When orienteering started, the customary topographical maps were adequate to organise orienteering events. In the sixties, however, work started on revising the existing series of maps in order to show very detailed terrain even better. Scales of 1:15,000 or 1:10,000 with an equidistance of 5 metres have proven to be good for this. Such maps can’t simply be bought on the market. Orienteering organisations must produce them themselves. To do this, they enhance existing map series with objects in accordance with internationally valid display regulations for orienteering maps. Survey maps and aerial photograph interpretations are used for the basic maps. Map objects are mostly put in with the help of a compass and the number of steps or distance measuring equipment and then recorded in a map sketch.
Before OCAD existed, the map sketches were combined in the final artwork and then traced on film with rapidographs. At the beginning of the nineties, OCAD had the goal of using software to make the handling of the core production process of orienteering maps as easy as possible – from tracing the map sketches up to outputting on print film. In addition, the software was to be easy tolearn and cost-efficient. This was necessary because the unpaid volunteers for mapping terrain and drawing orienteering maps weren’t able to afford expensive software and hardware as well as training.