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Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby steveo73 » Sun Dec 19, 2021 1:26 pm

Does Locus have a option to print off maps like OS maps does? That's the good thing about OS that you can print of just what you need instead of carrying a full map with you. Also saves buying new paper maps all the time :o.

Iam trying OS out he now with a 2 weeks free trial. Just trying to decide if to go with this or something else :?
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby MRG1 » Sun Dec 19, 2021 3:29 pm

steveo73 wrote:Does Locus have a option to print off maps like OS maps does? That's the good thing about OS that you can print of just what you need instead of carrying a full map with you. Also saves buying new paper maps all the time :o.

Iam trying OS out he now with a 2 weeks free trial. Just trying to decide if to go with this or something else :?


I have the free version of Locus just now and I can't find a print function in it.
I've skimmed through the detailed comparison between the free, "silver" and "gold" versions and can't see it there but you may have better eyes than me :D

https://www.locusmap.app/comparison/

You can print from Alpinequest but OS maps aren't available on that platform.

There's almost too much choice with apps isn't there.
I've tried Alpinequest, TopoGPS, Locus, Gaia, Komoot and Outdoor Active.
It's like shopping for a new TV "ooh, I like that one but this one does this and that one does that and the other one looks cool ..." :lol:
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby 37201xoIM » Sun Dec 19, 2021 10:01 pm

Cheers, all

I'd forgotten about the scratch-off OS codes, since hitherto with Walkhighlands' tie-up with VR it's been possible to get all OS map data for such a reasonable rate anyway! Good point! Think I'll see how bad or good the OS app is these days first, then...
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby Relayer2112 » Mon Dec 20, 2021 3:05 am

I'm also a refugee from VR/OA. Viewranger suited me perfectly, and alongside 'proper' map and compass navigation, I could actually use it on the hill to quickly check stuff like 'how much more ascent do I have until I get to the top?'. OA seems to be completely useless as a genuine navigational aid. I decided to shoot them off an email venting my spleen and seeing if they have any plans to improve this. I will let you know if they give anything other than useless platitudes in return.

Hello,

Until recently I was a subscriber to the ViewRanger service, which has now merged with Outdooractive, and as such my ViewRanger subscription no longer works and I no longer have access to OS mapping via that app, and I have switched to the Outdooractive app instead, with a Pro subscription.

Unfortunately, my impression of the Outdooractive app is rather negative by comparison to the previous app I had used, as some extremely useful information is not displayed by this app.

I will illustrate the issue with reference to one of the ways I found the ViewRanger app most useful. When syncing the app to my current GPS location, I was able to instantly have my OS grid reference and altitude displayed in a top bar. On the Outdooractive app, while altitude is displayed, I have to go fishing into the compass screen to get a grid reference for my location.

I was also previously able to slew the map around, and have the top info bar display the grid reference for the screen centrepoint, the altitude of that point, and the horizontal and vertical distance to that point. This was incredibly useful for quickly checking distance to a point (whether this was a summit, a terrain feature etc) within a few seconds. The Outdooractive map does not seem to have this ability at all. I can display GPS co-ordinates for a point by holding that point on the screen, but not an OS grid reference, and it does not display the altitude, nor the distance (horizontal, or vertical). This limits the usefulness significantly.

I have attached two screenshots illustrating the difference between the ViewRanger and Outdooractive apps. Note that obviously, ViewRanger no longer has the OS mapping which is universally used in the UK.

Also, when co-ordinates are displayed for a selected point, it is easy to scroll left or right on the displayed co-ordinates - I did so, thinking that this might lead to displaying the altitude of this point, or an OS grid ref, but instead this completely changes the map screen to displaying premade routes in Austria, which is...an interesting design decision if nothing else, but completely counterproductive.

ViewRanger was really actually quite useful for navigation in mountainous areas. Unfortunately, the main design ethos behind the Outdooractive app seems to be based around following and sharing routes onscreen. I don't particularly care about community sharing of somebody else's routes. I want to use this as a serious navigational tool, which I was previously able to do until Outdooractive took over. Given that I had no choice in this move, that I had paid my subscription for the services that ViewRanger offered, you can understand my abject disappointment at this very significant downgrade in capability.

Please let me know what plans you have to improve the usefulness of the app for actual navigational use in the UK. As it stands, I feel I have a significantly less capable, less powerful tool in my hands than I had before. If there are concrete plans to significantly improve this, I would consider staying with Outdooractive. As it stands however, this app does not meet my needs, and my intention will be to find another service which does meet my needs.

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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby 37201xoIM » Mon Dec 20, 2021 10:15 am

Well said, Relayer - I would send something similar if I had the patience. Remarkable how a corporation can so spectacularly shoot itself in the foot, isn't it.

One thing that the OS Maps app doesn't allow is to save offline maps to SD card rather than internal memory - at least to do so without what look to be potential complex operations such as "rooting" your phone and installing additional 3rd-party software.

Do Locus and / or TopoGPS offer the option to save maps to the SD card, anyone?

Thanks!
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby AyrshireAlps » Mon Dec 20, 2021 11:20 am

One thing that the OS Maps app doesn't allow is to save offline maps to SD card rather than internal memory


It's a subscription model, so you're only effectively 'hiring' the data, not 'owning' it (although as VR has highlighted, you 'own' nothing anyway), so there's no way they'll let you take the data onto an uncontrolled storage medium.

Why do you want the maps on a SD card anyway? It actually takes less than 20 or 30 seconds for me to download a large enough area that I ain't going to walk off of in a day, even on a 4G connection if I forget to do it at home, And I can have loads of them stored on the phone too.
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby steveo73 » Mon Dec 20, 2021 1:10 pm

Had a better look through Locus and definitely doesn't look like you can print off maps :roll:
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby MRG1 » Mon Dec 20, 2021 1:34 pm

37201xoIM wrote:
Do Locus and / or TopoGPS offer the option to save maps to the SD card, anyone?

Thanks!


I haven't checked TopoGPS because I haven't downloaded anything on it but the Locus folders appear to show map files of the right size and name for what I've downloaded.
I just used my android phone's standard file manager to check.

One thing I would say is that all I've downloaded are the free, open source maps and the LoScotland map which they gave me as a freebie.
So OS maps MAY be stored differently due to copyright reasons.
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby MRG1 » Mon Dec 20, 2021 1:42 pm

I agree Relayer.
I've kept OA on my phone in order to use the legacy maps online to help planning but there is absolutely no way I would consider using it in the hills again.
I used it on a Munro in the summer with the free trial of Pro that they gave me.
I saved the relevant OS map tiles and lo and behold when I went to use it I'd been logged off with (apparently) no way to log back in without a signal.
Oh the air turned blue.
(Well, actually it didn't, but that would have been nice in a way because I was in the clouds at the time).
Also the battery usage of the app is utterly ridiculous.
And of course everything you mentioned in your email.
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby motorlaunch » Tue Dec 21, 2021 5:51 pm

Backcountry Navigator is a good replacement for android. The app costs about £12 and the maps are free. OS map areas at 25000 can be downloaded to your phone for use offline. No restriction on the number of areas you download, just need the patience to do it bit by bit. International maps are available too. There is a free trial app which lasts 14 days to give you an opportunity to assess the app before buying the pro version. You can put the app on upto 4 devices. I have it on a tablet which has a stylus pen which means I can create routes at home, then use the screenprint function to get a paper map. Worth looking at.
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby MRG1 » Tue Dec 21, 2021 7:54 pm

motorlaunch wrote:Backcountry Navigator is a good replacement for android. The app costs about £12 and the maps are free. OS map areas at 25000 can be downloaded to your phone for use offline. No restriction on the number of areas you download, just need the patience to do it bit by bit. International maps are available too. There is a free trial app which lasts 14 days to give you an opportunity to assess the app before buying the pro version. You can put the app on upto 4 devices. I have it on a tablet which has a stylus pen which means I can create routes at home, then use the screenprint function to get a paper map. Worth looking at.


Oh blimey, don't give me yet another app to try :lol:

Is that £12 a subscription or is it a one time fee?
I'm assuming the OS maps are extra?
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby 37201xoIM » Tue Dec 21, 2021 10:11 pm

MRG1 wrote:Oh blimey, don't give me yet another app to try :lol:

Is that £12 a subscription or is it a one time fee?
I'm assuming the OS maps are extra?

Too right - that would surely be bargainous!?!

Dare I ask if said app supports saving maps to an SD card?
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby motorlaunch » Tue Dec 21, 2021 10:49 pm

One of fee. The maps are free.
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby motorlaunch » Tue Dec 21, 2021 11:03 pm

I save the maps to my phone. There is presently 20 gb in the bcn file. This has OS maps for Scotland, England and Wales. In addition I have areas of Switzerland, Italy, France and Austria. Each country in a different folder. You can specify the where you want the files saved. So yes you could put them on an sd card. Whether you can use that card in another device I don't know. I just download the maps to each phone or tablet I want them on.
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Re: Ideas for Viewranger replacement.

Postby MRG1 » Tue Dec 21, 2021 11:38 pm

[/quote]Too right - that would surely be bargainous!?!

Dare I ask if said app supports saving maps to an SD card?[/quote]

Bargainous?
What a brilliant phrase :lol:
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