Introduction to Scribble Maps - PBworks · The “Map ID” is a randomly generated combination of letters and numbers that will be used to find your map on the Scribble Map on-line

Introduction to Scribble Maps

Scribble Maps is a free, on-line tool that allows users to draw on and edit Google maps.

First, we are going to go to to start our tutorial.

When the web page first loads, you will see the Home Screen:

For now, we are going to ignore this screen so we can see some of the tools we can use to edit

our map. Simply click the “X” at the top right corner of the home screen to close it.

You can zoom in and out in one of two ways. If your mouse has a wheel, you can use the wheel

to zoom in and out. Alternatively, you can use the zoom tool on the right side of your screen.

Clicking on the plus sign will zoom in, centered on the crosshair in the middle of the screen. To

shift the center of the map, simply left-click and drag the map around using the hand icon that

follows the movement of the mouse.

Let’s zoom in to downtown Pittsburgh.

As an example, we are going to create a Scribble Map that outlines my daily commute from the city of

Pittsburgh to Hampton High School in Allison Park, PA.

First, I am going to zoom in to my neighborhood in Bluff:

To indicate the start location for this “trip,” I am going to place a marker where I begin my commute.

This can be done by selecting the “Place Marker” icon in the Scribble Maps toolbar:

After you click this icon, the “Marker Selection” window should appear.

Once you decide which marker you would like to use, click on the marker design in the “Marker

Selection” window. The marker will then follow your mouse movement on the map. To place the

marker at a given location, left-click while the marker is following your mouse:

When the marker is placed, a dialog box will

immediately appear prompting you to input a

title and description for this landmark. This is

how to do simple editing of a landmark.

If you click the “Advanced Editing” link at the bottom

of the dialog box, it will bring up more options to

customize your landmark. Many of the tools are

similar to those in Microsoft office—changing font size

and color, text alignment, and adding a bulleted list.

There are also two buttons on the right that allow you to add outside media. The button with the gears

allows you to link to an external image. The YouTube button allows you to embed a YouTube video.

Since I am starting my commute in Pittsburgh, I am going embed the video of the song “Steel State of

Mind” in the Description.

Once you are done editing, left-click the “Save” button.

To be able to interact with markers placed on our map, we need to have the “Select” tool selected in the

Scribble Maps Toolbar:

Left-click on the marker to test your newly-created landmark.

Now that we have created a landmark, let’s create another one for our final destination. (Note: Make

sure that when you are trying to drag the map around that the “Drag Map” tool is selected in the

Scribble Maps Toolbar).

If you don’t feel like dragging the map around to try to find your next location, you can simply input

addresses or key words in the search bar located directly beneath the Scribble Maps Toolbar. To find

Hampton Township High School, I am going to input its address into the search bar (2929 McCully Road,

Allison Park, PA 15101). Then, hit the “Find” button (magnifying glass icon on the right side).

The address has brought us to

the proper location, but where is

the high school? Sometimes, it

can be difficult to find landmarks

in the default “Map” view used

by Google Maps. Let’s bring the

map into “Satellite” view so we

can locate the high school.

The options are at the bottom right of the screen. Click the “Satellite” button to bring the map into

“Satellite” mode.

This is a common problem you will face when inputting addresses or landmark names (example:

Cathedral of Learning). Satellite Mode can help you pinpoint exactly where a landmark is.

We now have two markers on our personalized map. What if we wanted to figure out the relative

distance between these two points?

To figure this out, we are going to use the “Draw Lines” tool in the Scribble Maps Toolbar:

FOUND IT!

This tool is extremely easy to use—just left-click at the first point, and then left-click at the second point.

A line will be drawn between the two points:

If you take your mouse and hover over the line that you just drew, it will show the

distance between the points in kilometers. At this point in time, it does not appear

that there is a built-in feature to have the distance displayed in miles instead of

kilometers. For now, you will have to use the conversion factor for kilometers to

miles (1 kilometer = 0.62 miles). According to my Scribble Map, my commute from

uptown Pittsburgh to Hampton High School is 10.3 miles.

What if I wanted to show the path that I take to get out of the city and onto Route 28? To do this, I

would use the “Scribble” tool in the Scribble Maps Toolbar:

Using this tool, you can easily draw paths and patterns on your personal map. If you would like to

change the color of the lines you are adding to your map, you can do so using the color palette to the

right of the Scribble Maps Toolbar:

You can also change the opacity of the lines/shapes, as well as line thickness.

What if we wanted to outline the entirety of Hampton High School in Scribble Maps?

Using the Scribble Maps Toolbar, select the “Draw Shapes” icon:

This tool can be used to draw an irregular shape around a particular area on the map. Simply left-click

to start a new side of the polygon.

As you can see, the image is blurred under the polygon. You can either change the opacity of the

polygon before you draw it using the palette on the right of the toolbar:

An easier way to make the landscape more visible underneath the polygon would be to change the

“blend mode.” This can be done by clicking the tab that is by default set on “NORMAL.”

Typically, “OVERLAY” is the most effective setting to color-code regions of the map:

Now, we are going to save our map. To do this, we are going to click “Menu” on the Scribble Maps

Toolbar:

Once the Menu appears, you will left-click “Save Map”:

The “Map ID” is a randomly generated combination of letters and

numbers that will be used to find your map on the Scribble Map on-

line database. You can give your map a “Title” and “Description,”

and you can also choose to have your map “AutoSave” every 5

minutes so that you do not lose your work.

Additionally, you can “Delist” your map, which means that no one

else other than people with the password will be able to view your

map.

You will be prompted to provide a password so that you can access your map with your Map ID. Click

“Save” to save your map.

Your Map ID will be given back to you, as well as two links—one to share your map with other people,

and another map to directly link back to your map in Scribble Maps. Click “Ok” to return to the map

editor.

To load your map, you will return to the Menu, and click “Load / Import.”

Simply input your Map ID, and you will be prompted to enter your

password. Once you have done this, your map will be loaded!

You can also load the map using the URL that was provided to you

when you saved your map.

Regardless, you must have either the Map ID OR the URL (as well as the

password) in order to retrieve your map from Scribble Maps.

Using a combination of lines, shapes, and markers, you can

effectively create a tour of any region of the world using Scribble

Maps!