Thoughts - Marplot, A Beginner's Mapping Package

Europe - WVS Marplot Map (1:392 km)

I do much of my mapping using Marplot. This free, tax-payer-dollars-funded mapping program was initially designed to help environmental emergency responders detail their findings. NOAA also did work with the software, not sure what they did, but they did it. With the advent and purchase of robust, powerful, complex and expensive mapping packages, the government use of this product is shrinking. Their serious mapping efforts are handled by the ARC GIS mapping packages and some MapInfo. But Marplot still exists and the price is right - free!

The learning curve for this mapping package is fast. The ability to compile multiple layers of information and control their symbol, color, range, line-width, and fill is nice. My World Shoreline database is made up of 200-plus layers of information. The mapping capabilities will frustrate the seasoned mapper, but for us rookies, it is a great, free option.

Using a freeware program called shp2mie any shapefile can be quickly converted into Marplot's mie format. This really opens up a world of mapping opportunities. Every map I construct is worked on in Marplot. Every database I encounter, ultimately is reformatted so that I can import it into Marplot. It is a mapping package that allows the neophyte mapper to try their hand at the mapping art with minimal frustration.

I have lots of data in Marplot's mie format. In fact too much to list. If you have your own unique dataset, I could reformat it to work in Marplot.

I am discussing this mapping package and it's capabilities, because this site gets a number of inquiries about Marplot compatible data files. I know the US county-level TIGER files will import directly into Marplot, but almost all other data needs to be reformatted. My favorite reformatting package is Global Mapper. It handles almost every type of mapping format and converts them easily to a Marplot compatible format. If you have questions specific to Marplot capabilities, I'll be glad to try and answer them for you. It is a solid beginner mapping package. Give it a try.

Enjoy!