Tutorials
Step-by-step guides for using MaplatEditor.
Note (2026-07): This page is based on the legacy Wiki content (0.1.x era, circa 2018). The current version (0.7.0) has a significantly different development setup (Vite + Electron, pnpm-based). For the latest quick start and download links, see the README.
- 1. Create a new map
- 2. Upload the map image
- 3. Set ground control points (GCPs)
- 4. Edit and delete markers
- 5. Save
- Development setup (legacy)
- See Also
When MaplatEditor starts, the map list is shown. Click the New button to create a new map.
Fill in the metadata form. Three fields are required:
- Map ID — becomes the filename. Half-width alphanumeric only. Use the Uniqueness check button to verify no duplicate exists.
- Map name — the human-readable title.
- Map image copyright — the attribution string shown in the viewer.
Once the required fields are filled, the Save button becomes available. After saving, the map appears in the list on the next launch.
Click the Map upload button on the edit screen.
Select a JPEG image in the file dialog (only .jpg is supported in the
legacy UI; check the README for the current supported formats).
After upload completes (may take a while for large images), the GCP setting tab becomes available.
The GCP setting tab shows the historical map on the left and an accurate modern map on the right.
Use the magnifier button on the right map to search by place name and narrow the region.
Use the top-right button on the right map to switch the base layer (OpenStreetMap / GSI / historical aerial photos / 今昔マップ on Web etc.). Older aerial photos and historical maps are useful when modern roads and rivers no longer match the historical image.
Right-click on either map at the desired location and choose Add marker. Place markers alternately on the left and right maps — each pair becomes a single GCP.
- Move — left-click and drag a marker to reposition it.
- Delete — right-click a marker and choose Delete marker. Both halves of the GCP pair are removed at once.
- Show pair — right-click and choose Show corresponding marker to locate the other half of the GCP pair. Useful when the map is crowded.
Press Save at any point to persist the GCPs and metadata.
The instructions below are the legacy Electron + ImageMagick + submodule sparse-checkout flow from 0.1.x. The current development setup uses Vite + pnpm and is documented in the README § Development.
The legacy setup required:
- Node.js + Electron
- ImageMagick (for the
convertcommand used by the tile generator) - Repository clone with submodule sparse-checkout (to slim the bundled Maplat source)
These steps are no longer required for end users — download the desktop installer from the README instead.