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Injury Maps
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Injury Maps Tutorial

1.0  Tutorial

Tutorial Menu

This tutorial explains how to create national and state maps with Injury Maps.  The process involves 4 basic steps.

  1. Select national or state maps.
     
  2. Select the map options you desire.
     
  3. Select additional map options.
     
  4. Print the map.

This tutorial assumes you have a basic knowledge of using a mouse in a graphical user interface (GUI) such as Windows or Mac OS.

Note:  If you want to print this page, select "Landscape" orientation from your printer settings before printing.  This step will ensure that no text is cut off.

Step 1:  Select national or state maps.

If you want geographic distributions of injury for the entire United States, select a national map.  If you want geographic distributions of injury for a certain state or certain area within a state, select a state map.  To make your selection, follow these steps:

  1. Find the buttons for "National Maps" and "State Maps" in the left sidebar of the home page or any other page in the system.
       OR
    Find the links to the map sections in the main body of the system's home page.

  2. Click the button or the link for the type of map you desire.  The menu of options for that map will appear.

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Step 2:  Select map options.

National map options
Select whether to shade the map by county or by state.  The options for shading by county appear in a box at the top of the page, and the options for shading by state appear below the county box.  To select shading, simply complete the options in the box for the type of shading you desire.

The options within each box include 

(For in-depth definitions of these options, see help section 5.0.) 

Currently, the only choice for period of interest when shading counties is 1989-1998.  The only choice for period of interest when shading states is 1996-1998.  When shading by county, the options for cause of death  include nine leading causes of injury death; you may select only one.  When shading by state, the options for cause of death  include nine leading causes of injury death and 12  subcategories of those causes; you may select only one.  The choices for colors affect how the shading will appear.  The options include default 3 colors (red, blue, white); 4 colors (red, blue, gray, white ); 3 colors (green, light green, white); and grayscale (3 colors).

To select your national map options, take the following steps (see Figure 1.1):

  1. Decide whether to shade the map by county or by state.
  2. Select the options in the appropriate box (shading by county or shading by state) by clicking on the pull-down menus.  You can select only one item from each menu. 
  3. Click on the "map" button at the bottom of the box.  The map along with additional options will appear.

Figure 1.1:  National Map Options

screen capture of national map options

 

State map options
For state maps, your options include 

(For in-depth definitions of these options, see help section 5.0.)   

The choices for cause of death include nine leading causes of injury death; you may select as many as you want.   The choices for state include the 50 states of the U.S.  Currently, the only choice for period of interest is 1989-1998.  The options for colors affect how the shading will appear.    The choices include default three colors (red, blue, white); four colors (red, blue, gray, white ); three colors (green, light green, white); and grayscale (3 colors).

To select your state map options, follow these steps (see Figure 1.2):

  1. Select the causes of death you want displayed by clicking in the boxes beside their names (listed on the left side of the page).  If you want to select all of the causes, click in the "Check All" box at the top of the list.
  2. Select the other options you desire by clicking on the pulldown menus.  You can select only one item from each menu.
  3. Click on the "map" button at the bottom of the box.  The map along with additional options will appear.

Figure 1.2:  State Map Options

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Step 3:  Select additional map options.

Appearing along with your map is a set of options or features that allow you to further customize your map's appearance.  These features include 

Another feature, info, supplies more detailed information about any county you select on the map.

To select additional map options, follow these steps.
  1. To have the map display more items such as cities and highways:
    1. View the list of display options in the lower right corner of your screen.
    2. Click on the check boxes beside the items you want displayed in the column underneath the "eye" icon (see Figure 1.3).
    3. Click on the "Update Map" button at the bottom of the list.  The map with your desired display options will appear.
  2. To have the map display labels for items on the map:
    1. View the list of label options  in the lower right corner of your screen.
    2. Click on the check boxes beside the items you want labeled underneath the "label" icon (see Figure 1.3).
    3. Click on the "Update Map" button at the bottom of the list.  The map with your desired label options will appear.
  3. To zoom in and out of the map: 
    1. Click on the button labeled "Zoom In" or "Zoom Out" underneath the map (see Figure 1.4). 
    2. Click on an area of the map.  The map with the desired magnification will appear.
  4. To center the map:
    1. Click on the button labeled "Center" underneath the map (see Figure 1.4).
    2. Click on the map.  The map will reappear in the center of the map area.
  5. To download the map image:
    1. Click on the icon labeled "Download Map Image."  
    2. A "save" window appears; select where you want to save the image.
    3. Enter a name for the image (or use the default ID).
    4. Click on the "save" button.
  6. To view the data that appears in the map in a table format:
    1. Click on the icon labeled "View Tabular Data."
  7. To access additional information about a county: 
    1. Click on the button labeled "Info." 
    2. Click on an area of the map.  A window with the exact death rate for the county selected as well as links to an injury profile and the state health department appears (see Figure 1.5).

 

  

Figure 1.3: 
Display options

Figure 1.4:  Zoom, Center, and Info

screen capture of zoom, center, and info options

 

Figure 1.5:  Sample Window Showing Additional Information

screen capture of sample info window

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Step 4:  Print the map.

After you finish customizing your map, Injury Maps allows you to preview the map and print it using these steps:

  1. Click on the "Print Preview" button at the bottom of the screen.  A new window appears that shows how your map will appear when it is printed (see Figure 1.6).
  2. If the map appears satisfactory, click on the text "click here" to print, or select your browser's file menu, then print.
  3. If the map does not appear satisfactory, close the window and modify your map's display options, then repeat steps 1 and 2.

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National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
Mailstop K65
4770 Buford Highway NE
Atlanta, GA 30341-3724

Phone: 770.488.1506
Fax: 770.488.1667
Email: OHCINFO@cdc.gov

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This page last reviewed 08/05/04.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control