19th March 2009, 01:44 AM
QGIS being the only open source GIS software package I have been able to install on my machine, I would say try it first, get the hang of what it can and can't do (labels are pants in my opinion), then consider looking for something with more poke when you know a bit more about what you want out of your software.
What you can do with QGIS is: have multiple raster map, AP and satellite layers in one project, with the ability to switch between; import csv text files with coordinates and labels; display that data in overlay layers using a wide choice of site markers with an equally wide choice of colours; export your results as a raster file that can be printed directly or inserted into a word processing document.
A fairly simple example would be: scan and georeference a typical upland part of the British Isles at 1:50,000, together with the equivalent geology sheet from the BGS; import and display your data sets for the area e.g. BA roundhouses as yellow circles, BA barrows/cairns as yellow stars; have fun switching between the different layers to analyse the results!
The more I read your post the more it sounds like GIS. So try QGIS first and save yourself pounds if it works. Does in hours what I spent days on illustrating my thesis.
What you can do with QGIS is: have multiple raster map, AP and satellite layers in one project, with the ability to switch between; import csv text files with coordinates and labels; display that data in overlay layers using a wide choice of site markers with an equally wide choice of colours; export your results as a raster file that can be printed directly or inserted into a word processing document.
A fairly simple example would be: scan and georeference a typical upland part of the British Isles at 1:50,000, together with the equivalent geology sheet from the BGS; import and display your data sets for the area e.g. BA roundhouses as yellow circles, BA barrows/cairns as yellow stars; have fun switching between the different layers to analyse the results!
The more I read your post the more it sounds like GIS. So try QGIS first and save yourself pounds if it works. Does in hours what I spent days on illustrating my thesis.