OVERVIEW OF OCAD
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OVERVIEW OF OCAD |
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OCAD is a computer aided drawing package that is widely used for producing
and updating orienteering maps. Version 8 of OCAD also has very good
facilities for orienteering course planning.
There are several different versions of the OCAD software.
OCAD 8
This is the current version of OCAD. By comparison with earlier versions
of OCAD, the main advantages of OCAD 8 are that (a) it has better facilities
for displaying templates and (b) it provides much better support for planning
orienteering courses. A Standard OCAD 8 licence costs 480 Swiss France
(plus 8 Swiss Francs for shipping.) Each licence allows the software to
be installed on a single computer. CLOK currently has three OCAD 8
licences.
Demo version of OCAD 8
The demo version of OCAD 8 is free. It has all the same features as the
licensed version, but (a) maps are limited to 1,000 objects and (b) course
planning is limited to 50 course setting objects and 5 courses.
In OCAD, each map is made up of a number of "mapping objects", such as walls,
paths, countours, streams, boulders, depressions, etc., etc. Click
here to see examples of the numbers of mapping
objects in different CLOK maps. As a general rule, maps of parks have
less than 1,000 objects, while maps of "normal" orienteering areas have
considerably more than 1,000 objects.
"Course setting objects" include controls, the Start, the Finish, marked
crossing points and marked routes. Except in very unusual circumstances,
the limitation to no more than 5 courses is more restrictive than the
limitation on the number of course setting objects.
Demo version of OCAD 7
The demo version of OCAD 7 is free. It has all the functions of the
full version of OCAD 7, but maps are limited to 2,000 objects.
OCAD 6
The full version of OCAD 6 is now available as freeware. There is no
restriction on the number of mapping objects, and an experienced CLOK Mapper
has said that for most map updating purposes OCAD 6 is "nearly as good" as
OCAD 8. By comparison with OCAD 8, the main limitations of OCAD 6
are:
(a) OCAD 6 has more limited facilities for displaying templates under
the map that you are working on. This becomes significant when you are
creating a new map or transferring an existing paper map into electronic
form.
(b) OCAD 6 does not have the course planning facilities that OCAD 8 has.
You can put controls, etc. on to the map, but they become part of the
map itself. This means that you have to make a separate electronic copy
of the map for each course, and if you move a control then you need to edit
each course map separately. OCAD 8 allows you to place the "course
setting objects" (such as controls) in a separate layer above the template
map and then define which controls make up each course. This is a much
more powerful and "Planner friendly" approach.
Using OCAD
Hans Steinegger, who originally developed OCAD, used the analogy of a library
book to describe how the OCAD licensing system was supposed to work.
Like a library book, once someone has finished using the OCAD software
he or she can pass it on to someone else, but two people shouldn't be using
the same OCAD licence at the same time.
CLOK has three OCAD 8 licences, which can be "booked out" by Mappers or
Planners wishing to use the OCAD 8 software. Click
here to see the booking sheet.
The full version of OCAD 8 is only needed when (a) a Mapper is creating
a new map, making a significant extension to an existing map, or transferring
a paper map into electronic form; or (b) a Planner is planning courses
for a "full scale" orienteering event (such as a District Event or a Regional
Event). Other mapping and planning work can be done using (i) the demo
version of OCAD 8 and/or (ii) OCAD 6. The
OCAD version selector can help you to
decide which version of OCAD is appropriate for your task.
Further information
You can find out more about OCAD by visiting the OCAD web site at
www.ocad.com.
If you would like further information about CLOK's use of OCAD software then
please contact
.
Click here to go to the main Toolkit page.