Approximating small maps in PhotoShop CS4

[shtinkypuppie]

Hello,

I am not exactly a cartography enthusiast but have found myself trying to master it since becoming a hiking/backpacking enthusiast. Recently I acquired a treasure trove of information which I am trying to make more useful to me. I have several sets of 20-30 maps, each set describing one irregularly-shaped area. Each map represents a quarter of a USGS quad. The only way I've found to combine them is very tedious: I make the background transparent, crop them down to just the map (remove the frame), paste them all into one huge, blank page in photoshop, and try to arrange them by dragging them around. I wonder if anyone knows of a better way to do this, one that won't take hours for each area covered.

Thanks,
Eric

[HandsomeRob]

Photoshop actually has a tool to do this automatically.

Open up all of your map pieces and go:
File > Automate > Photomerge.

The rest should take care of itself.

-Rob