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Help me create an overhead map of my office!

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Wraith

Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2002
Location
Fussa Japan
The captain I work for just told me I need to make an overhead view of the office I work in showing all the cubes, and what extension reaches each cube.

My only idea was to do it the hard way in MS paint. before I start working I Was hoping someone else out there has a better idea/free program to make a fast map that looks professional, because my MSpaint map doesnt look so hot!

Thanks in advance!
 
Free, not 3k+

I just need an alternate to MS paint, or some suggestions on how to make a non crappy MS paint version of my cubes
 
drenader said:

Wraith said:
better idea/free program to make a fast map that looks professional

Last I checked, Autocad was thousands of dollars. Unless they've released a freeware or crippleware version, I don't think that's going to work.

You could try Paint.NET. It's a free version of MS Paint that has been fully enhanced and is very functional. That might do you alright.
 
Visio is you have it (but it costs $$$ if you don't). Otherwise either create an excel sheet or have MSPaint fun!
 
I tried Paint.net but since im using a governemnt computer I cant install the .net framwork.

This is quite a challenge =|
 
AutoCAD? Vector Drawing? Expensive design programs??? LOL
Do it the easy way...in EXCEL!!

Just make borders in Excel programs. You can write wahtever you want in them. Most companies, including the military makes these charts all the time in Excel...its nothing new and far easier then doing a GPS survey of your office and triangualtion vectors and measurments...

Just do it in Excel.


P.S. I did this in under 4 minutes... you can add things, edit them, draw arrows, bend arrows around corners to show exits, write text at angles... anything you want.

WraithsOffice.jpg
 
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I used to use the flowchart stuff in powerpoint to do all sorts of stuff like this...
 
Im not too familiar with excel, but I just discovered that MS Office Word 03 for XP has a nifty drawing utility that can do the job I need of it.

Exactly how would I do it in excel though? make borders on the spreadsheet boxes?
 
Almost everything is done using that middle tab "FORMAT" then choose "CELLS" and then go to the tab "BORDERS"...

Then just pick your borders shading and style and drop them in the box on whatever side you please. In the same Format-Cells tab, you can make cells become automatically date and time, wrap them around so the words dont leave the cell, change the angle of the writing to whatever angle you want, merge a few cells into one big one... (If you want colors just go to the top right and use the color fill buttons like on MS Word.) If you want pictures just use the INSERT tab up top and Insert from File...

SO easy. If you can use MS Word, you can use Excel. Just experiment and see what all the Format-Cell functions do. (My personal favorite is making cells that automatically add or multiply things when I enter numbers in them.)
 
Wraith said:
Awsome! I'll let you guys know how my finished project looks!

Someone already suggested OpenOffice's Draw program. That'd be a good answer. Its sorta similar to Visio, which is Microsoft's version of the right answer :- ]
 
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