Global Mapper v25.0

Global Mapper v17-Beta Release

samknight
samknight BMG Staff
edited November 2015 in Announcement and News

We are excited to announce the upcoming release of Global Mapper v17! This major release offers a variety of powerful, new features and functions that we know you will find useful. Thank you all for your ongoing interest and support of Global Mapper. We are looking forward to your feedback during the beta period. Please send your questions and suggestions to beta@bluemarblegeo.com. If you’d rather post your technical questions to the forum, look for the Global Mapper Beta questions thread: http://forum.globalmapperforum.com/discussion/12795/global-mapper-17-beta-questions

There are some great new features coming in v17 that you will find in the beta:

  • New Cartographic Map Publishing tool including:
    • A paper scale interface that actually lets you work with the layout in the paper proportions.
    • Easier addition of overlays for graphics, text, legend, scale bar, north arrows etc, and positioning these elements through click and drag
    • Saving and loading from templates
  • New Multi-View interface for split screen 2D and 3D map views for better data visualization and manipulation
  • Several new built-in online sources, including US National Map sources (w/ 1 foot color imagery source), World Navigation Charts (1:1M Scale ONC Charts), and Australian water sources.
  • New support for CPT palette files, both for layer color palettes and for initializing elevation shaders and updated support for PLY, PNG (added EXIF tag support), Sketchup, CPT and USGS Earth Explorer formats
  • Updated logging information now available for scripting, along with many other scripting enhancements
  • Speed improvements and threading updates for many large format raster and vector data types
  • Updates to GPS Tracking, to support Glonass and Baidu NMEA positions, as well as new tracking functions to follow the live position more closely and orient the map to the GPS Heading.
  • Added new GPS toolbar buttons to control whether or not the main display centers on the GPS vessel location and automatically rotates to keep the GPS heading towards the top of the display.
  • Attribute Calculation now stores the previous formula for new attributes, if one exists, so that a user can see what changes a previous formula made to an attribute .

 LiDAR Module

  • Dramatic speed enhancements for LiDAR and other Point Cloud data for drawing, gridding and load
  • New LiDAR processing for noise reductions, and updated building and vegetation classification
  • Fast spatial thinning and threading for very large datasets
  • Calculation of basic rooftop statistics from point clouds

3D updates

  • Dramatic 3D display speed optimizations

There are of course many, many more enhancements, these are just some highlights. You can access the Beta downloads from our website at:

http://data.bluemarblegeo.com/downloads/global-mapper/dailybuilds/beta17/


As in the past, the beta can be installed right alongside previous versions without uninstalling them; they will not be impacted by the new version. As a reminder we recommend using an official release version for any production work.  Once installed, you can request an evaluation license from the Registration screen that will launch the first time you open Global Mapper 17.  We hope you like the new features, the complete list of What’s New will display during installation.

Regards,
Sam Knight
Director of Product Management
Blue Marble Geographics

UPDATED (9/17/2015): We have updated the beta installers linked above, based on good feedback we've received so far.  Mainly bug fixes and a few buttons and settings relocated.  Thanks for your feedback and keep it coming!

Comments

  • PaulTocknell
    PaulTocknell Forum Administrator Unconfirmed
    Thanks for the update Sam.  Installing now!
  • kbellis
    kbellis Global Mapper User Trusted User
    Thanks Sam. This is welcomed news :)
  • Mykle
    Mykle Global Mapper User Trusted User
    Suggestions:
    1. Update the Upgrade page to include the v16-v17 upgrade.
    http://www.bluemarblegeo.com/products/global-mapper-purchase.php
    (I do note that using the v15-v16 option provides upgrading to both v16 and v17, so you delete one of them before continuing)

    2. Note the new upgrade price of $199 (up from $169).
    (I do note that the Upgrade now costs more than the price paid for my first version, v5, $179.  And that the Upgrade now costs twice what the upgrade v5-v6 cost.) 

    3. Provide a description about applicable taxes.  Blue Marble does not have a presence in Arizona, as far as I know.  The tax of $12+ is almost the same as the increase in the upgrade price.  

    My wallet is sore!  Maybe that is why people are supposed to retire. 

    Off to install the beta ...
    Mykle

  • kbellis
    kbellis Global Mapper User Trusted User
    Where is the paper scale tool you mentioned?
  • Mykle
    Mykle Global Mapper User Trusted User
    Kelly,
    I see one in Tools | Map Layout Preview , with an icon to toggle the ruler on and off. 

    I note that the Map layout can (and will usually) be different than available in View | Workspace Layout Options.  Some users may confuse themselves between the two.  Not sure how to make clear their difference. 

    In Map Layout Preview, it would be helpful to have additional options for Position and Size of elements, including presets like left / lower left / bottom / lower right / etc.  I'm looking specifically at the Scale Bar, and it would be similar for North Arrow.  I tried selecting the Scale Bar, then using the Format menu but all options are grey (this could be the place to align objects to the margin).   Otherwise you need to type in the position. 

    I have not yet found how to specify the units for the Map Layout Preview.  I'm set to metric in projection, and units in Configuration | General, and seeing inches in the layout.  I would certainly want to be able to use metric on the map, and print to a page in inches.  Others would want to print to a page in cm.  A Layout option may be the appropriate place for a selection.  You could even link to the choice of paper size (letter/legal/ledger/tabloid -> inches, A0 /

    The Map Layout Preview has a File | Close option, expecting it to close the dialog, but perhaps it closes something else (template file?).    No way to tell. 

    File | New Layout might better be called "Layout".  Otherwise, it's not immediately obvious that to edit your layout, you need to select "New Layout". 

    This is the only place to change the page size that I see on a quick browse.  Note that the button tooltip sez "View/Change the current page size", but all that you can change are the margins. 

    The map element can be set to whatever bounds you like, by normal methods of selecting bounds.  The sides and corners of the map element can be interactively adjusted.   While changing the size of the map element changes the scale, it would be good to be able to change the bounds and preserve the current scale.  I tried various combinations of shift/ctrl/alt while exploring other behaviors. 

    Cheers,
    Mykle
  • bmg_bob
    bmg_bob Global Mapper Programmer
    Thank you for the feedback.
    In Map Layout Preview, it would be helpful to have additional options for Position and Size of elements, including presets like left / lower left / bottom / lower right / etc.  I'm looking specifically at the Scale Bar, and it would be similar for North Arrow.  I tried selecting the Scale Bar, then using the Format menu but all options are grey (this could be the place to align objects to the margin).   Otherwise you need to type in the position.  

    We will look at adding some preset locations.  When you select a layout element, you should be able to align it with the margins/center using the Format->Align to Margins menu item (on the main menu or the right-click context menu).  If you have selected an element and those menu items are disabled, that sounds like a bug.

    I have not yet found how to specify the units for the Map Layout Preview.  I'm set to metric in projection, and units in Configuration | General, and seeing inches in the layout.  I would certainly want to be able to use metric on the map, and print to a page in inches.  Others would want to print to a page in cm.  A Layout option may be the appropriate place for a selection.  You could even link to the choice of paper size (letter/legal/ledger/tabloid -> inches, A0 / 

    The units are tied to the paper size.  The beta only has a few (A4 uses metric), but the final release will have a lot more.

    The Map Layout Preview has a File | Close option, expecting it to close the dialog, but perhaps it closes something else (template file?).    No way to tell.  

    The map layout elements are preserved after the dialog is closed, and are saved with the workspace.  The elements will be reloaded the next time you open the Map Layout Preview window.

    File | New Layout might better be called "Layout".  Otherwise, it's not immediately obvious that to edit your layout, you need to select "New Layout".  

    When you select File->New Layout, you are starting a new layout from scratch.  To apply a different template, you can use File->Open Template.

    This is the only place to change the page size that I see on a quick browse.  Note that the button tooltip sez "View/Change the current page size", but all that you can change are the margins.  

    You are correct that that is the only place to change the page size.  It would probably make sense to look at adding a way to change the page size without having to start from scratch.

    The map element can be set to whatever bounds you like, by normal methods of selecting bounds.  The sides and corners of the map element can be interactively adjusted.   While changing the size of the map element changes the scale, it would be good to be able to change the bounds and preserve the current scale.  I tried various combinations of shift/ctrl/alt while exploring other behaviors.  

    We will look at adding a way to preserve the scale when sizing the map element.

  • Hi Folks, just a quick update: We have updated the beta installers linked above, based on good feedback we've received so far.  Mainly bug fixes and a few buttons and settings relocated.  Thanks for your feedback and keep it coming!

    Regards, 
    Sam Knight
    Director of Product Management
    Blue Marble Geographics
  • kbellis
    kbellis Global Mapper User Trusted User
    edited September 2015
    Thanks for the heads up Sam. When should the beta users expect that the Automatic Check for Updates at Startup will bring those next iterations?

    In regards to v17's Map Layout Preview Options, are there plans to include a few sample *.gm_map template files?

    There should also be a Custom (size) selection, in addition to the other size options on the pull down list wherein users could define any size documents.

    In regards to the Map Layout window - I don't think the word Preview adds anything to the understanding this feature's functionality - most folks think preview as only that; looking at a static image - this is more closely the Map Layout Editor.

    The Map Layout Editor should by default take up the entirety of the desktop, and thereafter open to the last position, size and configuration used. The paper space likewise should fill the entire Map Layout Editor window - much like the Home key already affords users in the main GM workspace to zoom extents.

    In the Map Layout Editor, the first icon for Map Layout Preview should be used to replace the old/ exiting icon (4th from the right in the File Toolbar) in the main GM workspace for the same preview feature/ dialog pane - in short, be consistent.

    Focus on added map elements, i.e., getting one element selected from various overlapping elements is awkward at present. Mouseover events should give visual indications of which element can be selected before its selection.

    Right clicking on a highlighted element in the Map Element Control Center did not offer any options (yet, I'm guessing).

    There needs to be a Selection tool, typically in other programs this will have some sort or arrow icon and sometimes even a second arrow for selecting nested elements in a group.

    Beg, barrow or steal many of the graphically related items listed on the General tab beneath the Configuration dialog window in the main program and incorporate them into the Map Layout Editor where they could be employed.

    This will be a marvelous new feature and I see great potential for its development!

     

     
     

  • bmg_bob
    bmg_bob Global Mapper Programmer
    Thank you for the feedback.  We have renamed the Map Layout Preview to Map Layout Editor, per your suggestion, and we will keep your other ideas in mind as we continue development of the Map Layout Editor.
  • JSL
    JSL Global Mapper User Trusted User
    One of the most time-consuming tasks I've had when making figures from GM is positioning lat-long points on the edges of the figure.  I've had to create grid lines, superimpose the mage on the lines, then twiddle the grid line lengths and fonts to work with the map image.  Does this new version automate any of those procedures?
  • kbellis
    kbellis Global Mapper User Trusted User
    Is all of the twiddling done in GM?
  • JSL
    JSL Global Mapper User Trusted User
    Yes! :)

    What I've done quite a few times is save the desktop as a geotiff, then clear the desktop, create a big latlong grid, bring the geotiff back in on top of the grid, and trim the grid lines to stick out the proper distance from the geotiff.  Then I create points at the ends of the grid lines and label them according to the latlong.  Problem is, if I then have to resize the map, I have to go through the whole process again.

    It's been my experience that quite a few geology journals require latlongs on all their figures, so it would be very helpful for the map layout editor to be able to create automatic latlong indicators on the margins of the map. 

  • bmg_bob
    bmg_bob Global Mapper Programmer
     it would be very helpful for the map layout editor to be able to create automatic latlong indicators on the margins of the map.  

    Unfortunately, this functionality did not make it into the first iteration of the Map Layout Editor, but it is on the list, near the top in priority.

  • JSL
    JSL Global Mapper User Trusted User
    I just finished watching the Intro to GM17 webinar, and am very impressed.  I had a few questions, though, which I haven't seen answered:

    Has the speed of watershed generation been improved?

    Can the Map Layout Editor be used to export the map to an image file, such as jpg, in addition to printing it?  What would be the best way to add latlong indicators to the edges of a map?

    Questions about the multiple map view function:
    Can vector elements be selectively added to one screen and not the others?
    Can you change which layer is the Primary View?  As a corollary, can you change out the layer in one of the secondary views for another layer--for example, DEM in one view, topo in another, political boundaries in another?
    Can you export all the screens together as one image file, without showing the toolbars? (Would be very useful for creating journal illustrations)
    Can you show latlong grids on one map and not the others? (Useful for creating reference maps). Another way of asking that would be, does every map view have its own control center, while still being docked to the others?

    Thanks for all the work put into this version...looking forward to using it.
  • bmg_bob
    bmg_bob Global Mapper Programmer
    JSL said:
    Can the Map Layout Editor be used to export the map to an image file, such as jpg, in addition to printing it?  What would be the best way to add latlong indicators to the edges of a map?

    We plan to add both of these functions in the next couple of months.
  • bmg_bob
    bmg_bob Global Mapper Programmer

    JSL said:
    Questions about the multiple map view function:
    Can vector elements be selectively added to one screen and not the others?
    Can you change which layer is the Primary View?  As a corollary, can you change out the layer in one of the secondary views for another layer--for example, DEM in one view, topo in another, political boundaries in another?
    Can you export all the screens together as one image file, without showing the toolbars? (Would be very useful for creating journal illustrations)
    Can you show latlong grids on one map and not the others? (Useful for creating reference maps). Another way of asking that would be, does every map view have its own control center, while still being docked to the others?

    The multiple map view functions allow you to show multiple 2D and 3D views of your data.  All of the views contain the same data, and you can zoom or pan each one independently of the others.  There is a single Control Center for all of the map views, so all of the views contain the same layer collection, and the same set of visible layers.  There is a primary view, and you can select it using from the Map View Manager (View->Add/Remove Map Views... menu item).  The primary view is the one that will be used for exporting the screen contents, printing, etc.
  • JSL
    JSL Global Mapper User Trusted User
    Thanks--all very helpful information, and I look forward to the updated functionality.
  • JSL
    JSL Global Mapper User Trusted User
    Love the new lat-long feature in the Map Layout Editor--many many thanks!