Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Maps/Archive 2016

International education funding maps
Hi All

UNESCO (where I currently work) has released 120 maps of international education funding which you can find on Commons here.

They have also released a lot of other content which may be useful, I created a set of pages on Meta to help people navigate it.

Many thanks

John Cummings (talk) 14:50, 5 January 2016 (UTC)

Maps_in_the_National_Library_of_Wales
I just noticed that Wikimedia commons has Some nice map images of maps in the national library of wales. Thought I'd highlight them in case anyone had a use for them. EdwardLane (talk) 11:34, 7 January 2016 (UTC)

Multiple States Map
Hello all, the short version is that I am wondering if there is an easy way to create a map of multiple US states similar to the map on this USDA.gov page. The long version: I recently got a fairly nice camera and figured a fun wikipedia project would be to take pictures of native plants in my area that don't currently have images in their articles. Then I realized that the plant articles may also be improved by including a map of the states they are native to. For example a map of where Symphyotrichum sericeum can be found is available on USDA.gov, but not in a format that can easily be imported into wikipedia. Basically I want to have a map like one of these but have more than one state on it like the ones on USDA.gov I tried downloading inkscape but i very quickly found that either i just don't understand it at all, or it's not as simple to work with as other image editing softwares. Kevlar (talk) 20:01, 19 January 2016 (UTC)
 * You could download this SVG map and instead of editing it in Inkscape or some other image editor, simply open it in Notepad/TextEdit/gedit/whatever plain text processor you have on your computer. Then inside the  tags just after the   block, you can add a new block to color in the states you want with a certain color. For example, if you wanted to reproduce the state map you linked above for Symphyotrichum sericeum, you could add the line

.tx,.nm,.ok,.ar,.mo,.ks,.ne,.ia,.il,.in,.oh,.mi,.wi,.mn,.sd,.nd {fill:#81BD88;}


 * there. Here is a test map showing the same thing. It doesn't include Canada, but it is at least a start.--Dudemanfellabra (talk) 21:16, 20 January 2016 (UTC)


 * Holy smokes! That is so easy it's almost like voodoo. Thank you so much for showing me that! Kevlar (talk) 22:13, 20 January 2016 (UTC)
 * Hey, somebody took that test map down. I didn't get to see it.  Also, there is no   anywhere in that SVG map file.  I checked, it's totally not there. 2001:4930:121:0:FCB4:48C5:2D2F:F4 (talk) 02:42, 13 February 2016 (UTC)


 * question can this method be used to create multi-state maps that can have locations posted on them, similar to the map at List of colleges and universities in Kansas, but for only Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and Iowa (for use at Heart of America Athletic Conference)? I have never made a map for use on Wikipedia.--Paul McDonald (talk) 18:47, 22 January 2016 (UTC)
 * That looks like something that would probably be better done with Location map+, but I can't find a base map with just those four states. Maybe you could use the entire US as a background or try to find someone who can make a map similar to Location map USA West for this region.--Dudemanfellabra (talk) 09:54, 23 January 2016 (UTC)

Need help updating a map as per MOS:COLOR
Hello, I wish to ask if the red and green colors File:Nyc_subway_underground_or_overground_track_position.svg can be changed to blue and orange, and if so, how. Any help is appreciated. Thanks. epicgenius (talk) 16:15, 1 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Not that I'm against the idea, but I wonder why you feel it should be changed. Is there any chance it might be to reflect the colors of the flag of New York City? -User:DanTD (talk) 16:48, 1 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Please see Talk:New York City Subway. ɱ  (talk · vbm  · coi) 16:58, 1 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Ehh, I had time so I just did it. ɱ  (talk · vbm  · coi) 17:19, 1 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Thanks a bunch! epicgenius (talk) 17:31, 1 March 2016 (UTC)
 * There was a color-blindness issue? I had no idea. -User:DanTD (talk) 06:39, 2 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Yeah. Apparently, it's red-green colorblindness. epicgenius (talk) 14:08, 2 March 2016 (UTC)

Defining styles for the Maps service
The Maps service needs guidance on maps are needed by the projects, and this page appears to be an excellent starting point. Basically we will need to determine what types of maps are needed, what usage each map will get, and design the styles accordingly. Thanks! --Yurik (talk) 02:01, 25 March 2016 (UTC)

Creating map based on Google Earth
Hi. I am creating a detailed power grid map of Sri Lanka on Google Earth, using the 'path' tool. Is it possible to use this data to generate a map for use on Wikipedia? Reh man  00:48, 26 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Please read the Google Earth Terms of Service to see if what you can do is allowed. Normally, using Google Earth for private use is allowed but you aren't allowed to distribute stuff you create publicly. —seav (talk) 03:01, 26 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I missed out some points. I didn't mean to use Google Earth content, but to use the available Google Earth placemarks data to create a new map... Reh  man  13:56, 26 March 2016 (UTC)

View the history of an image as an animation
Ever wanted to view the history of a regularly updated map (like File:Syrian, Iraqi, and Lebanese insurgencies.png) as an animation? Try out AnimatedHistory! Comments and links to other solutions are welcome. Petr Matas 05:11, 31 March 2016 (UTC)

Pushpin maps for Eugene and Salem, Oregon
I've been going through articles and adding pushpin maps to Oregon articles with coordinates. We have a pushpin map for Oregon, Portland, and downtown Portland, but not (as far as I know) other Oregon cities. This means many non-PDX articles just display a map of Oregon. Does anyone know how to create, or request, pushpin maps for other cities? It would be nice to have one for Eugene and Salem, for starters. Thanks. --- Another Believer ( Talk ) 19:04, 9 April 2016 (UTC)

Images for OpenStreetMap Benin
Please take a look at this “Crowdfunding Initiative” on this link (in French). I am "spamming" it on some wiki platforms. Only few hundreds of dollars are missing and the deadline is in 5 days. Wikimedia italy will try to help as well as an organization.--Alexmar983 (talk) 10:57, 27 April 2016 (UTC)

New colour ramp for topographic maps
Hi all, I would like discuss the possibility of improving the quality of topographic maps adding more colour ramps for positive altitudes. The idea rose reading this article where different colour schemes are proposed according to climatic regions. Four macro-regions are found: arid, warm-humid (tropical), cold-humid (temperate) and polar. Checking the colour codes, over 1000 m of elevation they maintain the same sequence (except for polar regions), while they change between -400 to 1000 m. Actual convention renders very well map of temperate regions, so my proposal is to create 2 new colour ramps up to 1000 m for arid (e.g. yellow-brown) and tropical (e.g. dark green) regions and another only for polar regions. Giovanni Caudullo (talk) 14:15, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

Request for comments on Mediawiki
See mw:Maps/Conversation about interactive map use--Alexmar983 (talk) 02:47, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
An interesting point has been made on the talk page of that article about the use of red and green shades on the results map, given the numbers of people red-green colour blindness. Editors with experience of map design may wish to be involved in the discussion - recognising that the usual red-blue-yellow etc. colours are conventionally used for existing political parties in the UK, and the referendum crosses party boundaries so should use different colours if at all possible. Ghmyrtle (talk) 07:50, 22 June 2016 (UTC)

Forgotten states in the Italian maps
See Talk:Italian_Wars.--Nickanc (talk) 23:10, 22 July 2016 (UTC)

Location map giving errors when used in an infobox
Hi

When I use in a Location map (as outlined in the Coordinate-referenced map templates section) in an infobox I get random bits on wikicode at the top of the infobox, is there any way to fix this?

Thanks

--John Cummings (talk) 21:31, 9 August 2016 (UTC)


 * I'm thinking you've sorted the problem, John? --Tagishsimon (talk) 04:15, 10 August 2016 (UTC)

the history of cartography free online
quick quote from the article here "The University of Chicago Press has made available online — at no cost — the first three volumes of The History of Cartography. Or what Edward Rothstein, of The New York Times, called “the most ambitious overview of map making ever undertaken.”"

sounds good, not had a chance to investigate yet EdwardLane (talk) 07:58, 21 August 2016 (UTC)

Help with D.C. map
Any chance I could get some help with File:Location map Washington, D.C. central.svg? The roads look kind of fat when it's used in the infobox (compared with, say, File:Location map Washington, D.C. central.png). I'd actually love an infobox map that focused more on the National Mall—I imagine the context of the locations on the Mall matters much more for spacial orientation than its relation to Chinatown, but what do you think? czar 01:11, 27 July 2016 (UTC)
 * Please ping me if you can assist—I'm unwatching this page Eye close font awesome.svg czar  14:11, 21 August 2016 (UTC)

Category:Google Street View
Serious question: what's the rationale behind this category of articles? All they are are effectively lists of software updates, and they're all out of date. MSJapan (talk) 00:38, 22 August 2016 (UTC)

WikiConference North America 2016
Those attending WikiConference North America this year may be interested in a talk I've proposed discussing OpenStreetMap: "Be bold and edit the map". I'm looking forward to hopefully meeting some of the folks behind this WikiProject at WikiConference. (I'm hoping to attend regardless of whether my talk is accepted, but that's up to logistics at this point.) – Minh Nguyễn &#x1f4ac; 15:29, 1 September 2016 (UTC)
 * I won't be at the conference, but I share your interest in OSM (with an emphasis on off-road paths and navigation). If you publish slides, notes, or the talk itself, I'd be interested. Barte (talk) 16:13, 3 September 2016 (UTC)

Israel
Where does one go to get informed neutral input for the discussion at Israel, where it is proposed to put territories annexed or controlled by Israel within the map of that country, though neither the annexations nor the control of the territories to be included has any legitimacy in international law or recognition?Nishidani (talk) 19:26, 19 September 2016 (UTC)
 * This post smells of canvassing. The posting editor is in a minority opinion at that talkpage, so now he insinuates that those who disagree with him are not "informed". In addition, the editors who disagree with him there, are at least as neutral as he is. And to top it all off, I don't think there is a policy or guideline that tells us how to design maps for use on Wikipedia, that would overrule the local consensus. Debresser (talk) 19:44, 19 September 2016 (UTC)
 * Oh for Christ's sake. This is a technical issue. No one there has any competence in the implications of maps, and what wiki conventions are. I alerted the page, not to shift discussion here, but to ask where editors can find illumination. Nishidani (talk) 20:04, 19 September 2016 (UTC)
 * If this is a technical issue, don't misrepresent it. Nobody suggested to mark these territories as being fully part of Israel, there are several territories with different degrees of control and different legal status. They should be indicated on the map differently with appropriate labels. &#8220;WarKosign&#8221; 20:23, 19 September 2016 (UTC)
 * "Anyway, just like China, Sudan, Cyprus and Russia's maps include claimed, disputed and occupied territories, the map of Israel should include, in light green, territories the State of Israel claim are its sovereign territory"
 * I.e. the map of the state of Israel should include what is universally recognized to be Syrian territory. You have a profound conflict between an Israeli claim, and the internationally acknowledged borders of Syria, which means we should then, by parity, put on the map of Syria at Syria a light green shading indicating that this is disputed (not occupied) territory, and does not, in law, belong to Syria. Wikipedia is neutral. This profoundly flawed attempt to get into Wikipedia, a claim supported by one nation, profoundly compromises one of the 5 pillars, Neutral point of view, in my view. But specialists in maps have wider experience of these problems. Let's hear from them. Perhaps they will concur with one of the two positions, on technical grounds, not on ethnonationalist grounds or opposition to them, as is the case on the talk page.Nishidani (talk) 20:37, 19 September 2016 (UTC)
 * There isn't a technical or stylistic issue here. Our map conventions allow for the depiction of disputed territories in a number of ways depending on the type of map. If I understand correctly, what's being discussed here is an orthographic location map, so they should be depicted in a lighter green. What constitutes a disputed territory is purely down to the editorial judgement of the map maker and/or editors of the article in question. Joe Roe (talk) 21:18, 19 September 2016 (UTC)

Location map Mediterranean
I am using the Template:Location map Mediterranean in the article 16th Air Expeditionary Task Force to show the locations of this US air force's unit in 1989 (Structure in 1989). However there is a problem: all of the locations are displayed at the correct locations, except for the three locations in Spain. The air bases in Italy, Greece and Turkey are at the correct place, while the ones in Spain are too far to the right and in the middle of the sea... I tried to tweak the template, but without success. If anyone could please have a look or let me know how to fix this. Thank you, noclador (talk) 12:13, 25 September 2016 (UTC)
 * I blame the Greenwich Meridian. A set of West latitudes were being read as East. Fixed. --Tagishsimon (talk) 16:03, 25 September 2016 (UTC)
 * Thank you very much for the quick response, help and fix! noclador (talk) 20:50, 25 September 2016 (UTC)

Netherlands relief location map
I am using 3x location map templates in the article Second Allied Tactical Air Force. Two of which come out in relief format as desired, but the third map I can't get to show up in relief format. The map in question is the File:Netherlands relief location map.svg. I tried to tweak the map + template, but for an unknow reason this one map won't show as a relief map. Could someone please have a look? Thanks you very much in advance. noclador (talk) 01:32, 2 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Just a guess, not having looked at the successes, but Location map Netherlands has an empty parameter: image1 = reserved for relief map, and Netherlands relief location map.svg is listed as Image2. If that is indeed a valid relief map, then I suspect that if it is entered as the argument for the image1 parameter, your problem will be solved. --Tagishsimon (talk) 01:39, 2 October 2016 (UTC)
 * First: thank you for the rapid response. Second: Huh? Sorry to ask for specifics, but I am confused as to where I should enter what. If you could please tell me where to do what, I will do it right away. Thank you, noclador (talk) 01:47, 2 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Sorry, that was my last edit of the night, hence the delay. I've made a change - please try your relief map again and let me know here if it works. --Tagishsimon (talk) 08:50, 2 October 2016 (UTC)
 * It works! Thank you. Your response time and help are much appreciated. Thank you very much and a good Sunday to you :-) noclador (talk) 11:49, 2 October 2016 (UTC)

Non-english maps in English Wikipedia articles
I'm looking for guidance on using non-English language maps in English Wikipedia. While I'm seeking an appropriate open source map in English, can I use one in Russian? Crock81 (talk) 00:15, 13 October 2016 (UTC)
 * It's not ideal but afaik it's not prohibited. You might try Commons:Graphic_Lab which has a maps section. Don't know if they're still up & running, but they might be of some assistance? --Tagishsimon (talk) 00:21, 13 October 2016 (UTC)

Recusancy
I don't know if this is the right page on which to leave this comment, but, here it is: in the article Recusancy, there is a map with this caption:


 * Geographical distribution of English Catholic Recusancy, 1715–20.

In the key to the map, there are ranges of percentages. The last range is now: 3–%.

Shouldn't it be written either:


 * 0–3% (i.e., with the lower number to the left), or


 * < 3% (i.e., "less than 3%")? If there is agreement, perhaps someone with the ability to edit the key to the map could correct this. If not, maybe someone could explain to me what "3–%" means. – Corinne (talk) 00:22, 6 November 2016 (UTC)

Also, upon looking at the key, or legend, again, I see that the ranges are written with ampersands (&):


 * 10 & 20%
 * 5 & 8%
 * 3 & 4%

Shouldn't these be written with an en-dash?


 * 10–20%
 * 5–8%
 * 3–4% – Corinne (talk) 00:25, 6 November 2016 (UTC)
 * You're quite right. Rather than just changing the labels I've taken the opportunity to make a new version that follows our map conventions, File:Catholics in England 1715-20.svg, and added it to the article. (For future reference, the map workshop is the usual place for requests like this.) Joe Roe (talk) 20:36, 1 December 2016 (UTC)

Map needed at List of North American deserts
The extent of the four deserts are described in prose, but it is difficult to get an idea of their relative sizes and locations. A map would be very helpful here. —Mark Dominus (talk) 15:29, 1 December 2016 (UTC)
 * The map workshop would be a better place for future requests, but that sounds like a fun map to make – Crystal Clear app clock-orange.svg In progress. Joe Roe (talk) 19:27, 1 December 2016 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done I've added a map to the article. Joe Roe (talk) 22:47, 1 December 2016 (UTC)
 * Good job, ; well done. --Tagishsimon (talk) 01:25, 2 December 2016 (UTC)
 * Thanks, that looks great! I will read about the map workshop so that I can remember it for later.  —Mark Dominus (talk) 13:02, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

Updated maps for the Second Avenue Subway
The first phase of the Second Avenue Subway is going to open on Sunday. There are two maps here that need to be updated. The first, the map for the Q train, File:NYCS_map_Q.svg needs to have the dotted line replaced by a solid red line. The map for the N should have a dotted line over the Second Avenue Line to 96th Street. It would be great if these could be done soon. Thanks.--Kew Gardens 613 (talk) 21:03, 30 December 2016 (UTC)