drafting software
Digital images of the sketches can be scaled, rotated and aligned with the line-plot and the drafting process can then turn this all into a finished map with title, legend, north arrow, scale-bar, and a description of the cave and survey details. As the survey of the cave progresses the cartography can be updated, and if significant changes to the data cause a shift in previously drafted areas (such as when new loops are closed, or survey errors are corrected), then the old areas of the map can be corrected to match the new data using a process known as round-tripping.
Adobe Illustrator
The most popular digital drafting program, by far, is Adobe Illustrator. Unfortunately Adobe, like many software companies, have migrated to a subscription-only model, and the rate for non-professionals is $21/month. This Illustrator CC (Creative Cloud) software is updated on a regular basis. The last version that could be bought without a subscription was Illustrator CS6, but sadly this is no longer being supported.
For a brief period Adobe made Illustrator CS2 available for download at no cost. The reasons for this were confusing, and some rumors suggested that you were only allowed to use it if you already purchased a license, or that the availability of this download was purely a mistake on Adobe’s part. It’s still possible (in 2019) to download the software from Adobe by following the links below. You’ll have to do your own research to determine if using it is legitimate or not, and it may not install or run properly on the latest versions of Windows or Mac OS. It definitely is no longer supported and won’t have the latest security patches. Use at your own risk.
Serial Number for the Windows Version of Illustrator CS2: 1034-1415-6230-2341-2884-9398
Serial Number for the Mac Version of Illustrator CS2: 1034-0416-0740-0527-2887-2375
Adobe Illustrator symbols, brushes and swatches
An efficient use of digital cartography software is to build libraries of symbols, lines (brushes), and area fills (swatches). It’s relatively easy to develop your own symbols, but there’s value in using existing symbols that are standardized for different organizations such as the NSS, UIS, AMCS, MSS, etc. Using these standard symbols makes it easier for users to interpret a map without the need to refer to the legend. I have developed libraries of standard symbols that can be opened and used in Illustrator.
Note that on some computers downloading these files will add a ".ps" to the end of the filename. Just delete this so that the filename ends with ".ai" and it should be readable by Illustrator. I saved these from Illustrator CS6. If you're using an earlier version, and have trouble opening these, let me know. I may be able to save them out in another format.
Illustrator cave map templates
The link below are downloads of two Illustrator versions of a template for drafting section maps in Lechuguilla Cave. It includes the symbols, brushes and swatches above, as well as containing elements like a frame, title, legend, north arrow and scale bar. It also has a suggested layer structure for keeping your drawing elements organized, and it’s compatible with the round-tripping process. You can use this and modify it however you like, but it may give you a head-start on the cave map drafting process.
Inkscape
Inskscape is open-source and free drafting software that has many of the same basic digital drafting capabilities of Illustrator.