Create a route using a series of waypointsFORUMS HOME SEARCH FORUMS

I have a Garmin eTrexH , which I use for walking and cycling.

I can create a plot and download as a Track , but this doesnt do what I need.

I would like to get a gpx Route using waypoints, ideally the positions I clicked on the map to create the plot.

I have tried adding directions/notes to a competed plot but this seems counter-intuitive as I cannot see all of these at a time - what am I missing ?

(Previously I used Bing maps with OS overlay and their My Places tools,but this feature seems to have been dropped.)

Hi Adrian - when you download a route you can choose either a GPX Track or a GPX Route format.  The GPX Route option will include route points for each item in the list of directions/notes - this is generally for navigation devices with their own routing capability, which can work out how to get from one route point to the next.  If you want the locations of the route points to all be visible on the map you can attach symbols to each direction in the Directions panel.

John  

Hi John,

Thanks for the help.

Adding symbols works.

Actually, I've now found that if the Auto plot works then I get my directions auto created ( I still need to add symbols to see them all on the map).

Unfortunately the Autoplot fails for seemingly clearly marked paths on the map, so I am forced to set Auto Plot OFF.

Maybe I should email the host and request an optional setting to add waypoints (directions) for each mouse click in Auto Plot OFF mode ?

Hi Adrian - I'm glad the symbols feature helps.  Unfortunately the Auto-Plot feature can't always recognise every path on the map, as the 3rd party routing service we rely on for this is updated at different times to the map.

I don't think we would be able to add the extra setting that you suggest - this would create an awful lot of unecessary directions (one for every click on the map), so I'm not sure how helpful this would be.  Also each route would then require significantly greater storage space on our database.

John

Hi John,

Thanks for the reply. I didnt realise you are part of plotaroute in my last reply - sorry.

I understand the auto-plot limitations.

As far as the manual method of creating a plot, surely by definition there wouldn't be many waypoints as the user has to do all this work manually.

I would estimate that the typical number of waypoints for a cycle or walk would be 50 or so; any more complex and this could be done with multple routes.

By contrast, if I download a Track this is likely to be more data by a factor of 2 or 3.

As I think this topic could be of use to many using the basic gps devices (eg Garmin eTrex + EasyGPS software to edit and upload to the gps device) I would like to explore a bit further if that's ok ?

Firstly, I am happy without AutoPlot as it is probably best to be in total control of where the WayPoints are positioned.

Using my example below (which is not finished) , it seems that if I dont have directions notes added the WayPoint is not included in the gpx output

www.plotaroute.com/route/340211

eg in my route download the last element is

<rtept lat="54.48951" lon="-2.89172">
            <ele>406</ele>
            <name>test 12</name>
            <time>2017-01-10T00:37:17Z</time>
            <cmt>test 12</cmt>
            <desc>test 12</desc>
            <sym>undefined</sym>
</rtept>

All I need is a route with the waypoints in the correct order, typically named 1,2,3,4,5,6 .. etc.  Thats it, I dont need "Turn R" or "Straight" .

Thanks for bearing with me, and thanks for the website which I do like, just would like it to offer some more options for those of using the more basic devices .

Adrian

Hi Adrian - I'm afraid that plotaroute isn't designed to work based on waypoints, so it wouldn't be as easy as you might think for us to change the system to create routes and output files that only contain waypoints.  The best solution for you I think is to include all your waypoints as directions/notes making sure you putting something in the notes text (perhaps the waypoint number?) and then download it as a GPX Route file.

John