Monthly Archives: January 2022

New Orienteering Symbol Sets in OCAD

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Three new orienteering symbol sets are available in the latest OCAD Update:

  • Updated ISSprOM 2019-2
  • Minor Update to ISOM 2017-2
  • New ISMTBOM 2022 released

Updated ISSprOM 2019-2

The International Specification for Sprint Orienteering Maps (ISSprOM 2019-2) has been updated and is valid from 15th January 2022.

The sprint orienteering symbol sets in OCAD have been updated to meet the new specifications and are included in the latest OCAD Update.

The biggest changes concern the representation of complex urban structures with multiple levels, such as tunnels, bridges or passages. In addition, impassable vegetation and impassable hedges are again displayed with dark green color.

In OCAD, existing sprint orienteering maps can be updated to the new standards in two different ways.

Minor Update to ISOM 2017-2

There was a minor update to The International Specification for Orienteering Maps (ISOM 2017-2) to make the parameters of some symbols consistent (e.g. 709 Out of bounds area). Also, a new symbol 513.2 Retained wall has been added to allow mapping of walls visible from only one side.

In OCAD, existing forest orienteering maps can be updated to the new standards in two different ways.

  • If your map contain the original ISOM 2017-1 or ISOM 2017-2 symbol set, use the Update Symbol Set function.
  • To update an old forest orienteering symbol set, use the function Symbol Set Conversion.

New ISMTBOM 2022 released

The International Specification for Mountain Bike Orienteering Maps (ISMTBOM2022) has been released and is valid from January 2022.

The mountain bike orienteering symbol sets in OCAD have been updated to meet the new specifications and are included in the latest OCAD Update.

Compared to the Final Draft from last October, there were only a few minor changes, such as additional symbols for narrow rides or linear traces through the terrain.

In OCAD, existing mountain bike orienteering maps can be easily updated to the new standards using the Symbol Set Conversion function.

The Strengths of WMS and WMTS

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The terms WMS and WMTS may sound scary to people who are not very familiar with computers. But no worries: It’s pretty easy to use them and knowing their strengths is of great advantage for mapping and even for course setting.

So, what exactly is WMS and WMTS?

WMS (Web Map Service) and WMTS (Web Map Tile Service) are interfaces for retrieving geodata as raster data over the internet. More and more of these services are available today.

  • A WMS is calculated on the server side and delivers one image per request.
  • A WMTS delivers tiles that have been pre-renderd on the server side, and cached on the client side. This will reduce waiting time for the data and bandwith.

In OCAD, you can load WMS/WMTS as a background map. To do so, choose the WMS / WMTS command from the Background Map menu.

Typical layers are e.g. official cadastral surveys, topographic maps, aerial images, but also protected areas or forest reserves. All these data can contain useful information for your map project.

Therefore, you can easily update maps or add additional information to it with WMS/WMTS. In the example below, we connected a WMS from swisstopo and displayed a layer to show Forest Reserve Areas on a map.

Also, you can set courses on a WMS / WMTS layer. A step-by-step guide can be found in our OCAD Wiki.

Review of OCAD Development in 2021

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Let’s take a look back at the three most important developments of the past year. Did you get them all?

#01: Sketch Layer

The Sketch Layer and it’s tools are designed for orienteering map field work with a tablet computer and a pen. The main approach is to make field work drawing as ergonomic as possible.

Learn more about it in our Video on YouTube and in the OCAD Wiki and and give it a try!

#02: Fill Bounded Area mode

Thanks to the Fill Bounded Area mode you can draw your map even more efficiently. This function fills empty areas that are bounded by various objects from line or area symbols.

#03: Improved Live Preview

The Live Preview of objects makes their dimension visible already during drawing. Live preview is no longer limited to line objects, but is now also available for point objects.

In addition, a so-called Legibility Halo can be displayed for point objects. The distance of this legibility halo is based on the IOF specifications for orienteering maps and supports the cartographer to draw objects with enough distance to each other.

These were the biggest milestones last year, but stay tuned: We have great innovations in the pipeline this year as well!