Nat Geo's My Topo; Installation Options

Karma

Adventurer
HI All,
I just picked up the latest version of Nat Geo's Topo's software for New Mexico only. I live in New Mexico. During the installation process I never saw an option to install the entire package on the hard disk. I have it running but the single DVD must be present in the DVD drive for it to work. This is not good.

My main mapping software is Terrain Navigator. With this software the entire package can be installed on the hard drive. I have 9 state map collections on the hard drive. Obviously, for a mapping package to be used on the trail or road it is preferable to have the entire thing to be installed on the hard disk.

So, do you Topo users know if there is a way to install the entire package on my hard disk? How? If this can't be done, it is a major fault with the package.

Thanks, Sparky
 
Last edited:

evldave

Expedition Trophy Winner
Not sure about the MyTopo, but their older software allowed you to manually copy the TPO-DATA folder from the disc to your hard drive.

I'd agree...totally lame if you have to keep disc in the drive

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2
 

Karma

Adventurer
Hi All,
Topo! is exonerated. I found a menu under View > TOPO! Product Setup that copies the maps to the hard disk. It sure is not obvious but it seems to work. I can understand why some folks who may have close to a full disk may not want the entire package on their disk. But most would. One would think that Nat Geo would either include the option during the installation process or at least make it very obvious. I searched for several hours, pulling down a number of menus, before I found it three menus deep. Grrr!!! Sometimes I hate software.

Any mapping software worth its salt will take a while to learn. TOPO! is no different. I have been using Terrain Navigator (TN) for over ten years. I know it well. Typically, I use what I need and ignore other features until I need them. I do try to get an initial overview of features so I know what is there but ignore the details. I will learn TOPO! the same way.

TOPO!'s maps are beautiful and they display beautifully. I do not think they are copies of the USGS series. I don't know their source. Maybe Nat Geo created the maps. If so, it's an impressive job. Terrain Navigator's maps are all copies of the USGS maps and carry the same authority and inaccuracies. They also are great. I find the TN maps easier to read but not by much and not all the time. TN maps can be optionally displayed with the original USGS borders with all the information those borders carry. Or the borders can be hidden when you choose to be able to display the adjacent maps stitched together seamlessly. Nat Geo not does offer this option. Rather, the maps are displayed as though the entire state is one gigantic map. It works but I prefer the TA method. At the end, the Nat Geo maps are impressive but the features less so.

I have not yet tried to use GPS real time tracking. Of course, TN has this feature which I use all the time with my vehicle mounted Panasonic Toughbook laptop. I expect the Nat Geo's package to be able to do real time tracking just as well.

TN has a good supply of trip planning tools that work very well. Nat Geo is famous for its trip planning tools. I have not used them yet but I expect quality.

In general, I find Nat Geo's user interface to be a bit awkward and more for the layman than TN's approach which is more aimed at the professional with all the flexibility (and complexity) that implies. However, I am much more familiar with the TN package so I'll withhold judgment until I have spent more time with TOPO!


All in all, the quality of Nat Geo's maps alone make them worth having. It is interesting putting a TN map on one monitor and Nat Geo's equivalent map on the other monitor. Comparing features is then possible. The main difference I see is how Nat Geo emphasizes different map features. Again, we come back to what I said earlier about a layman's approach verses the the professionals needs. But it is obvious that both maps are great. They look great and are very readable.

Sparky
 

Karma

Adventurer
You could have saved yourself hours and just called them... LOL
:ylsmoke:

HI off-roader,
Yep, you are right but I didn't think they would be working on a Saturday. It was not wasted time. I learned my way around the user interface and that's always valuable. Usually, I'm not hesitant to call.

Sparky
 

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