RiscOSM: new release

Firstly, just to say that Sine Nomine Software will unfortunately not be attending the MUG Show this year: the previous information circulated was the result of a misunderstanding.

We are pleased to announce a new release of RiscOSM, the vector mapping software based on OpenStreetMap data. If you have an earlier version you may download an update from the website.

There are lots of new features since the last release:

You can now drop GPX files onto RiscOSM and the tracks will be overlaid on the map. GPX files are produced by many GPS devices. RiscOSM can also read the geo-location data present in JPEGs (e.g. if the photograph is taken with a smart phone) and place a pin on the map in the correct location.

RiscOSM can interact with Thomas Milius’s map tools. A location found using WKnowWYL can be dropped onto RiscOSM to display the map. A map location can be saved out of RiscOSM and dropped on MapView to view the same area in that application.

For UK locations, Ordnance Survey grid references are now supported.

The Choices window now allows you to choose the size of the map using standard paper sizes, and you can disable the effect of the scroll mouse if you prefer not to zoom in and out when you knock the wheel by accident.

The RiscOSM manual now has full details of the style sheet syntax, so if you are that way inclined you can have hours of fun creating new map styles.

We have also released OSMConvert, the tool which allows you to transform the raw OpenStreetMap data into the form required by RiscOSM.

On the website you will also find updated data sets for the Netherlands and the British Isles. We plan to add a few more countries soon, but these will sadly not include Germany or France yet because OSMConvert cannot yet handle such large source data files.

If you want to see what RiscOSM can do, please download the demo which includes data for the Isle of Man.

For the best performance we recommend using a RISC OS 5 machine with at least 256MB of RAM. RiscOSM will also run on RISC OS 4 or RISC OS Select, but the Wimp slot size limitations may require you to reduce the size of the available map window to avoid running out of memory.

For new users, RiscOSM is available for £20 on CD or £18 for a download-only version. There will be a bit of disruption to fulfilling orders over the school holidays as we won’t be at home all the time, but we will do our best – please be patient!