| imocoding.com |
Q : Which file formats PTGMAP can work with? Garmin maps .img , waypoints,track,routes .gdb, .mps, catalog file .tdb ; cGPSMapper Polish Format maps .mp ; OziExplorer calibrated raster maps .map ,image formats: .bmp, .jpg, .png, .gif ; OziExplorer waypoints, tracks and routes .wpt, .plt .rte ; PTGMAP atlas file .atl Q : How does the Atlas option work? Atlas functionality is intened mainly for navigation purposes, the idea behind this option is loading map pieces according to the current position given by GPS reciever and in off-line mode the position is calculated from the current view area. To use this atlas option, firstly an atlas file (.atl) must be prepared, to prepare this file one have to copy their maps (garmin .img format only) to one folder and run the option Menu->File->Create Atlas. Created atlas file can be opened next in the file browser. It is recommeneded to use basemap file (it will be recognised by the procedure as the map which covers the biggest area) and detailed maps. The base map will be shown only if the scale is bigger than 2 km, below this value ( 2km down to 3m ) only detailed maps will be displayed. Q : PTGMAP cannot open my *.img file, why? There are two modes of opening maps in PTGMAP: first one is edit mode (default mode), in this mode the entire map data must be loaded into memory and providing that garmin img format is a kind of compressed one, it needs amount of memory which can be several times more than that file written on the disk. Second mode is navigation mode (or atlas mode), in this mode one can open very big files because it loads only small portions of the map at the time. To use this mode one have to use the option Menu->Files->Create Atlas (to gather some information about the map), a file with .atl extension will be created then this file can be opened in file browser in the same way as other map files. Q : Where did all my tracks go? Providing that "Record track" option is enabled, tracks are written in .mps format to location which is defined in Menu->Options->I/O tab, to the end of that path folder "Tracks" is added. Tracks, waypoints and routes can also be saved manually in .gdb format by selecting Menu->File->Save W/T/R. 
Q : How can I find all the objects of given category in my area? Suppose we need to find a fuel station. Firstly in the "Find Place" tab, first combobox from the top of the screen select which area the objects will be searched for, there are several possibilities there, e.g. within a radius of 2 km or the visible area. Secondly select the category ( the number given in the square brackets right to the category's name represents the total number of objects of that category present in the whole map ). Leave the last combobox empty and finally click "Locate" button. Leaving the last combobox empty tells the engine to find any object of that category regardless of their names. Optionally to find an object which name is known write the name in the last bottom combobox and click "Locate" button. 
Q : Can I edit routes? Yes. Click the arrow button in the bottom right-hand side corner, then tap&hold on the route with your stylus and select "Edit Nodes" option. Move the crossess according to the needs. 
Q : How can I calibrate raster image? Two-points calibration 1. Menu->File->Add, select raster image (png,jpg,gif,bmp), OK 2. Turn your GPS on (though it's not necessary if you know the coordinates) 3. Menu->File->Calibrate Raster->Center to center the map in the current position 4. Menu->File->Calibrate Raster->2 Points - to open dialog box where the coordinates can be entered manually or tap the button "PICK". 5. After the button "PICK" is tapped, the map is displayed and can be scrolled freely to find the location you are in. 6. Tap&hold on the map in the current location to activate the pop-up menu, select first point, if GPS is on then the coordinates will be read in automatically 7. Repeat point 6. to get the coordinates for the second point (which should not be aligned verically or horizontally with the previous one), the biggest distance between the points the better precision. 8. Tap&hold on the map, select backward arrow to return to the calibration dialog. 9. Select datum and projection, tap OK button to finish the procedure. Below is shown calibrated image which was cut off from google maps and calibrated while driving a car. One can also see the track which seem to fit the street line quite precisely. 
There is a script one can use to obtain the map tile and coordinates from google maps, though I couldn't contact the author of this script: MapExplore Four-points calibration 1. Menu->File->Add, select raster image, OK 2. Menu->File->Calibrate Raster->4 Points 3. Enter the coordinates for the image corners in the following order: 1st - (Top,Left), 2nd - (Top,Right), 3rd - (Bottom,Right), 4th - (Bottom,Left) 4. Select datum and projection, tap OK button to finish the procedure. |