Default start up tool

bobwills

Hi, is there a setting/other way to choose the tool that is active when GM starts? - I have lost count of the times I have opened my projects, click and dragged the image, only to find I am now zoomed in, rather than looking at the image I was expecting.to see.

Maybe I am alone in this, but I would like for GM to either remember what tool I used last, or preferably let me select the tool that will be active on start-up.

regards,

Brian.

Jasmine_BMG

Hi Bobwills,

I am not aware of any feature that will start the application with a specific tool (like to digitizer) active. There are a number of shortcut keys that may be used to quickly activate a specific tool once the application is open.

There are a list of these under Help > Shortcutkey List...

Please let me know if I may be of any further assistance or have misunderstood your inquiry.

Regards,

Jasmine

bobwills

Hi Jasmine,

Thanks for your reply.

It is not so much a matter of how to select a tool, but the fact that I have to do it as the first action every time I start the application.
I find that more often than not, the first thing I want to do is move the map to the location that I want to look at or work with.
As the default tool is the Magnify tool I invariably end up zooming into an area and not moving to the area I want to see because I forget to select the Pan tool. I use the Mouse wheel to zoom in and out in normal situations, not the Zoom tool.

I find his functionality frustrating, and in my book anything that causes frustration on a regular basis is a good thing to look at changing. I am sure that in time I may remember to select a tool before I start work, but ideally I shouldn't need to.

It would be nice if I could set the Pan tool (or any other tool that suits the project or use of the app) as the default tool.

regards,

Brian.

DMcKittrick

If you are already using the mouse wheel for zooming, you can simply click and hold the mouse wheel button to activate the panning function. This way, zooming and panning can be achieved without having to select a new toolbar option.

- David McKittrick
Senior Applications Specialist
Blue Marble Geographics

bobwills

Hi David,

Thanks, and yes, I am aware of that functionality.

It simply struck me that it may not be the most useful of tools to have selected as default.
Never mind, I will just try to program myself to select the tool I want before I start work.

regards,

Brian.

global_mapper

Brian,

I have updated GM to remember the tool when you shut down and (if the Zoom, Pan, Measure, or Digitizer Tool), to go ahead and default to that when you start back up. I have placed a new build at http://www.bluemarblegeo.com/downloads/global-mapper/global_mapper15.zip with the latest changes for you to try. Simply download that file and extract the contents into your existing v15.xx installation folder to give it a try. If you are using the 64-bit v15 version there is a new build at http://www.bluemarblegeo.com/downloads/global-mapper/global_mapper15_64bit.zip .

Thanks,

Mike
Global Mapper Guru
geohelp@bluemarblegeo.com
Blue Marble Geographics for Coordinate Conversion, Image Reprojection and Vector Translation

bobwills

Hi Mike,

That works like a charm - I am most grateful.
I am also mindful of the fact that, as a new user, there may be a valid reason for the way it was and the way other users use the application. It may be worthwhile building this functionality in as either a selectable option to remember the last tool used, or to be able to select the default rather than have it automatically remembered.

As it is, it's perfect for me though.

Many thanks,

Brian.