Hi,
Thanks for all that attended the Global Mapper Webinar this morning. A lot of good questions asked by all users.
Here is the question and answer log:
Audience Question:
Q: will the video of the webcast be available after the presentation
A: Yes, it will be posted on the website later in the week.
Audience Question:
Q: Please repeat the email to inquire about training seminar.
A: Please send your training questions to gmorders@bluemarblegeo.com
Audience Question:
Q: Can Globalmapper generate a surface or DEM from LiDAR point cloud data?
A: Yes, when you load most Lidar files (like LAS) you can select to load as a point cloud or to generate an elevation grid. If you choose the latter you will have a surface you can export to a DEM file if you want. You can also wait until the data is loaded, then right-click on the layer (or multiple layers) in the Control Center and select the option on the pop-up menu to create an elevation grid.
Q: The mic is really low!
A: Is it louder now?
Audience Question:
Q: can you 'dock' the Control Center?
A: It is not currently possible to dock the Control Center, it is always a floating window.
Q: the volume is still pretty low
Audience Question:
Q: is there abook on how to use global mapper?
A: To my knowledge there aren't any books specifically devoted to Global Mapper yet. There are a lot of online tutorial videos available with many more coming soon.
Audience Question:
Q: Is there a book/manual on how to use global mapper?
A: The User's Manual is available online and under the Help menu in Global Mapper
Audience Question:
Q: We're using GM v.11 so far. This has a bit annoying feature that when application is registered for one user on workstation, other user sees it as Unregistered. It this changed in new version, or do you have to manually register over an over on a number of station for multiple users ?
A: We have a solution for this. Email us at gmorders@bluemarblegeo.com and we can provide instructions.
Audience Question:
Q: Can the feature count in the overlay control center for a shapfile be updated without reloading the data?
A: Do you mean reloading the Shapefile from disk or adding new features to the layer in memory? You can add new features to the layer in memory by editing existing features with the Digitizer Tool (or creating new ones) and setting the layer to the Shapefile layer.
Audience Question:
Q: When creating a raster catalog will it save your projection settings if you changed the projection from the initial one used on the individual tiles?
A: Each layer in the map catalog knows the "native" projection of the layer itself, then the map catalog itself has a concept of the default projection to draw it with. You can then of course reproject the map catalog data along with any other loaded data by setting the projection on the Projection tab of the Configuration dialog.
Audience Question:
Q: Can Global Mapper open GMT.grd files?
A: I think that is one not supported, but if you wend one to gmsupport@bluemarblegeo.com I can take a look and see if it matches something else enough to load.
Audience Question:
Q: What are the main new feautures of v13 vs. v12?
A: You can view the list here: http://www.globalmapper.com/updatev12.html
Audience Question:
Q: When creating/deleting many features in a layer, it seems that the feature count doesn't seem to be live updating
A: Ah yes, when you dellete a feature it doesn't actually remove it from memory, it just marks it as deleted (so you can undelete later). So it is still in the layer feature count. Are you not seeing the count update when you add new features. If so which version are you using?
Audience Question:
Q: What are the main new feautures of v13 vs. v12?
A: There are also a ton of new features coming very shortly in v13.01 (which Sam is demoing now). Should be a webinar on that soon when we official release.
Audience Question:
Q: how to remove distortion from map
A: Typically distortion is due to the projection used for display. All 2D projections of the 3D surface of the earth have distortion of some kind, but for small areas you can usually find a projection with very little distortion to use. You can select the projection to use on the Projection tab of the Configuration dialog.
Audience Question:
Q: How can you create custom symbols for use with the SDK?
A: Use GM_AddCustomSymbol to add new custom symbols in the SDK from any standard image file. We usually recommend using PNG files as they have good transparency support. You can create those in any graphics applications, from simple Windows Paint to PHotoshop.
Audience Question:
Q: can you create custom line type? for example can you setup a line type that has a thick red line and a thinner blue over the red line.
A: You cannot currently create your own completely custom line styles. You have to choose from one of the list of built-in styles. In the future we do plan to add support for custom line styles.
Audience Question:
Q: showing the areal photographs only if zoomed in, is it a local setting?
A: By default all layers show always, but in this case the data is from a catalog and that has settings for when to show it. You can also right-click on any layer in the Control Center and select the option to setup when the layer is displayed to setup having it only show when zoomed in.
Audience Question:
Q: How do you un-do changes
A: You can undo the current draw operation for lines and areas using Ctrl+Z. This allows you to back up through the current list of vertices. Other than that you can restore the original shape/location of features by selecting them then right-clicking and selecting to restore the original shape. You can also undelete deleted features by enabling the display of deleted features on the Vector Display tab of the Configuration dialog and then selecting and undeleting them.
Audience Question:
Q: The GM_AddCustomSymbol only work from files, not memory. Is it possible to create custom symbols that can be used as build-in?
A: Currently they would have to come from a file, but if you have it in memory you could simply write out to a BMP file, then add the custom symbol from that. It will actually be kept in memory once the symbol is used for display.
Audience Question:
Q: Can you show some volume calculatioins between say proposed and existing layerers?
A: That is probably too advanced for this webinar, but to do this you would basically use the File->Combine Terrain menu command to create a new surface that is the difference between 2 surfaces, then do a cut-and-fill against that with a height of 0. Email gmsupport@bluemarblegeo.com if you have additional questions or check www.globalmapperforum.com.
Audience Question:
Q: can gm load/draw the new aster2 dem?
A: Yes you should be able to load files from that data set.
Audience Question:
Q: Can shape files created in GM be loaded into ESRI ArcMap? JB
A: Yes, you can export Shapefiles using File->Export Vector Data that should load into ArcMap and other applications.
Audience Question:
Q: digitize alot of geological edges - how do you digitize smooth lines as you are going along rather than doing a smooth from the digitizer edit tool - smooth. when zoomed in lines look really rough
A: The trace/stream mode of drawing that Sam demonstrated a minute ago should allow that.
Audience Question:
Q: The problem with file access is performance, especially when the colour changes dynamically. Every change ask for a new file save and load from file. Any alternative?
A: So you are changing the color for some custom symbols a lot? You are getting a prompt from the SDK? You might want to email this to me directly at gmsupport@bluemarblegeo.com so you can send code samples and such.
Audience Question:
Q: Is there an email address that I can use for follow up? I believe you mentioned one at the beginning that I missed.
A: You can reachn us at gmorders@bluemarblegeo.com or gmsuarblegeo.com. Thanks!
Audience Question:
Q: snapping function, does it snap to nearest node/vertrex or to the object?
A: By default it snaps to the nearest location on the nearest object, but there are shortcut keys to change what you snap to. For example holding down 'V' makes you snap only to vertices in line and area features.
Audience Question:
Q: snapping function, does it snap to nearest node/vertrex or to the object?
A: See http://www.globalmapper.com/helpv13/...t_Key_List.pdf for list of shortcuts
Audience Question:
Q: Is there an email address that I can use for follow up? I believe you mentioned one at the beginning that I missed.
A: that should have been gmsupport@bluemarblegeo.com.
Audience Question:
Q: Since BlueMarble take over GM, will it support conversion of elevation data between datums and/or geoids ? So far it's unable to apply elevation change during re-projection.
A: That is not currently supported, but is definitely on our todo list!
Audience Question:
Q: can snapping distance be adjusted etc.
A: There is support for tweaking that via a registry key, but nothing in the user interface. Email gmsupport@bluemarblegeo.com and I can provide registry tweak instructions if you are interested.
Audience Question:
Q: Will the question/answer dialog be available following the webinar? There is a great amount of information being passed here.
A: Last time we posted this on the Global Mapper Forum, so we will probably do that this time too.
Audience Question:
Q: Since BlueMarble take over GM, will it support conversion of elevation data between datums and/or geoids ? So far it's unable to apply elevation change during re-projection.
A: We would ask you to use the Geographic Calculator for now, though we will likely make an extension between the products at some point to enable this functionality in Global Mapper.
Audience Question:
Q: Sams lines look kind of rough not like a smooth polyline. have tried this
A: Most of them he is drawing with the normal vertex mode, but the one little area just NW of the range rings he just drew was with the trace tool so it is smoother
Audience Question:
Q: regular grid: can gm count how many occurences of a shape-pointfile are within each cell?
A: Yes, if you select the grid cell areas, you can then right-click and select the option to add attributes with the count of line and points in each area. There will then be LINE_COUNT and POINT_COUNT attributes associated with each area with the count of points and lines in those areas.
Audience Question:
Q: is it possible to create (construct) line features by using length, direction and / or radius (e.g. for creating a road or railline)?
A: Yes, use the right-click menu (or toolbar) option to create a distance/bearing/COGO line. You can thenprovide a start point and distances/bearings (in several different ways) for the segments. What isn't yet support is providing curved segments through that interface, but that is on the todo list.
Audience Question:
Q: Can you add different scale bar type and/or north arrow type from a file?
A: You can select any custom symbol as a north arrow. You can add those on the Point Styles tab of the Configuration dialog. There isn't currently a way to provide a custom scale bar template.
Audience Question:
Q: Is there a way to omit features from the legend? For example, if I wanted roads and boatramps on my map but I only want boatramps in my legend.
A: Yes, the Map Layout dialog has a Filter Types button allowing you to filter which types to use to generate the legend.
Audience Question:
Q: GM wasn't/isn't able to work well with Microstation DGN files, either in import or export. Was this bug addressed in v13 ?
A: Yes, the issues with DGN support (particularly in 64-bit) are fixed in v13.
Audience Question:
Q: importing file have to be in a certain format ??
A: For generic text files (like XYZ) a large number of variations are supported. You can load using File->Open Generic ASCII Text File.
Audience Question:
Q: using "display legend based on loaded vector types" for example: if I created new line types the basic line types will be shown at the legend too. is there any posibility to hide them?
A: Yes the Filter Types allows this.
Audience Question:
Q: Does GM produce Layered PDFs as an export format?
A: Yes, the File->Export PDF menu command will create a PDF with each loaded layer as a separate layer in the generated PDF.
Audience Question:
Q: what is KML KMZ how to we create/obtainsuch file?
A: That is the format used by Google Earth for displaying custom raster and elevation data. If you export to a KML/KMZ file you can load that directly for viewing in Google Earth.
Audience Question:
Q: Is 64-bit PDF export now possible?
A: Yes starting with v13.01, which is soon to be released. Email gmsupport@bluemarblegeo.com if you want to get it now.
Audience Question:
Q: On the same topic, is GM able to export Adobe PDF in 3D format ?
A: 3D PDF is not yet supported.
Audience Question:
Q: Can I center map location based on 4 points?
A: You can pan to a particular point under the View menu, then just zoom to the appropriate zoom level to get to the desired rectangle.
Audience Question:
Q: will you cover topics on 3d this session?
A: Not sure if we will be able to get to 3D for this session. Do you have any particular questions relating to 3d?
Audience Question:
Q: Can you contouring and show example of modifying contour lines?
A: I'm not sure if there will be time for that this session, do you have any particular questions?
Audience Question:
Q: Can you please point me to a source for info on getting Google Maps tiles into GeoMapper?
A: Directly pulling in Google Maps data into Global Mapper would violate the Google Maps Terms of Service, so we can't directly provide instructions on doing that. Many of the built-in online sources, like DigitalGlobe imagery, provide comparable data in many places.
Audience Question:
Q: Do your online data sources get updated as new ones you find come on line?
A: Yes, the list of sources are updated dynamically and sources come and go, and you can add your own sources.
Audience Question:
Q: Do you recommend any Canadian sources of online sources?
A: The GeoBase Canada site (www.geobase.ca I think) has some good Canadian data.
Audience Question:
Q: On this particular screen with loaded data. Can you show the transparency in layers, so you can see map/dem/image at the same time ?
A: Sorry not quite enough time to cover the raster options this time, but on Options dialog from Control Center you can do this for layer on top.
Audience Question:
Q: Can I add trees to an area in 3D?
A: Not virtual trees, but if you have 3D features they can show in the 3D view.
Audience Question:
Q: If you download data from the open roads map source as demonstrated, can you save out this data layer for use without connecting to a WMS.
A: Yes, export with File->Export Raster Data
Thanks for all that attended the Global Mapper Webinar this morning. A lot of good questions asked by all users.
Here is the question and answer log:
Audience Question:
Q: will the video of the webcast be available after the presentation
A: Yes, it will be posted on the website later in the week.
Audience Question:
Q: Please repeat the email to inquire about training seminar.
A: Please send your training questions to gmorders@bluemarblegeo.com
Audience Question:
Q: Can Globalmapper generate a surface or DEM from LiDAR point cloud data?
A: Yes, when you load most Lidar files (like LAS) you can select to load as a point cloud or to generate an elevation grid. If you choose the latter you will have a surface you can export to a DEM file if you want. You can also wait until the data is loaded, then right-click on the layer (or multiple layers) in the Control Center and select the option on the pop-up menu to create an elevation grid.
Q: The mic is really low!
A: Is it louder now?
Audience Question:
Q: can you 'dock' the Control Center?
A: It is not currently possible to dock the Control Center, it is always a floating window.
Q: the volume is still pretty low
Audience Question:
Q: is there abook on how to use global mapper?
A: To my knowledge there aren't any books specifically devoted to Global Mapper yet. There are a lot of online tutorial videos available with many more coming soon.
Audience Question:
Q: Is there a book/manual on how to use global mapper?
A: The User's Manual is available online and under the Help menu in Global Mapper
Audience Question:
Q: We're using GM v.11 so far. This has a bit annoying feature that when application is registered for one user on workstation, other user sees it as Unregistered. It this changed in new version, or do you have to manually register over an over on a number of station for multiple users ?
A: We have a solution for this. Email us at gmorders@bluemarblegeo.com and we can provide instructions.
Audience Question:
Q: Can the feature count in the overlay control center for a shapfile be updated without reloading the data?
A: Do you mean reloading the Shapefile from disk or adding new features to the layer in memory? You can add new features to the layer in memory by editing existing features with the Digitizer Tool (or creating new ones) and setting the layer to the Shapefile layer.
Audience Question:
Q: When creating a raster catalog will it save your projection settings if you changed the projection from the initial one used on the individual tiles?
A: Each layer in the map catalog knows the "native" projection of the layer itself, then the map catalog itself has a concept of the default projection to draw it with. You can then of course reproject the map catalog data along with any other loaded data by setting the projection on the Projection tab of the Configuration dialog.
Audience Question:
Q: Can Global Mapper open GMT.grd files?
A: I think that is one not supported, but if you wend one to gmsupport@bluemarblegeo.com I can take a look and see if it matches something else enough to load.
Audience Question:
Q: What are the main new feautures of v13 vs. v12?
A: You can view the list here: http://www.globalmapper.com/updatev12.html
Audience Question:
Q: When creating/deleting many features in a layer, it seems that the feature count doesn't seem to be live updating
A: Ah yes, when you dellete a feature it doesn't actually remove it from memory, it just marks it as deleted (so you can undelete later). So it is still in the layer feature count. Are you not seeing the count update when you add new features. If so which version are you using?
Audience Question:
Q: What are the main new feautures of v13 vs. v12?
A: There are also a ton of new features coming very shortly in v13.01 (which Sam is demoing now). Should be a webinar on that soon when we official release.
Audience Question:
Q: how to remove distortion from map
A: Typically distortion is due to the projection used for display. All 2D projections of the 3D surface of the earth have distortion of some kind, but for small areas you can usually find a projection with very little distortion to use. You can select the projection to use on the Projection tab of the Configuration dialog.
Audience Question:
Q: How can you create custom symbols for use with the SDK?
A: Use GM_AddCustomSymbol to add new custom symbols in the SDK from any standard image file. We usually recommend using PNG files as they have good transparency support. You can create those in any graphics applications, from simple Windows Paint to PHotoshop.
Audience Question:
Q: can you create custom line type? for example can you setup a line type that has a thick red line and a thinner blue over the red line.
A: You cannot currently create your own completely custom line styles. You have to choose from one of the list of built-in styles. In the future we do plan to add support for custom line styles.
Audience Question:
Q: showing the areal photographs only if zoomed in, is it a local setting?
A: By default all layers show always, but in this case the data is from a catalog and that has settings for when to show it. You can also right-click on any layer in the Control Center and select the option to setup when the layer is displayed to setup having it only show when zoomed in.
Audience Question:
Q: How do you un-do changes
A: You can undo the current draw operation for lines and areas using Ctrl+Z. This allows you to back up through the current list of vertices. Other than that you can restore the original shape/location of features by selecting them then right-clicking and selecting to restore the original shape. You can also undelete deleted features by enabling the display of deleted features on the Vector Display tab of the Configuration dialog and then selecting and undeleting them.
Audience Question:
Q: The GM_AddCustomSymbol only work from files, not memory. Is it possible to create custom symbols that can be used as build-in?
A: Currently they would have to come from a file, but if you have it in memory you could simply write out to a BMP file, then add the custom symbol from that. It will actually be kept in memory once the symbol is used for display.
Audience Question:
Q: Can you show some volume calculatioins between say proposed and existing layerers?
A: That is probably too advanced for this webinar, but to do this you would basically use the File->Combine Terrain menu command to create a new surface that is the difference between 2 surfaces, then do a cut-and-fill against that with a height of 0. Email gmsupport@bluemarblegeo.com if you have additional questions or check www.globalmapperforum.com.
Audience Question:
Q: can gm load/draw the new aster2 dem?
A: Yes you should be able to load files from that data set.
Audience Question:
Q: Can shape files created in GM be loaded into ESRI ArcMap? JB
A: Yes, you can export Shapefiles using File->Export Vector Data that should load into ArcMap and other applications.
Audience Question:
Q: digitize alot of geological edges - how do you digitize smooth lines as you are going along rather than doing a smooth from the digitizer edit tool - smooth. when zoomed in lines look really rough
A: The trace/stream mode of drawing that Sam demonstrated a minute ago should allow that.
Audience Question:
Q: The problem with file access is performance, especially when the colour changes dynamically. Every change ask for a new file save and load from file. Any alternative?
A: So you are changing the color for some custom symbols a lot? You are getting a prompt from the SDK? You might want to email this to me directly at gmsupport@bluemarblegeo.com so you can send code samples and such.
Audience Question:
Q: Is there an email address that I can use for follow up? I believe you mentioned one at the beginning that I missed.
A: You can reachn us at gmorders@bluemarblegeo.com or gmsuarblegeo.com. Thanks!
Audience Question:
Q: snapping function, does it snap to nearest node/vertrex or to the object?
A: By default it snaps to the nearest location on the nearest object, but there are shortcut keys to change what you snap to. For example holding down 'V' makes you snap only to vertices in line and area features.
Audience Question:
Q: snapping function, does it snap to nearest node/vertrex or to the object?
A: See http://www.globalmapper.com/helpv13/...t_Key_List.pdf for list of shortcuts
Audience Question:
Q: Is there an email address that I can use for follow up? I believe you mentioned one at the beginning that I missed.
A: that should have been gmsupport@bluemarblegeo.com.
Audience Question:
Q: Since BlueMarble take over GM, will it support conversion of elevation data between datums and/or geoids ? So far it's unable to apply elevation change during re-projection.
A: That is not currently supported, but is definitely on our todo list!
Audience Question:
Q: can snapping distance be adjusted etc.
A: There is support for tweaking that via a registry key, but nothing in the user interface. Email gmsupport@bluemarblegeo.com and I can provide registry tweak instructions if you are interested.
Audience Question:
Q: Will the question/answer dialog be available following the webinar? There is a great amount of information being passed here.
A: Last time we posted this on the Global Mapper Forum, so we will probably do that this time too.
Audience Question:
Q: Since BlueMarble take over GM, will it support conversion of elevation data between datums and/or geoids ? So far it's unable to apply elevation change during re-projection.
A: We would ask you to use the Geographic Calculator for now, though we will likely make an extension between the products at some point to enable this functionality in Global Mapper.
Audience Question:
Q: Sams lines look kind of rough not like a smooth polyline. have tried this
A: Most of them he is drawing with the normal vertex mode, but the one little area just NW of the range rings he just drew was with the trace tool so it is smoother
Audience Question:
Q: regular grid: can gm count how many occurences of a shape-pointfile are within each cell?
A: Yes, if you select the grid cell areas, you can then right-click and select the option to add attributes with the count of line and points in each area. There will then be LINE_COUNT and POINT_COUNT attributes associated with each area with the count of points and lines in those areas.
Audience Question:
Q: is it possible to create (construct) line features by using length, direction and / or radius (e.g. for creating a road or railline)?
A: Yes, use the right-click menu (or toolbar) option to create a distance/bearing/COGO line. You can thenprovide a start point and distances/bearings (in several different ways) for the segments. What isn't yet support is providing curved segments through that interface, but that is on the todo list.
Audience Question:
Q: Can you add different scale bar type and/or north arrow type from a file?
A: You can select any custom symbol as a north arrow. You can add those on the Point Styles tab of the Configuration dialog. There isn't currently a way to provide a custom scale bar template.
Audience Question:
Q: Is there a way to omit features from the legend? For example, if I wanted roads and boatramps on my map but I only want boatramps in my legend.
A: Yes, the Map Layout dialog has a Filter Types button allowing you to filter which types to use to generate the legend.
Audience Question:
Q: GM wasn't/isn't able to work well with Microstation DGN files, either in import or export. Was this bug addressed in v13 ?
A: Yes, the issues with DGN support (particularly in 64-bit) are fixed in v13.
Audience Question:
Q: importing file have to be in a certain format ??
A: For generic text files (like XYZ) a large number of variations are supported. You can load using File->Open Generic ASCII Text File.
Audience Question:
Q: using "display legend based on loaded vector types" for example: if I created new line types the basic line types will be shown at the legend too. is there any posibility to hide them?
A: Yes the Filter Types allows this.
Audience Question:
Q: Does GM produce Layered PDFs as an export format?
A: Yes, the File->Export PDF menu command will create a PDF with each loaded layer as a separate layer in the generated PDF.
Audience Question:
Q: what is KML KMZ how to we create/obtainsuch file?
A: That is the format used by Google Earth for displaying custom raster and elevation data. If you export to a KML/KMZ file you can load that directly for viewing in Google Earth.
Audience Question:
Q: Is 64-bit PDF export now possible?
A: Yes starting with v13.01, which is soon to be released. Email gmsupport@bluemarblegeo.com if you want to get it now.
Audience Question:
Q: On the same topic, is GM able to export Adobe PDF in 3D format ?
A: 3D PDF is not yet supported.
Audience Question:
Q: Can I center map location based on 4 points?
A: You can pan to a particular point under the View menu, then just zoom to the appropriate zoom level to get to the desired rectangle.
Audience Question:
Q: will you cover topics on 3d this session?
A: Not sure if we will be able to get to 3D for this session. Do you have any particular questions relating to 3d?
Audience Question:
Q: Can you contouring and show example of modifying contour lines?
A: I'm not sure if there will be time for that this session, do you have any particular questions?
Audience Question:
Q: Can you please point me to a source for info on getting Google Maps tiles into GeoMapper?
A: Directly pulling in Google Maps data into Global Mapper would violate the Google Maps Terms of Service, so we can't directly provide instructions on doing that. Many of the built-in online sources, like DigitalGlobe imagery, provide comparable data in many places.
Audience Question:
Q: Do your online data sources get updated as new ones you find come on line?
A: Yes, the list of sources are updated dynamically and sources come and go, and you can add your own sources.
Audience Question:
Q: Do you recommend any Canadian sources of online sources?
A: The GeoBase Canada site (www.geobase.ca I think) has some good Canadian data.
Audience Question:
Q: On this particular screen with loaded data. Can you show the transparency in layers, so you can see map/dem/image at the same time ?
A: Sorry not quite enough time to cover the raster options this time, but on Options dialog from Control Center you can do this for layer on top.
Audience Question:
Q: Can I add trees to an area in 3D?
A: Not virtual trees, but if you have 3D features they can show in the 3D view.
Audience Question:
Q: If you download data from the open roads map source as demonstrated, can you save out this data layer for use without connecting to a WMS.
A: Yes, export with File->Export Raster Data