QLD and NSW WMTS topo maps in MOBAC

[Off-track]

WMTS should give a performance benefit over WMS for map downloads, and some sources no longer provide WMS. But instructions on WMTS (from map servers or mapping programs) are sparse. Some programs say they do not support WMTS, but they may if you can only figure out the settings.

Oruxmaps (OM) supports WMTS fairly well. You can use the wizard in the app to add each WMTS source of interest. The necessary URLs for Australian states can be found in the html file for the browser app provided by Ken333 https://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=31781. For QLD and NSW they are:

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https://gisservices.information.qld.gov.au/arcgis/rest/services/Basemaps/QldMap_Topo/MapServer/WMTS?

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https://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/arcgis/rest/services/public/NSW_Topo_Map/MapServer/WMTS?

OM can cache WMTS tiles that you have used, and you can also use the Map Tools > Map Creator function in OM (while viewing an online map) to make maps up to 1Gb for offline use. Because you can specify zoom levels for the offline maps (but not in the online wizard), the offline versions avoid the problem of blank maps at high zoom. The WMTS maps are geo-referenced in EPSG:3857 = WGS84 Spherical Mercator, but WGS84 was nearly identical to GDA94 and GDA2020 at inception. You can easily apply a UTM grid overlay and use UTM or lat-lon coordinates in OM.

For bigger areas (up to 500K tiles ≈ 15Gb download), you will need to use something like MOBAC (and be very patient).

Tastrax and others in the Tasmania sub-forum worked out how to get WTMS maps for that state into MOBAC https://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17091&start=60. I do not understand all the settings, but after looking in the WMTS Capabilities.xml files from the servers for QLD and NSW, and substituting server URLs and layers into the scripts for Tasmania, I was (eventually) able to get files that work for QLD and NSW. Put the xml files (just text files saved as *.xml) in the MOBAC > mapsources folder. Those interested can almost certainly do the same for other states.

I have not done this since 2017 (WMS). The QLD WTMS maps now go to an extra zoom level (16), which is useful for clarity when hiking. The current (2024) NSW WTMS maps do not yet have the improved contours used in GDA2020 geopdfs, and they seem much paler than the WMS maps in OM - IMHO not worth the effort if you have offline the old NSW WMS maps for your area of interest.

QLD_topoWMTS.xml

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>

<customMapSource>
<name>QLD_Topo_WMTS</name>
<minZoom>4</minZoom>
<maxZoom>16</maxZoom>
<tileType>png</tileType>
<tileUpdate>None</tileUpdate>
<url>https://spatial-gis.information.qld.gov.au/arcgis/rest/services/Basemaps/QldMap_Topo/MapServer/WMTS?layer=Basemaps_QldMap_Topo&amp;style=default&amp;tilematrixset=GoogleMapsCompatible&amp;Service=WMTS&amp;Request=GetTile&amp;Version=1.0.0&amp;Format=image%2Fpng&amp;TileMatrix={$z}&amp;TileRow={$y}&amp;TileCol={$x}</url>
<backgroundColor>#000000</backgroundColor>
</customMapSource>

NSW_topoWMTS.xml

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>

<customMapSource>
<name>NSW_Topo_WMTS</name>
<minZoom>4</minZoom>
<maxZoom>16</maxZoom>
<tileType>png</tileType>
<tileUpdate>None</tileUpdate>
<url>https://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/arcgis/rest/services/public/NSW_Topo_Map/MapServer/WMTS?layer=public_NSW_Topo_Map&amp;style=default&amp;tilematrixset=GoogleMapsCompatible&amp;Service=WMTS&amp;Request=GetTile&amp;Version=1.0.0&amp;Format=image%2Fpng&amp;TileMatrix={$z}&amp;TileRow={$y}&amp;TileCol={$x}</url>
<backgroundColor>#000000</backgroundColor>
</customMapSource>

[Off-track]

Oops, I have just realized that my comments about paler map applied to the topo map from:

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http://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/arcgis/rest/services/public/NSW_Base_Map/MapServer/WMTS?

not:

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https://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/arcgis/rest/services/public/NSW_Topo_Map/MapServer/WMTS?

The latter has good contrast (but old contours) like the old NSW WMS maps.

Too many maps!

[Son of a Beach]

I've listed a few WMTS map service URLs at: https://nixanz.com/bitmap/resources/map-services/

[TKK]

Thanks for the previous XML files and link to the application of the various map services. It was of great help. I've managed to find some as well as update the Topo MOBAC XML files for QLD, NSW, VIC and TAS that are working as of April 2025. I notice that the NSW and QLD maps displayed in MOBAC are not identical to the ones seen through a web browser. For QLD, MOBAC seems to display an older topo map set that is not as detailed with some tracks missing.

In MOBAC I could fit whole of state maps for QLD and NSW at zoom level 14 or about 1:36000 under the 500k tile limit. You can then add areas of higher zoom within the states if desired. For Victoria you can do zoom level 15 or 1:17000 for the entire state and Tasmania level 16 or 1:8500ish. Tasmania has a raster map source which looks like older maps as well as a newer WMTS based one. Both are included.

I've attached a zip file with all the xml files and a bsh file for Google Maps. A zoom level 4-6 Google Maps can be quite handy to use as a overview map in OruxMaps and the Topo maps will automatically load as you zoom in on an area.

If anyone with more technical know-how could find the 'getcapabilities' for the online QLD Topo map displayed through a web browser or even better provide a working XML or BSH file it would be appreciated. It seems to live within an Iframe element that executes a Javascript and it's well beyond my expertise and available time to figure out how to access it.