Archived - Use Search => Archived - Feedback and Comments => Topic started by: Metzen on September 13, 2005, 02:40:59 PM
Title: Waypoint Icons (ie. GeoCaching)
Post by: Metzen on September 13, 2005, 02:40:59 PM
Hi,
I'm requesting icon support for waypoints.
I'm getting into GeoCaching and it's really fun. There are 800 different caches within 20 miles of my house.
There are different standard icons for waypoints, including GeoCache and GeoCache (found).
On my GPS V I can look and see a treasure chest icon for GeoCache's, and caches I've found the icon is an open treasure chest.
It would be nice if those were supported and recognized in TopoFusion. On my GPS V I can glance and find a cache I haven't been to, it would be nice to do the same in TopoFusion, since the icon type is stored in the GPX file I'm importing.
Thanks, Brian
Title: Waypoint Icons (ie. GeoCaching)
Post by: Krein on September 14, 2005, 02:05:29 PM
Someone just needs to draw them all.... :-)
Adding support shouldn't be too hard if we had some icons drawn....
Title: Waypoint Icons (ie. GeoCaching)
Post by: Metzen on September 14, 2005, 02:19:47 PM
What size and format would you like them in?
Title: Waypoint Icons (ie. GeoCaching)
Post by: Krein on September 14, 2005, 05:48:00 PM
Probably all of them in one .BMP file.
Size doesn't really matter. Not so big that they cover up too much, but big enough to see what they are.
They should all be in the same file, the same size, just one after each other, left to right.
It's probably best if we stick with 16 colors, as well. Here is the file that has icons we use now:
I have several others as well, same size, different symbols (not waypoints).
They're from another application and couldn't be used as is, but could be used as a starting point.
I think this is the complete list of waypoints recognized in the .gpx format:
Airport Amusement Park Anchor Ball Park Bank Bar Boat Ramp Bowling Bridge Building Campground Car Car Rental Car Repair Cemetery Church City (Large) City (Medium) City (Small) Convenience Store Crossing Dam Danger Area Dangerous Area Department Store Drinking Water Fast Food Fishing Area Fitness Centre Forest Fuel Geocache Geocache Found Glider Area Golf Course Hotel Hunting Area Information Live Theatre Man Overboard Medical Facility Mine Movie Theatre Museum Oil Field Parachute Area Park Parking Area Pharmacy Picnic Area Pizza Post Office RV Park Residence Restaurant Restroom Scales Scenic Area School Seaplane Base Shipwreck Shopping Center Short Tower Shower Skiing Area Stadium Summit Swimming Area Tall Tower Telephone Toll Booth Trail Head Truck Stop Tunnel Ultralight Area Waypoint Zoo
I think all of them are represented in those .bmp files.
I think this would be a welcome addition by anyone with many waypoints at all.
Thanks, Brian
Title: Waypoint Icons (ie. GeoCaching)
Post by: Kuren on September 15, 2005, 09:51:05 PM
do they need to be "I.P. neutral"?
Title: Waypoint Icons (ie. GeoCaching)
Post by: Metzen on September 16, 2005, 07:01:26 AM
The icons of all of the programs I have seen very closely resemble the icons on my GPS V.
If I had to guess I'd say most application authors have pulled the icons off of a GPS unit using a screen capture program, then touched them up or modified them slightly.
While this may not be entirely "IP neutral", I'd say it is "IP benign".
I think it's a good thing that all of the icons are very similar. It would be very inconvenient and incongruous to go from a program to my GPS and have the icons be completely different.
I posted the other .bmp files simply as an example, and not to be used directly.
I think the best thing to do would be to create one of each waypoint in close proximity, capture them from the GPS, load them into an editor and use them as a reference point for creating new icons. The new icons would be similar, which is a "Good Thing", but not derivative works.
It could be done in a few hours, I imagine.
Thanks, Brian
Title: Waypoint Icons (ie. GeoCaching)
Post by: Kuren on September 16, 2005, 07:53:28 AM
I'll let someone at TopoFusion take over from here, since you guys know what format you need, and how closely you want to match these icons to balance usability and legality.
Thanks for a great program. I look forward to seeing the waypoint icons in action, as I'm sure a lot of other users will too.
Thanks, Brian
Title: Waypoint Icons (ie. GeoCaching)
Post by: Kuren on September 16, 2005, 03:51:15 PM
I made a GPX file with Garmin, and then used Textpad to mass copy and paste in the other waypoints. I used Excell to invent the staggering coords.
Title: Waypoint Icons (ie. GeoCaching)
Post by: Metzen on November 15, 2005, 11:21:06 PM
I would still love to see this feature added, as it would really add to the usefulness of waypoints in TopoFusion, especially when you have a lot of them in one screenshot.
Thanks!
Title: Waypoint Icons (ie. GeoCaching)
Post by: Larry on November 19, 2005, 05:58:57 AM
Quote (Krein @ Sep. 14 2005,6:48)
It's probably best if we stick with 16 colors, as well. Here is the file that has icons we use now:
Perhaps TF could refer to this .bmp file instead of using it internally. That way users could tweak the individual icons to suit. NGS Topo! has such a .bmp file, and for my use, I much prefer my modified icons over the stock ones.
Larry
Title: Waypoint Icons (ie. GeoCaching)
Post by: Metzen on November 29, 2005, 12:06:18 PM
I agree. That would also remove any copyright concerns, as the included icons could just be quick and crappy and then users could collaborate separately to create their own.
That seems like a really clean way of approaching it.