I always make the time to have a one on one at ESRIUC with Ted Florence, CEO and get caught up on his flagship product, chat some hockey, and get some candid comments about life as a software solution provider. This year Ted pulled out his iPad and showed me the most recent build of PDF Maps (http://www.avenza.com/pdf-maps) and as usual, I was Wow’d!

Recall, PDF Maps is available as a free client for iOS and Android users and enables users to have rapid access to their maps any time, any place. Don’t think of it as a simple map viewer though, although it does do that VERY well, as you can work disconnected, and also perform pretty powerful data capture using the software as well. Create custom forms, collect data, share in real time and much more. Florence showed me some hydrographic charts using the software and we panned around the complex hierarchy of charts, as we came to the end of a map sheet, then next map(s) in the series or adjacent map would automatically load up as we moved along, resulting in a seamless map browsing experience like nothing you’ve ever seen.

And then there’s the maps. PDF Maps is supported by the PDF Maps Store (http://www.avenza.com/pdf-maps/store) which is essentially the iTunes Store of maps. Browse, search, download and/or purchase maps from a massive collection of more than 200,000 maps provided by GIS professionals, cartographers, companies, Government and many more from around the World. Map creators, you can also use the map store as a platform to share your maps with others or even sell them and create a nice revenue opportunity for your business – think opportunity!  Map Publisher and PDF Maps is used by National Geographic, Federal Governments and many other huge names around the World and just gets better every year. If anything, the next time you go on a trip, grab PDF Maps and download a couple of maps for offline viewing so you never get lost again!