Hallowell, Maine – February 21, 2017 - Blue Marble Geographics is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Global Mapper version 18.1. This upgrade to the version 18 release includes numerous functional enhancements throughout many areas of the software and it introduces an array of new tools, upgrades to existing components, performance improvements to increase efficiency and productivity, and support for several new formats and online data sources.

The release of version 18 of Global Mapper in September of last year introduced a completely redesigned interface with significantly improved layer and workflow management as well as dramatically enhanced 3D display. Building on this foundation, version 18.1 further improves the 3D experience with a new option to freeze the 3D View while working in the adjacent 2D view, speed improvements when rendering raster or 3D model formats, and improved functionality for creating 3D fly-though visualizations. For LiDAR Module users, a new data QC tool is now available for adjusting point cloud elevations to match surveyed ground control points.

Blue Marble's GIS software is used by hundreds of thousands satisfied customers throughout the world who need affordable, user-friendly, yet powerful GIS solutions. Users come from a wide range of industries including software, oil and gas, mining, civil engineering, surveying, and technology companies, as well as government departments and academic institutions.

Driven by the ever-changing needs and requirements of the GIS community, Global Mapper has established a well-earned reputation as a low-cost but fully-functional alternative to traditional GIS applications. Over the years, the software's evolution has followed an aggressive and ambitious development path with each successive version introducing a broad array of new features and functions.

The release of version 18.1 offers numerous enhancements that are a testament to the ever-increasing importance of 3D data. Global Mapper's 3D view, which introduced the ability to display an "infinite view" of all loaded 3D data in version 18, now offers the option to pause the 3D rendering when interacting with the 2D map. This streamlines workflow and significantly improves memory usage by eliminating the need to continually refresh the display. The rendering speed for 3D raster layers as well as 3D models has also been drastically improved. When creating a 3D fly-through visualization or recording, the flight parameters now include bank angle, to more realistically simulate a pilot's eye view, and variable velocity, allowing the flight speed to be adjusted between segments.

Other enhancements in version 18.1 include a new option to calculate a summary of the color statistics in a raster layer within a defined area; faster loading and display of large vector files such as shapefiles; support for many new formats, including exporting of LandXML and importing of RMaps/MBTiles and BPF LiDAR files; and expanded online data options including the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO).

Users of the optional Global Mapper LiDAR Module, which provides advanced point cloud processing tools, can now perform precise quality control of their data against established ground control points. This allows the elevation values associated with each point to be adjusted to conform to the surveyed elevations at these locations.

"With more and more data having a height or elevation component, the importance of Global Mapper's 3D viewing capability is underlined," stated Blue Marble's President, Patrick Cunningham. "For several years, our development priority has been to optimize the user experience when interacting with LiDAR, DEMs or other 3D layers and with the release of version 18.1 we are seeing some of the results of that effort with more display control, improved 3D interaction, and stunning 3D visualization."

Blue Marble Application Specialists will be conducting a live webinar on Tuesday, March 21 during which they will showcase the highlights of this release. This hour-long presentation is scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm (U.S. Eastern Time) and it will provide an opportunity to both see the latest tools and to ask questions about the new functionality. Space is limited and registration is required so be sure to sign up today. To register, visit: http://bit.ly/2lW3bJt

For a complete list of new features and enhancements or to download a trial copy of Global Mapper 18.1, visit www.bluemarblegeo.com/products/global-mapper.php.

About Blue Marble Geographics: Blue Marble Geographics of Hallowell, Maine is a leading developer and provider of software products and services for highly accurate geospatial data conversion solutions. Blue Marble is known for their coordinate conversion and file format expertise and is the developer of the Geographic Calculator, GeoCalc SDK, Global Mapper, LiDAR Module for Global Mapper and Global Mapper SDK. The company has been writing GIS software tools and solutions for over twenty years and currently serves hundreds of thousands of users worldwide.