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Thread: Xara - Printing

  1. #1

    Default Xara - Printing

    I made a brand new map with Xara but I don't see how to print it. It's way too big for a standard european A4 format and I see no option to print it in several pieces. How should I proceed ?

  2. #2
    Community Leader Jaxilon's Avatar
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    Hopefully Gamerprinter will happen along here as I'm sure he can answer this.
    “When it’s over and you look in the mirror, did you do the best that you were capable of? If so, the score does not matter. But if you find that you did your best you were capable of, you will find it to your liking.” -John Wooden

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  3. #3

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    Hello, answer:

    1. First select all objects in the map and Arrange/Group also Window/Snap to Grid.
    2. Now create a rectangle at the size you can print (A4 or otherwise, ensure its not set larger than you can print).
    3. Place the rectangle starting in one corner, now duplicate the rectangle however many times to completely fill the map and place them adjacent to each other. It might help to zoom in close to make sure the rectangles do not overlap, nor leave spaces between.
    4. Now select all the rectangles except the first one in the corner, then Edit/Cut (these are now in the memory cache.)
    5. Select the rectangle and the group map, then Arrange/Combine/Slice.
    6. Now Edit/Paste in Place - the previously cut rectangles come back in the same place they were.
    7. Repeat steps 4 and 6 with the next map to the corner, until the entire map is sliced into appropriate print sized pieces.
    8. Next I'd create a new document at your printable (A4?) size. Go to the original map and select each sliced piece one at a time, Edit/Cut.
    9. Edit/Paste each piece into your new document one at a time. After the placement of each piece, Edit/Pages/New Page will create a new page under your first for a multipage document. Repeat this process until all slices are pasted into the new document, one page at a time.
    10. File/Print the new document - that's it!

    Make sure you save your original map, and then save the sliced version as a different file name, so can still update your original map, if you need, also save the new multi-page document with all the slices.

    If you have any problems, just post to this thread and ask away, I will follow this thread over the next few days to ensure you're not having problems.

    GP
    Last edited by Gamerprinter; 06-08-2010 at 12:43 AM.
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  4. #4

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    Gamerprinters way will work, but will make your map completely uneditable. There are some more options for you, though:

    I believe Acrobat Reader has an option to print images over multiple pages, so you could try so export it as a pdf file (do take care with the restrictions of pdf, particularly overlapping transparencies give problems). Or export it to a highres jpeg (max 14000 pix wide I believe), and turn this into a pdf. (There are also shareware or freeware applications available on the interweb that can print jpg's over multiple pages.)

    Another way is to create A4 sized rectangles (or smaller, but with the same height/width ratio) on a grid on a background layer (slightly overlapping works best for me). Select one of these (in the object gallery, because you can't see it as it is behind your map) and print the selection (in the print dialogue). If you use the same scale in the Print->Options->Print Layout, you can cut off the edges and tape the prints together.

    In a similar manner, I created some overlays that allow me to easily print seperate countries from my continent map here.

  5. #5

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    I did say to make sure you keep a separate file for your unsliced map, versus the sliced one. You can always go back to your original file to update the map, and repeat the process to slice again for printing. I do this when I need sliced maps - everytime. Though because I use a large format printer in my daytime business and Gamer Printshop, I almost never need to do this. I tend to always print complete maps, even at sizes as 42 inches by 10+ feet (whatever is necessary.) Its true there are means outside of Xara to slice your map - but the question was how to do this within Xara. My answer is still correct and works fine.

    Edit: in retrospect, you can also place the rectangle, then make the color "transparent" with no visible lines and export that as a JPG or whatever format you want, and not actually slice the map. Its just to keep the map pieces lined up perfectly, slicing works very well.

    GP
    Last edited by Gamerprinter; 06-08-2010 at 02:16 PM.
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  6. #6
    Community Leader Facebook Connected Steel General's Avatar
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    There's also PosteRazor, that works pretty well for 'slicing' up large maps.
    My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Still poking around occasionally...

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  7. #7

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    And since PosterRazor is a free program, its probably better to go that route than doing it in Xara. In PosterRazor, you import the file (JPG, TIF, etc.) use the menu provided to set the size of each map slice and hit "go". PosterRazor automatically slices the map into your print size chunks and creates a PDF file containing all the slices - then print.

    I was just explaining that this process can be done without any additional software and completely in Xara, but I agree its probably best to use something like PosterRazor.

    GP
    Gamer Printshop Publishing, Starfinder RPG modules and supplements, Map Products, Map Symbol Sets and Map Making Tutorial Guide
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  8. #8
    Community Leader Facebook Connected torstan's Avatar
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    As a note - if you use posterazor, make sure you import RGB images. For some reason it doesn't like greyscale (though that might have changed more recently).

  9. #9

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    Thanks everybody' for your input, very instructive. I understand the concept behind Gamerprinter's process and I will use it for I don't need to repeat it one hundred times ;-) I just put together a raw map for a battletech campaign it's no work of art and I prefer to stay within Xara for this quick job. While looking for a solution I also stumbled on this option in File/Print option/Print settings (well at least that's how I translate the menu). You can select a particular coordinate to print a page at the size defined in the page options. Its takes some fiddling but if one doesn't mind some overlaps it's not too bad. You need to display the print borders (in the menu "window") in order to visualize what you are doing, however.

  10. #10

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    Here's a Battletech map I've done in Xara, posted in the forum... I don't play much, hadn't in years anyway, played this map and none since.

    http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...attletech+maps

    GP
    Gamer Printshop Publishing, Starfinder RPG modules and supplements, Map Products, Map Symbol Sets and Map Making Tutorial Guide
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