<p>New JavaScript components for animating weather data like temperature, wind flow, or any other scientific information were developed by our team. You can use weather data endpoint from us or process your own data with prepared workflows and integrate the functionality with your website and get attractive and easy-to-understand animations with 60 frames per second directly in a web browser - as part of your own branded applications.</p><p style="text-align:center;"><a class="btn btn-primary m-o5" href="/tools/weather/">VIEW DEMO</a></p><h2>Wind particles animation in GL JS maps</h2><p>Data like wind and wave datasets allow visualization with particles clearly showing direction and speed in an animated way.</p><figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://player.vimeo.com/video/563674464"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/563674464?background=1" style="position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></figure><p>Our advanced display technology is able to capture the movement of wind or waves in time: you can see particles smoothly changing course as the wind starts blowing from the other direction.</p><p>Higher clarity can be achieved by setting colors based on the intensity of wind or waves.</p><p>Animations run in any contemporary web browser using WebGL.</p><figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://player.vimeo.com/video/563683691"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/563683691?background=1" style="position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></figure><h2>Smooth visualization of gridded data in a browser</h2><p>Displaying huge amounts of data, even datasets covering the entire planet is possible thanks to the tiling technology. Data are not shown at once but cut into smaller parts that can be loaded when they are needed for a certain area or zoom level. Details start to appear as you zoom in.</p><p>Visualization can be used for displaying temperature, humidity, clouds, precipitation, and much more! Additional data can be loaded seamlessly. All animations of temporal gridded data can run in a browser with a timeline, where you can stop at any time to investigate the weather data at a given time.</p><p>A better understanding of weather phenomenons is achieved via the coloring of data. It is possible to easily set your own color palette because true intensity values are encoded directly in tiles.</p><figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://player.vimeo.com/video/511582681"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/511582681?background=1" style="position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></figure><h2>Open-source MapLibre GL JS as Mapbox alternative</h2><p>All animations run in regular web browsers using MapLibre GL JS (an open-source Mapbox GL JS fork). You can manipulate the view as you wish - zoom in and out, rotate, and tilt the view.</p><p>High performance is secured by using hardware acceleration: technology widely used in the gaming industry. Rendering of data is done using WebGL shaders, which gives your data a more realistic look.</p><p style="text-align:center;"><a class="btn btn-primary m-o5" href="https://www.maptiler.com/industry/weather/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">READ MORE ABOUT THE WEATHER PRODUCT</a></p><h3>How does it work?</h3><p>Processing raw data into web-optimized tiles allows us gradually loading only the area and the level of detail that is needed at a given time. Each time frame of the weather data (e.g. forecast at different times) is processed as a separate tile pyramid, which allows us to load additional frames into the existing client-side animation as soon as they are available.</p><p>The processed tiles contain the original meteorological values (e.g. temperature, wind speed, cloud coverage) and the final colorization is done client-side in the web browser (utilizing the power of WebGL). This allows us to interpolate the data values between the available forecasted time frames to achieve beautiful smooth animations.</p><p>Another great advantage of this approach is that the look &amp; feel of the visualization is configurable (without having to reprocess the original data) - custom color scales, cut-off thresholds, etc. can all be done just by reconfiguring the visualization client-side component.</p><blockquote><p>Smooth animations are achieved by gradually loading data tiles technology that loads when needed for a particular area or zoom level.</p><p>This allows users to display vast amounts of data in a very short time, even showing datasets covering the entire planet in a few seconds.</p></blockquote><p>Everything runs on mobile as well: visualizations are optimized for touch devices.</p><h2>Visualization for your weather website</h2><p>MapTiler provides a full-stack for developing its own weather forecast application: base maps, data processing tools (ability to process custom weather data in GRIB2 and NetCDF format), and the above-described JavaScript components for visualization. If you are interested to use it on your website, please contact us.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:center;"><a class="btn btn-primary m-o5" href="/#contact">CONTACT SALES</a></p><p><i>Weather visualizations were created as a common R&amp;D project in cooperation with the </i><a href="/story/ncm-uae/"><i>National Center of Meteorology UAE</i></a><i>. NCM UAE is the first adopters powering their weather forecast portal and displaying their own data.</i></p>

New JavaScript components for animating weather data like temperature, wind flow, or any other scientific information were developed by our team.

<p>The position of your shop in the city, hiking trails with related points of interest, electric power grid or any other vector data can be easily displayed on a map with a few clicks.</p><p>Let’s have a look at how to import your existing files or draw points or tracks manually, add these data into a map of your choice and then embed such a map into your blog or website - without any programming at all.&nbsp;</p><h2>Online editor for points, lines &amp;&nbsp;polygons</h2><p>The <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cloud.maptiler.com/data/new/">Vector Data Editor</a> in MapTiler Cloud allows you to create or edit your basic vector data. It is possible to start drawing your dataset or upload existing files in the following formats:&nbsp;.geojson,&nbsp;.gpkg,&nbsp;.gpx,&nbsp;.kml,&nbsp;.shp,&nbsp;.zip shapefile.</p><p>You can add points, lines, and polygons, set multiple attributes, add notes and attach photos.<img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2019_12_17_custom_data_on_a_map_without_coding_2_96c595b055.png" alt="2019-12-17-custom-data-on-a-map-without-coding-2.png" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2019_12_17_custom_data_on_a_map_without_coding_2_96c595b055.png 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2019_12_17_custom_data_on_a_map_without_coding_2_96c595b055.png 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2019_12_17_custom_data_on_a_map_without_coding_2_96c595b055.png 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2019_12_17_custom_data_on_a_map_without_coding_2_96c595b055.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px">Instead of drawing the data on top of standard street maps you can choose a satellite map or import your scanned paper maps, floor plans or other raster geodata (just <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://support.maptiler.com/i23-host-own-geodata">use your own map</a> as a background).</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://support.maptiler.com/i602-collect-field-data-in-maptiler-mobile-app">Field data collection</a> is possible with the free <a href="/mobile/">MapTiler Mobile app</a> which allows you to record tracks and GPS positions on a mobile phone, even while offline. The data collected on a mobile phone is synchronized with the online editor.</p><p>When you are done with editing, click on the “Publish” button. This will make the data available from all our servers on 5 continents, and also allow you to add the data into other maps.</p><h2>Add your data into a&nbsp;map</h2><p>You can <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cloud.maptiler.com/maps/">choose a background map</a> that will let your data stand out. Pastel style is one of them, where light colors used in the map do not interfere with your data. There are also greyish and darkish map styles, which maximally suppress the color palette scale. You can also <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://support.maptiler.com/i29-make-own-map-design">create own map design</a> fitting your brand or use case with a few mouse clicks.<img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2019_12_17_custom_data_on_a_map_without_coding_3_5ada94d876.png" alt="2019-12-17-custom-data-on-a-map-without-coding-3.png" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2019_12_17_custom_data_on_a_map_without_coding_3_5ada94d876.png 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2019_12_17_custom_data_on_a_map_without_coding_3_5ada94d876.png 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2019_12_17_custom_data_on_a_map_without_coding_3_5ada94d876.png 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2019_12_17_custom_data_on_a_map_without_coding_3_5ada94d876.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px">Once you have the right base map for your data, choose the “⋮” menu and select “Edit a copy”, then add your published Data into a “Data Sources” and attach it via “Add Layer” to the map. With a few clicks, you can adjust the look&amp;feel of the data - set colors, transparency, zoom layers on which the data appear, etc.</p><p>Detail step-by-step guide is described in a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://support.maptiler.com/i604-publish-your-geodata">separate how-to</a>.</p><p>Again, once you are happy with how the final map looks like, you can Save and “Publish” it to make it available on the web.</p><p>The final map can be <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://support.maptiler.com/i24-insert-maps-in-websites-with-a-simple-iframe">embedded in an iframe on your web or blog</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://support.maptiler.com/i25-use-maps-interactively-with-javascript">used on the web with JavaScript</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://support.maptiler.com/i28-build-mobile-apps-with-maps-using-sdk">on mobile devices</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://support.maptiler.com/i27-load-maps-to-desktop-gis">in desktop GIS</a> or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://support.maptiler.com/i26-print-maps-generate-images">printed</a>.<img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2019_12_17_custom_data_on_a_map_without_coding_4_2238674af1.png" alt="2019-12-17-custom-data-on-a-map-without-coding-4.png" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2019_12_17_custom_data_on_a_map_without_coding_4_2238674af1.png 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2019_12_17_custom_data_on_a_map_without_coding_4_2238674af1.png 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2019_12_17_custom_data_on_a_map_without_coding_4_2238674af1.png 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2019_12_17_custom_data_on_a_map_without_coding_4_2238674af1.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cloud.maptiler.com/data/new/edit">Let’s try it yourself</a>, no login required!</p>

Add position of your shop in the city, hiking trails with related points of interest, electric power grid or any other vector data on a map with a few clicks.

<p>MapTiler Cloud offers map hosting for your own geodata in any coordinate system in GeoPackage format with EPSG coordinate reference system.&nbsp;</p><h2>Map hosting for geodata in any map projection</h2><p>Map in any local or global geographic projection can now be hosted on MapTiler Cloud in GeoPackage format.</p><p>GeoPackage is an open and interoperable standardized format that can be produced and viewed by many desktop GIS software. Support for raster tiles is implemented according to the standard; vector tile implementation is using the <a href="https://docs.opengeospatial.org/per/18-074.html#_vector_tiles_extensions_informative" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">very latest draft</a> of the extension.</p><blockquote><p style="margin-left:40px;">Open GeoPackage standard guarantees no vendor&nbsp;lock-in&nbsp;</p></blockquote><p><a href="/blog/2019/10/maptiler-desktop-10-2.html">The new release of MapTiler Desktop 10.2</a> is able to create and directly upload maps to MapTiler Cloud in any custom tile grid.</p><p><img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2019_10_15_maptiler_maps_api_hosting_for_geopackage_1_2_6416734af6.jpg" alt="2019-10-15-maptiler-maps-api-hosting-for-geopackage-1-2.jpg" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2019_10_15_maptiler_maps_api_hosting_for_geopackage_1_2_6416734af6.jpg 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2019_10_15_maptiler_maps_api_hosting_for_geopackage_1_2_6416734af6.jpg 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2019_10_15_maptiler_maps_api_hosting_for_geopackage_1_2_6416734af6.jpg 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2019_10_15_maptiler_maps_api_hosting_for_geopackage_1_2_6416734af6.jpg 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px"><i>Blue Marble in WGS84</i></p><h2>Edit raw data in GeoPackage format&nbsp;</h2><p>Vector features in GeoPackage format, which are not tiled, can also be uploaded. In this case, MapTiler Cloud will convert them into GeoJSON, and you can edit them using the <a href="/blog/2019/06/vector-data-editing-in-maptiler-cloud.html">Vector data editor</a>. <img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2019_10_15_maptiler_maps_api_hosting_for_geopackage_1_3_81dd963ac7.png" alt="2019-10-15-maptiler-maps-api-hosting-for-geopackage-1-3.png" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2019_10_15_maptiler_maps_api_hosting_for_geopackage_1_3_81dd963ac7.png 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2019_10_15_maptiler_maps_api_hosting_for_geopackage_1_3_81dd963ac7.png 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2019_10_15_maptiler_maps_api_hosting_for_geopackage_1_3_81dd963ac7.png 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2019_10_15_maptiler_maps_api_hosting_for_geopackage_1_3_81dd963ac7.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px"></p><p>Host your own geodata by creating an account on <a href="https://cloud.maptiler.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MapTiler Cloud</a>.&nbsp;</p>

MapTiler Cloud offers map hosting for your own geodata in any coordinate system in GeoPackage format with EPSG coordinate reference system.

<p>The new version of <a href="/cloud/geocoding/">geocoding service</a> is available on <a href="/cloud/">MapTiler Cloud</a>. With global data blended from multiple sources, it gives you the ability to search for places to the street level.</p><h2>Geocoding service for place name&nbsp;search</h2><p>Geocoding is the process of transforming place name to geographical coordinates and vice-versa. The typical usage is searching for a city, village or a street, but we also provide reverse geocoding service, which returns a human-readable place name for given coordinates.</p><p>The API is part of MapTiler Cloud and it launched now out of the beta program.</p><h2>Features of geocoding on MapTiler&nbsp;Cloud</h2><p>MapTiler Cloud provides geocoding service with place names to the street level, where results are ranked to give the most relevant results.&nbsp;</p><p>The service offers:</p><ul><li>Fast responses for interactive search</li><li>Search with language preference</li><li>Limit search to a given bounds</li><li>Proximity search</li><li>Reverse geocoding</li><li>Autocomplete typed words</li></ul><figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://player.vimeo.com/video/716715289?background=1&amp;#t=0s"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/716715289?background=1" style="position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></figure><h2>Technical details</h2><p>For an easy start, there is a JavaScript code snippet with autocomplete prepared in the administration. Use the component directly or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/@maptiler/geocoding-control">read more about it</a>.</p><p>REST API gives you a single endpoint responding to <i>GET</i> requests. By parameters in URL, you can set bounding box, language or proximity.</p><p>The response is always sent in a GeoJSON format for simple parsing, with many different parameters for each feature.</p><p>Reverse geocoding is performed by sending the coordinates as a query.<img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2019_09_11_announcing_maptiler_cloud_geocoding_api_2_e7e3fe6dff.png" alt="2019-09-11-announcing-maptiler-cloud-geocoding-api-2.png" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2019_09_11_announcing_maptiler_cloud_geocoding_api_2_e7e3fe6dff.png 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2019_09_11_announcing_maptiler_cloud_geocoding_api_2_e7e3fe6dff.png 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2019_09_11_announcing_maptiler_cloud_geocoding_api_2_e7e3fe6dff.png 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2019_09_11_announcing_maptiler_cloud_geocoding_api_2_e7e3fe6dff.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px"></p><h2>Start using with a free&nbsp;account</h2><p><a href="/cloud/geocoding/">Geocoding API</a> is <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cloud.maptiler.com/">available now on MapTiler Cloud</a> to all users, including those with the free account.</p>

New Geocoding API service is available for free: use place name search, reverse geocoding, proximity search, and other functionality.

<p>We are constantly working on improving our services. As a result of that effort, we are announcing major infrastructure enhancements today! To make it possible, we have to <strong>change the URL structure: read instructions below</strong>.</p><h2>Improved response times and caching&nbsp;rates</h2><p>We’ve designed our new infrastructure with speed and scalability in mind. A lot of requests can be handled sooner in our pipeline than before, resulting in fewer hops and faster response times. The load balancing was improved to make sure the requests are always directed to the geographically closest and fastest available datacenter.</p><p>The cache hit rate was also significantly increased (especially for our standard tiles and maps), so there is now a much higher chance that the requested map tiles can be served from a local cache node rather than having to contact one of the datacenters.</p><p>It’s important for our customers to have precise usage statistics. This is a major point that we were trying to keep in mind and improve as much as possible. As a result, we are now able to accurately count each and every individual request to our servers.<img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2019_04_02_maptiler_cloud_infrastructure_upgrade_2_149ce8057d.png" alt="2019-04-02-maptiler-cloud-infrastructure-upgrade-2.png" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2019_04_02_maptiler_cloud_infrastructure_upgrade_2_149ce8057d.png 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2019_04_02_maptiler_cloud_infrastructure_upgrade_2_149ce8057d.png 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2019_04_02_maptiler_cloud_infrastructure_upgrade_2_149ce8057d.png 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2019_04_02_maptiler_cloud_infrastructure_upgrade_2_149ce8057d.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px"></p><h2>512x512 rendered&nbsp;tiles</h2><p>The display sizes have grown significantly in recent years and it directly corresponds with the raster tile sizes (read more about <a href="/google-maps-coordinates-tile-bounds-projection/">how zoomable maps work</a>). Previously, it was a standard to use 256x256 raster tiles and you needed to load only a few images to cover the whole display size. Using the larger 512x512 tiles results in fewer requests and often faster loading times.</p><p>However, there’s a variety of different application and libraries, where the 256x256 tiles are the only possible option, so the MapTiler Cloud provides you with both tile sizes - this ensures the maximum possible compatibility. You can <strong>find the 256x256 tiles endpoint addresses on the map detail page in </strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cloud.maptiler.com/"><strong>MapTiler Cloud administration</strong></a>.<img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2019_04_02_maptiler_cloud_infrastructure_upgrade_3_af4b426cfb.png" alt="2019-04-02-maptiler-cloud-infrastructure-upgrade-3.png" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2019_04_02_maptiler_cloud_infrastructure_upgrade_3_af4b426cfb.png 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2019_04_02_maptiler_cloud_infrastructure_upgrade_3_af4b426cfb.png 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2019_04_02_maptiler_cloud_infrastructure_upgrade_3_af4b426cfb.png 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2019_04_02_maptiler_cloud_infrastructure_upgrade_3_af4b426cfb.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px"></p><h2>New domain</h2><p>Previously, the MapTiler Cloud service was called TileHosting and that’s why the URLs our customers are using in their products are beginning with “maps.tilehosting.com” (which we know might have been a little confusing). Although we plan to maintain compatibility as long as possible, it’s time for a change.</p><p>We had to change the domain (and modify URLs) to make the above-mentioned (and many future!) improvements possible.</p><p>Here is a short <strong>to-do list</strong> for you:</p><ul><li>Log-in to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cloud.maptiler.com/">MapTiler Cloud administration</a> and open the relevant map</li><li>Find the new URLs with api.maptiler.com domain</li><li>Copy &amp; paste the code of your application and replace the old tilehosting.com links</li><li>Make sure your code is ready for 512 tiles (e.g. by adding “tileSize: 512,” variable for Leaflet). Otherwise, you will get unreadably small labels</li><li><strong>NOTE!</strong> It is needed to <strong>change the whole URL, not only the domain</strong>.</li></ul><p>Please make sure to migrate your applications <strong>before 15th June 2019</strong>! On that day, we are going to start returning the new URLs inside of all our TileJSONs, Style JSONs and XMLs. As a result of this, the map tiles inside of your applications will start to load from the new domain. It should not cause any issue unless your application is running in some controlled environment (e.g. behind a proxy with whitelisted domains).</p><p>The old domain will be turned off completely by the end of this year, so please do the migration as soon as possible.&nbsp;</p>

Our maps will be even faster: we are announcing major infrastructure enhancements today!

<p>Digital elevation model (DEM) is now available in <a href="/cloud/">MapTiler Cloud</a> for all users. It can be used as a base for hillshading, hypsometry, analytical appliances or 3D terrain modeling in games.</p><h2>Encoded elevation data split into map&nbsp;tiles</h2><p>Don’t be confused by its unusual look you will see at first glance: this is not a final product meant for direct viewing yet, but a base for adaptation. Each pixel contains encoded elevation value and can be styled accordingly.</p><p>Splitting DEM into raster tiles have all the advantages of a tiled map. The main one is low traffic for web applications because the browser loads only the tiles in the current view with appropriate resolution and download additional data just in case the user zoom in or pan the map.<img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2019_03_21_rgb_encoded_elevation_data_in_maptiler_cloud_2_70a933fb3e.png" alt="2019-03-21-rgb-encoded-elevation-data-in-maptiler-cloud-2.png" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2019_03_21_rgb_encoded_elevation_data_in_maptiler_cloud_2_70a933fb3e.png 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2019_03_21_rgb_encoded_elevation_data_in_maptiler_cloud_2_70a933fb3e.png 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2019_03_21_rgb_encoded_elevation_data_in_maptiler_cloud_2_70a933fb3e.png 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2019_03_21_rgb_encoded_elevation_data_in_maptiler_cloud_2_70a933fb3e.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px"><i>See </i><a href="/tools/hillshading/#7/46.165/9.459"><i>https://www.maptiler.com/tools/hillshading/#7/46.165/9.459</i></a></p><h2>Practical applications</h2><p>Each of the raster pixels contains the elevation value and it can be decoded using this formula:</p><blockquote><p>height = -10000 + ((R * 256 * 256 + G * 256 + B) * 0.1)</p></blockquote><p>Elevation data provides height above the sea level in meters for every single place in the world, measured for regions of approximately 30x30 meters.</p><h3>Hillshading</h3><p>Since the data contain the encoded elevation values directly, there are many potential applications. You can add the data into your map in order to create a nice visual shaded relief for your maps.</p><p>You can even change the hillshading colors and light direction. It can be easily done in the integrated map style editor in MapTiler Cloud.</p><p>DEM hillshading is already present in our <a href="/maps/#topo-v2//vector/3/-122.45/37.79">Topo map in MapTiler Cloud</a>.</p><h3>Hypsometry</h3><p>Another application where you can highlight elevation is hypsometry. The traditional color model used mostly for the relief model in geographical maps contains green color for lowlands, yellow for highlands, brown for mountains and a different tone of blue for bathymetry.</p><h3>More applications</h3><p>Since values can be manipulated even on-the-fly, you can create interactive tools in JavaScript. For example, we built an <a href="/tools/hypsometry/#8/46.16/9.46">interactive “floods” simulator</a>.<img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2019_03_21_rgb_encoded_elevation_data_in_maptiler_cloud_3_9b905b4aa5.png" alt="2019-03-21-rgb-encoded-elevation-data-in-maptiler-cloud-3.png" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2019_03_21_rgb_encoded_elevation_data_in_maptiler_cloud_3_9b905b4aa5.png 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2019_03_21_rgb_encoded_elevation_data_in_maptiler_cloud_3_9b905b4aa5.png 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2019_03_21_rgb_encoded_elevation_data_in_maptiler_cloud_3_9b905b4aa5.png 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2019_03_21_rgb_encoded_elevation_data_in_maptiler_cloud_3_9b905b4aa5.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px"><i>Floods simulator you can test on </i><a href="/tools/hypsometry/#8/46.16/9.46"><i>https://www.maptiler.com/tools/hypsometry/#8/46.16/9.46</i></a></p>

We offer RGB-encoded elevation data for developers via maps API.

<p>Static maps are images generated on request which can be easily inserted into a webpage or saved into your device. The manipulation with such a map is straightforward: it is just an image! And you can generate such a static map on MapTiler Cloud.&nbsp;</p><h2>Visual generator of static&nbsp;maps</h2><p>Static maps generator is available in <a href="/cloud/">MapTiler Cloud</a> since the launch in May 2018. You can access them when you Sign in to your MapTiler Cloud account, click on Maps, select any map and scroll down through offered services. On the very bottom of the page, you will find a button Generator for Static Maps.</p><p>It will bring you to a new page, where you have a graphical user interface for defining your static image: you can write down the size of your image (there is a bounding box on the map for better visualization), tick the Double resolution (for retina displays) checkbox if preferred and the two links below will update automatically. By clicking on them, you will get the desired image. You can also use the given URL to embed the image on your website or blog.</p><p>You can use any of our beautiful map designs or easily <a href="/blog/2018/09/design-own-map-with-five-clicks.html">create your own in a few mouse clicks</a>.<img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2019_01_16_static_maps_on_maptiler_cloud_2_04f9646abd.png" alt="2019-01-16-static-maps-on-maptiler-cloud-2.png" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2019_01_16_static_maps_on_maptiler_cloud_2_04f9646abd.png 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2019_01_16_static_maps_on_maptiler_cloud_2_04f9646abd.png 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2019_01_16_static_maps_on_maptiler_cloud_2_04f9646abd.png 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2019_01_16_static_maps_on_maptiler_cloud_2_04f9646abd.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px"><i>Static Maps API</i></p><h2>Static Maps API for full&nbsp;control&nbsp;</h2><p>Static maps offer more than just generating images of maps. With the Static Maps API, you can add lines, polygons and markers to your static map. This can be done by defining parameters in URL, e.g., appending <code>&amp;path=-74,41|-118.3,33.8</code> to your static maps URL will draw a line from New York to Los Angeles.</p><p>The full list of parameters can be found in the Static Maps API administration down below or in our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://documentation.maptiler.com/hc/en-us/articles/360020805897-Static-maps-for-your-web">documentation</a>.</p><h3>New colorful&nbsp;markers</h3><p>A feature a lot of our users was calling for was the support for markers customization. We answer their calls by introducing this component to our Static Maps API.</p><p>Any marker can be now specified by its coordinates (longitude, latitude) and color. Coordinates and color are comma separated values, pipes separate different markers.</p><p>You can use any <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/color_value">valid CSS color notation</a>: named colors, HEX, RGB or HSL. The image below is using <code>&amp;markers=-9,39,orange\|5.3,52.5,red\|15.2,50,rgba(10,160,30,0.5)\|12,43,%23ff0\|9.5,47.5\|23,38,rgba(0,0,0,0.3)</code></p><p>for markers (you can set the transparency as well). If no color is specified, the default blue is used.</p><p>Alternatively, markers can be defined by URL, anchor point, and scale.<img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2019_01_16_static_maps_on_maptiler_cloud_3_95cd047931.jpg" alt="2019-01-16-static-maps-on-maptiler-cloud-3.jpg" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2019_01_16_static_maps_on_maptiler_cloud_3_95cd047931.jpg 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2019_01_16_static_maps_on_maptiler_cloud_3_95cd047931.jpg 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2019_01_16_static_maps_on_maptiler_cloud_3_95cd047931.jpg 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2019_01_16_static_maps_on_maptiler_cloud_3_95cd047931.jpg 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px"><i>Markers’ color defined by various annotations</i></p><h2>Multiple polygons &amp; lines, custom marker icons and autofitting markers</h2><p>There is also possible to create multiple polygons and lines, each with a different style.</p><p>Instead of defining center or bounds in the URL, it is possible to use <i>auto</i> option and the area, in this case, will be automatically calculated based on a path from the query.</p><p>More information and examples are <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://documentation.maptiler.com/hc/en-us/articles/360020805897-Static-maps-for-your-web">available in the documentation</a> or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://docs.maptiler.com/cloud/api/static-maps/">Static Maps API reference</a>.<img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2019_01_16_static_maps_on_maptiler_cloud_4_b891c03e0d.png" alt="2019-01-16-static-maps-on-maptiler-cloud-4.png" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2019_01_16_static_maps_on_maptiler_cloud_4_b891c03e0d.png 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2019_01_16_static_maps_on_maptiler_cloud_4_b891c03e0d.png 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2019_01_16_static_maps_on_maptiler_cloud_4_b891c03e0d.png 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2019_01_16_static_maps_on_maptiler_cloud_4_b891c03e0d.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px"><i>Two polygons roughly marking borders of Western and Eastern Roman Empire made in MapTiler Cloud by the static maps generator&nbsp;</i></p><h2>Use static maps on MapTiler&nbsp;Cloud</h2><p>Static maps are available as part of any paid plan on <a href="/cloud/">MapTiler Cloud</a>.</p>

Static Maps API on MapTiler Cloud now allows adding colorful markers.

<p class="message">We have upgraded our Augmented Reality experience! Create AR models in your JavaScript apps with a few lines of code; read all about it here: <a href="https://www.maptiler.com/ar/">https://www.maptiler.com/ar/</a><br><br>Note: Due to these exciting updates, some of the links on this page no longer work.</p><p>At the TimeMachine conference, the MapTiler Team introduced the very first application showing maps in augmented reality, running from the browser, without the need to install any mobile app. No need to have a flagship Apple device, it runs on any mobile phone. Try it now!</p><h2>Three simple steps to get maps in AR on your&nbsp;phone</h2><p>Step 1: Open on your phone or tablet: <a href="/maps/ar/">maptiler.com/ar</a></p><p>Step 2: Point your camera at <a href="/products/cloud/js/ar/maptiler-ar-flyer.pdf">the printed sheet</a> or at the picture below</p><p>Step3: Watch the magic!<img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2018_11_02_maps_in_augmented_reality_with_javascript_2_d8514025a4.png" alt="2018-11-02-maps-in-augmented-reality-with-javascript-2.png" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2018_11_02_maps_in_augmented_reality_with_javascript_2_d8514025a4.png 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2018_11_02_maps_in_augmented_reality_with_javascript_2_d8514025a4.png 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2018_11_02_maps_in_augmented_reality_with_javascript_2_d8514025a4.png 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2018_11_02_maps_in_augmented_reality_with_javascript_2_d8514025a4.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px">The application works entirely with your computer screen, but you will get even better results if you <a href="/products/cloud/js/ar/maptiler-ar-flyer.pdf">print the sheet</a> (in colors or on a monochrome printer).</p><p>In both cases, you will get a map of Venice you can zoom in and work with as with any other map. The date on the top shows the depicted year as the city development progress during the last 1000 years. It is a prototype of the <a href="https://timemachineatlas.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TimeMachine Atlas</a> project, which <a href="/blog/2018/10/timemachine-atlas.html">has been just announced</a>.</p><h2>The technology behind this application</h2><p>Our AR app is in the phase of a tech demo for now, but you can already start building your own with our maps from MapTiler Cloud service. It offers global map data in vector format and hosting for own geodata. They can be turned into tiles using <a href="/desktop/">MapTiler Desktop</a> and then uploaded to <a href="/cloud/">MapTiler Cloud</a>, styled and used in any application with open-source JavaScript libraries or mobile SDKs.</p><p>Our current AR app is built around <a href="https://github.com/jeromeetienne/AR.js" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">AR.js library</a>, which is an open-source project using WebGL and WebRTC technology. The same code will run in the future also on devices with native AR support (ARCore &amp; ARKit), once they are exposed via WebVR because our code runs directly in a web browser.</p><p>We used modified Mapbox GL JS library for displaying the map. Let us know if you are our customer and want to utilize the code in your project.</p><figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-1GuOy546aQ?enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.maptiler.com"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-1GuOy546aQ" style="position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></figure><h2>Try the Augmented Reality on your device&nbsp;now</h2><p>The AR application runs on every mobile device with a camera using just the web browsers. Try it yourself at <a href="/maps/ar/">maptiler.com/ar</a>!&nbsp;</p>

Try maps in augmented reality running from the browser without a need to install any mobile app.

<p>Displaying 3D terrain can hugely increase the realism of your application and improve the user experience. We are happy to announce that we now provide 3D terrain tiles you can use for free as part of your <a href="/cloud/">MapTiler Cloud</a> account. Alternatively, for self-hosting solutions, it’s possible to get them as part of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://data.maptiler.com/downloads/dataset/terrain-quantized-mesh/">prepared on-prem packages</a>.</p><p style="text-align:center;"><a class="btn btn-primary m-o5" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cloud.maptiler.com/">START NOW FOR FREE</a></p><h2>Free 3D Cesium terrain in your&nbsp;browser</h2><p>The tiles are in the modern <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cesiumjs.org/data-and-assets/terrain/formats/quantized-mesh-1.0/">Quantized Mesh format</a> that can be easily used in the open-source <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cesiumjs.org/">Cesium JavaScript library</a> (with full compatibility, including vertex normals for advanced terrain lightning).</p><p>The 3D terrain looks very pleasant in combination with our satellite data. Currently, we have a mid-resolution cloudless coverage of the whole planet and we are merging in high-res aerial imagery. Right now you can see the Netherlands, Denmark, and California in high-res and the others are coming very soon.</p><p>You can <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://docs.maptiler.com/cesium/">browse the whole world</a> in 3D directly in your browser and also explore our beautiful global <a href="/maps/#hybrid//vector/3/-58/50">Satellite layer</a>.<img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2018_08_31_free_terrain_tiles_for_cesium_2_a79f31a10f.jpg" alt="2018-08-31-free-terrain-tiles-for-cesium-2.jpg" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2018_08_31_free_terrain_tiles_for_cesium_2_a79f31a10f.jpg 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2018_08_31_free_terrain_tiles_for_cesium_2_a79f31a10f.jpg 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2018_08_31_free_terrain_tiles_for_cesium_2_a79f31a10f.jpg 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2018_08_31_free_terrain_tiles_for_cesium_2_a79f31a10f.jpg 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px"></p><h2>Source DEM&nbsp;data</h2><p>We created own global DEM (digital elevation model) which is also used in our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://openmaptiles.com/hillshades/">hillshading</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://openmaptiles.com/contours/">contour lines</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cloud.maptiler.com/tiles/terrain-rgb/">RGB tiles</a> for client-side and Unity engine.</p><p>The original raw open data from US Geological Survey (SRTM 1ARC), NASA and METI (ASTER GDEM) and European Union (EU-DEM), GMTED, ArcticDEM has been modified, adapted and overlaid to “fill the gaps” and provide a seamless and directly reusable global digital elevation model.</p><p>MapTiler Cloud also offers to host own detailed 3D terrain and combining the two layers.<img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2018_08_31_free_terrain_tiles_for_cesium_3_38720ad6bf.jpg" alt="2018-08-31-free-terrain-tiles-for-cesium-3.jpg" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2018_08_31_free_terrain_tiles_for_cesium_3_38720ad6bf.jpg 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2018_08_31_free_terrain_tiles_for_cesium_3_38720ad6bf.jpg 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2018_08_31_free_terrain_tiles_for_cesium_3_38720ad6bf.jpg 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2018_08_31_free_terrain_tiles_for_cesium_3_38720ad6bf.jpg 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px"></p><h2>Self-hosted or from our infrastructure</h2><p>We provide TIN Terrain tiled as optimized meshes, available as a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://data.maptiler.com/downloads/dataset/terrain-quantized-mesh/">GeoPackage</a> of 88.1 GiB. You can serve it on your infrastructure with <a href="/server/">MapTiler Server</a>.</p><p style="text-align:center;"><a class="btn btn-primary m-o5" href="/server/download/">MAPTILER SERVER</a></p><h2>ADD cesium 3D terrain to your project</h2><p>Adding the terrain into the existing Cesium project is very simple. All you have to do is to insert this code snippet:</p><pre><code class="language-javascript">viewer.terrainProvider = new Cesium.CesiumTerrainProvider({
  url: 'https://api.maptiler.com/tiles/terrain-quantized-mesh/?key={key}' // get your own key at https://cloud.maptiler.com/
});</code></pre><p>For direct use in your apps, create a free account on <a href="/cloud/">MapTiler Cloud</a> and click on Datasets -&gt; <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cloud.maptiler.com/tiles/terrain-quantized-mesh/">Terrain - Quantized Mesh</a>.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:center;"><a class="btn btn-primary m-o5" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cloud.maptiler.com/">START NOW FOR FREE</a><br>&nbsp;</p>

New 3D terrain for Cesium JavaScript library you can start using for free.

<p><strong>UPDATE: We have created a completely new map customization tool for you since this post was written! Read all about it here: </strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.maptiler.com/news/2023/08/design-amazing-maps-with-our-new-style-editor/"><strong>Design amazing maps with our new style editor</strong></a></p><p>Since the launch, MapTiler Cloud featured seven beautiful base maps for various occasions like background map for presenting own data, car navigation or outdoor activities. But for those who want a specific design to match the company’s brand, we prepared a simple, but powerful tool to design own map style, which is available to all users now.</p><h2>Entirely different map design in a few mouse&nbsp;clicks</h2><p>Creating brand new map design is a simple task with Customize tool: you pick about six colors and all map elements will change accordingly.</p><p>The customize tool is available if you create a free account, sign in and click on any map. The <i>Customize a copy</i> button will bring you directly to the tool, where you can see group of layers and color which currently presents this group. By clicking on the color palette, you will get a color selection dialog, where you can define a new color for a selected group. The color selection tool capabilities are operating system dependent and range from a simple window with color selection and its representation in hex format to the complex tools with color-picking options. You can also turn off the layer completely.</p><p>Experimenting is a safe activity, the basic styles stay untouched and available in the administration. Each change can be easily reverted with a reset button.</p><h3>Languages, fonts and 3D buildings</h3><p>From the Customize tool menu, you can access the <i>Language</i> and <i>Mics</i> tab. There are currently more than 50 languages supported with an option to include alternative names for non-latin alphabets. The language selection is also possible for raster tiles. Mics tab offers font selection and a button for switching off 3D buildings.</p><p>All changes based on our basic maps done using Customize tool will stay compatible with future versions of software used on our hosting and data, which are updated weekly.&nbsp;</p><figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KOHWcmvVG6s?enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.maptiler.com"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KOHWcmvVG6s" style="position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></figure><h2>Built from&nbsp;scratch</h2><p>Advanced users have also other options how to change the map appearance. Hidden under three dots behind the map in the administration, there is an option to <i>Edit style</i> and <i>Import style</i>, as well as an option to <i>Export style</i>.</p><p>Edit style offers robust map design editor, which gives an option to work on every small map detail. Apart from changing colors, you can also add or remove map elements like buildings, selected landcover or specific POIs.</p><p>MapTiler Cloud also offers importing styles done in an external tool or text editor. Currently, there is a built-in support for GL JSON styling language.&nbsp;</p><p>All customization methods are available in <a href="/cloud/">MapTiler Cloud</a>, which you can start using with a free account.<img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2018_05_31_customize_your_map_in_maptiler_cloud_2_7a4e6b869d.png" alt="2018-05-31-customize-your-map-in-maptiler-cloud-2.png" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2018_05_31_customize_your_map_in_maptiler_cloud_2_7a4e6b869d.png 245w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2018_05_31_customize_your_map_in_maptiler_cloud_2_7a4e6b869d.png 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2018_05_31_customize_your_map_in_maptiler_cloud_2_7a4e6b869d.png 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2018_05_31_customize_your_map_in_maptiler_cloud_2_7a4e6b869d.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px"><i>With Edit tool, you can either customize a map visually or by writing source&nbsp;code&nbsp;</i></p>

Create map design in a few mouse clicks. Change languages, fonts, and colors.

<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://geoeditor.maptiler.com/">GeoEditor for web</a> is a simple online app for collaborative creating and editing of basic geographical data - just draw points, polygons and lines on top of the maps directly in a web browser. For every shape, you can record additional information or attach a photo.&nbsp;</p><p>This web app is great for a review of the field data collected with the <a href="/mobile/">GeoEditor mobile app</a> and it can help to share the data, save it to your desktop, reuse it in GIS software or web applications.</p><p>It is also perfect if you want to load your existing online maps made with <a href="/desktop/">MapTiler Desktop</a> and draw on top of these.</p><h2>Main features</h2><ul><li>Collaborative editing of features on top of maps - real time synchronisation of multiple people working on the same data - great for teamwork or classroom</li><li>Displays two maps at the same time (foreground overlay and background layer)</li><li>Custom attributes, attached photos</li><li>Drag&amp;drop into the web app any GPX, TopoJSON, GeoJSON, etc.</li><li>GeoJSON as the main storage format - with direct preview and editing by end users</li><li>Integrated with MapTiler Desktop default map viewer (one click in “Edit” tab)</li><li>Draw on top of map tiles in any coordinate system/projection</li><li>Made with OpenLayers JavaScript library</li><li>Supports OpenStreetMap vector tiles base maps from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://openmaptiles.org/">OpenMapTiles</a></li><li>The simplest way how to extract features and later on add interactive hotspots to raster map tiles with Leaflet or OpenLayers!</li></ul><h2>Google Drive app</h2><p>We implemented GeoEditor also as a Google Drive app for quick display of GeoJSON from your Drive. Add it to your account from the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/geoeditor/akphghaphmokoinaobonplhcaldkfnki">Chrome Web Store</a>.<img src="https://media.maptiler.com/img/2017_05_11_online_drawing_tools_in_geoeditor_web_411170f555.png" alt="2017-05-11-online-drawing-tools-in-geoeditor-web.png" srcset="https://media.maptiler.com/img/thumbnail_2017_05_11_online_drawing_tools_in_geoeditor_web_411170f555.png 197w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/small_2017_05_11_online_drawing_tools_in_geoeditor_web_411170f555.png 500w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/medium_2017_05_11_online_drawing_tools_in_geoeditor_web_411170f555.png 750w,https://media.maptiler.com/img/large_2017_05_11_online_drawing_tools_in_geoeditor_web_411170f555.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="1000px"></p><h2>GeoEditor in action</h2><p>See the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://youtu.be/sx6lMyokD1k">YouTube video</a> with the recording of a real-time session of multiple users digitising buildings on an old map of London:</p><figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sx6lMyokD1k?enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.maptiler.com"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sx6lMyokD1k" style="position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></figure><p>So now just <a href="/cloud/edit-geodata/">try the GeoEditor online web application</a>.&nbsp;</p>

Geoeditor is a simple online app for collaborative creating and editing of basic geographical data - just draw points, polygons and lines on top of the maps directly in a web browser.

<p>Our new GeoEditor mobile app is now available on the App Store and Google Play</p><p>The free GeoEditor mobile application allows you to use your scanned maps and geodata on your mobile device - even offline! Send the maps to a mobile device and annotate the maps while on the way!&nbsp;</p><h2>Comfortable drawing tools</h2><p>Draw points, polygons and lines on the maps directly in the mobile device. Collect field data and notes related to a location, attach a photo and fill custom attributes for features you make.</p><h2>Import your own maps into the mobile device</h2><p>It is easy to import scanned hiking maps, PDF maps, drone aerial imagery, nautical charts for sailing and navigation with a boat or a yacht, fishing maps, aeronautical charts for flight planning by pilots, parcels and city plans and other geodata or opendata from local government.</p><p>Just use <a href="/desktop/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MapTiler Desktop</a> software to send the maps to the mobile.</p><h2>Base maps from OpenStreetMap to Google</h2><p>OpenStreetMap vector base maps are powered by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://openmaptiles.com/">OpenMapTiles project</a>. In the online mode, you also get the high-quality global satellite and street maps from Google for your overlays.</p><p>Custom maps can be added from existing tile servers with TileJSON, WMTS or XYZ tiles.</p><h2>Standardized data formats</h2><p>The app supports GeoJSON and MBTiles formats, transfer via cable or SD card and online synchronization via Google Drive for basic sharing of the data with other people! Perfect for mobile data collection for GIS and surveys.</p><h2>Display GPS position</h2><p>Precise geo location is displayed on the maps in your device. Magnetic compass and rotation in the direction you are heading are available too.</p><h2>Opacity adjustment</h2><p>The opacity slider gives you a possibility to compare your scanned map with the background map layer - the app displays foreground map as an overlay of a selected background map.</p><h2>It works even offline</h2><p>You do not need to be online to work with your map! Just go wherever you want and collect field data related to the particular location.</p><h2>Rebrand and use it for your business</h2><p>Speed up development and release of your own mobile application. Our app can be modified according to your needs and released under your company name on the app stores.</p><p>Just build your own business logic on top of our source code and make a mobile app for your customers showing your maps!</p><p>More info about the mobile app source code at <a href="/mobile/source/">http://www.maptiler.com/mobile/source/</a>.</p><p>See the preview of the functions of the mobile application in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://youtu.be/OuoKvq03nNA">this short video</a>:</p><figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OuoKvq03nNA?enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.maptiler.com"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OuoKvq03nNA" style="position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></figure><p>Import of existing maps is easy with the <a href="/desktop/">MapTiler desktop application</a>.</p><p>Supported geodata formats: GeoPDF, PDF, GeoTIFF, TIFF, JPEG, ECW, SID / MrSID, NOAA KAP / BSB, DEM, OziExplorer OZI OZF2 &amp; OZFX3, WebP, JP2, JPEG2000, GeoJP2, Erdas, Grass, Safe, Sentinel2, SRTM, NASA imagery, USGS map sheets, exports from ESRI ArcGIS, ArcSDE, etc.</p><p>The GeoJSON can be converted from/to: ESRI ShapeFile, DXF, DWG, GPX, CSV and KML with external tools.</p><p>More info at the website of this mobile app at <a href="/mobile/">http://www.maptiler.com/mobile/</a>&nbsp;</p>

Our new GeoEditor mobile app brings comfortable drawing tools, importing own maps into mobile devices, various base maps, standardized data formats, and much more! 

<p>New open-source project TileServer GL has just been released in version 1.0 at the FOSS4G conference and is available on our GitHub:&nbsp;</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://github.com/klokantech/tileserver-gl">https://github.com/klokantech/tileserver-gl</a></p><p>With TileServer GL you can host vector tile maps on your own infrastructure, under your control, or even completely offline. The software takes care of serving the vector maps (PBFs, GL JSON styles, and all the assets), but also provides server-side rasterized tiles as a fallback.</p><p>Raster tiles look&nbsp;exactly the same as vector maps and are generated from vector tiles and GL JSON style on the server side with the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-gl-native/">MapBox GL Native</a> rendering core made in C++.&nbsp;</p><p>The vector tiles allow for nicer maps, with a&nbsp;higher degree of interactivity and also decrease bandwidth to your server. The vector maps&nbsp;can be used in several web&nbsp;mapping libraries such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://docs.maptiler.com/leaflet/vector-tiles-in-leaflet-js/">Leaflet Vector Tile Basemaps</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://docs.maptiler.com/sdk-js/">MapTiler SDK JS</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://docs.maptiler.com/sdk-js/">Maplibre GL JS</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://docs.maptiler.com/sdk-js/">Mapbox GL JS</a> or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://docs.maptiler.com/openlayers/vector-maps-in-openlayers/">OpenLayers</a> as well as native mobile applications for Android or iOS. The raster tiles can be used in almost any software including <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://docs.maptiler.com/leaflet/raster-tiles-in-leaflet-js/">Leaflet</a> or GIS tools (via XYZ, TileJSON, WMTS).</p><p>This way you can transition to the vector tiles wherever possible, but&nbsp;still have the raster tiles with the same look &amp; feel without the need to write the map style twice in a&nbsp;different format.</p><p>The server can be easily set up to provide several different styles (in a modern <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://docs.maptiler.com/gl-style-specification/">GL JSON format</a>), so you can have multiple maps for different use cases served from a single set of vector tiles. There are also endpoints serving static raster maps with the&nbsp;possibility to add polygon overlays simply by adding parameters to the URL. All the endpoints support scaling parameters so you always have HiDPI/retina, print-ready maps at your disposal.</p><p>The TileServer GL relies on other open-source projects, which have been under development for years. Most notably&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-gl-native/">mapbox-gl-native</a>, which we use for the server-side rendering and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://docs.maptiler.com/sdk-js/">MapTiler SDK JS</a> which is default viewer for vector tiles.</p><p>This video shows in the first two minutes how easy it is to run your own map server using TileServer GL with open-data tiles&nbsp;downloaded from&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://osm2vectortiles.org/">OSM2VectorTiles</a>:</p><figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rOg4VnSAnI4?enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.maptiler.com"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rOg4VnSAnI4" style="position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></figure><p>All what you need is a single docker command:</p><pre><code class="language-plaintext">docker run -it -v $(pwd):/data -p 8080:80 klokantech/tileserver-gl</code></pre><p>Feel free to try our TileServer GL live instance at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://maps.klokantech.com/">https://maps.klokantech.com/</a>.</p><p>It’s also possible to combine&nbsp;multiple input sources (MBTiles;&nbsp;tiles&nbsp;from Amazon S3 or GCS; dynamic tiles from GeoServer, MapServer, …) to create complex&nbsp;or even hybrid maps (satellite maps with labels). The whole stack is usable with custom coordinate systems as well!</p><p>If you are interested to know more watch the complete video recording of our presentation from FOSS4G at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://youtu.be/rOg4VnSAnI4">https://youtu.be/rOg4VnSAnI4</a>.</p><p>Considering transition to vector tiles? Do you want production deploy of TileServer GL? Need to render your own vector or raster tiles? Contact us at <a href="mailto:info@klokantech.com">info@klokantech.com</a>!ible to combine&nbsp;multiple input sources (MBTiles;&nbsp;tiles&nbsp;from Amazon S3 or GCS; dynamic tiles from GeoServer, MapServer, …) to create complex&nbsp;or even hybrid maps (satellite maps with labels). The whole stack is usable with custom coordinate systems as well!</p>

New open-source project TileServer GL has just been released in version 1.0 at the FOSS4G conference and is available on our GitHub.

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MapTiler

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Petr Sloup has a master’s degree in computer science and graduated with excellence. He is specialized in front-end Google Closure Tools for JavaScript development, GPU accelerated programming, C#, C++, Java, OpenGL, and web technologies such as WebGL, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Petr Sloup

Visualize Weather Forecast with WebGL

Your data on a map without coding

Hosting for GeoPackage

Announcing MapTiler Cloud geocoding API

MapTiler Cloud infrastructure upgrade

RGB-encoded elevation data in MapTiler Cloud

Static maps API on MapTiler Cloud

Maps in Augmented Reality with JavaScript

Free Terrain Tiles for Cesium

Customize your map in MapTiler Cloud

Online drawing tools in GeoEditor web application

GeoEditor mobile app for MapTiler

TileServer GL: Maps with GL JSON styles from your server