Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-5354667-20140918223023

Parts of this tutorial are written by me, and other parts are written by the wikia staff.

Creating a map

 * To create a new map, click on the button, “Create a Map”
 * You will have the option to choose a real map or a custom map.

Custom maps

 * If you choose a custom map, you can either select one of the images that has already been added to the map database by another user, or you can upload your own map image from the files on your computer.
 * Acceptable file types are jpg, jpeg, png, and gif
 * Optimum size for maps is at least 2000 x 2000 pixels.
 * Once you have selected a map image, you will be prompted to name it and also to name the template (the name that others will see if they choose to reuse it for their maps)
 * After you have named your map and your map template, you will be prompted to create pin types. Learn about pin types below.

Creating pin types

 * You can organize the pins you wish to add to your map by pin type (for example: castles, battles, cities, natural landmarks, etc.)
 * You will be prompted to create at least one 'pin type' to continue creating your map. However, you can add as many pin types as you want.
 * There are three elements to the pin type: the icon, the parent category, and the title
 * Parent Category allows you to choose a category that a certain pin type falls under (location, quest, character, item, event). You are not required to choose a parent category.
 * Pin Type Title is a required element to complete your map.
 * Hit next, and you should be looking at your newly created, empty map.

For the natural resources maps, these pin types must be used (parent category is in parenthesis): -Rocks and Ores (Item) -Water (Item) -Spawn Points (Location) -Animals (Character) -Plants (Item) -Misc Natural Resources (Item)

For now, leave the icons alone. I have icons that I’m using and I’ll add them to the maps.

All maps with these pin types should be named “Natural Resources on island name”

Your new map
Zoom:
 * There will be a legend in the upper left-hand corner with your pin types.
 * You can click on the checkmarks next to the pin types to hide/display them on the map.
 * Clicking on the 'Edit' button in the legend allows you to add/delete pin types following the steps mentioned above.
 * There will be 3 tools in the bottom right-hand corner. They represent zoom, add pins, and embed map (from bottom to top).
 * Use these buttons or your mouse to zoom in and out on your map.
 * This could mean zooming in on one area of an image you uploaded, or zooming between world view and street level on a real map.

Adding pins

 * To add a new pin, click on the pin icon in the bottom right-hand corner. You will now be able to drop a pin anywhere on the map that you wish.
 * To cancel this pin, hit the cancel button that appears next to the pin icon, or hit esc.
 * When you place the pin where you want it on the map, you will be prompted to fill out the pin info (Title, Associated Article, Pin Type, and Description).
 * It is not necessary to include an associated article. All other fields are required.
 * To include an associated article, start typing the name of an article page on your wikia, and then select it when you see it in the list of suggested articles.
 * To edit or delete a pin, click on it and hit edit. This will open the pin info box. Here you can alter any of the four categories mentioned above, or delete the pin entirely.

Once a map is completed, use the embedding method (below) to add it to the respective island page.

Embedding your map

 * Clicking on the embed icon opens up an info box with the iframe code for your map and three size options. The iframe code is for embedding your map onto external sites.
 * To embed your map locally on your own community, and you are using the VisualEditor, you can add a map via the 'Insert' dropdown menu. Alternatively, using wikitext, all you have to do is add the following code to the page where you want the map to be displayed: , where 'MAP#' is the map id number in the URL. (For example, Special:Maps/15 becomes .)

Rules for using the Maps feature
-Adding locations of mithril, chrome, death water cave, or mushrooms will result in a block from the wiki. -Deleting maps without a good reason will result in a ban for vandalism. -Do not add false or misleading information. This includes speculation. -Do not embed a map to a page until the map is complete. I will give it the go-ahead if you think that it’s ready; just alert me of it below or on my message wall.

If you have any questions, please do ask below or on my message wall. 