Marble/MapThemes

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One of the core features of Marble is the support for different maps (map themes in Marble speak) and different planets. Each of them can be viewed in different projections: Make the planet look like a globe using the Spherical projection or view it like a printed map in the Mercator projection.

Map themes are configured in the Map View dialog in Marble. You find it in the tab bar on the left in the Desktop version.

Marble's mobile version on the Nokia N900 offers you to open the Map View dialog via the main application menu.

The Map View dialog lets you choose a projection, the planet (celestial body) and a map theme. The rest of this tutorials explains these choices in detail.

Planet Choices

Marble supports about a dozen different planets. In the Map View dialog you can choose those planets where at least one map theme is installed for.


Earth. Plenty of different map themes are available.
Moon. We're aware it's not really a planet.

Mars
Venus

Projection Choices

The projection defines how the surface of the planet is presented on the screen. This can be a globe or some sort of a flat map.

Spherical Projection Flat Map Projection Mercator Projection
Example
Common Usage Distant view, measuring large distances Distant view Close view, navigation
Tip
Unsure which projection to choose? A rule of thumb is to use the Spherical projection at very large distances and the Mercator projection otherwise.


Map Theme Choices

Overview Maps

Map Theme Preview Description
Atlas A classic topographic map. It uses vector lines to mark coastlines, country borders etc. and a height relief.
Plain Map A simple version of the Atlas theme without topography.
Satellite View Earth as seen from space with sun illumination. Includes a cloud layer with real-time data.
Natural Earth Natural Earth portrays the world environment in an idealized manner with little human influence. Includes a cloud layer with real-time data.
Earth at Night Earth as seen from space without sun illumination.

Street Maps

These maps are optimized for high zoom levels, showing many details on the street and city level. Some of them provide good country and even continent or space views, but that's not their primary area of use. Need to find a route? Do you like hiking or biking? Want to explore the neighborhood? Pick one of these maps.

Map Theme Preview Description

OpenStreetMap

General purpose

The famous OpenStreetMap Mapnik layer. A general purpose map with useful information for the most common use cases. The map is identical to that shown on openstreetmap.org.

Combine this map theme with the Mercator projection for optimal speed and a sharp map view.

Osmarender

General purpose

The OpenStreetMap Osmarender layer. A general purpose map with useful information for the most common use cases. The map is identical to that selectable in the top-right toolbox on openstreetmap.org.

Compared to the Mapnik layer (OpenStreetMap theme), this theme has more lively colors and presents some different data. The view from space looks better than that of Mapnik. On the other hand, Mapnik handles conflicting elements at the street level better. In Osmarender, icon sizes are less balanced and the z-order (stacking) is wrong for some elements. Labels overlap in densely packed areas.

Combine this map theme with the Mercator projection for optimal speed and a sharp map view.

OpenCycleMap

For bikers

OpenStreetMap data presented for bikers. The map is identical to that selectable in the top-right toolbox on openstreetmap.org.

Combine this map theme with the Mercator projection for optimal speed and a sharp map view.

OSM Hike & Bike Map

For hikers and bikers

A map theme optimized for hiking and biking, based on OpenStreetMap data. Includes a very nice hillshading layer that shows the terrain (activate it in the <menuchoice>Legend<menuchoice>).

Combine this map theme with the Mercator projection for optimal speed and a sharp map view.

Educational Maps

Map Theme Preview Description
Historical Map 1689 A historical world map from the year 1689 created by G. van Schagen in Amsterdam.
Historical Map 1720 A historical world map from the year 1720 created by Guillaume de L'Isle in Paris.
Historical Map 1786 A historical world map from the year 1786 created by William Faden in London.
Precipitation (month) Colors indicate the precipitation in the given month. Open the Legend to find out which color matches which precipitation.
Temperature (month) Colors indicate the average temperature in the given month. Open the Legend to find out which color matches which temperature.

Restricted Maps

These map themes work fine in Marble from a technical point of view. The terms of service of the companies offering these maps, however, may prevent you from using it. If you want to use these map themes, you must install them manually. Make sure their terms of service allow you to use them within Marble.

Warning
To the best of our knowledge the usage of these restricted maps is forbidden in an application like Marble. We only want to demonstrate the technical feasibility here. Please don't add details on their installation in Marble to this Wiki. We don't want to promote the usage of maps which we think are not free.


Map Theme Preview Description
Google Maps Street maps from maps.google.com
Google Satellite Satellite maps from maps.google.com
Mapquest Street maps from mapquest.com
Virtual Earth Satellite maps from virtualearth.net

Installing Additional Map Themes

Map Theme Linux (KDE) Mac, Windows Maemo (N900)
Atlas Packaged Packaged Marble Maps package
Earth at Night Packaged Packaged Marble Maps package
Google Maps Manual installation Manual installation Manual installation
Google Satellite Manual installation Manual installation Manual installation
Historical Map 1689 Download Maps feature Manual installation Marble Maps package
Historical Map 1720 Download Maps feature Manual installation Manual installation
Historical Map 1786 Download Maps feature Manual installation Manual installation
Mapquest Manual installation Manual installation Manual installation
Natural Earth Download Maps feature Manual installation Manual installation
OpenStreetMap Packaged Packaged Packaged
Osmarender Download Maps feature Manual installation Marble Maps package
Open CycleMap Download Maps feature Manual installation Manual installation
Marble 1.2 and later: Marble Maps package
OSM Hike & Bike Map Download Maps feature Manual installation Marble Maps package
Plain Map Packaged Packaged Marble Maps package
Precipitation Packaged Packaged Marble Maps package
Satellite View Packaged Packaged Marble Maps package
Temperature Packaged Packaged Marble Maps package
Virtual Earth Manual installation Manual installation Manual installation

Legend

Term Description
Marble Maps package Please install the Marble Maps package from the extras repository (the same where you installed Marble - Virtual Globe from. See Maemo Installation (Nokia N900 only).
Download Maps feature Please use the Download Maps feature in Marble from the File menu (KDE only).
Manual installation Please follow the link (if any) and install the map theme manually.
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