wxGUI.psmap(1grass)

📦
version 8.5.0 · 13 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 wxGUI Cartographic Composer 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to wxGUI.psmap(1grass) — this is the GRASS User's Manual page for the wxGUI Cartographic Composer, and honestly? it's iconic. let's get into it 🎀

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

The wxGUI Cartographic Composer — also called wx.psmap — is a wxGUI extension that lets you create hardcopy map outputs interactively, like you're literally arranging little map stickers on a page. This tool generates a ps.map configuration file and then runs ps.map to create PostScript output. no cap. 🗺️✨

There are two modes, and yes you need to know both:

  • Draft mode — for map composing. chill and fast.
  • Preview mode — requires Python Imaging Library, so you can see how the result will actually look like.

In draft mode, map features (like legend or scalebar) are represented by a colored rectangle with a label. it's giving "placeholder realness" 💅

Possible output files, bestie:

  • ps.map instructions file
  • PostScript/EPS file
  • PDF (using ps2pdf)

Cartographic Composer enables you to load in a saved instructions file. Loading instruction files created by Cartographic Composer is more robust, as opposed to loading files created manually. (iykyk — handmade files can be messy 🙈)

Currently supported ps.map instructions:

  • paper
  • maploc
  • scale
  • border
  • raster
  • colortable
  • vpoints
  • vlines
  • vareas
  • vlegend
  • text
  • scalebar
  • mapinfo
  • point
  • line
  • rectangle
  • labels

✨ CARTOGRAPHIC COMPOSER TOOLBAR ✨

okay this is the main character section. every button, every vibe, let's go 👑

  • Generate instructions file — Generates and saves text file with mapping instructions.
  • Load instructions file — Load text file with mapping instructions.
  • Page setup — Specify paper size, margins and orientation.
  • Pointer — Select object on the paper by clicking, drag the cursor while pressing the left mouse button to move it or resize object (currently only map frame) by clicking on a small black box in its bottom right corner. Double click to show object properties dialog. 💅
  • Pan — Drag the pan cursor while pressing the left mouse button to move your view.
  • Zoom in — Interactive zooming with the mouse in both draft and preview mode. Drawing a box or just a left click with the mouse and zoom-in cursor causes the display to zoom in so that the area defined by the box fills the display. 🔍
  • Zoom out — Interactive zooming with the mouse in both draft and preview mode. Drawing a box or just a left click with the mouse and zoom-out cursor causes the display to zoom out so that the area displayed shrinks to fill the area defined by the box.
  • Zoom to page — Zoom to display the entire page.
  • Map frame — Click and drag to place map frame. If map frame is already drawn, open a dialog to set its properties.
  • Raster map — Shows a dialog to add or change the raster map.
  • Vector map — Shows a dialog to add or change current vector maps and their properties:
    • Data selection — Select data to draw:
    • Feature type — Select which data type to draw. In case of point data, points or centroids can be drawn, in case of line data, lines or boundaries.
    • Layer selection — Select layer and limit data by a SQL query or chose only certain categories.
    • Mask — Whether to use mask or not.
    • Colors — Color settings:
    • Outline — Select outline color and width in points. In case of lines, outline means highlighting.
    • Fill — Select fill color, one color for all vector elements or color from rgb column.
    • Size and style — Sets size, style, symbols, pattern; depends on data type:
    • Symbology — Available for point data. Choose symbol or EPS file to draw points with.
    • Line style — Available for line data. Select line style (solid, dashed, ...) and the look of the ends of the line (butt, round, ...)
    • Pattern — Available for areas. Choose pattern file and set the width of the pattern.
    • Size — Available for point data. Choose size (number of times larger than the size in the icon file) as a single value or take the size from a map table column.
    • Rotation — Available for point data. Rotate symbols counterclockwise with the given value or with the value from a map table column.
    • Width — Available for line data. Set line width in points or take the value from a map table column.
  • Add overlays — Add overlays: vector labels, grid (not yet implemented).
    • Add labels — Add vector labels created beforehand by v.label module.
  • Add map elements — Add map elements: legend, scalebar, map info, text.
    • Add legend — Add raster or vector legend or edit their properties.
    • Add map info — Add information about region, grid and scale or edit map info properties.
    • Add scalebar — Add scalebar or edit its properties.
    • Add text — Add text label.
  • Remove selected element — Select an object and remove it. Pressing Delete key does the same.
  • Show preview — Generates output and switches to Preview mode to see the result. Be patient, it can take a while. 😭
  • Generate hardcopy map output in PS — Generates hardcopy map output in PostScript/EPS file.
  • Generate hardcopy map output in PDF — Generates hardcopy map output in PDF using ps2pdf or Ghostscript gswin32c/gswin64c (OS MS Windows platform only).

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

  • wxGUI, wxGUI components
  • See also wiki page.

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Anna Kratochvilova, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic (bachelor's final project 2011, mentor: Martin Landa). absolute legend behavior 🫶

💜 SOURCE CODE 💜

Available at: wxGUI Cartographic Composer source code (history)

Accessed: Tuesday Sep 08 11:56:21 2026

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© 2003-2026 GRASS Development Team, GRASS 8.5.0 Reference Manual

and that's the whole page bestie 🌈 this was wxGUI.psmap(1grass) from the GRASS User's Manual, running under GRASS 8.5.0 — accessed Tuesday Sep 08 11:56:21 2026, © 2003-2026 GRASS Development Team, GRASS 8.5.0 Reference Manual. slay, go make a pretty map 💖✨🎀

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