The Desktop Regression: Why CalTopo’s 2026 UI is a Functional Downgrade for Power Users
The Desktop Regression: Why CalTopo’s 2026 UI is a Functional Downgrade for Power Users
The January 7, 2026 update to the Map Layers menu is a textbook case of UI parity at the cost of UX utility. While the new "Layer Catalog" might simplify things for a casual user on a 6-inch phone, it has effectively lobotomized the desktop experience for those of us who use CalTopo as a high-density GIS workstation.
To the dev team: I know the goal was "clean and visual," but here is why this update is a massive step backward for your core power users:
1. Architectural "Dumbing Down" (Mobile-First on a 27" Monitor) We have traded a lean, readable text-list for giant, touch-friendly thumbnails and massive white space. This is a regression in data density. On a desktop, we don't need "curated" galleries; we need a high-speed, low-friction way to toggle data. Forcing us into a secondary "Layer Catalog" window just to see our options adds unnecessary cognitive load and functional latency to every planning session.
2. The Subscription Flicker & Feature Gating As a long-time legacy subscriber ($20/yr), this update has introduced a frustrating race condition. Google layers load from the cache, only to be yanked away 1.5 seconds later once the backend entitlement check realizes I’m not on the $50 "Pro" tier.
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If you’re going to deprecate web-based licensed layers for legacy accounts, don't hide the "Google" section from the catalog entirely. It makes the UI feel broken rather than tiered.
3. Functional Friction in the "Stacking" Logic The new stacking mechanic is objectively clunky. Requiring a user to drag a layer to the top of a list just to reveal a "delete" button for the layer underneath is a bizarre choice that ignores decades of standard UI logic. It turns a one-click task into a multi-step drag-and-drop chore.
4. Locking the "Power User Escape Hatch" By moving Custom Map Sources behind the Pro paywall and replacing the "Type" dropdown with an "Auto-Configure" black box, you’ve killed the flexibility that made CalTopo superior. Power users want to manage their own tile servers without being gated by a simplified mobile wrapper.
A Request for the "Nicely" Part: We love CalTopo because it was the "professional's tool" that didn't treat its users like they were browsing Instagram. We understand that Google APIs are expensive and that mobile-web parity is a development goal. However, UI parity shouldn't mean functional regression. The Solution? Give us a "Compact Mode" toggle in the settings. Let us opt out of the thumbnails and the catalog pop-ups so we can get back to high-density, high-speed mapping. Don't let CalTopo follow the "enshittification" path of other mapping apps—keep the power in the power tool.
Comments
11 comments
Here we go again! Features not asked for but forced on us. I go to map and have to relearn all over again. I am stuck in map hell unable to change layers. Please provide ability to revert to older UI.
Amen! You've uncovered and documented problems here that we haven't even found yet!
I'd agree with this sentiment as a longtime paid subscriber who originally fell in love with CalTopo as a minimal "GIS-lite" desktop mapping platform. With this UI revision, I worry CalTopo is positioning itself in an awkward middle ground among competitors - still lacking the simple, but glossy, polish of other mapping apps, while also making its unique customization tools more clunky (ex. the new layer thumbnails are completely illegible, since they're just screenshots shrunk down to 10% the size).
Regarding polish, as someone who recently trialed OnX OffRoad, I was blown away by how beautiful its basemaps were, especially considering they use the same underlying database as the MapBuilder layers. This is one area where I'd be 100% supportive of a visual update within Caltopo.
I actually like it, because I can trim the UI down to the ~4 base layers and ~2 overlays that I actually use, substantially decluttering the display. (And, no, I'm not on a phone. I'm on two 43" monitors. But that doesn't mean my brain doesn't like simplifying the display to only the options that I use.)
Agree 100%. What used to be an easy to use and clean interface is now loaded with a lot of visual crap. It is so disappointing that every tool that I use goes through the inevitable transition from something simple that works well to a larded up interface filled with extraneous mush. And they stole the Google Maps interface from Legacy users without even warning us that this would happen when we auto-renewed our subscription. I used to love and respect Caltopo and recommend it highly to others; no more and now I have to go and find some other tool to replace it. What a waste.
They tell me that Google Maps disappearing is a bug that they are working on.
Agree.
Well I'm glad I checked before posting a similar thread. It's awful. And no, it's not an improvement on my phone either.
ETA: Per the OP, I would argue it's not clean and visual. It's cluttered. Zero steps forward and two steps back.
The clutter. The clutter. Yech!
YES YES YES YES!
Matt is so right and profoundly well spoken (I could not muster as much specificity and eloquence)! I agree with him 100%.
I would however particularly emphasize and reiterate the VERY important item in his complaint/plea - "Eliminate entirely the silly THUMBNAILS!"
THUMBNAILS create a ton of clutter that serves no purpose at all except to befuddle my brain and require me to again and again and again mentally shake them aside to get to what, in English, I see and want to choose are selections befouled by the superfluous images. Better to have a blank space!
The long-used UI style was, as far as clutter goes, far better than the new model, though I DO like having the ability to choose features and then NOT see everything else. But PLEASE get rid of all thumbnails to make a simple, clean sidebar.
So ... I'd second Matt's and other's comments by reiterating Matt's last plea:
"A Request for the "Nicely" Part: We love CalTopo because it was the "professional's tool" that didn't treat its users like they were browsing Instagram. We understand that Google APIs are expensive and that mobile-web parity is a development goal. However, UI parity shouldn't mean functional regression. The Solution? Give us a "Compact Mode" toggle in the settings. Let us opt out of the thumbnails and the catalog pop-ups so we can get back to high-density, high-speed mapping. Don't let CalTopo follow the "enshittification" path of other mapping apps—keep the power in the power tool."
Yes...I do understand that the paid userbase needs to grow and that visual UI is considered more approachable. However, the purpose of the tool is the same and any impediments to using it efficiently are going to upset (has happened) and potentially drive away (hasn't happened yet?) power users. And in my experience it's the heavy users who recruit by word of mouth b/c they are the ones in the communities (SAR, conservation, logistics, outdoor rec) where good products spread by good reputation.
So yeah...please bring back a clean, "advanced" UI that keeps things streamlined. Many programs have basic and advanced interfaces/menus to toggle between.
Specific to the new phone UI (only use Android, can't speak to Apple), the new UI is so bonkers. Drop down menus I can use. Drag and drop, forget it. And with limited screen space on a phone, ANY superfluous text, images, or sneaky expansions like the "More Info" link now below every layer clutters things, makes them confusing to parse, and increases the odds of accidental selections and wasted time, which is relevant to any user in a time-sensitive setting, and doubly relevant in outdoor conditions where extra time to complete tasks can lead to getting colder, wetter, etc.
I admit this is a bugbear of mine, but I don't want picture menus on my phone, I want info efficiently, which means text, and I don't want swooshy graphics called "intuitive" as I stab at the screen trying to drop something in the right place. I want organized menus with a logical path of selection. But take this with a grain of salt, b/c if I could I'd still be running my Blackberry Bold with the thumbscroller pad. So my take on usability is starting from an anti touchscreen-everything position.😅
(edit for typos)
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