An Exceptional GIS app
Our company began using Touch GIS last year after using Garafa’s GIS Pro app for over a decade. We’ve used it for data collection for thousands of miles of corridors, spanning steep ridges, plains and public and private lands.
GIS Pro was very efficient, but with iPadOS updates, it was struggling to keep all the UI buttons, windows and icons from running off the screen or disappearing. Behind the scenes, I was putting in a lot of effort to keep the data collected clean and uncorrupted from encoding mismatches.
When using GIS Pro, I’d have to use the app on an iPad mini v1 running iPadOS 8 to create an exportable offline container file. Exporting the ‘cregion’ file would make every other GIS Pro app crash if it were running a newer iPadOS. I’d have to AirDrop these files to newer iPads for cloud distribution.
Switching to Touch GIS was very easy. The interface and workflow are similar to GIS Pro. Interactions are smooth, and creating feature class templates is far more flexible. Making detailed drop-down lists used to take hours. Now you can copy and paste lists from field to field and make edits quickly.
Offline maps are easy to define or import, with no 100MB limit per region. Attribute table text is reliably exported using UTF-8 encoding, eliminating the mojibake issues we faced previously.
Our field workers have used multiple apps from Esri and others, but far and above, prefer to use Touch GIS when creating or viewing GIS data. Because fields have greater flexibility and we haven’t had to rely on other apps like Excel, we’ve been able to significantly increase our data collection and processing efficiency.
The developer has been exceptionally responsive. Several improvements we requested—like enhanced offline mapping and UTF-8 compliant exports—were implemented quickly. It’s clear Touch GIS is actively developed and will continue to evolve.
While the app is free to install, exporting data to Shapefile, GeoJSON, KML, GPX, CSV, and other standard formats requires a subscription. If you need a GIS app for work or research, probably the best way to decide to use Touch GIS would be to subscribe for a month and test out its abilities.
GIS Pro was very efficient, but with iPadOS updates, it was struggling to keep all the UI buttons, windows and icons from running off the screen or disappearing. Behind the scenes, I was putting in a lot of effort to keep the data collected clean and uncorrupted from encoding mismatches.
When using GIS Pro, I’d have to use the app on an iPad mini v1 running iPadOS 8 to create an exportable offline container file. Exporting the ‘cregion’ file would make every other GIS Pro app crash if it were running a newer iPadOS. I’d have to AirDrop these files to newer iPads for cloud distribution.
Switching to Touch GIS was very easy. The interface and workflow are similar to GIS Pro. Interactions are smooth, and creating feature class templates is far more flexible. Making detailed drop-down lists used to take hours. Now you can copy and paste lists from field to field and make edits quickly.
Offline maps are easy to define or import, with no 100MB limit per region. Attribute table text is reliably exported using UTF-8 encoding, eliminating the mojibake issues we faced previously.
Our field workers have used multiple apps from Esri and others, but far and above, prefer to use Touch GIS when creating or viewing GIS data. Because fields have greater flexibility and we haven’t had to rely on other apps like Excel, we’ve been able to significantly increase our data collection and processing efficiency.
The developer has been exceptionally responsive. Several improvements we requested—like enhanced offline mapping and UTF-8 compliant exports—were implemented quickly. It’s clear Touch GIS is actively developed and will continue to evolve.
While the app is free to install, exporting data to Shapefile, GeoJSON, KML, GPX, CSV, and other standard formats requires a subscription. If you need a GIS app for work or research, probably the best way to decide to use Touch GIS would be to subscribe for a month and test out its abilities.
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Sewer Cleaning Company
What a fantastic addition to our tech tool belt. Mike is great and quick to respond with any questions or Suggestion you may have!!!
Mj
Thanks to the good team and the new update that solved the location registration problem.
Works great!
I am a water meter and Backflow tester. I have some customers in agriculture that have multiple wells in multiple areas. This app makes it easy to create a folder for each customer and can drop pins at each location with a description and pictures for each site. I have to test annually and sometimes it’s hard to remember each location. This app allows me to get a phone call from the customer and a site name and I have all the info and pictures to know exactly where the well is. The customer does not need to guide me after the first time. If I still don’t recognize the pictures, you can get directions from Apple Maps straight from the app. Highly recommend this app!! It can do so much more but for my small business I could not be happier. Mike the general manager answered all my questions when I sent a contact us request. Go download it now!!! 👍🏽
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The ultimate tool for geologic mapping and field data collection
I’ve been using Touch GIS for over 6 years as a professional geologic mapper and field geology instructor and I never go to the field without it. After trying out most other well-known apps (like Avenza, Field Move, Collector, StraboSpot), I have always stuck with Touch. The app has an intuitive design and is super easy to set up, with preset and customizable feature classes and the ability to import vector and raster data. You can store a variety of imagery and topographic base maps at different scales for offline use from right within the app, which is a lifesaver when you’re out in the field without service.
In the field, you can see your position on any number of stored base maps and quickly drop and label points, record notes, add photos or sketches, draw lines, or create a track using the GPS. What makes Touch stand out above the rest are its on-the-fly customizability and the versatile line-drawing tools. These and other features - like photo annotations and the built-in Attitude Tool for recording strike/dip data - make fieldwork much more efficient so I can keep moving and stay on task.
For team mapping, I’ve found Touch GIS very useful, even when we’re out of cell service. At the start of the day, we use Airdrop to share files and custom feature classes with set fields and pick lists, so everyone is on the same page and collecting data in the same way. Once back in the office, we can export our data in a variety of formats including CSV, SHP, and KMZ for use in desktop GIS software like ArcGIS, QGIS, and Google Earth.
The app keeps getting better with regular updates and new or enhanced features. If you need a mobile GIS app that is easy to use, customizable, and works seamlessly with desktop GIS, then Touch GIS is definitely the way to go. It has been an absolute game-changer for my fieldwork, and I highly recommend it.
In the field, you can see your position on any number of stored base maps and quickly drop and label points, record notes, add photos or sketches, draw lines, or create a track using the GPS. What makes Touch stand out above the rest are its on-the-fly customizability and the versatile line-drawing tools. These and other features - like photo annotations and the built-in Attitude Tool for recording strike/dip data - make fieldwork much more efficient so I can keep moving and stay on task.
For team mapping, I’ve found Touch GIS very useful, even when we’re out of cell service. At the start of the day, we use Airdrop to share files and custom feature classes with set fields and pick lists, so everyone is on the same page and collecting data in the same way. Once back in the office, we can export our data in a variety of formats including CSV, SHP, and KMZ for use in desktop GIS software like ArcGIS, QGIS, and Google Earth.
The app keeps getting better with regular updates and new or enhanced features. If you need a mobile GIS app that is easy to use, customizable, and works seamlessly with desktop GIS, then Touch GIS is definitely the way to go. It has been an absolute game-changer for my fieldwork, and I highly recommend it.
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