Discussion: Java-free UI for RouteGadget is available now

Alternative UI for RouteGadget is available now. It doesn't require Java, it works on most/some mobile devices and also drawing routes choices with touch screen should be possible.

The functionality and UI layout is pretty much the same, so those who are familiar with the old version should know already how to use. GPS track upload feature is still missing and so is control by control animation. I'll add those later. There is no much new features except route tool-tips and route choice highlights triggered by tap or mouse over legend or split time table.

For those who like to take a look, here is one of the sites I have already updated: http://www.rastivarsat.fi/reitti/04_syksy/cgi/rgjs...

This is just alternative use interface to the same back end data, so after installing this old Java UI is still functional and route drawn with either will show up on both.

Plan is to get GPS functionality added next and possibly later some new things and improvements and then letting it settle for Jukola 2014.

Snapshot of the way route is drawn with touch screen, you get large cross-hair icon and you draw that around the course. Dragging outside the icon moves map:

Yay, I no longer have to reinstall Java every time I want to watch a RG animation!

This is great news! Thanks Jagge.

How do we update our installations so that our users can have access to this?

Ah - I see it is available on the RouteGadget.net download page

Now there is new version of RouteGadget available. It's not alternaive UI, this replaces the old java one. So old links will get you to the right event, the Ui just doesn't use java any longer.

Most parts are half baked, nut all the essential functionality should be there - you can view routes, animate, draw, upload gps tracks (there is now automatic positioning using splits), works with same even types as before (normal, relay/forking, manual splits) and so on.

Rastivarsat RG site is runnig on this new version:
http://www.rastivarsat.fi/reitti/04_syksy/cgi/reit...

Jagge
I have set up the new version of RG available at http://rg.orienteering.asn.au
Looks like some of the backend is still Java no major issues there. Someone has uploaded an event and georeferenced the map using a GPX file I provided having run at the event. However, when I uploaded my GPX route through the user interface it is totally wrong.
The georeferencing values visible in the manger seem logical to me (and contain negative latitudes). I suspect there may be an issue with the GPX files given we are in the southern hemisphere and therefore the latitudes are negative values. Happy to send you the GPX file to test if required.

There is two was (modes) to position gps track. "Split based" and "manual". Default is split based and I assume you tried to use that. It assumes you started gps log at start, so if your split time at control 1 is for example 1.26 it places your track point at 86 sec to control 1 and so on. Runners often start their gps before start (or forgot to push start button and pushed it halfway to #1), so to fix that there is time offset slider.

You seem to have started your gps late (halfway to #2) so you need to use that slider. Slide it left to about -92 sec (you started logging about 92 sec after the start, right?) and it will be placed quite right. Try it, you will have to slider twice to get it all the way to -92 since one slide action changes the offset max +-60 secs). Then you can fine tune it by adding extra adjustment points with mouse right button and drag them around.

This split based mode doesn't need or use geo-referencing at all, so event uploader doesn't need do referencing to make this work. And it works quite fine even if map's geometry isn't quite correct. It also cuts extra track away from the start (or adds extra points if gps was started too late), so animation timing will be correct and one doesn't need to trim the tracklog in advance. By starting gps logging at start it would/should go dead on right away, without geo-referencing.

I experiment also with Bruce's track, it will get placed right by sliding the slider to +5 sec. I guess he started it 5 sec before the actual start time.

"Manual " mode uses geo-referencing if there is such. It doesn't do any trimming. Manual mode is needed for event types without split times (trainings without epunching, pin punching etc).

(BTW you seem to have have old (initial) version. It did not use geo-reference info in manual mode yet, latest versions do. There is no changes in event management part of the app, so java applet is still in use there. But there is only one person needs to get it work, the one who uploads the event. And your hemisphere is least as good as ours :)

Thanks Jagge.
I did start the watch late (a bit like the brain). Will play with the slider.
The installed version was downloaded on the day of release. Will download and install latest version when I get some time.

I did this screen capture video to illustrate core functionality:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5osiINZFdSo

Mouse over effects, simple analysis, animations, mode for drawing route with touch screen, GPS track auto-positioning with split times and timing offset (map doesn't need to be geo-referenced). There will be UI layout changes, but this functionality should be there somewhere.

Update - the very latest RouteGadget comes now with html5/javascript based SplitsBrowser baked in, so Java plug-in is not needed for it either. The SplitsBowser version old RG used to come with was quite old, this new one has nice new features, like this neat crossing runners thing.

GREAT stuff Jarkko. I just (finally) tried out the touch screen route drawing (I'm generally a GPS importer) ... it's actually a lot better than using a mouse! Superb.

Jagge,
I notice that when I click on "latest routes" next to a specific event (http://rg.orienteering.asn.au/cgi-bin/reitti.cgi) it shows me a listing. If I then click on one of the names (only mine in this case) it just takes me to the map ie it doesn't automatically render my uploaded route.
Would be nice if it automatically displayed the selected route on the map.
Craig

That's what it does. You seem to have older version since animations modes (and Splitsbrowser) are missing too.

you're right (again) that was my fault.
too much hast, unpacking the file into a subdirectory.
will fix a bit later and try again

Note, event data is in "kartat " folder. When you upgrade, never overwrite that folder or your old events will be (at least partly) gone.

With latest version you can post gpx track also with iOS devices. Instead of uploading gpx file (like can you do with laptop or android devices, thats not suported in iOS) you can give URL/ link to gpx file (for example Attackpoint gpx export link). So those who use garmin upload for iOS devices will be able to post tracks all the way to RG via AP.

How great!

With latest versions you can make direct links to pre defined animation. As an example, this is how I crashed our Jukola hopes 2005:

http://routegadget.jukola.com/cgi-bin/reitti.cgi?a...

Same link can be used for embedding the same animation to a web site / blog (in iframe):

Night O at yökuppi:


Mass start emulation from start:

Thanks Jagge, these look great and are very useful.

Sweet. Maybe remember the zoom level too?

Yes, things like zoom and dimming should be remembered, also one should be able to set fixed location/view and make it stay there instead of centering to the dot. But one needs to start somewhere.

Now you can set duration.By adding parameter &aduration=5.5 to the URL animation will stop and play button will appear fo re-play after 5.5 minutes. Also changing aID parameter to aID=* will select all runners with drawn or GPS route, and &aID=all will select all, even those with no route information. Like this runners add their routes afterwards will show up here automatically. And with "&focusid=50046" parameter you can set the althete map center is following (viewer can change that by clicking/tapping legend entries).

(EDIT: today's version remembers zoom & dimming).

Hi Jagge,

Can you clarify the upgrade process? Specifically, I'm wondering if "kartat" is the only directory I'll have to be careful about overwriting.

In other words, can I safely upload and overwrite all other files and directories (besides kartat) from the upgrade ZIP into our existing top-level "gadget" directory, in order to have our previous event data retained in the new interface?

Thanks!

Yes, just like it always has been, "kartat" is the only folder not to overwrite. But anyway better back up everything first.

We haven't upgraded since 2009, so the process was not fresh in my mind... ;-)

Thank you for confirming!

Sorry to highjack an old thread, but this seems to be the easiest way to get some help with RG. I'm trying to use manual georeferencing, but when I look at the map, no tracks are visible. I suspect that this is because the geo data is way off, so I simply cannot zoom out far enough to see the track.

An indeed, kartat/coord.txt starts:
60.623299,25.104162
60.639297,25.08402
60.634499,25.11741
643,1011
37,220
925,386

The last lines look a bit like pixel values (although they're not the ones I entered), and the first lines could be degrees--but they are definitely incorrect. We're about 52°N, 10°W. Is there any obvious way to mis-reference a map (besides simply entering incorrect Northing/Easting values, which I've re-checked)?
I did not see a way to enter a UTM zone, so maybe RG is operating in the wrong one?

Thanks!

Those are calibration (wgs84 lat lon degrees ans respective pixel coordinates of the image) for the map used for live gps tracking. You should be on the map with your cell phone and let phone's app send data to server for a minute or two and your dot should show up if you have configured your phone right.

Oops. I should have noticed the modification date of coord.txt: that file definitely has not been changed by me.
So, back to square one: with or without manual geo data, I do not see any GPS trace.

Then most likely you don't have timestamps in your gpx file or you are using old version of RG and your gpx goes past midnight (a midnight bug, fixed last spring).

Don't know if this is relevant, but if you are in Lower Saxony, you should be at 10°E and not west!

@walk: Yes, I am indeed.
@Jagge: Unfortunately, no. I use version 20141102, and there are timestamps present. I will do some more debugging...

Then it should show up in the middle of the map image if there is no georeferencing. If georeferencing is all wrong it will show somewhere far far outside the map image, impossible to find. But is should not be all wrong if you made the geo-referencing with the gpx upload tool (gpx track upload and adjusting it about right) and not just by typing coordinates into some file.

Usually no-one bothers to geo-reference. The possibility to geo reference has been there for 6..7 years(?) and I have not yet noticed it being used much at all. The idea was using same map image over again, geo referencing needs to be done only once, so the map and georeferencing could be used for years in different events/trainings without having to do it again. But now there is split time based calibration and it works much better anyway.

OK, it is solved. The reason was my apparent inability to read simple English words: I gave coordinates in UTM metres rather than degrees. Ahem.

As to split times, we do not use electronic punching in training, so manual geo-referencing is quite handy.

Anyway, thank you for your comments, and of course for RouteGadget!

Usually no-one bothers to geo-reference. The possibility to geo reference has been there for 6..7 years(?) and I have not yet noticed it being used much at all

For the record, I was a big fan of this. (and it made everyone else a lot more likely to upload their routes, since no one could ever work out their own route calibration. :) )

Yeah Juffy always georeferenced RG when we used it but now he's given us TBT, which sometimes even has maps uploaded to it!