Software/site for plotting route points

[jhob]

I use an ancient greyscale etrex legend for navigation on audaxes. 

I plot a route on it with a route point at every junction and name it sequentially and with the action required, e.g. 001-L, 002-R, 003-SO etc*.  So I navigate 'as the crow flies' from point to point, normally with the map view on.  Here's an example of the sort of GPX files I create: http://hob.so/Ybjy

This takes a while but is a very effective method of navigation.  Currently I use Tyre to Travel to plot the route however I do find the software slow, buggy and very crash prone.  I feel that it gets in the way, rather than helps, my route plotting.

Can anyone suggest alternative software or websites that will allow me to plot a route in this way and that is nice and user-friendly?

* Special thanks to various contributors on these forums who initially suggested this method of navigation to me.

[Euan Uzami]

You can do what I think you're describing using my route planner http://www.gpxeditor.co.uk/

1) Right click (anywhere on the map) - add waypoint. Give it a name.
2) Repeat (1) for however many waypoints you want.
3) Right click (anwhere on the map) - 'Create from waypoints'.
4) Drag some or all from 'Available' into 'Selected'.
5) Click 'Track' or 'Route'.
6) Right click - save all, or right click on the route/track - Save Just This.

HTH.

[jhob]

You can do what I think you're describing using my route planner http://www.gpxeditor.co.uk/

That looks like just the thing!  I've had a quick play and it was easy to use.

If I had a couple of feature requests it would be:
* To add [ENTER] hotkey to close dialog and add point rather than having to click the 'OK' button
* That that there was a setting where all points were automatically added to the route - I find it helpful having the 'crow flies' line drawn in between them automatically

One thing I couldn't work out was how to add a route point in between two that have already been created - it always seems to append it to the end. Is there a way to do this?

[Euan Uzami]

You can do what I think you're describing using my route planner http://www.gpxeditor.co.uk/

That looks like just the thing!  I've had a quick play and it was easy to use.

If I had a couple of feature requests it would be:
* To add [ENTER] hotkey to close dialog and add point rather than having to click the 'OK' button
* That that there was a setting where all points were automatically added to the route - I find it helpful having the 'crow flies' line drawn in between them automatically

1, yes, that's probably a fairly quick job, i'll try and remember to do it at the weekend.
2, when you've got the 'route from waypoints' dialog up, just click the 'select all' button.

One thing I couldn't work out was how to add a route point in between two that have already been created - it always seems to append it to the end. Is there a way to do this?

If this is once the route has been created, then right click on the route point itself and then it should have an 'Insert After' or 'Insert Before' option.


It is context sensitive, so the menu is different depending on whether you click the map background, a track/route, a waypoint, or a a routepoint.
Note also that once a route has been created from waypoints, the routepoints aren't then subsequently 'tied' to the waypoints. After the route is created, they will happen to have the same location, but  you can drag one to a different location and it won't affect the other.

[jhob]

Ah yes, found the 'insert after/before' now.  When I use insert afer/before it doesn't seem to add the route point to the list on the right and the route points don't appear with the pin, see: http://hob.so/YaYE

Is that me doing something wrong?

[Euan Uzami]

Ah yes, found the 'insert after/before' now.  When I use insert afer/before it doesn't seem to add the route point to the list on the right and the route points don't appear with the pin, see: http://hob.so/YaYE

Is that me doing something wrong?

(Sorry, I noticed this last reply as quite old - please feel free to pm or email me if you want to know anything.)
The list on the right isn't a list of routepoints - it's a list of waypoints.
Basically the list on the right should mirror the elements that are direct children of the 'gpx' root node in the gpx file - i.e. only tracks, routes and waypoints.

Waypoints aren't the same as route points.
Insert after / Insert before inserts a routepoint to the route. It doesn't also create a waypoint.

The purple entries in the list on the right are your waypoints. Only they have purple entries in the list and pins. Routepoints just have a dot.

This is what I meant by:

Note also that once a route has been created from waypoints, the routepoints aren't then subsequently 'tied' to the waypoints. After the route is created, they will happen to have the same location, but  you can drag one to a different location and it won't affect the other.

i.e. when you click 'create route from waypoints', it will copy the waypoints into route points, but the two can then diverge. In the case you're seeing, the set of routepoints is diverging from the set of waypoints by having new ones added to it.
In linux speak it sounds like you're expecting "create route from waypoints" to do an "ln -s" whereas what it's in fact doing is "cp".

You don't even have to have any waypoints to create a route - you can just create a route using routepoints if you like. The 'create from waypoints' is basically only for if you've already got waypoints, if you just want to create a route it's quicker to just do 'create route'. To be absolutely honest it's not something I use myself, I added it in because someone requested it.

I wouldn't have a waypoint for each instruction, I'd only use a waypoint for somewhere I'm visiting, say a train station/travelodge/cafe stop/control/pub etc