The GeoMap for Java tool was written in 1997. We do not provide support for GeoMap, nor are further developments of the tool planned. You are welcome to the source code. We have no restrictions on its use or distribution.

The GeoMap program assumes that latitude/longitude coordinates are in the Western and Northern hemispheres. You will need to modify the java source code to deal with this limitation if you are mapping other hemispheres.¹

You will need to transform your coordinates into the GeoMap format. We use inhouse Arcinfo macros to convert Arcinfo data to the data format used in the GeoMap program. We do not provide our inhouse macros as it is easier for you to write your own Arcinfo macros to convert your data than to try to use our inhouse macros.

The basic concept used for mapping is a file that specifies a series of latitude and longitude coordinates (in degrees, minutes, seconds) that describe an geographic object (river, coastline, island). You can see the file that generated the map if you click on "datafile" on the main GeoMap page.

The "Tag File" does not work correctly; the display levels do not work. The basic idea is to define display levels and tags. Tags are the area(s) that are defined in "datafile." In GeoMap, you have tags of the type island (polygon), river (line), coastline (line), reach (line), release_site (point), stock (point), dam (point), and fishery (point). Where you have geometric shapes (polygon and line), the colors are defined. For the other elements which are points, they are given an image to display.

The "datafile" defines exactly what to draw on the map.

island Puget_Sound_group   		# beginning of definition of a geometric shape & name
latlon 48 35 9 N 123 1 12 W     	# The points that define the shape
latlon 48 35 29 N 122 58 42 W   	# Latitude comes first in the form 
latlon 48 35 15 N 122 56 47 W   	# Degree Minute Second Direction
latlon 48 34 50 N 122 55 2 W    	# followed by the same for Longitude
latlon 48 33 39 N 122 56 41 W
latlon 48 33 12 N 122 58 51 W
latlon 48 34 0 N 122 58 51 W
latlon 48 35 9 N 123 1 12 W
end (Puget_Sound_group)         	# end of points that define shape "island"

stock Mid Col R Brights       		# begin definition of a point of type "stock"
icon_location 45 42 00 N 122 20 00 W  	# latitude & longitude of point
end (Mid Col R Brights)       		# end of definition

boundary One				# appears to be tag code no longer used
end (One)

######################################
#possible code work-around for Eastern hemisphere from D. Kittler
#Class JMapContentHandler.java
######################################

if (charHeading.equals("E")) {

lon=lon(-1.);
        }    

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#so it works around Greenwich.
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