Messages

I'm all for ads, as long as you allow me to remove them with a donation. :-)



In addition, have you thought about tracking user downloads on the website and nag the regular downloaders with a message that explains the costs and says a donation would be appreciated to keep thing running?

Or maybe just make this thing more visible to everyone. The simple Paypal "donate" button is everywhere on the web, it just gets ignored automatically by everyone.

Hi,



while I agree that installing anything in Oruxmaps is difficult for non-geeks I'm not sure this is simpler until it gets integrated in the app; still, a good step forwards. I have other proposals that can be added on the top of that to make thing even simpler. I atatch it here even if it is partially off-topic



While having a computer background I don't find managing Oruxmaps difficult, I introduced it to other people and, well, we are way beyond the typical simplicity and accessibility of smartphones. In particular, managing maps and themes is more complicated that it should be. One possible solution would be using self installing "packages" without requiring the user to browse folders or hacking files.



For example, the online maps sources file is a chore to edit, you almost need a PC and if you forget a bracket you break everything. Solution: make one file for each source, and give it a proprietary extension registered within Android. In that way I can send to someone only the file he needs via email, he taps it in Gmail and it is automatically passed to Oruxmaps that puts it into the right folder. Or I can put the file online to share, the user downloads, taps it in the download manager and... done!

To uninstall one source, long press it in the list and chose "delete" in the dialogue box that appears.



Ditto for offline maps. If I tap a ".map" file it should get passed straight to OM that moves it properly (warning that this can interfere with other apps, Locus for example) or adds it to its list without moving the original file.



And then Mapsforge themes. They usually come as zip files, but the extension can be changed to, say, ".mftheme". At this point it can be passed from any other app to OM automatically, that unzips it in the right folder. And when the user taps "switch theme" he should be presented with the list of valid themes present in the OM folder, rather than a file picker. To remove, the same as above.

In the same way (an finally I get back in topic... :-) ) rather than hardcoding the repository URL in OM it can be stored in a file, again with a specific extension so that it can be shared with ease.



Being there, a sliding drawer from the left (like most Google apps) would be perfect to switch between maps, themes, GPS modes etc. with a single tap.



Ok, for today I asked enough stuff. :-)

That's true. As a workaround you can keep the GPS alive with the GPS status app. I don't remember if you have to activate it, or if it's on by default.

Hi Jose,



I'm not sure we are talking about the same thing, if so I strongly disagree with you.



I'm using the last version from the Play Store (non beta) with OpenAndroMaps and a personal theme derived from Elevate on a Galaxy Nexus (around 300dpi, possibly 320). Default zoom is set to 100% and Mapsforge text multiplier is set to 1.5. I can't find the "pre zoom" setting.



To me everything was fine until the last update when the maps started to look jagged and I couldn't understand why. Then I looked at the dashboard and noticed that the digital zoom was jumping to 150% every time I changed zoom level. It then took me several minutes in the settings to understand what changed and how to fix it. At least when using vector maps digital zoom should IMHO not be enabled without user consent; even more so during an update. With raster maps it may be different since zooming is limited, but I still think the user should be warned. And possibly use some interpolation to avoid jagged lines.



That said, yes, increased pixel density can be a problem even with vector maps with mapsforge, since symbols don't scale, but that's better solved using a theme with bigger symbols that scale properly rather than a very crude digital zoom. As hinted above I'm working on it, maybe I can show something next week. Maybe not, it snowed and my skis are calling me... ;-)

I think you have digital zoom enabled. Check the settings. It happened the same to me with the last update, it went from 100 to 150.

I'm open for any idea how to improve this situation for everyone.

I already suggested on your website more or less what Febs is suggesting here, but you declined. I perfectly understand the reasons why you can't do that, your time and family are more important than our maps. However that seems the only way to make money from maps as of today. Have you thought about contacting another programmer to write the app and share the revenue? It's a very simple app, all it has to do is download a file, extract the map and place it in the right folder.

I don't know how many downloads you have in a year, but I'm confident that even at 0.10€/download your expenses would be more than covered and I think that nobody would have problems with such a price, not even occasional downloaders. Just please don't go the way of DEM1, forcing users to click a banner is unethical. I would have gladly paid for that app, but I ditched it instead and got my DEMs elsewhere.



The really cool feature would be the diff upgrades, but I don't know if that's possible with OSM data. Without that I think that the direct download on the phone poses some risks. Some maps are 1GB compressed, so one needs to have more than double that space free on the phone. Also it could eat up a monthly data plan with a single download. Not a problem for the geeks that know what are doing, but for Average Joe who can't remember if a MB is bigger or lower that a GB it could be a problem. On the other side a lot of car navigators on the market are doing this  so I'm probably wrong.



Personally the reason why I'd like the app is the in-app purchase. I got the donate version of OM almost immediately after trying the free one just for the convenience of the Play Store; on the old forum I asked for in-app donations so that I can donate again every now and then. On the other hand I'm still in the 99% of those that haven't paid for the maps, just for Paypal. I made a vow that before Christmas I'll go past my hate for it and make a donation, and I'll do because you more than deserve it, but I'd *much* prefer going trough the Play Store.

I was wondering too. :-)

In my experience DEM isn't always accurate, when correcting tracks afterwards I often get spikes. Still it's handy to read altitudes of distant spot.

The best use would be to get hill shading... any hope, Jose? :-)

My galaxy nexus got every version from to 4.0 to 4.3 and Oruxmaps never had any problem, not even in the first days.

Yes, it would be cool. It would be even cooler to have diff upgrades, so that you don't download every time the same stuff that didn't change since last time (think about contour lines).



However, given the typical download size, I have some reserve. After all it's unlikely that most people needs to update very often, making things too easy could put a massive load on servers.

Great!



Inviato dal mio Galaxy Nexus utilizzando Tapatalk

Removed, 'cause I realized I wrote a total nonsense. Sorry.

I second the request, phpBB is unusable on phones. Tapatalk makes forums fun again. :-)