The whole arc

Making a Map is four stages, in this order, and only the second one is difficult. This page is the map of them; each stage links to the pages that do the work.

The four stages

In words, and in order: Upload the image, then Calibrate with Anchor Points, then Draw Areas of Interest, then Publish or keep it private. Nothing later can repair a bad earlier stage, which is why the order matters more than it looks.

1. Upload the image

Pick a picture of the venue and put it into the editor. Ten minutes, and the whole quality of the finished Map is decided here — a distorted or low-detail image cannot be rescued later.

• Choose and prepare a venue image
• Upload the image
• Name it and pick an icon

2. Calibrate with Anchor Points

Tell the editor which spot on your image corresponds to which spot on Earth, at least three times. This is the stage that decides whether the Map works, it is the only stage that needs information you may not already have, and it is where every map creator spends their time.

• What calibration is, and why three points is the minimum
• Place your first three Anchor Points
• Where to get the real-world coordinates for a spot
• Read the accuracy heat map

3. Draw Areas of Interest

Outline and name the parts of the venue that matter — a stage, a bar, a lift queue, a car park. This is what turns somewhere on the map into at the food court, and what arrival notifications name. Optional, quick, and the part that makes the Map feel finished.

• Draw an Area
• Name an Area and give it an icon
• Announced or quiet
• Add floors to an Area

4. Publish or keep it private

Decide who gets it. Private to you, shared with your own Group without publishing, or submitted for the public catalog and reviewed first.

• Keep it private, or list it publicly
• Submit for review
• Let your Group use an unpublished map

The one rule that governs everything after stage 4

A published Map cannot be edited. Once it is out, changes go into a new Map Version rather than into the Map you published. Every map creator meets this exactly once, and it is much less unpleasant if you meet it here instead: a published map cannot be edited.

The practical consequence for stages 1–3: get calibration right before you publish, because that is the change you are most likely to want afterwards.

Where the stages happen

Stages 1, 2 and 4 are the browser Map Editor, in your Library at friendtrack.net. Stage 3 is too, though Areas and floors can also be captured on site from the phone — capture Areas and floors on site.

Before you start any of it

Read what you need before you start. It is one page and it is the difference between finishing and abandoning at stage 2.