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SpatialNews.com Press Release
National Geographic Maps Expands Support for GIS, CAD and GPS Software Users
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WASHINGTON -- From civil engineers to surveyors to environmental
planners to utility managers, users of geospatial software have a new tool
to quickly add the highest-quality topographic maps to their projects with
National Geographic Maps' TOPO! Xport Pro. This one-stop, easy-to-use
software enables users to add seamless topographic maps to any software
that supports standard raster file formats. The maps are actual USGS quads
that have been georeferenced and enhanced with up-to-date streets and roads
and 3-D hill shading. The maps immediately provide context for other
geospatial information and are ideal for reports, presentations, or use in
the field. TOPO! Xport Pro is compatible with a wide range of
spatially-enabled software including products from Autodesk, ESRI,
Microsoft, Microstation, Integraph, MapInfo and more.
TOPO! Xport Pro is available online at www.ngmapstore.com or by calling
800-962-1643. Suggested retail price is $199.
"TOPO! Xport Pro is the easiest way to incorporate our award-winning
topographic maps into spatially enabled software," said Matt Heller, vice
president, National Geographic Maps. "Our customers are doing more and more
with our maps. From CAD to GPS to GIS, they are using National Geographic
maps to improve their understanding of the world around them."
TOPO! Xport Pro includes several layers of maps: two National Geographic
atlas layers, USGS 1:500,000- and 1:100,000-scale topographic maps for the
entire U.S., and up-to-date street overlays from TeleAtlas/Geographic Data
Technology, Inc. (GDT). Users can turn roads on and off and add street and
road names with a single click.
Also included in TOPO! Xport Pro is the TOPO! State Series dataset which
provides the highest resolution 1:24,000-scale USGS topographic maps for a
specific state or region. Each quad in the series employs true-color
imaging to optimize raster maps for viewing and printing.
Three-D view and fly-thru functionality is also built-in. Users may look
down a valley or stand atop a mountain and see the view from every angle.
Users can soar along a route they have drawn and stop anywhere along the
route to zoom and pan 360°. Resizable split-screens show 3-D and 2-D views
simultaneously, making it easy to get a lay of the land.
A Live Map Update feature helps keep the USGS quads and TeleAtlas/GDT
street data current. This component searches a user’s defined area to check
for updates, and supplies the tools to quickly download the new information
to replace older quads and roads.
Maps may be customized with numerous features. TOPO! Xport Pro allows users
to turn on shaded relief or turn it off to view the original USGS maps;
draw custom routes; generate elevation profiles with distance displayed;
obtain GPS waypoints for any point on a map; transfer waypoints and routes
between GPS and the software; import waypoints and store and organize them
in an easy-to-use database; add photos, notes and Web links; and choose
from a wide range of symbols to insert in the maps.
Raster maps exported from TOPO! Xport Pro are in GeoTIFF, TIFF or JPEG
formats with world headers in ESRI, .TFW format or MapInfo .TAB format.
These rasters can be referenced to either latitude or longitude or UTM map
projections in either Nad83/WGS84 or NAD27 map datum. TOPO! Xport Pro
requires Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP, NT 4.0 or higher.
National Geographic Maps employs 60 full-time cartographers, who produce
four map supplements and about 100 page maps a year for National Geographic
magazine, the official journal of the Society. NG Maps also produces maps
for the Society's other magazines, National Geographic Books (including the
Society's signature "Atlas of the World"), National Geographic Television &
Film, Nationalgeographic.com (both the Web site www.nationalgeographic.com
and CD-ROM products) and the Society’s educational products. In addition,
NG Maps produces Trails Illustrated maps, TOPO! digital maps, globes, wall
maps, reference maps, state maps, city and recreational destination maps,
and atlases. Maps are available to members and the public.
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