Overview Map

This tool shows the location of your map window in relation to the available map area.

Pass the arrow cursor over the ‘Overview Map’ button. By clicking once with the left-hand mouse button, you will bring up a condensed Overview Map to the left of the map window. The location of your current map window on the Overview Map will be shown by a black rectangular box. If you are unable to see this box on the small map, you may need to zoom out of your main map window a little using the ‘Zoom Out’ tool.

Below the Overview Map are two buttons, ‘Move Map Frame’ and ‘Redraw Map Frame’. By using these tools on the Overview Map, you can quickly reposition the main map window within the wider map area.

By clicking on the ‘Move Map Frame’ button, you can drag the black rectangular box on the Overview Map to a new position. The map in the main map window will be redrawn to show the new area. It is similar in effect (but not identical) to the Pan button, in that you can move around the wider map area without changing the scale of the map, but this tool enables you to move quickly anywhere in the map area.

By clicking on the ‘Redraw Map Frame’ button, and then clicking on the Overview Map, you can use the cursor to drag and draw a new rectangular box of a different size and shape. Changing the box size affects the scale of the map in the map window.

- The bigger the black box, the wider the area covered in the map window – the less the amount of detail shown.
- The smaller the black box, the smaller the area covered in the map window – the greater the amount of detail.

It is similar to the box-drawing function of the Zoom In and Zoom Out tools, however this additionally shows the position of the map window on the wider map area.