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Map locations from LOC or GPX file?


Team Chevelle

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Is there anything out there that I can feed a LOC or GPX file into and get a quick map of all of the locations?

 

Basically, I currently hand-feed them into a mapping program on my PDA by log/lat coords. I'd really like to be able to dump a big list into something so that I can look for clusters of caches. That way, if my wife and I decide to take a Saturday and go geocaching, I can look at a map and decide the best direction to head to hit the most caches in one area...

 

- John...

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Yup.

Use ExpertGPS and you can see them on a topo map or an aerial photo.

 

If you convert the points to another format, you can see them in other mapping software as well, but ExpertGPS is easiest. (Costs money, though.)

 

DustyJacket

Not all those that wander are lost. But in my case... icon_biggrin.gif

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I use geobuddy to open the .LOC files and save them as a CSV file. You can also merge multiple LOC files together using this program. I then import the CSV file into Microsoft Streets & Trips.

 

This is a great way to view the clusters of caches, and the basemapping information in S&T is great. You can even hyperlink from there to the Web page for each cache.

 

-Junglehair

 

I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken.

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quote:
Originally posted by General Bracket:

http://www.jdmcox.com/ will give you aerial photos and open GPX files, placing points on the photos where the caches are.

 

And it's free.


 

This seems very close to what I want, except that I can't get it to do more than one point at a time. Am I missing something? If I do them as lines, then I can get more than one on, but I have to do each one manually -- which is a pain. Is there some way to just feed it the GPX file and have it plot ALL of the points within it?

 

Thanks to the others who answered too -- Unfortunately, I don't own Streets & Trips or any other non-free mapping software really -- I was hoping to do it on-the-cheap...

 

- John...

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I would check to see if there is an option to import a CSV file in which ever free mapping software you go with. I would think that would be the easiest way to bring all the points over.

 

If USAPhotoMaps opens GPX files as General Bracket suggested, why won't that work for you to be able to plot all the points at once?

 

-Junglehair

 

I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken.

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quote:
Originally posted by junglehair:

I would check to see if there is an option to import a CSV file in which ever free mapping software you go with. I would think that would be the easiest way to bring all the points over.


 

Well, I'm happy to do that if someone has any suggestions for any free mapping software that will do it. I don't mind converting LOC or GPX to something such as CSV. I just haven't found a free app that will take any of them yet...

 

quote:
If USAPhotoMaps opens GPX files as General Bracket suggested, why won't that work for you to be able to plot all the points at once?

 

Because, as I explained above, it doesn't appear to have a way to plot all the points at once. Unless I'm missing something. It opens up a GPX file and gives me a list of all of the points. I then have to pick one to plot it. This doesn't help me much with what I want to be able to do: open a GPX file with dozens or even hundreds of points and have them all plotted so that I can look for clusters and such...

 

Thanks.

 

- John...

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quote:
Originally posted by John Goggan:

Because, as I explained above, it doesn't appear to have a way to plot all the points at once. Unless I'm missing something. It opens up a GPX file and gives me a list of all of the points. I then have to pick one to plot it. This doesn't help me much with what I want to be able to do: open a GPX file with dozens or even hundreds of points and have them all plotted so that I can look for clusters and such...


 

John,

 

Are you talking about how once the map images download you can no longer see the waypoints (gree dots with text)? While yes, the downloaded image does overwrite the waypoint, simply zooming in/out (then back again if desired) will refresh the screen and allow you too see all of the waypoints that you have loaded.

 

All I did to be able to see all of my waypoints was:

 

1) Create a GPX file with my waypoints

2) Load the GPX waypoints into USAPhotoMaps

3) Jump to a desired point

4) Adjust zoom to a desired level

(note: I've had difficulty getting

maps to download at certain zoom levels)

5) After map images have downloaded,

refresh the waypoints by adjusting zoom

 

Hope that helps. Worked great for me.

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Thanks, antonym -- that seemed to do it. It was the "adjust the zoom" that fixed it.

 

For me, it isn't even a matter of the downloading overwriting a waypoint. It basically only shows me one waypoint at a time regardless of the GPX file that I load -- unless I adjust the zoom a bit -- THEN they all show up.

 

I thought that it was a limitation of the program to only show me one point from the file at a time (when I did "goto"). Now I see that it is just a problem with it not always drawing them all, apparently.

 

In any case, that seems to work for me now. Thanks!

 

- John...

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Here is the next to free mapping software that I use:

TOPO! 2-CD set for $20

Streets and Trips for $15 after rebate.

 

You can take a .gpx file and quickly convert it with GPSBabel (free) to a .tpg file or .csv file and load it into the above map programs. On S&T, each waypoint will have the cache number, name, difficulty rating,and coords.

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