-alone use you'll either have to download them separately and create maps out of them, or use Xastir's snapshot feature to create large maps out of various view and same them as different maps.  I can't recall off-hand whether anyone made a script to download save tiles as maps for off-line use, but it seems likely.  If it's been more than a month I probably forgot.

-- 
Curt, WE7U.        http://www.eskimo.com/~archer
APRS:  Where it's at!        http://www.xastir.org