Displaying PQ on Google Earth

[+kc5goi]

I have started to have a problem with my PQs in Google Earth a couple of weeks ago. When I open the gpx file from my PQ the names say text/html. I opened the gpx files in Notepad and removed the attribute <type>text/html</type> and that takes care of the name display problem in Google Earth. The other method was to upload to my GPSr the have Google Earth grab it. That is not exactly an ideal solution. Has anyone else seen this too? Below is an example of one of the entries in my PQ. I found the attribute is locate just after the <text> attribute. Google Earth seems to be ignoring <text> and using <type> for the label on the map.

 

Uploading the PQs to my GPSr and downloading to my iPhone do not have this issue displaying the name.

 

The download from my GPSr does not have the <type>text/html</type> attribute.

 

I know some basics about xml but I do not consider myself and expert.

 

<wpt lat="33.22571700" lon="-97.11820000">

<time>2008-11-15T08:00:00Z</time>

<desc>D"E"NTON by aeav8r, Traditional Cache (1.5/2)</desc>

<link href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=3a85d5f6-1bae-4433-bb94-00c7c6fb0fb9">

<text>D"E"NTON</text>

<type>text/html</type>

</link>

 

I do not know how Google Earth makes decisions on who to render the gps file but it seems to like <type> over <text> for the location names. They render correctly on the map. EasyGPS does not have this issue. My guess is that Google Earth is using a style sheet that uses the <type> attribute where EasyGPS knows to ignore it. I am not being critical of the PQ results just curious. Could there be something in my PQ settings causing this, is it a glitch in Google Earth, or something else?

 

Guy

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I have started to have a problem with my PQs in Google Earth a couple of weeks ago. When I open the gpx file from my PQ the names say text/html. I opened the gpx files in Notepad and removed the attribute <type>text/html</type> and that takes care of the name display problem in Google Earth. The other method was to upload to my GPSr the have Google Earth grab it. That is not exactly an ideal solution. Has anyone else seen this too? Below is an example of one of the entries in my PQ. I found the attribute is locate just after the <text> attribute. Google Earth seems to be ignoring <text> and using <type> for the label on the map.

 

Uploading the PQs to my GPSr and downloading to my iPhone do not have this issue displaying the name.

 

The download from my GPSr does not have the <type>text/html</type> attribute.

 

I know some basics about xml but I do not consider myself and expert.

 

<wpt lat="33.22571700" lon="-97.11820000">

<time>2008-11-15T08:00:00Z</time>

<desc>D"E"NTON by aeav8r, Traditional Cache (1.5/2)</desc>

<link href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=3a85d5f6-1bae-4433-bb94-00c7c6fb0fb9">

<text>D"E"NTON</text>

<type>text/html</type>

</link>

 

I do not know how Google Earth makes decisions on who to render the gps file but it seems to like <type> over <text> for the location names. They render correctly on the map. EasyGPS does not have this issue. My guess is that Google Earth is using a style sheet that uses the <type> attribute where EasyGPS knows to ignore it. I am not being critical of the PQ results just curious. Could there be something in my PQ settings causing this, is it a glitch in Google Earth, or something else?

 

Guy

 

Take a look at GPSBabel. It'll convert GPX files to KML. I don't know about EasyGPS but if you load GPX files into ExpertGPS you can export them as KML. That might be an easy way to fix the issue.

[+mtn-man]

I can offer a simple solution. Open Google Earth. Open an explorer window and navigate to the area where you GPX file is located. Click on and drag the file over to the Google Earth window and drop it. I just checked to see if there was any change and it opens just fine and displays the name of the cache for me. When I click on the icon, it opens a window in Google Earth that gives a representative cache page. You can click on the GC number for the cache and it will open it in the browser for you.

 

I don't know why you are needing to edit out the tags, but it seems like you are doing a lot of work for nothing.

[+kc5goi]

I can offer a simple solution. Open Google Earth. Open an explorer window and navigate to the area where you GPX file is located. Click on and drag the file over to the Google Earth window and drop it. I just checked to see if there was any change and it opens just fine and displays the name of the cache for me. When I click on the icon, it opens a window in Google Earth that gives a representative cache page. You can click on the GC number for the cache and it will open it in the browser for you.

 

I don't know why you are needing to edit out the tags, but it seems like you are doing a lot of work for nothing.

 

I received a PQ this morning and the <type>text/html</type> is not present when I look at the gps file in Notepad. It renders correctly in Google Earth. I was not going from an explorer window and dropping the gps file in Google Earth, I was using Open and navigating to the file. I will keep an eye on my PQs. I have a few due tomorrow.

 

Thanks.

 

Guy

[+GRANPA ALEX]

I simply am NOT literate in these matters . . . but I place my PQ in GSAK, export a text file for MS-Streets & Trips where I then install the caches on that map with the external receiver (antenna) to my laptop giving me turn-by-turn navigating, visually, for the greatest efficiency in covering an area. I hope this makes sense and helps simplify . . . if I can do it, it must be simple.

[+kc5goi]

I simply am NOT literate in these matters . . . but I place my PQ in GSAK, export a text file for MS-Streets & Trips where I then install the caches on that map with the external receiver (antenna) to my laptop giving me turn-by-turn navigating, visually, for the greatest efficiency in covering an area. I hope this makes sense and helps simplify . . . if I can do it, it must be simple.

 

I am not using GSAK. I have installed it but not used it yet. I am getting what I want out of the PQ results and I have built them for specific areas. I do not blame EasyGPS or Google Earth. They are only reading the file. The PQ I got today did not have the <type>text/html</type> either. There for I am going to over look it as a fluke. I dump my PQs to my GPSMap60CSx and my Nuvi 205w to achieve similar results as you do with Streets and Trips. I use EasyGPS to move it to the receivers instead of GSAK. I see value in GSAK, I have not started to use it just yet on a regular basis.

 

I totally agree on things needing to be simple. I want to put my time on caching not playing with data. I am going to watch my PQs to see if the tag returns. If it does on some and not others, I am going to look at the PQs and see what is different.

[robertlipe]

I consider myself in the top 75% of those that understand GPX, PQs, Google Earth, and how they all fit together. (Oh, I happen to have written Google Earth's handler for GPX in general and PQ's specifically? I helped develop GPX? OK, top 74%.)

 

Detailed steps to reproduce what you're describing are key. The mangled GPX (?) fragment you're describing makes no sense in isolation. If you can describe hot to create what you're seeing, we developers can point to the revelant specifications that describe the bits and bytes of the files and can point fingers and mock and humiliate and shame each other into conformance.

 

But when the search domain is "I do clicky stuff" and "some unnamed version and mode of (GSAK/Earth/GPSMap60CSX)" in either "upload or download" just "don't handle it well", developers are going to roll their eyes and send you to the support groups.

 

If a GPX/PQ from this site is sending you a file that claims to be GPX byte contains <type> tags that include MIME download specicifications, that would be clearly broken. Steps to reproduce it would be welcome and the programmers here that really understand such things can help assign blame and give wedgies to their peers to get it fixed.

[+kc5goi]

I consider myself in the top 75% of those that understand GPX, PQs, Google Earth, and how they all fit together. (Oh, I happen to have written Google Earth's handler for GPX in general and PQ's specifically? I helped develop GPX? OK, top 74%.)

 

Detailed steps to reproduce what you're describing are key. The mangled GPX (?) fragment you're describing makes no sense in isolation. If you can describe hot to create what you're seeing, we developers can point to the revelant specifications that describe the bits and bytes of the files and can point fingers and mock and humiliate and shame each other into conformance.

 

But when the search domain is "I do clicky stuff" and "some unnamed version and mode of (GSAK/Earth/GPSMap60CSX)" in either "upload or download" just "don't handle it well", developers are going to roll their eyes and send you to the support groups.

 

If a GPX/PQ from this site is sending you a file that claims to be GPX byte contains <type> tags that include MIME download specicifications, that would be clearly broken. Steps to reproduce it would be welcome and the programmers here that really understand such things can help assign blame and give wedgies to their peers to get it fixed.

 

Let me see if I still have the original PQs that have the entry <type>text/html</type> and see if the PQs I got today still have them. I am a IT Admin by trade so I understand your point but I have found each developer wants different criteria and that makes my end when I see something difficult. I will let you know what I find but at this point I think this needs to go off the forum.

 

Guy

Edited January 21, 2010 by kc5goi

[+kc5goi]

I think I found something but it needs more testing because I have only run the test on one PQ that I built just to test. I need everyone that is watching this to understand I have not pointed a finger at any one thing specifically. I am now ready to do that.

 

To the moderator of this forum, if the links in the post are a problem, I apologize but I do not know how to show the exact data without posting them.

 

I ran a specific query on my coordinates. That created the standard pair of of gpx files. I took a look at both and the <type>text/html</type> tags are not present. That fits something I saw with a PQ I got last night. I had not trouble with Google Earth displaying correctly. I opened the query based on my coordinates in Google Earth and it displayed like it should as well. I did notice the gpx file I have has a different xml declaration statement and I did not catch that before. Frankly I was not looking at the declaration, I did a search for text/html. Here is an example from the file I first noticed my problem:

 

<gpx xmlns="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1"'>http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1" version="1.1" creator="EasyGPS 3.57" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1 http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1/gpx.xsd http://www.topografix.com/GPX/gpx_style/0/2 http://www.topografix.com/GPX/gpx_style/0/2/gpx_style.xsd http://www.topografix.com/GPX/gpx_overlay/0/3 http://www.topografix.com/GPX/gpx_overlay/...gpx_overlay.xsd http://www.topografix.com/GPX/gpx_modified/0/1 http://www.topografix.com/GPX/gpx_modified...px_modified.xsd http://www.geobuddy.com/cache/1/1 http://www.geobuddy.com/cache/1/1/cache.xsd http://www.geobuddy.com/GPX/0/1 http://www.geobuddy.com/GPX/0/1/geobuddy.xsd">

 

The PQ I ran today for the same area straight out of the zip file is:

 

<gpx xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" version="1.0" creator="Groundspeak Pocket Query" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/0 http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/0/gpx.xsd http://www.Groundspeak.com/cache/1/0 http://www.Groundspeak.com/cache/1/0/cache.xsd" xmlns="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/0">

 

So for the test I took the PQ from today and used EasyGPS to merge the two new gpx files for the PQ I created for today and the merged file has the following:

 

<gpx xmlns="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1"'>http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1" version="1.1" creator="EasyGPS 3.57" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1 http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1/gpx.xsd http://www.topografix.com/GPX/gpx_overlay/0/3 http://www.topografix.com/GPX/gpx_overlay/...gpx_overlay.xsd http://www.topografix.com/GPX/gpx_modified/0/1 http://www.topografix.com/GPX/gpx_modified...px_modified.xsd http://www.geobuddy.com/cache/1/1 http://www.geobuddy.com/cache/1/1/cache.xsd http://www.geobuddy.com/GPX/0/1 http://www.geobuddy.com/GPX/0/1/geobuddy.xsd">

 

The original statement from the PQ has been changed and is much larger.

 

There is something else I noticed, the two files I got today totaled up 2.242 megs in size. The merged file using EasyGPS is 1.736 megs. I get that the xsd extension is, in a basic sense, the style sheet.

 

Part of my mystery is solved. I doubt I am going to take time to run file comparisons to see exactly what was removed and added that caused the reduction in file sizes when merged. I also noticed the merged file, when I open it in Google Earth does not display the cache info below like the unmerged file does. That could be the bulk of the missing data causing the reduction in file size in the merged file.

 

EasyGPS is altering the files and adding the <type>text/html</type> to the merged GPX file. Since the merged file still works on the GPSrs I have, it is of little matter to me. As far as Google Earth, I will not used the merged file. The waypoints file I get with the PQs does not get used by me there anyway. It works in EasyGPS due the xsd file used for format the data in EasyGPS is different than the xsd file that is used in Google Earth.

 

I now know to not use the merged file in Google Earth. If the merged file was causing issues there due to the formatting changes in the gpx file, then it is possible the merged file would be an issue in other places too.

 

Robert, if you want to see the two files I can post them to my site or email them to you. If you do not want to see them, that is okay too.

 

Guy