As soon as you have started a new map project, you can start drawing nodes and connections directly. For the start, the tool provides you with some design presets for the elements with which you can start directly. For example, background colour, object templates for nodes, basic settings for font sizes of the content box and a header. However, if you prefer to set your own design, colours and fonts, you can also customise all settings individually. In addition, there are general basic settings for your map, which you can also save with useful information. Below you can find out more about all the relevant basic settings for your map:

• General map settings
• Here you can change the name of your project and add an additional description. You can also upload a preview image for your map and a favicon.
  
  

• Map basic data

• You can access this setting area via the left selection tool or via the layer setting area. Here you can make the following basic settings:

   

  Drawing area

  Set the size of the drawing area here. This setting refers to the start screen of your map project. If you place elements outside this area, they will also be visible, but not in the centred initial view.    

   

  Background

  In this section you can set the background of your map project. You can change the background colour or add a background image. If you add an image, it will be enlarged in the live map when you zoom in. Elements that you place on this image will not change their position when you zoom in. For example, you can set the outline of a country as a background image and set the cities as nodes directly at the correct position.

  
  
  

• Global design settings

• Whether standard design for the dots, typography of the content boxes, line design or settings for elements such as tooltips, the table of contents or the editor: in the global design settings you can adjust and specify the basic design for all elements. This saves you a lot of time, because you do not have to adapt each element individually. If you want to customise an element later, you can do so at any time. 

   

  Here are all the setting options:

   

  • Node design
  • Here you can set the global appearance for nodes, such as size, labelling information or colour settings. If you create a new node on your map, this setting will be set as the default. 

   

  • Appearance Connections
  • Here you set the general appearance for lines: line width, line style, design setting for line labelling or line ends. As soon as you draw a connecting line between two nodes, this setting is set as default. 

   

  • Typography Contents
  • For the KontextMaps, various sizes are available for content boxes. To ensure that the font size fits the width of the respective box, you can globally adjust the fonts, font colours and font sizes for each type of box. If you select a specific box type for your content, the setting selected here will be used as the default.

   

  • Additional contents
  • In the side content boxes you have the option of adding additional content in a different design. This marginal information is additional content that is set off by lines below the main text. The navigation can be found at the bottom of the content box. For both types of content you can define the design globally here.

  
  
  

  • Tooltip content
  • When you create a glossary, the definition is automatically linked to the corresponding term in all texts. It then appears at the respective word in a so-called tooltip when you click on it. Here, you can define the font type and size to be used in the small definition window.

   

  • Table of contents
  • The font for the table of contents can be adjusted individually here.