Auto-anchors in reshape routeFORUMS HOME SEARCH FORUMS

Thanks Peter.

Just saw this thread and been reading it from beginning. Really great enhancement with auto anchors. Working great on mobile. Thanks.

Stephen,

I used extensively ViewRanger and now use OutdoorActive. As mobile apps (depending on maps you have), OA is very good (oh but I pine for VR). A PR mobile app is (hopefully) in the pipeline.

However, for creating (aka plotting) routes, Plotaroute IMHO is by far the best I have used/played with, optimised by subscribing. The choice of maps is excellent, and as you say, the tools are extensive. The My Routes/Collections/App, tagging and integration with Garmin are valuable assets, too. Support is really very, very good.

You won't be disappointed!

After the latest changes auto anchors seems to be working well. Thank you for adding this feature, I'm definitely thinking of switching over to plotaroute now.

No problem John.

You know your software like the best and you have looked at the possibilities.

Plotaroute does attach information waypoints linked to selected track points.

As gpx track + directions Locus Via Points routing references together with turns announced in navigation.

These directions are given the waypoint type and thus so are without via or shaping type distinctions.

See: Plotaroute demo

That's why I thought Plotaroute already had almost everything in place to offer this. 

False thinking, then.  ;)

Greetings, Willy.

Thanks for the additional feedback. We've found the bug that caused it to miss some of the anchor points and have also reduced the threshold for detecting a change in heading, so give it another try - hopefully you should see a lot more anchor points bring added automatically now when you use the Auto-Anchors button on a route with no directions.

Willy - the approach you've suggested (to capture and store the positions of every point you click on the map) would be much more complex for us to implement, as this would affect data capture, data structures and data storage. This isn't something we'd want to do, as we don't feel there would be enough benefit, when compared to lots of other things that people have asked us to consider.  We've added this Auto-Anchors button as it was a relatively quick enhancement. 

The next video briefly shows how it works.

Add shaping point to reroute

Walk 0(start)_1_2_3(end) becomes Walk 0(start)_1_2_3_4(end).

The planner point positions shaping or via shown with which you finally clicked your route together are not lost in a gpx navigation track export.

Why so complex?

Please allow me. Free info no obligation or (must) demand.

An alternative method described.

Compile a short trackpath in Plotaroute.

Where you click are Plotaroute "anchor points".

"Shaping and or Via points" are more common.

 You clicked 4 times = 4 Plotaroute anchor points.

- 0(start), 1, 2, 3(end).

The router engine (profile) calculates a track with turn info (L/R).

You want to change the track design between 1 and 2?

Place an extra anchor point on the track. Result:

0(start), 1, 2(NEW), 3, 4(end).

Anchor (shaping & via) points are movable.

Move 2(NEW) to the desired new position.

The Plotaroute router then rules between pt 1 > 2 > 3.

The clicked points (anchor points) are saved in the Plotaroute database.

- Export as regular gpx track. All anchor points and extra are then lost.

NEW in Cruiser.

- Export as regular gpx track or 

- Export as gpx navigation track.

All Via & Shaping and turnpoints (L/R) are present.

 A discreet track mode.

When importing into an existing app, you do not notice the extra, except for a slightly larger file size

When importing into Cruiser, all the "anchor points" (via & shaping) and the turnpoints are restored.

Both in the desktop and mobile version. Mobile and total offline offers a 100% faithful TBT navigation.

Interesting, Steve.

On the other hand, while Auto-Anchors is a feature that may be developed, I have never found the need to have an anchor placed for me. The problem on a mobile was being able to place and then re-select an anchor, and this does seem to work much better.

This looks like a step forwards, although for me it's still not a fix.

Firstly, there seems to be a bug where Auto Anchor misses some corners, see screenshot showing several >25deg corners that are missing an anchor:

Secondly, the 25 degrees limit makes it still not worth using for me personally. Would it be possible to only apply that rule to routes with directions but apply anchors to all vertices for routes without directions? Or maybe make the angle limit configurable down to 0? Alternatively if it's for performance, perhaps you could instead sort the anchors by angle and then only add anchors to the top X (whhere X is a reasonably large number) vertices or something like that?

Thanks for the changes though, I really appreciate your responsiveness to this issue.

That is very nice and will need some playing with, especially on a mobile ..... :)

Couldn't wait, tried it and it's WAAAAAAYYYYY better, thanks!

Following the feedback below, we've added an Auto-Anchors button on the Reshape Route tool, to automatically place Anchor Points at key points on the route. If the route has directions, it will add them at the location of each of the directions, otherwise it will add them at all vertices where there is a change in heading of more than 25 degrees.  We've also made the line a bit thicker when using the Reshape Route tool on a mobile device, to make it easier to place Anchor Points manaully.  Thanks for all the suggestions on this.

Worth trying!

Nice idea Mark but I'm wondering of the crosshair might get in the way of the anchors. When you use Reshape Route on a mobile device we make the route line wider to make it easier to tap on. Perhaps it is not wide enough - we'll try making it a bit wider. 

Good suggestion. Mobile and cross-hair use is obvious.

Better to place quietly and accurately, than too quickly but sloppily.

An example shown by the mobile Cruiser version.

https://youtube.com/shorts/KkwNfZso7oY

Better first place the Shaping point on the track. Then move it wherever you wish it to be.

This way you are assured that the Shaping point is sure applied in the correct serial order.

It would be great if we could use the "cross-hairs" to add an anchor, ie use the cross-hairs for both plotting and adding anchors. Of course, we'd need a button to change its function, but that would be ideal.

What do you think?!

Yes, I agree Mark it's more tricky on a smaller screen without a mouse. Personally I always prefer working on a larger screen for intricate work like editing routes, as it's the sort of task that lends itself better to a large screen. Always open to suggestions though! I think the idea of an "Auto-Add Anchors" button may help, but we've got to squeeze that extra button in somewhere too!

Yes, reshaping can be done on the mobile, but boy, it can be hard & frustrating getting it to recognise your finger press when trying to add an anchor!

Incredibly easy on the PC, though.

By the way....

Good and sure a nice tutorial shown by the mobile application.

Reshape in 20 seconds

By the website (Add single anchor point) in 10 seconds?

Hi John.

It is thus that you place successive planner point positions between which the autorouter does its "thing". 

The placed planner points are commonly called shaping points and provided "promotion" into via points. 

Start and end are always via points. In navigation, shaping points are not announced, via points are.

To stay in the Plotaroute terminology, you can define them here so as "anchor points" variants.

You can so immediately add or remove "anchor points" to which the autorouting then responds.

This allows for faster edits than by the currently rather cumbersome extra method offered.

The sheduler "anchor points" can contain a free name, free cmt, free sym, and defined either type Shaping or Via. 

The anchor points are to be kept in the Plotaroute database and therefore will stay available in the planner.

Exported as standard gpx (trk) track, this shaping or via info is then completely lost.

The display of the calculated track serves only for visual display and tracking on the map.

Optionally, "anchor points" and calculated turn points can be attached as gpx (wpt) waypoints.

Exported as gpx navigation (trk) track, shaping and via and turn points are discretely included.

The navtrack display in a non adapted existing program is identical as using a standard track.

But all data are preserved and you can even re-import this navigation track 100% faitfully later.

Besides the track display you navigate inclusive TBT by the attached shaping via and turn info.

Exported as standard gpx (rte) route, shaping and via point (no turn) are the route points. 

A 'foreign' router engine will then regenerate a track between the routepoints. 

Given the different routing rules, this almost differs from the Plotaroute results.