Mapping Using the National Geographic Topo! Software

The TOPO! Software is a software that is useful for recreating USGS Quad topographic maps. One of the features that makes it nice for trail mapping is that a mapper can use any GPS with tracking capability and simply download the tracks to the software which can then be overlaid on top of a USGS quad map. The printing capabilities of the software are quite nice.

The editing tools available inside of TOPO! are quite rudimentary. The basic features are the ability to split and delete individual tracks. It may take some experimentation, but it is possible to Split your track and eliminate duplication of areas you might have traversed multiple times. Advanced features like joins and moving points are not available in the software.