Thanks Duane, for sort of confirming that the new map tools are not really better than Google Earth. Importing the kmz file into Google Maps is a neat trick that saves designing a route in Earth then making a new map in Maps. The colors in the final screen shot are the problem with large files. I'm not savy enough to understand that. My final pdf files are all under 1 meg, but when Justin gets the png file it is much bigger, apparently because of the thousands of colors in the Google Maps Screen shot. I can use GIMP to reduce the number of colors, but I did not know the final version of the pdf file I send to the certifier (Jane) would become larger than when I sent it.
The problem I see with all this file manipulation to make a suitable map is that every new step takes us further away from the "anyone can measure a course for USATF certification" philosophy. Maybe that's why Gene and Jim think the new map tools are better. I still don't see it, especially for the course design function.