The latest version of G-Raster is 3.4, released 8/22/2010; you can check your current version by selecting Help => About from the program menu. Download the installer here; look for the link that says “Click here to start download”. The layout problems seen on some older versions seem to have gone away, so the “fixer” program is no longer needed; if you see layout issues after installation (e.g. overlapping controls), let me know.
Coming in 3.5 (I hope): some support for the OziExplorer .map format.
Program history:
- Fixed KMZ import so that it works with KMZ overlays from the GPS Visualizer site.
- Checks for (and rejects) network links.
- Fixes name entry so that the cursor doesn’t keep jumping to the start of the name.
- Added alert sounds after image processing is done, and after KMZ file is created.
- USGS topo map cropping significantly improved.
- Minor tweak to improve memory use.
- Fixed bug that caused program to go into infinite loop with small images.
- Fixed issue with file metadata check.
- In some cases, an image file may pass all metadata checks, and still not have all necessary metadata for conversion to geographic coordinates. G-Raster will now monitor the conversion process, let you know if it failed, and offer suggestions. This is somewhat better than the previous approach, which was for the program to freeze up completely 
.
- New map cropping tool for selecting a sub-area of a larger map; useful for removing map borders and white space. Registered version only.
- New metadata tool that extracts full metadata from a GeoTiff, and allows you to embed it back into a Tiff file later on. Useful if you want to modify or enhance a GeoTiff file in a graphics editor, as most of them do not keep the metadata intact. With this tool, you can extract the metadata, modify the image, save it as a Tiff, then embed the metadata back into the Tiff file to turn it into a GeoTiff.
- MRSID files now accepted as input for UTM and EPSG files.
- Updated with latest FreeImage library files.
- Fixed minor bug in metadata check that kept BSB files from processing correctly.
- Minor cleanup issue after errors fixed.
- GDAL coordinate transformation library upgraded to latest version.
2.8 – 2/20/2010
- Fixed bug for users in countries that use the comma “,” instead of the period “.” as the decimal point indicator. In some cases, the tile size would be set lower than needed, resulting in more tiles than necessary. If you live in a country that uses the “.” as the decimal point indicator, this is an optional update, as this bug doesn’t affect you.
2.7 – 2/10/2010
- Modified layout slightly so that it will fit completely on a screen with a 768-pixel height.
2.6 – 2/4/2010
- New input file format: USGS 1:24K topographic maps in DRG GeoTiff format. G-Raster will automatically “de-collar” these files, removing the outer white space so that only the map area is shown; this reduces the total tile count for these files significantly, and lets you load in multiple maps without white space from one overlapping the other.
- Auto rescale function improved; it now better handles small images (which were being rescaled too much) and large images (which weren’t being rescaled enough).
- Fixes bug that kept KMZ overlay input files from working if the program were installed on a drive other than the root drive.
- Better removal of spaces and non-alphanumeric characters from overlay names; Garmin units sometimes have problems with filenames that don’t consist of just the letters A-Z and numbers 0-9.
- Fixed minor bug that kept program from recognizing some GeoTiff files.
2.5 – 1/24/2010
- UTM zone now automatically determined for USAPhotoMaps Big JPEG files.
- TIFF files opened as Type 1 now checked to make sure they are valid GeoTiffs. If they aren’t, the program will offer advice on what to do (e.g. if there’s a world file, it will suggest opening the file as a Type 4 or Type 5 file).
- Better cleanup of work files.
2.4 – 1/12/2010
- Program sometimes didn’t correctly clean up temporary files, causing occasional problems with KMZ file input.
- Fixed bug with UTM zone reset on new file selection that caused program to crash.
- Add EPSG code reset when new file is added.
- Fixes resizing problem for large maps with less than 100 million pixels, but which require more than the maximum of 100 tiles.
2.3 – 1/8/2010
- Fixed a rounding issue that caused image re-sizing to fail for some images with small pixel units.
2.2 – 1/7/2010
- Fixed a stupid bug that made the program incorrectly reject all KMZ overlay input files as having more than one overlay image.
2.1 – 1/6/2010
- Fixed issue that caused problems with some black and white imagery.
2.0 – 1/4/2010
- Auto Scale feature added; rescales image automatically for reduction of number of tiles required with minimal impact on image quality.
- Added PNG graphic format to image file types supported for UTM and EPSG input.
- Added additional worldfile extensions supported: .wld, .tifw, .bmpw, .gifw, .jpgw. These are uncommon worldfile extensions, but do pop up from time to time.
- Update check (on Help menu) now goes directly to a short update web page, not the main program page. No more scrolling down to the bottom to find out what the current version is.
- Added images and more text in Help file to section on creating image overlays in Google Earth.
- Added info to Tips and Tricks section in Help file.
- Added option to create GPX waypoint in the center of the map. Loading this waypoint into your GPS can simplify the job of displaying the newly-created map overlay; just select the waypoint and choose “Show On Map”.
- Reduced initial nag screen delay time to 15 seconds from 30 seconds, and added a countdown timer on the form.
- Added major section on coordinate systems, projections, and datums to Help file.
- Install program now adds shortcuts to the Start Menu, including one for the Help file.
- Fixed format check on UTM Zone; now removes all non-integer characters automatically.
- Alternate executable that fixes occasional program layout issues, mainly in Windows XP.
1.9 – 12/26/2009
- Fixed bug that made meter/pixel display as zero for KMZ files and files reprojected to cylindrical; also now displays the correct Max Zoom Level for these files.
- Added tool text tips to some controls; info pops up if you leave the cursor on top of an active control
- Added section to help file about Menu options
1.8 – 12/20/2009
- Added option to use cylindrical projection (Plate Carree) instead of Mercator for overlay imagery. For maps covering small areas, it’s best to leave this unchecked, as it does degrade image quality slightly as well as increasing the number of tiles required. For maps covering larger areas (> 50 miles or so on a side), the cylindrical projection may give you more accurate results. For very large maps (hundreds of miles on a side), you must use this or get a map that’s progressively less accurate as you move from the center to the edge. See the appropriate help file section for more info.
1.7 – 12/17/2009
- Size of text label boxes modified so that all text is visible on all systems. On some systems, the font size was set so that the descriptive text ran outside the text boxes.
- Overlay checked to make sure that it doesn’t use the “LatLonQuad” tag for calibration, as it isn’t currently supported by G-Raster. See the section on creating KMZ overlays for more info. I hope to add support for that in the future.
- You now get a “Processing image – please wait” sign in the graphic display section while the map image is being processed; when processing is done, it disappears, and the center section of the map image is loaded into the graphic display.
- The caution about rescaling taking a few seconds now appears in red, and also reminds you that the “Create KMZ File” button will be re-enabled when rescaling is done.
- Added a bit to the USGS Seamless Server tutorial about using Google Earth to set bounds for the imagery to be downloaded.
1.6 – 12/10/2009
- Rotated KMZ overlays now supported. It’s still a good idea to start with a map that has North pointing upwards, though.
- In previous versions, KMZ files were created using the decimal point symbol appropriate for the country of use. For the US, that’s the “.”, but for much of the rest of the world it’s the “,” symbol. KMZ files created with the “.” can be opened and used in any country, but those created with the “,” won’t open in countries with “.” as the decimal point. G-Raster now creates all KMZ files using the “.” symbol for the decimal point.
- Some bugs introduced when KMZ overlay support was added are now fixed.
- The locations of the temporary work directories has been modified to fix some issues. These directories are deleted automatically after the KMZ overlay is created.
- Minor changes to help file; added Program History section.
1.5 – 11/29/2009
- Adds support for KMZ overlay files. Size limit in the unregistered version is 1500 pixels max N/S or E/W; the registered version supports overlays up to 100 megapixels in size (e.g. 10,000 x 10,000 pixels). Rotation not supported in this version, but is supported starting with version 1.6.
- Fixes a bug with selecting the rescaling algorithm.
- Warns you if the rescaling fails, and resets scaling to 1.0.
- Help button and help option from menu now open help file directly (previously only available in the registered version)
- Garmin units apparently have problems with filenames that have non-alphanumeric characters in them. G-Raster now strips those out automatically.
1.4 – 11/21/2009
- Since Garmin has removed the “beta” tag from the firmware update that supports custom raster maps, I’ve removed the initial warning pop-up that cautions you about the beta status of the firmware update.
1.3 - 11/09/2009
- Now gives the option of either rescaling or cropping imagery that is too large for Garmin units to handle
- Selectable resizing algorithm
- Adjust JPG compression with slider instead of entering numbers in box
- Real-time image preview; see the effects of rescaling an image or changing JPG compression
1.2 – 10/26/09
Added zoom level data.
1.1 – 10/23/09
Fixed a problem that caused program crashes on older systems.
Name of graphic file is now the default overlay name.
1.0 – 10/16/2009
Initial release.
