{"id":120,"date":"2021-06-12T17:42:28","date_gmt":"2021-06-12T17:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/?page_id=120"},"modified":"2021-06-12T18:56:12","modified_gmt":"2021-06-12T18:56:12","slug":"background-maps","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/index.php\/background-maps\/","title":{"rendered":"Background Maps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Most\n of our customers are interested in creating a picture of their \nancestor&#8217;s land holdings with a map as a backdrop.&nbsp; There are three ways\n to get maps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Use a USGS topographic map image or your own graphic image.<\/li><li>Purchase custom background maps from Direct Line Software<\/li><li>Purchase pre-built map sets for certain Virginia counties.<br><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Topographic or Other Map Images<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"264\" height=\"414\" src=\"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/TopoMap.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23\" srcset=\"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/TopoMap.png 264w, https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/TopoMap-191x300.png 191w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 264px) 85vw, 264px\" \/><figcaption>Topographic map<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Scanned versions of USGS 24K scale topographic maps are available free from the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/ngmdb.usgs.gov\/topoview\/viewer\/\" target=\"_blank\">USGS TopoView web site<\/a>.&nbsp;  They even offer historical topo maps too. There are also web sites that  can make up custom topographic map files for you.&nbsp; Whatever you choose,  DeedMapper can accept a graphic file in TIFF, JPEG, BMP, GIF, or PNG  format.&nbsp; (If you have a period map and a scanner you can create your own  graphic file, too.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We recommend this approach when you know the  land&#8217;s location to within a few miles and there aren&#8217;t too many parcels  in your project.&nbsp; If you are uncertain as to the location, or you have  lots of parcels you may be better off with our custom maps (see below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To use  a graphic file, all you need to do is to put it in the folder with your  deed file.&nbsp; DeedMapper will recognize the file.&nbsp; To enable its use you  give DeedMapper two numbers: 1) the dots per inch of the graphic image,  and 2) the feet per inch of the map.&nbsp; In the case of 24K scale USGS topographic  maps, these two numbers are usually 300 dpi, and 2000 ft\/in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s that simple!&nbsp; DeedMapper takes care of scaling the graphic image and your parcels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Custom Background Maps<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"265\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/CustomMaps-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21\" srcset=\"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/CustomMaps-1.png 265w, https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/CustomMaps-1-187x300.png 187w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 265px) 85vw, 265px\" \/><figcaption>Custom map showing major\/minor roads and watercourses<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>We\n can make up custom maps to your particular needs. The maps are based on\n data from the USGS, and show streams, roads, and town\/county\/state \nboundary lines. &nbsp; The maps lack feature names (creek names, route \nnumbers, town names, etc.) but you can easily add these as \n&#8220;annotations&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each map covers a rectangular area that is \napproximately 14 miles wide by 18 miles tall, i.e. 15 minutes of \nlatitude and longitude.&nbsp; It typically takes a number of maps to cover a \nresearch area, the exact number depending on the size of the area being \nresearched and where the lines of latitude and longitude happen to fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;d like to purchase custom maps it&#8217;s best to <a href=\"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/index.php\/contact\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"95\">give us a call or send us an email <\/a>describing  your needs, i.e. state, county, and watercourses you need coverage  for.\u00a0 We can then determine the best combination of maps that will cover  your research area.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;Pre-built map sets<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"335\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/PrebuiltMaps.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22\" srcset=\"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/PrebuiltMaps.png 335w, https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/PrebuiltMaps-202x300.png 202w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 335px) 85vw, 335px\" \/><figcaption>Land patents placed on a pre-built set of maps for a county<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Colonial  patents for many counties of Virginia have been partially or completely  mapped out with DeedMapper.\u00a0 You&#8217;ll find the deed files for these  counties in our <a href=\"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/index.php\/deed-data-pool\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"179\">Deed Data Pool<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\n offer corresponding county-based background maps for many of these deed\n files for just $20 each.&nbsp; Some of the map sets cover more than one \ncounty.&nbsp; A complete list of available counties and detailed pricing \ninformation is found <a href=\"http:\/\/www.directlinesoftware.com\/prebuilt.htm\">here<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can purchase map sets <a href=\"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/index.php\/purchase\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"123\">here<\/a>, and we&#8217;ll email you the files.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most of our customers are interested in creating a picture of their ancestor&#8217;s land holdings with a map as a backdrop.&nbsp; There are three ways to get maps. Use a USGS topographic map image or your own graphic image. Purchase custom background maps from Direct Line Software Purchase pre-built map sets for certain Virginia counties. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/index.php\/background-maps\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Background Maps&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/120"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247,"href":"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/120\/revisions\/247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/directlinesoftware.com\/WordPress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}