Maps and Drawings

Other than most scientific plots, maps and technical drawings have typically only one scale. Often this scale is indicated in one corner on the map. Using this scale allows you to measure distances on maps or the size of objects in a technical drawing with the Measure Tool. See the referring help section for a description of the Measure Tool window.

 

To setup a map for measuring proceed as follows:

  1. Load the map (or use Screen Scan).
  2. Position the cursor on the one end of the scale indicator on the map.
  3. Go to the Measure Tool window and press the Start Measuring button. xyscan will mark the start point with a green marker as shown in the example above.
  4. Move the cursor to the other end of the scale indicator. The green line drawn by xyscan should now equal the size of the scale indicator on the map.
  5. In the unit selection pull down button select User Scale. A one-line edit text box appears as shown in the example below.

  6. Enter the referring length indicated on the map (0.5 miles in the example above) in the scale field and press Ctrl+N (macOS: ⌘+N). This shortcut will auto-normalize the entered value (0.5), meaning it will divide it by the length (in pixel) of the scale indicator on the map (232.5 in the example).

Instead of (6) you can of course always calculate the scale by hand by dividing the referring length indicated on the map by the length in pixel indicated in the distance field (r). Both methods define the same scale, the first is just more convenient and quicker.

With that you scale is defined and you can start measuring distances and angles on the map.