GPS Mapping: Make Your Own Maps
Chapter Updates
TopoFusion Version 2.5 (release date 2/20/05)
Listed below are some of the most significant upgrades to TopoFusion in version 2.5.
3-D
Automatic downloading of elevation data is the major improvement in version
2.5. Now all you need do to generate a 3-D model is click the 3-D
button. Click Options and then click 3-D Settings to fine
tune the controls shown below:
- Setting Maximum number of vertices high will slow your computer's 3-D performance. Minimum unit size doesn't seem to have any significant effect on performance.
- For anyone geeky enough to worry about the Interpolation method, I refer you to TopoFusion's help files.
- Data Source is more important. Use DEM files if available allows you to generate 3-D images when offline, but TopoFusion doesn't currently cache automatically downloaded DEM's. You have to manually download DEM files for this feature to work. Always download (US only) automatically downloads 30 meter elevation data for the US. You'll have to use Always download (World) for areas outside the US, which relies on the lower resolution 90 meter SRTM data.
- Invert Mouse (Y-axis) changes the mouse movements while in 3-D mode. Select this and when you move the mouse down, the terrain model will move up.
- Set the Vertical Exaggeration to 1.0 for the most realistic landscape. Settings higher than this will exaggerate the vertical.
- Show 3-D Tracks bases track display on elevation data associated with the track, rather than the DEM data the 3-D image is based upon.
- Show 3-D Waypoints displays waypoint names as free-floating text, whose display is based on the elevation data associated with the waypoint.
LandSat satellite imagery
The drop-down menu at the upper-right of the screen now offers access to 16, 64 and 256 meters per pixel LandSat satellite imagery.
Printing
Version 2.5 adds some very basic printing support. Click File and then click Print to print the area shown on your screen.
Icons
Several new icons have been added (Runner, Car and Boat). To access these, click Options, click Preferences, and then click the User Type drop-down menu.
PhotoFusion example from TopoFusion
Click above to see a photofusion example from a ride my wife and I took recently. You can click in the upper right corner to toggle between the aerial photo and topo map. Click on the camera images to view photos taken at that point in the ride. Check out the bear tracks; they are huge! You can also see my GPS mount, some great scenery, and the results of my wife’s bike crash.
PhotoFusion is a simple but powerful tool. All you need to do is tell TopoFusion what directory your photos are in and what your time zone is. TopoFusion does the rest. This easy to use application automatically links digital photos (using their EXIF time stamp) to the location they were shot along the track. As if that weren’t enough, the TopoFusion guys have created a one-click process to turn it into a webpage. Check it out!
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