TileMill Now Lets You Design Maps for the Web on Windows

[TileMill](http://mapbox.com/tilemill), the free and open-source design studio for creating beautiful web maps, is now available for [download on Windows](http://mapbox.com/tilemill/#windows/). With the latest release, the map-making tool is fully operational on the three leading operating systems: Windows, Mac, and Linux. With Windows still dominating the marketplace, this is a huge development that will open the door to many more users being able to use TileMill to make custom maps. This was possible because [Node.js](http://nodejs.org/), the blazingly fast open-source software that's at the core of TileMill, [recently gained Windows support](http://developmentseed.org/blog/2012/jan/13/tilemill-on-windows/).  ## Quick Start To get started making custom maps with Tilemill, [download the latest release](http://mapbox.com/tilemill/) and follow the installer directions to quickly get set up on any Windows XP, Vista, or 7 computer. TileMill is a desktop application that you can integrate into existing GIS workflows or use on its own as a design tool. [Take the tour](http://mapbox.com/tour/) to see what features it offers, and check out [documentation](http://mapbox.com/tilemill/docs/) for details on getting started designing maps. ## A 20-Minute Crash Course in TileMill We also just published a new [crash course](http://mapbox.com/tilemill/docs/crashcourse/introduction/) for TileMill that covers the entire map making process -- from preparing data to publishing a map online -- in short, easy-to-follow tutorials. This is a hands-on introduction, walking through the four main steps for making interactive maps. In roughly 20 minutes, you will have created your first map in TileMill while touching upon the four critical aspects of a typical project.  Along with some introductory information about how to use and maximize making maps with TileMiill, the crash course walks through: 1. [Importing a basic spreadsheet](http://mapbox.com/tilemill/docs/crashcourse/point-data/) 2. [Styling a basic point map](http://mapbox.com/tilemill/docs/crashcourse/styling/) 3. [Adding tooltips and legends](http://mapbox.com/tilemill/docs/crashcourse/tooltips/) 4. [Exporting maps and sharing them on the web](http://mapbox.com/tilemill/docs/crashcourse/exporting/) ## Community support If you have a question or problem that isn't covered in the help documentation, or have other feedback, start a conversation with us in the [support forum](http://support.mapbox.com). For updates on new documentation and other news, watch the [MapBox blog](http://mapbox.com/blog/) and follow us [@MapBox](http://twitter.com/mapbox) on Twitter.