Files, Tracks and Track Segments

[fivespot]

Forgive a newbie for possibly rehashing an old issue.
The GPX schema allows multiple named tracks in a file. TopoFusion appears to assume one track per file.  Can't expand files in the list to see individual track. Can't move/copy tracks between files. Distance and other measures are summarized by file, not by track.
I use files to package groups of tracks in an area for the purpose of planning trail rides. I hand edit original GPS tracks from rides to break them into individual trails (trail == track) to allow ride planning across multiple connecting trails. TopoFusion is excellent for this as I can use aerial photos and topos to help determine trail segment endpoints. Just wish it was easier to manage tracks and files.

[Krein]

TF doesn't assume one track per file in general (it handles multiple per file just fine), but you are right that certain features (like stats) do operate on the whole file.

Personally, I have so much GPS data that it only makes sense to have one trail per file.  But of course it's nice to have an entire area, (like a network generated by TF for example) and be able to manipulate it.  You can profile each track separetely to get stats.  You can also delete a single track from a file (right click on it in the map and choose "delete segment").  Also, if you use the 'show points' button to fill the list of track points in file properties, you can see all the track points, with the track number they belong to.

What's missing, as you said, is the ability to copy tracks between files.  We definitely hope to add this functionality, as well as a + button on the main file list to see the tracks that make up each file.

Thanks for writing.

[BobBailey]

I started using Mapping software like MapSource, ExpertGPS, and GeePeeEx to organize my POIs. I wanted them organized by region and activity (I bike and kayak). Of course, as I got into this software I found more and more stuff I could do with it, especially after buying the second GPS that tracked elevations.

So, I have this file with two tracks on it representing two bike rides. When I open the file with TF I get all this useful info like climbing elevation, uphill and downhill time, grades, and more... But this is ONLY useful IF there is only one track per file.

I don't know how the rest of the TF community feels about it (you could do a poll in the forum to find out) but I would find TF more useful if the panel at the bottom, currently used for folder tree, file list, and log data, were reorganized a bit. My suggestion:
* Use the normal common dialog to open and close files, eliminating the folder tree.
* Similarly eliminate the file list.
* Use the expanded space available to list one track per line from the open file(s).

I understand that this is a major shift in the way TF manages files. Perhaps an alternative approach is an optional panel that looks like the log but lists one line per track. The log area can already be minimized so screen real estate should not really be an issue.

You could also limit the tracklog display to 3 in the demo version.

[Krein]

Thanks for the suggestions.

It may indeed be time for the file dialog to go.  And being able to open up each file (with a little + (plus) box) would be a great way to handle multiple tracks in a file.  I still think it's better to keep things in separate files, but I do run into instances where multiple does make sense.