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Using OpenStreetMap maps in Eye4Software GPS Mapping Software - Tutorial

Introduction

OpenStreetMap is a website that offers map data for free. The website is owned by the openstreetmap foundation which exists to protect, promote, and support the project, but does not own the data. All data offered by OpenStreetMaps is offered under the "Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0" license.

This document discusses how you can use this map data in Eye4Software GPS Mapping Studio. There are various ways to use the map data from the website, one of them is to export sections of the map as PNG or JPG images.

For a tutorial on how to import OpenStreetMap XML data, read the "Import OpenStreetMap XML data" tutorial.

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Exporting the map data to an image file (PNG or JPG)

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To export a portion of the map data, just open your web browser and go to "http://www.openstreetmaps.org". If this is the first time you visit the site, a base map is presented. Using the mouse to center the map, and the mouse wheel to zoom in and out on the map, you can select the area you want to export.

Click the "Export" tab on top of the map display to show the export options. To export part of the map as PNG file, select the "Mapnik Image" format and select either PNG or JPG as export format. Then click the "Export" button to create and download the map image. In this example this map is saved as "map.png".

Please note that the scale of the exported PNG file is adjustable. To get a higher resolution image, you can decrease the scale to 1 : 8650. When the scale is set to high, images will get blury on higher zooming levels.

In the upper-left corner you will notice the export area, you are going to need this coordinates to calibrate the map, so we write down the coordinates of the upper-left and lower-right corners of the map:

 LAT 52.26727 N, LON 6.69341 E
 LAT 52.25180 N, LON 6.73002 E

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Importing the map image

Now that you have saved the map data as an image, you can load the map into the Eye4Software GPS Mapping Studio. This can be done by selecting "Import" => "Import Map..." from the "File" menu, and selecting the map file, for instance "map.png". Please make sure you select the following file type as filter: "Portable Network Graphics (*.png)". The map will now be loaded and displayed.

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Calibrating the map image

To calibrate the map image, you have to open the "Map Calibration and Projection" window. To open this window, right-click on the map in the "Project Explorer" and select the "Show Calibration Info..." option. The "Map Calibration and Projection" dialog will now appear.

We are going to calibrate the map by entering the coordinates of the map's boundaries, so click the "Bounds..." button first. The following dialog will appear:

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Now enter the upper-left and lower-right coordinates of the map, as displayed in the export area section of the OpenStreetMaps webpage (or the coordinates you have written down). Please note that the coordinates are in decimal format, you can set the input boxes to decimal latitude- and longitude format from the "Units Settings" window which can be accessed by clicking "Options" => "Preferences" menu option. Click "OK" when you are finished entering these coordinates.

The software will now create the calibration points for the 4 corners off the map, which are displayed in the list. Before calculating the calibration info, you have to set the map projection to be used. Click the "Projection" button, the Projection window will appear:

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Select the "Map is projected..." option, click the "Select..." button, and locate the "World - 3395 - WGS84 World Mercator" option from the list. This projection uses the Mercator projection on the WGS84 ellipsoid, which is the same projection as used by OpenStreetMaps.

After you clicked "OK" twice, the "Map Calibration and Projection" window should look like this:

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Finishing the map calibration process

To finish the calibration process, just click the "Calculate" button followed by the "Save" button. You are now ready to use the map, for instance to project your routes and waypoints on it.

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