More about software for OS MasterMap use...

EDINA will be delivering OS MasterMap data through Digimap's Ordnance Survey Collection from September 2007.

We will be delivering two OS MasterMap Layers: Topographic Layer and Integrated Transport Network (ITN) Layer. These two new datasets will be available through a new online facility called MasterMap Download. This is different from the existing Data Download facility, which remains unchanged and will continue to offer all other OS products, as at present, until September 2008. In September 2008, Land-Line will be removed from the Data Download facility.

In order for staff and students at your institution to make use of OS MasterMap data, certain software will need to be available to them. This is NOT required for users to be able to access and use the MAPS available through Digimap, or to use the online Digimap service.

This page provides more information about the software users at your institution might need in order to make use of OS MasterMap data and Digimap's MasterMap Download facility. We hope that this is sufficient advanced warning to enable you to ensure that any software you need is available for the next academic session, through managed desktop systems or otherwise. Please also bear in mind that Land-Line data will continue to be available until August 2008, although it will not be updated at all between now and then.

PLEASE NOTE: This page provides guidance only. It does not give definitive or prescriptive information about software available for use with OS MasterMap. There are other options available and you should decide whether or not it is worth your while exploring them.

Software which will read OS MasterMap data

Not all GIS and CAD software is yet able to deal with OS MasterMap data. This is because the format in which OS MasterMap is available is relatively new. It is a format called GML, or Geography Markup Language. You may already have software which will read other Ordnance Survey data available through Digimap (such as Land-Line, 1:10,000 scale raster, Land-FOrum PROFILE etc.)

1. GIS Applications

There are many different GIS applications available, at varying costs and each with different strengths and weaknesses. OS MasterMap is a data framework, rather than a dataset in itself, comprising a number of data layers. Digimap will offer two layers both of which are vector data. There is an image layer to OS MasterMap, but this will not be available through Digimap. Users will therefore require a GIS application in order to make use of the vector data. CHEST (http://www.eduserv.org.uk/chest/) offers some GIS applications (e.g. ArcGIS and MapInfo). Landserf is a freely available GIS for the visualisation and analysis of surfaces (http://www.landserf.org/). There are many others available. You will need to assess which application best meets the needs of your users. More information about some software tools (including some free software) is available from our website at: http://edina.ac.uk/mastermap/resources/resources.shtml

Do be careful to check which version of your chosen GIS application you have. Only certain versions of most GIS applications will manage OS MasterMap data. For example, ArcView 3.2 will not read OS MasterMap data, but ArcGIS version 9.1 and 9.2 will.

2. Translator software

Some GIS applications require data to be translated to a proprietary format before it can be read. The MasterMap Download facility in Digimap will be offering ONLY GML data. OS MasterMap will not be available in any other format. The files offered by MasterMap Download will be GZIP files. You may therefore also need an unzipping utility if the translation software you have will not read compressed files (see point 3 below). The translation software required will depend on which GIS application you choose. More information about software tools is available from our website at: http://edina.ac.uk/mastermap/resources/resources.shtml You should also check that whatever software you choose does not encounter problems when installed over a network, if this is what you wish to do.

3. Unzip Utility

MasterMap Download will deliver OS MasterMap data as GZIP files (with the file extension .gz). Windows XP's standard built-in unzip utility will not recognise these files. You will need to install a specific unzip utility. Some example of this are: WinZip, ZipGenius, StuffIt (for Mac), 7-Zip and ZipReader. Some translation software (see point 2 above) will read compressed data files; some will not. You should check whether or not you need an unzip utility with your translation software.

4. Disk space

OS MasterMap Topographic data is considerably larger than the Land-Line data it will eventually replace. A comparison of file sizes can be found on our website here: http://edina.ac.uk/mastermap/resources/resources.shtml

Some users will need large amounts of data, others will find they need less. Some GIS applications will be able to read MasterMap data without having to unzip the files, thus requiring less disk space to manage the data.

Class practicals are good examples of what might need to change with the switch to OS MasterMap. If a student practical currently requires all students in a class to download 4 Land-Line tiles, convert them and import them into a GIS application for further manipulation, there are implications for using OS MasterMap instead of Land-Line. Firstly, a similar area of OS MasterMap data will use approximately 5 times the disk space that Land-Line uses. You may therefore need to increase the disk space quota for each student, or find an alternative means of allowing them access to the data they need.