Software Considerations

[kbellis]

Dear mavens of mapping,

So I'm thinking about making maps for my Garmin CO and OR, and by the looks of things, this is the place for helpful and encouraging words, tutorials and knowledgeable advice. For the time being, I'm thinking that the maps that might be made shouldn't be limited due to software constraints, that they could be in raster and/ or vector formats, routable, include POIs and any other functionality afforded through the GPSr.

With an ever-increasing plethora of free spatial data available from so many sources, the mapping possibilities are quite exciting while the pitfalls of getting those maps onto the little Garmin have yet to be explored by this neophyte.

After reading through many posts and skimming the tutorials, there forms a rather long list of mapping applications, some of which are geared for only one purpose while other programs can handle a lot more heavy lifting - but can one program do all of the lifting? Is there more than one choice for the same function and if so, which one shines above the others? What are your top picks and must haves?

• cGPSMapper - Authoring, editing and conversion - free/$30/$300
  
  Dem2Topo - DEM to vector contours - free
  
  FWTools - Open Source GDAL/OGR and other tools - free
  
  Global Mapper - Looks powerful & versatile - $350 (cheaper if bundled with cGPSMapper)
  
  GPS Babel - Conversion and transfer - free
  
  GPSMapEdit - Visual authoring - $65
  
  gpx2img - Coversion gpx to img - only available to beta testers
  
  G-Raster - Convert calibrated KMZ overlays - $5
  
  MapEdit - Image map editor - $15
  
  MapSetToolkit - Creates MapSource preview files - free
  
  Mapwel - Visual authoring - $90
  
  NSIS - Creates setup files - free
  
  PostGIS - Open Source spatial enabler - free
  
  Topo Process Beta - Tool that helps create maps fast - free

Thank you very much for your thoughts and comments!

Kelly

[-Oz-]

Obviously I like all the free software.  I support Topo Process Beta or dem2topo because it does the same thing; the catch is topo process beta requires fwtools and postgis.

I just bought G-Raster and it will be my great program for making custom maps.  Global Mapper is probably the most versitile.

the problem is that there is no one program that can do it all.  MapEdit tried but it doesn't have the power to really pull it off.  Mapwel also tried but the last version I tried I couldn't load into MapSource and it kept overloading on my data.  I'll have to try it out again.

[Boyd]

GlobalMapper is the tool that I use the most, hands down. It can open just about any type of file that you're likely to find on a GIS website. From my experience, it can take the place of the following (although I will bow to others who know more about some of the free tools). At any rate, I haven't used any of the following for my own mapmaking:

Dem2Topo
FWTools
PostGIS
G-Raster

GPSBabel is really a different category IMO, maybe useful for translating track/route/waypoint data from different brands of GPS. I have never felt the need for it personally.

Mapwel is nice because it's so user-friendly and visual. I have the advanced version but have not used it recently - I've gone back to cgpsmapper. But for a beginner or somebody who is less interested in the complexity of mapmaking, I think it's an excellent choice.

I have GPSMapEdit also, and like to use it to preview my .mp files after exporting them from Globalmapper. I then use it to export to cgpsmapper. But I don't usually do any editing in GPSMapEdit.

I don't think MapEdit (as linked to above) is even a mapping program, is it? Sometimes people refer to GPSMapEdit as "MapEdit" - is that what you're thinking of?

One other free tool that is definitely worthwhile is the online custom types editor at http://ati.land.cz/gps/typdecomp/editor.cgi. This site gives you a visual editor that makes it very easy to customize your maps and does some tricks that I've never seen anywhere else.

[Seldom]

Global Mapper imports and exports an incredible number of data types, and writes Polish format directly.  It makes datum conversion really simple.  It also has a powerful search function.  For example, you can search for all instances of a road named "SR12", select them (perhaps 50 segments), and have GM connect them into a single polyline, or otherwise edit them.  This is handy if you ever want to experiment with routing.  GM also has a handy scripting feature.  Now that Personal cgpsMapper has gotten less expensive that combo deal (which does routing) almost looks attractive.

If you aren't interested in routing, cgpsMapperFree is a reasonable way to go.

GPSMapEdit  is available for free, or $65.  For $65 you get Google Map Imagery, to check locations of your map objects.  I use it to generate routing graphs.

One caveat about making routable maps in the US is that the free road data (Census Bureau Tiger) needs a lot of editing to work well.  However, routable hiking maps, generated from tracklogs, can be really handy to tell you how many miles you have to go to get to your objective.

[Boyd]

GPSMapEdit  is available for free, or $65.

True that it's available for free, but you are supposed to purchase if you use it for longer than an evaluation period. From the license agreement:

1.4 Evaluation.

You are hereby granted to use this Software for evaluation purposes without charge for a evaluation period of Software. If you use this Software after the evaluation period a registration fee is required.

[Seldom]

GPSMapEdit  is available for free, or $65.

True that it's available for free, but you are supposed to purchase if you use it for longer than an evaluation period. From the license agreement:

1.4 Evaluation.

You are hereby granted to use this Software for evaluation purposes without charge for a evaluation period of Software. If you use this Software after the evaluation period a registration fee is required.

That's a pretty fine distinction, considering that the length of the evaluation period isn't stipulated, and further down in the EULA he grants the user the right to redistribute:

4. REDISTRIBUTABLES.
This is not free software. You are hereby granted a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce and distribute the evaluation Software provided and kept in its original form

I paid for my copy, and encourage others to do so.  Because I paid, I know that the author uses hardware fingerprinting to verify the number of licensed copies I'm using.  I'm sure he's capable of engineering a more restrictive evaluation period if he thought it was in his best interests.

[kbellis]

I don't think MapEdit (as linked to above) is even a mapping program, is it? Sometimes people refer to GPSMapEdit as "MapEdit" - is that what you're thinking of?

Yes, I think you're correct - at least in regards to the link being wrong - my bad. I may have gotten confused in reading posts elsewhere on this forum which simply have referred to MapEdit. BTW, the list above was compiled from stuff that I read here at GPSFileDepot. There's tons more open source stuff here.