Route Planning in Caltopo for Oruxmaps

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Route Planning in Caltopo for Oruxmaps

Postby Off-track » Mon 08 Jan, 2018 3:18 pm

Although routes can be planned directly in Oruxmaps (OM), there are limits of screen size and the precision of a finger tip as a marking device. Most users will likely find it more satisfying to create routes on a larger computer screen with a mouse or trackpad pointer, then transfer the routes to a phone for use in OM. Caltopo is an excellent program in which to plan routes on a computer.

First set Caltopo to use your favourite topo maps as background. It provides OSM maps by default, and it is easy to use topographic maps from government WMS map servers (e.g QTopo in QLD and SIX in NSW) as custom layers. Caltopo will remember your last background and location (by a cookie), but you can create an account and sign in for more capability including the ability to save maps, waypoint collections and routes.

In Caltopo, zoom and pan to your intended route (start) location. Now select Add New Object > Add Line. A dialog box will appear in which you can type a name for your route, and choose some other properties that will be used by Caltopo (but not necessarily by OM).
You will note that the cursor has changed to a + for accurate placement, and a new “Snap To:” menu has appeared with OSM as default. Paths available from OSM will be highlighted yellow. There are other “Snap To:” options including None, and Lines (e.g. your previous routes).

Click once at your route start position, then move the cursor. A straight line will go to the cursor, or if you position the cursor precisely over any highlighted OSM path, the route line will take the shortest line to any connecting OSM path, then follow the shortest route along OSM paths to your cursor. Click to fix this location on the route, then continue until you reach your destination and finish the route with a double-click.

Your route will now be listed at left under “Lines & Polygons”, where you can click to perform other manipulations such as edit, reverse, extend, view elevation profile etc.

To save the route in Caltopo, use Top Menu > Save (which allows you to save all of your added features as a map in your account).

To export the route (for use in OM), use Top Menu > Export > GPX File > Download GPX File. You can plan and save many separate routes in Caltopo, but it is best to export each route separately for use in OM. (Otherwise you will have to separate them later by some other means such as a GPX editor, because OM currently treats all the routes in one GPX file as a single route). After download, give the ‘export.gpx’ file a more informative name.

For a route that has been snapped to a winding OSM path, there will be a lot of waypoints along the route that only appear when editing in Caltopo. But in OM they appear by default constantly and as large markers which obscure other details. If you do not want these route waypoints you may prefer to set your route as GPS Type Track (not Route) in the Caltopo dailog box. Alternatively, you can delete unwanted route waypoints while keeping the underlying route in OM, but it is more mucking around. Be aware that route waypoints are required for the usual GPS capability to navigate from waypoint to waypoint along a route.

To use your route in OM, connect your phone to your computer to allow file transfer, then copy the exported GPX file from the computer to the phone / OM directory you have set for storage of routes and tracks (typically .../oruxmaps/tracklogs). In OM Top Menu Routes {sym}, either:

(i) Choose Track/Route tools > Load KML/GPX file > Select your desired file (blue tick) > OK > Select your desired Navigation and Logging options > ACCEPT > Route appears on screen; or (to keep the route in a directory you have set up for the purpose)

(ii) Choose Manage Tracks/Routes > Select the desired directory for the new route > Choose route from file {bottom menu sym} > GPX/KML > Select your desired file (blue tick) > OK > Route appears in the list for this directory > Select your desired route (blue tick) > Select show on screen {bottom menu sym} > Select your desired Navigation and Logging options > ACCEPT > Route appears on screen.
Off-track
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