Pros: very easy to use; easy to print map (either directly or via extraction to Word); easy to scale up or down; locator makes finding field area easy; streets, towns, and rivers labeled; possible to put icons and field borders on fields (via "My Places" layer)
Cons: must download program (free); scale not easy to set exactly
Pros: web-based and free; locate fields by a large variety of methods including address, state/county, latitude/longitude, TRS; township/range shown (in some areas section borders shown); streets, cities, and rivers labeled; scale precise and adjustable; easy to print image directly, but it is not clean (only a 1/2-page map with webpage clutter on it)
Cons: often unavailable and sometimes a bit slow; (recently) can only copy image on PC using Internet Explorer, not a Mac using Firefox; will not work on Safari at all
Pros: web-based and free; locate fields by address, latitude/longitude, or point-and-click; easy to use; scale shown; easy to print full-page images and/or extract to Word file
Cons: no labels (no street, city, or stream names); older maps (1994); cannot adjust location of maps to precisely fit needs (i.e. set map borders)
What doesn't work (well):
Google Maps: shows aerial photo but will only print street maps (not terrain/aerial photo) without a screen capture
Install: if the program is not already installed on your computer, download Google Earth and follow the instructions for a free download
Open: start Google Earth
Locate area: on the "Fly To" tab (upper left corner under "Search"), type in the town nearest to the field (i.e. "Harrisburg, OR")
Prepare screen: Under "View," turn on "Scale Legend," and if you don't want them to show on your printed map, turn off "Navigation bar" and "Status bar"
Locate field: select an area of interest by holding down the
left mouse button and dragging map to locate your field(s) near the center
of the screen. Try to include at least one labeled road on the map. You
can also use the arrow keys to move the map around in a linear manner,
or you can zoom in and out with the scrolling wheel on your mouse.
Adjust scale: to print a nearly 660-scale map, adjust the map
so the scale bar (at the lower left corner) is as close to 2239 feet as
possible. It is usually not possible to get it exactly at 2239 feet. The
easiest way to accurately adjust scale is to use the "+" and "-" keys
on your keyboard.
Print: print directly from Google Earth by selecting the print icon on the toolbar (upper part of the screen), selecting "Graphic of 3D view" and proceed to print. This generally results in a fairly clean (uncluttered) 1/2-page map. To print full-page maps, you can copy the map and paste onto a Word document (see Preparation of Full-Page Vertical Grower Maps from Google Earth below).
Open: in Internet Explorer or Firefox only. You can't "copy image" in Firefox (a recent development: older versions of the site allowed you to do this). You can do a direct print in Firefox, however. The site will not work at all with Safari.
Start program: click "Start WSS"
Locate field area: under "Quick Navigation" either on the left side or bottom of the screen, select the way you want to locate your field. Choices include address, state/county, latitude/longitude, and TRS, or simply select an area by holding down the left mouse button and marking a box over the area your field is in and releasing the mouse button (will take several repeats to get to your field area).
Locate field: when you are in the approximate area of your field,
you can drag the screen map to your field by selecting the little hand
on the tool bar (top of screen) and holding the left mouse button down
while you move the cursor across the screen in the direction you want
the map to move (i.e., to move the map west, hold the left mouse button
down and move the map to the right).
Adjust scale: to print a nearly 660-scale map, click on "scale" and adjust the bar as noted, then selected 1:3960.
Print: "File" then "Print" (depending on your browser). This is not a clean full-page map: it is only a 1/2-page map that has webpage clutter on it. To print a good, full-page, clean map, see "Preparation of Full Page Vertical Grower Maps on the Web Soil Survey Website."
Open: website (works well in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari)
Locate field area: select a field by address or latitude/longitude, or simply select an area on the green map (with a click) and continue to click until your field comes into view (will take several steps, and you most likely will need to move the map up-down-left-right). Due to the lack of street and town labels, this can get a bit confusing if you are not already familiar with the area.
Adjust scale: to print a nearly 660-scale map, use the second most enlarged map setting
Print: select "Print" in the upper right of the blue box and print the map
Preparation of Full-Page Vertical Grower Maps from Google Earth
Open Google Earth. Under "View," turn on "Scale Legend," and turn off
"Navigation bar and "Status bar" if you don't want them to show up on
the printed map.
Select the area of interest
Adjust the map size so the scale bar (at the lower left corner) is 2239 (this is about 1.68 miles across the screen on my computer. The easiest way to adjust accurately is to use the "+" and "-" keys on your keyboard.
Move the field of interest to the lower LEFT area of the screen (hold down the left mouse button and "drag" the map of what you want in the final print over to the lower left corner)
Copy the image (select "Edit" in the upper part of the screen, then select "Copy" and then "Copy image"
Open up a blank Word document, oriented vertically, with 1/2-inch margins (I keep a blank in a map file)
Paste the image on the page (right-click anywhere on the page and then select "Paste" from the menu that appears, OR go to "Edit" in Word and select "Paste"
Reformat the picture (right-click on the picture and choose "Format picture" from the menu that appears) to the following settings:
Size: Height = 10" (this is larger than the page printed, but that's okay)
Layout: "Behind text, left"
Advanced (at lower right of Layout box): select Horizontal, Alignment left, page; Vertical, Bottom, Margin
Additional tips:
Saving maps: for reprinting maps at a later date, save the file on
your hard drive in a "Maps" folder giving it the file name of the
"TRS-grower" for easy retrieval
Addition of a text box: one can also add a text box to the upper right
with the grower's name and the TRS. Go to "Insert" then "Text box,"
move the cursor to the desired location, press the left mouse button
and make a box, and then type in the information (font size 16 works
well, by the way)
To add a section circle, copy/paste the one from the Word document
or create your own using another text box and basic shapes in Word
I find it useful to keep a "Blank = vertical" map template in the
file that includes to correct margins and with a grower/TRS box and
a section circle already inserted
*These instructions give a nice 660-scale map on my computer. You
made need to adjust the "scale" number in Google Earth a bit to get
a 660-scale map on other computers
If your maps are printing too dark to be useful, you can adjust the brightness and contrast if your map by using "Image Control" under "Format Picture" (right-click on the picture and select "Format Picture" from the menu that appears). Choose the "Picture" tab at the top of the box, then adjust the brightness and contrast under "Image Control" by moving the bars left or right.
Preparation of Full-Page Grower Maps from the Web Soil Survey Website
Select method of field selection (address, state/county, latitude/longitude,
TRS). If you use township and range (PLSS), insert the correct state and
T/R, and then click "show township and range layer." NOTE: even though
there is a box for it, do not put in the section unless you know
in advance that the section layer exists in your area. When this layer
is not in the database, it fouls up and delays the selection process.
When the map appears, I generally select the "view full-width map" icon
(at upper right, small green square).
Click "scale" and adjust the scale bar to 1 inch
Find the area you wish to print by highlighting it (hold down the left mouse button and draw a box around the area you want, then release)
Set scale at 12,000 (click little black triangle next to the scale button)
Move the field of interest to the lower left area of the screen (click on the little hand in the upper left area, then move the cursor to the field/area of interest, hold down the left cursor, and drag the map over). Try to include at least one labeled street in your map.
Copy the image (right click anywhere on the map, select "copy image"--you must be in Internet Explorer to use this option)
Open a blank Word document, vertical, with 1/2-inch margins (or a blank map template file--see below)
Paste the image on the page (right-click anywhere on the page, then choose "paste" from the menu that appears)
Reformat the picture (right-click on the picture, and then select "Format picture" from the menu) to the following settings:
Size: Height = 12" (this is larger than the printed page, but that's okay)
Layout: "behind text, left"
Advanced (at lower right of Layout box): select Horizontal, Alightment left, page; Vertical, Bottom, Margin
Additional tips:
Saving maps: for reprinting maps at a later date, save the file
on your hard drive in a "Maps" folder giving it the file name of the
"TRS-grower" for easy retrieval
Addition of a text box: one can also add a text box to the upper
right with the grower's name and the TRS. Go to "Insert" then "Text
box," move the cursor to the desired location, press the left mouse
button and make a box, and then type in the information (font size
16 works well, by the way)
To add a section circle, copy/paste the one from the Word document
or create your own using another text box and basic shapes in Word
I find it useful to keep a "Blank = vertical" map template in the
file that includes to correct margins and with a grower/TRS box and
a section circle already inserted
If your maps are printing too dark to be useful, you can adjust the brightness and contrast if your map by using "Image Control" under "Format Picture" (right-click on the picture and select "Format Picture" from the menu that appears). Choose the "Picture" tab at the top of the box, then adjust the brightness and contrast under "Image Control" by moving the bars left or right.
