alexm

quote:Loving it and being able to remove the "are you sure" stuff from the mapopolis converter will be a big bonus. Thanks! I'm pretty freakin' stoked. I'm going to work on hacking out the "Overwrite File blah.mlp?" dialog and suppressing the invocation of mapcopy without having to muck with mapcopy.exe or registry entries. If and when I'm done, I'll more than likely make that information available. But yes, this thing rocks. I need to find something else to complain about now. ... alex

Making GPXtoMaplet "clickless" I'm assuming that some others may have the same requirements as I do, so here's a few steps for creating a "clickless" GPStoMaplet. Please note that this information is supplied without any warranty. You're on your own. 1. Locate mapcopy.exe on your hard drive (C:Mapopolis) and rename it something else (mapcopy.bak). This will inhibit the execution of the "Would you like to copy this maplet to your PDA?" program after GPXtoMaplet is complete. THIS WILL ALSO DISABLE YOUR ABILITY TO CLICK ON A MAPLET AND COPY IT TO YOUR PDA. 2. In your favorite hex editor, change the bytes at 0x127a from: 24 0C 55 68 00 90 40 00 42 55 52 55 3B F5 74 09 to: 24 0C 55 68 00 90 40 00 42 55 90 90 3B F5 02 09 This will inhibit the "Created file: c:blah..." "click ok" dialog box. This allows for batch processing without the need for human intervention. For example: echo "Mapopolis Maplet - Louisiana"REM **** Note the next line has the GPX file to process on the command line ****C:GPSGPXTOMAPLETGPXTOMAPLET 877.gpxREM **** We move the file by here to our PDA's Synch directory ****move 877.mlp C:My DocumentsiPAQ My DocumentsMapletsLouisiana.mlp This works for me! (so far) alex

quote:Originally posted by crashmore:Well you'll be happy on 1 of the 2 points. First it is a gui. It is a very simple and fast gui but it is a gui. 2nd the program does run on the pc and not the pda. Having just looked at it, it's showing a good bit of promise. For the record, it does accept command line arguments. For example: gpxtomaplet.exe 877.gpx will run the app bypassing the first "select input file" screen and essentially just process the GPX into a maplet. I still have to work around the other "OK" button nags, but it's close.

quote:Crashmore and I got a beta version of Mapopolis' new GPX import utility. It takes in a GPX file and converts it into maplets for the version 4.X software. It's SUPER fast and works great. 1. Please tell me it doesn't run *on* the PDA. 2. Pleaes tell me it will accept command line arguments and not force you to use a GUI to get anything done. Not all of us like pointing and clicking if we don't have to. (and even find it to be a nuisance for certain tasks). Please? Either way, congrats on getting the point across to the proper folks! alex

quote:Free eval (60 days) MapAdvisor program is available at http://www.earthquakemap.com/pda It might be worth mentioning that the link takes you to a PalmOS-only application. ... alex

quote:Originally posted by Wal-Mart Man:Anyone having GPX conversion problems? I do not have a problem with all of the conversions only the file containing large numbers of data (200+) ... It's also worth mentioning that you need the latest version (whatever that is) of EasyGPS (http://www.easygps.com/). Versions prior to geocaching.com offering up GPX had some bugs in it that would cause what you are seeing.

quote:Originally posted by AndyCr15:I have installed Mapopolis, on the website it says you download the map files and place them anywhere on the device and it will use them. I have done this, but it still says no maps installed? Any ideas what I am doing wrong? Make sure you are getting the right version and type of map. That is, make sure you have downloaded the PocketPC maps (has a .mlp extension) and not the Palm maps (has a .pdb extension, I think). There's also an option on the "choose map" screen (if you can get that far, I don't think you can in a no-map situation) that lets you pick which folder to have mapopolis hunt for maps. quote:Also, I downloaded GPXView, but is the only way I can get Gpx files to pay to register on here? As someone just wanting to try geocaching, thats not a good option for me The only other way is if someone in your area will slip you a "demo" of their GPX file(s). But yes, that's the only official way. If you're truly looking for a simple "what's this thing about?" demo, you can grab an ancient GPX from this link that goes to ClayJar's downloads for his Watcher application (another GPX app). quote:Will I need any other software apart from these two peices? That depends on you. While I use both of those applications while geocaching, I found more than a hundred geocaches before going the PDA route. Don't get me wrong... I wouldn't want to go back now.. Hope that helps a bit! alex [This message was edited by alexm on August 26, 2003 at 06:50 PM.]

quote:Originally posted by Chime:OK, I have been lurking here for a while now, and am thoroughly confused! I ordered a LowranceiFinder Plus and should be getting it this coming week. I am looking for a cheap (read as FREE) way to get .loc files (from this sight) into the unit. I know I have to use the MMC/SD card to do it, but are there any converters out there for doing this? I really don't relish hand typing in those waypoints but I will if I have to. Also, is there any way to export MS Streets and Trips 2003 pushpins (or routing directions as waypoints) into the iFinder? Finally, is there any way to convert a track that I make of a trail into a permanent route? Any help would be greatly appreciated! I believe EasyGPS or ExpertGPS will handled loading .loc files to your unit without any problems (the Lowrance iFinder Plus is in the list of supported GPS units). As for Streets and Trips pushpins, GPSBabel will gladly convert pushpin files back and forth from more than a dozen popular file formats (including S&T pushpins), so there should be no problem there. Streets and Trips routes, however are a different story. The only app I know of that does that is a shareware program called GPSU. It will read routes from Streets and Trips .EST files and allow you to upload them to a GPSR. By looking at the features page, however, it doesn't seem to support Lowrance units. Hope this helps a bit! alex

quote:but what can I do with that? I have v4. Currently nothing. GPSBabel's mapconverter output simply eases the pain of converting from whatever format to something that can be used by Mapopolis's Mapconverter program, which only works for version 3 Mapopolis. It essntially turns my instructions above from Aug. 10th & 11th into a single command line. Much, much simpler and within the grasp of the average computer user. ... alex

quote:Originally posted by The Fortunate Ones:I (actually we - a family of four) are brand new to this (found our first caches last night). I have a Dell Axim (pocketpc) with a Globalsat GPS cf card and Mapopolis. As I understand it, I cannot download waypoints from this site to Mapopolis (yet ). I have joined the site and have downloaded about 50 nearby waypoints in .loc format. I then saved the file in gpx format in EasyGPS and copied it to the Axim. I am unable to open it in GpxView. 1) Am I doing something wrong (why cant I open the file)? 2) Is there a better method / software for viewing downloaded waypoints on a pocketpc? Thanks. 1) A few notes here. Downloading .loc files and converting a GPX does not create the style of GPX that GPXView is looking for. GPXView works with PocketQuery GPX files. PocketQuery GPX files contain geocache information that programs like GPXView use, anything saved from EasyGPS will not. I've never tried it, but I wouldn't imagine that loading a "slim" GPX into GPXView would produce anything useable, if anything at all. 2) The easiest method is to become a paying member of geocaching.com and have PocketQueries emailed to you on a regular basis. When you get the mail, you simply copy the GPX files onto your PDA and go. This is the one big advantage of being a subscriber in my opinion. I think it's like $3 a month (cheapest way to test it out) with discounts for yearly memberships. Hope this helps! alex

quote:Originally posted by BatteryPoweredFun:I just sent an email asking for the spec to their "Place Guide" format. I figure I can write a doodad to take a .gpx file and instad of a "Fairfax City VA Demo Platinum Place Guide LC" it might be "Fairfax 30 mile radius, last week Cache Place Guide". Here's a web page that references that doodad (version 3 place guides, I think). Strangely enough, the source code is missing from the link (pgpdb2txt.c). If you feel you can work with it (it's ANSI C), let me know. I've got it here somewhere. It's a start. ... alex

quote:Originally posted by M1sterHyde:it looks like gpsbabel will recognize files in the pocket streets format, but I can't figure out how to get streets to output that format. You need to have pocketstreets installed. It'll be on the file menu under "export map to pocketstreets" or something similar. Keep in mind that GPSBabel will read (as well as write) the PUSHPINS (*.PSP) generated by the export map feature. This is essentially all the markers you put on the map by hand / imported from data. The .PSP file has nothing to do with routes, maps, or driving directions. That data's not even in the .PSP files. There's a program called GPSU that extracts the route points from S&T .EST files and can upload them to a GPSR. I tried it once, and the shareware version of the app is limited to something like 8 points max in routes. Hope that helps a bit! alex

quote:Originally posted by robertlipe:The minute you get three field CSV, you'll realize you want more - you wanted longer text, icon types, and so on. Just expose the details of whatever file format they now have and it'll all come clean. There's no need to invent any new wheels. Ditto. I believe the current information as captured by mapconverter is sufficient. The minute someone shows them a GPX or geocaching.com .LOC, they'll be screaming XML parser and pushing it way to the bottom of the pile of things to do. If they supply the conduit, the community will figure out how to force things through it. It makes me wonder if I didn't hack someone over there off early in the game. I've send upwards of a half dozen mails to various @mapopolis.com addresses and have received a total of one reply. ? If someone does step up and is willing to release developer style information, please keep me in the loop. I'll offer up an incognito email address in case I'm in some sort of unwanted email filter. ... alex

quote:Originally posted by trippy1976:alex, Does this work for the new version of mapopolis, or just the old? I'm ready to buy a full version of mapopolis, but I KNOW the minute I do, I'll find a Pocket PC app that allows bulk load. Let me know when you find that app. This works only for Mapopolis version 3.x. I've only tested it on the PocketPC version, also. This thread got me looking at all this again yesterday for about an hour or so. Suddenly the evil hack that's been staring me in the face for weeks occurred to me. Mapopolis version 4 will convert maplets from version 3 on the fly. I can make version 3 maps with mapconverter. If I can convert from a version 3 "mapconverter map" to a version 3 maplet, I'm there. The file formats are quite similar and I'm hoping it's just a different arrangement of the same bytes. Essentially enslave mapconverter do the dirty geometry / math work that I can't figure out. I probably won't have time to put any code to it any time soon, but I'll keep the world posted as to whether it worked or not. If you can't beat 'em, force them to do your dirty work I always say. GPX -> GPSbabel -> mapconverter -> map2maplet -> Mapopolis. Yes, it will be even more nasty than the stuff mentioned above. And like you, I'm ready to plop down cash for the full subscription to version 4. I think after all the time I've put into this little conversion project trying to work around them, they should give it to me. I really think they don't realize the market they're missing by opening up to the world of people who want to go to coordinates, not street addresses or the local mall. sigh. ... alex

quote:Originally posted by lazymannow:How do I get your style into gpsbabel...?? With that, I run a GPX or whatever through GPSBabel and spit out the mapconverter input with this command: gpsbabel -i gpx,gsshortnames -f 877.gpx -o xcsv,style=mapopolis_geo.style -F __mapconverter_in_geo 2 things. First, you need a GPSBabel that supports the xcsv (whatever character separated values) format. I don't think it's in the release version available on the GPSBabel Website, but I am sure it is in the beta that is downloadable. Second, you'll need to do it from the command line. The windows graphical user interface wrapper is quite limited and only handles simple "convert this to that" invocations of GPSBabel. If you're doing the command line and still lost, it goes like this: 0. Cut and paste the above "style" into notepad and save it as "mapopolis.style" in your gpsbabel directory. Change the last chunk of the line that reads: M, "Geocaches", "GPSBabel", Geocaches, C:GPSMakepsp__mapconverter_out_geo.out to something that actually exists on your computer. This is where mapconverter will store it's output. Something such as: M, "Geocaches", "GPSBabel", Geocaches, [b]C:GPSBabelgeocaches.out[/b] ** I also noticed that I muffed up the original version. The line that reads: BADCHARS " should read: BADCHARS ", 1. Open a command line session (called either a command line or MSDOS prompt in various versions of windows). 2. Change to your gpsbabel directory. 3. Run the command I noted above using whatever filename you chose for your mapopolis.style file and whatever filename you would like to use for GPSBabel's output. 4. Run mapconverter and choose "mapconverter.txt" or whatever as input. 5. Copy output file to your PDA and make sure it has a .mlp extension (for PPC devices, palm uses .pdb extension). Here's the step-by-step: C:WINDOWSDesktop>cd gpsbabelC:gpsbabel>dir Volume in drive C has no label Volume Serial Number is 3A30-1AF2 Directory of C:gpsbabel. <DIR> 08-11-03 8:31a ... <DIR> 08-11-03 8:31a ..877 GPX 1,280,399 06-10-03 2:32a 877.gpxGPSBABEL EXE 348,672 07-15-03 9:45a gpsbabel.exeMAPOPO~1 STY 1,093 08-11-03 8:39a mapopolis.style 3 file(s) 1,630,164 bytes 2 dir(s) 5,403.42 MB freeC:gpsbabel>gpsbabel -i gpx,gsshortnames -f 877.gpx -o xcsv,style=mapopolis.style -F mapconverter.txtC:gpsbabel>dir mapconverter.txt Volume in drive C has no label Volume Serial Number is 3A30-1AF2 Directory of C:gpsbabelMAPCON~1 TXT 13,433 08-11-03 8:41a mapconverter.txt 1 file(s) 13,433 bytes 0 dir(s) 5,403.41 MB free Nobody ever said it would be easy. Do-able, but not easy for the casual user. Hope this helps! alex

quote:Using mapconverter, I have been able to get the waypoints into Mapopolis, but I cannot associate them with a map, in other words. all I get is a blank page with my waypoints. Can you tell me what to do to get them on top of a map....... With an example if you would..... I haven't had a problem with the GPSBabel/Mapconverter combo putting things in the wrong place. Now maps & maplets I've tried to make by hand are a different story. I'll walk through my procedure here in case I'm missing something... It's actually not that bad. 99% of it is handled in my weekly "go geocaching" batch file. The only thing that takes any time is actually running mapconverter itself since it can't be scripted in a batch file. First, you create the mapconverter "input" file. I use GPSBabel and a version of the style file noted above in my earlier post. It's this text in a file called mapopolis_geo.style that tells GPSBabel how to read/write these things for Mapconverter: # Format: Mapopolis Enhanced/Basic CSV# Author: Gary Paulson# Date: 01/13/2003# Requires unsupported mapconverter.exe from mapopolis.com.## Modifications by Alex Mottram documented 6/30/2003# Change %-40.40s on description output to %-.40s to stop padding.# Add QUOTE as badchars, remove COMMA.# Removed Mapconverter.exe's README information from style file.# Changed OFIELD to IFIELD in case you ever want to read one of these things.## FILE LAYOUT DEFINITIIONS:FIELD_DELIMITER COMMASPACERECORD_DELIMITER NEWLINEBADCHARS "# Map Info Record (header):PROLOGUE M, "Geocaches", "GPSBabel", Geocaches, C:GPSMakepsp__mapconverter_out_geo.out### INDIVIDUAL DATA FIELDS, IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:## L Records:IFIELD CONSTANT, "L", "%s" # [L]ANDMARKIFIELD CONSTANT, "Geocaches", "%s" # Category for Landmark SearchesIFIELD DESCRIPTION, "", "%-.40s" # NameIFIELD CONSTANT, "1", "%s" # View at Zoom Level 1 (1-4)IFIELD LON_DECIMAL, "", "%08.5f" # LongitudeIFIELD LAT_DECIMAL, "", "%08.5f" # Latitude With that, I run a GPX or whatever through GPSBabel and spit out the mapconverter input with this command: gpsbabel -i gpx,gsshortnames -f 877.gpx -o xcsv,style=mapopolis_geo.style -F __mapconverter_in_geo When that's done, I have a file called "__mapconverter_in_geo" that I feed through mapconverter. It looks like this: M, "Geocaches", "GPSBabel", Geocaches, C:GPSMakepsp__mapconverter_out_geo.outL, Geocaches, 763FD 35/3 Wild Azalea Cache, 1, -92.62175, 31.23895L, Geocaches, 7E2FD 2/15 Palomino Cache, 1, -91.01313, 30.58123...L, Geocaches, GEMXFD 1/1 Cosay Rd., 1, -92.12723, 30.63550L, Geocaches, GEXVFD 15/15 Born on the Bayou, 1, -91.82243, 30.13208 Once that's all done, the batch file copies __mapconverter_out_geo.out to a directory that syncs with my iPAQ PDA under the name "geocaches.mlp". And now that I've typed all that... This may be your problem. I crank up Mapopolis, and select "choose map" on the tools menu. I see my "geocaches" map as well as the other county maps on my PDA. I select my geocaches map as well as which counties I want and don't want to see and suddenly I've got maps with little pink dots all over it for geocaches. And the best part is... You can then use the geocaches as destinations in a driving directions route. Sweet. Hope that helps! alex [This message was edited by alexm on August 10, 2003 at 02:25 PM.]

quote:Originally posted by HitsMan and Chris:Ran another PQ and didn't have any parsing issues that time. I will keep my eyes out for problems in the future and log here and at contact@geocaching.com. Thanks, guys. These tools are VERY cool It's also worth mentioning that you should probably have your GPX emailed as ZIP files. Sending plain-text XML attachments seems to get muched periodically somewhere between Groundspeak and destination mailboxes. For what it's worth, an improperly encoded (by Groundspeak) GPX would give an error similar to: gpsbabel.exe -i gpx -f foo.gpx GPX: XML parse error at 77: not well-formed (invalid token) I'd imagine that a "muched in the mail" GPX would be quite random. ... alex

quote:Originally posted by trippy1976:This thread hints at my holy grail. Anyone try this successfully yet? (see alexm's links) I'm dying to import my caches into mapopolis. I'm going to tinker this weekend. Dying to do this though. As far as I know, noone has yet to 100% crack the nut on that one. It appears to be the #1 requested feature (or close to it) in the forums at gpspassion.com. So far, the best answer (from mapopolis) is to poke the lat/lon into mapopolis ver 4. Version 3 is, of course, to use Mapconverter and GPSBabel. I'm 99% confident that I could create something usable using GPSBabel. I'm simply lacking the math-thrust to encode/decode the coordinates into anything useable . Like you, I think if I had that one piece... my quest for the perfect PDA mapping application would be complete. Out of PocketStreets, Delorme XMAP HandHeld Street Atlas / Topo, Destinator, Mapopolis, and probably a few others I'm forgetting, Mapopolis has 'em all beat hands down. 'cept the whole waypoint issue... For now I'm happy with version 3 + mapconverter. I just hope I don't need any more maps than I already have as the PPC version 3 maps are apparently no longer available . ... alex

quote:Any ideas? Car polish? lol j/k... Plenty of ideas in this thread, this thread, and this thread. I pretty much stand by plastic & plexiglass polish that you can get from your local auto parts store. Follow that up with a lens protector for the screen and you're good to go for life ( Strong Engineering has a decent protector at a nice price). ... alex

quote:Originally posted by David Stein:And the winner is...

quote:Originally posted by Chuck & Kris:The "Geocaching.com Discussion" forum is frequently unavailable. Is anyone else noticing this? I occassionally get a "URL Redirection Limit Exceeded" or some such message. I'm not sure if it's coming from Mozilla or what (it's a standard you-died OK button windows dialog). Generally if I hold off a few minutes and try again, it works fine. It never bothered me enough to go figure out what exactly why something is complaining... Probably some paranoid security setting somewhere??

quote:Originally posted by David Stein:I wanted to write in support for this, but the .loc format is "proprietary" - i.e., undocumented and subject to change without warning. The energy that I put into CacheDragon is better spent on adding features than on waging a war of format attrition with the EasyGPS people... I wouldn't bother. According to the TopoGrafix People, it's supposed to be phased out of Expert/EasyGPS in favor of gpx anyway. GPSBabel supports it due to the number of *nix users of the application who would be hard pressed to have to deal with finding a windows box when they run a across of TopoGrafix format .loc file that some EasyGPS user has unexpectedly munged using download -> easygps -> save. Rumor has it also that geocaching.com will do away with it in favor of "simple" GPX instead of .loc files anyway. And just for the record.... For some reason, my iPAQ 3835 didn't exhibit the "loading 0 of 0 caches" problem when I re-installed it last week. Weird. It was all valid XML the 3 or 4 times I tried it. 20 caches in the DB is still a bit small to get a real feeling for a "field test" of the app if you're not using an internal/CF GPS... ... alex

quote:1)It's, possible, save a Route from Unit's Memory to SD Memory directly (like "save as"), without to create & save all "in Route" waypoints via "card utilities manually? No. The save route/wpt under card utilities will always save both waypoints and routes. Sorry. quote:OR: it's possible, create a Route directly on SD card? Yes and no. The meridian won't do it by itself, however GPSBabel can convert/copy routes from GPX, Mapsend, and SD Card format (maybe a few others) into a route on your SD card to load later. That is, if you're not afraid of a little typing on the command line. The kicker here is that you'd need to already have the route file on a PC in one of those formats in order to make the route file for the card. ExpertGPS and/or Mapsend do this job quite well. You'll also need a card reader/writer as there is no way for the PC to access the SD card when it's in the meridian. quote:2) Can I save a set of waypoints (like all USER db content) to SD card? Not with one "save" option. Tracks and routes/waypoints are always saved separately on the SD card. Hope this helps! alex

Since you're trolling for features, I figure I'll drop in one I had an idea for a while back when I started developing a similar application (that never made it past alpa -- GPXView came along and killed my desire)... Most PocketPCs have built in voice recorders also. I'd like to be able to look at a cache page, hit the record button, and have the notes linked (or at least somehow indexed) to the cache page. Would trim a few seconds of "At blah blah blah cache..." from my recordings.. Oh, and if you could have the application convert them to perfectly spell checked text, and upload them to geocaching.com via a free wireless worldwide internet access link, that would be quite spiffy also. (I can ask, can't I?) Looking forward to the next version! ... alex

quote:Originally posted by Scarlett:Does anyone know if there is a site to find GPS coordinates for KOA camp ground sites? They don't seem to list KOA, but discovery owners.com seems to have a fairly decent set of waypoints for campgrounds, parks, and the like. .... alex