I have been orienteering for some 31 years, now, and took up mapping as I thought it would improve my navigation. I suppose it must have done, but, in the heat of the competition I still find repeat features, and so on. Anyway, I tried to use an early CAD package to draw a map, and found it was not very good. Then OCAD came along, and I have used it ever since.

OCAD is a program designed for drawing maps, which runs under WINDOWS 95+. It was written by Hans Steinegger, and is described at http://www.ocad.com/. The current version is 8, but version 7 is still popular. Version 6, and version 5 can be obtained free.

I am also interested in file formats, and programming, and this lead to a set of utility programs which manipulate an OCAD map in some way. The more useful of them are described in, and can be downloaded from, Utilities.

This lead to a system for preparing PICtorial descriptions and OVERprints called PICOVER. There is a DEMO version available at PICOVER, but to keep the size down, it is reduced to little more than the menu and help files. If you want furter details, send me an e-mail.

OCAD has provision for storing a bitmap as a template behind the map, so that it can be traced. However, tracing the contours can be tedious. I have tried for years to write a program to make this easier, but the early attempts were pathetic. At last, I now have something which is useful, and can save time.

The template is first placed correctly within OCAD, and then BoxScan is used to note its position, provide interactive tracing and editing facilities, and then "deposit" them in the right position in an OCAD map. Overall, it can be quicker, depending on the quality of the brown image obtained from the map. More detail, and a download, can be found at BoxScan

These on line programs are for OCAD version 6 or 7, which have very similar file formats, and have been upgraded for OCAD 8. Utilities are still available for OCAD 5, but not on line.

There is also a program called TimEdit, which can display SportIdent Results in a more readable form, and can show an animated race with customisable sprites. More detail at TimEdit.

e-mail to dscarrott@aol.com