Ancient Roam

This help page explains how to use Ancient Roam to view and print historic Ordnance Survey maps.

• Start Roam
• Overview
• Navigating in Ancient Roam
• Searching for a location
• Viewing historical maps
• No historic maps available?
• Viewing two maps side by side
• Understanding map views
• Web Map Service
• Drawing Tools
• Printing
• Map details
• Map Information
• My Maps
• Measurement Tools

Start Roam

• When you log in to Digimap you will be presented with the Digimap Home page.
• Select Historic then Ancient Roam.

Overview

Ancient Roam enables you to view and print maps using Ordnance Survey data at one of 12 pre-defined scales, or map views.  

Prints can be created at user defined scales, A4 to A0 size; landscape or portrait orientation and include annotations.

Note: To expand/collapse the left hand panel click the arrows between the panel and the map .

Navigating in Ancient Roam

You can navigate in Ancient Roam by panning (moving the map in any direction) and by zooming in and out of the map.

To pan you can:

• Click and drag the map i.e. click and hold the left mouse button, then drag to move the map.

To zoom in/out of the map, you can:

• Double click to zoom in
• Use the mouse scroll wheel to zoom in or out.
• Use the scale bar to zoom in or out:

• Select the plus sign to zoom in.
• Select the minus sign to zoom out.
• Click and drag the blue marker on the scale bar to zoom in or out.
  
• Or click anywhere on the scale bar bar to zoom to that scale.
  
  

Searching for a location

You can search for a location in Ancient Roam using a place name, postcode, grid reference, easting/northing or latitude/longitude.

• Click in the search box near the top left of the map window.

• Type the place name, road name, partial postcode or full postcode (e.g. EH9 1PR) in the search box, and select the magniosying glass.

• If there is more than one match for your place name, the search results will be displayed below the search box. Click the place name you are interested in to view in the map window.

Notes:

• Only search for places in the UK.

• Partial Postcodes (e.g. EH9) only work if they are the only term searched for.

To search using the Coordinate / Grid Ref. Search options:

• Type the Grid Reference (e.g. TL4685) in the search box and press return. The map will automatically navigate to that location.
• Enter Easting/Northing defined by coordinates on British National Grid e.g. 545030 138305
• Enter Latitude/Longitude coordinates to go a specific location. Formats accepted can be either decimal degrees e.g. 55.123456 -5.123456 or in degrees minutes seconds e.g. 55 07 24.3N, 05 08 04.7W

Viewing historical maps

Once you have located your area of interest, zoom in to start viewing historical maps.

The Timeline shows the availability of historical maps for the current location and view level for each decade.

Using the timeline:

• To activate the timeline, zoom to a historical map view.
•  
• Decades with solid blue text and a white background mean there are historical maps available.
• Click to select a decade and view the maps.
• The decade that you are currently viewing maps for is highlighted in blue.
• 
  

No historic maps available?

• If that happens, you will see a white background with the message "No historic maps of this location are available for this decade and zoom level: try changing the decade and/or zoom level."
• Try selecting a different decade, view level or pan to a new location to view historical maps.

Viewing two maps side by side

The 2 up View feature of Ancient Roam shows historic two maps of the same location but from different decades, at the same time. This allows places to be shown side by side to see how the landscape has changed over time.

To view a place in the 2 up View:

1. Search or navigate to your chosen location.
   
2. Click the 2 up View icon in the top of the map window. The same map will appear in both map windows of the 2 up View.
   
3. Select the decades for both maps that you wish to view by clicking the decade in the Timeline. The two Timelines are independent of each other, each Timeline controls the decade selection for the map beneath it.
   
4. You can change the view level and pan in either of the map windows. Changing the view level or panning in either map will change the other map at the same time. This means both maps will always be of the same location.
   
5. You can switch back to the main map window by clicking the 2 up icon above the map window. This will load the map from the left hand window into the 1up View.
   

NB: Searching, the Overview Map and Map Information are all available in 2 up View and can be accessed via the left-hand menu panel and the Search button in the top right.

Understanding map views

Ancient Roam has 17 different pre-defined map scales, called views. The 5 smallest scale views (i.e. the 5 most zoomed out views) consist of contemporary Ordnance Survey map data and are intended as reference for you to locate your area of interest more easily. These views are highlighted by the 'Modern' section on the zoom slider. There are 12 historical map views consisting of different historical map data which are appropriate for that view's scale. These views are highlighted by the 'Historical' section on the zoom slider. The following table lists the scale and map products used for each view, to help you decide which view is appropriate for your purpose.

Web Map Service

Drawing Tools

The drawing tools in Roam allow you to draw symbols, lines, polygons and text on your maps. You can add labels to these features and have the ability to select colours and styles for them.

Printing

Roam allows you to create printable maps in A4 to A0 size and in portrait or landscape layout in a variety of formats and at user defined scales.

To create a printable map:

1. Click the print button on the main menu bar.
2. Enter a map title.
3. Enter the Scale that you want to print the map at.
4. Select the print format.
5. Select the page size using the drop down menu.
6. Select orientation (landscape or portrait)
7. Check the box if you want to add National Grid Lines.
8. Check the box if you want to include any Annotations you have drawn on the map.
9. Click Generate Print File, this will produce a PDF file which you can save or print.

Use the Content Preview tab to view a small area of the map content that you will get; use the Layout Preview tab to show the extents of the area your map will cover based on the paper size and scale of the map.  Drag the map in either preview window to change the location of your map.

Map details

• Select the information icon on the top menu bar.
• Now select any point on your map.
• A box pops up with details of the historical map you are viewing, such as its edition and date of publication.
• Sometimes more than one map is listed in the Feature column. Just select any one to view its details on the right.

Map Information

The Map Information tab displays spatial reference information about the current map view. The information will update as you pan and zoom the map.

1. Click Map Information on the Side Menu tab to open.
   
2. Displays the top right and bottom left coordinates of the current map view.
   
3. The scale the current map will be printed at by default (this can be changed in the Print menu).
4. Hover over any point on the map to view the coordinates.
   

My Maps

My Maps enables you to open and save maps you have previously saved.

Save a map

1. To save a map and any annotations you have drawn, open My Maps. 

2. Select Save map.

3. Give your map a name.

4. Select Save and the map along with any drawings will be saved.  

Open a map

To open a saved map select My Maps.

1. Select any map from the list to view in the map window.
2. Find a saved map by filtering the list.
3. Click the rubbish bin icon to remove the map from your saved maps.
   

If you already have drawings present on your map and you try and open another map with drawings, you will be asked to either replace your existing drawings or to merge them.

Measurement Tools

Roam's Measurement Tools enable you to measure distances and areas on your map.

1. Select Measurement Tools tab on the sidebar to open.

1. Select distance or area.

2. Click once on the map to start measuring.  

3. Move the mouse pointer along to the next point.  Clicking once on the map will add a point.

4. Double click to finish measuring.  The total distance or area measurement is displayed in the measurement tools sidebar.

   
   

5. Measurements can be deleted using the Delete measurements button..