Global Mapper v25.0

Global Mapper v12.00 Beta 1 Now Available

global_mapper
global_mapper Administrator
edited January 2014 in Announcement and News
Global Mapper Software LLC is pleased to announce the availability of the first beta of Global Mapper v12.00 at http://www.globalmapper.com/global_mapper12_setup.exe . Just download that file and run it to install v12.00. It will install alongside any existing Global Mapper version, so you don't have to worry about losing what you're currently working on.

Among the numerous significant changes in this first v12.00 beta are the following:
  • Added built-in access to the NAIP color high-resolution imagery for the entire United States via the File->Download Online Imagery/Data menu command.
  • Added built-in access to the ASTER GDEM terrain data at 1.5 arc second (~45m) resolution for the entire world via the File->Download Online Imagery/Data menu command.
  • Added built-in access to premium Parcel data for the entire US via the File->Download Online Imagery/Data menu command.
  • Added 'Point Styles' tab to Options dialog for vector layers with point features allowing users to setup the styling of points in a layer. Now users can use the default type-based styling, apply a single style to all point features in a layer, setup an attribute-based styling system that styles the points based on the value of an attribute value or the display label, or randomly assign colors to the dot or custom symbols for points in a layer.
  • Updated the Download Online Imagery/Data interface to group data sources to allow easily finding data sources of a particular type or covering a particular area.
  • Updated the Control Center to support assigning groups to selected layers via the right-click menu. Those groups can then be collapsed in the Control Center to allow easily selecting, closing, or hiding/showing that group.
  • Added new right-click option to the Digitizer Tool for creating a regular grid of areas anchored at some point and of user-specified size, rotation angle, and naming.
  • Added ability to export BIL/BIP/BSQ and JPEG2000 raster files with multiple bands of data at 8, 16, or 32-bit depth (similar to what was possible before for GeoTIFF exports).
  • Updated the export interface to replace the long sub-menus with dialogs allowing format selection to prevent overflowing the export format lists off of the screen.
  • Updated the map legend display based on vector types to allow labeling each style in the legend by the feature type, name, or any attribute value, in addition to the feature description which is what was always used before.
  • Added new EDIT_VECTOR script command (replacing the ASSIGN_TYPES command) to allow adding/updating feature attributes values and display labels, reclassifying features, rotating/scaling/offsetting feature coordinates, or marking features as deleted by searching loaded features for matches against their attributes/label values and/or types.
All of the other numerous changes are listed in the What's New document that is displayed during installation.

Prior to the v12.00 release we also plan on adding several other major features, including support for halo fonts, watershed delineation, and ARCS (British Marine Chart) import support.

Here is a temporary registration key so that you can try everything
out in the beta for 14 days:

RegName: DEMO_09092010
RegCode: 1045861108

While we plan on officially releasing v12.00 in about 3 weeks, for those of you that just can't wait to purchase new licenses and upgrades to existing licenses, you can purchase those now from http://www.globalmapper.com/product/downloadv12.htm . Pricing for upgrades from v11 is $129 US per license and pricing for new licenses are $349 US for a single license with price breaks for multi-license purchases.

Let me know if you any problems or questions.

Thanks,

Mike
Global Mapper Software LLC
support@globalmapper.com

Comments

  • tjhb
    tjhb Global Mapper User Trusted User
    edited August 2010
    Mike,

    Today marks the start of the official beta programme for Global Mapper 12. You've made beta 1 available for public download. That's two really good things, so congratulations.

    Some "buts" too though.

    1. The proposed list of new features seems quite short. Are any truly new features coming in the current version, or only tweaks?

    2. The proposed beta period is also short, at 3 weeks. It would be difficult to test a proper range of new features within that timeframe.

    A few more specific questions.

    (A) What are your core ambitions for version 12? What new features *define* the coming version? What would you most like feadback on?

    (B) Are any rationalizations to be expected for the user interface in version 12? Will functions be easier to find than in version 11?

    (C) Do you plan to add multi-threading to version 12 (so as to utilize multiple CPU cores in parallel)? If so, for what features?

    Tim
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited August 2010
    Tim,

    The list of features in the list was just some of the major features added so far, the total list of changes is about 5 pages in length. You can see the entire list when installing the beta. What constitutes a major change is up for debate, but one of the things I am working on now (automatic watershed delineation from terrain layers) would certainly qualify as a major feature, at least if that is something of interest.

    I don't know if there is a core defining direction for v12, it is just a continuation of the normal development arc for Global Mapper which means improvements to all sorts of different features to serve the vary wide user base and a commitment to keeping the user interface simple and consistent between versions to avoid confusion, while still adding significant new features and format support.

    There have been improvements to the export, download online data, and Control Center interfaces to hopefully make those easier to use or more flexible.

    There aren't any short-term plans for multi-threaded support. Doing that for any significant portion of the application would involve tearing it apart and making significant changes with a good chance of introducing hard to find problems, so that has been a lower priority. The first thing multi-threaded support would be added for would likely be splitting up large multi-tiled exports into a separate export running on each available core.

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Global Mapper Support
    support@globalmapper.com
  • Matt
    Matt Global Mapper User Trusted User
    edited August 2010
    I was also hoping to see some more significant additions. Multi-thread support for tiled image outputs would be a nice one. But there area enough little things in there that I think will make it worth the cost to upgrade. Plus, I don't want to penalize Mike for adding features between updates as they are requested by users. He could just as easily save all those up for the next major release instead of rolling them out as requested.

    It also seems like the GM business model is basically one that if you want to keep up with the latest and greatest features, need to be prepared to upgrade every year or so. That helps keep the initial cost and upgrade costs down.

    Also, I think the fact that Mike lets us skip a version and still get the same upgrade pricing helps. If there's nothing in V12 that justifies the cost to me, I'm sure there will be by the time V13 rolls out.
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited August 2010
    Matt,

    As you said, the incremental releases do contain a lot of functionality. I'd rather not make users wait up to a year between getting new functionality, so I roll them into a couple of release per year (and of course provide new builds daily). So while the original new .00 releases don't necessarily contain a huge amount of new functionality, they do tend to contain more than the in between releases as I'll hold a few things back, plus you'll get a new year of incremental updates and new features when you upgrade.

    Note that if you are more than one version back you don't get to upgrade for the same price as being just one version back, but you do get a discount off of the full price of a new license.

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Global Mapper Support
    support@globalmapper.com
  • redbeard
    redbeard Global Mapper User Trusted User
    edited August 2010
    Well, if multi threading (difficult task) is lower on the list - how about a file that remembers your export settings so we can manually launch extra instances of Global Mapper and have the exact same settings when exporting? (ie maybe with the skip existing files option).

    I will echo what others have said - the continual improvement on a nearly daily basis is awesome.
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited August 2010
    Do you think a good idea might be to add a "skip existing files" option to the scripting engine, then you could just run the same script in multiple running instances of Global Mapper to make sure you had the same options? That I could add very easily.

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Global Mapper Support
    support@globalmapper.com
  • tjhb
    tjhb Global Mapper User Trusted User
    edited August 2010
    Yes I was looking a gift horse in the mouth. Matt and Redbeard have put things better, and on reflection I agree wholeheartedly with Matt.
    Plus, I don't want to penalize Mike for adding features between updates as they are requested by users. He could just as easily save all those up for the next major release instead of rolling them out as requested.

    That's obviously the best reason to keep recommending Global Mapper to colleagues and clients, and a sufficient reason to upgrade to each new version as it is released.

    In theory, there are a few big things I'd love to see Global Mapper do. It's good to know that multi-threading rendering is a possibility; in the longer term it seems an application crying out for partial migration to GPU. But Mike's near-real-time incremental improvements, as well as being very unusual, are worth much more. The number of times that responsiveness has saved me a morning, or a couple of days, I couldn't begin to count.

    I'm going to go through the full release notes for 12 properly now with a highlighter.
  • andyeder
    andyeder Global Mapper User Trusted User
    edited August 2010
    Being a developer on multi-core / multi-processor systems myself (specialising in visualisation and GPU coding) I can appreciate just how big a task it would be to take GM and make it run wholly multithreaded. As much as I would like to see this happen it is not without risk. I would also agree that identifying tasks for scheduling on worker threads would be a great idea.

    I cannot comment further on v12 until I have an opportunity to try it for myself but applaud the continued growth and development of GM. It has become an essential part of my workflow and the support and incremental fixes have been very much welcomed.

    I look forward to upgrading to the release version of GM v12 as and when my boss approves it!
  • EDGAR
    EDGAR Global Mapper User Trusted User
    edited August 2010
    Hi to All

    With much attention and respect I'm reading all above comments ref to GM.
    PLS be kind to hear a voice of a common user.
    I'm just a map-maker (maps to be press-printed). Before I've decided to buy GM I've been testing and searching much for an effective tool
    just helping me in my work, but not requiring reading and learning on courses - a kind of studying itself before I'm able to make my first step
    in using it. (As Roger Smith - http://www.geographx.co.nz - (http://www.geographx.co.nz/downloads/NZGeo_profile.pdf)
    confeses - "Smith rushed out and registered a company, bought some software, than sat down to figure out how to use it"
    "In hindsight it was a pretty dopey move; I had no data, no clients, no experience and I couldn't even figure out how to start the software up"...

    GM is (as for me) an effective and a very fast TOOL for my daily work - even if it is just a core of my workflow.
    It's simplicity and intuitive logic makes it ready to use just after fast installation, and one is able to learn more and more in course of using it.

    Did You notice it's (one of many) capability to export a raster map of any kind in GeoTIF - just in a given scale and with required resolution ?
    In another words - that capability makes GM an extraordinary tool for reprojecting and rescaling of any raster map (topo or sat... with vectors overlaying if one wishes)
    and save it as an fully valuable map for any further use - for printing, viewing, measuring - out of any GIS platform.

    Telling frankly - touching an interface of GM would be a missunderstanding in the course of improoving it's capability and fast work.
    As well, I would be very dissapointed finding a further GM release - with some dozen of new icons on it's desktop, or total it's "modernization"
    making from it quite new and unfamiliar software.

    What I'm expecting is - to be sure that all GM options have been re-checked and improoved if necessary.

    In this moment I agree with Andyeder - saying:
    "I would also agree that identifying tasks for scheduling on worker threads would be a great idea"

    Best to All of You

    Edgar

    PLS Find two "alternative" workspaces...
  • redbeard
    redbeard Global Mapper User Trusted User
    edited August 2010
    Do you think a good idea might be to add a "skip existing files" option to the scripting engine, then you could just run the same script in multiple running instances of Global Mapper to make sure you had the same options? That I could add very easily.

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Global Mapper Support
    support@globalmapper.com

    Hmmm, incentive to learn how to script Global Mapper. I think that would be quite useful. You'll probably see me later posting for a good template script that I can learn/work with. I would vote add the option.
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited September 2010
    Well as I went to add a "skip existing" option to the script engine I discovered that it already existed! Use use OVERWRITE_EXISTING=NO as a parameter to one of the EXPORT commands in a script to cause existing files to be skipped.

    Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Global Mapper Support
    support@globalmapper.com
  • tjhb
    tjhb Global Mapper User Trusted User
    edited September 2010
    Lucky you have a "skip existing" option in your programming work!
  • Bernd
    Bernd Global Mapper User
    edited September 2010
    Hello
    the beta 1 of version 12 runs out today. Is there an other beta eg. 2, 3.... or is beta 1 the final one? then i found the 14 days test period rather short to proof the new features and changes. So GM 12 will be released next week?

    Bernd
  • global_mapper
    global_mapper Administrator
    edited September 2010
    Bernd,

    Here is a new 2-week trial for Global Mapper v12. Hopefully by the time it expires the official v12 release will be done:

    RegName: DEMO_09232010
    RegCode: 1062079330

    There will likely be a beta 2 next week with watershed delineation in it, then the official release will come the weekend after that.

    Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Global Mapper Support
    support@globalmapper.com
  • Bernd
    Bernd Global Mapper User
    edited September 2010
    Thank you Mike.

    I appreciate GM as my most used "army knife" together with Manifold as a powerful "GIS-Team"

    Bernd
  • John Ratsey
    John Ratsey Global Mapper User
    edited September 2010
    The progressive improvement between releases is awesome and it's well worth paying a periodic update fee in order to keep this happening. I first contacted Mike about six months back about what I thought was a bug in writing one of the projections. I been used to battles with other software companies to try to get them to accept that there is a bug in their program, never mind fix it. So I was astonished to get an email a few minutes later that said that the bug had been fixed and here's the link to the new version of the program.

    John
  • maxllana
    maxllana Global Mapper User
    edited October 2010
    Xīn lái de jíshí xiāoxi dào zhège wǎngzhàn, jīn zhèng rì ràng zìjǐ gēngxīn suǒyǒu dì lùntán zài zhèlǐ, bìng chéngnuò zūnshǒu guīzé.. Xièxiè dàjiā
  • digitalaviator
    digitalaviator Global Mapper User Trusted User
    edited January 2014
    Do you think a good idea might be to add a "skip existing files" option to the scripting engine, then you could just run the same script in multiple running instances of Global Mapper to make sure you had the same options? That I could add very easily.

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Global Mapper Support
    support@globalmapper.com

    I know this is an old thread, but I just discovered by accident it looks like you implemented this Mike and I have to say it runs awesome!