1

I am looking for help finding alternatives to Avenza PDF maps app for iOS and Android.

Avenza has updated their app (now called Avenza Maps), and now the free version only allows 3 maps at a time to be loaded.

What other apps exist that can load and use geospatial pdfs? One key feature is the ability to create markers and export them.

So far the only alternative I have found is NextMap, although it doesn't appear to exist in the Play Store. It seems to work well with GeoPDFs, but there is no marker import/export.

Improve this question

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
3

I'm the lead developer of Mappt for Android.

Mappt allows you to import and export markers, lines, polygons and geotagged photos and their associated attribute data as well as view various forms of imagery from many common GIS formats, though GeoPDF is not one of them right now :)

If you could export to one of the supported imagery formats (ECW, JP2, Compact Cache, WMS and WMTS formats), you could import into Mappt.

If you require editing and capture of data and can export your data in a supported geometry format (e.g. Shapefile or KML/KMZ), then you can import it into Mappt. Users in the field can then edit the geometry and associated attribute data, then export via email, Google Drive, etc.

Mappt also allows you to create new vector layers and define attribute schema in the field.

All functionality in Mappt is available without requiring connection to any server or cloud platform. All functionality is fully available offline, including support for imagery layers.

You can trial Mappt by downloading it from the Google Play store, here. Once your trial ends, Mappt will revert to a restricted free version. See our website for the breakdown of pricing tiers.

Finally, while we don't support GeoPDFs today, @orbl_soil is correct in that we can shuffle our roadmap around based on user demand; much of Mappt's existing feature set was guided this way. Please get in touch via the live chat feature of our website (mappt.com.au) or directly via [email protected].

Improve this answer
3
  • Thanks Joel, I will try out the trial. Yes, we can export to one of those formats and try that out. The geoPDFs are nice for our users that are not very GIS-savvy, and they seem to be able to get the hang of that very quickly. Also, many maps are provided on the web as geoPDFs, so that is handy to tap into.
    – Will McInnes
    Commented Dec 16, 2016 at 22:16
  • Another challenge is that almost all of our field devices are iPads, and that is not likely to change soon.
    – Will McInnes
    Commented Dec 16, 2016 at 22:18
  • Thanks for the feedback, Will! I've fed it back to the team. We do have long-term plans for an iOS version of Mappt but nothing solid yet.
    – Joel Malone
    Commented Dec 22, 2016 at 4:20
1

GeoPDF support seems limited to the big GIS firms at a glance, you might be stuck with mobile ESRI products https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geospatial_PDF#Applications_creating_geospatial_PDFs.

I saw a product demo for an Android GIS app called Mappt a while back and was quite impressed with their system. I'm not sure if they support GeoPDF, but the CEO emphasised that they're keen to implement new features based on user requests. Its a small firm and they're chasing market share pretty hard so it might be worth starting a conversation.

Improve this answer
1
  • Thanks for the link, unfortunately the only mobile apps on that list are Avenza PDF, and TerraGO mobile. As far as I can tell, TerraGO only allows point export with a subscription, at $3750 per year for 5 users. And yes, maybe pushing Mappt to add the functionality might work.
    – Will McInnes
    Commented Nov 10, 2016 at 0:33
0

An old thread but maybe some more helpful information. I've been using CarryMap which is pretty good. The CarryMap Builder requires a license (not sure the price. I got an educational license teaching GIS) but the viewer is free. Converts any ArcGIS project into the CarryMap format, then export to any device with the viewer. Can turn any layer included on or off; works offline; great search function. Quick and responsive. (Not used Avenza for a couple of years, but large amounts of data slowed search and loading). Anyway, worth looking at as another possible solution to distributing maps to organization or public.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.