iPad GIS applications.

banksiana · February 19, 2014, 12:00:26 PM

Anyone using an iPad to prepare timber sale polygons? What Apps are good? About to pull the trigger on this kind of a set-up.

KBforester · February 22, 2014, 03:03:53 PM

I am. The most functional all around APP I have used is "Forester GPS/GIS". Its about $40 and has a cruise angle gauge function built into it. I still like the glass prism better though. It's not a pretty app, but it works pretty well.

I also have Wolf GIS, but without the subscription it's not quite useful enough. With the subscription, it doesn't seem worth the cost.

If you don't care about convenience, you can down load several free apps that all do one or two functions each (taking points, recording traks, creating polygons, measuring area, etc).

There is also a "farm" app, which I think is pretty cool... it has some good features that could be useful in a forestry application.

There is also "Forest Metrics", which costs a TON of money, and looks cool, but you would have to make sure it will somehow save you time to be worth the money.

banksiana · February 25, 2014, 04:57:37 PM

I am trying to find an app that is not expensive but will allow me to trace a polygon on a covertype in the woods, save it and send it to cloud to access later or perhaps to email it right to my desk pc or some others email address. It will need to be in .shp format or convert it to .shp format.

clearcut · February 26, 2014, 01:57:14 PM

I have used Gaia GPS for something similar. By using the Route function, you can draw the corners of a polygon on a USGS aerial image, topo map, or Open Street Map. You can also have it trace your route via the GPS if you are mapping the polygon in the field. You can save the waypoints to their cloud server or email them to yourself.

Maps can be downloaded via WiFi to the iPad for offline use. Saves on cell data charges and useful for where there is no cell service.

One thing is that Gaia GPS saves waypoints in GPX and KML formats which have to be converted to the SHP files you need.

About $20 for the app. The Pro in app purchase (an optional $10/year subscription)saves higher resolution images, more advanced layering, weather overlays, custom waypoint icons and such. I have not seen the need for the Pro subsciption.

The app has been updated consistently since I first bought it, and the developer has been very responsive to support questions in the past.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gaia-gps-topo-maps-trails/id329127297?mt=8

http://www.gaiagps.com/

Something to consider if you have not purchased the iPad yet, only the cell data enabled iPad models support the GPS chip. WiFi only models do not.

banksiana · February 27, 2014, 07:51:32 AM

Thanks, I will check all these out. I like the WOLF GIS Pro app the best so far, but not sure if it will allow me to draw the polygons or not. All I need is a base aerial photo and polygon tool. All the other stuff I am sure I could use too. I bought an iPad air with cell data plan and 64GB. Not cheap so I don't plan on cutting back on the app and web based map service when I buy it too. All this is to keep my office time to a minimum.

clearcut · February 27, 2014, 11:57:57 AM

Wolf GIS looks like it could be a good choice. I have the 1st gen iPad so I cannot test it.

One concern I have from reading the documentation is that it appears you cannot download or upload your data without a subscription. The least expensive appears to be $40/year is is limited in what can be transferred. The Pro desktop version is $300/year. Pro Cloud access is $50/month.

The iPad is a great device, but I prefer full access to any data that I generate. I avoid apps that hold it hostage.