Chartview 3.0 showing support for photo maps and its new vessel-aware thumbnail (which shrinks when not in use). Note too its ability to quilt a 1:10,000 harbor chart into a sideways 1:24,000 small craft chart.
We’ve had a look at ChartView 3.0 and it’s certainly a healthy program. Always well regarded for its ability to make raster charts look good even when quilted, rotated, and/or zoomed out, it has now added support for photo maps from SoftChart and Maptech. ChartView also supports worldwide British Admiralty ARCS charts with an optional module.
Version 3.0 does not support vector or 3D contour charts, and it doesn’t display weather. Its new features are subtler, like the thumbnail chart that now shows the vessel position and expands when you move your cursor over it (as illustrated). Also improved are its vessel console and ETA calculator, which can factor in tidal currents and estimate a best departure time. Version 3.0 also seems to be a rock-solid upgrade, free of the bugs recently seen among its more ambitious software brethren.
ChartView’s new lease on life is accompanied by another product that we thought was history. The program can now read Raster Plus charts (originally developed by Jeppesen Marine, now part of Nobeltec); and comes with a free Raster Plus CD region of the buyer’s choice. Nobeltec will continue to provide technical support for the several versions of ChartView distributed by Weems & Plath. Future development is uncertain at this point, but we’ll certainly be careful before we count it out!
Weems & Plath, 214 Eastern Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21403; 1-800-638-0428; www.weems-plath.com
