External (elevation chart) viewer app for Locus Map

[WRPSoft]

Hi to all,

After Menion pointed out to me here in the forum that apps can be linked very well with the Locus Map track manager via the Locus API, I modfied my app called WRPElevationChart accordingly.
The result is that the app can be called up directly from the share menu in the Locus Map track view.

WRPElevationChart is a really lightweight GPS viewer app that focuses on linking the 2D/3D-elevation profile with the track view at the map. The analysis functionality is deliberately kept to a minimum, but the app is ideal for quickly overviewing the track data. For me, it is a good addition to the Locus Map track view because the elevation profile can be scaled very well via gestures.

Perhaps it will be useful for one or two Locus Map users.

Note:

The app calculates the statistical data (ascent and descent, speed average, etc.) independently. Therefore, there will always be deviations from the values calculated in Locus Map. Calculating ascent and descent is a science in itself, and it has given every developer a few grey hairs :-)

However, there will be a small update in the next two weeks where you can fine-tune these calculations a little more and optionally choose whether the track should be transferred in FIT or GPX format (both formats have their advantages and disadvantages, especially on smartphones with weaker performance, generating and parsing the FIT files can take a few milliseconds longer compared to GPX files :-)).

Anyway, if you want to test the app, here is the link. I hope this post is okay for the Locus Map team.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.wrpsoft.wrpelevationchartmaker

Some use cases: https://wrpsoft.blogspot.com/2022/07/what-can-you-do-with-wrpelevationchart.html

If you have any problems, please let me know, so I can take them into account in the next update (coming soon).

PS: This app is a side-project, I need for support purposes. Therefore it's free (also add-free) and will be free in the future. And of course, no trackers are embedded! It's just a tiny and lightweight GPS Viewer app, that is doing it's job.

Feedback is welcome.

Regards Ralph

[Tapio]

Thank you. There was an instant itch to a) zoom the 3D view via pinching and b) make the 2D/3D view fullscreen. If there was a quick toggle between diagram and map, that could be helpful.

[WRPSoft]

Thank you. There was an instant itch to a) zoom the 3D view via pinching and b) make the 2D/3D view fullscreen. If there was a quick toggle between diagram and map, that could be helpful.

Unfortunately, the 3D calculations are quite computationally intensive so that the pre-calculated 3D graphics can be rotated and tilted relatively efficiently in the next step.

The 3D chart also has to be projected onto a square surface, because otherwise the whole calculation would be too complex and, depending on the track dimensions, too much area would remain unused if the projection surface was not square.

I go into this in more detail in the FAQ, which is unfortunately currently only available in German: https://wrpsoft.blogspot.com/2024/04/faq-zu-wrpelevationchart.html

The app is also currently very much geared towards smartphones. If you switch the smartphone from portrait to landscape mode, the 3D graphics are switched to 'full graphics mode'. But as I said, you don't gain much from this due to the limited square projection surface.

Zooming in 2D mode is also implemented in a somewhat unconventional way, partly for performance reasons, but primarily because I can select the zoom areas most precisely with the current approach. I haven't managed to do this very well with the pinching zoom normally used for zooming in Android.

Maybe I'll try it again, but I think I'll exclude the 3D graphics from it because it would be really difficult to implement. The 3D Chart is more a gimmick, but could be sometimes very usefull for a better overview.

But you should never say never, it could well be that I will change everything again a bit (winter time is coming soon) :-)

[WRPSoft]

Hi again,

...
PS: ... It's just a tiny and lightweight GPS Viewer app, that is doing it's job.

Feedback is welcome.

There was some constructive feedback via email and Menion gave me good tips on how to link to Locus Map without cached files (direct transfers via Locus API Track object).

There will be a small update at the end of the week. Transfers from the Locus Track Manager share menu will then perform really very fast and smoothly and some minor issues will be fixed.

I will test it for a few more days, but I think it has turned out really well.

I would be happy if the app in its current form is of use to one or another user. Maybe I will add a few more new features in the winter.

PS: The Locus API is awesome, there are many new ideas in my head