The Droid Dev blog for Android Applications: Waypoint Free, Waypoint Pro, GPS Speed Free, GPS Speed Pro, Compass 360 Free, and Compass 360 Pro. Provides information about application updates and help for Waypoint, GPS Speed, and Compass 360 Applications.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Waypoint Help
The following screenshot tour gives an overview on how to use and navigate Waypoint Free and Pro menu options.
The app has a lot of good potential: I am not going to rail on your product. I would hope yo would want helpful criticism; to that end, the way point saving feature currently only allows 1 way point. 2. I cannot download routs from my pc. (Even with only 2 way points). 3. this appp seems to be using elements of another way point app on the system.??? (odd) the app in question is GPS STATUS, things that make you go hmmm. The menu system is a bit confusing, I am a novice with the droid. But I do read the help files incessantly and it does not tell me how to import routes with way points using your standard files. I also am a visual person. I like pictures. hope this helps. If I missed anything please feel free to email me at anamlupus@gmail.com
1) Waypoint currently only works with one Waypoint at a time. It does not support routes. 2) Waypoint does not support importing waypoints or routes from your PC. 3) Yes, Waypoint does have the ability to access other apps. This is stated in the About section. Currently Waypoint can access Google Maps for mapping, GPS Status for GPS troubleshooting, and Radar for navigating. This is a common practice in the Android development community and is referred to as an "Intent".
Adam
Waypoint Pro does have the ability to manually set a Waypoint, however you need to know the Latitude and Longitude of the location you want to input, it can not be obtained from a map. Sounds like a good candidate for a future feature.
Well, yeah!!! If I'm going to go to two or three places already saved in Google maps, for example, it would be nice to set them and let your app do the work of figuring time and distance. Seems like a no-brainer to me. I'd even pay a touch more if it could do that. Entering exact lat & long just isn't practical in an urban/suburban environment. Maybe this isn't the product for me...
I am not sure exactly what features you are referring to in your post, however Waypoint Pro has been able to do the above features for quite some time. Please read the product description in the Play store for all of the available features. But just to clarify, Waypoint Pro can work with multiple waypoints, routes, and tracks. Waypoint does support importing location data from GPX and KML file formats, as well as exporting to GPX and KML. Waypoint can set a new waypoint, routepoint, or trackpoint by using your current location, a known latitude/longitude coordinate, or by selecting a point on a map. If you have specific questions on how to use these features you can email me at thedroiddev@gmail.com.
I'm trying to get the Set Waypoint function to work, but I'm having a hard time figuring out the correct input for it. The coordintaes I'm inputting are: N38 55.028 W77 01.727 This is comes up with "Ben's Chilli Bowl" in Google maps.
In Waypoint Pro I type in: Lat:38.55028, Long:-77.01727 This input puts me in the forest several miles south of Ben's Chilli Bowl.
Can you provide help on the correct inputs of this set of corrdinates in Set Waypoint?
I think there needs to be an option to input degrees,minutes,seconds as well as degrees,decimal.
The coordinates do not map directly, they need to be converted to decimal first. For your location the coordinates you should enter are Lat: 38.917079 Long: -77.028716. You can use the following websites for any future conversions:
VERY nice app. I've never had good luck with "digital" compasses and continue to rely on my traditional needle/analog compass so I use my GPS to obtain a bearing and then navigate by compass. Hard to do with Waypoint because it provides ONLY true north bearings. Providing magnetic north reference would be nice. Also, having the option on the "navigate" screen to view a topo map overlay rather than satellite view would be nice.
As a replied in our email conversation, Waypoint is just providing the reading from your phone's magnetic sensor. In order to get a reading for true north magentic declination would need to be calculated and accounted for which Waypoint does not do at this time. So the reading you are getting from Waypoint should be magnetic north and not true north. There are also many environmental factors that can affect your phone's ability to get an accurate reading. The slightest magnetic field produced from a radio or other device can add error into the reading. Try calibrating your phone's magentic sensor by moving it in a figure 8 pattern when the application first starts.
Back in Nov 2010 a poster asked: "Is there a way you can set a waypoint without being at the location? Just by looking at a map for example and setting a waypoint from the map?"
You replied: "Waypoint Pro does have the ability to manually set a Waypoint, however you need to know the Latitude and Longitude of the location you want to input, it can not be obtained from a map. Sounds like a good candidate for a future feature." -------------------- I was really really hoping this would've made it into WayPoint Pro 5.
This capability would really bring the WayPoint Pro forward
Thanks for your interest in Waypoint Pro. Waypoint Pro has supported setting a waypoint from a map for quite some time. Use the following directions to set a waypoint from a map:
Select Set Waypoint from the menu. Click the Map icon next to the Save Waypoint checkbox. Move the map to the location you want to set. Click the Enable Coordinates toggle button. Click the Save icon (the disk) or press the phone's back button. The coordinates will now be populated in the form. Click OK to save or set the waypoint.
Waypoint 5.0.0 now shows your current location and the distance from your current location to the waypoint you want to set.
Hope this helps. If you have any other questions let me know.
Yes it is possible to view your track in the map view. If you have created a category with track data, then all the points you save will be mapped as a track in the map view. To do this simply select the category with track data (or data you have saved) and use the Plotter to view the track on the map. Yes, the track data is always saved, and is required to be saved before you can view it.
I need to make my screen stay on while viewing Waypoint Pro. When the screen goes off and comes back on it temporarily loses satelites. Any suggestions? Samsung gs3
Waypoint Pro already uses a permission called wake lock which is used to prevent the screen from turning off when Waypoint Pro is running. Could you provide more details on how the screen is getting turned off? Is this automatic or are you turning the screen off? Waypoint Pro does not run in the background so if the screen is turned off the application cleans up it's resources to reduce battery usage.
The waypoints you saved to the SD Card from your previous device should still be on the SD Card in a directory named waypoint unless the SD Card was wiped at some point. Other than that, nothing should ever happen to the waypoint data. In Waypoint Pro there is a feature to backup of the waypoint data file and I would recommend doing this every so often. This allows you to backup the data file to an email account or Google drive which can then be retrieved at a later time if needed. If you have further questions regarding this, you can email directly at thedroiddev@gmail.com
Nice app but I find the background with the map and gridlines makes it difficult for me to read the screen. Would appreciate a plainer background as an option.
Hi and thank you for your interest in Waypoint. I will look into adding some different background options. I also wanted to let you know Waypoint does support different text colors which may help in the meantime. To change the text color select the Menu option Settings -> Color Settings. Then use the Select Text Color Option combo box to select a text color.
A nice app that suits my needs. However I have a problem when trying to set a waypoint. When the coordinate system is set to 'minutes' and I enter the longitude 144:59.239 it says it is an invalid coordinate. If I set the coordinate system to 'degrees' and enter 144.98732, it is accepted but when I change the coordinate system back to 'minutes', the longitude is displayed as 144:59.0 (which I believe is incorrect). What can you suggest? I would prefer to enter my coordinates in the 'minutes' mode without having to do manual conversions. Also, is there a way to edit waypoint coordinates once they have been saved?
This is related to the following bug in Android [1]. It appears this issue was automatically closed and no further updates provided by the Android team. I will do some further testing to see if this issue is actually resolved in the latest release of Android, however Waypoint Pro doesn't currently target specific Android version per APK so in order to maintain backward compatibility it will not be possible to have a coordinate with seconds greater than 59.00 at this time. Note, this only occurs when a coordinate needs to be converted between formats.
I am a oilfield sub contractor. I have been using the paid version of this app to mark the site of all the locations we work at. So far the app is working very well. My phone is a galaxy s4. I need help with one issue. It seems I can only see one location at a time. I need to see all the locations I mark on a map at one time. I see this app has an export feature. But export to what map app? Google maps is on my phone but it does not appear to be able to import. Please help me with this issue.
To use the built in map view you should use the the "Plotter" feature. The Plotter allows you to view multiple waypoints on the map at once and provide information on the distance between the waypoints and the distance from your current location to the current waypoint. The Plotter feature can be accessed via the tools menu in the top action bar of the application. If you have any further questions just let me know.
I installed the radar recommended for this app on my razr m. It tells me how far i am from the waypoint but doesn't show the location or the direction i need to go on the screen. Any suggestions. Thanks
Hi, I'm going to take the next step in using Waypoint Pro - track function. I've made a track file containing one track using GPS Visualizer and imported it into my Sony Ericson Android 2.1 as category track with the name tracktest. The file doesn't contain any waypoints, i e just trk values. I select the category tracktest and this is also diplayed as Current waypoint in the main window. So far so good. Then I try to look at the track via Plotter but I get a message that there are no waypoints in the track. What's wrong and what can be done. Regards Lars
I just had a look through the code. Are you seeing the following message:
"No Waypoints selected, please make a selection."
If so, this would indicate you did not actually import a track, however I would need your import data to confirm. If you can email me directly, I would be happy to take a look.
Hi guys! An useful tool to consider when you need to make Google Earth kml file to gpx format and vice versa, is this one: http://gpx2kml.com/ which is free of charge, no installation required and fast converted results. Upload files and see how it functions. Thought it could help, thanks!
My favorite gps app by far. I use it regularly for marking tree stands and fishing spots. After recent update I am no longer able to use the apps plotter feature to see marked waypoints on maps. It instantly force closes when trying this feature.
The app has a lot of good potential: I am not going to rail on your product. I would hope yo would want helpful criticism; to that end, the way point saving feature currently only allows 1 way point. 2. I cannot download routs from my pc. (Even with only 2 way points). 3. this appp seems to be using elements of another way point app on the system.??? (odd) the app in question is GPS STATUS, things that make you go hmmm. The menu system is a bit confusing, I am a novice with the droid. But I do read the help files incessantly and it does not tell me how to import routes with way points using your standard files. I also am a visual person. I like pictures. hope this helps. If I missed anything please feel free to email me at anamlupus@gmail.com
ReplyDeletethis is not a gps tracker that allows you to save routes. its waypoints only. you can only save 1 (or 3) until you pay some money for the pro version.
DeleteIs there a way you can set a waypoint without being at the location? Just by looking at a map for example and setting a waypoint from the map
ReplyDeleteanamlupus
ReplyDelete1) Waypoint currently only works with one Waypoint at a time. It does not support routes. 2) Waypoint does not support importing waypoints or routes from your PC. 3) Yes, Waypoint does have the ability to access other apps. This is stated in the About section. Currently Waypoint can access Google Maps for mapping, GPS Status for GPS troubleshooting, and Radar for navigating. This is a common practice in the Android development community and is referred to as an "Intent".
Adam
Waypoint Pro does have the ability to manually set a Waypoint, however you need to know the Latitude and Longitude of the location you want to input, it can not be obtained from a map. Sounds like a good candidate for a future feature.
Well, yeah!!! If I'm going to go to two or three places already saved in Google maps, for example, it would be nice to set them and let your app do the work of figuring time and distance. Seems like a no-brainer to me. I'd even pay a touch more if it could do that. Entering exact lat & long just isn't practical in an urban/suburban environment. Maybe this isn't the product for me...
Delete@ None,
DeleteI am not sure exactly what features you are referring to in your post, however Waypoint Pro has been able to do the above features for quite some time. Please read the product description in the Play store for all of the available features. But just to clarify, Waypoint Pro can work with multiple waypoints, routes, and tracks. Waypoint does support importing location data from GPX and KML file formats, as well as exporting to GPX and KML. Waypoint can set a new waypoint, routepoint, or trackpoint by using your current location, a known latitude/longitude coordinate, or by selecting a point on a map. If you have specific questions on how to use these features you can email me at thedroiddev@gmail.com.
Regards
I'm trying to get the Set Waypoint function to work, but I'm having a hard time figuring out the correct input for it. The coordintaes I'm inputting are:
ReplyDeleteN38 55.028 W77 01.727 This is comes up with "Ben's Chilli Bowl" in Google maps.
In Waypoint Pro I type in:
Lat:38.55028, Long:-77.01727
This input puts me in the forest several miles south of Ben's Chilli Bowl.
Can you provide help on the correct inputs of this set of corrdinates in Set Waypoint?
I think there needs to be an option to input degrees,minutes,seconds as well as degrees,decimal.
@ Anonymous
ReplyDeleteThe coordinates do not map directly, they need to be converted to decimal first. For your location the coordinates you should enter are Lat: 38.917079 Long: -77.028716. You can use the following websites for any future conversions:
http://stevemorse.org/jcal/latlon.php
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/DDDMMSS-decimal.html
I have a couple other requests to be able to enter a waypoint using multiple formats. I will look at adding this feature to a future release.
Same Anonymous here.
ReplyDeleteI just bought a new app on the market called Coordinate Converter. It's basic and simple. It allows all inputs types and plots it on google maps.
I like all the other aspects of Waypoint Pro and hope it comes full circle by enabling more inputs so I won't need another source for inputs.
Is it possible to show all of my saved waypoints on google maps at the same time. I use it for marking bouys on a lake. Thanks
ReplyDelete@ Jeff,
ReplyDeleteWaypoint has an option to show all waypoints on a map. Use the following menu options to accomplish this:
Menu -> Plot Waypoints
Select the waypoints you want to map and click "OK"
VERY nice app. I've never had good luck with "digital" compasses and continue to rely on my traditional needle/analog compass so I use my GPS to obtain a bearing and then navigate by compass. Hard to do with Waypoint because it provides ONLY true north bearings. Providing magnetic north reference would be nice. Also, having the option on the "navigate" screen to view a topo map overlay rather than satellite view would be nice.
ReplyDelete@ George
ReplyDeleteAs a replied in our email conversation, Waypoint is just providing the reading from your phone's magnetic sensor. In order to get a reading for true north magentic declination would need to be calculated and accounted for which Waypoint does not do at this time. So the reading you are getting from Waypoint should be magnetic north and not true north. There are also many environmental factors that can affect your phone's ability to get an accurate reading. The slightest magnetic field produced from a radio or other device can add error into the reading. Try calibrating your phone's magentic sensor by moving it in a figure 8 pattern when the application first starts.
The Droid Dev
Back in Nov 2010 a poster asked:
ReplyDelete"Is there a way you can set a waypoint without being at the location? Just by looking at a map for example and setting a waypoint from the map?"
You replied:
"Waypoint Pro does have the ability to manually set a Waypoint, however you need to know the Latitude and Longitude of the location you want to input, it can not be obtained from a map. Sounds like a good candidate for a future feature."
--------------------
I was really really hoping this would've made it into WayPoint Pro 5.
This capability would really bring the WayPoint Pro forward
@ Anonymous
ReplyDeleteThanks for your interest in Waypoint Pro. Waypoint Pro has supported setting a waypoint from a map for quite some time. Use the following directions to set a waypoint from a map:
Select Set Waypoint from the menu.
Click the Map icon next to the Save Waypoint checkbox.
Move the map to the location you want to set.
Click the Enable Coordinates toggle button.
Click the Save icon (the disk) or press the phone's back button.
The coordinates will now be populated in the form.
Click OK to save or set the waypoint.
Waypoint 5.0.0 now shows your current location and the distance from your current location to the waypoint you want to set.
Hope this helps. If you have any other questions let me know.
The Droid Dev
Yes, thats it. That works great. You initially lost me on 'Set Waypoint'. But a press on 'More' I then found my way.
ReplyDeleteThis is excellent. I really didn't know about this feature. And I never would've found it if you hadn't explained it.
Many Many thanks for this feature and many thanks for your prompt reply.
I have now marked my off-road camping waypoint and because WayPoint Pro links through to google Navigation, I won't get lost on route.
Bring on the summer !!
Many thanks Dev.
I have a garmin phone and want to import my waypoints from phone to waypoint pro but it says no gpx files found.
ReplyDeleteAny ideas?....thx...pete
@Anonymous
ReplyDeletePete,
You need to copy your gpx file to the waypoint directory on your phone's SD Card.
The Droid Dev
where is this? I cannot find any directory called "waypoint" on my SD card. I created one, doesn't help.
DeleteHi, is it possible to view my track in the map view, or anywhere. Also, can I save a track, for later use.
ReplyDeleteCheers David
@David,
ReplyDeleteYes it is possible to view your track in the map view. If you have created a category with track data, then all the points you save will be mapped as a track in the map view. To do this simply select the category with track data (or data you have saved) and use the Plotter to view the track on the map. Yes, the track data is always saved, and is required to be saved before you can view it.
I need to make my screen stay on while viewing Waypoint Pro. When the screen goes off and comes back on it temporarily loses satelites. Any suggestions? Samsung gs3
ReplyDeleteHi Jeff,
DeleteWaypoint Pro already uses a permission called wake lock which is used to prevent the screen from turning off when Waypoint Pro is running. Could you provide more details on how the screen is getting turned off? Is this automatic or are you turning the screen off? Waypoint Pro does not run in the background so if the screen is turned off the application cleans up it's resources to reduce battery usage.
Regards,
The Droid Dev
Purchased new phone put in sdcard from old one and no waypoints show up what can I do?
ReplyDeletePurchased new phone put in sdcard from old one and no waypoints show up what can I do?
ReplyDeleteThe waypoints you saved to the SD Card from your previous device should still be on the SD Card in a directory named waypoint unless the SD Card was wiped at some point. Other than that, nothing should ever happen to the waypoint data. In Waypoint Pro there is a feature to backup of the waypoint data file and I would recommend doing this every so often. This allows you to backup the data file to an email account or Google drive which can then be retrieved at a later time if needed. If you have further questions regarding this, you can email directly at thedroiddev@gmail.com
DeleteRegards,
TDD
Nice app but I find the background with the map and gridlines makes it difficult for me to read the screen. Would appreciate a plainer background as an option.
ReplyDeleteHi and thank you for your interest in Waypoint. I will look into adding some different background options. I also wanted to let you know Waypoint does support different text colors which may help in the meantime. To change the text color select the Menu option Settings -> Color Settings. Then use the Select Text Color Option combo box to select a text color.
DeleteRegards,
TDD
A nice app that suits my needs.
ReplyDeleteHowever I have a problem when trying to set a waypoint.
When the coordinate system is set to 'minutes' and I enter the longitude 144:59.239 it says it is an invalid coordinate.
If I set the coordinate system to 'degrees' and enter 144.98732, it is accepted but when I change the coordinate system back to 'minutes', the longitude is displayed as 144:59.0 (which I believe is incorrect). What can you suggest? I would prefer to enter my coordinates in the 'minutes' mode without having to do manual conversions.
Also, is there a way to edit waypoint coordinates once they have been saved?
Hi Steve,
DeleteThis is related to the following bug in Android [1]. It appears this issue was automatically closed and no further updates provided by the Android team. I will do some further testing to see if this issue is actually resolved in the latest release of Android, however Waypoint Pro doesn't currently target specific Android version per APK so in order to maintain backward compatibility it will not be possible to have a coordinate with seconds greater than 59.00 at this time. Note, this only occurs when a coordinate needs to be converted between formats.
I apologize for the inconvenience.
Regards,
TDD
[1] http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=2667
I am a oilfield sub contractor. I have been using the paid version of this app to mark the site of all the locations we work at. So far the app is working very well. My phone is a galaxy s4. I need help with one issue. It seems I can only see one location at a time. I need to see all the locations I mark on a map at one time. I see this app has an export feature. But export to what map app? Google maps is on my phone but it does not appear to be able to import. Please help me with this issue.
ReplyDeleteHi Robert,
DeleteTo use the built in map view you should use the the "Plotter" feature. The Plotter allows you to view multiple waypoints on the map at once and provide information on the distance between the waypoints and the distance from your current location to the current waypoint. The Plotter feature can be accessed via the tools menu in the top action bar of the application. If you have any further questions just let me know.
Robert,
DeleteI also wanted to let you know you can export your waypoints in KML format and use the desktop version of Google Earth to import and view your points.
I installed the radar recommended for this app on my razr m. It tells me how far i am from the waypoint but doesn't show the location or the direction i need to go on the screen. Any suggestions. Thanks
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm going to take the next step in using Waypoint Pro - track function.
ReplyDeleteI've made a track file containing one track using GPS Visualizer and imported it into my Sony Ericson Android 2.1 as category track with the name tracktest. The file doesn't contain any waypoints, i e just trk values. I select the category tracktest and this is also diplayed as Current waypoint in the main window. So far so good. Then I try to look at the track via Plotter but I get a message that there are no waypoints in the track. What's wrong and what can be done.
Regards
Lars
Hi Lars,
DeleteIt would be best if you email directly on this issue at thedroiddev@gmail.com and attach the file so I can have look.
Regards,
TDD
Hi Lars,
DeleteI just had a look through the code. Are you seeing the following message:
"No Waypoints selected, please make a selection."
If so, this would indicate you did not actually import a track, however I would need your import data to confirm. If you can email me directly, I would be happy to take a look.
Regards,
TDD
I have Waypoint Pro. Is there any way to improve accuracy (right now 147.6 ft.) or is it based only on the hardware?
ReplyDeleteHi guys! An useful tool to consider when you need to make Google Earth kml file to gpx format and vice versa, is this one: http://gpx2kml.com/ which is free of charge, no installation required and fast converted results. Upload files and see how it functions. Thought it could help, thanks!
ReplyDeleteHow do I get more Waypoint I can Save. And what is the cost.What other features come with the additional cost.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite gps app by far. I use it regularly for marking tree stands and fishing spots. After recent update I am no longer able to use the apps plotter feature to see marked waypoints on maps. It instantly force closes when trying this feature.
ReplyDelete