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Probably not so many people need to get OM to display geo-referenced maps originating from image files (such as scans or non-referenced pdf files) now that geo-pdf capability is so good; but the need still arises occasionally.



For anyone experiencing failures, with the message "An error occurred while generating images" - try another version of the initial image files.



In my hands (using Oruxmapsdesktop version 2.1.0beta under Win7 with Java .jpg files exported from Acrobat 8 always give this error. However, .jpg files saved through Irfanview, are processed without any error.



As an aside, when starting with charts provided in (non-referenced) pdf format, the final quality was much better when I used screen grabs (Snipping Tool) rather than pages exported from Acrobat; both finally saved in .jpg format through Irfanview. Because these charts have a Lat/Lon grid, referencing in Oruxmapsdesktop was easy (once I got over the incompatibility with some jpg flavours), and the results are fine in OM.



Edit: In fairness to Adobe, there are settings for quality, resolution and colour space when exporting to jpg from Acrobat; and some the these (non-default) settings yield high-quality (albeit larger) jpg files that process without errors in oruxmapsdesktop. The take-home message remains, if you get the error in oruxmapsdesktop, try another version of the initial image files.

Hello Orux,



This post is just for information of the developer, and for other users looking for an easy way to check current GPS fix.



On a CAT S41 (stock Nougat) with OM 7.1.6, when I turn on 'Notify no GPS signal' it issues alarms every minute or so, no matter what settings I have chosen for GPS mode in OM or Battery mode in the phone (Normal, Sport, Standby intelligent power saving on/off). OM is listed as not battery optimized, and there is plenty of battery left (Battery saver is off).



The frequent alarms disturb the peace, so I turned this feature off. Track recording seems fine, and continuous.



For those seeking a quick way to check GPS fix status (without opening another app like GPS test or GPS status), just put 'GPS accuracy' on the OM dashboard. It shows accuracy in meters, followed by number of used satellites in brackets. With open sky, this typically shows 0 m or 1 m and about 15 satellites for me, even when the 'no GPS signal' alarm has just gone off. Occasionally I briefly see --(--) in red, meaning that GPS signal is really lost.



I suspect some interaction between OM and Nougat battery control that the user can not easily override. But it does not interfere with tracking by OM, even with phone battery set to Normal mode with Standby intelligent power saving on (for long battery life while tracking on a prolonged hike). Other well-known settings for this purpose are to set a custom 'default' GPS time interval in OM to compromise between accuracy and battery use, and turn on Flight Mode in the phone if you are in a region with poor phone reception (or while you do not need calls).



Perhaps the 'no GPS signal' alarm is set a little too sensitive in OM? But users can easily turn that alarm off, and use GPS accuracy on the Dashboard if desired for confirmation that they still have a GPS fix.

I have been experimenting with ways to crop geo-referenced pdf Mapsheets to remove the margin information, so that OM will automatically display map detail (not margin notes) as it moves from one pdf to the next. Several ways might work, but all currently run into hitches in OM. The geo-referenced pdf files that I start with do work in OM.



1. Several pdf cropping programs like pdfscissors or briss produce output that opens in OM, but displays white in some cropped areas (bottom and right in the examples I checked). I appreciate that 'cropping' a pdf just hides the margins, but it gives files that appear as if the margins are removed in other viewers. Could this be implemented in OM?



2. The fastest way when geo-referenced pdfs have appropriate neatline data is to use gdalwarp to cut to the neatline, then gdal_translate to get back to geo-referenced pdf format. Although these files do open correctly (with spatial referencing) in other spatially-aware viewers, OM gives the error "> Can not find GEO info!". Could OM be made to recognise geo-referenced pdfs from gdal?



3. This may be more problematic, but because each geo-referenced pdf is a separate map, OM only shows one at a time. As a user approaches the edge of one pdf map, the adjacent map area is blank (grey); until the edge of the current map passes the screen centre-point whereupon OM shifts to the adjoining map, but the map area just traversed goes blank. It would be good if the pdf maps could be tiled as a more seamless mosaic; for example by loading all those 'in view' on the screen rather than just the one covering the screen centrepoint.



The reason I experiment with this is that in some areas geo-referenced pdf maps have better resolution than available wms maps or openandromaps. People experienced with digital maps have no solution that I can implement, so it seems like time to ask the OM developer.

I find the 'standard' UTM 1km grid to be very useful when hiking. It is built into some geopdf mapsheets, but not into other maps that I have tried in OM (like OpenAndro vector maps or wms mosaic raster maps).



I know that OM can import maps based on UTM, and it can show waypoint coordinates in UTM, but I have not found any way to display a UTM grid on a map in OM. If I am not missing an existing feature it would be great to add (maybe as an option in overlayers?)

Not sure if it is a bug, but if I long-press on a displayed waypoint, it jumps some arbitrary distance to the NW (with a vibration alert).



If I am displaying the WPT via "Load into active route", which seems to be the new way to "See on map", the changed coordinates are permanent in the waypoint record. This is problematic, as it is easy to accidentally long-press a WPT, and there is no "undo".



If the WPT is in a KML layer, it still jumps, but the changed location is not saved, so the WPT appears in its correct position after overlay remove and reload.



Running OM 7.0.17 on ZTE A462 under stock-standard Marshmallow 6.0.1.

Is there any trick to setting OM behaviour for timestamps on waypoints imported from gpx? I can see that OM is attempting to show them in local time, but for me it always adds 11 hrs to the UTC in the gpx file; even though my timezone (correctly set in android) is UTC + 10 hours. Altering UTC settings in OM Global Settings > Units has no effect on the time displayed in waypoint properties. Strangely, waypoints imported with no timestamp show as 1970-01-01 10:00, which I am guessing is a default time of 1970-01-01 0:00 + 10 hours. If so OM uses +10 hours there, but +11 hours when there is an incoming timestamp. Am I missing something??

Great App. I have studied the manual (and searched online), but I am still learning and can't find any answers to:



1. Is there any way to get a list of the Oruxmaps built-in waypoint types (faster than using many screen shots)? This would help a lot beacuse users do not need to recreate them as custom types, and it may be possible to efficiently assign Oruxmaps types to imported waypoints by editing a gpx file in a spreadsheet (after converting to csv using something like ExtraPOI editor).



2. The former option to show waypoints on screen was useful for those of us who think of waypoints as POIs rather than points necessarily attached to a track or route. But this option seems not to exist in v7.0.12. To see them on the map, I have to use in the Manage Wpts screen > Select (icon near top) then > Load into Active Route (icon near bottom left) > No Navigation. Is that the intended (quickest) method?



3. I guess using the above method, all those POIs will disappear from the map screen when I choose to navigate a saved route. I understand this is the current Oruxmaps model of "waypoints as points along a track or route", but it there any way to serve those who use a model of waypoints as POIs (points for display on the map even if we are not currently navigating to them)?



4. Although the terms waypoint and POI both appear in the Oruxmap manual, there seems to be no distinction between the concepts in the current App?



5. When a Track type is selected, does this do anything other than adding a tag? e.g. does it alter the way a track is displayed?