Ortelius - Product Preview

Powerful Map Illustration Software - coming soon

Cartographers will know how frustrating making maps can be using general-purpose programs such as Adobe Illustrator or Freehand. These programs don't know anything about geography, so building geographical images is slow and painstaking. Add-on packages to extend these programs with specialist cartographical tools are very expensive.

Ortelius is different. It is a dedicated map-making illustration program that knows geography. Instead of building maps from lines and primitive shapes, you draw directly with roads, railways, boundaries, buildings, woods and streams. Generate contour lines from elevation plots. Label items using a consistent style. Roads (for example) know how they connect to each other and junctions are drawn properly, fully automatically. If it needs moving, it will move all of its connected feeder roads with it, maintaining junctions as it goes. Want to insert a bridge? Highlight the road and insert a bridge - no need to fiddle about trying to build one from tiny bits of curves and lines.

Ortelius isn't a GIS system. It's an illustration program that knows about mapping. In a GIS system, a database of geographical objects is used to generate plots. Ortelius works the other way around - you draw directly the objects you want, and it builds a database underneath. You can import aerial photographs for tracing, and work with any coordinate system or grid you desire. Need to send directions to someone? Sketch a map, highlight the route like you would with a paper map using a highlighter pen. Send the PDF. All in a few minutes!

Ortelius works by defining a library of high-level symbols and styles that depict geographical entities. You can define your own symbols and styles or use the built-in libraries that are supplied. Ortelius then turns these styles and symbols into drawing tools that can be used directly - you don't draw a bezier path and imagine it's a road - you select the road tool with the desired style - "B- Road" for example, and draw the road. Junction? The road snaps to another road and the junction automatically forms. How about some woodland? Select the area shape tool with the "woodland' style and define the area. It's drawn directly using the desired style. There are no cumbersome "rotate" tools - any object can be rotated simply and directly by dragging its rotation knob. Naturally, Ortelius supports unlimited layers, so you can separate information any way you like - roads in one layer, buildings in another, contours in another, for example. Overlay grids and scales. Automatically generate a symbol key. Ortelius knows mapping.

Finally, print gorgeous quality maps using the full power of Quartz imaging. Everything is pin-sharp and anti-aliased.

Ortelius is currently under development and version 1.0 will be available soon. The intention is to release as shareware with a suggested price of around $50 or less. This represents a huge bargain compared with add-ons for Illustrator, etc. Ortelius will find a home in any amateur or professional cartographer's toolbox. For further information, feel free to mail me. I welcome any suggestions for features - what's on your wish list?

Ortelius is built on top of the powerful and general purpose GCDrawKit vector drawing library - for more information see this page.

Note: The screenshots here are of an early development version and do not necessarily represent the final user interface or feature set of the product.