September 17, 2020
Top 5 New Features of Global Mapper v.22
Global Mapper v.22 is here! As with all previous releases, version 22 introduces an extensive array of new and updated functionality in virtually all software areas. What hasn’t changed is the price. For under $599 for a single user license, Global Mapper is still unquestionably the best value in GIS software. As a first look at some of its most significant new capabilities, this blog highlights the top five new features of Global Mapper v.22:
1. New Eye Dome Lighting settings in the 3D viewer to help improve the visual display of vector and lidar data:
While it’s probably not accurate to say that point cloud data appears flat in the 3D Viewer, it is sometimes difficult to discern texture or depth when viewed obliquely, especially when the view is static. The solution to this challenge is the new Eye Dome Lighting feature. This new display option in the 3D Viewer enhances depth perception by darkening the rendering of some points to produce an enhanced perspective of texture.
The best way to see this new tool’s effect on displaying a point cloud in the 3D View is to look at some lidar data before and after the Eye Dome Lighting feature has been enabled:
2. A new tool for simplifying loaded meshes or TINs
The mesh simplification tool combines the triangle faces of mesh features if they do not significantly contribute to the scene’s shape to simplify and reduce its size. This tool reduces the number of faces, or vertices, in a mesh by collapsing the edges and placing replacement vertices based on the specified method. This process attempts to preserve as much of the mesh’s shape and boundaries as possible while significantly reducing the size and memory requirements for working with the mesh, or TIN, within Global Mapper or other 3D tools.
Unsimplified mesh
Simplified Mesh
3. A new Spatial Operations tool for calculating the intersection of layers of the area feature
The new spatial operations tool performs vector overlay procedures on area features to find the intersection of two area layers. By combining this tool with selection by location, or attribute, or repeating with various layers, you can perform a detailed analysis to identify where multiple features coexist. For example, intersection operations are often used in suitability analysis to find the locations that meet two or more criteria.
4. A new Analysis menu option to find the overlap (both percentage and graphical) between two or more lidar, raster/image, and or terrain layers
The new Find Overlap Between Lidar/Raster/Terrain Layers tool can be accessed from the Analysis menu. This tool generates a report showing the overlap percentage between layers. It optionally creates a new raster layer showing overlapping areas – a straightforward and yet useful process!
5. A new consolidated Digitizer Menu, providing convenient access to all drawing and digitizing tools
It is a testament to the strength of Global Mapper’s vector creation and editing capabilities that the Digitizer has finally been assigned its dedicated menu. Longtime users of the software will have witnessed the continual expansion and reorganization of the Digitizer’s right-click menu and may, on occasion, have struggled to find a particular tool. Thankfully those days are gone.
The Digitizer menu offers a one-stop location for accessing all of the tools needed for working with vector data. Organized into a series of logical sub-menus, this extensive collection of tools includes everything from a simple point, line, and area feature creation to advanced 3D mesh editing functions. If you work with vector data, and virtually all Global Mapper users do, this new menu will streamline your workflow.
There’s much more to Global Mapper!
Global Mapper includes many more data editing, rendering, and analysis tools, and supports over 300 formats of geospatial data, making it the most versatile and interoperable application on the market. If you’re not familiar with Global Mapper, request a two-week free trial today. If you would like to speak with a representative about how the software can address your unique geospatial challenges, request a demo!
Global Mapper — the all-in-one and affordable GIS software. Contact us today to learn more.
