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Making a GPX file more user-friendly

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10 comments

  • Miranda Pender

    Are there any apps to open GPX files that will work on a desktop? All the suggested apps are only compatible with phones/tablets, but I would find it much easier to view the map on a large screen. I did try one called Avenue, but it wouldn't open the file. This whole Slow Ways thing is turning out to be a lot more complicated than I imagined it would be.......

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  • Mistyoptic

    Miranda Pender I use Komoot on a pc to import .gpx. It’s a great app for route planning and the iPhone app works as a satnav  too. The app is free and you get one free map but can purchase more (I bought the world for about £20 and have used it in UK, France, Germany and Portugal 

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  • Miranda Pender

    Thank you for your suggestion, but Komoot is one of the ones I tried and it won't install. I get a message to say it's only available on iPhone or iPad!

     

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  • Matthew Law

    For what it's worth, I don't think Google/Apple Maps or Waze would be capable of giving turn-by-turn route directions from a GPX file (of the sort they would give when asked for walking or driving directions between two locations), since a) they are unlikely to have all the paths included in a given Slow Way route in their maps (if you have ever tried to get off-road walking directions from Google Maps you'll probably know that it is missing most footpaths in many areas), and b) even if they did have all the necessary data, it is not straightforward to translate a GPX file (which is effectively just a series of coordinates which in sequence form a route) to route directions, as the GPX file doesn't itself come with any information about the road/footpaths the route is on. So you wouldn't be able to tell (without plotting it on top of another map which included all the footpaths used) whether a footpath turned left, but the walker remained on that same path, or there was a junction and the walker had to actively take a left turn.

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  • Matthew Law

    There's also page on the main Slow Ways site which has a list of suggested ways to view a GPX file, if you haven't already found that:

    https://beta.slowways.org/Page/using-a-gpx-file-for-the-first-time/

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  • Miranda Pender

    Thank you for this, but I've already tried it and for each of the suggested apps, I get the following message: "This app is available only on the App Store for iPhone and iPad". I cannot find a way to install any of them on a Mac :(

    (A bit later) Well, I've given up on that and downloaded one of the routes to the OSMaps app on my phone and it works perfectly (albeit small)! The route would be easy to follow out on the trail as you can see exactly which footpaths/bridleways it follows. 

    The reason I'd wanted to view it on a larger screen was to get an overview of the entire route, but I guess I can do that in sections on my phone by exapnding/minimising.

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  • Mistyoptic

    Can’t speak for other programs but Komoot is run on a pc in a browser, nothing to install except on the phone. Perhaps that’s true for other providers too?

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  • Jac007

    Ref using GPX in Google Maps. If you have a Google account. If you go to your Google Drive and select "New" there is the option on a second drop down under "More" to create a "new Google Map" - once you have selected this, then you can upload your GPX file to that. A helpful chap at http://michaelminn.net/tutorials/google-gpx/#:~:text=GPS%20Exchange%20Format%20(GPX)%20is,be%20displayed%20in%20Google%20Maps. has provided a handy tutorial.

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  • Jac007

    GPX route naming. I've downloaded a GPX and uploaded to my OS Premium account - the route has the unhelpful name "GENERIC NAME - ROUTE 1" - can anyone help - how can I ensure that it has the correct Slow Ways name?

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  • Jac007

    GPX route naming 2: Just found out how to add a GPX tag to add a name to the route. If you edit the route in something like notepad, then you can add a "name" line to the <metadata> tag e.g. as below...

    <metadata>
    <name>Walsun Slow Way</name>

    Could this tag be added automatically to the GPX download please?

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