Today I wanted to cover Canvas X GIS within this review, and this is the 2019 edition. Read more as you’ll discover whether this is right for you and your needs.
Canvas software has always been held in high esteem for those who need to create and edit raster images and vector objects, particularly in graphic designing and engineering. It’s used by engineers to document and share complex objects and systems. With the release of the Canvas X GIS 2019, certain specific industries now enjoy the benefits from its new and updated features, with particular emphasis in the fields of aerospace, energy, engineering, and scientific industries. Canvas X GIS 2019 is a treat for GIS professionals as it’s complete geographic information system module is specially developed for them. Some of their customers are largest companies in the aerospace, defence and manufacturing markets like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Rockwell Collins, Caterpillar, GE, and BP. They use Canvas as an integral part of their documentation workflow so it’s safe to say they’re definitely doing something right.
This new release boasts to be an all-in-one graphic design and technical illustration software with comprehensive vector illustrations and image editing tools. People looking for industrial precision and accuracy will appreciate the 0.035 micron accuracy and the built-in Canvas Assistant is huge plus if you get lost along the way. You’ll also love the comprehensive video tutorials on their website that expound on the new features and tools packed into the Canvas X GIS 2019.
So what are we in for with this new release? Canvas X GIS 2019 includes a powerful set of GIS-based features and commands that support, among other things a range of geospatial data formats, defining complex map projections, and performing advanced property operations. I think users will also love the new optimization that allows you to quickly open and work with documents containing over a million objects. We’re talking about seconds vs. minutes and that’s a fantastic improvement! It also has support for DPI settings for high resolution monitors, which makes this feature-packed software an essential tool for GIS professionals in the oil & gas and energy sectors, aerospace and automotive industries, education, and government.
Canvas X GIS 2019’s unique and integrated design environment means technical illustrators can work with and combine all graphical elements, and to apply high-end effects in a single document. You will also be able to import and export a wide array of geospatial data formats.
Here’s a more detailed look into what else is in store in the Canvas X GIS 2019:
- It comes loaded with the impressive and comprehensive set of vector object illustration and advanced raster image editing tools you need to get the job done – all provided in one integrated, flexible design environment.
- Painless Projection Population
- Real World Representation
- Portray and Position Perfectly
- Glorious Graticules
- Coordinate Convenience
- Set Your Real World Target
- You can create project-specific customized queries based upon unique properties, values, or other related criteria. Edit your query to meet new project needs, save for ongoing use, or share with colleagues.
- Explicit Objects
- Shipshape Schematics
- Better Buffers
- Design Dexterity
- Vivid Data Visualization
- World-Class Warping
- New awesome features and improvements!
- Select shapes meeting your defined spatial criteria.
- Highlight shapes in your documents meeting specific criteria with geoprocessing functions Intersection, Difference, Symmetrical Difference, and Union.
- Import maps from OpenStreetMap.org, and file formats including SQLite, GeoPKG, and GeoJSON.
- Create tables for your data: components, changes, parts lists, legends, and can copy data straight from Excel and other sources.
- Mirror tool will make a reverse copy of selected objects in 2 clicks. The mirroring axis can be drawn or snapped to other objects and rotated freely.
- Annotation Notes now supports auto-numbering and auto-alphabetizing so you can use an EasyShape like a circle, rectangle, or diamond shape for annotations.
- Save and share your settings file for consistency across your organization.
- Additional template files to start off your illustrations.
- Additional scripting functions to automate your workflow.
Canvas X Features
From one fully integrated application, you get to illustrate, design, and share your technical illustrations with ease, precision, and quality.
- Illustration. It comes loaded with a comprehensive set of vector object illustration and advanced raster image editing tools that allows you to draw with precision, work with vector and raster images, add objects on the fly, have vector object versatility, raise the bar with raster images, communicate with CAD files, do purposeful pasting, draw with data, and present complex data in engaging flowcharts.
- Design. It’s a comprehensive toolkit for technical design with emphasis on precision so can work within industry standards and seamlessly with others, be able to use thorough text tools, have definitive dimensions, articulate with annotations, and many more. It basically allows you to use Canvas X’s templates to create documents for illustration, publication, presentation, animation, or for whatever purpose you have in mind.
- Sharing. It makes sharing your work and collaborating with your peers a breeze by allowing you to produce and share complex, leading-edge documents without the need for separate word processing or layout programs. You can easily insert some interactivity into your documents and it comes fully stocked with all the necessary text formatting and style tools, editing, proofing, and annotation capabilities. Even with the advanced import and export features, making it possible to return annotated illustrations to specialized formats without losing data, rest assured because you can maintain complete control over who can open, edit, and print your designs and data. Plus, Canvas X can preserve the ability to edit documents even after rendering to PDF. Finally, enjoy autonomy over the appearance of your printed output including color management for accuracy, optimization of image resolutions to your printer, output format options for image data to a PostScript device, multi-page documents suitable for commercial printing, and virtually any advanced image and export format.
System Requirements
Hardware
Intel® Pentium® 4 or better 64-bit processor
4 GB RAM installed
2 GB free hard disk space (4 GB recommended)
16-bit color or higher (True color recommended)
1024×768 or higher screen resolution recommended
Software
Windows® 7, Windows® 8, or Windows® 8.1, Windows® 10 (all 64-bit OS)
If you want to try out the Canvas X GIS 2019 before buying it, it comes with 30-day money back guarantee. Depending on what you need, you can purchase a perpetual license for $499 (previously for $799), subscribe for $299/year, or upgrade $299 (previously for $399). It supports a multitude of data and design formats (CAD, CGM, GIS, text, jpeg, etc), and retains non-visual data—often found in 3D CAD files. So if you’re looking for precision, as those required in high-quality drawings accurate to a sub-micron level in a professional setting, and more control in your technical illustrations, like engineers who illustrate to ATA standards, the new features of the Canvas GIS 2019 might be the answer.
