Geospatial - GISinnovations

What brings back the Global Mapper 13

The new version of Global Mapper has been announced, in version 13 for both 32 and 64 bits. Although this is a program that is questioned for its GIS capabilities, its simplicity has made it very popular, especially for handling three-dimensional models and the ability to import and export between different formats.

V13boxshot2There are many changes, I will try to summarize those that have caught my attention and which I consider to be significant, but for frequent users of the program there is much more.

Support formats

  • The most striking change is the data sets support of an ESRI Geodatabase. With this, the program approaches an interesting niche, where ArcMap users have stored a good amount of data but are limited in having to buy extensions like 3D Analyisis, which incidentally to do a simple thing you have to give Half turn of heating to the court. Using GlobalMapper 13, users could generate in seconds Digital models and return them back to the geodatabase without losing all the data analysis and construction capabilities in what ESRI does have more to offer.
  • In exporting, the ability to send an ASTER DEM to SRTM HGT format has been added, which, although it is a conventional raw format, is widely used by North Americans due to its potential for quadrant indexing. Additionally, it can already be exported to Vulcan 00D TIN .3t format.
  • To add to the many formats already supported by Global Mapper, it has now included support for SegY format, a standard used in the geophysical area, also for LEM format, which is the DEM simulation used by the Japanese and NMGF used more in aeronautics.
  • In the case of exporting images within a kmz file, it is now possible to specify the quality of the jpg, which will reduce the size as desired. Also now supports when kmz brings .gif files
  • You can export images to ERDAS .img format, popularized by ESRI users.
  • In the case of DGN files, the fact that some polygons came without filling has improved, since they could not interpret the multiple geometries that Microstation internally handled as shared cells for a long time. The error that occurred with some curves that smart They did not have much.
  • When downloading layers served via WCS, now you have no problems if they are in a different projection than Google Earth (lat / long / WGS84)
  • In the case of Open Street Maps XML files, they have improved the problem that crashed when there was a lot of data. The same has happened with the Lidar LAS point clouds (which are always many), where they have optimized memory use.
  • For the export of DWG and DXF files, a problem that had been labels With more than 31 characters (go, these are no longer labels).
  • Now supports geoPDF without previously reported limitations.

Improvements in analysis

  • Join tables. Can already be done join Between the tables of different layers by means of a common attribute, quite basic but incredibly did not exist.
  • Copy and calculate data in tables. The ability to perform mathematical operations between the data in a column has now been created, to be stored in another, such as, for example, the calculation of an area in a different unit of measure by multiplying it by a factor; The same function is also used for copying and pasting between tables, as it is a multiplication operation by unity, which would generate the same value.
  • In the handling of digital models, new surfaces can be generated from an existing one, specific points and even from attributes of a table associated to a surface. With this, more than one model can be stored within the same attribute table, without this meaning that they are two and facilitating operations like cut / fill without doing operations outside the same table.
  • Now the data search, has the option to be made over the current view and not over the entire layer.

Globalmapper

Deployment capabilities.

  • You can sync a display so that the same area is seen in Google Earth, although you can't do it the other way around, similar to one of the 6 things it does Microstation In this regard.
  • In layer management, it is now possible with more interaction to move a raster layer to go transparent or behind a layer of vectors, something that until 12 versions was still old in the obsolete layers panel.
  • In the case of data served online by Intermap, high resolution can now be obtained, since it no longer downloads the data as local but in a stream that refreshes as you zoom. In the case of NOAA data upload, you can download Geoid binary grid shift files.
  • Many other enhancements will be seen along the way, especially with capabilities that have been given to the right mouse button and use of the keyboard both to build and edit data.
  • In the case of GPS data with the NMEA protocol, the $ DPGGA statement option has been added.

Improvements in data construction

  • There is significant improvement in this part, although it is still a great weakness. In this case, the handling of Snaps, Nearest Is now maintained in the editing layer as a priority in the presence of other layers or geometries not selected.
  • Also, deflection-based polygons and polygon edges can now be built more easily by means of the 3 points method.
  • Additionally a submenu in the line construction, when you have a selection of points, can suggest the creation of lines from the closest point, which would simplify the digitization of a traverse from points captured with a GPS.
  • You can make transformations with something more agility, as is the case of moving a layer. It is usually a bad practice but useful when the geodetic precision is negligible compared to the usefulness of the data, to take an example:

Many times we have a layer in NAD27 or PSAD 56 and to move it to WGS84 what we do is move it a known vector. It will not be the best practice, but to stick to existing data or when it does not affect the local context ... it is fine.

  • Now there is a Datum called “NAD83”, apart from “D_North_American_1983”, after ESRI in primitive versions of ArcView confused some of the tallow with lard and made .prj files generated with archaic versions not have compatibility with this projection. Something similar happens to Microstation, when you want to believe that the NAD27 used by the Gringos Americans in many parts of the continent was a symbol of initiation.
  • Something similar they have done with a provisional Datum called South American Datum 1956 (PSAD56), to make compatible with errors with data generated in Mapinfo.
  • Now, when importing generic data from an ASCII file, there is support for both degrees, minutes and seconds with decimal, and degrees and minutes with decimal (without seconds) formats. Even as incredible as it may seem, it supports fractions, like instead of saying 0.25 use 1/4

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Golgi Alvarez

Writer, researcher, specialist in Land Management Models. He has participated in the conceptualization and implementation of models such as: National Property Administration System SINAP in Honduras, Management Model of Joint Municipalities in Honduras, Integrated Cadastre-Registry Management Model in Nicaragua, Territory Administration System SAT in Colombia . Editor of the Geofumadas knowledge blog since 2007 and creator of the AulaGEO Academy that includes more than 100 courses on GIS - CAD - BIM - Digital Twins topics.

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11 Comments

  1. The best and most practical the GLOBAL MAPPER say if there is a better rapides for all types of work a real help.
    thank you… saint GlOBAL MAPPER.

  2. Has the Global Mapper an extension to which you can convert your files so that autocad or microstation read them?

  3. I need the activation code please

  4. I found it very interesting what this program does, I use it sometimes to visualize digital ortofotos of INEGI and export them to ArcGis. I think the export files are of DWG extension and not DGW, which are AutoCad, I do not know if my comment is correct. Greetings.

  5. Thank you so much! I needed Dataset to read it, I thought I was the only one.

    I'll try it!

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