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Btw... when this RMAP or GEOTIFF thing becomes reality, it would be great if locus would allow to configure a few additional map folders. I want to put my maps in /sdcard/maps and /sdcard/external_sd/maps/ where they can be used happily by all android mapping apps.

These map folders should be scanned (recursively) for raster maps (*.rmap, *.sqlitedb?) and also for mapsforge vector maps (*.map).

Would it be possible to display the name of a track on the map? Best place for this would probably be at the first track point. You could also include distance and total climbing if you want to be fancy.

Why? Trail network gpx files are quite common. The attached file for example contains about 40 tracks with all worthwile mountainbike single tracks on Gran Canaria. When I'm on the island, I simply want to see all these tracks on top of whatever map I use. With names and data. Right now, Locus only gives me a bunch of pretty blue lines... which isnt really enough.

Of course... an even better way to get quality maps into Locus might be to support the GEOTIFF format directly. It's official and public and well documented. Previously, mobile apps would not support this because it looked too complex for a mobile device. But with todays smart phone powers, decoding GEOTIFF should really be a piece of cake.

A GEOTIFF can be tiled internally (like 256x256) and also have an "image pyramid" containing smaller resolutions. This means you wouldnt have to read the whole thing at once but could simply load the part you need on demand from a possibly very huge file. It might be slightly more difficult to handle than your sqlite db because of all the projections. Also the image pyramids can have arbitrary sizes, not necessarily a power of 2. But all in all, reading should be relatively similar to what you already have in Locus.

Tiled GEOTIFFs are supported by all major GIS programs. GlobalMapper for example creates those files directly. TTVQ reads them without problem. There is also a tool called "OziMapTrans" that converts many commercial map cds to geotiff with a single mouse click. With those tools, I have for example created multi-gigabyte geotiffs containing all the Alps in 1:50000 (borderless mixture of Kompass, Swissmap, IGN and other raster maps) and they load and display quite nicely on the PC.

It would be a dream come true if a mobile mapping app would directly support GEOTIFF. All the sillyness of converting and exporting maps between different formats would suddenly be gone. We could simply use the same files at home and on the mobile device. So far, the time doesnt seem to have come. Maybe Locus will make it possible one day

Locus displays an online maps origin at the bottom left, like eg "Map Data ___OpenStreetMap___". OpenStreetMap is a link that launches a web browser, which is understandable, but a bit unfortunate. That location is simply too close to the menu button or to possible toolbars. I've hit that link by accident quite a few times already.

Please allow to remove that field, or at least make it not open a web browser on a simple single click. I hardly ever want to check out the web page of the current map supplier. Offering that possibility on single click at a prominent location is counter productive for a tracking app.

joeloc

Hi menion.

Just discovering locus a bit more... great program you wrote there. It seems to beat other solutions in almost all aspects. One thing bugs me though, I cant really find a simple way to use "professional" raster maps in Locus. Online maps, OSM, mapsforge, etc is all fine of course. But when it comes to the alps, nothing beats properly handcrafted raster maps, eg from Kompass or Swissmap or IGN or Alpenverein.

Would you maybe consider supporting the RMAP format for this? It was invented by CompeGPS/TwoNAV and is not officially documented. However, Mobac once had a writer module for it (can supply java source if needed). Also, OruxMaps was able to reverse engineer and support that format very quickly, so it cannot be that difficult. Basically just a bunch of jpg/png tiles in different zoomlevels stuffed together, probably very much alike to your own sqlitedb.

Whats the point of yet another format? RMAP can be written painlessly by professional PC raster mapping software, like TTQV or CompeLAND. So basically, everything we create/use at home in GlobalMapper/TTQV/CompeLAND could be exported to Locus with just a single mouse click.

Also, with Locus supporting RMAP, we would be able to maintain one single map directory for all serious android offroad tracking apps (in my opinion these are OruxMaps, TwoNav and Locus).

If you are considering this, I can supply the old mobac writer source code and plenty demo maps in any size and projection you wish.

Thanks,
joeloc