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.
- 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.
- Import project JSON opens a project settings file (up to 2 MB) you exported earlier.
- A summary shows the layer count, cut panels and stack height for layered output, or the contour count for flat output.
- Export opens the download options. See export files.
Below it, choose the output type: Layered for a stack of cut sheets, or Flat for one engraved surface. The label beside it tells you whether the project is ready to export.
2. Choose a place
In Project setup, 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 numbered sections on the left follow the order you usually need them. Each heading summarizes its current values; select it to expand or collapse it.
| Section | What it controls |
|---|---|
| 01–02 Project setup | Location and map area. |
| 03 Cut size / Artwork size | Metric or imperial units, rectangle or circle, finished width and height. |
| 04 Terrain layers / Contour design | Vertical exaggeration and material thickness, or contour density and index contours. |
| 05 Map details | Roads, trails, water, boundaries, grid, water depth, assembly guides, labels, north arrow, scale bar and text. See map details and linework. |
| 06 Custom Data | Your own markers, trails and boundaries. See custom markers and paths. |
| 07 Linework | Line width presets and individual stroke widths. |
| 08 Fabrication settings / Artwork settings | Nesting, glue margin, kerf, contour smoothing and minimum feature size. |
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.
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 details, custom data, linework and fabrication settings, updates the preview on its 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.