Creating a PDF Map

Welcome to the Learn Center. Learn how to customize georeferenced PDF maps in Nova. From adding layers to displaying line names and distances in the legend, these tools help you give ground crews high-resolution maps they can rely on in the field.

Creating a PDF Map

1. Select the “Create tab” in the top left corner and select “Generate PDF”

Adjusting Size, Color and Layout

1. In the top left corner choose the “Size” drop down to see the various size options.

   

2. Select the color of your map by choosing the “Sun Icon” (white background) or the “Moon Icon” for a black background

   

3. Within the “Layouts” drop down you can adjust your map orientation and placement of your legend.

   

4. Orientation = Portrait, Legend = Right

Changing the PDF Name

1. In the top right corner select “Date_PDF” to customize your PDF name.

Elements Panel

⚠️To disable an Element, select the “Eye Icon” to remove it from your PDF⚠️

⚠️Any Elements that have an arrow > allows you to further customize the element⚠️

⚠️When customizing an element select the “Back” button to further edit the PDF⚠️

Titles

1. Select on “Titles”

   

2. Adjust PDF title, subtitle and date. All these features will be shown at the top right corner of your PDF Map

Features

1. Select on “Features”

   

2. If any text is present on your map you can select “Show Text Layers” so they will appear within the legend

   

3. Within the “Included Tab” you can select the 6 dots and drag and drop each layer to re-arrange the feature in your legend.

   

4. By selecting on the three dots next you your feature we can rename, hide quantity, exclude a feature, move to the top of the legend or move to the bottom of our legend.

Show Line Distance on Legend

If you’ve created a line, you can display its name and distance within the legend.

Select the three dots next to your line.

Choose Show Distance.

Your PDF will now show the line’s name along with its distance in the legend.

1. When a feature is excluded It will appear at the bottom under “Excluded”

   

2. To add a feature back into the legend select the plus icon within the “Excluded” tab or select “Include All”

Inset

1. By selecting on the “Inset” you can see where the PDF is being generated within your fire perimeter.

Scale Bar

1. Once you’ve enabled the “Scale Bar” it will appear on the bottom right of your map and it is self adjusted by the level of zoom from the map.

Ratio

1. The “Ratio” will appear underneath the “Scale Bar” when enabled.

   

2. For best practice we recommend adjusting the ratio so its always a whole number. Select “Confirm” to set the ratio.

Text Box

1. Select the “Text Box” to give a description about the map itself or any additional information related to the incident.

Meta Data

1. By selecting “Meta Data “we can adjust the projection, datum, date created, map produced by, and camera operator / type

   

2. Enable “Camera Operation” to define who flew the mission to capture the data.

Logos

1. Logos can be imported by dragging and dropping or by manually uploading an image.

   

2. To delete a logo select the “Delete” Button

QR Code

1. The QR code will be present at the bottom right of your map. Scan it with a mobile device to easily share the map.

Compass

1. The “Compass” is located beside the QR Code and it will always point to true north.

Grid Lines

1. You can Manually adjust the “Grid lines” by changing the “Interval” and “Offset”

Border Ticks

1. When enabled, “Border Ticks” will appear on the outside of the map layer.

Settings

1. Select the “Coordinate System” drop down to select the appropriate Coordinate system.

   

2. Select the “Notations” drop down to select the correct Notation.

Hide Legends and Borders

1. All of Nova’s, maps are georeferenced so we can hide the legends and borders to have a full geoferenced PDF.

Include Hotspot Table

1. By including a hotspot table Nova will generate the georefenced PDF with a “Hotspot Table” within a separate PDF.

Saving and Resetting Map Defaults

1. By saving the map as “Default” the map will always have the same layout for future map creations

   

2. We can reset the maps default settings at any time by selecting the “Reset to Default” button.

Generating our PDF Map

1. Select “Generate” in the top right-corner to begin processing the map.

   

2. The map will begin processing within the PDF’s Tab.

   

3. When a map is generated it will appear as a thumbnail under the “PDF’s Tab”.

   

4. Select the “Download” button to download your PDF map.

   

5. Georeferenced PDF Map overview