What’s Next – GeoTalks Express, and do you need Global Mapper Pro?

Just over one month ago, Blue Marble hosted GeoTalks 2022, Blue Marble Geographic’s annual virtual user conference. The day-long event included several esteemed guest speakers detailing their use of Global Mapper in recent projects, along with experts from Blue Marble providing tips, tricks, and program information for new and practiced users of the Global Mapper and Geographic Calculator families of programs.

In the month since GeoTalks 2022, we at Blue Marble, have not stopped the rigorous development of our programs or the planning and presenting of new webinars helping users to better understand and utilize the software tools in their day-to-day workflows. In the month of February, Global Mapper 23.1 was released, boasting new features in both the Standard and Pro versions, and the GeoTalks Express series of monthly webinars resumed. With many more webinars planned, focusing on specific industry inspired workflows, there is surely a presentation you don’t want to miss. Check out the schedule of upcoming webinars and register today to receive reminder emails.

The first webinar in the 2022 GeoTalks Express series delivered a thorough explanation and demonstration of the new tools in Global Mapper Standard and Pro version 23.1. With new tools and methods for creating and visualizing 3D mesh features to improvements in Spatial Operations and point cloud Segmentation, the new version of Global Mapper continues to expand the functionality of the program.

Whether you attended the most recent webinar, currently use Global Mapper, or are interested in learning more about the program, you may ask, “Do I need Global Mapper Standard or Global Mapper Pro?” This is a frequently asked question, and the answer depends on what type of data processing and analysis you are hoping to complete.

The standard edition of Global Mapper is trusted by professionals around the world. With support for over 250 file formats, a tool for accessing online data, 2D and 3D data viewing as well as a slew of data creation and analysis tools, the Standard version of Global Mapper is a complete and comprehensive GIS software. The data visualization and analysis that can be done in the Standard version of Global Mapper is limitless, but key features include image rectification, vector data searching and styling, Spatial Operations, and terrain analysis with contour line generation, viewshed and watershed creation, and more.

Global Mapper Pro enhances the Standard edition with tools pertaining to drone data processing, point cloud editing, advanced terrain analysis, and Python scripting for workflow optimization. The Pixels to Points tool for generating 3D data from drone-collected images and additional toolbars full of lidar classification and analysis tools are key parts of Global Mapper Pro that some users may recognize from the, now retired, Lidar Module. Newer terrain analysis and editing tools like breakline identification and terrain painting are also exclusively available in Pro, along with an interface for editing and running scripts for workflow automation. Generally, if your workflow aims to create or process point cloud data, or you are looking to incorporate Global Mapper functionality in Python scripts, the Pro version is definitely recommended.

If you are unsure of what version of Global Mapper you need, more details are available on our website, outlining the tools available in the Standard and Pro versions. To explore Global Mapper for yourself, download a 14-day free trial to test the software with your individual workflow. And as always, contact us if you have any questions.