What is the use of Automatic overview support in Qgis 2.0?

Question

Automatic overview support in map frame is one one of the new feature added in QGIS 2.0. In QGIS 2.0 Documentation explanation about this is given as:

Automatic overview support in map frame:

"Need to show the current area of the main map frame in a smaller overview window. Now you can. The map frame now contains the ability to show the extents of other and will update when moved. Using this with the atlas generation feature now core in the composer allows for some slick map generation. Overview frame style uses the same styling as a normal map polygon object so your creativity is never restricted".

I can't understand its usage clearly. Can anyone explain it briefly?

Answer 1

This is a GREAT feature! Often you want to show the current map's extent in a wider context. This is usually done with an inset map showing a larger area at a bigger scale, with a rectangle denoting the extent of the main main within the wider context. QGIS' new Automatic Overview support allows you to add a second map frame and identify it as being an overview of the main map frame. If you are using Atlas, the inset map will automatically update to show the current extent (according to the documentation - I haven't tried this yet but as a frequent user of Atlas, I am excited about this development - thanks to the QGIS dev team!)

To add an overview map do this:

• Create your main map
• Add a second map frame
• In the map properties of the second frame navigate to 'Overview' and set the overview frame to the main (first) map, choose your style etc.
• um... that's it! It is as simple as that!