MapWindow GIS Open Source Software
The MapWindow application is a free, extensible, geographic information system (GIS) that can be used:
- As an alternative desktop GIS
- To distribute data to others
- To develop and distribute custom spatial data analyses
At the core of the MapWindow application is the MapWinGIS ActiveX control. Using this control, you can program custom mapping functionality directly into your own software.
- Open source component (free distribution)
- Complete GIS API for shapefile and grid data
- Many built in GIS functions
MapWindow is free to use and redistribute to your clients and other end users.
Unlike other free tools, MapWindow is more than just a data viewer, it is an extensible geographic information system. This means that you can write plug-ins to add additional functionality (models, special viewers, hot-link handlers, data editors, etc.) and pass these along to any number of your clients and end users.
MapWindow includes standard GIS data visualization features as well as DBF attribute table editing, shapefile editing, and grid importing and conversion.
MapWinGIS ActiveX includes a GIS API for shapefile and grid data with many built in GIS functions.
