Downloading Instructions for viewing NPS Digital Maps

The Adobe Illustrator 6.0 maps, symbol files, and Photoshop JPEG shaded reliefs on this server are encoded in BinHex with a .hqx suffix. To decode BinHex data, PC users must install Aladdin Expander 5.0 for Windows freeware, and Mac Users must install Aladdin Stuffit Expander 5.0 for Mac freeware.

We have recently made all digital map files available as Adode Acrobat PDFs. To view these files, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 freeware installed. See additional notes below on downloading and viewing PDFs.

Mac users

Illustrator map files, JPEG shaded reliefs, and Quick Time VR scenes:

In your browser, click on the file you wish to download. Downloaded BinHex files will automatically decode and decompress to the disk of your choice if Aladdin Stuffit Expander 5.0 for Mac is installed on your computer. Double click on the decompressed file to launch the appropriate application.

PC users (Win95/98/NT)

Illustrator map files and symbol files:

Adobe Systems has released Illustrator 9.0 for 32-bit Windows systems, allowing PC users to access Adobe Illustrator 6.0 files created on Macs.

In your browser, click on the Illustrator 6.0 file you wish to download using the left mouse button. You will be prompted for a destination directory and about the format of the file you are saving. Choose a directory and the "All Files (*.*)" option from the drop-down menu. Pick a name and save the file with a *.txt extension.

Depending on your browser and system configuration, Aladdin Expander 5.0 for Windows may automatically decode the BinHex file. If not, open Aladdin Expander 5.0 for Windows and drag the file into the Stuffit window. You will again be prompted for a destination directory. The file will be decompressed in the directory of your choice as a *.txt file. Although at this point the file has the *.txt extension, it will be recognized by Illustrator 8.0 as a legitimate Illustrator file.

Open Illustrator 8.0, then open the file. (Because of the *.txt extension, if you just click on the file without opening Illustrator first, Windows will attempt to open the file in an associated text application.) Go to the "File" drop-down menu, and choose the "Save As" option. Save the file in an Illustrator format of your choice using the *.ai extension. The original *.txt file can then be deleted from your directory.

JPEG shaded reliefs:

In your browser, click on the JPEG file you wish to download using the left mouse button. You will be prompted for a destination directory and about the format of the file you are saving. Choose a directory and the "All Files (*.*)" option from the drop-down menu. Pick a name and save the file with a *.jpg extension.

Depending on your browser and system configuration, Aladdin Expander 5.0 for Windows may automatically decode the BinHex file. If not, open Aladdin Expander 5.0 for Windows and drag the file into the Stuffit window. You will again be prompted for a destination directory. The file will be decompressed in the directory of your choice as a *.jpg file which can be opened in a JPEG viewer or graphics application.

Quick Time VR scenes; zip compressed:

In your browser, click on the QTVR file you wish to download using the left mouse button. You will be prompted for a destination directory and about the format of the file you are saving. Choose a directory and the "All Files (*.*)" option from the drop-down menu. Pick a name and save the file with a *.zip extension.

Open file manager and click on the *.zip file. If you have Aladdin Expander 5.0 for Windows loaded on your computer, you will be prompted for a destination directory for the uncompresed file. If you are using an unzipping tool other than Stuffit, you may have to "manually" unzip the file. In either case, the uncompressed file will have a *.mov extension and can then be viewed using the Apple QuickTime viewer.

Adobe Acrobat PDFs (Mac & Win95/NT)

The PDF maps at this site require Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 for viewing. This freeware application can be used as both a internet browser plug-in or as a stand-alone program. Follow Adobe Systems' downloading instructions and program documentation to properly install Acrobat Reader on your system.

To view a PDF in your browser window, click on the file link and the Acrobat Reader plug-in will automatically load and display the file.

NOTE: Although the PDF files are much smaller their Adobe Illustrator 8.0 counterparts, some of the largest can still take a while to download in a browser window, particularly on older systems or those with slow internet connections. To quicken viewing time, you may wish to save the PDF files to your hard drive and use the stand-alone application to view them.

To save the PDFs to your hard drive, click and hold on the link to the file. (Use the right mouse button on Win95/NT PCs.) Choose the "save file as" or "save link as" option from the drop-down menu. You will be prompted for a destination for the PDF. (Win95/NT users should save the files with a .pdf extension.) After saving the file, click on the alias/icon. Acrobat Reader will launch and open the PDF for viewing.