ATDI Ltd

The Beehive
City Place
Gatwick
West Sussex
RH6 0PA UK
Tel: + (44) 1 293 522052
Fax: + (44) 1 293 522521
www.atdi.co.uk

ATDI
Global Mapper
Plug-in
Getting Started Guide

Prepared by:

Cyprien de Cosson

Position:

Product Manager (sub-contracted)

Updated:

30th September 2014

Issue:

1.2.50

Advanced Topographic Development and Images Ltd

Registered in England No. 3198786
Registered Office: 19 New Road, Brighton, BN1 1EY

CONTENTS
1

Introduction ........................................................................................................ 3

Hardware and software requirements ................................................................ 4

3
3.1
3.2
3.3

Software installation........................................................................................... 5
Software key licence (workstation locked) ......................................................... 6
Hardware key licence (workstation portable) ..................................................... 6
Evaluation licence .............................................................................................. 7

Technical support .............................................................................................. 7

5
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
5.9

Tutorial............................................................................................................... 9
Main screen ....................................................................................................... 9
Loading and visualising data ........................................................................... 11
Combining multiple map tiles ........................................................................... 15
Harmonising different projections .................................................................... 17
Merging high and low resolution data .............................................................. 20
Superimposing multiple data sets with transparency ....................................... 21
Exporting data to ATDI tools ............................................................................ 23
Incorporate SRTM terrain data directly from the web ...................................... 25
Rectify (geo-referencing) maps ....................................................................... 27

FAQ and Troubleshooting ................................................................................ 28

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this guide is to introduce the ATDI Global Mapper Plug-in, to
guide the user through installation, and give a brief tutorial on the combined
capabilities of Global Mapper and the plug-in.
The ATDI Global Mapper Plug-in provides users of ATDI planning tools with
the ability to support the ATDI imagery, terrain and clutter file formats,
enabling users to take GIS files in generic file formats such as ASRP, DTED,
GeoTIFF and ESRI ArcInfo ASCII, and then to read, process and export into
those formats native to the ATDI tools.
The plug-in is based upon the Global Mapper tool, which is well known as a
Swiss Army knife GIS software tool, that has been adopted by many users
the world over as a toolbox to read, treat, visualise, combine, harmonise and
export GIS data sets of many different formats. The tool is particularly strong
in the raster domain and has a highly capable viewer which includes the
ability to open many data files as a mosaic, the transparent overlay of
datasets and the ability to shade data with user defined pixel shaders.
The advanced features include the ability to geo-reference data such as
scanned maps, the capture of vector data and a scripting language to
automate repetitive operations. The software also allows the import of SRTM
data direct from the web, so that users can create terrain data files useable in
the ATDI tools in minutes, without purchasing any data.
The great benefit of the plug-in is that it is possible to import from a wide
range of data formats in which data is readily available, then to visualise, reproject, and export into the native ATDI raster formats without requiring much
user effort.
The ATDI Global Mapper Plug-in complements the ICS Map Server product,
which offers more advanced functionality such as contour capture, editing of
raster data, and ortho-rectification of imagery as well as support for some
more esoteric file formats.

2 HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

The Global Mapper application requires a PC running Windows Vista, 7 or 8
with at least 512 MB of memory and 30 MB of free disk space for the plug-in,
and more reasonably 1 GB memory and plenty of disk space for the mapping
and GIS data.
The plug-in is compatible with 32 bit versions of Global Mapper starting from
version 8.02 and 64 bit from version 12. Later versions of either are preferable
due to enhancements in the product and interface with the plug-in. The ATDI
Plug-in is not functional with the evaluation version of Global Mapper and only
operates with a fully paid up version of the software. Please refer to
www.globalmapper.com to purchase a full licence.

3 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
Prior to installing the ATDI Global Mapper Plug-in, the Global Mapper
application should already been installed in the <Program Files> folder, and
all previous installs of the plugins have been removed. The ATDI setup
program should be selected to correspond to whether the 32 or 64 version of
Global Mapper. When running the ATDI Plug-in installer, the destination folder
should be set to correspond to that where Global Mapper is installed as
shown below.

During the installation, the licensing model corresonding to that purchased

should be chosen as shown below:

In order to licence the software the appropriate software or hardware key

5

installation instructions should be followed.

3.1

Software key licence (workstation locked)

Once the installation of the ATDI Plug-in is complete, Global Mapper should
be launched, followed by the ATDI splash screen. After this has been
displayed, a series of dialogs appear to activate the plug-in. At the first dialog,
the Activate Global Mapper Plug-in option should be selected, generating the
following screen for activating the software key:

The dialog displays two user codes which are machine specific. In order to
obtain the corresponding activation keys, both user codes should be noted
and communicated to ATDI either via e-mail using the email address
technical.support@atdi.co.uk, or by phone using the telephone number +44
(0)1293 522052. After entering the activation codes clicking on Continue
should lead to a dialog confirming that the licence is active. Subsequently
Global Mapper will load and the ATDI splash screen will be displayed
indicating that the ATDI Plug-in has been successfully integrated with Global
Mapper.
3.2

Hardware key licence (workstation portable)

As an alternative to the software licensing which is locked to a given
workstation, hardware keys often known as dongles may be used to allow the
licence to be used on many workstations. For the plug-in to function, it must
find a suitable key. There are two types of hardware key; one for standalone
and another for network operation. The standalone key allows software to be
6

used on only one host workstation a time, whereas the network version allows
a limited number of users on the same network segment to share a key
installed on a host computer.
All computers hosting the keys must have the Sentinel SuperPro driver
installed. To install the driver for both types of key, install the Sentinel driver
using the typical configuration. The latest version of the Sentinel SuperPro
drivers can be downloaded from the SafeNet website via http://www.safenetinc.com/support-downloads/sentinel-drivers/
3.3

Evaluation licence
Either the software or hardware licence version may be evaluated by installing
on any machine without licensing. When operating without a licence, the user is
warned that operation is in Trial mode. In this mode, the plugins are fully
functional except that any data viewed or exported has the ATDI logo
imprinted.

4 TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Support should be obtained either from Global Mapper or from ATDI
depending upon the type of issue.
If the issue concerns the Global Mapper application then refer to the
information at www.globalmapper.com or refer to the forum at Global Mapper
group
on
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com
or
send
an
email
to
support@globalmapper.com.

For support on the ATDI Global Mapper Plug-in including issues relating to
compatibility with other ATDI products, then please refer to the information at
7

www.atdi.co.uk
or
send
an
email
to
ATDI
support
technical.support@atdi.co.uk or telephone +44 (0)1293 522052.

using

In your communication, please describe the problem and what you are trying
to achieve. To help further please include screen shots and sample files
where possible.

TUTORIAL

5.1

Main screen
After opening Global Mapper the main screen should be shown. This screen
provides access to all the functions through the menus at the top of the page,
the toolbar below the menus, and the quick links in the centre of the dialog as
shown below.

The toolbar has a number of useful buttons including a button to access to the
Overlay Control Center as highlighted below

The Overlay Control Center dialog facilitates the management of data files in
the map view area of the main window and allows the user to inspect file
properties, hide layers, unload files, change drawing order and set advanced
parameters such as the transparency.

The toolbar also gives access to the Configuration dialog which is used to set
the of the map view and allows the user to set up the display many options
including the specification of projection of the view, shading (see also 5.2.1),
area and line styles.

10

5.2

Loading and visualising data

In order to visualise any data file, it must first be loaded using the menu File >
Open Data Files(s) menu (<Ctrl> + <O>) and select the source files from your
directory. For example to open an ATDI format Imagery file, invoke this menu
and select the ATDI image file (*.img) filter from the drop down list and open
the file of your choice.

11

The map View and Tools toolbar items shown below (highlighted in red)
provide easy navigation around the map. The scroll wheel on the mouse
allows the user to zoom in and out of the image.

12

5.2.1 Pixel shader

The pixel shader is used to render numeric raster data such as terrain height
or clutter data. The user can select from default shader options by selecting
from the drop down menu highlighted in red.

Accessing the configuration screen from the main window allows the user to
change the colouring of the shaders as well as the ability to create their own
custom shader.

13

The minimum and maximum elevation values for applying the pixel shader
can be changed by accessing the Overlay Control Center (<Alt> + <C>) and
clicking the Options button for the appropriate layer. Selecting the Alter
Elevation Values tab allows the user to specify the minimum and maximum
elevation values.

14

5.3

Combining multiple map tiles

Global Mapper is able to construct and display a complete mosaic by tiling
together separate data files. In order to mosaic data, the user simply has to
load the data tiles using the File > Open Data Files(s) or File > Open All files
in a Directory Tree menus.

15

The example shown below has been generated by loading 4 individual tiles of
data. These are automatically tiled to produce the composite map shown.

16

5.4

Harmonising different projections

Global Mapper is able to import and re-project datasets that have been
generated with different projections and harmonise them to a common
system.
This is helpful when creating datasets for use in ICS Telecom and HTZ
Warfare, because these tools have the requirement that the layers of data
should be in the same project and furthermore this projection must be based
upon a projection with planar coordinates in metres.
The projection applied to the view can be specified by selecting the
appropriate parameters from the Projection tab in Configuration dialog as
shown below.

In the example case shown in the sequence below, the first map of the UK
has a source projection of British National Grid and the second map of
Belgium has a source projection of UTM.

17

The original UK map, below, with British National Grid projection shown.

The original Belgium map, shown below projected as UTM.

18

The resultant map with UK and Belgium displayed in British National Grid
spatial reference system.

To help blend the transition between the two maps there is a feathering option
available from the Control dialogs.

19

5.5

Merging high and low resolution data

Global Mapper is able to display files of different resolution and merge them
for simultaneous viewing. Simply load the different resolutions data sets as
outlined in section 5.2 and then adjust the transparency to view
simultaneously (see section 5.6)
In the example below SRTM 3-arc-second data is displayed with high
resolution data at 5m resolution in the centre.

20

5.6

Superimposing multiple data sets with transparency

Global Mapper allows the user to visualise one data set with a degree of
transparency upon another, load files and display with or without
transparency, to visualise for example both Image and Clutter maps
simultaneously. This is achieved using the Translucency control, which is
accessed from the Control Center clicking on the Options button whilst
highlighting the relevant layer and then selecting the Display tab to reveal the
following:

21

The window below shows how by adjusting the translucency you are able to
view a map image and also terrain elevation data behind it.

22

5.7

Exporting data to ATDI tools

To export a file that has been loaded in a format suitable for use in ATDI tools,
go to the menu: File > Export Raster and Elevation Data and select Export
ATDI Image (or ATDI clutter or ATDI coverage or ATDI terrain etc.)
The menu and options are shown below.

23

Imagery may only be exported in one of the ATDI image formats. Numerical
raster/gridded data such as terrain data may be exported in terrain, clutter,
image and coverage format.
Selecting to export as an ATDI image displays an additional dialogue box.
The user now has three tabs to select from which specify how the data is
exported.

In the first tab the user can select the sample spacing. It is often best to
ensure that the sample spacing is an integer or a simple fraction when
exporting to other ATDI applications. In the case of ICS telecom and HTZ
warfare, the imagery and grid spacing should be an integer divisor of the
terrain spacing.
n.b. for terrain elevation data, if a destination file already exists, and the
spatial reference system and pixel resolution are the same, then the export
process will insert the data into the file where there is an overlap. If a polygon
area is defined in Global Mapper and copies prior to the export process, then
the area represented under the polygon can be used as a way of limiting the
export process. This way complex merging of terrain data can be
accomplished. This process is slower than a normal export.

24

The second tab allows the data to be divided up into sections to make many
smaller data tiles. This can be useful when the source dataset is very large.
(In the case that the ATDI compressed files are exported a multimap index file
will be created)

The third tab defines the bounds of the data to be exported and can be based
upon a bounding box which can be specified in a number of ways.
Furthermore the exported data can be masked by a polygon.
5.8

Incorporate SRTM terrain data directly from the web

Terrain data can be obtained directly from the web. This data includes the
SRTM 3 data which is very useful as a general purpose terrain elevation
model. This is achieved by selecting the Download Online
Imagery/Topo/Terrain maps from the File menu, which will yield the following
dialog with a list of data sources including the SRTM

25

Select the item Download Free Maps/Imagery from TerraServer (USA/WMS)

> (SRTM Worldwide Elevation Data). If there is a map is already loaded in
Global Mapper, then the SRTM can be cropped to match the existing datasets
by selecting Current Screen Bounds. An example of an SRTM map is shown
below.

26

5.9

Rectify (geo-referencing) maps

Any imagery such as scanned maps and plans can be geo-referenced to
bring the data into the GIS domain, thus allowing it to be used with other GIS
data. Geo referencing is achieved from the File menu Rectify (Geo-reference)
Imagery. This will present the following Image Rectification Options dialog as
shown below.

Once the output options have been chosen the image file to be georeferenced can be selected. To add control points from which the rectification
will be computed, click on a control point location and enter the known
coordinates. Repeat this for the desired number of control points (a minimum
of 3 points).

Finally select the required projection, click ok and the geo-referenced image
will be displayed.
27

6 FAQ and Troubleshooting

Should I use the 32 or 64 bit version?
You must choose the version of plug-in that corresponds to the edition of
Global Mapper irrespective of the choice of 32/64 bit ATDI tool. In general, a
64 bit version is preferred on a 64 bit edition of Windows, as it will be capable
of access large amounts of RAM if available and generally run faster.

I cant see or use the ATDI Plug-in after launching Global Mapper.
Check that the plug-in been installed to the <Program files> Global Mapper
location. Newer versions of Global Mapper are installed to a different folder
than the default location of the Plug-in installer. In this case, uninstall the
Plug-in and re-install ensuring that the destination folder is modified to be the
same as the Global Mapper Application. The Global Mapper program must
be the full edition not the trial version (the trial version simply does not
support plug-ins). Finally ensure that the correct versions of plugins are
installed, as Global Mapper 64 bit does not support 32 bit plugins, and the 32
bit version of Global Mapper does not understand the 64 bit plugins. Upon
successful installation, the plug-in will advertise is presence with a splash
screen upon launch of Global Mapper, and in the title of the main window.

28

I am having problems with the network key (dongle).

If you are using the network key you may experience problems because a
firewall may be blocking communication particularly on the client computer.
The key requires that port 6001 is open for UDP datagrams on both the client
and server. This can be done using a group policy at the active directory level
or it can be done using exceptions at the client side. In Windows XP SP2 go
to the firewall from the control panel and select the program using the key
under exceptions. This will need to be done for each client program that
accesses the key. The network dongle works by finding the dongle server
using broadcasts. On some networks, broadcasts may be blocked due to
operation on a different segment, a bridging device or a policy blocking
broadcasts. To get round this issue insert the SP_HOST=<server name/IP
address> into the environment variables (Control Panel > System >
Advanced). You would probably have to do this to use a network key over a
VPN. In order to monitor licences there is a very useful basic diagnostic web
page accessible in a browser via http://<server name/IP address>:6002.

The software key version displays the following error message when the plug-in
is run.

The initial licensing process requires write permissions to the Global Mapper
installation folder. In order to overcome the issue, try elevating the
permissions of the user (e.g. run as administrator) when the software and
enter the licence details.

I load several data files and Global Mapper slows to a crawl or runs out of
memory.
Global Mapper can consume significant amounts of memory which depends
upon many factors, but is affected by the file format in use and the number of
files loaded. Try creating a map catalog using the option in the file menu. This
catalog allows you to see the coverage of many files without consuming
much memory and makes the data for each file visible when zoomed in. If on
a 64 bit version of Windows, try using the 64 bit version instead, as this may
be faster, and will have fewer memory handling constraints.

29

The evaluation version of the plug-in does not display or export the complete
data set.
This is the intended behaviour.

I create a project in HTZ Warfare or ICS Telecom with data exported from Global
Mapper and I get a message saying that the image is incompatible.
For uncompressed imagery data to be compatible for HTZ Warfare or ICS
Telecom the imagery files should be in the same projection as the terrain
elevation data and the ratio of the sample spacing should be a positive
integer. e.g. the imagery has a sample spacing of 25 x 25m and the terrain of
100m x 100m means that the ratio is 4 which is a positive integer. If the
imagery format specified is the ATDI multimap technology, then the project or
sample spacing does not have to match the terrain elevation data, because
re-projection is handled on the fly.

The ATDI Plug-in says that the projection is not supported.

Not all projections that are supported in ICS Telecom or HTZ Warfare are
supported in Global Mapper and vice versa.
In the case that a projection, coordinate system and geodetic datum
combination is not supported, several things may happen. In the case that a
projection is known, but the remainder of the configuration is not supported,
then the user shall be advised and the operation cancelled to allow the
specification to be corrected. In the case that the projection is not supported,
then the user is prompted for an alternative code. This allows the user to
work with beta versions of tools that may include updated coordinate
systems.
Finally, if the correct user code is unknown, then re-project the data to a
generic system, say UTM with a WGS84 geodetic datum.
In the case that a configuration is a common type and should be supported in
the Plug-in, then please notify technical support.

30

I am trying to export a large file and the plug-in says that it is too big.
The formats used by ATDI have a limit of 65536 pixels horizontally or
vertically. In addition the maximum size of any file is 2GB. However, data
may be automatically tiled into smaller files using the gridding options when
exporting, and when used in conjunction with the ATDI multimap technology,
tiled datasets may be loaded as a seamless dataset. In order to take
advantage of this technology, please specify the compressed formats.

I am trying to export a large file and the plug-in says that it is too big.
The formats used by ATDI have a limit of 65536 pixels horizontally or
vertically. In addition the maximum size of any file is 2GB. However, data
may be automatically tiled into smaller files using the gridding options when
exporting, and when used in conjunction with the ATDI multimap technology,
tiled datasets may be loaded as a seamless dataset. In order to take
advantage of this technology, please specify the compressed formats.

When exporting imagery, I have many palette options, which one to choose?
The optimal palette colour creates a 240 colour palette that best matches the
source imagery and is computed each time a file is exported. The fixed
palette creates a 216 colour predefined gamma matched palette and a 24
greyscale palette. This option is suitable for topographic maps and can be
used in applications where several layers of mapping should have the same
colour palette. The greyscale option is a fixed palette option that a 240 colour
greyscale colour palette that is more suited to satellite imagery.

Why does the exported terrain file have incorrect height values?
All exports must be for height in units of metres. If decimetres are selected for
example, then the output is simply assumed in metres, so the heights will be
10 x greater than expected. To correct please specify height units in metres
in the elevation export dialog.

31

What is the export option ATDI 8 bit numeric raster for?

This option exports to a file whilst preserving the indices. This is useful when
thematic data is stored in imagery files and forces the file to ignore colour
data and to preserve indices. If the file is to be used as clutter data, then the
file extension should be modified from .ic1 to .sol.

How do I create clutter data that is compatible with ATDI tools?

Clutter data may be treated by Global Mapper as elevation data or as
imagery, depending upon the source specification. In the case that it is
treated as elevation data, then it may be exported direct to the ATDI format
clutter using the Global Mapper elevation exports options. Otherwise, clutter
data may be treated by Global Mapper as palette based imagery, so it has to
be exported using the raster/image exports options of Global Mapper.
If the source is CORINE data, then there is a special plugin that maps the
CORINE categorisation to one of the preferred 20 clutter indices commonly
used in ATDI tools. This behaviour can be modified by editing the
ATDICORINE.map file contained in the plugins folder.
n.b. in all cases, please ensure that no interpolation other than nearest
neighbour is used.

How do I remap the clutter indices?

The behaviour of the ATDI clutter or ATDI 8 bit numeric raster plugins can be
changed by creating an additional mapping file ATDISOL.map or
ATDIIC1.map file in the plugins folder. The format of the mapping file is
<code in> <code out> <comment> with a new entry on each line. Use the
ATDICORINE.map as an example.
Finally, for advanced use where the data is not palette index based, but is
related to RGB colour, then the colours can be mapped using the
ATDIIC1PAL.pal mapping file <r> <g> <b> <code out>. There is an example
included in the installation.

32

I have exported a clutter file and I have seen that there are some indices that
were not in the original data, particularly at the borders between regions of data.
Some options cause Global Mapper to interpolate data and should be used
with care. If exporting from imagery to a clutter file please ensure that the
anti-aliasing option is switched off. You should do this for each data file
loaded by selecting the file in control centre and selecting nearest neighbour
interpolation.

33