Google Maps is a tool you can use via your Internet browser. You can find maps filled with great amounts of detail, yet it only works when you are online, and there are no built-in features to save a particular map.
The 'Print' option is one way to save a map (in PDF format) within Google Maps – the downside of this method is that one can only print what is actually on-screen. If you wish to capture a bigger physical area, you may have to zoom out multiple times, thus losing the location's minute details. Conversely, if you want to show accurate detail, you would have to zoom in and lose the rest of the expanse.
How can you capture a large area or map and still have a good amount of detail? This article will show you how, without using a Google Maps images downloader.
Tools Needed:
- Notepad
- Mozilla Firefox Internet Browser
- Firefox ScreenGrab Extension – This utility can capture what appears on-screen: the image in a window, a specific selection, a frame, or the whole page. It stores Web pages as images. These images may be saved as files or saved on the clipboard.
Instructions:
Log on to the Net using the Firefox browser. Download and install ScreenGrab.
Go to this URL: http://maps.google.com/ and access the map location you want to capture.
Manipulate Google Maps' zoom feature based on the image you want to capture and the amount of detail you need (depending on your prospective use for the map). Do not worry about the map size at this stage.
Go to 'Link' at the upper right portion of the map. Open that link, and click on the 'Customize and preview embedded map' option in the small pop-up panel that emerges.
One can adapt the map size according to the user's needs through another pop-up panel. After choosing the option 'Custom', type in the final map's dimensions (height and width in pixels). If the values are changed to 2000 x 800, for example, the preview map will adjust to show the new size.
HTML code will appear under the map preview. Take note of the code if the current map size is what you need.
Access the Notepad program and paste the HTML code from the previous step. There are no specifics to follow for naming the file, just make sure that it is saved with an '.html' extension. Your file name may be 'hometown.html', for example. Append one quotation mark before the first character and another after the last character of the file name. This ensures that Notepad stores the file with the '.html' extension (and not '.txt').
Access the HTML file from the previous step within the browser. The map will appear in the size you have chosen. The map will most likely be physically larger that your screen, so shift the map left, right, up, and down to check the 'unseen' portions.
You now have a map in the size you have specified. All that remains is to capture that map and store it as an image. Firefox ScreenGrab now comes into play. Once ScreenGrab has been installed, click on its icon in your Firefox browser. Select 'Complete Page/Frame' to save. Save the picture as any of these two file formats: PNG or JPG.
Your Google Map has been downloaded and ready for printing!
