Global Mapper v25.0

DWG with Labels on Major Contours Only

BrianZ111
BrianZ111 Global Mapper UserTrusted User

A client of mine wants a DWG file with 2 foot minor contours and 10 foot major contours.  The client also wants labels included on a separate layer but only for the major contours.  I attempted disabling the labels for the minor contour feature type both in the configuration dialog and in the vector option dialog for the layer.  Both make the labels disappear from view in Global Mapper but when exporting as DWG and opening the DWG in AutoCAD, labels still show for all contour lines.  I’m using version 15 of Global Mapper.  Is there any way to do this in this version?  If not, is there any way to do this in the latest version?

One workaround is to export major contours with labels and minor contours without labels in separate files and combine them in AutoCAD but I'm looking for a solution that doesn't involve loading AutoCAD to create the file for the client if possible.

Thanks for any help.

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Answers

  • This is a serious problem.  The contours created by Global Mapper are much easier to follow than those created in cad, but the labeling in global mapper is so inferior to cad that in many cases I end up using the inferior contours in cad anyways because the labeling provided by global mapper is simply unusable.  For example, if I have a steep slope that's along the boundary of a project, all the labels get packed along the end of the lines, all on top of eachother, and i can't just turn off the minor labels so it's just one huge mess of text.  At the very least please put the major and minor labels onto their own layers during export.  Right now, exported contours have the layers "Contour_Line_Intermediate", "Contour_Line_Major", and "FEATURE_LABEL".  If you just had "Contour_Line_Intermediate", "Contour_Line_Major", "Contour_Label_Intermediate", "Contour_Label_Major", I might actually be able to use the contours in a final map.  Just one more layer is all I ask.  Thanks.
  • bmg_bob
    bmg_bob Global Mapper Programmer
    edited June 2020
    Hello,

    I suggest that you contact Blue Marble Support directly via email (geohelp@bluemarblegeo.com) to see if there are any additonal workarounds for your labeling issue. If there are not, they will be able to open a feature request. It makes sense that when exporting labels, Global Mapper should include labels when the setting to show labels for a feature classification is set. Thank you.

    Cheers,
    Bob
  • I have just come up with a way to solve this. I write major, minor and intermediate contours out in a different colour and modified the styles so that the text that was with each line type was the same colour as the line. Once I bought the line work and labels into AutoCad I used Select Similar to select all of the contour text and Quick select on each colour to select and delete the labels that i did not want

  • You can also export to DXF and use feature description as the layer name. That'll split up cad layers by the different contour groups.


    For labeling in specific areas, such as steep slopes -

    Copy your major contours layer and paste to a separate layer. Turn off everything except that layer.


    Draw a line feature from top to bottom of the slope, perpendicular to your contours.

    Select the line, select the buffer tool, and create an area feature with a setting appropriate for your map scale (let's say 500ft)

    Use the resulting buffer area feature to crop the copied major contours layer.

    Now, you have a copy of your major contours layer, but only a long the steep slope you want to label.

    Export that layer out to a separate DXF with labels on a separate layer. Delete the contour segments(because you already have the full layer), keep the labels.


    That's one way to get nice labels in a line when bringing stuff into CAD (if you don't want to do it manually by annotating 3d line elevations).


    If you're displaying the labels in global mapper, I do the same thing but will also simplify the cropped contour segments so the label displays better. If possible, I'll simplify it to just 2 vertices. Label will be displayed, but the contour segments I change to null display type (so the simplified line is hidden).


    Hopefully that makes sense. Typing on my phone sans proofreading. #YOLO