ViewRanger v1.0.198 Posted

posted by cw on Friday, August 26, 2005

We've posted a new update this morning with the following changes:

Distance To & Details on Selected POI
=====================================

POI Details added to Display sub menu and to Marker List menu. This gives a panel showing:
1. Name of POI
2. Classification of POI
3. If a hill, distance to its highest visible point
4. If town, water or wood, distance to its closest point (or an indication that you are within it)
5. If a point, distance to it
6. If a point, its coordinates

We'll probably look at moving this option to somewhere more convenient prior to product release. Thanks to Tony @ OS for suggesting this one!

Bookmarks - Remember and Revisit Your Favorite Places
=========================================

Add Bookmark added to GPS & Location menu - adds a bookmark at current location, prompting for name. Uses current containing POI, if any, as default name.

Bookmark List added to GPS and Location menu, which shows Bookmark panel.

Bookmark panel:
Options to Delete and Rename bookmarks
Option to add bookmark using current location
Option to manually enter coordinates for bookmark
Option to go to a bookmark - closes bookmark list and moves view location to bookmark location
Pressing OK button does a goto
Details - gives name, coordinates and time/date of bookmark entry

Terrain Exaggeration
====================
Exaggeration control added to Settings - controls vertical stretch of terrain, 1.0 is no stretch, 2.0 is twice as high etc. Can be useful to apply exaggeration when in a relatively flat area of landscape.

Imperial & Metric Units
=======================
ViewRanger now supports imperial as well as metric units for distance and height. Units type added to Settings - imperial versus metric (note, must Save Changes and reopen Settings panel before other settings use the new units)

Small Changes
=============

* Warning given if no data found at start up
* Warning given if you move to a location with no data
* New splash screen
* Pogress panel no longer appears over version / status panels
* Go to GPS location always updates screen

Tip for Outdoor Viewing

posted by cw on Thursday, August 25, 2005

For a clearer (higher contrast) display when using ViewRanger outdoors, you can switch to the outline display mode.

Simply select "Shading Off" from the Options->Display menu when in the panorama view.

Or use the shortcut key - press 7.

Press 7 again to return to the shaded display.

New Forest MapPak Posted

posted by cw on Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The MapPak covering the UK New Forest National Park, Isle of Wight and Solent area has been posted to the download page.

It stretches from Portsmouth in the East to the Purbecks in the West.

ViewRanger v1.0.197 posted

posted by cw on Monday, August 22, 2005

We've just posted an update that contains some changes "behind the scenes". However, we've added a couple of new shortcuts to the application:

There is now a short cut on Key 3 for seeing the manual view location panel.
We've also added a Point POIs on/off option to the display menu and a short cut of Key 8.

You can identify all the shortcuts that ViewRanger supports by the [ ] in the application menus.


Some Favourite Lake District Places

posted by cw on Monday, August 22, 2005

For those of you who want to try ViewRanger, but don't yet have a Bluetooth GPS receiver, or for those who are waiting to go up to the lakes, here are some favourite locations.

From ViewRanger's panorama view:
  • Select Options Menu
  • Select "GPS & Location >" Menu
  • Select "Manual Location"
  • Enter the coordinates below
  • Click OK

ViewRanger will then move to that location.

You need to have OS 5 Digit or National Grid as your display coordinate system (see Settings->UI->Coordinate Type)

Skiddaw :

NY 26046 29100 (OS 5 Digit) : 326046 529100 (National Grid)

Lodore Falls:

NY 26846 18880 (OS 5 Digit) : 326846 518880 (National Grid)

Latterbarrow (above Windermere):

SD 36855 99308 (OS 5 Digit) : 336855 499308 (National Grid)

ViewRanger v1.0.193 posted

posted by cw on Saturday, August 20, 2005

We've just posted the first Beta Version of ViewRanger to the download pages, along with MapPaks for the UK Lake District and UK Peak District regions.

We'll aim to deliver a couple more MapPak regions during the Beta process - so if you want to "vote" for your favorite, then do get in touch.

Also let us know what phone handset you are running ViewRanger on. We've tested with several handsets - but not all. Check out the Support page on the website for the list of handsets that ViewRanger is compatible with.

We've been using ViewRanger in our walking trips to the Lake District throughout its development process. We hope you find it useful too. We look forward to your comments - both praise and criticism.

Welcome

posted by cw on Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Welcome to the ViewRanger blog. Here we'll aim to keep you updated with the progress of the ViewRanger application as we move from Beta to general release status.