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The Cartography System was introduced with the Legacy of Ykesha expansion and a few modifications have been made since its release. It is an in game map tool that allows you view and create maps of the areas you visit. It is available under the Map window which can be opened using the M key, the default keyboard setting. You can also navigate through the EQ menu icon to Navigation - Atlas/Map. Customized maps can be created for most zones. However, there may be some zones that restrict access of making a map. Maps files are stored in the default directory path of:EverQuest\maps.
The Map window has two tabs - The current map and Atlas. When you enter a zone, the current map will automatically update to the current zone. The Atlas is a full-color interactive map of the world that can be used to point-and-click from a world view, to a continent view, to a zone view of the maps regardless of which zone you are located. It's very useful for planning ahead. Your character's location on the map is designated by an arrow symbol. The arrow indicates the direction that your character is facing.You can move the view of the map around using the scroll and + and - buttons or you can use the mouse.To use the mouse to move the map, hold down the left mouse button while over the map area, then you can drag the map around. Use the Mouse Wheel to zoom in and out.
Show Group - toggles the display of group members in the current zone.
Layers - Each zone map has four layers. The first layer is reserved for default maps that we provide. You can create three additional layers for your maps. You will be able to turn on or off any of these map layers in any combination.
Visible - This determines which layers are visible.
If you make a custom map and don't want the default map to show, make sure the Base button is not depressed.
Active - This determines which layer is active 1, 2 or 3. You may only have 1 active layer at a time.
Base layers - The base layers are the files of zone names without any numbers.
Customized layers – The customized layers have the zone names and have 1, 2, or 3 to represent the corresponding layer number.
Labels - This toggles displaying of labels on and off.
Labels can be used to enhance your maps. They are markers (a "+" symbol) with text attached. You can choose the color for the label text as well as one of three text sizes. Labels can be edited or removed easily, and you can toggle labels on and off.
Height Filter - With this you can toggle filtering lines based on your position and the high and low values.
You may use the Height Filter to filter out parts of the map that are above or below a certain level relative to your character.
When the Height Filter turned off, the entire map will be displayed. If the Height Filter is turned on the map will only display the number of units above (High) and below (Low) the character. You can set the Low and High setting to the numbers that suit you best. In some locations, such as tall buildings or towers, levels of the map too far above or below you aren't really useful, and may be very confusing so the Height Filter will help you to only display what is near you. The default settings for High and Low is 10.
Current Zone - If you use the Atlas to scout out different zones, this button will reset the map to the current zone.
Default Selector - Allows for custom or default map file folder selection.
Zone Guide - Tool used for displaying travel routes through multiple zones.
When drawing maps, you can go to one location, mark that as a starting point for a line, then move to another and mark the end of the line. A line will be drawn between those two points. Or you can draw continuous lines by starting a line and moving around adding points as you go until you choose to end the line. You can also turn on the automatic mode that will start the line where you are and add new points every time your character changes directions until you choose to end the line.
Here's a brief description of how each of the buttons on the Map Toolbar work:
Select colors for lines, text and labels. The default maps use the following convention for colors.
Terrain
Objects
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eq:Maps and Cartography tags: mapping, cartography, zone, map, maps, guide