TOPO! Explorer, by National Geographic Software, is a web-enabled map software application for Windows-based personal computers. It stores some basic low-resolution maps on your hard drive, and downloads higher resolution reference maps from the internet, or a DVD, as you zoom in. You can browse the map starting at the level of the continent, and zoom in on the location you want to see maps for. It interfaces with Google Earth to provide seamless browsing of maps across the entire US.

The standard version of the program is downloaded from the internet, and installed on your computer. Most of the maps are downloaded as you need them. A Deluxe Edition, which can be purchased wherever software is sold, comes with 2 DVD's of maps at 1:100000 scale covering the US in Western and Eastern volumes. The DVD's can be loaded to the local hard drive for faster access.

These are the reference maps used while searching for the high-quality USGS TOPO maps, called SuperQuads. You need an internet connection and a user account to use the program for more than the included maps. The user account also makes it possible to purchase the SuperQuads from the online National Geographic Map Store, after providing credit card information. The TOPO! Explorer account also provides access to an online community, where users can post trips, tracks and photos for others to see and comment on.

A primary use of topographical mapping programs is to print paper maps. TOPO! Explorer, like other National Geographic map programs, can produce high-quality printed maps from your PC. TOPO! Explorer is also directly compatible with Magellan Triton (400 and higher) GPS receivers. They can handle direct transfer of maps, and can exchange track and route information between TOPO Explorer on the PC and the Triton GPS. The Triton devices display the TOPO! maps on the screen, and show tracks and waypoints on the map. You can zoom out and in and view the maps at different scales.

Nerds in the Wood think that this program is just a little bit tricky to operate. For instance, upon opening the application, the program window opens so that the bottom part of it is hidden behind the Windows Task Bar. You have to nudge it up just a little, which is very annoying. And, it happens this way every time the program launches. The window is divided into four regions promoting four main functions, which resemble clickable link buttons, but you find out quickly that they are not. Also annoying. There are also bugs which will pop up unexpectedly, causing the program to terminate. You have to remember to save your work. Frequently. Every once in a while, there will be a downloadable update to TOPO! Explorer, and the program will notify you when they become available.

The help files are a WIKI, which can be difficult to navigate, because they open up inside of TOPO! Explorer, which acts as a browser, but doesn't have a back button. This makes it hard to go back from a topic. You have to exit the help and reopen it. There is an option to open the help WIKI in a new window. This then you gets a full browser window, making navigation a whole lot easier. You just have to remember to do it every time. The other thing about the help file is that it is only available online.

When you download tracks from your GPS, you can edit them using tools similar to TOPO! 4.x. You can add waypoint symbols and annotate with photos. However, the waypoint symbols are big and rather ugly. They are monochromatic, and lack customizability. Frequently, the program will fail to make a save, and just bomb out altogether, leaving the user to recreate the work. If you delete a route, there is no easy method to get it back without reloading it from the GPS or the import file. Make sure you don't delete the routes from the GPS until you have gotten the data into the state you want it in, and saved it.

Nerds in the Wood recommends this program with caveats. You should have a Triton 400 or better Magellan GPS. You should have very limited needs for printed maps, or an inexhaustable budget. And you have to be very patient and have the technical skills to figure out when the bugs will crop up, so that you can avoid them. Otherwise, you will spend a significant amount of time redoing things. If you are not a real computer nerd, or if you only want the maps themselves, you may be better off avoiding this program entirely.

This program is too expensive at $50.00. You can easily find it on the Internet for 40.00 or less with free shipping. We think that is still too much, and don't recommend buying it for more than 35.00. You get the whole USA at 1:100000, and your first 25 map credits. If you use it a lot, you may spend some serious money. Don't buy too many map credits at one time, and be sure to use them up, because they expire in two years. In all honesty, there are other ways to get the same data at a much lower price. If you have a desire for high-resolution topographical maps, you may find the National Geographic TOPO! State Series version 4.x is a better buy for the amount of map printing you can do, and it has far fewer bugs.