OS is on e-mail

Ordnance Survey's highly-detailed computerised mapping, Superplan Data, is now available by e-mail. Customers can now receive the map data within minutes without even leaving the office.

Superplan Data has been available since October 1996 from a network of Superplan agents located across Britain. Covering the whole of Britain at large scales of up to 1:1250 (about 50 inches on the map representing 1 mile on the ground), the seamless mapping information is held on a central computer database at Ordnance Survey headquarters in Southampton.

It is so detailed that it shows the shapes of individual buildings and the location of private garages and telephone boxes.

Ordnance Survey is trialling the transfer of Superlan Data by e-mail with participating agents. To use e-mail, customers simply need to request a "starter pack" from an agent. Chris Gregory, Superplan product manager, explained: "All the customer needs to do is fax an order form to the agent. The agent will then send the data as an e-mail attachment and, if required, an electronic user guide."

Superplan Data is supplied in CAD-compatible DXF file format. Customers decide precisely where the map data should be centred, so providing the best cover for the lowest price, and therefore avoiding a site straddling more than one map.