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Gmap4 Enhanced Google online topos

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Not sure if many folks have come across this neat online mapping site based on google maps...

http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.html

The interface lets you zoom in on a region and then you use the drop down menu on the right to overlay different data. It includes high resolution USGS topo and the Canadian topographic equivalent. Might be useful to check out and scout new paddling options...

Here's the starting link for for Ontario and the NorthEast...

Lots of little tweaking options too like overlaying UTM grid lines and making some waypoints. Found it pretty fun to tinker with.
 
It's not bad! Did you find a measuring tool on it anywhere? I had one for a minute, and then lost it. For Northern Ontario, another good one is www.nomap.ca If you select the "canoe routes" option, it will show all of the canoe routes entered into the NRVIS system up till about five years ago.
 
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As far as distance measuring, I'm still trying to learn all the options. Think if you use the 1st drop down Menu and click on the "Draw and Save" option, it lets you do a track online and keeps a running tally of distance on the bottom right. Cool thing I found is that if you have online gps data file (GPX format) somewhere on the web, it can overlay that data on the map too. I'll be posting another trip report soon too and will try to overlay the gps data of the trip for the writeup.

Thanks too for the nomap.ca link - hadn't seen that before! Very detailed and a better looking option for the North.

P.S. Grew up in Kapuskasing so consider myself a Northern Ontario kid at heart - now I'm stuck down here in the south...
 
Thanks for the kind words about Gmap4. I noticed hits from this thread in my server log so thought I would stop by and say 'hi'.

This project is part of my way to “pay it forward”. Translation: Gmap4 is free for non-commercial use. It is popular with people that enjoy a wide range of outdoor activities.

Gmap4 is a browser app, not a native app. Gmap4 runs in most browsers on most devices from smartphones to desktops. Note that the browser does have to be online. When Gmap4 is running in the browser on a smartphone it automatically uses a phone-friendly ‘scroll’ interface. (If your phone does not like the scroll menu then touch Menu ==> Button Interface.)

The button in the very upper right corner lets you change map types. The "Canada" choice displays vector topos for all of Canada. The "MyTopo" choice displays scans of Canada topo maps. The Menu button gives access to various features. A rightclick will show some useful info.

I enjoy looking at topo maps and one of the main reasons I wrote Gmap4 was to make it easy for people to include map links when they post in forums like this one. Here is the recipe for making a link that will start Gmap4 and display a map:

1. Simply use zoom/pan or Menu==>Search to find the area you want to see when the map opens.
2. Click the button in the upper right corner and select “t4 Topo High” or one of the other choices. Also adjust the zoom to your liking (mouse wheel or sliding control in upper left corner).
3. Click Menu ==> "Link to this map". The link that is displayed will reproduce the same map you see on your screen.

These Gmap4 links can be used in forum posts, emails, blogs, websites, etc.

The Gmap4 homepage has a FAQ, examples, quick start info (in the Help file) and more to quickly get you up to speed.

Gmap4 default map: http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php

Gmap4 homepage: http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.html

Some forums are allowing Gmap4 to run as an embedded map. See for example:
http://www.bogley.com/forum/showthread.php?62130-The-Super-Amazing-Canyoneering-Map
http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8002972
http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=14194&hilit=washougal

Enjoy!

Joseph, the Gmap4 guy
Redmond, WA
 
If anyone is interested, I just posted some Gmap4 beta code that includes two additional topo maps that cover Canada (and most of the rest of the world).

The following link uses the 't8' basemap (Open Street Map Cycle) and displays a random spot in the Algonquin:
http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/beta/gmap4_beta_815.php?ll=45.692182,-78.388355&t=t8&z=13

You can also check out the 't7' basemap. This is world wide topo supplied by ESRI.

Note - In this beta the ESRI and OSM maps are only available in the 'desktop' interface.
I still need to add them to the 'scroll' and 'button' interfaces.

The next update to the production Gmap4 code should be around the end of this month.

Joseph
 
Hi Jeff - This map program is very useful for SAR. I always print out copies for myself if I have time before heading out on a call.

Can you tell me why Gmap4 will not print from Safari? The maps show up and all the menu options seem to work, but only the header will actually print, leaving the rest of the page totally blank. But printing from either Firefox or Chrome from the same computer works ok. Thanks.
 
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Can you tell me why Gmap4 will not print from Safari? The maps show up and all the menu options seem to work, but only the header will actually print, leaving the rest of the page totally blank. But printing from either Firefox or Chrome from the same computer works ok. Thanks.

Well, that's just the way it is. The moral of the story is: Be glad for what you have.
It used to be the case that you could not print via any browser.
Google then tweaked things so we can print via some browsers.
As to why printing via Safari does not work, I have no clue whether the problem is at Google's end or Apple's.
 
Just use screen capture for mac...command-shift-4
Of course I know how to screen capture on the Mac. It was a question of interest as to why it is so odd that printing from Safari works so well for everything else on the web, but Gmap4 is incompatibly coded to print.
 
It was a question of interest as to why it is so odd that printing from Safari works so well for everything else on the web, but Gmap4 is incompatibly coded to print.

Just to clarify.
Gmap4 has nothing whatsoever to do with printing.
Printing through the browser is handled 100% by Google's code and the browser's code.
 
Appreciate the beta code version with the new topo overlays - especially the T7 Topo World ESRI maps - sufficient details of the land but not too crowded with other stuff. Thanks for posting the link here.
 
Just to clarify.
Gmap4 has nothing whatsoever to do with printing.
Printing through the browser is handled 100% by Google's code and the browser's code.
So... it must be a Google conspiracy to force Mac users to move to their Chrome browser... hmmm :p
 
I can actually use the heck out of this! Seems to work well on my iPhone.
 
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