We’re back! ------------------------------

This is the first Wikimaps user group newsletter in a while, so hopefully, we’ll get this back up and running on a more regular basis. All inputs for future content are welcome. Please check the Wikimaps page for a link to the draft content for the next newsletter.

Getting together ------------------------------

Next User Group Hangout: 22 March 2018, 1600 UTC

Please join in the discussion, this is an informal group to discuss what people are working on, problems they're encountering with our mapping tools, accomplishments we've had along the way, and upcoming events.

Pattypan 18.02 includes the {{Map}} template ------------------------------

Pattypan, a tool for mass uploading media files to Wikimedia Commons now includes the Map template predefined and ready to use without writing any Wikitext.

https://github.com/yarl/pattypan/releases/tag/v18.02

Map Improvements 2018 ------------------------------

Be sure to check out the Wikimedia Foundation Collaboration Team’s update on 2018 plans to improve the Kartographer extension. Their work will be done by the end of June and you can see the many exciting updates here.

QGIS 3.0 Release ------------------------------

For those of you who are interested in using GIS tools as part of your map creation workflow, please be sure to take a look at QGIS, QGIS 3.0, which has launched a new version with many new upgrades. If you’ve been working with .svg’s, this is a great tool to use to start to create vector shapefiles of historical boundaries, etc.

Historical map vector data campaign ------------------------------

For anyone who’s interested, I’m trying to work on a bit of a scavenger hunt, to find & collect as many historical shapefiles as possible. I’m still working on how to best host / share them with the world, with a baseline assumption that the Commons is the best place to start. If anyone is interested, please let me know!

Last, all suggestions for future newsletters are welcome, for format, content, etc. We're just getting this started, so I'm trying to use a fairly agile approach. Something > nothing!

Regards,

Jeff