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Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Map Grabber

I moved this post to another place: https://tech.panshin.me/opensource/map-grabber.html please update your bookmarks.

Map Grabber

Grab maps...


Prepare maps for your holidays, your walking, your bike trips, your geocaching... You
can next print them or use them with your GPS!
This utility automatically scrolls, captures, assembles and saves maps (or other window content) from a Web page to a JPG file.
This program is freeware. Written in C# .NET2.0
Project source code is licensed under a free software/open source licensing terms:
GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later


How to use?


- Go to the desired Web site, maximize your browser window.
- Locate the desired area on the map and zoom to the desired scale.
- In order to MapGrabber automatically realize the right scrolling, you have to parameter it according to the Web site.
Press the button 1 in MapGrabber (see illustrations), next click on the left/top corner of the map. To avoid capturing the toolbar, you can define the corner just below it.
Press the button 2 in MapGrabber, next click on the right/bottom corner of the map.
- To devide output image by slises, set the steps in one part.
- If you would like to calibrate maps in time of grabbing, you can use GPS Callibration part of the MapGrabber

You can now Save the settings for future use; each Web site will have its own settings.
The main screen:


- Menu:
Settings - Load and save your current settings for future using.
Help - The link to this page and information about me.

- Map Settings:
The position of left/top and right/left bounds of map, without active elements, on the screen. You can set points by enter the coordinates or by clicking on button "Point" and dragging the  icon to he's place on the screen.

- Capture Settings:
Delay Scroll - When Map grabber moving the map in map display program (Firefox), to program take time to response for her events. So need to delay Map grabber events according to response of display program.
Delay Capture - When Map grabber the map in map display program (Firefox), to load new images take some time. So you must set the parameter according to speed image loading.
Number of X/Y Steps - How match steps to do.

- Output image settings:
Divide Image X/Y - By how match steps divide the output image. Some programs that using output maps on pocket PC, take a lot time to load big image.
Map Path - The output image folder.

- With GPS calibration - Enable GPS automatic GPS calibration of output map.

- Show/Hide points - show/hide the map settings and GPS calibration points.

- GPS Calibration:
First point X/Y - The point of place that you know her GPS coordinates. You can set points by enter the coordinates or by clicking on button "Point" and dragging the icon to her place on the screen. You can use the magnifier to put the icon exactly to place of GPS coordinates.
First point Lat/Lon - The GPS coordinates of point.


Magnifier/Status window:




Points:



Prior to start capturing, set the amount of horizontal and vertical steps you desire.
Press the button Start.


Know Bugs:

found by me and another users.
- Memory out when grabbing more than 10X10 screens.


TODO:

what in next version.
- grab large size maps
- The GPSTuner have auto map loading feature. We can use maps with different resolution, and different level of information on map. That provide option in time of zoom out or zoom in, change maps automatically. So I want to add feature - grabbing maps with some levels of zoom.


Donation


Map Grabber is free software. The author has spent a large amount of time and effort in the development and improvement of it. The continuous development of Map Grabber needs your support. The best way to support and encourage the author, so that this project can be moved forward always, is to donate for Map Grabber project. Click the button below to donate for Map Grabber via PayPal.




Download

Map Grabber may not be bundled with other software, included on CDs etc, linked to from other web sites or made available for download elsewhere. Link to this page instead.


I moved my blog to other place: Panshin.me please for downloads go to the site.

Links / Credits


Project Page on MSDN Code Gallery
Project Page on CodePlex
Project Page on CodeProject

GPS Tuner - is an off-road navigation software for Pocket PC devices. The maps of Map Grabber is collibrated for this programm.

Capturing the Screen Image in C#
Processing Global Mouse and Keyboard Hooks in C#



Disclaimer

Personal use only. Use at your own risk. No technical support given. Don't copy or distribute copyrighted media.
Screen captures will never replace a bought genuine printed map.

12 comments:

Micha said...

Thanks so much. The Programm works fantastic with the German MagicMaps Top25 Cards.

The best i´ve seen for a long time

Regards
Michael

Igor said...

I'm quite happy with your program! It is very useful for off-road gps driving. Some of my remarks:
1) DO NOT MOVE THE MOUSE WHILE GRABBING IS IN PROGRESS!! It would be very useful if the MapGrabber could act as a back-ground process.
2) It would be very useful if ‘output image settings’ has an option: "Save results to single output file".
3) It would be very useful if output files can be saved with "overlaps". I would like to use panorama stitching programs to generate overall maps of the single images. Example: freeware "AutoStitch" (http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~mbrown/autostitch/autostitch.html)

Great stuff! Keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

Hi, this program works, that is great. But at the moment it is really unfinished. It has many bugs (saving settings), the user interface is super confusing, the UI should come with reasonable presets.

Thanks anyway for your work!

Anonymous said...

There seems to be a problem while grabbing maps from Wikimapia if I try to capture more than one row. If I choose, say, a 4 x 2 grid for capture, the software captures the first screen, then pans three screens to the right for three captures, moves one row down but then fails to pan to the left. It always fails to reverse the screen panning after moving one row down whatever the size of the map grid I choose. The cursor moves but the screen does not. I have tried increasing the mouse capture delay but it did not help. This seems to be happening only with Wikimapia. Has anyone else had the same expesience?

Yuri Panshin said...

Thanks Karan for your comments.
I checked it on WikiMapia, and found that all work perfectly.
So can you provide some information about your environment, something like: Your browser version, screen resolution. I will try to check it.

Anonymous said...

Hi Yuri,

Thanks for helping out. I use Internet Explorer 7 on Windows XP Pro. I have experimented further and found that this bug varies depending upon the location one is trying to capture. Try the following link in Wikimapia and try to capture a screen size of 3 x 3. You will be able to replicate this bug.

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=30.6213869&lon=77.3473656&z=17&l=0&m=h&v=1

Yuri Panshin said...

Hi Karan
I checked the map with Explorer 7, and with Firefox but didn't replicate the bug.
I think, by your explaining of bug, you put the points on controls of the map. The points must be placed inside of rectangle like on the picture:
http://ypanshin.googlepages.com/Tmp.JPG

Anonymous said...

Thanks Yuri. It worked. I reduced the size of the rectangle and the problem disappeared.

Unknown said...

Hi,

Looks very useful. Some suggestions...

Not too helpful to get a warning 'one of the parameters is wrong format'. Better to say which one.

I use twin monitors with the secondary on the left, which results in negative x coordinates from the left hand screen.

It would be useful to allow negative x coordinates to cater for this configuration.

I would much prefer that all captures go into the current default folder with auto-incremented file names rather than choosing a new folder for each session. Could this be an option?

Integer seconds of delay seems excessively coarse. Better to be in milliseconds so half-second etc can be entered.

I'm getting expected area coverage in initial tests - ie not giving the expected coverage from the start point. Maybe it's finger trouble, but maybe not.

Anonymous said...

Hi Yuri.
nice application!

I think there is a small bug with saving files. As far as I've seen files are saved in MapRC.jpg, where R is row number and C in column number. Let say Map123.jpg . This one can be column 1 row 23 or column 12 row 3. Application will prompt something like "file exists, choose another folder " . unfortunately the window for choosing another folder does not work, there is no open dialog control present, only "Make New Folder" "ok" and "cancel" buttons. "Make New folder opens nothing. At least it happens on version 123 om my winxp .
Take care.
Soki

simharupa said...

I liked this program very much. Is there any option so that after every snapshot the image will be saved.

Because If I have 10 x 40 matrix. I have to wait till the end. And if any interruption then I have to run the entire program again.

So atleasat I can join those images together to get the bigger image and later join the remaining.

Anonymous said...

Hey there! I could have sworn I've been to this website before
but after browsing through some of the post I realized it's new to
me. Anyhow, I'm definitely happy I found it and I'll
be bookmarking and checking back frequently!