MapBench tool category
Map Creation Map Tools
Pins and custom maps. This hub groups 16 tools that answer related geographic questions while keeping the underlying method, data source and limitations visible.
Start with these tools
Choose the tool that matches the question rather than the one with the most familiar name. Related tools can use different geographic models and legitimately return different answers.
Map Drawer
Draw markers, lines, polygons and labels on a live map with real measurements.
Open tool →Country Size Comparison
Compare two countries at true scale — no Mercator distortion.
Open tool →Blank Map
Printable outline maps for education and presentations.
Open tool →Map PNG Export
Capture a simple map view for slides and notes.
Open tool →Pin Map Maker
Drop pins on a map and build a simple custom pin map in the browser.
Open tool →Random Point in View
Pick random map clicks inside a region for sampling exercises.
Open tool →Shareable Map Link Helper
Copy coordinates and tool URLs to share a place with teammates.
Open tool →Embed / Link Map Helper
Prepare coordinates and public tool links for embedding in docs and sites.
Open tool →Static Map URL Helper
Collect center coordinates and zoom ideas for static map image URLs.
Open tool →Printable Map with Scale Context
Prepare outline maps and scale awareness for printing worksheets.
Open tool →Custom Labeled Pin Map
Drop labeled pins for presentations, field lists and trip plans.
Open tool →Historical Map Context
Use modern coordinates and blank outlines when comparing historical maps.
Open tool →How to use this category well
Map imagery derives from OpenStreetMap via OpenFreeMap (ODbL attribution applies to reused basemap images); your pins and labels live only in the share URL.
- Limit each map to one message: pins for places, polygons for areas, rings for reach. When a single figure needs all three, it usually needs two figures instead.
- Choose colour for category, not decoration: two or three high-contrast hues read instantly; a rainbow reads as noise. Labels carry identity, colour carries grouping, and the viewport should crop tightly to the subject.
- Export twice: an image for the slide and a data format (GeoJSON/CSV) for the record. The image communicates; the data survives editing, and the pair keeps your map honest and reusable.
From screenshot to artifact: making maps that survive contact with reuse
The final skill in map-making is longevity. A map that exists only as a pasted image dies the day its data changes; a map that exists as image plus dataset plus link lives through corrections, re-styles and re-uses. That is why the export trio matters more than any styling choice: the PNG persuades today's audience, the GeoJSON/CSV preserves the argument's evidence, and the share-URL keeps a living version one click from anyone who asks 'what if we moved that pin?'. Organisations that internalise this split stop losing maps the way they stop losing spreadsheets — the artifact has a source, and the source has a link. Combined with the restraint rules (one message, colour-as-category, tight framing), it turns a free browser tool into a small but genuinely professional cartographic pipeline.
- Name exports by message, not date: 'delivery-radius-proposal' outlives 'map-final-v3'.
- Keep the share-URL beside the PNG in any document; readers trust editable evidence.
- When a map needs a second message, make a second map — and cross-link them.
Key terms
Viewport framing
Cropping the map tightly to the subject so the message fills the frame.
Cluster marker
A grouped dot representing many nearby points at low zoom.
Share-state URL
Encoding the whole map configuration in the link itself.
Pixel-ratio export
PNG export at device resolution for crisp slides and print.
Related guides & original research
When to verify with an official source
MapBench is designed for analysis, learning and planning. If the result affects a legal boundary, surveying, emergency response, engineering, regulated eligibility, official statistics or a financial commitment, verify the underlying information with the responsible authority or qualified professional.