Update: Map Object & SAR Tool Changes
We’re excited to roll out the latest updates to Map Objects and SAR tools– now live on the web and expected shortly in version 1.25.1 of the mobile app!
While the individual changes may seem small, these small quality of life improvements can add up in a big way. SAR users in particular will notice meaningful new functionality– founder Matt Jacobs shared his vision for search and rescue users in this blog post and we continue to build on that work here.
A big thank you to everyone who explored these updates on the preview site in the last month! We received a lot of helpful bug reports and thoughtful feedback. We plan to continue offering opportunities to preview major changes that impact existing workflows so you can stay in the loop about what’s coming next.
Now let’s get into what’s new.
Map Object Updates
For the most part, the changes to Map Objects are visual– we’ve streamlined dialogs and buttons while making it easier to get important information at a glance and perform desired actions. Some of the more noticeable changes are highlighted below. If you want to learn more about any of these features, visit the Objects chapter in our user guide.
Edit Dialog
The Edit dialog now includes a preview of the object’s color and style along with a one-stop style picker. The style picker has easy-to-use tools to customize the object for whatever your needs might be.
Map Object Dialog
The Map Object dialog has moved to the bottom left of the map viewer. Common actions (such getting information about the point or viewing the profile of a line) are now front and center for quicker access.
Travel Plan
For pro, desktop, or team users, Travel Plan details are now shown below the overall estimated travel time when you click or tap on Travel Time in the Map Object dialog. Easier to find, easier to reference while planning.
Map Object Deconfliction List
When multiple objects overlap, a deconfliction menu appears in the lower left of the map viewer. This list allows you to easily choose the object you want to view, edit or learn more about.
SAR Changes
The SAR updates support faster decision cycles while also giving you greater control over how you build and manage an incident, especially for complex missions or multiple operational period searches. Some of the bigger changes are highlighted below. If you want to learn more about any of these features, visit the First Response with CalTopo Teams section of our user guide.
Bulk Ops
Bulk Ops is now included in the Operational Periods folder, allowing you to take action on multiple Operational Periods at once (more on this later). We’ve also added new actions, including the ability to change object visibility and randomize assignments by color.
Assignments
The Assignments dialog has been cleaned up. Deprecated SAR options (Show Child Objects and Print Map) are gone and the Print SAR 104 option is relocated to Bulk Ops. With the extra space, assignment information (including OP, resource type, and more) is now visible to all users.
We’ve also replaced the letter/number fields with a single Title field for more flexible naming. If your title includes letters or numbers (e.g., “AA 101” or “T14”), CalTopo will still attempt to parse them in PDFs.
Assignments can now be styled individually, just like other Map Objects. The new Default option in Display Options resets assignment styles when sorting by OP, priority, and more.
Operational Periods
The new Operational Periods Bulk Ops dialog shows the number and status of assignments for each Operational Period at a glance. Select multiple OPs and use Change Related Assignment to perform the same action on all the assignments at once– useful for documenting previous efforts, updating primary and secondary radio frequencies, or changing assignment status.
Got comments or questions?
Give these latest updates a try and let us know what you think below. If you run into bugs or have questions, reach out to us at help@caltopo.com. Thanks for using CalTopo and happy mapping!
Very nice. On the Travel Plan, I find that your default numbers are very far off from reality for me, when backpacking at high altitude, for example. I have read https://training.caltopo.com/all_users/objects/existing-lines#travel and understand you’re using the Muntner method, but the specific values you are using 4, 6, and 6, in the above example don’t translate to anything I can understand. Can you elaborate on these better in the training docs or provide some helpful guidance on how to set these to better match individual reality? I can turn the knobs, so to speak, but I don’t really understand the number meaning.
Yeah, at a minimum the docs need to explain that the Munter method units are 1 km horizontally or 100 m vertically per hour. Ideally there would also be a setting where lazy Americans like myself could enter these in miles per hour (or 528 ft).
Thanks for the comment! The Münter Method is a commonly used time estimation method in ski touring and other mountain sports.
The basic calculation is:
Time = (Distance + Elevation/100) / Rate
Time is in hours (you’ll get hours and decimal hours), distance is in kilometers, and elevation is in meters. The rate is the number shown in the Travel Plan.
The numbers we use for Hike, Bushwhack, and Ski follow accepted standards, but in many cases the standard may be too slow or too fast. The classic Münter System assumes breaks, but our Travel Planning tool lets you add specific times for breaks, so many users find they need higher numbers overall. For those who travel faster or slower than the norm, there is a Custom Field to input your preferred rate.
The times at the top of the dialog use the standard rate with no breaks added. For more on our system, see this blog post:
https://blog.caltopo.com/2023/01/14/winter-travel-series-3-learning-about-your-route/
For a specific explanation of the Münter System:
https://backcountryaccess.com/en-us/blog/p/how-to-calculate-backcountry-touring-time-based-distance-elevation-gain
Marc
CalTopo
Ok. So the number is the calculated rate. Thanks for the formula. I have some GPX files to find my past rates and will try to come up with my own.
Thanks for doing a public beta of the map object edit box changes! I identified some issues during the beta, and it looks like they were addressed before release.
Thanks for checking out the preview and taking the time to share bugs with us!
One issue that I just noticed is the new dialogs cover the scale on the lower left of the display. Is there any way to move the to ensure the scale is not covered?
Thanks for the feedback! It is always tricky to strike the right balance between showing information and taking up map viewer space- I will pass your feedback along to the dev team for consideration.
Why bury the line style information under a separate menu that requires an additional click? Why turn the line weight from an integer to a slide bar? These are both regressive UX changes.
Red is sometimes difficult to see on the base map and I almost always make my lines purple with a weight of 4.
And by “weight of 4” I guess I now mean “Horizontal Slider Position 5 which is labeled as `4` where `0` is not selectable”
Changing the color in the old UI still required an additional click and if you wanted to change the style, that required a separate click as well. We took these actions, along with the weight, and moved it into one dialog so it can all be done in the same place.
New UI. The resources don’t seem to auto load into 104 when added to assignment?
Hi Alan- I just tested this and the resource type for an assignment shows up in all the 104 forms as expected for me. Could you send us an email at help@caltopo.com with more information about the behavior you’re seeing so we can look into it? Screenshots are helpful too- thanks!
I sent a question to Caltopo regarding a syncing issue from the web to the mobile app, but want to put it out here to see if anyone else is experiencing the same. Changes made in the Assignments folder do not seem to be syncing to the mobile app.
On the web with “Display Settings” set to OP………….I have segments that are unassigned (orange color) in the Assignments folder that are tied to a “Segments” OP. When I make a segment an assignment and then change to OP2 (red color)………the change is not being seen in the mobile app, both on my phone and my tablet. The change made to segments for OP2 assignments are still shown in orange, still tied to Segments OP, rather than being indicated in red for an OP2 assignment. And, the OP1 line assignments (color blue on the web) are being shown with their default colors on the mobile apps.
The “Display Settings” in the Assignments folder needs to go back to defaulting to the OP. With the new UI, selecting color by OP, only changes it on the web (and it’s maddening to have always change from the current “default” to “OP” every time you load the map).
Mobile app users, meanwhile, see only the “default” colors on their end, they can’t see when a segment in the assignments folder has been made an assignment and then tied to a new OP color.
I hope I’m terribly wrong and am just missing something, but……..
I primarily use desktop for trail development, design/construction/stewardship projects. Can the line weight and icon size slider be configured to include incremental stops btw 0.5 – 1, and btw 1-2??
Thanks for the feedback! I shared it with the dev team and they’re looking into it.