MapMaker 3.0 is a combination digital cartographer, geographic analyst, and graph generator, all in one package. It gives you the power to see information, such as the demographic makeup of a sales territory, actually on a map. Best of all, it does it better than any other program of its type.
MapMaker's extensive collection of maps lets you start laying out and analyzing your information right away. The program comes with boundary files for the U.S. by state, each state by county, 90 U.S. metropolitan area centers, the world by country (176, grouped in 9 geographical areas), and 169 world capitals. Included for use with these boundaries are data files containing statistics in 22 Population, 22 Income, 14 Retail Sales, and 5 Market categories by slate as well as 13 population categories by county and 20 world population categories by country.
If your needs are more specialized, files for individual states by county (more detailed) and the U.S. by Zip Codes, Telephone Area Codes, Congressional Districts, Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Areas of Dominant Influence, or Designated Marketing Areas as well as custom boundaries are available from Strategic Locations Planning (4030 Moorepark Avenue, Suite 123, San Jose, CA 95117). Only the largest market research firms will find a need for these complex maps, which are priced accordingly (i.e., expensive).
MapMaker reads and analyzes the selected boundary files (complete, in parts, or in combinations) and draws the map in scale to whatever size you specify. Making maps is easy, but some planning helps. Because each is individually calculated, you cannot add or subtract boundary elements after a map is composed. If, however, you realize something needs to be changed, maps are generated so quickly that starting over is painless.
MapMaker 3.0 is also an analysis tool that lets you correlate information to the geography described by your map. In addition to the statistical data included with the program, information may be entered from the keyboard or imported from other applications such as a text file. You can assign up to 30 data values to any area or point, and you can display each data category with as many as 35 divisions, MapMaker graphs the relative values of the data according to the geographical areas. Also, the program produces statistics for the total data category and for each of the data divisions.
You can alter the patterns and symbols displayed on a map at any time, and you can attach map legends and text labels in a variety of styles and fonts to any location on the chart. And every map element can be assigned a color. On Mac IIs, you can display them on-screen, letting you fine-tune the mixture.
As well as its proprietary format, MapMaker 3,0 also saves maps as MacPaint or Mac Draw (PICT) files, letting you transfer the map to another application for incorporation into a page layout or presentation document, or for further editing. New in this version, maps saved in PICT retain their object graphics traits. Each element can be manipulated individually within a Draw application.
This latest release of MapMaker incorporates several other enhancements. The program is now MultiFinder compatible. In addition, shift and command-click selection of multiple boundaries is possible. A new Find feature lets you search for a boundary by typing in its name. And you can attach text labels to a screen or a map location.
In addition to standard maps and charts, MapMaker 3.0 can draw Area Cartograms (areas sized according to a data value) and Dot Density plots. Pattern Fill and Dot Density maps can be combined to produce “bivariate" (two data variables displayed) maps. Selected areas on a map can be “exploded" from their neighbors in any direction for graphic emphasis. Map points can be plotted in shapes graduated by data values. And, with this release, maps may be drawn in Mercator, Albers, and Miller as well as actual longitude and latitude projections. Boundary files may be converted from one type of projection to another from within the program. Though MapMaker 3.0 is easy to use right out of the box, mastering all its facets can take some time — for example, you can draw circles (depicting zones around a point) and curves (roads and so on) on maps according to their radii, but currently, this is only possible by editing the boundary files. You can customize or create your own boundaries (file specs are detailed in the manual) with the included text editor.
The documentation could still be better. The Version 2.0 manual was more clearly written. But in its defense, all the information you need is there. When I reviewed Version 1.0 of MapMaker (January 87), I said it was a “gem still needing a bit of polishing." I am happy to report that with Version 3.0, this product has been polished to a very nice luster.
Martinez, Carlos Domingo. (August 1988). MapMaker. MacUser. (pgs. 94, 98-99).
Daryl L. Scott
Applications
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2020-09-14 / 
bd2730e0fc49c004f67cd17f299e684dbaed6d42 / 
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mapmaker3.sit
Emulating this? It could probably run under: 
Mini vMac
