Download free maps as high-res gh- images

What you need: Map Puzzle; Any Windows version (XP to 10) Time required: 30 minutes

Map

Puzzle is a new free program that lets you download maps of any area that you want as high-resolution images. It lets you download maps from different services, including Google and Bing. You can then print these or save them on your PC or phone for quick access. The program also has options to let you download maps in bulk and highlight hiking or cycling routes within your maps.

STEP1

To install the program, go to www.mappuzzle.se and click Download Map Puzzle at the bottom of the page. On the page that opens, scroll to the bottom, then click the ‘Download Map Puzzle v1.6.5 exe’ link (this was the version number at the time of writing). Open the downloaded setup file, then click Run to open it. The program sits in your taskbar. First, ensure that you update it so it can add the most recent map databases. To do that, click the General Application Settings tab 1 , click Check And Download Updates 2 and wait until you see OK in the status window at the bottom 3 .

STEP3

In the window that opens, you’ll see the area you typed into the Address bar within a red square 1 . By default everything within the square will be downloaded as an image to your PC. It’s a good idea to zoom into a smaller area so that details on your map will be clearer. To do that, click the expand icon 2 , click and drag to select the map area that you want to download 3 , then click the tick icon 4 . You’ll now see the red border around the area you selected. Repeat the step until the specific map area that you want is within the red border. After clicking the tick icon, close the Preview window.

STEP2

Next, click the Map Settings tab 1 , then click the Base (Required) dropdown menu 2 . Here, you’ll see a list of over 30 different map services, including Google Maps and Bing. Now type a city, address or postcode of any place into the Address bar (mention the country after a comma) 3 , then click the Search button 4 . Finally, click the Preview button 5 . If you don’t see a new window (see Step 3), then change the map service from the Base dropdown menu because some services only work in particular regions.

STEP4

Click the spectacle icon 1 to see where your map will be downloaded on your PC. By default, this is saved to your Downloads folder, but you can click the Browse button 2 to change this location. You can save your downloaded map in a variety of image formats, but ‘.jpg’ 3 is best because it gives you the highest-resolution file. When you’re happy with these settings, click the Download button 4 to download the image to your PC. You’ll see a message in the status screen below when that’s done 5 .

STEP5

The program has other useful features. For example, you can use it to highlight hiking or cycling routes in the area you’re downloading. To do that, follow Steps 2 and 3 to select your Base map, set the area, then preview and refine the map area you want to download. Now, click the Overlay (Optional) dropdown menu 1 and select one of the hiking or cycling map services 2 . Unfortunately, these hiking/cycling routes are not available as previews 3 , so you’ll need to Download the file (Step 4) 4 to see them highlighted on your map.

STEP6

The program also lets you download multiple maps in one go. To do this, repeat Steps 2, 3 and/or 5 to set and preview the map area that you want to download. Now, instead of repeating Step 4 to download the file to your PC, click the Add To Bulk button below the Address field. Repeat this process for other maps you want to download. When you’ve added all the maps you want, click the Bulk Download tab 1 , where you’ll see all the maps you added 2 . Finally, click the Download button (which changes to Cancel 3 ) to download each map one after the other. You’ll see each file’s download Status at the top 4 and in the status field below 5 .

STEP7

Close the program when you’re done, then open your Downloads folder 1 (or whichever folder you set in Step 4) to see a list of all your downloaded map images 2 . Right-click any downloaded file, then click Print 3 to print it. Alternatively, you can transfer these files to your phone via email, an online-storage service (such as Onedrive, Google Drive or Dropbox) or a file-transfer service (like Send Anywhere: www.send-anywhere.com). You can then access the photo on your phone and zoom in and out. Drag and drop the ‘map puzzle’ setup file 4 to your desktop if you want to create a shortcut for the program. ●