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Scenario
- You've been asked to set a park-street course
- Someone has sent you a park-street map in OCAD format or as a
graphic
- The rest is up to you (Not really - just ask for help...lots of
people are willing to teach/mentor new course setters)
Overview of the Process
- We have produced a blank OCAD map (we've called it "a
framework") that you can start with - we've removed all the
seldom-used stuff to make it as simple as possible.
- OCAD lets you use an OCAD or graphic (JPG, BMP, GIF etc) as a
template. You load the template into the framework as a background
to your map and then just drop the start triangle, control
circles/numbers and controls descriptions over the top.
- When you're happy with your map - you save it and print it out.
If you plan to photocopy your map, please be sure to test that the
copy coming out of your printer photocopies well - the main issue
here is that the background is clear - that there is a clear
contrast between what is runnable and what is not.
Here's How...
Download the sample OCAD Framework
This can be obtained from the OCAD pages on the street-O website
- just click
here
Open OCAD and load the Framework
- Start up OCAD (the instructions assume OCAD 8 - but should be
reasonably applicable to other versions)
- Load the sample framework
- Select File > Open - the normal
Windows a file open dialogue box appears; locate the framework and
open it (the file will be called StreetO Course Setting
Framework.ocd - look in the directory you saved it to).
- Press Open - the dialogue box disappears and the framework is
loaded.
- A brief tour of the framework:
- This is little more than a 1:10,000 map with many of the
bush-orienteering symbols removed
- We've left:
- Start triangle (with colour changed to BLACK for good
contrast on black and white map)
- Control Circle (coloured black + dot in the centre)
- Control Numbers (also black)
- A couple of Line Types - useful for drawing boxes,
dividing lines etc
- A couple of area fills - to mark areas of your map that
you don't want people to go into (e.g. out of bounds or
dangerous ground).
- A selection of text types - of various sizes
Open the supplied StreetO Map as a template
If you want to make map changes, you could open the supplied OCAD
file directly; it is, however, much safer to open it as a template.
Doing this protects you from inadvertently changing map
content/scale in a way that might cause issues when your event is
run.
- Select Template > Open from the menu
Opening a JPEG
- If the map is in a format other than OCAD (e.g. Corel,
Illustrator, Photoshop), then this is the way to go.
- When opening a bitmap file, OCAD has no information about
resolution or orientation of the map.
- The dialogue box below appears to obtain this information

- If you know the resolution, enter it. If not, enter 300 and
press OK.
- The imported template will be displayed on the screen
Opening an OCAD File
- If your streetO coordinator/mapper has provided an OCAD file,
things are even easier...just find/select the file provided to
you.
- OCAD files contain all of the above information and the file
will be displayed immediately.
Viewing the Template File
- Use the toolbar or View > Entire Map to see the complete file
that has been loaded
- To place controls with more accuracy use the magnifying glass
with the plus sign on it to zoom into the area required
Related Functions
- Placing Controls on the Map
- Moving a Control
- Deleting a Control
- Placing Control Numbers on the Map
- Putting Control Descriptions or Text on the Map
- Deleting unwanted stuff from the map
- Printing the map
- Checking the Scale
- Course Setting Hints
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