Thanks to all who responded (and who may yet still). I'll try out the various tricks.
I have used a variety of PDF printers but still get issues with color and crispness (understanding that a autumn-crisp image will be a large file). And I take back what I said about print composer being "useless" -- I just didn't pay attention to how it was working. I saw the legend wasn't the same in reloads, and assumed the rest was jacked up, too. Now I see it just adds layers you might have excluded from the legend before. My bad! -Gordon On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 12:44 PM, Chris Henrick <[email protected]>wrote: > I heard a rumor a while back that someone was developing a plug-in to link > QGIS to Inkscape, anyone know if this is true? I'm a print cartographer and > work > primarily in Adobe Illustrator, a program which is made for vector graphic > design, with the Mapublisher plug-in, which allows you to bring in GIS data > and keep it's attribute and spatial properties (ie you're not limited to > importing SVGs). In my workflow I do use QGIS and GDAL/ogr2ogr to prep my > data before hand. You can then use Illustrator's vastly rich text and > graphic formatting tools to make really beautifully detailed or well > designed simple maps fairly easily. It would be great to see an opensource > equivalent plugin for QGIS to Inkscape. > > -Chris > > > On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 11:01 PM, <[email protected]>wrote: > >> Send Qgis-user mailing list submissions to >> [email protected] >> >> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit >> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-user >> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to >> [email protected] >> >> You can reach the person managing the list at >> [email protected] >> >> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific >> than "Re: Contents of Qgis-user digest..." >> >> >> Today's Topics: >> >> 1. working with google earth (john raskulinecz) >> 2. Print Composer: Best Practices (Gordon Lane) >> 3. Re: Print Composer: Best Practices (Alex Mandel) >> 4. Re: Print Composer: Best Practices ([email protected]) >> 5. QGIS on Android and Offline Google Maps (Saber Razmjooei) >> >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> Message: 1 >> Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2012 14:40:51 -0700 >> From: john raskulinecz <[email protected]> >> To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> >> Subject: [Qgis-user] working with google earth >> Message-ID: <[email protected]> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" >> >> >> Dear List, >> I've seen this discussed before and tried to follow the links but still >> do not know how, or if it's >> possible, to load Google earth layers into a Qgis project. Any ideas >> about how to make the two interactive >> would be great. >> Thanks in advance >> John Rask >> >> -------------- next part -------------- >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: < >> http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/qgis-user/attachments/20120725/f9dd8853/attachment-0001.html >> > >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Message: 2 >> Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2012 22:49:15 -0400 >> From: Gordon Lane <[email protected]> >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: [Qgis-user] Print Composer: Best Practices >> Message-ID: >> < >> cah7ap9t1bv9z0+t8c9riw2ryjqy0wd5hn9dv1zvj7qmlejp...@mail.gmail.com> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" >> >> >> Dear List: >> >> I'll give an overview of a general problem here, then ask for your >> personal >> Best Practices. >> >> I use GIS in a professional setting but am not a GIS professional. I >> learned ArcGIS at school and am now trying to transition to the world of >> QGIS. At the moment I typically deal with displaying data, and not so much >> with analysis. >> >> My major problem is trying to export a good quality map. I typically make >> maps for small-scale areas (50 sq. miles or so, with secondary maps for <1 >> sq. mi. details) for decision-making support. These maps aren't fancy, but >> orthos are standard additions to make them accessible to the end-users. >> >> I have played and tested and cajoled various outputs from Print Composer, >> and still can't find a good workflow for a final product. The legends >> typically are washed-out. The PDF files are waaaay to big (even with res >> set at ~150 dpi), and load in a piecemeal fashion. PNG files are smaller >> than TIFs, but sometimes still too big to email, and don't make legends >> any >> better. Some of this is because I have an old computer. But not all. >> >> Additionally, I have not found a way to deal with differences in legend >> colors and shapefile colors when a transparency is set, and have not found >> >> a way to save anything more than a "template" print composer, which on >> reload is essentially useless. >> >> So, Best Practices. None of the above have singular solutions. I'm hoping, >> however, that you might be able to give a perspective on the *workflow* >> that *you* use to export maps for consumption. I.e., you religiously use >> one file format vs. another, or have some other settings, or always export >> to another program. >> >> Looking forward to hear how you work! >> >> Thanks, >> >> -Gordon Lane >> -------------- next part -------------- >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: < >> http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/qgis-user/attachments/20120725/72bff182/attachment-0001.html >> > >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Message: 3 >> Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2012 21:06:31 -0700 >> From: Alex Mandel <[email protected]> >> To: [email protected] >> >> Subject: Re: [Qgis-user] Print Composer: Best Practices >> Message-ID: <[email protected]> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 >> >> >> On 07/25/2012 07:49 PM, Gordon Lane wrote: >> > Dear List: >> > >> > I'll give an overview of a general problem here, then ask for your >> personal >> > Best Practices. >> > >> > I use GIS in a professional setting but am not a GIS professional. I >> > learned ArcGIS at school and am now trying to transition to the world of >> > QGIS. At the moment I typically deal with displaying data, and not so >> much >> > with analysis. >> > >> > My major problem is trying to export a good quality map. I typically >> make >> > maps for small-scale areas (50 sq. miles or so, with secondary maps for >> <1 >> > sq. mi. details) for decision-making support. These maps aren't fancy, >> but >> > orthos are standard additions to make them accessible to the end-users. >> > >> > I have played and tested and cajoled various outputs from Print >> Composer, >> > and still can't find a good workflow for a final product. The legends >> > typically are washed-out. The PDF files are waaaay to big (even with res >> > set at ~150 dpi), and load in a piecemeal fashion. PNG files are smaller >> > than TIFs, but sometimes still too big to email, and don't make legends >> any >> > better. Some of this is because I have an old computer. But not all. >> > >> > Additionally, I have not found a way to deal with differences in legend >> > colors and shapefile colors when a transparency is set, and have not >> found >> >> > a way to save anything more than a "template" print composer, which on >> > reload is essentially useless. >> > >> > So, Best Practices. None of the above have singular solutions. I'm >> hoping, >> > however, that you might be able to give a perspective on the *workflow* >> > that *you* use to export maps for consumption. I.e., you religiously use >> > one file format vs. another, or have some other settings, or always >> export >> > to another program. >> > >> > Looking forward to hear how you work! >> > >> > Thanks, >> > >> > -Gordon Lane >> > >> > >> >> Here is one possible workflow, I and several others use (and we taught >> in a cartography class a couple of years ago). >> >> QGIS -> Print Composer -> SVG or PDF (Sometimes with SimpleSVG plugin) >> -> Inkscape >> >> Sadly SimpleSVG export does not support the New Symbology or New >> Labeling engine. And PDF also has issues with labels not being preserved >> as text which makes them really hard to edit in the next step. >> >> Final output is usually PDF (Standalone or printing), though depending >> on where it's going Tiff or PNG(web) >> >> Once you have a PDF or Tiff you can easily eye dropper the fill and then >> bucket fill the legend color boxes to match using GIMP or Inkscape. >> >> If your page size is big and you want quality your files will be big. >> The best answer then is use a file hosting service and send people links >> to download the PDF. >> >> The alternate workflow I've been exploring lately is: >> QGIS data prep >> Tilemill styling (Using CSS) >> Mapnik for output or as the base for online tiles. >> >> >> Now some examples, everyone started with Arc or QGIS and Finished with >> Inkscape or Illustrator. I'll let you guess which was done with what. >> http://geography.ucdavis.edu/gallery/classes/geo-290-f10-cartography >> >> Enjoy, >> Alex >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Message: 4 >> Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2012 21:44:53 -0700 (PDT) >> From: [email protected] >> To: [email protected] >> >> Subject: Re: [Qgis-user] Print Composer: Best Practices >> Message-ID: >> <[email protected]> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" >> >> >> My preferred print composer is not part of QGIS. >> >> For Open Source cartography GMT (Generic Mapping Tools) is hard to beat. >> Impeded by an arcane command line interface which suits technophiles... but >> delivers outstanding printed maps. If you have pretty repeatable >> requirements, such as as described by Gordon, it can be worth spending some >> time setting up some template scripts which can be reused as required. >> >> See (example outputs below the scripts): >> http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/gmt/html/GMT_Docs.html#x1-1360007.10 >> http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/gmt/html/GMT_Docs.html#x1-1490007.23 >> http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/gmt/html/GMT_Docs.html#x1-1480007.22 >> http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/gmt/html/GMT_Docs.html#x1-1520007.26 >> http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/gmt/html/GMT_Docs.html#x1-1540007.28 >> http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/gmt/html/GMT_Docs.html#x1-1350007.9 >> >> GMT can create georeferenced bitmaps (with world files) so can generate >> very good imagery for use with QGIS. It can also be used (via OGR & GDAL) >> to compose maps from the same source data viewed in QGIS, so can be used as >> a standalone cartographic tool for poster & scientific quality maps >> alongside QGIS. >> >> Cheers, >> >> ?? Brent Wood >> >> >> >> --- On Thu, 7/26/12, Alex Mandel <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> From: Alex Mandel <[email protected]> >> Subject: Re: [Qgis-user] Print Composer: Best Practices >> To: [email protected] >> Date: Thursday, July 26, 2012, 4:06 PM >> >> On 07/25/2012 07:49 PM, Gordon Lane wrote: >> > Dear List: >> > >> > I'll give an overview of a general problem here, then ask for your >> personal >> > Best Practices. >> > >> > I use GIS in a professional setting but am not a GIS professional. I >> > learned ArcGIS at school and am now trying to transition to the world of >> > QGIS. At the moment I typically deal with displaying data, and not so >> much >> > with analysis. >> > >> > My major problem is trying to export a good quality map. I typically >> make >> > maps for small-scale areas (50 sq. miles or so, with secondary maps for >> <1 >> > sq. mi. details) for decision-making support. These maps aren't fancy, >> but >> > orthos are standard additions to make them accessible to the end-users. >> > >> > I have played and tested and cajoled various outputs from Print >> Composer, >> > and still can't find a good workflow for a final product. The legends >> > typically are washed-out. The PDF files are waaaay to big (even with res >> > set at ~150 dpi), and load in a piecemeal fashion. PNG files are smaller >> > than TIFs, but sometimes still too big to email, and don't make legends >> any >> > better. Some of this is because I have an old computer. But not all. >> > >> > Additionally, I have not found a way to deal with differences in legend >> > colors and shapefile colors when a transparency is set, and have not >> found >> >> > a way to save anything more than a "template" print composer, which on >> > reload is essentially useless. >> > >> > So, Best Practices. None of the above have singular solutions. I'm >> hoping, >> > however, that you might be able to give a perspective on the *workflow* >> > that *you* use to export maps for consumption. I.e., you religiously use >> > one file format vs. another, or have some other settings, or always >> export >> > to another program. >> > >> > Looking forward to hear how you work! >> > >> > Thanks, >> > >> > -Gordon Lane >> > >> > >> >> Here is one possible workflow, I and several others use (and we taught >> in a cartography class a couple of years ago). >> >> QGIS -> Print Composer -> SVG or PDF (Sometimes with SimpleSVG plugin) >> -> Inkscape >> >> Sadly SimpleSVG export does not support the New Symbology or New >> Labeling engine. And PDF also has issues with labels not being preserved >> as text which makes them really hard to edit in the next step. >> >> Final output is usually PDF (Standalone or printing), though depending >> on where it's going Tiff or PNG(web) >> >> Once you have a PDF or Tiff you can easily eye dropper the fill and then >> bucket fill the legend color boxes to match using GIMP or Inkscape. >> >> If your page size is big and you want quality your files will be big. >> The best answer then is use a file hosting service and send people links >> to download the PDF. >> >> The alternate workflow I've been exploring lately is: >> QGIS data prep >> Tilemill styling (Using CSS) >> Mapnik for output or as the base for online tiles. >> >> >> Now some examples, everyone started with Arc or QGIS and Finished with >> Inkscape or Illustrator. I'll let you guess which was done with what. >> http://geography.ucdavis.edu/gallery/classes/geo-290-f10-cartography >> >> Enjoy, >> Alex >> _______________________________________________ >> Qgis-user mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-user >> -------------- next part -------------- >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: < >> http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/qgis-user/attachments/20120725/63c44bb7/attachment-0001.html >> > >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Message: 5 >> Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2012 07:00:54 +0100 >> From: Saber Razmjooei <[email protected]> >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: [Qgis-user] QGIS on Android and Offline Google Maps >> Message-ID: <1343282454.2591.11.camel@ioio> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" >> >> Dear list, >> >> The recent version of Google Maps made it possible to cache maps locally >> to use offline. >> >> Has anyone had any luck reading them in QGIS? I tried to search around >> but apparently it is not supported in gdal yet. >> >> Cheers >> Saber >> >> >> >> >> -- >> This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and >> intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are >> addressed. >> If you have received this email in error please notify the system >> manager. This message contains confidential information and is intended >> only for the >> individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not >> disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender >> immediately >> by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this >> e-mail from your system. If you are not the intended recipient you are >> notified >> that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance >> on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. >> >> Whilst reasonable care has been taken to avoid virus transmission, no >> responsibility for viruses is taken and it is your responsibility to carry >> out >> such checks as you feel appropriate. >> >> Saber Razmjooei and Peter Wells trading as Lutra Consulting. >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Qgis-user mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-user >> >> >> End of Qgis-user Digest, Vol 77, Issue 87 >> ***************************************** >> > > > _______________________________________________ > Qgis-user mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-user > >
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