COLLABORATE!

Hello orux
After using oruxmaps for (not very long) time, I really like it very much and would like to offer some assistance. When planning a hike I realized that:

- Not all Waypoint types contain their own icons (bridge, for example)
- The existing icons show as orange on black field, this may hide valuable information on the map

Since your are busy making the app better, it would be a waste of time, if you care about these details. I woul like to provide at least some of these icons with transparent background. I figured out that oruxmaps uses png with tranparent background info, so this wold be easy. Howerver I still need some info:

- What is the preferred size of an icon?
- What ist the anchor point of an icon (I thing the icon should contain an X or something the like indicating it's precise position
- What waypoint types are (or should be) standard in oruxmaps

b.t.w.: Would'nt it be a nice idea, to provide waypoint type info in an sqlite table on the sd-card(!) Background of this: I don't use a rooted Android, so I don't have access tot the internal store where the app is sitting. By moving this info to the sd-card, users would be able to modify the info and maybe offer alternate designs.

Regards Andreas

Andreas wrote:Hello orux
After using oruxmaps for (not very long) time, I really like it very much and would like to offer some assistance. When planning a hike I realized that:

- Not all Waypoint types contain their own icons (bridge, for example)
- The existing icons show as orange on black field, this may hide valuable information on the map

Since your are busy making the app better, it would be a waste of time, if you care about these details. I woul like to provide at least some of these icons with transparent background. I figured out that oruxmaps uses png with tranparent background info, so this wold be easy. Howerver I still need some info:

- What is the preferred size of an icon?
- What ist the anchor point of an icon (I thing the icon should contain an X or something the like indicating it's precise position
- What waypoint types are (or should be) standard in oruxmaps

b.t.w.: Would'nt it be a nice idea, to provide waypoint type info in an sqlite table on the sd-card(!) Background of this: I don't use a rooted Android, so I don't have access tot the internal store where the app is sitting. By moving this info to the sd-card, users would be able to modify the info and maybe offer alternate designs.

Regards Andreas

Thanks, Andrea;

I will send you a zip with current set of icons.

The wpts/tracks,... are configured in an internal xml. I want to allow users (in the next future) to configure their own types, icons,...

orux

I would add suggestion to allow grouping icons. Icon list is already quite long and hard to follow. Also, maybe some other method of presenting list would be good, to show them more on one screen.

I can try translate into polish.

Hello !
I can translate Oruxmaps menus (from english) to italian, if you need.
Please give me a list of words.

ciao,

neobios

Hi Orux,

I would like to translate OruxMaps to Czech language. I would translate it from English.
I have experience with GPS software so I would guess I can do well.
I just need text that need to be translated.
And how will work the Text to speech ? Will it use czech sound too, I i will translate ?

Please send me email to: otto@plechata.cz

Thank you for information
regards
Otto

Another way to collaborate is to share maps. Since it is sometimes tricky to create maps correctly, once it is done others may find your map useful. Some maps are easy to create from web servers, from within Oruxmaps or using MOBAC. But many tile servers now refuse to talk to such apps. This includes MyTopo, and even OSM now says that it's against their terms of use to download large numbers of tiles at detailed zoom levels, since they have to be created on the fly and it bogs down their server.

In particular, topo maps in the USA are now hard to get. The official topo maps offered by the USGS include much less detail than the old paper maps did. In some areas a topo map without powerlines, railroads, and building locations is not very useful. The USGS says they will add layers later, but it will take years. Meanwhile, scanned images of many of the old paper topo maps are available online, but converting them to Oruxmaps is a bit tricky. And there are MANY such maps and nobody wants to process too many of them. If those maps that people have processed could be made available on a web site somewhere, we could pool the effort.

E.g., I have now converted the old 100k scale USGS topo maps of all of Vermont, and a few of the 24k scale ones (mostly Chittenden County) from the format offered at VCGI.org into Oruxmaps. Can convert more. If anybody wants them, let me know.

But where would be a good server to host shared maps? Ideally it would be stable, so links won't go stale. So, e.g., I could put some maps in my Dropbox account area, but links to that probably won't work more than a couple of years. Archive.org holds a large collection of scanned old USGS topo maps in a hard-to-use format (with the margins and tilted). (Go through http://www.topoquest.com for easier search for individual maps stored on archive.org.) I wonder if they would want to host a bunch of converted versions too?

Moreover, there are a few sites that already host Oruxmaps-ready maps, that I know of. Perhaps we should collect info on such sites and make that info available in one page on this site? Here are the ones I've found thus far:

http://www.openandromaps.org/en/download.html
- maps include contour lines, street names, some hiking and biking trails...
- maps seem to be vector not raster (?)
- maps are in older (?) (.map) Oruxmaps format (not sqlite)
- large-area maps (whole states or groups of states) - how to split into smaller pieces?
- perhaps editing the XML theme file would improve the map:
- I would like even higher contrast (for viewing in sunlight)
- also would like name of things to appear in larger fonts
- but these large XML files are not easy to edit - documentation?

FAA sectionals and other aviation charts: http://www.chartbundle.com/charts/
(they also still offer a tile server)

AskMaps.com - maps of some big cities around the world.
"The maps cover important part of every city, important monuments and often also public transport, accommodations, restaurants etc."

Hi,

I can translate app locale in french if you are interested in. I noticed that all the strings are not translated.

Regards

LauCass

Hi orux
I just found this topic & your email inside.
I have written a tutorial in english about GPS basics and hiking using OM.
I will soon email it to you hoping you will like it and publish it on your website.

Thanks for this great effot you are putting in the OM product.
Br
Marc