After my "field trip" up north in June I discussed the ideas for making the maps easier to use on a handheld device. The assumption being maps could either be viewed on the Google Photos site online, or downloaded to a device and browsed offline.
After considering a range of options, adding navigational arrows and labels to the existing maps was felt to be the most easy solution for making it easy for people using the maps to know which way to swipe or click to view the next map in the direction they would be travelling in. The map production template for 16:9 landscape view was then customised to add these navigational labels.
I did a little testing before I got asked to produce the maps for the Tawa Historical Society's book, and I put the nav labels onto the THS maps, as well as every other map I have produced in the last couple of months.
The nav labels have proved themselves well enough for me to roll out the first full set of maps using them. To recap, I promised to churn out all of the older map series, the ones that used to be hosted on Flickr, as diagrams (that is to say, greyscale maps without an aerial photo background) just so that people could at least use them, until all the maps are updated.
Because around the same time I received a request for maps of the Main North Line, I'm pleased to say that today I have produced a set of 168 maps of the Main North Line. They are now available online in the NZ Rail Maps Google Plus collection for Volume 10.
As time permits more of these diagrams will be added so that at least there are some maps available for people to look at. Google Photos (where the maps are hosted) will allow you to download an entire album in a single zip file so that you can save the maps onto your favourite device for offline use.
