Filed under: Software
Ortelius: map illustration for the Mac, coming soon
I am not a cartographer, but I do enjoy a good map. Ortelius looks like it will be a very nice addition to any map maker's Dock. Ortelius is a program that has been designed from the get go to do one thing, and do it well: draw maps. As the product page points out addons to other drawing programs will allow you to make maps, but those programs weren't designed for it. Ortelius has a number of stock drawing tools that allow you to focus on the important thing: getting that map right.Ortelius will allow you to highlight routes on maps you've created, create PDFs, and print out the maps. Ortelius is still under development but will be available soon for less than $50.
[via The Map Room, which is a great blog about all map related things.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Justin said 11:41AM on 8-21-2007
I'm a cartographer and i'm chained to windows at work with Autodesk Map and ArcMap, and only get to use my Mac once the data is ported over into Adobe formatting. (I know there are solutions for OS X but they've got a huge learning curve). I also lament the fact that there arent any good mapping programs (Streets and Trips, Streetatlas) for OS X either. Route 66 stinks.
I'm really excited about this. Whee.
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stefan K said 11:51AM on 8-21-2007
Freehand was used a lot for mapping and cartography.
Until good old Adobe killed it off, rather than updating it for a new generation.
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Alex said 2:47PM on 8-21-2007
Ha! I live on Orteliusstraat (Ortelius street). All the streets in this neighborhood are named for explorers or cartographers. What fun to have software in that name.
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Catt said 1:08PM on 8-21-2007
I'm a GIS Manager chained to ArcMap on the Windows platform at work for most of the day with no access to ArcMap at home on my Mac and more than a few times I've needed to do a map at home and have been looking for something like this for some time. For $50 this is a steal... I just can't wait...Triple Whee!
Thanks for the heads up Scott "you're the man."
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Henri Bergius said 2:04AM on 8-22-2007
Now, the question is whether this supports OpenStreetMap import/export
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Rhywun said 9:16PM on 8-21-2007
I'm a map nut & have always enjoyed drawing maps "for fun". This is right up my alley - I can't wait!
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