PrettyMap maps

All maps for PrettyMap and PrettyEarth are free, based on free third-party data files that have been converted to the PrettyMap file format (see credits information for each map). Available maps are grouped as follows:

• Popular Earth maps
• Earth high resolution elevation raster maps (PrettyMap required):
  • Land and lower quality underwater
  • Underwater and lower quality land
  • Tiles, land only
• Raster maps of arbitrary regions − you can convert images and use them as maps!
• Vector maps of arbitrary regions on Earth (see sample regions)
• Other planets (PrettyMap required)

There are two basic types of maps: vector and raster. Vector maps consist of points, lines, or areas. These are geometric forms: a line will remain a line and a point will remain a point no matter how much you zoom in. Raster maps are different and can be compared to camera images (bitmaps). They consist of "pixels", i.e. squares with associated values (also called "samples"). For elevation maps, samples are altitude values. On raster maps, samples become visible if you zoom in too much and data resolution is not sufficient.

Where to store map files?

Map files are stored in *.pmap files.

For Windows Mobile devices, maps can be copied to the device main memory or to a card. Use the \Program Files\PrettyMap\maps\ directory.

For Palm devices, these files should be copied onto a card, to the /PALM/Programs/PrettyMap/ directory.

Converting more maps

Most vector and raster maps can be converted to the PrettyMap file format; check the "Free converters" section on the left. If you have an interesting map or geographical data that may be shared with other users, or you have found one, please contact us.

If you need vector maps of the U.S., have a look at the U.S. Census Bureau shapefiles and ask us to convert selected maps.

Vector maps can be converted most easily from the ESRI's shapefile format (files *.shp, *.dbf, and optionally *.prj), or from the Autodesk DWG format. If you are a GIS professional aware of the shapefile format, check out our vector map batch converting service information.

Raster maps (elevation, symbolic) can be converted from most file formats, where consecutive sample values are stored one after the other. Images can be converted from any graphic file format.