Traditionally, IF maps are represented by boxes connected by lines, representing the various rooms and their directions connections. They are intended to represent movements in the adventure world locations, not a physical representation of its geography — but sometimes «realistic» maps are provided with the game feelies, for aesthetic reasons.

Mapping tools can be used for either manually drawing maps from scratch, or to automatically build a map by analizying a game session transcript (live or saved). Some tools offer both functionality.

Many of the tools presented here are now hosted at the IF-Archive — they are old and don’t have any longer a website of their own. To avoid direct linking to their binary archives, a link to the “Mapping Tools” index page at IF-Archive will be provided instead:

6.1. Cross Platform IFM (Interactive Fiction Mapper, 1998–2014) — IFM is both a language for keeping track of gameplay progress and a command line tool (for Windows and Linux) capable of representing the collected map-data in different output formats (PostScript, Fig, ASCII text, and others) and offering many other features, including automapping. Windows executables can be downloaded from the IF Archive. Linux users can build IFM from the Bitbucket sources via GNU make . (Online Manual | Bitbucket | IFWiki)

IFMapper — A map drawing tool, written in Ruby, with lots of features, including automapping. Can read and save IFM files and Inform/TADS3 source code files. Exports to PDF. (Online Manual | GitHub)

SVGmaps.zip (2008) — A JavaScript framework for producing IF maps using the standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) language.

6.2. macOS Cocoa Mapre (2004) — ( cocoa_mapre0.6.7.dmg ) A tool for generating maps of Multi-User Dungeons on Mac OS X.

6.3. MS Windows AutoREALM (2006) — A vector-based map drawing software (FOSS) designed for RPGs. Allows the creation of detailed full-color maps; ideal for the creation of elegant game maps where «room boxes» are superimposed on a realistic up-to-scale representation of the game world.

Campaign Cartographer — A commercial tool for drawing fantasy-style terrain maps — not the classic rooms/directions-based diagram IF maps, but ancient-looking «realistic» full-color maps, with villages, lakes, sea, forests. Execellent for creating feelies maps.

Frobot Magic Adventure Mapper (1998) — Automapping tool for Windows 95.

GUEmap — Map drawing tool, can also generate directions for moving around the map. GUEmap v1 (1998–1999) is Sharaware, GUEmap v2 (1998–2007) is now free and open source. Runs on Windows 95/98 or NT 4.0.

Informapper (1996) — A map drawing program for Windows, Spanish only user interface. Can export as a skeleton file for SINTAC. Can’t execute on modern versions of Windows.

Map Maker (1999) — A Windows 95/98/NT world-building tool for visually designing maps to be converted as AGT, AGX, Hugo and TADS source code. Can still be executed under Windows 10.

The Mapper (1994) — Automapping tool — comes as a .COM executable format. Can’t execute on modern versions of Windows.

Trizbort (2010-today) — For drawing Infocom-style maps. Automapping feature. Saves in XML, exports to PDF or PNG. Actively developed.

6.4. Linux/*nix Adventure Map Utility (1994) — A shell script that implements a domain-specific language for creating printable PostScript maps from plaintext input files.

asciimapper (2005) — A Perl script to create IFM maps from ASCII art maps. Intended as an easy way to draw a map and have it converted to IFM format.

ifm2i7 (2008) — A Perl program to convert maps in IFM format to Inform 7 source code.

informap (1999) — A perl script that draws maps out of Inform source code.