Maps for Mac users

One of the features on our siteof which we are most proud is the Maps section which allows Purple Pagers to access, download and print all 169 maps from the latest, 2007, 6th edition of the classic reference book, The World Atlas of Wine, co-authored by Hugh Johnson and me with massive help from Julia Harding MW.

The opening page of the Maps section gives you a choice between clicking on a specific place name in the Gazetteer via the alphabetical lists (still to be properly divided into General, Chateau and Quinta names, and still to run vertically rather than the current, counter-intuitive horizontal format) or you can access a complete list of the maps by country and choose to view a specific map.

Once you have accessed a PDF of the map, you can use the controls along the top of it to, for example, zoom in and out, navigate your way round the map, and even search for a specific word within it.

This new feature has been enthusiastically welcomed by many of you, but some of you, especially the 10% of you who are Mac users, have had difficulty accessing the maps at all. This, unfortunately, is not within our direct control as it is generally a function of how your Mac reacts with the Adobe software used to read PDFs.

We have investigated ways around this problem and there are workarounds which seems to work on most Macs. One important thing to note is that the maps cannot be seen if using Firefox – you need to use Safari or Chrome. In some instances where users have not been able to get it working using Safari, downloading Chrome has been the answer.

Preview – using Safari/Chrome and Adobe Reader
Quit Safari/Chrome
Open Adobe Reader
Go to Preferences
Click on Internet in the left hand column
Uncheck the default: 'display pdf in browser using...' 
But then check box for 'Allow fast web view'
Quit Adobe Reader
Restart Safari
Go to Maps and it should open the one you choose.
Then in order to take advantage of the features such as zoom, etc, place the cursor arrow on the map, press Ctrl and mouse button and the pop down menu should display showing the features


Preview – without Adobe Reader
The application Preview is pre-installed on the Mac, allowing you do a number of things with pdf files and pictures.
Select the PDF file in the Finder
From the File menu, choose Get Info
In the Info window that appears, click the disclosure triangle next to 'Open with'
Set the pop-up menu to Preview
Click the Change All button that's immediately below the pop-up menu
If you like to use shortcut menus (Control-click), you can use the alternate method shown in this movie. To change from 'Open with' to 'Always open with' as you see in the movie, press the Option key


We very much that these alternatives will work for those of you who are particularly anxious to take advantage of this feature of JancisRobinson.com – whose name is prominently displayed on each map as a reminder that they are copyright and intended for personal use only. Very useful for travelling though, or even for taking to tutored tastings.

For more information, especially pertaining to Intel, Macs and further complications, go to http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20060831091053988