Tools and Features in the Global Mapper SDK™

The Global Mapper SDK can be used to initiate a variety of spatial data analysis procedures:

• Determine the elevation at any location from loaded elevation layers
• Retrieve information about loaded layers, including projection/datum, bounding rectangle, description, ground control points, pixel size, etc.
• Generate contour lines from loaded elevation grid layers
• Calculate cut-and-fill volumes along a given line or within an area
• Re-project loaded data to a user-specified projection/datum
• Auto-clip the collar from USGS DRGs
• Re-project coordinates from one projection/datum to another projection/datum
• Modify the drawing style and font of all loaded vector data, including your own custom vector layers
• Perform a position-based search of loaded vector data (similar to the Feature Info tool in Global Mapper)
• Calculate the volume between 2 terrains as well as find ridge lines on loaded terrain data
• Many powerful features for working in 3D
• Enhanced LiDAR analysis and editing functionality
• Pan sharpen imagery using higher resolution panchromatic (grayscale) imagery

As well as providing access to spatial data files, the Global Mapper SDK offers the option to read and write data to a spatial database. Import and export data from:

• Esri ArcSDE (requires Esri license on machine and 32-bit only)
• Esri File Geodatabase (includes raster and grid and all versions of file geodatabses, requires Esri license on machine and 32-bit only)
• Esri Personal Geodatabase (requires Esri license on machine and 32-bit only)
• MS SQL Server
• MySQL Spatial
• Oracle Spatial
• PostGIS/PostgreSQL
• SpatiaLite/SQLite

The Global Mapper SDK provides the ability to display the Global Mapper 3D view with loaded terrain and 3D vector features along with any other data draped on top of the terrain surface. It can also retrieve the elevation at any location from loaded elevation layers and it can even perform view shed analysis using loaded elevation grid layers as well as vector data (areas, lines, and points) with elevation values associated with them. Recent versions have added many significant updates for working with 3d data:

• Support for several 3D formats, for a complete list click here
• Support for setting up and recording HD 3D fly-through videos
• Support for a Skybox in 3D, rendering a sky simulation
• Support for tracking GPS in 3D
• Support for 3D textures and meshes into GMP files
• Pivot Axis, 3D navigational aid
• Support for using 3D point styles to render graphically pleasing objects like trees in 3D

The enhanced LiDAR analysis and editing functionality available in the Global Mapper SDK provides developers with the option to add powerful tools including the ability to automatically classify buildings, trees and power lines as well as the following:

• Automatic classification of ground, building, vegetation and power lines from unclassified LiDAR point clouds
• Feature extraction to render buildings, trees and power lines
• Gridding of point cloud data and support for min/max/average gridding
• Support for gridding LiDAR intensity or height above ground values rather than elevation
• Filter LiDAR points by class, elevation, color, scan-angle and source-ID when exporting, gridding, and selecting from point clouds
• Accurately transform coordinates in a LiDAR point cloud performing functions such as shift, rotate, and scale
• Automatic classification of high and low noise points
• Calculation of basic rooftop statistics from point clouds

Version 18.1 of the SDK introduces a new managed component for .NET users. This wrapper adds utilities for commonly used classes and simplifies the memory management details when using the Global Mapper SDK with Microsoft's .NET Framework.

Version 18.2 of the SDK introduces support for Amazon Web Services (AWS) Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) Open Cloud Datasets. This allows sources to be imported from S3 buckets and data formats can now be exported to writeable S3 buckets.