What you need
A current browser with an internet connection. TopoStack is free and needs no account. A larger screen makes the settings and preview easier to use side by side.
1. The top bar
- Project name names your project and its exported files. The arrow beside it opens the project menu:
- Import project JSON opens a project settings file (up to 2 MB) you exported earlier.
- Copy share link copies a link that opens this design.
- Reset project restores the Crater Lake preview and all default settings, clearing custom markers and lines. The reset saves automatically; use Undo to recover your previous settings.
- Undo and Redo step through your edits.
- Export opens the download options. The dot on the button turns green when the project is ready to export. See export files.
- The ⋯ menu at the far right holds the color scheme, what's new, the guides and the TopoStack home page.
Below it, choose the output type: Layered for a stack of cut sheets, or Flat for one engraved surface. Above the preview, a readout shows the finished size, the layer count, cut panels and stack height for layered output (or the contour count for flat output), and the elevation range.
2. Choose a place
In the Place panel, select the location card to open the place picker. You can:
- search for a mountain, lake, park, city or address;
- enter latitude and longitude in decimal degrees, then select Use coordinates;
- select Use current location;
- pick from Surveyed lakes, which also switches to layered output with water depth on; or
- open Example locations: Crater Lake, Grand Teton and Jenny Lake, Mount Rainier and the Grand Canyon. The same examples appear as buttons under the location card.
Choosing a place renames the project and moves the map, but keeps your other settings.
3. Frame the map area
The Map preview shows the area that will become your artwork. Pan and zoom the map to position it. Drag the frame's corner or edge handles to resize it: the physical size changes with the frame, so the map scale stays the same. Hold Shift or turn on Lock aspect ratio to keep the proportions. Circles always keep theirs.
4. Work through the settings
The icon rail on the left of the sidebar picks which settings panel is shown, one at a time, in the order you usually need them. Hover an icon to see a summary of that panel's current values. To jump straight to a control, type its name in Find a setting at the top of the panel.
| Panel | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Place | Location, metric or imperial units, rectangle or circle, finished width and height. |
| Terrain | Vertical exaggeration and material thickness, or contour lines on or off, contour density, index contours and contour line widths. Contour smoothing. |
| Features | Line weight presets, then roads, trails, transportation labels, boundaries, grid and border, each with its line settings under its switch. See map details and linework. |
| Water | Water outlines, water depth, acrylic water inserts and water paint templates. |
| Aviation | FAA airspace, airports and other aviation detail in the United States, and airspace built in acrylic over a layered model. |
| Labels | Engraving font and text size, elevation labels, north arrow, scale bar and title. |
| Fabricate | Kerf, minimum feature size, work area and assembly guides. Material-saving nests and seam options are under Panels and seams in the export dialog. |
Every control, with its range and default, is listed in the settings reference.
5. Generate and preview
Select Generate terrain at the bottom of the settings to fetch real elevation and map data for the framed area. While it runs, the button becomes Cancel generation. The status line above it reports progress and anything that blocks export, and Terrain sources lists the elevation data used.
Switch previews above the artwork:
- Map: the location map and frame.
- Cut layers (layered): one sheet at a time. Use the layer slider below the preview to step through elevations.
- 3D stack (layered): the assembled model. Drag the Stack–Exploded slider to separate the layers.
- Engraving (flat): the finished engraving.
- Custom data: depth charts, markers, trails and boundaries, graphics and file import, each with its own tab in the sidebar rail. See bring your own data.
Warnings appear over the preview. Dismiss each once you have read it; see troubleshooting for what they mean.
What needs fresh terrain
Changing the location or map area, including a cut aspect-ratio change that selects a new area, needs Regenerate terrain before export. Badges beside those controls say Regeneration pending until you do.
Terrain exaggeration and other settings, including size at the same proportions, map features, water, labels, line widths, custom data and fabrication settings, update the preview on their own. Turning on a detail that was not loaded fetches its data in the background.
Saving your work
Projects save automatically in this browser as you work, and reopen when you return. To keep a backup or move to another device, export Project settings and import it with Import project JSON. Imported projects need fresh terrain before export. Clearing site data or using a private window starts from scratch.
Next steps
Follow the Crater Lake example for a first project, then the layered map guide or the engraving guide.
Build airspace above your terrain
Choose Layered, then turn on Airspace in 3D in the Aviation panel. Preview the result in 3D stack; choose Airspace acrylic in Cut layers to inspect its levels. Follow the airspace design guide and assembly guide.