July 18, 2023
What’s New in Global Mapper Mobile v2.4?
Global Mapper Mobile v2.4 is now available for download with exciting new free and Pro features. Since 2016, Global Mapper Mobile has been a user-friendly tool for capturing field data with portable iOS and Android mobile devices. Version 2.4 adds many updates and improvements to the application, including a Line Trace Mode to easily digitize line features using a stylus and a new Raster Info tool to display pixel values for raster elevation or image data layers. To learn more about any of these tools listed below, or other new features, consult the knowledge base for your device: iOS or Android.
The standard version of Global Mapper Mobile is free to download and use. It allows users to take GIS data into the field for reference, digitizing, and more. The Pro version supplements the functionality of the standard version with an array of professional-grade tools, including the ability to connect with external high-accuracy GPS devices, create viewsheds, calculate terrain volume, and many other tools developed with today’s mapping professionals in mind.
Raster Info Tool (Standard)
Similar to the Feature Info tool in the desktop version, the Raster Info tool gives you the ability to click on a raster pixel to see its value. Each cell in a raster layer contains a single value, usually elevation in terrain layers or an RBG value for imagery. Enable the Raster Info tool from the Toolbox, and simply tap on a pixel in a raster layer to view the cell value on screen.
Unlike vector layers, rasters don’t have attribute tables to view data values, so the Raster Info tool helps fill that functional gap. The Raster Info Tool is also great for assessing elevation values in an area before using the new Add Terrain Elevation Point Attribute option to automatically record elevation values from loaded terrain data to features vector features as they are created.
Trace Mode – a New Line Digitization Tool (Standard)
In addition to the existing line creation tools, which are based on placing individual vertices for precise mapping, version 2.4 offers a new tool, Trace Mode. This tool lets you draw a line feature across your map. This continuous vertex creation method allows for flexible digitizing. It’s great for use with a stylus, or for tracing features without many right angles, such as rivers or other natural features. Once created, lines, like other features, can be edited and adjusted in the desktop version of Global Mapper.
Trace mode also includes ease-of-use options. When drawing a line, you can lift your finger to automatically pause the digitizer. This allows you to pan or adjust the screen as needed without altering the line in creation. Hit the play button on the bottom of the screen to resume digitizing from where you left off, or tap the check button to save the feature.
Viewshed (Pro)
The previous release of Global Mapper Mobile Pro included the ability to create a viewshed based on loaded elevation data. A viewshed is an analysis that shows all of the locations which are visible from a given point. Version 2.4 has improved this tool by adding two new abilities to create a viewshed based on your current GPS location without having to create a point feature and to create the viewsheds as area features. When creating a viewshed based on the GPS location, be sure to use the new Viewshed option to save the location as a point feature for future reference. Viewshed is one of the many features and tools available in the Pro version, accessed with a yearly paid subscription.
New Volume Calculation Options (Pro)
Improving another analysis tool available in Global Mapper Mobile Pro, version 2.4 expands the Volume Calculation methods to better match the functionality of the Global Mapper desktop tool in the field. The Volume tool measures the volume of terrain in a given area based on a given elevation or selected area feature. How the “base” or lowest elevation of the terrain is calculated can now be determined by your chosen method:
The previously existing method, Cut and Fill (flat base) calculation, measures the volume of the terrain as anything above a user-specified value. Terrain above this height will contribute to Cut Volume, and terrain below this height will contribute to Fill Volume.
The Cut and Fill (vertex elevations) option calculates the volume between the terrain and a selected 3D (per-vertex) area. 3D area features with per-vertex elevations can be created on Global Mapper desktop and transferred in a map to Global Mapper Mobile or created in the field using a GPS area feature creation method.
The Pile option calculates the volume between terrain and a surface bounded by the area and the terrain elevations along that boundary. You can think of the area surface as a tight membrane, and any terrain variations inside the area will contribute to the pile volume.
Global Mapper Mobile works in conjunction with the desktop version of Global Mapper to provide a cohesive data collection and analysis process. Blue Marble’s GIS programs and tools are used and valued worldwide across many industries for their versatility, ease of use, and powerful processing capabilities.To learn more about version 2.4 of Global Mapper Mobile, join us at the upcoming webinar “What’s New in Global Mapper Mobile v2.4” on Wednesday, August 2, at 14:00 EDT, and download the app today from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store!
