Author Archives: frogsparks

1.3.8

  • Added Toporama map (CA)
  • Better feedback during map purchase, more safeguards during FrogSparks account creation
  • Fixes for reported errors
  • Fixed saving traces to the root of the Dropbox account

This version was released in a bit of a rush due to an issue with Google’s now publisher console, I apologize in advance for any bugs.

Krzysztof Dancewicz on Play Store

By far the best map and trail app available I would go so far as saying one of the best Android apps available! Attention to detail, functionality and customisation are phenomenal. Great work, I can’t wait to see how this develops and all for such a low price, there are plenty of other apps not even in the same league as this asking for alot more!

I deleted a premium map from my phone, how do I get the credits back?

Most premium maps sold via MyTrails are priced according to how much of the map you wish to store on your device. Within that limit, you can download the parts of the map you wish, and when you no longer need a given area, you can delete it and download a different area.

Because MyTrails allows you to use the map on different devices, just deleting the map on one device is not enough, the map needs to be unregistered on the server.

When you try to delete a an offline map you have created from a premium map, MyTrails asks whether you want to just delete the map locally (presumably it can still be used on another device) or also unregister it.

You only get the download credits back if you unregister the map. Even then, you may not get back the exact amount of credits corresponding to the area of the offline map you unregister: MyTrails keeps track of the area of all your offline maps, and computes the total area, excluding overlaps (the area of the union of your maps), which means that if the map you unregister overlaps another map, the overlapping area will not be refunded.

What happens if you make a mistake and omit to unregister it? You need to use our server to unregister it.

  1. if you do not yet have a FrogSparks account, create one from your device: MyTrails > Preferences > Accounts > FrogSparks > Register, which will associate the maps you have purchased from your device with your account.
  2. from your device or a computer, go to our self-administration server.
  3. once you’ve logged in, you’ll see the list of offline maps you have created, and you can unregister the map.

1.3.6

  • IGN France maps can now be purchased
  • Ability to edit the coordinates of waypoints and convert between coordinate formats
  • Cleaned up coordinate handling and made the parsers more tolerant
  • Added IGM maps for Italy (unfortunately slow and with a big watermark)
  • Improved Pending Operations when multi-tasking

Hidden options

MyTrails uses a trick for some hidden options that are not useful for most users, but which we may ask you to use when tracking down an issue.

To use these options, you need to run MyTrails, then select menu > Look for > address or location (on tablets, you can use the search field at the top of the screen) and enter the hidden option name exactly as indicated, all in lower-case and without extra spaces, then run the search. Most options will confirm the action with a toast notification.

  • toggle fake tracker: uses a simulated GPS tracker rather than the actual GPS
  • jump fake tracker: makes the simulated GPS tracker jump (track break)
  • override bad mag sensor: uses relaxed checking for the magnetic sensor (some phones ship with a sensor that inaccurately reports its parameters, causing MyTrails to disregard it, this lets MyTrails use it anyway)
  • toggle no gps warning: MyTrails no longer warns when the GPS is switched off an official option is now available in the preferences
  • toggle tracker debug: turns on very verbose debug log for the tracker
  • toggle offline fallback: allows offline maps to use other offline maps as fallback (disabled by default because this makes it possible to create circular references) circular references are now handled dynamically
  • reset offline: causes MyTrails to look for offline maps, wiping its caches
  • reset no ask: resets the behavior of all those “and don’t ask again” dialogs an official option is now available in the preferences
  • dump all state: creates an email with all of MyTrails’ internal data, to send us so we can diagnose certain issues
  • benchmark: a basic benchmark of the map moving around and zooming; run it a few times in a row to make sure the caches are all set
  • set nad27 LOC, where LOC is a lower-case NAD27 location, such as canada, or western_us: sets the datum for UTM coordinates; to get back to using WGS84, use set nad27 none
  • screenshot: saves a screenshot (attempts to use 2048×2048 if there is enough memory, and goes down from there)
  • toggle logging system: alternates between standard Android logging, MyTrails logging and both; you can use that when reporting issues and Android logs are not informative (some devices have logging turned off)
  • toggle alternate distance: alternates between the standard Android way of computing distances and a work-around for phones affected by a rare Android bug. As of MyTrails 1.4.6, this has been promoted to an official preference (in Visual).
  • toggle random track color: by default MyTrails assigns a random color to new tracks (because the GPX format doesn’t specify a track color, if you load a GPX that was not created by MyTrails, it does not include a color); use this if you want all your tracks the same color.
  • toggle bigger mgm: create offline files with more tiles per file (1024 rather than 64) to better support huge number of tiles even on FAT filesystems (only useful to download entire countries at high zoom)
  • toggle volume zoom: if you don’t want MyTrails to capture your volume buttons, use this option.
  • export global waypoints: save your global waypoints to a GPX file (in /sdcard/MyTrails/global_waypoints.gpx) as a backup, which you can later import as a normal GPX (waypoints imported in this manner will not be global). MyTrails 2.0.3b4 and later.
  • toggle track filename display: in the Track manager track list, display the filename for each track rather than the name of the track as defined in the GPX (be aware that GPX files can contain multiple tracks, with different names). MyTrails 2.0.3 and later.
  • toggle check gps readings: allows MyTrails to record GPS points that are obviously not correct for hikers and bikers (by default, MyTrails rejects points with a speed greater than 200km/h).
  • toggle reverse volume zoom: reverse the zoom direction when using the volume buttons.
  • toggle reverse compass: fix the the rotation of the compass, when it seems reversed compared to the actual movement of the phone. Please remember to calibrate the compass before resorting to this.
  • set compass low pass [n]: filter the compass movement (15 is good value)
  • set kalman filter [n]: filter the GPS track (n: approximate nominal speed in m/s, for example 1 for walking, 8 for cycling)
  • toggle cert check: allow MyTrails to ignore failed certificate verification, which may happen on some versions of Android (including Blackberry)
  • toggle proximity wake screen: you can disable MyTrails turning the screen on for proximity notifications
  • toggle track mode: switch MyTrails’ track rendering between smooth triangles (the default), raw triangles and lines (a useful fallback for some display issues)

Enter the hidden option text in the search field

1.3.4

  • Jellybean expandable notifications
  • Streamlined the process of creating premium offline maps when not subscribed to the premium online map
  • Fixes for reported issues
  • Polish translation updated by Tomasz (thanks!)

1.3.3

  • Added ability to resave the GPX when editing a track’s name or description
  • Added support for sending a tweet when a track is uploaded (only GPSies and My Trails); this has been tested with the web browser, the official Twitter client and Twicca, but does not yet work with Plume, TweetDeck or TweetCaster
  • Fixed MyTrails freezing when trying to clear the track right on launch
  • MyTrails can now continue to record the track if the phone reboots while a recording is in progress
  • Improved support for geo intents (using MyTrails from the address book)
  • Fixes for reported issues