Shadows give the illusion of elevation, light source, and position. Designers have used shadows to raise awareness of items on the screen, including regions on a map.

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To give the viewer an idea of where the subject of the map is, designers often like to add an inset map which shows the greater area. This gives the viewer the opportunity to focus on the specific location mentioned in the story, as well as familiarize themselves with the general location.

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The administrative user of XPression Maps has to configure the system to provide the desired languages in the XPression Maps Software to present to the artists and newsroom users. Once you know the secret, it is pretty easy to set up and shouldn’t require any attention afterwards. Well… here is how to set it up. Just watch and learn.

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There are several of our customers who either have artists who speak one language and support another for content creation, or artists and journalists who support multiple outlets which require multiple languages supported. 

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The XPression Maps Server workflow allows newsroom users to access Map Templates to create map content for their programs. However, it is possible that more than one group or show unit may access the same XPression Maps Server. To assure that Newsroom users are only using the XPression Maps templates or content created for their show unit, it is now possible to control access by roles, or user groups, to the folders using Folder Attributes.

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Ever have an issue where you think you shared an Excel file, but you can’t have it open and XPression DataLinq™ also using it? Well, that is because Microsoft changed how they share Excel files. However, there is a workaround, it is called LEGACY MODE. Watch and learn how to use Legacy Mode in Excel, to really share an Excel file.

XPression Maps was developed with the assumption that there would only be one XPression Maps Designer creating Maps content. The Shape Database holds information about the Text String (labels), the Long/Lat (X/Y) position of the labels, and also what shape file is used to represent the administrative boundaries.

It is now possible to add the Shapes Database to the shared (or Master) database when using two or more XPression Maps Designer workstations.

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When creating a map for a national level story, the display of bodies of water can distract from the general map presentation. To allow Maps Designers the ability to control how bodies of water are shown, we have added a MAX RANK for bodies of water, with 1 being only the absolute largest lakes and 10 being all the bodies of water. This allows an XPression Maps Designer to control the bodies of water, within the Map Style they are using and additional controls in the OpenStreetMaps Overlay settings.

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XPression Maps has always supported creating a border for countries as they are shown on a map. However, borders that are along an ocean were not drawn, as the water is assumed to be the border, or in some cases the administrative border might extend into the ocean, sea, or other bodies of water.

It is now possible to show the border alongside the body of water, using the resolution quality shown in the properties panel.

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Designers are often asked to export a still image of a map they create. However, their default file format might not be the first choice presented in the XPression Maps Designer software. With the latest update, XPression Maps Designer will remember the last file format saved, and automatically present that as the File Format choice.

There is also a new configuration choice for the Compression Quality settings of JPEG files saved in XPression Maps.

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