Customer Comments on Manifold Products

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At manifold.net we're lucky to be an Internet company because all of our customers are online and can tell us what they think about our products. Here are excerpts from recent email we've received as well as from various public postings on the web:

User Comments on Manifold System Release 8

"I realize I am pretty late to the party here, since I've just now started playing with UI scripting. It's been less than a few hours and I'm already hooked. I just wrote a script for one of my projects that takes a rectangle and then imports all of my database-stored drawings using AOI windowing (with that single source rectangle as the bounding box).  Holy ****. How did we ever survive without this?" (USA, beta tester Forum posting)

"It's amazing isn't it? All of a sudden those "impossible or too complicated to script" projects become do-able." (Australia, beta tester Forum posting on UI scripting)

"The speed improvements in image and surface handling are awesome!" (Canada)

"I am currently creating slope maps over a large area, so the new progressive rendering is making a MASSIVE difference to the speed I can create these maps, and the amount of components I have to have. I couldn’t go back anymore." (Australia)

"Speed is tremendous. I'm loving it already." (USA)

"The rendering is truly impressive! I tried it out on a drawing that always gave me a lot of trouble- no more :-)" (Australia)

"8 is gr8 m8!" (Canada)

"BTW, RenderFormatJPEG increases the speed twofold on my application for some scenarios." (USA, referring to 2x IMS speedup using a new rendering mode)

"I love the rendering advancements in version 8. What a difference." (New Zealand)

"...the progressive rendering was a godsend and it worked as advertised. The most useful piece of this new feature is being able to zoom in and out during the rendering. This lets me quickly zoom into an area of interest without having to wait for the entire drawing to render. Sweet! This is a huge productivity boost..." (USA)

User Comments on Manifold System Release 7.00 / 7x

"Regular Expression support is just another great feature in Manifold." (USA)

"Now I’m not saying in my use of Manifold I’ve never suffered reliability issues, I remember one particular release causing constant crashes, but apart from that release Manifold has been rock solid and I can honestly say that it is the most reliable piece of software I have ever used." (USA - blog posting [release mentioned was a beta release])

"First--WOW   Second--WOW  As an ArcView/MapInfo user for about 10 years, I'm blown away" (USA)

"...thanks for a superb product, my working and study life daily revolves around Manifold!" (Australia)

"Thank you for everything, and let me tell you that Manifold is the greatest GIS EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (Costa Rica)

"By the way, Manifold is an awesome GIS environment, having worked in the other world of legacy GIS systems. I now make my living consulting and using Manifold exclusively." (US)

"My 64bit Athlon with 4gb RAM was $1,300.00. My Acer 22in wide monitor was $250.00. My Manifold was $250.00 plus $50.00 for 7.X upgrade. I think that's $1,800.00. I download DOQQ images (6.5mb), DRG Tif images (2.5mb), and DLG files from LABINS.org. I then map them all together into a single map, manipulate the map, clip, crop, and when necessary join two or three of them together to get the coverage I need. Manifold 64 does all that almost instantly. The only thing that takes any time is saving the project. I love it! " (Posting on forum.manifold.net)

"This software is kind." (Posting on forum.manifold.net)

"By the way, great product! I love Manifold and my company is finding more and more ways to use it." (USA)

"Thanks for an excellent product, I have been a customer of yours since version 5. I'd like to order another 9 licenses for my new company." (Singapore)

"I’ve only been using Manifold for a couple of months now but am thrilled with its functionality, great forum and customer support." (South Africa)

"I think it's time for me to just say that Manifold is BY FAR the best software investment I've ever made and the way in which Manifold deals with updates, fixes, etc. should be an industry standard.  As a small political consultant, I started with Manifold because the price was right. But it's a product that has allowed me to grow and develop and it has kept raising the bar. Add to that the helpful information I'm always finding here and I'm one very satisfied customer (which I don't get to say about most of the software I purchase.)  Thanks." (Posting on forum.manifold.net)

"The open source solutions just weren't up to it. Having now had time to check out many of the features in Manifold, I wish I'd found it earlier. It made making up maps a breeze. It's several orders of magnitude better than any of the open source ones I found.  What sets them apart from ESRI/MapInfo? Price. As a "hobbyist", I just can't afford what ESRI charges (I contacted them for a quote). Manifold gives me all the features I need (so far) for 1/3 the price - and they throw in the image server for free to boot.  What sets them apart from open source? Tons of features, and a far higher level of stability." (Posting on forum.manifold.net)

"I am thrilled to see Manifold making such tremendous progress. We have invested a lot into scripts and processes using Manifold and I am thrilled at the continued improvements. I look forward to continuing to work with Manifold and for the future improvements and new features." (USA)

"I’m switching from ArcGIS to Manifold. I am continually amazed at the power of your product, its features, and its stability. I’ve purchased GIS Advisor to aid in learning it. Your Help system is also terrific.  ESRI’s prices have stifled the advance of GIS, except for the largest and richest clients. Your product seems fully capable of liberating us.  Thanks for providing so many features at such good prices. I’m preaching Manifold to all my GIS buddies. Manifold is great software." (USA)

"Thank you all for a great year and for making my GIS life a lot easier :-) with great improvements." (Australia)

"I have been doing GIS since 92 and before that I did cartography and automated mapping in the military. I have seen many methods, products and vendors come and go. When I started using GIS it was ArcInfo in version 5 on VAX and PC ArcInfo. I built a state government GIS Program during the next 12 years and used everything from ESRI in the process as well as ERDAS, Intergraph, AutoCAD Atlas (before its being bought by Jack), TNT and many other products. Being in the belief that nothing is fully perfect right out of the box I wanted to be able to pick and choose as I needed.

To get to the point! I have watched them grow and fade. Some became leaders and some became also rans. Evangels love what they have been committed to (I still love my Commodore Amiga) and will fight to the death their love. Manifold is the most useful, most powerful, most complete, and best priced GIS software currently on the planet. Having only used it for little more than a year, this is quite a pronouncement. Let the giants ignore it, let the evangel bloggers poo-poo it. Let the wise men follow the star of manifold and find gold at the end of their journey (and the other two things too).  Until Manifold gets too big and forgets its commitment to excellence like ESRI is beginning to do I am onboard for the ride and am willing to fight dragons and do whatever it takes to make Manifold a standard." (USA, posting on forum.manifold.net)

"I know some other people have voiced their success stories with the latest version of Manifold, but I just wanted to post another.  I had a drawing with 1.5+ million polygons that I needed to clip, and with the older 7x version, this took 11 hours to finish processing and the computer didn't even recover after the process (never showed the results). the new version took about 30 minutes to process, and 5 minutes to recover.  THANK YOU MANIFOLD!!!!" (Recent thread on forum.manifold.net commenting on a free update issued for 7x)

"I totally concur and was hoping that we might have a thread to acknowledge the improvements to the geometry layer. This is a superb piece of work and the more I use the latest build, the more performance increases I notice in other areas of the program.  Keep up the good work!" (Same thread)

"Thank you and congratulations for your program Manifold, is very good." (Spain)

"I recently purchased Manifold System 7x Pro a few days ago and am very impressed indeed. Your description of the range and power of the myriad functions of this great system are indeed no exaggeration at all….!" (Australia)

"First of all I want to congratulate you for your product, I was introduced to Manifold yesterday by a colleague and fell in love with it!" (South Africa)

"Personally, I not only think that working with the Manifold IMS is fairly straightforward, but it's pretty nice when you think about the fact that with a little programming, the Manifold IMS can do just about everything ArcServer can, - without spending $30,000!" (Posting on forum.manifold.net)

"I always look forward to the next release of Manifold, it never fails to impress! Thank you for making a product that has allowed us to never use ESRI again…it has been a pleasure to learn and use Manifold." (USA)

"In the Landscape Analysis Lab, we've used Manifold software to teach GIS to undergraduate students in the Environmental Studies program and to a limited extent in other departments which are not as intensively focused on GIS. Students in the Landscape Analysis lab have also used Manifold to complete independent research projects. Students remark on its user friendly interface and the staff enjoy its stability and logical design." (USA)

"I'm coming up with a few user interface suggestions as I run the system in daily business operations (unless you'd like to consult my sister, an interface architect), but other than the DGN thing and a few wishes in that area, I can't complain about anything. Happy I tried Manifold over my usual ArcGIS suite!" (USA)

"I have just started using the new x64 edition of Manifold 7x and I am thrilled with it. I have been using Manifold since version 5.5 and have really had a bad time with the dreaded "No Memory" error.

I work with nationwide contours that are very detailed. Because of this detail we have had a very hard time doing things like Normalize Topology, Union, Clipping, etc. We have had to develop work arounds to deal with this that are much more time consuming both in processor time and manual labor. Well I am glad to report that is a thing of the past. I normalized one of our largest and most detailed drawings that is always causes a "No Memory" error in the 32 bit version of Manifold. It went smooth as silk and even seemed a little quicker based on how far it would get before the 32 bit version would pop up the "No Memory" error.

Using the 64 bit version will open the door to several projects we have been wanting to do but could not accomplish due to the limitations of a 32 bit OS and software. It will also speed up some of our current processes due to the fact we will not have to manipulate the files to work around the "No Memory" message. Manifold has really jumped ahead in the industry with this product.

P.S. I am in no way associated with Manifold other than having purchased their product." (Posting on forum.manifold.net)

"You guys are rock solid. I got tired of ESRI.  I never get crashes in Manifold.  Here is what a cheat sheet for ArcGIS says I think you will enjoy it "ArcGIS (ArcMap/ArcCatalog) is Crashing  - Sometimes ArcMap, and/or ArcCatalog, will start crashing. This can be a result of several different issues.  To fix this, try: 1 Quit all applications and reboot your computer. Take a 5-minute break, then try again. 2 Quit ArcMap and ArcCatalog. Move the ESRI folder in C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Application Data\ to your Desktop. Restart ArcMap. This should fix the majority of the crashing issues. 3 If it continues to crash on a specific MXD, try others. If they work, your MXD is corrupt. If no MXDs work, you will then need to look at reinstalling ArcGIS." What a hoot. Good bye ESRI hello Manifold." (USA - "take a 5-minute break" indeed... that is priceless.)

"I must say I have been very impressed with both the product and the informal support that is offered by the community through other users and members of the development team." (UK)

"Just upgraded to 7x and the 60CSx now works perfectly. Thanks, a great combination. What a fantastic piece of software and how rapidly and responsively you bring out these upgrades. Keep up the good work! Just brilliant..." (GPS user, UK)

"Just loaded 7X and I think it's sorted a previous problem I had with Manifold.....trying to stitch together loads of separate ECW images. My method is to link the images to a project, create a map, use 'Tools-Make Image' to create an image of the entire map component at high resolution and write this back out to a new ECW file. Previously this resulted in a nice image that consisted entirely of black pixels!!

With 7x I've just rerun this process. I've managed to stitch together 290 separate scanned map tiles which were each originally about 30mb Tiff files. The Make Image tool created a 6.1 Gb image (not sure where it put this!!!) consisting of 54418x41619 pixels. Manifold took about 25 minutes to generate the image.

For obvious reasons I did not try to open the image but just exported it to ECW format at a compression ratio of 10. Manifold generated a 275Mb ECW image perfectly, thus saving £5k on having to buy ER Mapper!!  Superb!!  Attachments: plotting_sheets.jpg " (UK)

"First let me thank you for a great product, after getting Manifold I have barely looked back at my old MapInfo except for some legacy projects and applications that depend on MapBasic. And I've been using Manifold for less than a week!" (USA)

"I've been using Manifold for nearly 1 year in an environmental project in Uganda. I really liked Manifold and now that I'll be changing of project and Country, I'd like to buy Manifold for myself!" (Uganda)

"I would like to first of all say that after only a few months of using your product, I have found it to be very useful, intuitive to learn, with very good documentation and generally superior to other GIS packages on the market which I have used, and with a sensation that things will continue to improve." (United Kingdom)

"I've been using Manifold for around a year now and have found it to be the best GIS program I have used and I am never ceased to be amazed at what it can do." (USA)

"I really like Manifold.  DeLorme couldn't do anything, I just wasted my time and money on that. I wish I had bought Manifold first." (USA)

"Release 7 is pretty bloody spectacular." (Chile)

"I'm a long time ESRI product user (I started with PC ArcInfo in 1987), and I find Manifold to be a great product. It's so much easier to use than either ESRI or AutoDesk products for many operations, and I can easily do things with Manifold that the other two simply can't do (or it's so difficult that you won't do it)!  Keep up the good work!" (USA)

"The combination of Oracle and Manifold is fantastic!" (Posting on GeoReference)

"I was running a script in 6.5, that had to find certain polygons in a 200.000 records forestry drawing (due to some data adds and averages ) used to take 24 hours to find about 1.200 and then create a new drawing with them.  Today, the same script with Manifold 7 took 1 hour finding and copying them.  20 times faster!!!" (Posting on GeoReference)

"7.0 is a great release. I'm amazed what Manifold provides to their customers as a free update." (Posting on GeoReference)

"You did it again! Wonderful product." (Finland)

"Congratulations for the new version. It seems quite stable, faster in the processing of imaging and with some spectacular new functions. The Manifold.net has made a nice work." (cyberspace)

"If possible I would offer an online standing ovation. Take a bow guys." (USA)

"While I'm writing, I'd like to say, once again: great work, guys and it was fun beta testing. It's always fun to show off to the uninitiated what I can do with my GIS software that their expensive junk can't and you always give me more to talk about! " (USA)

"Kudos to everyone at Manifold. This is a service pack you say? Not 7.0? How could product be better or a company treat its users better than this?" (Canada)

"All strength to your collective arms. I have seen many GIS implement Oracle Spatial and am very, very impressed with the way you have done the engineering and the functionality that you are putting into this service pack. To be honest, I thought you would not be able to do what you had done because of the lack of dynamic linking in anything but WMS images. But the range of functionality and speed with which you have delivered it impresses. I think you have done enough to warrant a new release number and ask for money. Say 6.8, cos you have done a fabulous job. But I won't say no to a free download of a service pack!" (Australia) [7.00 was originally planned as an SP but issued as a new release, due to the many new features.]

User Comments on Manifold System Release 6.50:

"I really really really like your software and applaud your work and efforts to keep improving." (USA)

"Just to reinforce the views of 1000s of satisfied manifold users. I've used GIS for over 8 years, have a Masters in GISc, have taught upteen GIS graduates across 4 separate companies to use manifold and have even benchmarked all the products on the market. Nothing comes close at the price and as a consultant time, for me, is everything so if manifold didn't deliver I wouldn't use it." (UK - posting in Manifold-L)

"I add my voice to those who have access to both ArcMap 9.x and Manifold. Even as a newbie to GIS, I have found that Manifold's functionality, intuitiveness and performance are such that I hardly ever bother to launch ArcView." (USA - posting in Manifold-L)

"I hold a master's degree in GIS from a top 5 university, used ESRI products from 1994-2003, started using Manifold 8 months ago, and frankly haven't looked back since. Sure, I was skeptical at first but got over it after a few months of use." (USA - posting in Manifold-L)

"I bought the Manifold 6.5 about a month ago and absolutely love this software. This package should sell for $5,000 not $250. I can't believe that people pay over $10,000 for ArcGis when software like this is on the market." (USA - posting in Georeference)

"Also, I am in the process of starting a data delivery website and, boy howdy, would I ever like to sell this software. Do you have a dealership policy? Please say yes. Love this program!" (USA)

"Besides, let me congratulate you all again for the great job. We have developed by now two customs applications based on Manifold and our costumers are completely satisfied with the results." (Spain)

"Keep up the great work.  I love the product (having been trained on that other product out there), I would loath going back there now."  (New Zealand)

"Great product, I really appreciate a number of features. I switched from ArcView 9.0 as a student to Manifold as an ecology consultant. There is a huge (relatively speaking) market for people like myself for which GIS is not a primary service/product but is an essential tool for general work." (USA)

"I am extremely impressed with Manifold! I have been developing applications for 30 years using all sorts of systems, languages and platforms, and for a rather complex tool, I have moved quickly from prototyping to final testing, having never worked with a GIS at all. Thank you for the fine product." (USA)

"You really do have an amazing product - power, ease of use and value for money. I am often astonished at what it can do." (Canada)

"Manifold is a godsend for me. I appreciate it. I rarely take the time to offer product feedback, but I really like what ya'll are doing and would like to help you make it more approachable to a wider audience." (USA, after offering suggestions for future releases - many of the best ideas in Manifold come from user suggestions!)

"I would first like to thank you for the stunningly well designed and implemented product. I do believe Manifold will revolutionize the GIS world, thank the God there is not only an alternative to ESRI, but a superior one at that. My business would never have been able to afford their products. Cheers." (Canada)

"Congratulations guys for version 6.5! It's very nice!" (Canada)

"V6.5 is much more resource efficient in many respects, including video resource usage. Screen response is *really* improved and running terrains...well...WOW! I have a large terrain that would take 25 minutes to render on an AMD 2800XP+ and a gig of ram. It now takes 3 minutes. Very very much improved! Thank you Manifold!"  (Posting in Manifold-L)

"By the way, 6.5 is WONDERFUL !!!!!! Great work guys, take some time off." (USA)

"Wow! I just loaded a 204MB shapefile. While the initial load took 2 minutes, zooming in was INSTANTANEOUS. Great job." (USA)

"It is nonetheless very cool that the entire object model is available [in Manifold IMS] from .asp w/ javascript (or VBScript). It's astounding that ESRI, after all these years, and all the money sunk into ArcIMS isn't even close to having ArcMap server ready to run in this capacity.  

I'll probably just write some javascript scripts in Manifold, and then port them to .asp to illustrate to people how easy it is to create sophisticated applications once you've already written the scripts in the GIS.

BTW, this alone is a great selling feature of Manifold IMS." (USA, remarking on the ease with which Manifold may be scripted either for individual console use or via IMS in a web site)

"Fantastic stuff in this release! I love the arbitrary snap to and scroll wheel zoom while tracking vectors." (USA)

"Wow! You have made wonderful changes to the labeling capabilities. This is much more than we expected in 6.5! ... We look forward to the release.  I don't think that there is anyone who will not be thrilled with the improvements that have been made." (USA)

"Congratulations on an elegant solution and implementation of the stream ordering issue – I really like what you’ve done and from the testing I’ve performed, it works extremely well." (Australia)

"BTW 6.5 is really a big step in the manifold evolution - I love to work with it." (Germany)

"I can't begin to tell you how great it is to have zoom on the scroll wheel, I picked up on this new feature and hate having to go back to the [previous] version." (USA)

User Comments on Manifold System Release 6.00:

"I just recently purchased this product and have been very impressed. It is not always the most intuitive software package, but certainly one of the most powerful. I have used other products for base mapping up to this point, but am switching to Manifold because and will recommend it to some of my clients. I have found the data-base capabilities increase my productivity above many other (higher cost) packages." (USA)

"As a long-time manual reader, usually in bed much to the chagrin of my wife, I am in hog heaven with the 3500+ pages to get me started using Manifold. I grew up in northern California so I am familiar with many of the examples. Mostly, I am pleased to see that it was written by real people for real people and is quite entertaining! Thanks" (USA East Coast)

"I make use of this email to inform you that I am so happy with your software that I decided to make publicity gratuitously to Manifold in my professional webpage in ... or ... My webpage its visited for many Portuguese and Brasilian geographers, so, I hope that make more known the fantastic Manifold System GIS in the Portuguese language." (Portugal)

"I just wanted to drop you a line to thank you for such a useable and intuitive product....

I do not have a GIS background at all (I am a Biologist by qualification), but in the past decade or so have based my income more and more around terrain visualisation of various sorts. This has required that I at least learn the basics of geodesy and some related subjects, but I have never been able to get my head around MapInfo or ArcView (the only two full GIS products I have previously seen). Certainly, neither is affordable for a small business like mine, nor do I have the time to engage in a steep learning curve to achieve the basic data-editing tasks that I have been unable to previously complete in the software that I owned.

Within 5 minutes of my license of Manifold arriving, I had managed to import datatypes and arrange them in a workspace, manage gradients on terrain models and make some (as it happens, relatively accurate) assessments of the (re)projection options for same. This was a revelation for me - previously, Global Mapper has been the most intuitive and uncluttered software that I used to edit vector and raster data of various sorts for import into my visualisation product of choice: Visual Nature Studio from 3D Nature LLC (http://www.3dnature.com). However, it lacks certain of the more GIS-oriented features relating to clipping datasets, editing and managing tabular data etc.

Having purchased the GISAdvisor.com training videos, I feel more confident with Manifold than many other products have allowed me to feel with only a week or two of use.

A recent thread on the WCS Mailing list generated a lot of praise for Manifold - I am aware that one of the ... staff (...) already owns a license and has been very happy with the product so far (although he freely admits he has not used it as much as he would have liked, but plans to change that in the future!). Some of your existing users, most notably ... (Senior GIS Officer for ...) were so vocal in support of Manifold's many benefits, that I decided to take the plunge and invest in a license (without even checking the demo, such was the level of unreserved praise!)

So far, the product has impressed me no end. Intuitive, fast, and damned useful! ;) So thank you again - I definitely see this becoming one of the tools that I use on a very regular basis, and have nothing but positive things to say about it. I shall be happy to provide testimonials to other users in the future, and also for use on your own website, should you require yet another quote to add to the existing list! ;)" (UK, names replaced with ellipses to preserve privacy)

"We created this site in a matter of HOURS in response to our work in Sri Lanka from the tsunami. As far as hits are concerned, we received 145,000 hits the first two weeks the server was up, and it never went down. So, we learned first hand that Manifold is not a toy.

With Manifold it was pretty easy to implement this, and that is why we were able to integrate the data together so quickly. We have a paper coming out on it pretty soon. This site too has a ton of data on it, related to damaged hospitals and schools, all the local roads, emergency shelters, etc.. Also, if you zoom to Trincomalee Harbor (where we did a lot of our tsunami prediction modeling), and keep zooming in, you will see a Digital Globe image (about 2GB).

There is also a link to a flythrough for Trincomalee (done entirely in Manifold and windows media encoder). Its a little cheesy because the resolution is so coarse, but again, we did it in about 25 minutes.

BTW, the site was listed on the Federal Government's geodata.gov site, and was named website of the week in Directions Magazine. (USA)

"I also wanted to note that I find Topology Factory a real time saver. Having used ArcInfo for over 15 years, I was really missing some of the tools I had become accustomed to (in my current position, I don't have ArcInfo). I've been using topology factory to clean up parcel data created in Autoad which has many duplicate lines, partial duplicate lines, under shoots, overshoots, lines near other lines, and just about any other type of messy string data you can imagine. The automated way in which you can "visit" every problem area in topology factory saves a great deal of time zooming in and out - over and over to manually edit the features. This type of editing would be very slooooowwww in ArcMap, as it is very slow when doing on screen editing (the slow/delayed response times to mouse functions makes editing very time consuming)." (USA)

"Congratulation for the great software you've made.[ ...] We think Manifold is the best choice for all that companies that cannot afford ArcView, ArcSDE, ArcIMS, etc (or doesn't want to), I've been getting familiar with it and I would like to start recommend it to all the companies we are assessing." (Chile)

"I appreciate the information and love your product. You have the best package for the price and seem to always amaze me with the functionality." (USA)

"I first purchased Manifold, and it has paid for itself many times over since it enabled me to take on some new types of work. I have to say that it shines with its reasonable cost and ability to handle dozens of data formats; not to mention its numerous "tools" that would costs many times more as an ESRI extension." (Canada, Internet posting)

"One of my projects was creating a complete parcel base for a municipality. I took a while getting the workflow fixed but currently it is very efficient to make changes to the drawings. More so I believe that if I had done it in ESRI. So far my little part time company has billed 100K in mapping projects all done with Manifold [at a cost of] $500.  If I had used ESRI I would be $20000 poorer ." (USA, Internet posting)

"This is a GREAT piece of software, by the way. I am a government employee and I use ESRI products everyday at work for, among other things, post-processing of 2-dimensional hydrologic and hydraulic modeling of large geographic areas. Fairly frequently, I bring my datasets home so I can use the transform routines in my personal copy of Manifold to do things that ArcGIS 9 either can't do, or won't do properly." (USA)

"In the last week I've had to produce almost 20 maps of different areas, different scales, different data sets, different page sizes, different data types. It was hell, but I managed to do everything with Manifold. It worked. I never encountered anything I couldn't work around with a script or a query or a bit of extra work on the data itself. I used shape files, cad drawings (dwg), mssql database tables, .sid images. I can't even remember what else. It was a total madhouse, but I managed.

I 'grew up' on TNTmips and still have an old version (6.4 - they're now onto 7.00), and I very much doubt I would've been able to do all that using TNTmips (with the old version, anyway) in the time I had. And, more importantly, I had fun doing it in Manifold. Something I seldom had using TNTmips.

I am still amazed that I can afford GIS software that can make maps so easily!" (South Africa, Internet posting)

"One thing I will like to say and that is "Thank you Manifold for creating the opportunity for me to indulge in a serious and powerful GIS program, something I wanted to do a long time ago but could not because of the cost"." (Caribbean, Internet posting)

"As of yesterday, I've spent about 8 hours going through help and examples and trying your system on a project I previously did using the ESRI products. With this little exposure and the ease of your user interface, I'm already sold on the Manifold GIS system! It's absolutely incredible the power and the ease of use of your product.

The learning curve is not too steep, especially for someone with previous exposure to GIS concepts. There is, of course, new terminology to learn, but I actually prefer most of your terminology over much of the antiquated and esoteric terminology of the ERSI products. I know there's a lot more to cover, but after much searching, this is the product for me.

[...] In my search for the "perfect" GIS package, I've tried many, including GRASS, Map Maker, FGIS, and on and on. I don't know how I stumbled across yours, but it's been a great find!" (USA)

"Did you know that your terrain visualisation is better than ESRI's 3d analyst! I ran the same 10 m res data through both programs. With ESRI's product, rivers flowing through narrow valleys were part way up the side of the valley, whereas with Manifold, the rivers were at the bottoms of the valleys and the water in the rivers was a level surface. (Australia)

"Just a note to say again what a great product is. Just moved Local Authorities and the first thing I did was bought a copy of Manifold!  I've just saved myself a load of bureau fees or from having to spend £4k on ER Mapper. I'm collating all my imagery into ECW files and I've just done the first one in Manifold. I've mosaiced and compressed 11 Tiff images (5000m x5000m) to a single ECW image. The uncompressed image measured 28,000 x 28,000 pixels in manifold (that's 784 million pixels) and it's written it out as a single ECW image of just over 100mb........that's impressive!!" (UK)

"Congratulations for the product ... it is the best quality/price ratio GIS software I have seen in my 10 years GIS activities." (Switzerland)

"Keep up the good work! I thoroughly enjoy working with Manifold and I'm convinced it will be the next "killer app" in the mineral exploration industry. I've been demoing it to my clients and colleagues and quite a few have already picked it up to try out. Those who have have also been most enthusiastic about what they found." (Canada)

"What a fantastic product!!!!! I realised some while ago that ESRI software is simply a load of rubbish and made the switch to Cadcorp systems a year ago (I've got a very expensive box of Ar'k' IMS sat on the shelf behind me gathering dust...it never did work properly!!) Just occasionally I visit the ESRI user forums for a good laugh and to take pity on the poor individuals who are still reliant on that firm.

Now I've got the hang of projections and sorting out rubbish shapefiles I'm turning to Manifold more and more. I particularly like the image registration, and have registered many images to Ordnance Survey Mastermap GML data with great success...it's almost too easy! Transparency tools are superb. Decision support system has been used to great effect to analyse fields in the UK Census, produce centroids with a rank value, convert the centroids to a surface, contour the surface, theme the contours and display the results in a map with other vector data. I don't know of any other software that can produce results like this with such a minimal effort!!" (UK)

"To get IMS built into an application for a couple of hundred £ is incredible. I've already binned ArcIMS and have £9k of redundent "software" sat on a shelf doing nothing. It took 2 ESRI consultants 2 days to install it and it never worked properly, not to mention the admin time trying to load maps into it. I had one of your demo IMS sites up and running within 10 minutes of installing Manifold and I had my own (albeit simple) site up and running the day after!!" (UK)

"Manifold is exceptional! With Mappoint 2004 ... one winning combination !!!" (Italy, using Manifold with MapPoint European Edition to geocode street addresses in Italy).

"I would just like to commend you on the quality of the SQL engine on top of image components in Manifold 6.00 SP1 beta. It has made one of my applications run mega fast, is so much more readable, flexible etc!  I absolutely LOVE IT!!!!   (I can even do this sort of stuff in Oracle 10g for GeoRasters! SQL rocks! But your implementation within Manifold is better.) " (Australia, commenting on SP1 enchancements, a free service pack for 6.00 licensees).

"First, after purchasing Manifold, I'd like to say that it is the best map system I have used and the attention to detail is brilliant - including the way it has been documented. I was going to single out the projection conversions - but everything is impressive. So well done." (UK)

"Just thought I would let you know I have found GIS Manifold very useful and have been very pleased with it. I have added a link from my GIS page to you. I've gotten something like 40,000 hits in 2 years so hopefully you will get some traffic from my page. Thanks for a great product at a great price." (USA)

"I have to say this product is very impressive in comparison to other pricier packages available on the  market. ... a person from one of the DOT's told me, "hey check out this product called Manifold".  Well, I will never forgot those words.... Keep up the great work." (Canada)

"Once again, this is a great program and part of the reason is your aggressive improvement. Thanks!" (USA)

"Okay we bought Manifold and so far I'm totally blown away by it and it is huge (and amazingly powerful and real value for money) and the documentation is excellent. So firstly huge thanks for the software it really is a revelation compared to the other GIS systems I looked at!" (Switzerland)

"If your 5.50 Universal is great, your 6.0 Universal is even greater. Keep up the good job. More power!" (Philippines)

"Many thanks.  I have loved the software thus far.  The ease of editing alone makes it better than ArcView." (USA)

See the 100+ page Cornell University comparison of Manifold System 6.00 and ArcGIS 8 in 50 common GIS tasks.

User Comments on Manifold System Release 5.50:

"It is truly bizarre the amount of money some of these small municipalities spend (both in terms of software and then development/administrative) to put up a simple web site. And, those who do more advanced work really need a hot shot computer scientist to work with ArcIMS, and spend months learning it. Here's a cool example from the field....

As a favor to a friend, I am putting together a web site now for the ****** Association. These are a bunch of local retirees who monitor ****** Creek, right outside ******. They have tons of water quality data for the creek at different locations. So, on Saturday, I got an Excel file from them with their data, and then downloaded the ****** County datasets (land use, streams, roads, soils, etc..) using my wireless modem while watching "Miracle" with my kids, sitting in my favorite chair. I then put together a few SQL queries. Within about an hour, all the data was assembled into a .map. When that was done, I exported the whole thing to a web page. 

I'll show it to them this week. So, in about an hour, I used a $250 software product to build a GIS application, and an IMS application. It's a real lesson in community involvement, and citizen science. Now, the community members can get all kinds of information about the stream (...) Can you imagine trying to do this with ArcGIS? The community members would have their heads spinning around." (USA, some words deleted to preserve privacy)

"Over the past number of years, I've had access to ESRI, Manifold and AutoCAD Map and 95% of the time I found myself using Manifold. I just find that its simpler, faster and easier to use. 

Generally, Manifold will do much of what ESRI will do, even up to the ArcInfo level. There are a few trade offs on both sides. For example, ESRI includes some very nice general networking features such as trace upstream, downstream etc. Manifold has some networking features as well, but not those particular ones built in. On the flip side, Manifold has a 3D engine, IMS and many spatial analysis functions without having to purchase separate extensions. I also find Manifold's spatial overlays much more functional overall, as well as how Manifold allows you to handle data. Main differences: ESRI has some nice COGO editing features that Manifold does not, as well as a report writer and a metadata catalogue. Additionally, ESRI was much better at handling large images for backgrounds (as hinted - Manifold 6 will rectify this). Those were really the only main advantages - as far as my work went." ((Canada, posting in Manifold-L)

"I purchased Manifold 5.5 late last year. I have found it to be a fantastic piece of software." (Australia)

"I just wanted to say thanks for producing an excellent product. While I've no PhD, I do consider myself a 'power user' of  desktop GIS software. I've used ESRI's product w/all of its extensions for about 6-7 years. Although I'm barely scratching the surface, Manifold blows Arc-whatever out of the water! Far too often companies tout products that will revolutionize industries...and 99% fall short. At first, I was pleasantly surprised that Manifold delivered on its promises...now, I'm just overwhelmed at all of it's capabilities and a built-in internet map server to boot! Again, thank you for letting us little guys have a shot at a piece of the pie." (USA)

"Once again, thank you for producing a fine, affordable, and well written GIS application.  I will be a life long supporter and promoter of your application. " (USA National Laboratory user)

"I have Manifold 5.5 - I love it and am glad there is an reasonably priced yet powerful alternative to ESRI products." (USA)

"BTW, my TA has begun asserting himself, and is totally cutting out ArcView from the lab in one of my courses. We used it for some digitizing, but he's been loving Manifold so much that he's rewriting the digitizing lab because Manifold does it so much better than ArcGIS and ArcView. The comparisons are actually quite funny. Also, he did it without any help from me. He just read the Help file, and georegistered a scanned map, and began heads-up digitizing and then built polygon topology. Impossible to do in ESRI products without some handholding. On other fronts, most of my grad students are using Manifold (by their own choice) for their research projects. They like it so much better." (US, major university)

"We've purchased 2 licences of 5.50 and Surface Tools, and will soon be getting 5.50 Enterprise. I am thoroughly impressed with your products so far - the documentation is accurate and the software actually does precisely what's explained in the documentation. When buying and upgrading last year we considered (like many) going with ArcGIS, however we gave Manifold a try and have NOT regretted it.  Manifold is excellent!" (Canada, environmental management agency)

"I recently purchased Manifold for ----- High School in -----. I enjoy working with your product and find the help topics easy to understand especially the use of every day language to describe GIS concepts. This makes GIS education more appealing to a wider range of learners. Thanks for taking the time to explain Manifold's philosophy of GIS. I am sure it will help my students make the transition from ESRI to Manifold this year." (Australia) (names removed to preserve privacy)

"Having purchased a personal version of 5.5, I have been astounded at the capabilities this package offers. In fact, the system is so good that I am trying to get my company to buy some copies." (UK)

"Thank you so much for providing such a powerful GIS package at such a reasonable price." (USA)

"Once again, I've been able to cut through a large job quickly and painlessly in Manifold which is a real headache in ArcGIS 8.3." (Australia)

"Thanks for your help and persistence. That was great support!" (US federal agency user)

"Thank you for you prompt service - delivery received Thursday 4th December - That's Impressive. It is now 2.30am 8-12-03 Sydney time and is my first experience with GIS software. I have spent approx 36 hours (in 3 days) on learning and creating my own maps for business and love the ease at which it is happening and blown away by how powerful a tool Manifold is after previously using mapping software with a Magellan GPS." (Australia)

"I recently found out that [name] University has a site license for Manifold, after I purchased my copy. I understand that it is our responsibility to be aware of licenses already in existence for our institution. But to tell you the truth, the fact that I spent another $245 doesn't really matter - it was worth every penny to begin using Manifold. I haven't touched an ESRI product in three weeks now - especially ArcIMS!!!

I did this in a little over an hour (and I haven't ever really done any web based programming before): [web site URL] 

Certainly I have lots more to learn, but the progress I'm making with Manifold is leaps and bounds faster than with ArcIMS, or ArcObjects." (USA, Ivy League University User)  Note: The name of the university and the URL of the web site have been deleted to preserve the privacy of the user.

"I'm absolutely loving this product. I've been creating web sites left and right to support my teaching and research, and I've done it in under a day (with about 1 day of just learning Manifold, and another day to get IIS running right on our server). The SQL queries are fantastic!" (USA)  Note: Learning Manifold in a single day is unusually rapid.  A few days of experimentation would be more typical.

"I bought a copy of Manifold 5.5 a few months ago and I am very pleased with it......thank you." (France)

"I really enjoy Manifold. It is one of the best GIS packages I've used in 20 years!!! Thanks for the forward thinking." (USA)

"I have got to tell you that the Manifold 5.5 Enterprise release is the best. As I gain more proficiency with the software I marvel at how much "bang for the buck" I'm getting. This is truly a landmark product." (USA)

"You guys are geniuses." (USA)

"As a GIS professional going on 10 years in the industry, I found the evaluation of your software eye opening, to say the least. I worked my way through the help docs and tutorials as you suggested and I'm convinced that this product can handle almost any job I'd likely run across. I am amazed at the range of features you managed to package at a, frankly, astonishing price." (USA)

"Hey, I just had a colleague here who works with MapInfo and Arc something and Manifold ran rings around them for ease of working in drawing tables. Was able to solve in Manifold what he was unable to readily do in the others :-)" (Australia)

"Manifold 5.5 is a great product." (Germany)

"Well I started to write a suggestion here and then realised that what I wanted to do was already possible! This product never ceases to amaze me. Cheers on a job well done. " (Australia)

"I find Manifold IMS very useful and also easy to use." (Finland)

"Your approach to creating a full-functioning program, with powerful spatial analytic capabilities at an affordable price (while including user input) is wonderful and refreshing." (USA) 

"What can we say about Manifold? Well, it is really fantastic! It's a great software! We worked on both ArcView and Manifold side by side doing DEMs and the result?  ArcView fails in terms of speed, computing power and color rendition. Manifold just simply overshadowed ArcView and all other GIS software for that matter. We were amazed and our bosses even. Keep up the good job." (Philippines)

"I’m well chuffed with Manifold and consider it the my best GIS software buy so far, thanks." (United Arab Emirates)

"I tried the Enterprise Server package with our SQL Server installation and it is about 80,000 times easier to set up and use than SDE. I had Enterprise Server up and running in an afternoon: SDE has been a configuration headache from day one." (USA)

"Thank you for a wonderful software and support that really cares about the users!." (Finland)

"Once again, more functional enhancements in a customer focused no-charge service pack than ESRI or MapInfo would put in a full priced revision. Thanks. ...  Will keep you informed if I make any headway persuading the current state agency for whom I'm working, that leading edge, superior spatial technology doesn't have to bleed the long suffering tax payer dry - I could tear out my hair most days as I regress into an corporate ESRI world!" (Australia, commenting on SP1 for 5.50)

"I am a user of Manifold version 5.0 and have recently placed an order for 5.50, along with the geocoding option (which is an amazing deal for $100). I have gone through the 5.50 user manual over the web and note that you have added some remarkable functionality - remarkable in that if other GIS packages were actually to have similar functionality, it would come at a costly price (probably as an extra module similar to ESRI's "Analyst" series)." (USA)

"I greatly appreciate your program and your development approach. And I most enjoy the concept of being freed from the costly tether of the ESRIs of the world. Congratulations." (USA)

"This is the best GIS tool I have ever used for doing the sort of image processing I need to do!" (Australia)

"It's astonishing to say this, but you guys have the best customer service of almost every company I've worked with. Your responses are prompt and informed. I am never snowed by marketing-lingo, and you guys are quite patient when I ask something dumb. You are the best."  (USA)

"Thanks for some of the ideas sent to me on morphing cave sketches. I ended up finally discovering a way using "affine" to morph huge sections of rough unaligned cave sketches to the actual data line and wall plots It truly is dazzling to watch a big section of unaligned cave sketch suddenly be perfectly matched and morphed with the data line and wall plots. This alone will serve to put Manifold as the standard for digitally morphing cave sketches.....Way to go Manifold.....impressive!" (USA, posting in Manifold-L)

"We are very satisfied with your great GIS software and we want put in each working computer we have a license of Manifold System Release 5.50 Professional Edition with Debugger." (Portugal)

"Before  we purchased Manifold 5.50 creating maps took us weeks to complete. I specifically make drawings from images using the create map option. With Manifold 5.50 I can now make drawings in a matter of hours instead of  weeks. Manifold 5.50 is incredibly instrumental in meeting our deadlines and creating accurate drawings." (USA, National Laboratory user)

"Keep up the great work Manifold; I'm still enjoying the prospect of never paying for another under-functioned overpriced upgrade from the big end of town again!!" (Australia)

"Thanks a lot for one of the best GIS software I have ever used." (Sweden)

"I have both ArcGIS 8.3 and Manifold system on my PC. Since using your product I have all but abandoned ESRI's products." (USA)

"Thank-you for your prompt replies and service. A great product and great service." (Australia)

"Manifold version 5.5 is terrific, a wonderful product just got better, congratulations to all on a fine job!" (USA)

"Just installed 5.5 and tried some of the new features. The new layouts, exporting to pdf and ps and linked drawings are some of the new tools that I was sorely needing and seem to work great. I'll be enjoying trying out all the rest of the new features. I think I can retire ArcView 3.2a to the dustbin of history now." (USA)

"I'm very pleased with Manifold GIS!  Keep on the good work!" (The Netherlands)

"I just fall in love with this new version and the work speed with images is wonderful." (Switzerland)

"Linked drawings are just fantastic.  This what we wanted to put our SQL Server info on the web dynamically." (USA)

"The parsing done in a standardizing run does wonders to get the required fields ready for geocoding, and it is so fast (3000 addresses, standardize and geocode runs each took only a few minutes yesterday)."  (USA, commenting on optional US address geocoding)

"I can print fine lines with Manifold 5.5. This is big for me because I can now print out good looking topographic maps. Kindly pass on my complements to the people that did the work in this area." (USA)

User Comments on Manifold System Release 5.00 Enterprise and Professional:

Read a user comment posted in Manifold-L with an opinion on how ArcSDE compares to Manifold Enterprise Edition. (Canada)

Read a recent post in GISList comparing ArcView, Idrisi32, ArcGIS and Manifold (USA)

See a detailed discussion of Manifold, ESRI ArcView, ArcInfo 8.1 and AutoDesk Map in a recent posting to Manifold-L.

Read a comparison written by the Manifold product manager in a GISList posting.  This is not a third party testimonial but a posting made by someone affiliated with manifold.net; however, many users have written to say they consider it accurate and helpful.

"Glad to see you're still stomping the other guys! I had to do an integration with MapInfo a while back, what a piece of junk. I push Manifold everywhere I can, I love it!" (USA)

"Anyway, the bottom line is that Manifold has now produced for me a fine set of 5m contours for the area in question - a task which my "other GIS" could not have achieved without spending about $2000 on extensions." (UK)

"Great Software. I am really enjoying learning to use it. I started using GIS 15 years ago on products like Atlas GIS and have "progressed" up to Arch Editor, which I am sad to say I own. I will probably throw it away and use Manifold." (USA)

"Ever since we have started using Manifold, we have stopped using all the other applications for handling our projections. Manifold is so versatile and easy..." (India)

"Anyway, I have found Manifold, as far I understand, a great general GIS (the versatile manual/help system gets my special thanks: a great learning tool for such a relative GIS novice than me and partly fun reading too)." (Finland, posted in Manifold-L)

"Great work on the terrain feature, my boss already loved that and now the new 3D option for point data--ROCKS!! Going on about how much I love this program over anything ESRI would just get all mushy..." (USA)

"Once again you have cemented my loyalty by the simple act of making me feel that you have taken my needs and concerns into account. You not only have a great product at a great price, but you are developing it in what I see as a most unique way. By that I mean that you are listening to the end-user and, as far as I am concerned, that is as good as it gets." (USA)

"Let me once again express my admiration for the high level of responsiveness of the Manifold team to its users. I really enjoy using Manifold!" (Malaysia)

"'Keep up the good work' as the saying goes. You may be pleased to know that a friend who uses MapInfo now gets me to do a lot of GIS processes for him either because Manifold can or is more capable." (Australia)

"Manifold goes a long way toward making the most tedious tasks easy and for that, thank you. In my shop we use ArcGIS, ArcVIEW, and Imagine. My team and I have found many tasks that we can accomplish much more easily in Manifold; and I expect that your next release will allow us to do more by relieving many of the current project size restrictions." (Posted in Manifold-L by US military user) [Manifold's 5.5 release will allow projects to be of unlimited size].

"You have a Great GIS Program. I started making a layered map in no time. I am sad to say I will have to use ArcGIS at work each day. I am using Manifold to make a city map of my hometown." (USA)

"BTW I don't know how I got on without Manifold it is SO useful, keep your heads down you're doing a great job." (Australia)

"I bought Manifold 5 a fortnight back. I am impressed by the tasks Manifold 5 can perform. [With another GIS package] I had to use many add-ins and macros to do the same task. Thanks to your staff for making this package so cheap and one of the best in the market." (India)

"First things first...... THANK YOU for such a great product!!! I continue to be impressed by the functionality of the Manifold System and your diligence in making this an even better product." (USA)

"Manifold Enterprise kicks!" (USA)

"However, while we have AutoCAD Map, ESRI ArcView 3.2a and ArcInfo8.1 - I do about 90% of my GIS work with Manifold. I can give you a (sort of) break down if you want; probably best off the list, unless someone else is interested too. I have been testing the Manifold IMS against our current MapGuide application (MapGuide is just the back end engine - we redesigned the front end) and it compares quite well. Just a couple of things here and there - but when it comes to interactive queries, and search capability, I think its head and shoulders above either ArcIMS (used that too) or MapGuide. Let me know if you (or anyone else) wants more info." (Posting to Manifold-L)

"At the end I am quite happy with what I paid for Manifold. It is one package that is value for money even in a country where average income is only one dollar per day, where getting people to do tasks that are automated in developed countries is easy and cost effective." (India)

"Thank you for being patient with me. ... I see where I made a mistake. You guys are very gracious, and your customer service is second to none in my experience." (USA)

"Last week I received the Enterprise version of your software and have to say that in 12 years of GIS experience I've never seen so much value in any software." (USA)

"Thank you for your magnificent product - the more I seek increased functionality within Manifold the more in awe I become of the tremendous functionality you have been able to pack into such an inexpensive product." (Australia)

"GRRREAT Product!!!" (Australia)

"I've also just spent the last two days working on a large conservation/trail map with Manifold 5 and the final release of SP2.  The software worked flawlessly.  Congratulations on a great product.  I believe I may be becoming a Manifold-head.  8-)" (Canada)

"The other day I had to quickly blow up some 81/2 x 11 sketches to 22 x 34 for a meeting and print them out on a 11x 17 printer.  Neither my scanner software (Adobe Photoelements) or Paintshop would do it.  I dumped the images into Manifold and used the layouts feature to print out multipage layouts that could be taped together. It went fast." (USA)

"I come from the ArcView 3.x world and I have to say that Manifold is head and shoulders above ArcView in all phases of GIS. Especially now  that I'm learning to do spatial stuff without the Spatial Analyst."  (USA)

"This software has by far got the most bang for the buck of any package I've ever purchased." (USA)

"Your product is giving us a big advantage over our competitor here." (Canada)

"Manifold is a sports car among GIS programs - swift, clever, fun to drive, a GREAT program." (Germany)

"As usual, [your response was] quick, informative and on the point.  I am really glad that I switched from MapInfo to your powerful and yet feature rich application! Many thanks to the support team." (Austria)

"Kudos to Manifold for making an easy way of bringing in SDTS/DLG files. I spent an afternoon trying to import SDTS/DLG files into ArcGIS with little success. I then turned to Manifold to do the same and did so successfully within the space of 15 minutes. Thanks folks!" (Canada)

"Thanks very much for the Great Program you have made available." (UK)

"I just bought a copy about a month ago and I love it!, is blows ArcView, etc.. out of the water. I do have trouble with very large images 85MB but other than that it is fine. I just installed a Manifold IMS website with my client city! They are very happy about that at 245$ not thousands more! Manifold is organized in a very intelligent way, keep up the good work, I am going to tell everyone I know about Manifold GIS." (USA)

"By the way, congratulations for maintaining such low prices. Manifold is an opportunity for the entrepreneur to start a business at low cost. Two thumbs up, and please keep working on expanding and evolving Manifold System." (Canada)

"I recently purchased Manifold 5.0.  We are currently using MapInfo and I am evaluating Manifold to see if it will meet our needs.  I have also used ArcView in the past and have found Manifold to be better overall than either of these programs." (USA) 

"I have just come back from archaeological fieldwork in south America, where we have intensively used the software. And it is great!  I think that we have been the southernmost users of Manifold, because our archaeological site was at 55 degrees south, along the Beagle Channel, only 150 miles from Cap North.  Here you have a test we made of the area around the site." (Spain)

"I'm delighted to say that I got my shipment today... and a lot more than I expected. I didn't know if I could delve into the world of GIS, but after following the examples, I am amazed at not only the complexity of GIS, but how well the program and help files simplify things. In addition, I really like the extra bits of history and other information that shows why things are done the way they are; the story on Columbus is especially interesting.

I'm completing my first map of the park after only a few hours of learning. I've done other things, too, such as take my boss' customer database, created a link and relationship to your provided zip code database and did a color-coded thematic map of the country - it is truly incredible how much visualization can do for helping you understand data. I see several areas in the country that belong to sales reps that clearly aren't doing their jobs.

It took 15 minutes to create this map that will always stay current from linked tables and will always provide a visual representation of sales for any given region in which I am interested. Had I known this software was so absolutely powerful for so many other purposes than making maps, I would have purchased it a long time ago. Thank you and keep up the really awesome work!" (US)

"THANKS FOR A WONDERFUL PRODUCT!  And as if not more importantly a clear vision of where you are going -- keep up the good work!" (US)

"Your software is just very exciting. I have not been this excited about an app in a long time. Keep up the good work and don't lose the personal touch." (US)

"Thanks for the best GIS ever!" (Germany)

"Great product, BTW. I learn something new to do with Manifold every day. Keep up the excellent work." (US)

"Your CD compilation and instructions for installation were very clearly organized and very professional.  Very much appreciated having everything on one CD so I didn't have to hunt them down on the internet." (US)

"Manifold does more than ArcGIS (which I teach) (It is also 1000 times more stable!) or ArcView (which has been the source of my income for the last 8 years).  The built in Network functions are more useful than the ones built into ARcView or ARcGIS or  Manifold 4.5 for that matter, for spatial analysis." (Puerto Rico, US)

"What an excellent software package Manifold is - right the way from purchase, delivery, installation and on.... haven't used it a lot yet - but so far it is very intuitive - and the manual explains things in a very logical way...... puts many other software manuals to shame.............. it actually answers what you want to know and does not just tell you what  is already visually obvious!" (UK)

"I congratulate you on producing such an excellent product.  It really is exceptionally good.  The enhancements in version 5 make it so easy to use." (UK)

"By the way, I think you guys are doing a terrific job. The new version is great! Thanks for the fantastic product at an affordable price!" (Canada)

"Thank you very much for your immediate reply. This is actually one of the reasons why I asked my institute (ITC) to purchase Manifold for my thesis because of your good customer support.  More power!" (The Netherlands)

"Anyone who hasn't worked with ArcIMS or MapGuide has no idea of the joy it is to be able to work with just one program and not worry about formatting etc.etc. of two programs." (Canada - posted in Manifold-L, speaking of Manifold IMS as being easier to use in comparison to competitors.)

"I second all that; my employers' corporate system is IMS. All I will add is that Manifold IMS does much more than originally promised and I'm very happy with it." (UK - posted in Manifold-L in response to the previous comment.)

"I just purchased Manifold GIS Release 5.00.  I'm impressed with all the features and relative intuitiveness of the program.  Actually it does more-or-less about the same thing as MicroImage's TNT MIPS.   Are you familiar with it?  It costs $5, 000.00! " (USA)

"I routinely import shp files which are quite large (3 municipal parcel fabrics and lot & concessions ~56mb) and have not noticed any real performance drop. Granted, I use a P4 1.6 w/ 512RAM, but still, the performance is much faster then using ArcView 3.2 or ArcInfo 8.1. Just thought I'd pass it along." (Canada - posted in  Manifold-L)

"The Tools-Save to component options enable me to import the files into my image editor and then into my desktop publishing software.  I have been able to produce the kind of output I desire.  This is pretty amazing, considering I had no experience with GIS about six weeks ago." (USA)

"Engineering software that works effectively with georeferenced files in raster and vector format seems daunting; not to mention the integration of a quality database function, development of the file import protocols and GPS integration.....   All this functionality for about $250.  What a great value!" (USA)

"I can't see why people are spending $5000 on MapObjects from ESRI ... when we have 10 times more with Manifold at 20 times less ?? **&%!! :-)" (Canada - posted in Manifold-L)

"You guys have a great product!  I'm very happy to have found it.  The documentation/examples, user interface, functional design, your timely support responses.....everything adds up to a very good thing!"  (USA)

"This product is AWESOME. Not only does the price blow everything else away but it's capabilities are seemingly endless.

I'm new to the world of GIS. I use Manifold 5 to create trail maps for the Front Range here in Colorado. Although I've encountered a few hurdles, Manifold 5 has been extremely simple to jump into and be productive after just a few hours in the help file and no real previous experience in GIS. The customer service has been top notch and in my case, extremely patient and helpful to a GIS newbie.

Because I'm not an experienced user of GIS applications I may not be able to trumpet all kinds of technical jargon about this feature or that, but I do know Manifold seems to have it all wrapped up into one amazing package." (USA)

"Your support and responsiveness is second to none." (USA)

(About Manifold IMS): "I must say I am a frustrated user of ESRI's Arcims and Mapinfo's MapXtreme. I hate them. Why exporting a map to a web involves taking lessons about Java servlets or server settings? But with Manifold, wow, is there anything so simple?" (Spain)

"You are so good at taking care of your customers that I often want to make your performance as the bench mark for my client service. " (India)

"I want to congratulate manifold for developing this great software. I'm and ArcView-ArcInfo user for more than five years and manifold have giving me what I was looking for, great capabilities for cartographic visualization and unlikely capabilities for Internet Web Cartography.

I have recommend manifold to our Staff and they are amaze of all the capabilities it have. Probably they will be getting manifold licenses for the institute.

Once again, thanks for Manifold 5.00, is simply the greatest GIS software I have use so far." (The Netherlands)

(After suggesting an improvement) "I don't mean to sound like a complainer. I think Manifold is a vast improvement over other MUCH more expensive GIS's I've used. I just want perfection :-)" (Canada, Government Agency user)

"Thanks for the quick reply. Service from Manifold has been the best I have ever seen from any software company." (USA)

(commenting on speed) "I find Manifold blazingly fast against ArcView 3.2 and to be on par with AutoCAD Map 2002." (Canada)

"Great Program! I am somewhat new to GIS programs, but having to use ArcView occasionally ( which is a pain in the neck, as far as I am concerned ), I really appreciate the ease of use of Manifold." (USA)

"First of all I would like to tell you that manifold R5 is one of the best software I have ever seen, especially for its quality/price ratio. My true compliments." (Italy)

"At the risk of sounding crass, Manifold 5 kicks ass. I just installed some Globe30 dems in order to make a map as a.pngt to someone. It's beautiful.  Please tell the staff at Manifold that I continue to appreciate their craftsmanship." (USA)

"Just wanted to mention that Manifold 5.0 is a great product that exceeds all my expectations. I'm looking forward to a great year of working with it.  I hope my students here learn to use it for their research work." (USA)

"First of all I would like to congratulate you on creating an excellent program! You have come a long way on creating a program that makes it easy for people such as me to create maps quickly and easily. I also do like the interface - much better than a lot of the programs I considered before buying Manifold." (Norway)

"You guys are the best company with the best software, like I have always said. Forget the competition! YOU always come through!" (Canada)

"I'd just like to thank the Manifold team for such a great product at a great cost. Manifold has features only dreamt of in a GIS package, all rolled up in an easy-to-use package. If it stays on the path it's now headed, it will easily become one of the most sophisticated, most comprehensive GIS systems on the market. I just wanted to convey my admiration and appreciation." (USA, Federal Government User)

"I can only think of high praise for your product." (Puerto Rico, USA) 

"Your product rocks!!"  (Spain) 

"[Selection capabilities are] clearly the most comprehensive of any GIS package I have seen." (USA)

"M5 is great.  I haven't had too much time to explore it, but so far I'm particularly impressed with its ability to deal with projections.  Wow!  Also its import capabilities.  Also the fluid shifts between rasters and vectors.  Wow, again!" (CANADA)

"I'm very pleased with the software, which is substantially more capable and easier to use than than the already capable 4.5." (USA)

[After suggesting some feature changes and export formats] "I'm a critic because I like very much R5, it's the best GIS software I ever seen, and I'm trying to contribute to its development." (Italy}

"This is just a thank-you. The persons who responded to my witterings about the subject of weighted tilings went above and beyond what is expected of a tech support service (in typical Manifold style, too), pointed out the problems inherent in my requests politely and clearly, and gave useful suggestions on how to proceed." (South Africa)

"... it is so refreshing to find someone who is committed to creating a great software product (or someone who will even listen for that matter ) . . ."  (USA)

"Manifold 5, by the way, is a great product." (Germany)

"Spring is finally here, the magnolias have finally bloomed in my neighborhood, .. and I've  been lucky enough to be beta testing part of the long awaited Manifold System Release 5. [ http://www.manifold.net ]

...WOW!!  :-)

Preliminary impressions:

- It is much faster, more intuitive and fun to use than the previous version  4.50

- Raster effects are very good. Many Photoshop-style manipulations are possible. Even on a 600Mhz PIII Sony laptop they are very fast.

- Lovely integration between Raster and Vector data

- My favorite feature and the one I have been waiting for is Alpha channel. It is called 'Opacity' in Manifold R5. Thus 100% means just what it says. With even a few layers one can produce the most beautiful balanced color relationships just by setting a few basic colors with the Palette selector  and then tweaking the 'Opacity' values to create soft but very legible aggregate maps. I am a multimedia developer and spend most of my time working with superbly designed graphics tools [Flash, Fireworks, ]. I have thus come to expect sophisticated fast features which are well-organized, and allow me to experiment directly with visual balance and data manipulation. R5 is the first time I have felt this in a GIS thanks to the approach taken and the Raster processing. This tool makes sense.

- There is super 'create' menu which allows one to include all kinds of components in a MAP [MAnifold Project]: palettes, notes, scripts, drawings, images, tables, maps etc.. Easy to see how one can iteratively develop focused data presentations from large complex inputs, recycling and refining them rapidly for wide distribution using import, export, create features.

- R5 has a clean, consistent interface well oriented for map publishing as well as the querying shortcuts which Manifold pioneered in version 4. 

- What I am really waiting for is the Python scripting. Not released yet... [stay tuned"]  (USA) [Python scripting is now released]

"Georegistration and raster handling is the best I have ever seen in a GIS - and I have seen a few! Same with the help file." (Germany)

User Comments on Manifold Database Commander:

"If the formula for a killer application is to combine powerful and unique features with ease of use and a reasonable sticker price, then Database Commander 1.10 (Enterprise Manager Edition) by Manifold.net easily reaches critical mass -- and then some." (InfoWorld Review, USA)

"I just downloaded your Commander program. It's already been a great help in just one or two hours of fooling around with it." (USA)

"Commander is a very good product, with an excellent interface." (Argentina)

"If you really need to know more from your data than is on the surface, Manifold Database Commander is one must-have addition to your analytical toolbox. Even the price is outstanding… I’ve seen software that does just bits and pieces of what Commander offers in the $500 to $1000 range." (USA)

"Again a great product in Manifold-like manner!  I did not expect such a complex application behind the easy-to-use interface.  I was also surprised that it did not crash a single time during operation!"  (Germany)

"Awesome packaging!" (USA)

"This program is excellent at first blush. It seems to do everything one could want" (USA)

"As a database person for close to twenty years, I am excited about Database Commander and look forward to reviewing it." (USA)

"I am very enthusiastic regarding the possible impact that Database Commander can have at data processing sites. Having been one and knowing many more, I  know there is a great need for a robust utility that can translate and transpose data in a stand-alone mode. That is, without a programmer present." (USA)

"I have had a chance to play around a bit with it as I needed to prepare some Stats on some data - Wow! This product is just what Local Government Valuers need for testing the valuation of a property against the sale price of the property - truly awseome !!  I can now prepare stats on a variety of pre- prepared queries in my property database - produce the results and email to my Supervisor, all in one operation - very impressive. ... The size of our property database (124Mb) does not seem to faze Commander at all." (Australia)

Our Favorite Postings About Manifold System Release 4.50 GIS in comp.infosystems.gis

comp.infosystems.gis is the Internet newsgroup used by most professional GIS users for GIS discussions.  A good search engine that can search the archives of this group and various GIS lists (such as Mapinfo-L, now maintained by www.directionsmag.com) will reveal numerous comments about Manifold in recent months.  Most of these are short comments of the form "It's great!" but a few are longer.  Here are our favorites:  

"Manifold System is not just excellent value, but it is great design too, notable for an interesting underlying perspective on what GIS is, and how data can be spatially handled. Thus the future is very bright for where one might 'go' with this system."

[Click here to read the rest of the above (long) thread]

"I really like Manifold's use of the Windows paradigm and DB/ODBC tools. I got the standard evaluation copies of ArcView and a few others and Manifold was head and shoulders above them. I can't even begin to figure out how I would integrate my existing business data with ArcView and the others, but there seem to be several alternatives with Manifold." (comp.infosystems.gis)

[Click here to read the rest of the above thread]

"[Using a Manifold competitor] ..to convert some 35,000 polylines to regions was a job of some *7 days* in my Pentium II 400 Mhz, 128 RAM, but its is a matter of some *4 hours* with the solver included in the Manifold 4.5 release." (comp.infosystems.gis) 

[Click here to read the rest of the above thread]

"I needed a GIS but couldn't afford any of the standard products. I finally reluctantly decided to get Manifold 4.5, not expecting much at a tenth the price of the standard systems, but hoping I could make it serve my needs. What I found was a program about as stable as any large Windows application, with a clear, Windows-friendly interface and an enormous but well organized and well explained set of functions. It reads almost all of the data I have in native formats, and outputs in forms I can readily use. While it won't do absolutely everything I might desire, it seems at least as powerful (in all the respects that matter to me, at least) as the GISs that cost ten or more times as much.

What's missing from this picture? I have never seen a case where there was anything like this great a disparity in price between the big-sellers in a software market and a product which seems not only functionally competitive but also well packaged. Can anybody offer an explanation?" (comp.infosystems.gis)

[Click here to read the rest of this thread....]

"There's no question that Manifold is software for grownups, with great
potential uses that I'm only beginning to explore." (comp.infosystems.gis)

Spanish Language GIS Threads on Manifold

"Siempre me ha gustado los triunfos tipo David contra Goliat, que pronto puede ser el caso con el SIG Manifold (www.manifold.net)." (Spanish language thread)

[Click here to read the rest of this thread, with English translations by e-lingo.com]

Other User Comments on Manifold System Release 4.50 GIS

"As a professional archeologist, I find Manifold indispensable for advance research of an area under study." (USA)

"By the way, I love 4.5. I think it was terrific software because it was powerful. By powerful I mean that the return for good intellectual effort on the part of the user by making use of what 4.5 could do was immense, and the price was accessible, the service as accessible and thorough, the data and maps and helping tools on your site were the same way...it was great."  (USA)

"I am amazed with the Manifold System 4.5 and look forward to the 5.0 upgrade." (Denmark)

"Whatever you do in R5, don't change this awesome support. You guys not only know your stuff, but you're easy and fun to work with ." (USA)

"I've been playing with Manifold for about 6 months and am getting to love it.  It is a steep learning curve, but its my first time with a mapping/GIS product. ... Great product and I'm looking forward to 5.0." (USA)

"Incidentally, Manifold is the best value software I have on my computer." (UK)

"First, many thanks to the technical support people for your really prompt and helpful answer! I used spatial overlays (as you recommended) to solve my problem of combining data from two maps and it worked great! (although it took a while for my Pentium III 733MHz to process the data...). Manifold is a great product and you people are doing a very good job indeed!" (Greece)

"(till today – 2 days use…) MANIFOLD looks like a GREAT tool, easy to learn, and TOO MUCH powerful for its low price." (Israel)

"Keep up the good work. I still can't figure out how you make money off this. We use ArcInfo and ArcView at work. They're getting better, but they're nowhere close to Manifold. And for the price, they're ridiculous." (USA)

"I have used Manifold for about a year now and enjoy it very much.  I just received a response to one of my questions from the tech guys at Manifold and was pleased that they offered a rapid response and an easy solution to my problem. Very good support." (USA)

"I must say that it's nice to be able to receive prompt and friendly help in matters such as this; far better than that provided by another company I could name..." (Australia)

"I was close to dropping several grand on PC ARC/INFO when I found your web site.  Thanks again for this great product!  I'm 100% behind you guys!  Keep up the good work!"  (USA)

"You continued to be unrivaled in your attention to customers and pride in your work." (USA)

"I am working with [colleague], and she is using software from you in a project.  I want to thank you for the amazing level of support you have given her. I know geography, but she knows programming. I help her with some vocabulary and cartographic thinking, but you guys blow me away with how detailed and generous you are with your help to her. You have made her job a lot easier and she is really happy with the work you do. So please know that you have an even more dedicated fan and apostle for your work, and I am looking forward to learning programming myself, as well as Manifold 5."  (USA)

"First of all my congratulations with your beautiful software. I worked through a number of your examples and was surprised of the many ways in which your program  can manipulate data." (Netherlands)

"I am just having the time of my life learning this program, and the functionality never ceases to amaze me. Mountains above ArcView. The only thing I have been using ArcView for since I got Manifold, is to make layouts (can't wait till that is fixed in version 5)." (USA)

"Many, many thanks for replying so quickly. The answer to 'dissolving' 6000+ polygons was 5 minutes on a 450MHz Pentium with 256k RAM. Very impressive! I started with a dummy file with only a few polygons, just to work out how to use the solver. It was very straightforward - well done.   This was my first real use of Manifold in two years and it looks so elegant compared to MapInfo and ArcView! I regret not having the time to learn to use your creation until now." (Scotland)

"I am quiet new to Manifold (until now I have been using MapInfo  for 3 years  now), but it's great to work with so far." (Germany)

"I have been using your 4.5 version (w/sp2 installed). I think you guys have done a fantastic Job!!!! We plan on buying 3 more copies of the EXCELLENT product." (USA)

"I like Manifold very much." (Japan)

"It is important for my being registered user because Manifold 4.5 is a great software. Mainly in their capacity of handling of databases and of the spatial analyses that he can carry out easily." (Chile)

"I am translating every files from MapInfo to Manifold, as I am, definitely, a Manifold user." (Spain)

"I must admit that MapInfo is my everyday working tool and originally purchased Manifold one, for its price and second, for its capability of handling different GIS file formats.  My experience so far involves converting SDTS vectors to TAB and trying to fix maps using the Topology Factory. But, little by little I am discovering that Manifold is really a gem as I am trying to use it more. " (Puerto Rico, USA)

"Viewbot is a GRAND IDEA, congratulations to the one who find out!" (Europe)

"Great newsletter! I was very excited to read about all the improvements and other new work being done to the Manifold products. I use Manifold quite a bit, mainly for transportation planning studies, and like it a lot." (USA)

"... your R4.5 beta5 service pack 2 will be put through the wringer on my own DXF holdings - thanks for incorporating those speed, block & text handling improvements! I'm still amazed that such useful fixes are implemented so fast based on requests from normal users. This contrasts sharply with certain other Unnamed GIS vendors who really can't hear you unless you are spending millions ..." (South Africa)

"I have purchased and been using Manifold 4.5 for about a month and it is now my main GIS tool. I have long used Atlas and more recently ArcView (last 4 years, as a viewer)." (USA)  See example map sent by this user: Percent Rented by Block

"I should also comment that your dissolve solver is tons better that the MapInfo counterpart, but that it still needs some attention as to memory usage and a better indication of whether this is actually running or not or if the system has hung. I also know what a hassle it is to work with Windows and the problems that come with it. Congratulations on a superb product and also note that is still needs a few refinements. Expect some more comments from us in the near future." (South Africa) [Editor's note: Manifold users are tough and demand a lot... several additions to the next release were prompted by comments from this site.]

"I have been reviewing your software that a co-worker purchased. Incredible! It would work so well for all I do. I work extensively in Access too. What a great tool!" (USA)

"As an experienced ESRI user, I am very pleased at the features of your product that come straight out of the box." (USA)

"I VERY highly appreciate the personal way you care customers. Congratulations! Keep doing on!" (Hungary)

"This product is great! I've worked with most GIS systems. So far, this is the easiest to work with." (USA)

"Manifold is the most versatile tool I have found to help me in my work as a civil/gis/transportation/its professional." (USA)

"Your new release is a great product!" (USA)

"This is the greatest vendor support *ever*! Many thanks for your quick and thorough response." (US computer manufacturer's tech support)

"I recently bought Manifold system release 4.5 and the first thing I should say is that I find it is a really good software, and the price is just incredible." (USA)

"Your GIS - it´s excellent, I´m amazed about its analysis capabilities and performance, ¡Good work!, In fact we are so impressed with the GIS, we think we buy another copy of Manifold." (Costa Rica) 

"The manuals are very useful and explain fairly well the function and use of each feature available in Manifold." (Belgium)

"Thanks for the quick response last night guys!  I very much appreciated it and was able to use the info right away without hardly a slowdown in my work... which is  why I forgot to show my appreciation. Keep up the good work."  (USA)

"Thank you - your support is simply amazing." (USA)

"The software is definitely worth the bucks. As an ArcView user I am always irritated by its weird system of menus and commands. Stone Age DOS or UNIX-like stuff." (Netherlands)

"This package is no lightweight. Already found something I cannot do with ArcView." (USA)

"You guys at Manifold are amazing. Your response is fantastic as is your GIS (especially for the price -- how do you do it? -- the last GIS I purchase cost 20 times as much and did not have many of the features -- it does have some such as geo-referencing, digitizing, and importing and stretching a scanned map to use it as a background). But, still for the price WOW." (USA user working with GPS).

"I have my dxf maps coming in. They are awesome! I am beginning to work with modifying the information and attaching a database. It doesn't seem too difficult to learn and that information is very well documented."  (USA).

"I have just received my copy of Manifold System Release 4.5 and am very impressed with it. I have looked through the help file and the documentation, but I cannot find the answer to the following question: How do I import a co-ordinate coded database file and then display the imported 'track' as a line rather than points? The Solvers seem to do many things, but not this simple task (that I can find).   I must admit that we had to write a custom Avenue macro for ArcView to do this, but I was hoping that Manifold System would do it for me. If it is not possible, could you please inform me how I can import a line into Manifold system from a geographic datafile. Thanking you in advance for your help and congratulations on producing an extremely good product - the speed gain over ArcView is most impressive." (European military user; tech support supplied a custom solver (make lines, soon to be publicly released) which prompted this reply:

"Thanks for this solver; it worked perfectly first time! I used the GetIDOf(self) formula because of the rather strange format of the date and time tag on the data. Thanks for the tip!   As suggested in your previous e-mail, I had actually written a utility to convert my point data into a format suitable for import as a text file using Solvers - Utility - Export/Import - Read Text File to generate the line data. However, your new utility works much better.  Thank you very much for the timely and high quality support. I will be recommending Manifold System to my contemporaries - the speed advantage over ArcView when using projected data is simply brilliant and the customer support is excellent." (European military user)

"OK, I am amazed. Firstly, by the improvements in 3D View Studio, and secondly by the speed in which you came up with the equivalents to Arc/INFO's clip & split for the Topology solvers.  So far, I've only fiddled with 3D View Studio for an hour or so in the mornings (you were right to warn people - it's addictive) ... " (South Africa)

"I hope you're making a good amount of money. Your products are great; and I've only used about 5% of their functions." (USA, Manifold and 3D View User)

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