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Minecraft:Map

From SAS Gaming Wiki

Template:Distinguish Template:Infobox item A map is an Minecraft:item used to view explored surface terrain and Minecraft:players. Maps can be cloned, zoomed out and locked using a Minecraft:cartography table.

Obtaining

Crafting

Template:Crafting

Template:Crafting

Cartography table

Template:Exclusive

Template:IN, a map can also be created using a single Minecraft:paper in a Minecraft:cartography table to create an empty map, or a paper and a Minecraft:compass for an empty locator map.

Template:Cartography Template:Cartography

Starting map

Template:Exclusive When creating a new world Template:In, the player can enable the "Starting Map" option to spawn with an empty locator map in the hotbar. This option is not available in Minecraft:Hardcore mode. The map's zoom scale is 1:8.

Generated loot

Template:LootChestItem

Trading

Template:Trade sources

Villager gifts

Template:IN, cartographer villagers may give players with the Minecraft:Hero of the Village effect an empty map.

Usage

Mapping

Crafting a map creates an empty map. The map is drawn for the first time when it is held and used (by pressing the Template:Control control). After conversion to a drawn map item, it starts to draw a top-down view of the player's surroundings, with North pointing to the top of the map. A pointed oval pointer indicates the player's position on the map, and moves in real-time as the player moves across the terrain shown on the map. Template:IN, this pointer is displayed exclusively on locator maps.

File:Map18zooms.png
The map grid at different zoom levels

The map does not center on the player when created; rather, the world is broken up into large invisible grid squares, and the map displays the area of whichever grid square it was in when it was first used. For example, if a player uses a new map in a certain grid square, then moves a distance away and uses another fresh map within the same grid square, both maps still have the exact same boundary. To make a map with different bounds than the first one, the player would have to move outside of the edges of the first map to enter a new grid square. This way, no two maps of the same size can ever partially overlap. However, by externally editing a map's NBT file, the center coordinate of a map can be changed to aribitrary X and Z integer coordinates, and it will work correctly. So, technically, this restriction on possible center positions only applies to map creation.

To record the world on a map, that specific map must be held in either of the player's hands while the player moves around the world. The map records terrain within a 64 block radius (4 chunks) from a player in the Minecraft:Overworld or Minecraft:the End, or 32 blocks in Minecraft:the Nether. The map only records the surface even if the player is underground. The world is recorded as-is during exploration, meaning that if the world is modified, a player must revisit the area while holding the map to update the map.

Maps display as a mini-map when held in the Minecraft:off-hand, or if the off-hand slot is occupied; the map is full-sized only when held in the dominant hand with both hands free.

Maps can be cloned to synchronize them or framed for display.

To create a custom picture, a player can make a large piece of pixel art (128×128) facing upward, center a map on it, and place that map in an Minecraft:item frame. Locking is recommended. See Minecraft:Map item format#Map Pixel Art for details on the techniques.

Map content

Template:Main

Maps consist of square pixels arranged in a 128×128 square grid, with each pixel representing a square portion of land. A standard map represents 128×128 blocks (1 block per pixel, 8×8 Minecraft:chunks), but it can be zoomed out to represent up to 2048×2048 blocks (16 square blocks per pixel, 128×128 chunks).

Template:IN, the color of a map pixel generally matches the color of the most common Minecraft:opaque block in the corresponding area, as seen from a bird's-eye view. 'Minority blocks' in the target area have no effect on the color of the pixel, thus small features tend to be undetectable on zoomed-out maps.

Template:IN, the color of a map pixel instead matches the single top-most opaque block in a grid sized by the map's scale factor. For example, a map with zoom level 3/4 has a pixel size of 8×8 blocks; this means the map reads only the top-most opaque blocks at the 0,0 coordinate, the 8,0 coordinate, the 0,8 coordinate, etcetera, ignoring all other blocks in the area. This means that Template:In, map pixel art requires only one block per pixel regardless of map magnification.

Template:IN, grass, foliage and water colors that are biome-dependent are represented accurately on a map.

Template:El Template:El
File:Map Zoom 4.png File:Map item BE.png
Biome colors in Java Edition. Biome colors in Bedrock Edition.

On land above water, a block's color is darker if placed at a lower elevation than the block north of it, or brighter if placed at a higher elevation than the block north of it. Maps also show ground up to about 15 blocks below the surface of the water as slightly lighter blue, to show where the ground rises.

Other dimensions

While maps in Minecraft:the Nether work, they show only a red-and-gray pattern, regardless of the blocks placed. The only useful function is finding where the player is in relation to framed copies, which show as green pointers. Additionally, the player pointer rapidly spins and is not a good indicator of direction. Template:IN, Minecraft:banner markers placed in the Nether still show on the map as usual. Despite its unreliability, having a mapped trail can still be useful in some cases, such as while riding a Minecraft:strider over Minecraft:lava. Maps in Minecraft:the End work as usual, mapping the terrain and showing the accurate location and direction of the player.

Template:IN, holding a map from the Minecraft:Overworld in a different dimension shows the player's last position and direction in the Overworld. This effect is temporary, and the marker disappears after quitting and joining the world/server again.

Template:IN, an Overworld locator map in the Nether shows the player's relative location and direction in the Overworld. Similarly, a Nether locator map in the Overworld shows the player's relative location in the Nether, but the place marker spins. An Overworld locator map in the End shows the world spawn. A Nether locator map cannot be used in the End — the map appears, but the place marker is not shown anywhere — and similarly, an End locator map cannot be used in the Overworld or the Nether. The place marker changes color depending on the dimension that the player is currently in (white for the Overworld, red for the Nether, and magenta for the End).

Zooming out

A map can be zoomed out up to 4 times, increasing the covered area from 128×128 blocks up to a maximum of 2048×2048 blocks. An empty map cannot be zoomed out; it needs to be activated for the zooming to be possible. Changing the zoom level of a map resets its contents, and terrain needs to be explored again to be drawn on the zoomed out map.

Locked maps cannot be zoomed out.

Template:Cartography

Template:Crafting

Name Ingredients Minecraft:Anvil usage Description
Map or Locator Map (zoomed out) Minecraft:Map or Locator Map +
Minecraft:Paper
Template:Anvil Template:Only

Supplying 8 sheets of paper results in a zoomed-out version of the input map.


Zoom details

The zooming function starts from when the map is created (zoom level 0/4) up to its fourth zoom step (zoom level 4/4).

Zoom step 0 Zoom step 1 Zoom step 2 Zoom step 3 Zoom step 4
Zoom step 0, 1:1 Zoom step 1, 1:2 Zoom step 2, 1:4 Zoom step 3, 1:8 Zoom step 4, 1:16
Zoom level 0/4 1/4 2/4 3/4 4/4
1 map pixel represents 1 block 4 blocks

2×2 blocks

16 blocks

4×4 blocks

64 blocks

8×8 blocks

256 blocks (1 chunk)

16×16 blocks

Scaling ratio 1:1 1:2 1:4 1:8 1:16
Map covers an area of 128×128 blocks 256×256 blocks 512×512 blocks 1024×1024 blocks 2048×2048 blocks
8×8 chunks 16×16 chunks 32×32 chunks 64×64 chunks 128×128 chunks
Total paper needed to zoom out from Level 0 in anvilTemplate:Only or crafting table - Template:ItemSprite 8 Template:ItemSprite 16 Template:ItemSprite 24 Template:ItemSprite 32
in cartography table - Template:ItemSprite 1 Template:ItemSprite 2 Template:ItemSprite 3 Template:ItemSprite 4

Maps are always aligned to a grid at all zoom levels. That means zooming out any different map in a specific area covered by that map always has the same center. As such, maps are aligned by map width (1024 blocks for a level 3 map) minus 64. A level 3 map generated at X=0 Z=0 covers X and Z coordinates from -64 to 959. All maps generated in this area zoom out to the same coordinates, guaranteeing that they are always 'aligned' on a map wall. For a zoomed-out map to cover a new area, it must start with a base (level 0) map that is in that new area.

At zoom level 0, a map created on the point (0,0) has (0,0) at the center of the map. At higher zoom levels of the same map, the coordinate (0,0) is in the top left square of the map.

Template:IN, the zoom level and the scaling factor are displayed in the tooltip of a map by turning on advanced tooltips (a debug option that can be toggled by using the key combination Template:Key). Template:IN, the zoom level of a map is always displayed in its tooltip.

Cloning

A map can be cloned to create multiple synchronized copies linked to the same map data. Multiple players can hold clones of the same map to record different parts of the world simultaneously.

Upon cloning a map, the parts of the world that have already been explored and mapped are copied; thereafter, newly explored areas appear on all cloned instances automatically. The resulting copies have the same zoom level as the starting map. If one of the maps is later zoomed out, then that map loses its connection to the original and functions as a completely separate map that has to be individually filled by exploring.

All cloned maps stack with each other, unless renamed. Even if renamed, the mapped areas continue to remain in sync.

Template:IN, both empty maps and empty locator maps may be used to clone a map. Whether the cloned maps show position markers is dependent only on the input map. For this reason, using an empty locator map instead of an empty map for cloning is a waste of a compass.

Template:Cartography Template:Crafting

Name Ingredients Minecraft:Anvil usage Description
Map or Locator Map (cloned) Minecraft:Map or Locator Map +
Minecraft:Empty Map
Template:Anvil Template:Only

Only one copy can be made at a time.

The non-empty input map must be a locator map for the output to be a locator map. An empty locator map is the same as an empty map for this recipe.

In Minecraft:Creative mode, a map in an item frame may be cloned by using Template:Control on it, as long as that map is not also in the player's inventory.

Player markers

Holding any map Template:In, or a locator map Template:In, displays a white pointer that marks the position of the player and points in the same direction as the player. When a player moves out of a map, the pointer turns into a white dot which moves along the edge relative to the player's position. The marker disappears if the player is too far from the mapped area; in Minecraft:explorer maps, the dot becomes smaller instead of fully disappearing. The distance on the X or Z axis from the map's edge required for the dot to vanish (regular maps) or to turn smaller (explorer maps) depends on the zoom level of the map:

  • Level 0/4 : more than 256 blocks away
  • Level 1/4 : more than 512 blocks away
  • Level 2/4 : more than 1024 blocks away
  • Level 3/4 : more than 2048 blocks away
  • Level 4/4 : more than 4096 blocks away

Java Edition

In multiplayer, other players are displayed on the map only if they have a map in their inventory cloned from the one being looked at. Other players are marked using white pointers. Players wearing a Minecraft:carved pumpkin are not marked on other players' maps.

Bedrock Edition

Template:IN, position markers are displayed exclusively on locator maps. A map without position markers can be turned into a locator map at a later time by combining it with a Minecraft:compass on the Minecraft:crafting grid, on an Minecraft:anvil, or at a Minecraft:cartography table.

Template:Cartography Template:Crafting

Name Ingredients Minecraft:Anvil usage Description


Locator Map Minecraft:Map +
Minecraft:Compass
Template:Anvil Template:Only

Maps crafted with only paper do not show the location marker; to add it, a compass must be added to the map.

File:Bedrock multiplayer map.png
Player markers in multiplayer

In multiplayer, a locator map contains markers for all players who are not in Minecraft:Spectator mode and are not wearing a Minecraft:head or a Minecraft:carved pumpkin, even if they don't have any maps in their inventory. In the Overworld, players see themselves as a white pointer, and other players are displayed in different colors depending on the order in which they joined: the first player who joined - or the host - is light gray (looking almost identical to the regular white pointer), the second player is cyan, the third player is orange, the fourth player is light green, and so on. All players in the Nether are displayed with a red pointer, and all players in the End use a magenta pointer.

If other players have a map in their inventory cloned from the one being looked at, they are displayed using white pointers. This also includes players wearing a head or a carved pumpkin, and players in Spectator mode.

Players who are between 10 to 80 blocks away are displayed using the face of their skin instead of the pointer, with a border colored as described above.

Framing

When a map is placed into an Minecraft:item frame, the map displays a green pointer at the location of the item frame (it must be a locator map Template:In). If the player leaves a map in an item frame and then views a clone of it, the green pointer is displayed on both copies. This can be used to track waypoints. If a player holds a map whose clone is on display in an item frame, then the map in the item frame updates along with the held map.

These markers work only on clones of the same map. Other maps of the same area do not show the existing markers that the player(s) had placed.

The size of the item frame expands when displaying a map. This allows for combining multiple maps side-by-side to create a much larger map display that visually appears to be one continuous map. For example, a player could display four maps in a 2x2 grid on a wall; if each map is zoom level 2, the total area displayed would be 1024×1024 blocks (the same as a zoom level 3 map) but with a scaling ratio of 1:4 (the same as a zoom level 2 map), depicting much more detail than a zoom level 3 map.

Unexplored areas of a framed map are transparent, making the item frame visible.

Template:Exclusive

File:Banner marked map.png
All banners marked on a map, alongside a named banner.

Template:IN, the player can also mark spots on a map by Template:Control a map on a placed-down Minecraft:banner. The mark takes the color of whatever the base color is for the banner, and if the banner was given a name using an Minecraft:anvil, the mark shows that name. Banner marks on a map are always oriented with their top facing north, regardless of the banner's actual orientation. If the banner is destroyed, the mark of the banner remains at first, but if the player gets closer to where the banner previously was, it disappears as the area is updated on the map. However the banner marker doesn't work on map of level 3 and above.

Locking

Maps can be locked when using a Minecraft:glass pane in a Minecraft:cartography table. This creates a new map containing the same data and locks it. All new copies of this new map are also locked. A locked map never changes, even when the depicted terrain changes. Template:IN, locked maps have a unique texture.

Minecraft:Stained glass panes cannot be used to lock maps.

Template:Cartography

Condition Newly created map Map after terrain alteration
Unlocked map File:Map Zoom 0.png File:Unlocked Map.png
Locked map File:Map Zoom 0.png File:Map Zoom 0.png

Renaming

Template:Exclusive

File:Cartography table map rename.png
Renaming a map in a cartography table

Template:IN, a map or an empty map can be renamed at a Minecraft:cartography table. A renamed empty map keeps its name when activated. Unlike renaming items at an Minecraft:anvil, this does not cost any Minecraft:experience.


Sounds

Template:Edition Template:SoundTable

Template:Edition: Template:SoundTable

Data values

ID

Template:Edition: Template:ID table Template:ID table

Template:Edition: Template:ID table Template:ID table

Metadata

Template:See also Template:IN, maps use the following data values: <section begin="metadata"/> Empty map: Template:Dvt Template:Dvt

Filled map: Template:Dvt Template:Dvt Template:Dvt Template:Dvt Template:Dvt Template:Dvt Template:Dvt Template:Dvt Template:Dvt Template:Dvt Template:Dvt Template:Dvt Template:Dvt Template:Dvt<section end="metadata"/>

Item data

Template:JE: Template:See also

Template:Calculator

Template:BE: Template:See also

Map icons

Template:See also Map icons are 8×8 in Java Edition, but 16×16 in Bedrock Edition. As such, there are minor misalignment issues in Java Edition.<ref>Template:Bug</ref>

File:Map icons BE.png
Map icons texture Template:In
Java ID Bedrock ID Text ID Appearance Purpose Shown in item frames?
0 player File:Player (texture) JE1 BE1.png File:Player (texture) BE2.png White marker Players (on map); Template:In, dynamically recolored for other players or players in the Nether or End No
1 1 frame File:Green Marker (texture) JE1 BE1.png File:Green Marker (texture) BE2.png Green marker The current map in an item frame Yes
2 red_marker File:Red Marker (texture) JE1 BE1.png File:Red Marker (texture) BE2.png Red marker Unused No
3 blue_marker File:Blue Marker (texture) JE1 BE1.png File:Blue Marker (texture) BE2.png Blue marker Unused No
4 target_x File:Target X (texture) JE1 BE1.png White X Unused Yes
5 5 target_point File:Target Point (texture) JE1 BE1.png File:Target Point (texture) BE2.png Red triangle Unused Yes
6 6 player_off_map File:Player Off Map (texture) JE1 BE1.png Large white dot Players off map, nearby No
7 13 player_off_limits File:Player Off Limits (texture) JE1.png Small white dot Players off map, far away No
8 14 mansion File:Mansion (texture) JE2.png Woodland mansion Woodland mansion Yes
9 15 monument File:Monument (texture) JE2.png Ocean monument Ocean monument Yes
10 - 25 Template:Tooltip File:Banner White (texture) JE1.png File:Banner Light Gray (texture) JE1.png File:Banner Gray (texture) JE1.png File:Banner Black (texture) JE1.png File:Banner Brown (texture) JE1.png File:Banner Red (texture) JE1.png File:Banner Orange (texture) JE1.png File:Banner Yellow (texture) JE1.png File:Banner Lime (texture) JE1.png File:Banner Green (texture) JE1.png File:Banner Cyan (texture) JE1.png File:Banner Light Blue (texture) JE1.png File:Banner Blue (texture) JE1.png File:Banner Purple (texture) JE1.png File:Banner Magenta (texture) JE1.png File:Banner Pink (texture) JE1.png
Banners in all 16 wool colorsTemplate:Only
Banner markers Yes
26 4 red_x File:Red X (texture) JE1.png File:Target X (texture) BE2.png Red X Buried treasure Yes
8 File:Magenta Marker (texture) BE1.png Magenta marker Unused No
9 File:Orange Marker (texture) BE1.png Orange marker Unused Yes
10 File:Yellow Marker (texture) BE1.png Yellow marker Unused No
11 File:Cyan Marker (texture) BE1.png Cyan marker Unused No
- 12 File:Green Point (texture) BE1.png Green triangle Other structure such as stronghold, fortress, End city, etc. when used as explorer map destinationTemplate:Only Yes
27 17 desert_village File:Desert Village (texture) JE1 BE1.png Desert village Desert village Yes
28 18 plains_village File:Plains Village (texture) JE1 BE1.png Plains village Plains village Yes
29 19 savanna_village File:Savanna Village (texture) JE1 BE1.png Savanna village Savanna village Yes
30 20 snowy_village File:Snowy Village (texture) JE1 BE1.png Snowy village Snowy village Yes
31 21 taiga_village File:Taiga Village (texture) JE1 BE1.png Taiga village Taiga village Yes
32 22 jungle_pyramid File:Jungle Pyramid (texture) JE1 BE1.png Jungle pyramid Jungle pyramid Yes
33 23 swamp_hut File:Swamp Hut (texture) JE1 BE1.png Swamp hut Swamp hut Yes
34 24 trial_chambers File:Trial Chambers (texture) JE1.png Trial chambers Trial chambers Yes

It should be noted that even if the player used a NBT editor to add an additional icon on the map, Minecraft shows only the first one listed when the player loads up their world.

Achievements

Template:Load achievements

History

Template:See also

Development

Template:HistoryTable

Java Edition

Template:HistoryTable

Bedrock Edition

Template:HistoryTable

Legacy Console Edition

Template:HistoryTable

Data history

Java Edition

Template:HistoryTable

Bedrock Edition

Template:HistoryTable

Issues

Template:Issue list

Trivia

  • Template:IN, a map created using Template:Cmd can be any map by using the Map parameter to specify the map number desired. E.g. Template:Cmd gives the specified player map_5. If no data value is supplied it defaults to map_0. If map_0 has not ever been crafted, it is centered on x=0, z=0.
  • The maps are stored separately as their own data (.dat) file as map_x.dat with (x) being the map number, see Minecraft:map item format for more info. By manipulating this number, players can organize their maps to suit them, or if they accidentally create a map in the same location, they can delete their extra map so as to save the number they make.
  • Certain programs can be used to make customized maps with images or text on them instead of actual maps.
  • Since all copies of a map are links to the same file, copying an unfinished map keeps it synchronized with the copy as the player fills it in. Thus, a copy stored in a chest can act as a remote backup.
  • A map that is in an item frame does not update itself until a player picks it up, lets it reload, and places it back again. However, if a player holds a clone of the map, both maps update.
  • Filled maps are the only items that make 90 degree rotations in item frames, and also the only items that can expand the item frame into full block wide.
  • Template:IN, the player always spawns with a map in their inventory after creating a world. This was later added to Template:El as an optional feature in the world creation menu.
  • Maps Template:In always show the player's current coordinates at the player's eye level, as a substitute for the optional coordinate display in other editions.
  • A map cannot be created Template:In. Instead, the map is always displayed on the bottom screen along with the coordinates. Biome colors do not appear on maps.
  • Template:IN, player pointer rotation in Minecraft:the Nether is determined by in-game daytime. You could set Template:Cmd to freeze it and adjust the angle by changing time, e.g. Template:Cmd

Gallery

Renders

Screenshots

Mojang images

In other media

See also

References

Template:Reflist

Navigation

Template:Navbox items

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