Viking aims to be easy to use, yet powerful in accomplishing a wide
variety of tasks. Some of the things you can use Viking for are:
Uploading and downloading waypoints, tracks and routes to/from GPS.
Preparing tracks, routes and waypoints for trips using maps from
services such as OpenStreetMap (OSM). The data is only needed to be
uploaded to your GPS before you leave. The maps together with your
tracks, routes and waypoints can also be printed and used during the
trip.
After trips, tracks and waypoints from GPS can be downloaded,
stored, managed and reused in your (or your friends\') later trips.
Analyzing Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) and hiking trips, understanding
where you went and how far you were from something.
Making waypoints, tracks and routes to follow to easily get some
place you\'ve never been before or don\'t have GPS data for but
online maps exist for it.
Making maps with using Mapnik. Not on Windows
at the moment.
Grouping data from multiple trips using a hierarchical data manager.
Analyzing speed at different places (to some degree), adding
waypoints where you forgot to mark one but did slow down or stop.
Downloading and storing OpenStreetMap and/or other map types on your
hard drive and looking at them later.
Editing routes or tracks and their trackpoints, joining and
splitting up tracks and routes.
Show the live GPS position on the map (for use on a mobile device -
e.g. a laptop). Not Windows at the moment.
Import and export track, route and waypoint files of various types
via GPSBabel
::: note
Previously on Windows, GPSBabel was distributed with Viking, but
this no longer the case.
It can be downloaded from its website .
:::
View, create and update Geotagged Images (using EXIF data).
::: note
Viking is under continual improvement: see the Roadmap /
Wishlist:
:::
Here the toolbar is on the same line as the Menubar. This is set via
the PreferencesToolbar
> Append to Menu setting.
Screenshot: OSM Cycle Map and Many Tracks
Rationale
One of the aims of Viking is to allow the user to be in control, being
able to work offline without key dependencies on remote services. Thus
when Viking is started for the very first time you are asked whether to
enable \"automatic internet features\". For those concerned any tracking
potential or other issues arising from using remote services, one can
select No and then manually control these requests.
Subsequently the individual features can be managed separately.
Requests for Map Tiles for the current viewport for Map Layers - see Map Layer Properties
Requests for Digital Elevation Model (DEM) files when using DEM layers
Requests for Route Directions during Route Finder
operations
GeoLocation dependent on the IP address - see Auto
Location
Further these facilities use a default set of service providers which
can be changed and extended.
GTK
Viking is built using the GTK GUI
framework, supporting version 3. Thus a number of features are governed
by GTKs default behaviour or by the Desktop System and Theme (of course
affected by those relevant systems settings). Hence details for
configuring these is out of scope for this documentation.
Flatpak Version {#Flatpak}
Viking is now available for use in Linux as a Flatpak, however since
Viking is running in a sandbox some system integration features no
longer work properly in the Flatpak runtime.
See the file FLATPAK.md in the top level of the source distribution
for more detail.
General Concepts {#GeneralConcepts}
Project File {#prj_file}
Viking has it\'s own file type traditionally marked by the .vik file
extension - known as the Viking Project File. This is a plain text file
saving all information of the current window including the view
location, zoom level, projection type and then all the layer information
(aggregates, maps, tracks, waypoints, etc...).
When Viking is opened (without specifying any Project Files), it will
use a default Project File.
The Project File name is shown in the window title bar.
To indicate when changes have been made the Project File name is
preceded by an \'*\'.
Any Non-Viking file types are loaded into the current Project File. If
just one Non-Viking file is opened into the default (empty) Project
File, then this filename is shown in the window title bar but inside a
pair of brackets \'[Like This]\', to indicate that it is not a Project
File name.
Layers {#gc_layers}
Layers is concept one may know from powerful graphics editors such as
Photoshop or GIMP. Instead of putting all the data on the same level, it
is stacked (i.e. layered) with different data over one another. This can
be useful for analysis and general handling of various sets of data.
Unfortunately the downside of this complexity is remembering how
differing layers of data can obscure other data.
The Map layers and various other image features have Alpha
Compositing, to create
the appearance of partial transparency. This is a value between 0 and
255 with the default being 255 for a fully solid image, whereas 0 is
fully transparent. By controlling this value one can see data below it
in the layer hierarchy for interesting effects. A value of around 160
can be useful for blending views.
Layers Panel {#gc_layers_panel}
The panel on the left is called the layers panel. It determines
which layers and sublayers (such as tracks and waypoints) are shown, and
the order in which they are drawn. Layers on the top of the layers panel
list are drawn last. You can change the order by drag and drop, or by
selecting a layer and using the up and down buttons at the bottom of the
layers panel.
The main Viking area where the layer data is drawn, is called the viewport.
This will typically include a Map layer with a default map
created as standard.
Using the mouse (and keyboard) you can move and zoom the viewport or
select items on view. See the Tools section for further
details about different modes and the various control options supported.
Track Graphs
Below the viewport can be shown track (and route) elevation/distance and
time/speed (tracks only) graphs of the selected item. These are the same
graphs as shown in Track and Route Properties. The
graphs will automatically hide itself when nothing or no suitable item
is selected.
Moving the mouse pointer over the graphs will show a tooltip readout of
the nearest trackpoint. Similarly to the track properties graphs, left
clicking will center the viewport on the trackpoint. A right click menu
offers controls of the drawing options, a subset of track operations and
access to further information dialogs.
Statusbar {#Statusbar}
This provides a readout of various information:
The currently selected (mouse pointer) tool
The number of items to process in the background - normally this the
number in the map tile download queue
The zoom level
The location of the mouse pointer (and potentially height
information if DEM data is available)
The number of log messages
A general feedback area, such as the result of an operation or
information about the selected item
E.g. when creating a track/route, the general feedback area displays
some information about the track/route.
Statusbar
This part of the statusbar displays:
The total distance of the track/route (including currently edited
segment).
The bearing of the currently edited segment.
The distance of the currently edited segment.
Left clicking on the number of background processes opens a dialog from
which the processes can be inspected and cancelled.
Left clicking on the number of log messages opens a dialog from which
the messages can be viewed, filtered, copied and cleared. Newest
messages are put at the top of the list. Middle clicking on the number
of log messages clears the log messages without opening the dialog.
For convenience, a zoom selector can be opened from the status bar.
Simply left-click on the zoom level.
The zoom selector available from status bar
Toolbar
The toolbar is an area for buttons that perform common actions.
Some actions are modal, so the appropriate layer needs selected before
these toolbar buttons are enabled. See Tools more detail.
Right clicking on the toolbar and selecting [Customize]{.menuchoice}
allows jumping to the Customize Toolbar
directly.
Projections {#projection}
Viking supports different projections:
UTM
LatLon (also called EPSG:4326)
Mercator (also called Spherical Mercator)
Zoom Level {#zoom}
Viking uses a zoom level measured as a pixel factor in Metres Per Pixel
(MPP), hence this may also be referred to as a zoom factor. By default
in this document the zoom level refers to Viking\'s MPP definition
unless otherwise stated.
This is in contrast to Tiled Web Map systems such as OpenStreetMap which
use the Zoom Level as
a measure of how much of the world is visible on the map.
Disk Map Cache {#dmapcache}
Viking stores downloaded map tiles to disk for a couple of reasons:
Enables off line usage
Reduces loading on the map tile provider
The Viking automatic caching strategy is two fold:
If the age of the tile on disk is less than the specified cache
expiry age (for the relevant Map layer), it will not
attempt to contact the server to get a new version of the tile.
When the tile age has expired Viking will attempt a refresh
update, so that it provides the cached tile generation timestamp so
the server can determine if a new tile image needs to be returned.
Not all map types support this refresh method.
You can override the caching scheme by using right-click on the Map on
the layers panel and selecting Redownload All Onscreen Maps, or Ctrl+F5
for the top most map displayed. This will get the latest version held by
the server.
::: note
This can be useful if you contribute to OpenStreetMap and wish to see
your modifications (of course give time for the server to have processed
your changes - see I have made edits but they don\'t show up on the
map)
:::
The layout of the cache on disk itself can be controlled via a per Map
Layer property.
Viking - Legacy default in a private cache layout scheme
OSM - Newer available default (1.6+)
This is to increase the compatibility between Viking and similar
applications that cache tiles on disk so that the tiles can be
shared.
Shortcut Keys {#shortcut_keys}
Viking has several shortcut keys or key combinations for commands as
listed in the main window along side the command.
By default some function keys follow standard GUI behaviour:
F1 Help (view this manual)
F2 Rename (the selected layer - only in the Layers Panel)
F5 or Ctrl+R Refresh the maps on screen
F10 Select the Menubar (in built behaviour)
F11 Full Screen
Ctrl+F5 or Ctrl+Shift+R Redownload the maps on screen
::: note
Refresh attempts to get new maps only if the disk tile map cache time
period has expired for any particular map tile. Redownload gets all on
screen maps from the server, ignoring the disk tile map cache.
:::
Other function keys control turn on/off visibility of various elements:
F3 Toggle visibility of the Toolbar
F4 Toggle visibility of the Menubar
Shift+F5 Toggle visibility of the Scale indicator on the viewport
F6 Toggle visibility of the Center Crosshairs on the viewport
F7 Toggle showing selected items (e.g. tracks or waypoints) in the
highlight colour in the viewport
Shift+F8 Toggle visibility of the calendar
Shift+F9 Toggle visibility of the Layers Panel buttons
F9 Toggle visibility of the Layers Panel
F12 Toggle visibility of the Statusbar
Shift+F12 Toggle visibility of the Track Graphs
Standard shortcuts are provided for normal GUI operations: such as
creating new files, opening, saving and exiting. Then there are
shortcuts specific to Viking to switch projection modes, zoom in/out,
create layers, switch the active tool mode and move the map:
Ctrl+Up Pan the viewport North
Ctrl+Right Pan the viewport East
Ctrl+Down Pan the viewport South
Ctrl+Left Pan the viewport West
Ctrl+Keypad+, Ctrl++ or Ctrl+= for Zoom In
Ctrl+Keypad- or Ctrl+- for Zoom Out
Ctrl+0 Restore default zoom
::: important
These work irrespective of the Tools mode selected
:::
Up,Left,Right and Down also pan the viewport in the respective direction
when any of the primary window tools is active (Select
(when nothing is selected), Pan, Zoom or Ruler)
For other combinations see the menu entry themselves.
Keyboard Configuration
Keyboard configuration is supported by the standard GTK+ (v2/v3) way of
changing shortcuts for menu entries.
Hover over the menu option with the mouse pointer and press the keyboard
shortcut you want to bind it to.
To delete a keyboard assignment, press Backspace whilst over the menu
entry.
::: note
If the keyboard shortcut is already in use you will not receive any
notification that new action replaces the old action. This is probably
why most distributions have this facility disabled by default. Thus you
will need to enable Editable menu accelerators for your system. Check
the Desktop Menu and Toolbar Control or other User Interface preferences
for this setting.
:::
::: note
For Windows systems this can be done by adding the line gtk-can-change-accels=1 to %USERPROFILE%\.gtkrc-3.0 (create the file
if it does not exist).
:::
From Viking 1.6+ the keyboard configuration is automatically loaded and
saved between sessions in the config_keys
Tracks vs Routes
In theory a route is path you are planning to follow and a track is of
where you have actually been. The GPX specification splits these into
two separate categories, although tracks contain everything a route may
have.
Q. When planning a route what difference does it make if it\'s a route
or a track?
A. One difference is in how a GPS device navigates following the route
or track. The capability, the options and data on a particular device
also affect how the navigation is performed. Often how a device actually
works doesn\'t seem to be formally documented by the manufacturer (and
can be firmware dependent too). Web searches can reveal people\'s
experiences with specific devices on blogs and various forums. For some
devices it will attempt to navigate between route points, which may then
suggest various roads and tracks between the points using an internal
routing algorithm with some kind of transport profile. However this is
limited to the quality of data available and how well the profile
matches ones actual need. If the points are close enough then the
\'best\' route for any form of transport will typically be the straight
line between the points.
::: note
There are often restrictions on the numbers of route (or track) points
the GPS Device can handle - may be 250 or as little as 50. This
generally not a problem for shorter routes, but needs managing for
longer or detailed routes. The number of track points is normally alot
higher (e.g. 500 or typically with latest devices 10,000 or more) and
less of a problem.
::: note
Extensions from GPX 1.1 are supported in a read/write only fashion; with
viewing of the raw data (i.e. no editing). The arbitrary extension
information is not saved in .vik format files.
Specific GPX 1.1 extensions such as heart rate, cadence, temperature and
power are supported for viewing (including overview graphs) and these
values will also be saved in .vik format files.
For FIT, KML and TCX - writing is only available via Export methods,
which use GPSBabel.
:::
Also available is reading compressed files and loading any supported
geodata files contained within. The compressed file types supported
include:
Several operations apply at the window level as follows next. Also see Tools for the operational modes that generally work in
conjunction with a selected layer.
Main Window
When Viking is opened (without specifying any Project Files), it will
open a window centered on the home location with the default Map. This behaviour can be changed by the Startup
Preferences.
Each window contains menus, a toolbar, a viewport, layers panel and a
statusbar. Each section (apart from the viewport) can be hidden using
the Shortcut Keys or from the [View >]
Show{.menuchoice} choices.
Each Viking window is a separate project - each with it\'s own Viking
Project File.
New
Located on the [File > New]{.menuchoice} menu and on the toolbar New.
This creates a new window with the default settings.
Open
Located on the [File > Open]{.menuchoice} menu and on the toolbar Open.
This opens a file chooser dialog to select one (or more) files of the
supported GPS data file types:
Viking
GPX
FIT
TCX
KML
JPG
GPX, FIT, TCX, KML and JPG files will be loaded into the existing Viking
view. A Viking file will be given a new window if the current window
is already assigned.
::: tip
Viking handles more file types via the Acquire methods
below.
:::
The most recently opened files are available for opening again. The
number of files remembered is controlled by a value in the Advanced
Preferences.
Note that files imported via the Acquire mechanism are not available in
this list.
Save
Located on the [File > Save]{.menuchoice} menu and on the toolbar Save.
If the current opened file is Viking file, this save will simply
update it. If it is a new file or the file loaded was an external type
(i.e. GPX or KML), then this will ask for a new name to save as a Viking file.
Selecting a Viking file from this method will join the file contents
to the current window (instead of creating a new one).
GPX and KML files may also be appended, whereby the file contents are
added to the currently selected TrackWaypoint or Aggregate layer. Otherwise they are loaded in the normal
file open method when no layer is selected.
Selecting a geo-data file (such as GPX, KML, FIT or TCX filetypes) from
this method will create an external TrackWaypoint
Layer that loads from the specified file. The layer is marked as a No
write external layer, which means any changes made will not be written
back to the file. To enable changes to be written (only on file types
with write support, thus ATM only GPX files), you can change the layer
property [Filesystem > External layer]{.menuchoice} to Yes in the
layer properties dialog. This is in contrast to importing the data and
storing it in the Viking file.
Displays some simple properties about the loaded Viking project file (if
any), such as full filename including the path, the filesize and the
date/time of the file.
This allows converting every TrackWaypoint layer
from the existing project into files of the type choosen. You will
be prompted for a directory into which a new file for each layer
will be saved.
The KML option uses GPSBabel and so will not be available if
GPSBabel can not be detected.
Single GPX File
This allows exporting all visible TrackWaypoint
layers into a single GPX file.
Note that some data properties are not supported by the target export
file type. Such as item visibility or track colours.
If used from the File menu these methods place the results in a new
TrackWaypoint layer.
If used from the TrackWaypoint layer menu these
methods place the results in that TrackWaypoint layer.
From GPS
[File > Acquire > From GPS]{.menuchoice} A way of getting information
from GPS Devices using GPSBabel to perform the transfer, typically via
serial link connections.
Select the GPS Device communication settings and then hit OK. See the Getting Started section for more info about the settings.
::: note
Only a limited number of devices are supported this way (e.g. Garmin
Etrex Legend devices first available \~2003).
For the majority of current (circa 2010-2020) Garmin handheld devices
and many other consumer handheld GPS devices (including SatNav style
devices such as the Garmin Nuvi 255) only support a native file system
and write information to a Current.gpx file or similar. You will have
to browse the file system on the device, opening it directly via [File]
> Open{.menuchoice}.
For modern (circa 2015 onwards) wearable devices such as Garmin
Forerunner, Fitbit, Suuntu etc..., often have their own propriety
binary (often wireless) protocols - not compatibile with GPSBabel and
thus not Viking directly either. You would need to use their programs /
apps to export to an open standard (such as GPX) for use with Viking.
Some devices, such as many Garmin Forerunner devices - when physically
connected to a PC via a USB cable, will offer a file system and then you
can open any supported files on them, such as in this case FIT files in
the GARMIN/Activity directory.
:::
This menu opens a dialog to select such image files. If the image files
have geotag information in them, then a TrackWaypoint
layer with named waypoints positioned at the location of each image with
a thumbnail of that image is created.
This uses the program togpx to load
.geojson files. If the program is not detected on your system, then this
option will not be available. See here for the installation method.
Versions prior to 1.6.0 of GPSBabel did not support the GeoJSON file format.
Print
Located on the [File > Print]{.menuchoice} menu and on the toolbar
Print.
Print uses what is displayed on the current Viewport for
printing: i.e. what ever map, tracks and waypoints that are in view,
including the cross hairs and the scale.
It uses a standard system print dialog using an image the size of the
current viewport in pixel terms. On the Image Settings you can move
the image around the page and scale the image up / or down.
Allows generation of larger (pixel) area images than the standard Print
method above. From the generated image you can use the facilities of the
Operating System to print the image or perform other actions.
You should have previously downloaded the tile images for the chosen
zoom level, otherwise the image produced will have missing sections.
::: warning
Using large areas takes some time to process and due to the method used
it may run out of memory to complete the operation. Unfortunately under
Windows systems it can not detect this failure and may crash the
program. So the maximum size is dependent on the capabilities of your
system. For instance the largest successful image generated on my (RN)
Debian system is a pixel area of 20,000 x 20,000.
:::
A KMZ
file is a
compressed version of a KML file and associated supporting files.
A KMZ Map file is a
KMZ file with an image overlay often for use as a Custom Map on Garmin
GPSr devices.
Viking only supports basic properties in KMZ Map files, primarily
intended for use with Garmin GPSr devices although KMZ exports are known
to work with Google Earth.
Enables exporting the current Viewport as a KMZ map file.
The area and zoom level covered by the KMZ map can be adjusted before
saving.
Note that Garmin GPSr devices have limits in using images if they are
too large (e.g. over 3Mb big) in KMZ files. Viking does not enforce any
limits on the KMZ files it generates.
Calendar {#Calendar}
The calendar marks days when any activity in Tracks occurred. Hovering
the mouse pointer over a marked day shows the name of the corresponding TrackWaypoint Layer. Double clicking on a marked day
moves the Viewport to view the first track of that day.
Right clicking on the calendar offers further options to navigate in
time, including moving the calendar to the next or previous track by
date or to move to todays date. It also allows opening a dialog to view
related basic astronomical values (sun rise/set, twilight times and moon
rise/set) for the selected day, being derived for the location of the
centre of the viewport.
Goto {#Goto}
This offers to search locations using the selected online providers, by
default either OSM Nominatim or Geonames. One may click on the an entry in
the list of returned results to move the Viewport to that
location.
See the section search_provider to configure additional search
providers.
Screenshot: Goto Tab
Track/Route Statistics {#PanelStats}
This offers a compact view of statistics of the selected Track or Route.
Currently this does not refresh if the Track/Route changes but there is
a right click menu on the tab, which offers a way to manually refresh
the values.
Screenshot: Stats Tab
Also available is a tab to shows Track Time
Splits. Since this is a more detailed display that
is of interest only to a subset of users and takes up more space, the
tab is hidden by default. Use [View > Show > Show Side Panel]
Splits{.menuchoice} to enable it.
Graphs {#MainGraph}
When a specific track/route or TrackWaypoint Layer (that contains a
single track or route) is selected in the layers panel, then the main
graph section is displayed below the viewport. If appropriate, this
contains a Track Elevation Graph and a Speed-time
graph from the Track and Route Properties. If there
is no timing data the Speed-time graph is not shown, and if no elevation
data then the Elevation-distance graph is not shown.
When moving the mouse pointer over these graphs, it features a popup to
give more information about that point and updates the main viewport
track display with an equivalent highlighted trackpoint. Left clicking
on the graph recenters the viewport to that point, whereas right
clicking opens a contextual menu offering features such as accessing the
tracks properties or statistics, editting of the specific trackpoint and
further controls of the elevation axis scale.
The speed-time graph (as shown below) features a backdrop of daylight,
twilight and night time colour indicators. This can be turned off via
the Advanced Preferences.
This is long track example for an overnight and on into the day cycle
adventure.
Apply: Applies the new values and keeps the dialog open - thus
you can see the effect of the new values.
Reset to Defaults: Change the values back to the Layer Defaults.
You will still need to then Apply/OK these changed values to
take effect.
Cut
Copy
Paste
Delete
Visibility - This checkbox on the Layers Panel controls whether the
layer is shown in the viewport or not
The cut/copy/paste options can be accessed in a variety of ways once the
layer has been selected:
Standard keys: Ctrl+x|c|v
Main menu Edit
From the right click menu
Buttons at the bottom of the Layers Panel
Default values used for each layer\'s properties can be altered via the [Edit > Layer Defaults]{.menuchoice} menu options. These \'User\'
Defaults settings themselves can be reset back to the original Viking
default values via the Reset to Default button for each layer.
See the individual section for detail about each layer.
TrackWaypoint Layer {#TrackWaypoint}
TrackWaypoint layers display GPS data (tracks, routes and waypoints).
One way to create new waypoints is to copy a latitude/longitude
coordinate pair, such as the one shown on most geocaches, and paste it
into an active TrackWaypoint layer. Viking can automatically recognize
several variations of the lat/lon format.
By right-clicking on tracks, routes or waypoints in the Layers
Panel, you can access many commands on them. You can
easily find a specific track, route or waypoint by expanding the
appropriate containing Tracks, Routes or Waypoints sublayer in the
layers panel to show all the individual items and then typing the name
of the track, route or waypoint.
The containing Tracks, Routes or Waypoints sublayers are only shown when
items of that type exist. To start creating them enter into a create
mode via either the Create toolbar commands or the New menu commands.
The new TrackWaypoint layer dialog allows the layer to be specified as External in the Filesystem section. In this case the layer is read
from the file specified instead of stored in the Viking file itself. By
default files loaded in the External mode are to No write. This
means that Viking does not write the layer to the file specified;
instead, Viking only reads the file. No-write layers are primarily
intended to be used with the Open as External Layer
option in the File menu. It possible to specify the External layer mode
as Yes, as then changes made to this layer will be saved back into the
specified file. This is only available for filetypes with write
support - i.e. only GPX files at present. Note, Viking specific options
may not be saved if not supported by the GPX export.
External layers are loaded only when they are displayed or selected.
Hence, they will not appear in any summary statistics if they have not
been loaded. It is possible to load all external layers contained in an Aggregate layer by selecting [File > Load External]
Layers{.menuchoice} from the Aggregate Layer context menu.
The sublayers also offer right click menu options. These are the same as
those available at the TrackWaypoint level, but only those that relate
to the sublayer type.
By default routes are coloured red. Tracks are automatically assigned a
spread of colours.
Most operations available on tracks are available on routes, except for
functionality that relies on having timestamps - since routes by
definition have no timing information. Thus for example, uploading a
route to OpenStreetMap Traces is not available nor is Geotagging on a
route. It is possible to convert between Tracks and Routes, although
converting from a Track to a Route may involve a loss of information
(hence you are required to confirm this operation before it happens).
This layer has many configurable properties split into several parts:
Waypoints
Options that affect the drawing of waypoints.
Tracks
Basic options that affect the drawing of tracks and routes.
Tracks Advanced
More detailed options that affect the drawing and processing of tracks
and routes.
Options that affect the processing of tracks and routes are:
Apply DEM Automatically
Mainly intended for use with External layers, such that elevations
values from DEM supercede those in the source file. This needs a DEM
layer with a DEM file covering the area of the track for this to
take affect.
Remove Duplicate Trackpoint
Mainly intended for use with External layers, remove duplicate
trackpoints when loading in from the source file.
Prefer GPS Speed
Mainly for Maximum speed calculations: use speed from the .
Metadata
Metadata such as Description, Author and Keywords for this TrackWaypoint
Layer.
Filesystem
Shows the GPX version of the TrackWaypoint Layer and External Layer type
information.
Layer Operations
The layer has a context menu with several operations.
View Layer
Version1.1+: This will automatically move the viewport and select the
best zoom level to see the whole layer (i.e. all tracks, routes and
waypoints).
View
View All Tracks
Version1.1+: This will automatically move the viewport and select
the best zoom level to see the all the tracks in the layer (ignoring
positions of any routes or waypoints).
View All Routes
Version1.4+: This will automatically move the viewport and select
the best zoom level to see the all the routes in the layer (ignoring
positions of any tracks or waypoints).
View All Waypoints
Version1.1+: This will automatically move the viewport and select
the best zoom level to see the all the waypoints in the layer
(ignoring positions of any tracks or routes).
Ensure Visibility On
Version1.8+: Ensure this layer will be displayed, i.e. not just the
visibility of this layer is turned on, but all higher levels in the
layer heirarchy as well.
View GPX Extensions
Version1.9+: View the raw (XML) text of the GPX extensions for this
layer. The menu item is only shown if there are extensions
available.
Lap Data
Version1.11+: View lap data for this layer. The menu item is only
shown if lap data is available.
::: note
At present, lap data is only generated from GPX files.
:::
Goto
Goto Center of Layer
This will automatically move the viewport to see the whole layer
(i.e. tracks, routes and waypoints). It does not adjust the zoom
level.
Goto Waypoint
This opens a dialog box to enter a name of waypoint to search for.
If it is found the viewport is centred on it.
::: note
Note this search is not very clever and only finds exact matches.
You are probably better off expanding the waypoint list and directly
start typing, as mentioned above, which finds a match based on each
letter typed.
:::
Export Layer
The layer (all tracks, routes and waypoints) can be exported to
following file formats:
This option will not be available if the program is not detected on
your system. See here for
the installation method.
GPSPoint - depreciated - only available if appropriate property
enabled in misc_settings
GPSMapper - depreciated - only available if appropriate property
enabled in misc_settings
Version1.1+: An individual track can be exported to a GPX file via the
track menu.
Finish Track or Route {#finish_track}
Selecting this option ends the creation of that individual track or
route.
::: note
This is only available when a track or route is being created by the Edit Track or Edit Route tools.
:::
New
New Waypoint
This opens a dialog (see Waypoint Properties) to create
a new waypoint. A default name will be suggested and the default
position is the center of the viewport.
This starts the Geotagging Images dialog against all tracks in the
layer. See Geotagging for further detail.
Acquire
This offers the same choice from acquire methods as on the
File menu. However when invoked from here, the results will be stored in
this layer (instead of creating a new one).
Upload
Upload to GPS
This opens a dialog to select the GPS Device and port to which the
layer information will be transferred.
The types of GPS information (tracks, routes or waypoints) to be
transferred can be selected.
Tracks, Routes or Waypoints that are invisible will not be
transferred.
Upload To OSM
This opens a dialog to upload all tracks and waypoints to OpenStreetMap traces. Useful if you
are an OpenStreetMap contributor, access details are stored in
Viking OpenStreetMap Traces Preferences
Viking allows you to edit a track, e.g. remove duplicate points,
perhaps remove track points leading to your home and then upload it
to OpenStreetMap.
::: note
This functionality is currently disabled since OSM requires OAuth2
for authentication, but OAuth2 is not supported in Viking.
:::
Delete
Offers deletion of various parts of a TrackWaypoint layer.
Menu items will be disabled if there are no relevant sublayers of that
type.
Delete All Tracks
Deletes all the tracks in this layer.
Delete Tracks from Selection
Opens a dialog with list of all the tracks from this layer to choose
the ones to delete.
Delete All Routes
Deletes all the routes in this layer.
Delete Routes from Selection
Opens a dialog with list of all the routes from this layer to choose
the ones to delete.
Delete All Waypoints
Deletes all the waypoints in this layer.
Delete Waypoints from Selection
Opens a dialog with list of all the waypoints from this layer to
choose the ones to delete.
Delete Duplicate Waypoints
Deletes duplicate waypoints in this layer. Waypoints are considered
duplicate if they have the same location and symbol.
::: note
If other properties are different such as name, comment, altitude,
etc... they will still be considered a duplicate.
:::
Filter
Simplify All Tracks
This opens dialog to request the number of points each track will be
simplified using GPSBabel. The result is put into a new layer. The
simplification method removes points considered to be in a \'near
straight line\', thus reducing the number of points and attempting
to keep the most important turning points.
Compress Tracks
Enables compression of tracks and routes via GPSBabel\'s Crosstrack simplify method. It opens a dialog to request the Error
factor value which is the maximum allowable error that may be
introduced by removing a single point. It is expressed a distance in
units as specified by the Preferences distance option.
Thus a higher value will remove more points. The result is put into
a new layer.
Remove Duplicate Waypoints
Remove Duplicate Waypoints - fairly self explanatory, with the
results created in a new layer.
::: note
However it only considers a precise position (waypoints only 1 metre
away from each other are considered different) and also doesn\'t
consider if the waypoints have different comments, symbols or
images.
:::
Filter With Trackname {#filter_with_track}
This runs GPSBabel on the layer using information from a previously
selected track (select via the track menu \"Use With Filter\" option)
with the following command types:
Waypoints Inside This
Waypoints Outside This
The result is generated in a new Track/Waypoint layer.
Edit
Rename
This opens dialog to rename the layer according a format based on
the timestamp of the first track\'s first trackpoint. This is the
same as the track Rename capability, so see that for
further details.
List Tracks or Routes
Opens a new dialog with the list. As described in the Aggregate layer Track List
List Waypoints
Opens a new dialog with the list. As described in the Aggregate layer Waypoint List
Track and Route Sublayer Options
Repeats options available at the TrackWaypoint level, but only those for
tracks and routes:
Opens a new dialog with the list. As described in the Aggregate
layer Track List
Export Separate GPX Files...
Version1.11+: Opens a save dialog to select the output directory.
Each individual track or route (that is visible) will be saved as a
separate file. This can be useful with some GPS devices that don\'t
seem to handle allowing selection of an individual track or route
when multiple exist in a GPX file for navigation purposes. Tracks or
routes will be skipped if there is an already existing file with
that name.
Also gives other options for handling multiple items:
Sort
Gives the ability to sort the items in the treeview alphabetically,
by date or track/route number.
Visibility
Offers options to quickly control the visibility of all items within
the sublayer, as per Visibility Options
Track and Route Properties {#track_properties}
This shows several tabs for properties and useful statistics about a
track or a route, including elevation, speed, heart rate, cadence,
temperature and power graphs (if the data is available and the graph has
not been disabled via Track Properties Dialog
Preferences).
The tabs can be reordered via drag \'n\' drop of the tab label. The
ordering is retained between new invocations of the properties dialog.
Moving the mouse pointer over the graph displays values related to that
point along the track. You can click on these graphs to jump to the
point in the track. You can reverse it, delete duplicates, split at
marked position or split a track from its component segments
(discontinuous breaks in a track) into separate tracks.
For the elevation related graphs the Show DEM check button is only
enabled if a suitable DEM is available that overlaps the track.
Graphs either have a Show GPS Speed or Show Speed button. Each of these
overlays relative speed markers along the graph. The difference between
Speed vs GPS Speed is that GPS Speed is taken directly from a field
reporting the speed value in the source data. Typically speeds used in
Viking are calculated between the points time and position differences.
This is due to the reporting of speed values in source data is not
mandatory and often not present.
Track and Route Properties Tab
Properties Tab: Example (Tabs at side option and
reordered)
Track and Route Statistics Tab {#track_statistics}
Statistics Tab: Example
Track Elevation Graph {#track_elev_graphs}
Elevation Distance Tab: Example
The following colors are used in the elevation-distance graph:
Main colour - this is dependent on your Desktop theme - often blue by default
This tab displays timing splits on tracks with timing information. A few
different values of split lengths are available, each having it\'s own
tab display.
Track and Route Operations
Finish Track
Selecting this option ends the creation of the individual track.
::: note
This is only available when a track is being created by the Edit
Track tool.
:::
Goto
This centers the viewport on the selected position on the track:
Startpoint
\"Center\" - the notional center from the bounds of the track
Endpoint
Version1.1+: Highest Altitude
Version1.1+: Lowest Altitude
Version1.1+: Maximum Speed (Not Available on Routes)
Version1.9+: Maximum Heart Rate (Not Available on Routes)
Version1.9+: Maximum Cadence (Not Available on Routes)
Version1.9+: Maximum Power (Not Available on Routes)
Version1.9+: Minimum Temperature (Not Available on Routes)
Version1.9+: Maximum Temperature (Not Available on Routes)
Version1.8+: Previous trackpoint
Version1.8+: Next trackpoint
View
Version1.1+: This centers the viewport on the track and selects the best
zoom level to see it.
Combine
Merge By Time
This operation repeatedly tries to merge the right-clicked track
with tracks in the same TrackWaypoint layer. The tracks which are
merged are those which have at least one trackpoint less than some
threshold time away. This way, if you somehow end up with lots of
small segments (say, caused by turning the GPS on and off) you can
merge them easily into one track.
::: note
This is not available on routes as they have no timestamps.
:::
Merge With Other Tracks
This opens a dialog listing the other tracks in the same
TrackWaypoint layer, from which one can select the other tracks to
merge with. Tracks are merged in order of time.
Merge Segments
Combines track segments. Effectively removing track segment markers
to leave one segment for the whole track.
Append Track or Route
Enable joining of a single track to the end of the current track.
This opens a dialog listing the other tracks in the same
TrackWaypoint layer from which one can make the selection.
Split
Split By Time
This operation will split a single track into segments wherever the
time interval between successive trackpoints is larger than some
threshold. This is useful when processing raw NMEA GPS data,
especially taken over a long time.
::: note
This is not available on routes as they have no timestamps.
:::
Split By Number of Points
Version1.2+: This operation will split a single track into segments
by the number of points specified. This can be useful with devices
which may have limits on the number of points it supports.
Split Segments
Splits track segments into new tracks.
::: note
This is not available on routes as they do not have route segments.
:::
Split at Trackpoint
Splits the track at the currently selected trackpoint.
The current track will finish at this trackpoint. A new track will
start from a copy of this trackpoint.
::: note
This is only enabled when a trackpoint is selected.
:::
Create Segments at Trackpoint
Creates a new track segment starting at the selected trackpoint.
This is not available on routes as route segments are not allowed.
This is only enabled when a trackpoint is selected.
Insert Points
::: note
These options are only enabled when a trackpoint is selected.
:::
Insert Point Before Selected Point
Inserts a track point halfway between the previous track point and
the current track point. All track point properties are interpolated
between the two points.
Insert Point After Selected Point
Inserts a track point halfway between the current track point and
the next track point. All track point properties are interpolated
between the two points.
Delete Points
Delete Selected Point
Deletes the currently selected track point.
::: note
This is only enabled when a trackpoint is selected.
:::
Delete Points With the Same Position
Deletes subsequent points that have the same position (but have
different timestamps).
Delete Points With the Same Time
Deletes subsequent points that have the same time stamp (but may
have different positions).
::: note
This is not available on routes as they have no timestamps.
:::
Delete All Points
Removes all track or route points. You will be asked to confirm this
action.
Transform
These options alter the data of trackpoints of a track but not add or
remove trackpoints. And don\'t seem to fit any other category :)
Apply DEM data
If any DEM data is loaded, this will apply the DEM data to
give the track elevation data. Two ways of applying DEM data are
offered:
Keep. Retains the existing elevation data of trackpoints and
only those missing an elevation value are set.
Overwrite. Elevation data are set on all trackpoints even if
they already elevation values.
Smooth Missing Elevation data
In various locations across the world, there are missing DEM values
(AKA DEM Holes) from the SRTM data. This is particularly noticeable
in mountainous areas. Two ways of applying elevation data to
trackpoints that do not have elevation values are offered:
Interpolated. Missing elevation data is interpolated between the
previous and next known values.
Flat. Elevation data is filled in from the last previously known
value.
Convert to Track or Route
If this is a Route then it will convert it to a Track.
If this is Track then convert it to a Route.
::: note
Converting from a Track to a Route may involve a loss of
information, in particular timestamp values (hence you are required
to confirm this operation before it happens).
:::
Convert to Waypoints
Each track or route point will be converted into a waypoint. The
original track or route will be removed unless some information in
the track would be lost (e.g. If the track has a comment, this is
not copied into every waypoint and the track is kept).
Anonymize Times
Timestamp information of a track can be shifted to be all offset
from 1901-01-01.
Thus the timestamps themselves will no longer reveal exactly when a
track was taken. However the relative difference between the
timestamps is kept thus one is still able to calculate some
properties such as speeds along the track.
::: note
This is not available for routes, as they have no timestamps.
:::
Interpolate Times
Trackpoint timestamps between the first and last points are
calculated such that track is travelled at equal speed. This is
mostly useful when tracks don\'t have timestamps and you wish to
recreate your trip (e.g. you\'ve forgotten to turn on your GPS or
the batteries have run out) Thus edit the first and last trackpoints
to set the approximate times of your trip and then use this to give
approximate times along the track. When used on tracks with
timestamps this will overwrite the existing timestamps.
::: note
This is not available for routes, as they have no timestamps.
:::
Rotate
\"Rotate\" the track or route by shifting the specified number of
points from the start to end (or if a negative number it moves end
points to the start). This is particularly intended for circular
routes were you want to adjust where the start/end point is. If the
start and end points are considered to be far apart, you are
required to confirm you want to apply this. If a track has
timestamps then rotating the track is not allowed as it would
otherwise break trackpoint time ordering.
Rename
Rename a track according using the timestamp of the first point in a strftime format. Use the Preview
button to see what the result of applying this format will be. The
default format is \"%d %b %y %H:%M\", however after a successful
rename the format used is saved for subsequent reuse. To restore the
default apply a blank format.
This is not available for routes, as they have no timestamps.
Export Track as GPX
Version1.1+: This allows exporting the track as a GPX file by opening a
file save dialog.
Extend Track End
Changes the current tool to add trackpoints to the end of the track.
Extend Using Route Finder
Enables the Route Finder tool. Thus on a subsequent left click in the
viewport, a route is calculated from the end of track to that point
using the default route service and applied to the track.
Upload
Upload to GPS
Same as the layer Upload to GPS command, but only
applies to the track.
Upload to OSM
Same as the layer Upload to OSM command, but only
applies to the track.
::: note
This is only enabled when a trackpoint is selected.
:::
Refine Route...
This function allows one to request a Routing Engine in order to refine
a given route. By \"refining\" we mean computing all real intermediates
points between some given major points. This could be useful to compute
a trip giving only the wished important steps.
::: note
This is only available on routes.
:::
View Google Directions
This option is only available on a track created using the Route Finder
tool.
Launch a web browser to see the Google directions page which yielded the
route.
::: note
The record of the Google route is stored in the track\'s comment, so if
the comment is changed (or the route was created by something other than
the Route Finder tool) this will not work correctly.
:::
Waypoint Sublayer Options
Repeats options available at the TrackWaypoint level, but only those for
waypoints:
Opens a new dialog with the list. As described in the Aggregate
layer Waypoint List
Export GPX File...
Version1.11+: Opens a save dialog to select a filename to save just
the visible waypoints of this layer in the GPX format.
Also gives other options for handling multiple items:
Sort
Gives the ability to sort the items in the treeview alphabetically
or by date.
Visibility
Offers options to quickly control the visibility of all items within
the sublayer, as per Visibility Options
Transform
Options to set the altitude value from DEM data. Also see
track Transform.
An option to set the time from the comment field. First tries
ISO8601 formats and then a fallback of a custom format, see
\"gpx_comment_time_format\" in misc_settings.
An option to convert the (visible) waypoints into a track. The
points will be ordered according to the layers Waypoint sort order
property. Note that some information such as associated images,
symbols, comments etc... are lost in this conversion.
Waypoint Properties {#WptProps}
This shows a dialog with detailed information for the (possibly new)
waypoint. Many properties of the waypoint can set or changed here, such
as the comment, the symbol used in drawing or the image (normally a
photograph taken at this position) associated with it. When a waypoint
has an image, a thumbnail of it is drawn in the viewport for the
waypoint (in preference to the symbol).
If the waypoint has an associated image, then the Geotag information may
be updated, either with updating the file\'s modification timestamp or
not. This can be useful when the waypoint has been moved.
Clicking on the time opens the time edit dialog from which the time can
be adjusted (or added if the waypoint did not have a time). When the
waypoint has a time, right clicking on the button opens a menu from
which there are options to copy the time value as text or remove the
time value.
::: note
The latitude entry can accept any text and will attempt to decode the
text as a lat/lon pair. If successfully decoded then this will take
precedence over the longitude value. In the case entering e.g. \"54.32
-1.098\", the latitude will become 54.32 and the longitude -1.098 (when
the dialog is accepted). This takes a few various lat/lon format
strings, including:
\"12, 34\": Commas are ignored
\"S12 W34\": With cardinal indicators at begining
\"12 S 34 W\": With cardinal indicators after (must have space
between the number and letter)
Waypoint Properties: ExampleWaypoint Properties: Extra Tab
Waypoint proximity (alarm) values are supported. These will be exported
in saving GPX files (provided the GPX Export is v1.1) according to the
GPX Waypoint Extension schema (see Export/External
Preferences). The proximity area will be drawn on the
display provided the Draw Waypoint Proximity in the layer properties
is enabled.
Waypoint Operations
Goto
This centers the viewport on the selected waypoint.
Geotag Images...
This opens the Geotag Dialog to allow Geotagging multiple
images to the position of this waypoint. In this circumstance creation
of waypoint options are disabled and only the options related to writing
the EXIF information are available.
Transform
Offers a subset of the track Transform utilities. Setting
the altitude from DEM data and Time from Comment methods are
available.
Visit Webpage
If the waypoint\'s comment (or description) starts with http: then
this option is available and allows launching a web browser to go to the
webpage.
Visit Geocache Webpage
If the waypoint\'s name is in Geocache form (GCXXXXX) then this option
is available and allows launching a web browser to go to the Geocache
page.
This dialog allows geotagging images (normally taken with a digital
camera) against a specific waypoint or via interpolation against a
specific track or all tracks in the TrackWaypoint layer - depending on
how it is invoked.
When geotagging against tracks, images need to have an EXIF
DATE_TIME_ORIGINAL (nearly always set by a camera). This timestamp is
then used to find the location when the image(s) was taken by searching
through the track(s) to find the nearest time - interpolating between
points if necessary to set the location.
::: note
Generally it is good policy to synchronize your camera\'s clock with
your GPS clock before taking photographs. However the times can be
adjusted afterwards (if necessary) to take into consideration clock
differences.
:::
Various options allow control of how the geotagging process is
performed:
Images - Add the images used for geotagging
Create Waypoints
Overwrite Existing Waypoints
Write EXIF
Overwrite Existing GPS Information
Keep File Modification Timestamp
Automatic Image Direction - Assumes the direction will be in line
with the track heading
Interpolate Between Track Segments
Image Time Offset - The number of seconds to ADD to the photos time
to make it match the GPS data. Calculate this with (GPS - Photo).
Can be negative or positive. Useful to adjust times when a camera\'s
timestamp was incorrect.
Image Time is Local - Are the timestamps in the image local time or
otherwise in UTC.
Image Timezone - The timezone adjustment factor.
Typically timestamps in images are either in local time or UTC but there
is no way of automatically knowing which; so you need to specify which
is the case. Image Time Offset is best used for accounting for
camera\'s clock drift, so normally of the order of a few seconds or
minutes. Whereas Image Timezone is more for adjusting for a camera\'s
timezone difference, or perhaps differences in your current timezone and
the timezone the images where taken.
GPS Layer {#GPS}
The GPS layer is responsible for uploading and downloading GPS data from
a GPS device via a serial port connection. It uses GPSBabel in the
background to perform the low level transfer. Modern GPS devices don\'t
support serial connections any more and typically expose a file system
interface and you can simply use the standard File->Open and Export to
GPX File methods to transfer data.
This layer is also responsible for realtime GPS tracking using GPSD
Expand the GPS layer in the layers panel to see the two TrackWaypoint layers it uses for uploading and
downloading. To upload, download, or use realtime tracking, right-click
the GPS layer and click the appropriate menu item.
Download
To download data from the GPS, right-click the GPS layer and click
Download from GPS.
Upload
To upload data to the GPS, first populate the GPS Upload child layer of
the GPS layer (either by creating waypoints/tracks/routes in it, or
copying and pasting or dragging waypoints/tracks/routes from another
layer). Then right-click the GPS layer and click Upload to GPS.
Realtime Tracking
You must put the correct information to connect to an instance of GPSD
in the GPS Layer properties - Realtime Tracking Mode tab.
By default Viking will automatically continually attempt to connect to
GPSD using the specified host and port values, otherwise if necessary
use right-click on the layer and select Start Realtime Tracking.
There are several options to quickly delete a subsection of data:
Empty Realtime
Empty Upload
Empty Download
Empty All
Map Layer {#Map}
This layer provides a single map resource, you may have multiple map
layers but only top one (if enabled) will be visible (subject to the Alpha compositing property).
Some maps are continually improving over time (e.g. OpenStreetMap), on
the other hand Viking employs a caching mechanism to avoid redownloading
data (see Disk Map Cache). However a forced refresh for
the current view can be made via the Reload All Onscreen Maps option or
Ctrl+F5.
The default root location for the disk map cache is searched for in this
order (including the legacy locations), using the first existing
directory location found to exist. Thus on upgrading Viking it will
still continue to use the previous location if it is available.
You can modify this directory default by setting an explicit value in
the Preferences or in [Edit > Layer Defaults]{.menuchoice}
for all new Maps. Or set an explicit Map Directory value for the
particular Map Layer in the Map Layer Properties.
::: note
If you\'ve upgraded Viking to v1.9 and want it to use the new location,
you need to perform these manual steps to ensure consistency in usage:
Manually move the existing directory (when Viking is not running).
e.g. in the command line: mv -p ~/.viking-maps ~/.cache/viking-maps
Update your .vik files to use the new directory location. One way
would be to manually edit the files with a text editor to change the
Map Layer setting from directory=/some/dir/ --> directory= as a
blank entry will use the default. Otherwise if you open .vik file
with Viking the maps may auto download and recreate the previous
location, so even if you modify the map directory within Viking and
save the .vik file, the next time you open Viking it would notice
the old location exists (unless you remove it) and may use that in
preference for new Map Layers.
This location is also used by DEM files, so you need to update your .vik files appropriately use the new directory location of each
file used.
You should also modify any existing explicit Map Directory default
in the Preferences and in [Edit > Layer]
Defaults{.menuchoice} (or at least ensure they are blank, in order
to use the defaults).
Finally you will need to fix any other absolute file references in
.vik files if you have used files in the disk map cache location,
such as Waypoint Images, Georef Images, External TrackWaypoint Layer
references and so forth.
:::
Also see Map Download tool for use in conjunction with
this layer.
You will need an open internet connection when you are downloading these
following map types, but once downloaded they are available from the
hard disk cache. When maps are avaliable from the disk cache it is much
faster and can be used offline. Inbuilt maps include various OpenStreetMap (OSM) ones and more:
This can be useful to turn off when you are not online to avoid
pointless download requests or may be keep a map in a \'historical\'
state. e.g. perhaps in case a current map rendering is broken.
Autodownload Only Gets Missing Maps
Using this option avoids attempting to update already acquired
tiles. This can be useful if you want to restrict the network usage,
without having to resort to manual control. Only applies when Autodownload Maps is on.
Zoom Level
Determines the method of displaying map tiles for the current zoom
level. Viking Zoom Level uses the best matching level, otherwise
setting a fixed value will always use map tiles of the specified
value regardless of the actual zoom level.
Layer Operations
Download Missing Onscreen Maps
This requests map tiles for areas of the viewport that do not currently
have one.
Download New Onscreen Maps
This requests map tiles only if the maps are older than the Tile Age
preference.
Reload All Onscreen Maps
Force a refresh of all visible map tiles.
Download Maps in Zoom Levels
This opens a dialog to enable requesting the download of maps for the
region in the viewport over a specified number of Tiled Web Map zoom
levels. The download method type can be specified to help limit the
number of requests.
::: warning
There are some inbuilt limits to prevent downloading large amounts of
map tiles.
Please respect the usage policy of the tile set provider. Such as OSM
Tile Usage
Policy.
:::
Maps Download Dialog: Example
Toggle Display of Cache Status
When enabled, a visual indication of the disk cache status of each tile
will be shown. This will display a small coloured square at the top left
of each map tile, with the colour representing the status.
No File: Red
No tile on disk exists for this zoom level.
Note that Viking will attempt to rescale higher and lower tiles for
this zoom level (as in the example below), so there may be image
shown.
Okay: Teal
Tile exists on disk and is within the cache expiry age.
Expired: Yellow
Tile exists on disk but is older than the cache expiry age.
Download Error: Dark Red
Issues were encountered in trying to retrieve latest version of the
tile.
Cache Status Overlay: Example
If desired, the colours used for the disk map cache overlay indicators
can be altered via the advanced configuration in misc_settings.
About
This displays a dialog with extra detail about the particular map -
typically license information.
Debug Mode: Information
This displays a dialog with extra informationa about the particular
map - including the internal Id number used for this instance.
Debug Mode: Flush Map Memory Cache
Flushes the memory map cache for this particular map only.
Aggregate Layer {#Aggregate}
This layer is a container layer to hold other layers. There is always an
initial and controlling Top Layer that can not be removed but it can
be renamed.
This layer type is useful for grouping other layers, especially TrackWaypoint layers, in whatever categories are
relevant to you: such as by activity, location or date. Here are some
suggestions:
Hiking
Mountain Biking
Road Cycling
Car Trips
Sailing
Holidays
UK Points of Interest
USA Points of Interest
etc...
Thus one can have a list of all your tracks, but groups can be shown or
not using the relevant layers visibility checkbox.
Tracks Area Coverage
Tracks Area Coverage (TAC) is a feature to highlight areas with track
coverage. It is based on OpenStreetMap style tiles - as an approximation
to a grid square system. The size of the area can be changed, which is
linked to the OSM Zoom level, such that a higher Zoom level gives a
smaller physical area and so more tiles. This can be used for general
curiousity or perhaps to plan routes to visit areas previously
unexplored.
The calculations are performed in the background when deemed necessary
(e.g. loading in a new file) and can also be manually requested.
Note that Viking can be slow in drawing hundreds or more tracks but this
analysis is relatively quick and the resulting drawing is much faster.
Thus ATM is it recommended to turn off the visibility of the tracks
themselves for this type of usage.
Tracks Area Coverage: Example - Contiguous, Cluster, &
Max SquareTracks Area Coverage: Example - New & Consecutive
Lines
A concept of ignoring unreachable tiles is supported. This allows
marking individual tiles as inaccessible (e.g typically military use
only, so no public access) so that the tile is still included for
maximum square and clustering count purposes. These tiles are drawn in
red on the viewport.
On startup Viking attempts to load the file unreachable_tiles.txt in
your config_file_loc.
The file should contain a list of tiles in the format of 3 numbers, with
each line being \"OSM_ZOOM TILE_X_ID TILE_Y_ID\". e.g.
14811654741481175474
Any lines starting with a \'#\', \'!\' or \';\' are ignored as intended
for comments. A fuller example covering the UK is in /usr/share/viking/unreachable_tiles.txt or C:\Program Files\Viking\data\unreachable_tiles.txt according to the
operating system and typical install locations. You may wish to copy
this file into your Viking home directory so that it is used.
To find TILE_X_ID and TILE_Y_ID : select a map. On menu -> Tools ->
Download Map. Right click on a tile and select \"show tile
information\".
The heatmap is another feature to analyse areas with track coverage. It
must be manually requested via right click on the Aggregate layer and
choosing from the menu [Tracks Heatmap > Calculate]{.menuchoice}. The
heatmap covers the current area displayed on the viewport.
The calculations are performed in the background as depending on the
number of tracks, the heatmap options and the speed of the computer the
calculation may take a little time. If the viewport size is changed then
the heatmap is automatically invalidated and removed. Panning the
display leaves the heatmap image only covering the area already
calculated. Zooming in and out scales the heatmap image appropriately,
but the image may get removed if the scaling operation is likely to be
too slow.
Heatmap: Example
Layer Properties: Tracks Area Coverage
Offers basic controls whether it is enabled or not and includes the size
of the tile.
Layer Properties: TAC Advanced
Controls subsets of TAC drawing are calculated and shown with their
colour and opacity.
Contiguous
Is formed from continuous chain of squares, with each contributing
one having at least one common border with the group.
Cluster
Is formed from squares which are completely surrounded by other
sqaures.
Max Square
Is formed from squares that contribute to a larger square area.
New
Those that are newly (at least from the previous TAC calculation)
found to contribute to the coverage.
Consecutive Lines
Squares that are consecutive in north/south and east/west
directions.
Note for Max square coverage, ATM it will only draw the first square
encountered, although there may be more than one such area.
Note for Cluster coverage, ATM it will only draw the first cluster
encountered, although there may be more than one such area.
Note for Consecutive Lines of Squares coverage, ATM it will only draw
the first instance encountered, although there may be more than one such
line.
Layer Properties: Heatmap
Offers controls over the heatmap image.
If there is an existing heatmap on display then changing these values
and selecting Apply will cause the heatmap to be recalculated with the
new settings.
Layer Properties: General
General options that apply to Aggregate layers.
Load External Layers
Version1.11+: Allows control over whether external layers are
automatically loaded when the .vik file is loaded. By default
external layers are only loaded when needed for display (primarily
via selection on the left hand panel). However, they are not
included (until loaded) in various statistics or Track Coverage
Area. Thus, this setting ensures they are fully loaded (at the
expense of taking the time to process these files); rather than
having to manually select them or manually invoke the Load External
Layers option.
Layer Operations
The following are available on Aggregate Layers:
New Layer
Add a new layer of the selected type.
Visibility Options
This offers a quick way to set all the visibilities of each item within
the aggregate, rather than having to change each one individually.
Show All
Ensures all items are set to be visible.
Hide All
Ensures all items are set to be invisible. This is useful for then
turning on single items afterwards so the display is not cluttered.
Toggle
Inverts the visibility status of each item.
View - All TrackWaypoint Layers
Automatically move the viewport and select the best zoom level to see
all such TrackWaypoint layers within this aggregate.
Sort {#sort_items}
The list within the treeview can be sorted.
Alphabetical and Date sorts are available.
::: note
Generally it is not useful to sort the Top most layer. Sort is mainly
intended for Aggregate groups of TrackWaypoint layers.
:::
Track List {#track_list}
Selecting this opens a dialog listing all the tracks in a table along
side statistics such as track length and maximum speed. Each column
header is clickable and will reorder the list according to that
particular column. You can also rearrange the columns via dragging the
column header to the new location.
This table may be invoked from a variety of different layer levels and
will then list only the relevant tracks (and/or routes).
Aggregate Layer
Lists Tracks and Routes and the TrackWaypoint
Layer they are in
TrackWaypoint Layer
Lists Tracks and Routes
TrackWaypoint Track sublayer
Lists Tracks only
TrackWaypoint Route sublayer
Lists Routes only
This is showing all tracks and routes (although there are no actual
routes here!) in multiple TrackWaypoint
layers, that has been sorted by height. Note that routes will not have
timestamps or speeds, but may have elevations and should have some
distance!
Track List Dialog: Example
Hovering the mouse over an entry will show a tooltip of the comment or
description if it is available.
Each entry in the track list can be selected and on mouse right click
offers these options:
View
Move the viewport to the area of the item and highlight it.
Statistics
Opens the Properties dialog on the Track and Route
Statistics tab. Note this will close the track
list dialog.
Copy Data
Copy the data fields as text.
If multiple entries are selected the only right click option is Copy
Data. This copies the individual data fields as plain text separated by
tab characters, ideal for pasting into other applications in particular
spreadsheet programs. Note that the order of the fields copied is the
default column ordering (irrespective to how they may have been
rearranged).
Waypoint List {#waypoint_list}
Selecting this opens a dialog listing all the waypoints to give a
overview of the waypoint information. Each column header is clickable
and will reorder the list according to that particular column. You can
also rearrange the columns via dragging the column header to the new
location.
This table may be invoked from a variety of different layer levels and
will then list only the relevant waypoints.
Aggregate Layer
Lists Waypoints and the TrackWaypoint Layer they
are in
TrackWaypoint Layer
Lists Waypoints
TrackWaypoint Waypoint sublayer
Lists Waypoints
This was invoked on a TrackWaypoint
layer and shows all waypoints from that single layer. It has been sorted
by the symbols.
Waypoint List Dialog: Example
Hovering the mouse over an entry will show a tooltip of the description
if it is available.
Each entry in the list can be selected and on mouse right click offers
these options:
View
Move the viewport to the area of the item and highlight it.
Properties
This will open the properties dialog. Note this will close the
waypoint list dialog.
Show Picture
If enabled, this will open the associated image in an external Image
Viewer program.
Copy Data
Copy the data fields as text.
If multiple entries are selected the only right click option is Copy
Data. This copies the individual data fields as plain text separated by
tab characters, ideal for pasting into other applications in particular
spreadsheet programs. Note that the order of the fields copied is the
default column ordering (irrespective to how they may have been
rearranged).
Visibility Options {#vis_options}
This offers a quick way to set all the visibilities of each item within
the containing layer, rather than having to change each one
individually.
Show All
Ensures all items are set to be visible.
Hide All
Ensures all items are set to be invisible. This is useful for then
turning on single items afterwards so the display is not cluttered.
Toggle
Inverts the visibility status of each item.
Delete - Selection
This opens a dialog to select layers from this Aggregate layer to
delete.
Search by Date {#search_date}
This opens calendar dialog to select a date to search by within this
Aggregate layer. The first item that is found on that date will be
selected. Tracks are searched first in preference over waypoints.
Statistics {#agg_stats}
This opens a dialog to display various statistics about all tracks
contained within this Aggregate layer.
Statistics Dialog: Totals
::: note
This currently generates a simplified Eddington
number.
In that a per track length value is used, rather than trying to work out
a length per day. (i.e. doesn\'t combine multiple tracks for a single
day or split very long tracks into days). The Eddington number is in the
current Unit distance Preferences.
:::
Statistics Dialog: Years
Each column can be sorted by clicking on the relevant column header.
The right click menu offers an option to copy all the data as text in a
CSV style format (using a tabbed separator).
Selecting a year will update the information in the Months tab.
Statistics Dialog: Months
Each column can be sorted by clicking on the relevant column header.
The right click menu offers an option to copy all the data as text in a
CSV style format (using a tabbed separator).
The right click menu offers an option to show the Track
List for the relevant month.
File Options
Offers methods to manage loading and exporting to/from this specific
Aggregate layer.
Load External Layers
Using this forces External Layers in this Aggregate Layer to be
loaded and so contribute to analysis, as otherwise they are loaded
only when they are displayed or selected.
Open File as External Layer...
This opens a dialog to select files to Open as External
Layer within this Aggregate Layer.
Save Layer As...
This opens a dialog to choose a name and location for a new Viking
file containing data just this Aggregate Layer.
Append File...
This opens a dialog to select files to load within this Aggregate
layer.
Export As GPX...
This opens a dialog to choose a name and location for a new GPX file
from all visible TrackWaypoint layers in this
Aggregate Layer into a single GPX file.
Export via GPSBabel...
This opens a dialog to choose options for the export using GPSBabel.
Internally it converts all the geo-data in the Aggregate layer into
a single temporary GPX file for use in exporting to whatever format
you choose.
It is only available if GPSBabel is detected.
Tracks Area Coverage
Offers methods related to Tracks Area Coverage.
Calculate
Start a new TAC calculation.
Increase/Decrease
Changes the TAC square size appropriately and performs a
recalculation with the new value.
Goto
Even though the analysis of squares have a variance of colours, it
may not be obvious where they are - especially if outside the
current viewport. Thus these options recenter the viewport on the
center of the selected analysis type.
Remove
This clears the Tracks Area Coverage information, thus no grid
colouring will be displayed.
Tracks Heatmap
Offers methods related to the Heatmap.
Calculate
Start a new heatmap calculation for current area displayed on the
viewport.
Remove
Clear the heatmap from the display.
Coordinate Layer {#Coordinate}
This layer is allows drawing of grid lines on the viewport.
Tools
Viking\'s mouse actions on the viewport are controlled by which tool is
active. Only one tool can be active at a time. The default mode is Select. You can return to the default mode by pressing Escape. The
default mode can be changed in misc_settings.
You can use the scroll wheel, the middle-click, the middle-click+drag to
zoom, center map at position and pan respectively no matter what tool
you are using.
Scroll: zoom in and out keeping the mouse over same location
Ctrl-scroll: pan north-south (also Ctrl-up, Ctrl-down)
Shift-scroll: pan east-west (also Ctrl-left, Ctrl-right)
Ctrl-shift-scroll: zoom in and out, without changing the center (also
Ctrl+, Ctrl-)
Middle-click: make the clicked point on the map the center
When any of the primary window tools is active (Select, Pan, Zoom or
Ruler), the viewport can be moved by pressing the arrow keys: Up, Left,
Right and Down.
Select (Version1.9+) {#selecttool}
This is the default mode of operation for Viking.
This mode can be entered by clicking on the toolbar icon:
The select tool allows one to choose an item, discard the selection of
an existing item or to move the viewport. To select an item (waypoint,
track or route) left click on it (or reasonably near) in the viewpoint.
ATM to select a track one must actually click on a trackpoint, which is
also selected. To deselect an item simply left click away from any item.
To move the viewport hold the left mouse button down whilst moving the
mouse pointer around (as per the specific Pan mode). Also if Right Alt
(or Windows Left Alt) is held down then the item selection/deselection
is skipped and goes straight into pan mode; this may be useful if the
item selection process is noticeably slow (and hence can be bypassed) or
avoiding accidental deselection of the item of interest.
Once an item (waypoint or trackpoint) is selected it can be moved. The
item must be clicked on again in order to start moving the it, this is
to prevent accidental movement of item in the initial selection. If Ctrl
or Shift is held down at the same time, it will jump the item position
to a nearby existing trackpoint or waypoint respectively. Note that
whole tracks cannot be moved.
When a trackpoint is selected pressing Left or Right moves to the
previous or next trackpoint respectively.
[ or Keypad- inserts a point before the selected trackpoint, whereas ]
or Keypad+ inserts a point after the selected trackpoint.
Ctrl+d will delete the selected trackpoint or waypoint without any
additional confirmation of the action. Since there is no undo system -
this shortcut is delibrately a two key operation.
Currently these keyboard shortcuts are not configurable.
By default double click zooming is disabled - see Advanced
Preferences to enable it. Double clicking the left
mouse button will zoom the map in. Shift + double clicking the left
mouse button will zoom the map out. Double clicking the right mouse
button will also zoom the map out.
This mode can also be entered by the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+C or
now more simply just s.
Pan {#pantool}
This mode is entered by clicking on the toolbar icon:
Pan moves the viewpoint. A single click centers the viewport at that
point, whereas click and drag dynamically moves the view around.
This mode can also be entered by the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+P or
now more simply just p.
The double click behaviour is the same as in the Select mode described
above (i.e. zooms in or out), however it is always enabled.
Zoom {#zoomtool}
This mode is entered by clicking on the toolbar icon:
Zooms in and out on the clicked part of the map or by the selected area.
This mode can also be entered by the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Z or
now more simply just z.
Ctrl + left or right click: Zoom in/out and center the map on the
clicked location
Shift (and hold) + left mouse button: Draws a bounding box area on which
to zoom in. The zoom action is performed when the left mouse button is
released.
Shift + left click button: Jump Zoom In by up to factor of 3 standard
zooms.
Shift + right click button: Jump Zoom Out by up to factor of 3 standard
zooms.
Ruler {#rulertool}
This mode is entered by clicking on the toolbar icon:
The ruler is used to measure either:
The bearing and distance between two points: Click on first point
and then move the mouse point around - the values will be
continually updated. A second click will freeze the ruler at that
point.
An area: Shift (and hold) + left mouse button: Draws a bounding box
area. Area values are shown in the statusbar and on the viewport.
Releasing the mouse button will freeze the area at that point. The
viewport label option is controlled by Advanced
Preferences.
This mode can also be entered by the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+U or
now more simply just r.
TrackWaypoint Layer Tools {#trw_tools}
You must have a TrackWaypoint Layer selected to use
these tools.
Create Waypoint {#createwptool}
Enable this tool by clicking on the toolbar icon:
Left click will open the new waypoint dialog (see Waypoint
Properties) using the specified position.
Create/Edit Track {#track_edit}
Enable this tool by clicking on the toolbar icon:
General track edit/create tool. The first left-click will create a new
track and you will be asked to enter a name for the track (unless the
Track Creation setting is configured to disable this, see Advanced
Preferences). It will enter into \'extend track
mode\', with the virtual track extension shown as a dashed line and
display of the distance to the cursor position; subsequent left-clicks
will add new trackpoints to the end of track.
If Shift is held, the track will be joined to an existing track at the
point selected. When a track is selected but not in \'extend track
mode\' and Shift is held, the track will be split at the nearby
trackpoint and enter into \'extend track mode\' from that point.
Alternatively, if Ctrl is held, a new trackpoint will be inserted into
track between the nearest trackpoints. Note that this method is
experimental for v1.11 and may not insert the trackpoint at the desired
sequence position within the track.
Right click or Backspace: remove the last point at the end of track.
i.e. This does not remove the point just added via the insert method.
Double click or Escape: to finish track creation. Finishing the track is
also available via the right click TrackWaypoint and
track menus.
One must finish the current track to be able to create another track.
Edit Route {#route_edit}
Enable this tool by clicking on the toolbar icon:
This operates in exactly the same way as the Edit Track
above.
One must finish the current route to be able to create another route.
Create Route Using the Route Finder {#route_finder}
Enable this tool by clicking on the toolbar icon:
Requires an internet connection. Left click to create a new trackpoint.
If it\'s the initial trackpoint you will be asked to enter a name for
the route, otherwise the default routing engine will be queried to find
a route to the new trackpoint. Right click or Backspace: remove the last
added route.
Double click or Escape: to finish route creation. Finishing the track is
also available via the right click TrackWaypoint and
track menus.
One must finish the current route to be able to create another route.
Use this tool to split a track or route. After enabling the tool, click
on the track/route point of the track/route at the position where you
want the split to occur.
Edit Waypoint
Enable this tool by clicking on the toolbar icon:
Left Click/drag: select/move a waypoint. If Ctrl is held at the same
time, it will jump the waypoint position to a nearby existing
trackpoint. If Shift is held at the same time, it will jump the waypoint
position to a nearby existing waypoint.
Right-click on waypoint: opens a menu with waypoint actions (the same
menu accessed by right-clicking the waypoint in the layers panel)
Edit Trackpoint
Enable this tool by clicking on the toolbar icon:
Left click near a trackpoint (in screen pixel terms) to bring up the
Track Point Edit dialog on that trackpoint. Whilst the edit dialog is
already open, left click again and drag enables moving of the
trackpoint. If Ctrl is held at the same time, it will jump the new
trackpoint position to a nearby existing trackpoint.
Edit Trackpoint Dialog {#Trackpoint_edit}
Editing options in the Trackpoint Edit dialog include:
Edit the trackpoint name
Changing raw lat/long position, altitude and time
Forward (go to the next trackpoint)
Back (go to the previous trackpoint)
Delete
Insert. Inserts a point halfway to next trackpoint
Several fields are read only for reference purposes, values are shown if
the trackpoint has such information:
Speed and course.
\'Between\' values: Speed, Time Difference and Distance Difference.
When moving between trackpoints (via the Back and Forward buttons)
these values are calculated.
One must have been going downhill here to get a reasonable speed by
bicycle!
Show Picture
Enable this tool by clicking on the toolbar icon:
Opens an image viewer with the picture associated with the waypoint. By
default this uses the default system image viewer. For Linux you can
override this with the setting in the Export/External
Preferences
Georef Map Layer Tools {#georef_tools}
You must have a GeoRef Map Layer selected to use these tools.
Georef zoom
Enable this tool by clicking on the toolbar icon:
Changes the zoom level of the georeferenced map and changes the Viking
zoom level accordingly. Useful if you are trying to match GPS data to a
georeferenced map.
Click to download a single tile. Drag to download tiles in the dragged
rectangle area.
Right-click to redownload tiles via the selected method. Right-click and
drag to redownload tiles in the dragged rectangle area by the selected
method. The possible methods to redownload one or more tiles are:
Bad
Only if the tile is corrupt in some way or missing, then this will
download a new copy
New
Refresh the tile according to the disk map cache and if the server
has a newer version
All
Redownload the tile
::: formalpara-title Delete Map Tiles
:::
This removes this specific cached tile(s) from disk (and memory). Hence
allowing fine grained control, which can be useful such as in bypassing
the normal tile age cache check (and then induce a download for this
tile) to get the latest tile.
::: formalpara-title Map Tile Information
:::
By right clicking on viewport and selecting Show Tile Information you
can see the tile properties of this location for the current Map
layer and current zoom level. This includes the remote source URL for
the tile and the cached version on the local filesystem with timestamp
details.
Map Tile Info Dialog: Example
This is using MapQuest at Viking zoom level 128 over the Isle of Wight,
UK.
By right clicking on viewport and selecting Show DEM File Infomation you
can see the file properties of the DEM file for this location. This
includes the remote source URL for the file and the cached version on
the local filesystem with timestamp details.
DEM File Info Dialog: Example
This is for block 51N, 003W - covering Bristol in the UK.
::: note
The Source URL is generated from the current configuration settings; it
is not necessarily the URL that was used to acquire the DEM file, as
that information is not saved.
:::
Webtools
Many services are available only via a web browser (Google Maps,
OpenStreetMap editors, etc.).
Jumping from Viking to such service can become annoying.
Viking allows you to open such service directly at the position
currently viewed in Viking.
This feature is called Webtools. It is also known as External Tools.
Preferences {#prefs}
General
Localisation
You can select units displayed by Viking to best fit your usage.
Properties dialog: units part
Concerning degrees, you can select the way to display them:
DDD
decimal degree
DMM
partial sexagesimal display: degrees, minutes and decimal part of
minutes
DMS
sexagesimal display: degrees, minutes and seconds
Properties dialog: degree display options
Waypoint Icon Size
An option exists to control the icon (symbol) size used for waypoints
Home Default Location: Latitude and Longitude
You can set the Home location directly by inputting the latitude and
longitude in decimal degrees.
This controls the reference timezone that times are shown in.
Locale is the current user\'s system preference. This was how all
times were shown up to version 1.5.
World will attempt to determine the timezone at an object\'s position.
UTC enforces this standard timezone.
Tile\'s age
This age is used as the default for the Map layers disk cache
expiry age check.
Default map layer directory
This property sets the default directory of the tiles disk cache. This
value is used when you create a new Map layer.
You are still able to change this value in each map layer properties.
Map Cache Memory Size
This controls the amount of maps that are stored in memory, rather than
having to reread from disk. Generally if you have a system with lots of
memory it\'s recommended to increase this value.
Export/External {#prefs_external}
KML Export Units
Allows setting the units used when saved as the KML file type, such as
Metric or Statue units
KML Export Track
Controls the whether the \<Track> tag is used in the KML file. If not
on then tracks are only saved as LineStrings.
KML Export Points
Controls the whether placemarks are created for every track or route
point.
::: tip
If more control is required over the export then use [Export Layer >]
Export via GPSBabel{.menuchoice} to manually specify the save options
:::
GPX Track Order
Other software may display tracks in a particular order (often the order
saved into the file). This allows you to control the order they are
saved when exporting to a GPX file.
GPX Waypoint Symbols
Some GPS devices require waypoint symbols to be in a particular case.
E.g. On a Garmin Oregon 450 they must be in Title Case to be
recognized.
GPX Creator
If not blank, then this setting overrides the default internal value
that is used when writing to a GPX file.
GPX Waypoint Extension
When waypoints are edited, particularly for the Proximity Alarm option,
then the GPX1.1 properties will be updated using the specified schema.
This may be important for compatibility with other programs/devices.
For example, old Garmin MapSource software created files in the GPX
Extension v3 style, whereas the Garmin Etrex20x devices work with the
information in Waypoint Extension v1 style. Latest versions of Garmin
Basecamp create files with both styles.
Thus the All option is the default for maximum likelihood of
capability as it also writes information in both styles.
Image Viewer (Not Windows)
Allows setting the program used to view images associated with
Waypoints.
By default this is set to xdg-open which should open the system\'s
default image viewer, however this can be overridden with this setting.
Note: for Windows systems, viewing images associated with Waypoints
always uses the system\'s default image viewer.
Two options are given so that it can be configured for various uses such
as:
An OSM editor (default)
Some other user defined program
GPSBabel
This allows setting the specific location of GPSBabel.
Viking will need to be restarted for this setting to take effect.
Auto Read World Files
If this is on, when a new image is selected for the GeoRef layer then
the associated world file will be read to find the scale and positional
properties.
The associated file is based on filename patterns; e.g. if the image is filename.jpg - then the world file may be filename.jpgw or filename.jgw
Auto Device GPX Simplify {#gpx_simplify}
If this is on, GPX files will be simplified (using GPSBabel) if they are
saved into a special location (by default a Garmin device location in OS
file system).
Extra parameters used in process such as the location and limits applied
can be refined by export_device_* values in misc_settings.
A warning message is displayed when this occurs so one can consider if
manually managing the tracks is needed, e.g. see Filter
methods.
The main intention for this is to prevent writing GPX files that are
only partially useful. For instance on a GPS Etrex 20 device: if a track
with 1000 points is saved to it, the device will only read in the first
500 points, thus effectively making only 1/2 of the track available.
Hopefully a simplified track will be more useful to follow to your
destination when one is out in the wilds, than only a section of it.
::: note
You will need to set the appropriate limits for your device, as this is
not currently auto detected.
:::
Advanced {#prefs_advanced}
Save File Reference Mode
Files referenced within project files can be saved with either absolute
or relative paths. Using relative paths can be useful when copying the
project file and the associated files between different systems.
Ask for Name before Track Creation
A setting to control whether an automatic name is used when creating a
new track or route, or whether you are asked to enter a name.
Show Tooltip during Track Creation
A setting to control whether the tooltip with the cumulative track or
route distance is shown when creating tracks and routes.
Show Graph for TrackWaypoint Layer
A setting to control for the selected TrackWaypoint
layer whether a graph should be drawn when there is a singular track or
route in the layer. Otherwise the specific track or route must be
selected in order to draw the associated graph.
The number of recent files
The number of recent files shown in the [File > Open Recent]
File{.menuchoice} menu. A value of -1 means all files. The new value
applies to New Windows only (or on application restart).
Open files in selected layer
A setting to control whether non Viking format files (i.e. typically GPX
or KML files) will open in the selected TrackWaypoint
Layer. When no TrackWaypoint Layer is selected (or the layer is
invisibile) then the file will be open in the default manner: at the top
level.
Show calendar day names
A setting to control whether the calendar displays day names (Mon, Tue,
etc...) or not.
Ruler area label position
A setting to control the position of the label drawn on the viewport
that shows the area value. Includes a setting to turn off the label.
Use Scroll to Zoom
A setting to control if scroll events cause the viewport to zoom (rather
than moving). Useful with mouse scroll wheels, but less intuitive for
touchpads.
::: note
GTK3 Build: Viking now detects the device emitting scroll events, so
from trackpads/touchscreens these will always scroll the viewport. This
setting is only now used for mouse scroll wheels.
:::
Invert Scroll Direction
A setting to control the direction of scroll events. Especially useful
with touchpads and can be used to override the desktop system\'s
setting.
Select Tool Double Click to Zoom
A setting to enable the Select Tool double click behaviour as per the
previous default tool (Pan Tool) behaviour. By default this is off, as
typically one would use the scroll wheel to zoom. When off this means
Viking does not need to wait to see if double clicks are going to occur
and so can take immediate action (e.g. show a context menu without
delay). Turning this on my be useful for touchpads (however the
intention is to support Pinch Zoom behaviour) or perhaps if your scroll
wheel is broken.
Auto Select Trackpoint
A setting to control whether when moving the mouse over the track graph
on the main display, it updates the selected trackpoint in the viewport.
Warn Unsaved Changes on Exit
If you don\'t want Viking to warn about unsaved changes on exit then you
can turn this off.
Select Newly Created Layer
A setting to control when a new layer is created that it is selected;
otherwise the current selection is unchanged.
Graphs Draw Sunlight
A setting to control whether the backdrop indicator for daylight,
twilight and night time is shown on all Time related graphs.
OpenStreetMap Traces {#prefs_osm}
::: note
This functionality is currently disabled since OSM requires OAuth2 for
authentication, but OAuth2 is not supported in Viking.
:::
OAuth Method
Using the OAuth method means that
your OSM account details are no longer needed to be known by Viking.
Instead specific tokens are generated for use only by Viking which are
associated with your OSM account.
Get New OSM Access Tokens Use this button to generate a new OSM
Access Token Key and Secret. You will be redirected to the OSM website
to confirm allowing Viking to access the GPX Traces features. The tokens
returned by the OSM website will be stored in the Access Token Key +
Access Token Secret preferences.
Access Token Key + Access Token Secret: These are the values used,
however one typically does not need to manually change them.
HTTP Basic Authentication (Discouraged)
OSM Username + Password
Store your OSM details here, so that you don\'t need to enter it in
every time in the Upload To OSM procedure.
This is not recommended and one should use the OAuth method using access tokens
described above.
::: warning
Your OSM password will be stored in plain text.
:::
::: warning
This password is transferred unencrypted in every request sent to
the OpenStreetMap server. This is due to the use of OpenStreetMap\'s
basic authentication method.
:::
::: warning
When OAuth capability is built into Viking (the default), use of HTTP
Basic Authentication can only be used if the misc_settings osm_basic_auth is enabled.
:::
Mapnik {#prefs_mapnik}
::: note
If any changes to these settings are made, you will need to restart
Viking to make them be applied.
:::
Plugins Directory
The location of Mapnik plugins. An attempt is made to automatically
determine the initial value, however if this is wrong or Mapnik is
upgraded then the directory can be set here.
Fonts Directory
The location of fonts for use with Mapnik. Normally it is best to simply
use the System\'s font directory.
Recurse Fonts Directory
Load fonts in any sub-directories of the main font directory.
Rerender Timeout
The time in hours before any tile is rerendered.
This is useful in case the underlying source data for the tiles changes
(e.g. OSM data is continually evolving). Viking normally has no way of
knowing when the data has changed, so this simple timeout method is
provided to maintain consistency of the tile images.
CartoCSS
This allows setting the specific location of the carto executable.
Threads
The number of threads to use for Mapnik rendering tasks. By default the
value is set to the 1 in case of any multi-threading rendering code
chain crashes. Otherwise trying setting the value to the number of the
CPUs of the system minus one (so as not to overload the system), in
order to minimise the overall rendering times.
Routing {#prefs_routing}
Routing engine
You can select the routing engine used by default, ie by features that
do not propose a live selection, like Route Finder.
Startup {#prefs_startup}
Naturally since these preferences affect the startup, the values will
not be used until Viking is restarted.
Restore Window Setup
When this is enabled, the main window size and layout (such as whether
the statusbar or layers panel are shown) is restored to the values from
last use.
Default Map Layer
When this is enabled, a map layer is automatically added whenever Viking
is opened and a Viking file is not to be loaded.
The Map layer used is defined by the map layer\'s default
values.
Enables selection of how the startup position should be determined.
Home Location (default)
Position as set by the Set the Default Location
Last Location
Uses the last position viewed on the viewport
Specified File
Load the file as specified below
Auto Location
Uses the GeoClue service
if available or otherwise the web service hostip.info (www.hostip.info) to attempt to determine your
location via IP lookup
Startup File
Loads this specified file when the Startup method is set to Specified
File
Check For New Version
Periodically (no more than once every 14 days), check to see if there is
a new version of Viking available.
DEM Server {#prefs_dem_server}
Store your NASA Earth login details which uses HTTP Basic
Authentication.
::: warning
Your password will be stored in plain text.
:::
Toolbar {#prefs_toolbar}
Append to Menu
Allows setting the toolbar on the same vertical space as the menu, thus
increasing vertical space for the map.
Icon Size
Allows configuration of the icon size, including overiding the system\'s
default preference to the setting desired just for Viking.
Icon Style
Allows configuration of the icon style, including overiding the
system\'s default preference to the setting desired just for Viking.
Customize {#prefs_toolbar_customize}
Opens the Customize Toolbar dialog.
From this dialog the items in the toolbar can be added, removed and
reordered. Reordering of items is performed by drag and drop.
Customize Toolbar dialog
Track Properties Dialog {#prefs_trackprops}
Track Properties Dialog
A setting to control the location of the tabs (either to the side or on
top).
Settings to control displaying any of the individual graph types.
Howto\'s {#Howto}
Getting Started {#howto_start}
Viking from version 1.5 has several features to ease the start up
process. On the very first run, you will be asked if you want to enable
these features which make use of an Internet connection. If you select
no or you have upgraded from an earlier version you can choose to enable
any of the startup options via the Startup
Preferences.
Some other general use cases for using Viking, are as follows:
Go to an Area of Interest - Simple Ways
Viking\'s default location is a Manhattan, New York, USA, so you may
need to pick another place that interests you - such as where you live.
The No Effort Approach
If you have accepted Viking\'s defaults then it will attempt to
automatically find your location via IP lookup methods.
::: note
You will need an internet connection for this to work!
:::
<!---->
Use the online location address/place search.
Use the Go to Location toolbar button or from the menus [View > Go]
to Location{.menuchoice} or from the Goto tab on the left hand
panel. You can change the search location provider if desired. Enter
the name of place you wish to go to (you may need to specify the
country to refine the search). Also you can enter a post code or a
ZIP code instead.
::: note
You will need an internet connection for this search to work
:::
<!---->
Get data from files in GPX, FIT, TCX or KML format, which can be
opened directly. Use [File > Open]{.menuchoice} This could be
directly from a GPS device if supports a file system / mass storage
mode.
The file location for a GPS device is device and Operating System
dependent. Assuming the device automounts (most Operating
Systems/Desktop Enviroment do this automatically). For example with
an Etrex 20, using (this is for Debian/Ubuntu) - use [File >]
Open{.menuchoice} to browse to:
::: note
The viewport will be automatically moved and resized to view the
contents of the file.
:::
Go to an Area of Interest - More Advanced Ways
If you know the coordinates of where you want to view:
Use [View]{.menuchoice} and select from either [Go to]
Lat/Lon{.menuchoice} or [Go to UTM]{.menuchoice} and then enter in
the specific coordinates.
<!---->
Use the GPS Layer or [File > Acquire > From GPS]{.menuchoice} to
load data directly from a limited set of GPS Devices that are
supported by GPSBabel.
You can specify the types of data to acquire: Tracks, Routes and/or
Waypoints.
::: note
You must have write permission to the port used. For Unix like OS:
/dev/ttyS0 is the first serial port
/dev/ttyUSB0 is the first USB port
usb: is any USB port
Depending on your distribution only one of the USB port types may
work
For Windows:
com1: is the first serial port
usb: is any USB port
:::
::: note
Garmin and Magellan GPS devices supported by all versions of
GPSBabel, later versions support more devices such as NaviGPS
(Navilink protocol).
By default Viking will add a map layer for you that will automatically
download map tile images, but you can of course change it or add
additional map layers.
Use [Layers > New Map Layer]{.menuchoice}, and choose a suitable cache
directory where you would like to store your tracks and click OK. Zoom
to a comfortable level (I suggest 4 mpp) by clicking the left and right
mouse buttons on the gray area where your tracks are. Now from the menu
choose the Map Download Tool. Click where you would like
to download a map. Regardless of what tool you are using, the middle
mouse button always pans.
::: note
You need an open internet connection when you are downloading maps.
:::
If you can no longer see your tracks or waypoints and only the map, it
is because the layer named Map is ABOVE your TrackWaypoint layer
that your GPS data is in. This means that it will be drawn last and on
top of the other Layers. Look at the Layers
Panel to the left which shows this order. Select the Map layer from the list and click the down arrow button beneath
the list until the Map layer is below the TrackWaypoint layer. Your tracks will now be drawn
over the map.
Set Your Home Location {#GoHome}
You can save the current center position of the viewport as the default
location AKA the Home Location by [Edit > Set the Default]
Location{.menuchoice}.
Then at any time you can return to this place by clicking on the Home
icon on the toolbar.
You can also set the default location via specifying the exact latitude
and longitude in the Preferences.
From 1st startup to GPS track (including offline maps)
The first you\'ll see is an empty map, because Viking in its default
configuration will download maps only on demand. Before fetching
unneeded data, one can position to a location of interest, e.g.
Stuttgart: [View > Go to Location]{.menuchoice}, enter Stuttgart.
Keep the download source as is (SRTM Global 90m), hit OK.
In the layer listing on the left, the DEM layer should reside
above the Map layer. If this is not the case, highlight the DEM
layer an shift it one up (using the arrow up button).
highlight the DEM layer in the layer listing on the left
in the toolbar, check DEM layer download/import (the last symbol)
a left-click in the map window should then fetch the DEM data
This might take some time.
Sometimes, a tile does not show up correctly (you might see only a black
frame in the map window) because it got corrupted during transfer. In
order to correct this, you can delete the corresponding datafile in the
cache.
right-click the DEM layer properties
The DEM Files listing allows you to delete the specific tiles
(alternatively do this from the command line).
You can also alter the Min. and Max. elevation in this dialogue.
adapt the maps directory e.g. to /home/user/.viking-map-holiday/.
This allows you to delete the map stuff after holiday without
purging the rest of your maps.
In the Viking version discussed here, the DEM data automatically are
stored in /home/user/.viking-maps/. You can move the corresponding
tiles into .viking-map-holiday/ if you like.
Download map data for all zoom levels
uncheck the DEM layer for the map to show up
navigate the map to be centered at Bologna
choose the zoom such, that all regions of interest are displayed in
the map window (e.g. 1024)
follow this sequence until you have all tiles for all zoom levels
you need
set the zoomlevel explicitly one below the last (in the first cycle
512), hit OK
right click the map layer Download Missing Onscreen Maps
wait until all tiles for that resolution have been downloaded
This may take some time and some hard disk capacity.
Do not forget to save your configuration (as discussed above).
OpenStreetMap project
OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a collaborative
project to create a free editable map of the world. One of the sources
of data for this project is GPS tracks. Viking supports this project via
the GPS Traces methods, both uploading and downloading such data.
It is possible to upload data directly from Viking to OpenStreetMap.
::: formalpara-title Upload a layer
:::
One solution is to upload whole a TrackWaypoint layer.
To do this, simply select the layer and right click on it. Then, select
Upload to OSM.
::: formalpara-title Upload a single track
:::
Another solution is to upload an individual track. Simply select the
track and right click on it. Then select Upload to OSM.
::: formalpara-title Fill in the form
:::
The filename is the name you want your upload has on the server. This
information is displayed by the osm server. The description is some
descriptive information. The tags field is a white space separated list
of tags.
Downloading Traces from OpenStreetMap {#osm_dl}
It is possible to download GPS traces directly from OpenStreetMap into
Viking. This feature can be really useful for checking existing data
before uploading new ones.
::: formalpara-title Download all visible tracks
:::
One solution is to select [File > Acquire > OSM]
traces...{.menuchoice}. Each request can get up to 5,000 points. The
dialog box allows setting which group of 5,000 points to get. These
groups are known as Page Numbers which start at 0. Increasing the page
number parameter allows one to request the subsequent sets of point
groups.
Downloading Your Own Traces from OpenStreetMap {#osm_my_dl}
::: note
This functionality is currently disabled since OSM requires OAuth2 for
authentication, but OAuth2 is not supported in Viking.
:::
It is possible to download any of your personal GPS traces previously
uploaded to OpenStreetMap into Viking.
Initially this will return the list of your OSM Traces, from which you
can select which specific traces to retrieve. This list can be sorted on
each column so that it easier to find an individual trace or select a
group of traces by similar properties.
Geotagging
This assumes you already have a Map layer enabled for ease of
use (if not see above to get one).
Manual Positioning
This is useful for instances when you already know exactly where the
image was taken (no need for tracklog). Or maybe you want to adjust an
automatically generated waypoint for the position of the subject of the
image rather than the location that the photograph is taken from. ATM
this process only works on an individual image, so it will be tedious
for handling lots of images.
First create a TrackWaypoint layer or use an existing
one; and select it in the Layers Panel. NB Make sure
this layer is above the Map layer in the Layers Panel list.
Create a new waypoint (or move an existing one) to exact location
desired:
Select the Create Waypoint tool, then left click on
the map at the location desired, choosing an image to associate with
it in the new waypoint dialog
Select the Select tool, then left click on waypoint
to be moved. Left click again and drag the waypoint to the location
desired
Then using the Select tool left click on waypoint to select it, then
right click to access the Waypoint properties menu, then choose [Update]
Geotag on Image > Update{.menuchoice}
The Update Geotag on Image options are only available when a waypoint
has an image associated with it.
Automatic Positioning Against a Tracklog
First you will need a tracklog with timestamps in it. Either load one
from a previously saved file or freshly acquired from a GPS device - see Getting Started. It helps if this is the track that was
recorded at the time you took some photographs!
Select the track either from the layers panel on the left or via the
viewport using the Select tool. Then right click on it
and chose the [Geotag Images...]{.menuchoice} leading you to the Geotagging Dialog.
Load some images that where taken around the time the track log was
recorded. Confirm the other options in the dialog - normally the
defaults should be alright and select OK. If things are successful, new
waypoints with thumbnail images of the photographs will appear. You
should probably check they are really in the right place as often the
timestamp of the camera may not be aligned to the GPS correctly leading
to inferring incorrect locations.
This is particularly useful when one finds an attempt at geotagging
gives wrong locations, often due to time offset issues. Simply try again
with a new time offset (often 1 hour adjustments due to Daylight Savings
or Summer Time times) and the old waypoints will be updated (instead of
creating new ones).
If you have multiple tracks in a TrackWaypoint layer,
then invoking the [Geotag Images...]{.menuchoice} action on the layer
will search all the tracks to find location matches.
GPS Real Time Location {#gpsd}
Viking relies on GPSD (via the GPSD
service library client) to provide the current location from a real time
feed from a GPS device.
::: note
At the time of writing the GPSD service itself is supported on the
following platforms: \"Presently Linux, OpenBSD and NetBSD are directly
supported... Apple\'s OS X is supported in a limited fashion.\". i.e.
Explicitly not on Windows.
On Windows Viking provides a GPSD client to connect with the server
(service daemon) instance of the GPSD which would be running on
different (supported platform) machine. For instance notionally one
could run a virtual machine instance of a BSD variant on the Windows
host, run GPSD on this BSD instance and then make Viking connect to that
GPSD instance.
Running the GPSD service is outside the scope of Viking.
:::
This assumes you already have a Map layer enabled for ease of
use (if not see above to get one).
Turn on the GPS Device, ensure it has figured out it\'s location and
plug it in to your computer.
Adjust the Realtime Tracking Mode settings to interface with gpsd as necessary. Normally the defaults
should suffice.
Current Linux distributions should run gpsd automatically when a GPS
Device is plugged in. Otherwise you may have to run gpsd manually.
The viewport should jump to the GPS location as by default Viking
continually attempts to connect to GPSD. Otherwise right-click the layer
and select Start Realtime Tracking.
Troubleshooting checklist:
Confirm gpsd is running.
<!---->
Confirm on the GPS device it has a location.
<!---->
Confirm the Realtime Tracking Mode settings.
What to Do if Viking Does Not Seem to Work
::: important
The latest versions of Viking now captures logging messages, which can
be accessed via a button in the middle of the statusbar, or via [View >]
Log{.menuchoice}. The statusbar shows the number of log messages. The
debug status itself can also be controlled from the GUI itself, use [Help > Debug]{.menuchoice} to toggle the setting in order to capture
more messages. The log window displays the newest messages at the top.
:::
For older versions of Viking, in order to get some information about
what it is doing, start it in verbose debug mode via the command line:
viking -dV
NB For Windows the process is slightly more involved as the output is
typically not shown in the command prompt, so you have to redirect the
output to a file, e.g. open the command prompt and then:
cd "C:\Program Files\Viking"
viking -dV 2>1 > %TMP%\viking.log
Then close Viking before viewing the output file, such as:
notepad %TMP%\viking.log
For instance you can check the correct URLs Viking is using in
requesting remote data for DEMs or map tiles in the verbose debug
output. E.g. Something like this for DEMs:
**(viking:28778):DEBUG:curl_download_uri:uri=http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/version2_1/SRTM3/Eurasia/N48E008.hgt.zip*Abouttoconnect()todds.cr.usgs.govport80(#0)*Trying152.61.128.95...*connected*Connectedtodds.cr.usgs.gov(152.61.128.95)port80(#0)GET/srtm/version2_1/SRTM3/Eurasia/N48E008.hgt.zipHTTP/1.1User-Agent:viking/0.9.8libcurl/7.18.2GnuTLS/2.4.2zlib/1.2.3.3libidn/1.8Host:dds.cr.usgs.govAccept:*/*HTTP/1.1200OKDate:Sun,26Jul200918:13:38GMTServer:ApacheLast-Modified:Tue,21Jul200919:57:35GMTETag:eac3f8-1828f5-46f3caa76070aAccept-Ranges:bytesContent-Length:1583349Content-Type:application/zip*Connection#0 to host dds.cr.usgs.gov left intact*Closingconnection#0**(viking:28778):DEBUG:dem_layer_add_file:/home/username/.viking-maps/srtm3-Eurasia/N48E008.hgt.zip
Elevation data can be useful in planning trips, as you many wish to
avoid/minimise the hills encountered. [OSM Cyclemap is also useful this
way too]
To download the data use the dem_tool_dl tool (shown on the
toolbar), and then click on a area of the viewport. Once files have been
downloaded they can then be loaded from disk via the DEM properties in
future application runs.
The default data server is the official NASA
site, however (as of 2021) to download
from NASA\'s Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC)
you must Register and then
provide your login details to Viking in the prefs_dem_server
preferences.
In order to support alternative DEM servers, the Downloads Property tab
contains settings to change the URL and to configure how requests are
made to the DEM since different servers store the files in different
locations and names. The defaults in using NASA Earthdata are:
Base URL set to https://e4ftl01.cr.usgs.gov/MEASURES/SRTMGL1.003/2000.02.11
Layout set to None
Filename Convention set to SRTMGL1
One currently known alternative DEM server is provided by [Another
Activity Tracker (AAT)](https://bailu.ch/). This is supported by the
following settings:
Base URL set to https://bailu.ch/dem3
Layout set to Latitude
Filename Convention set to Normal
ATM Viking does not auto download DEM data. If you want to get lots of
data blocks, you may wish to use some other program get such as curl or
wget to download them for an area.
The location for DEM files stored on local disk is under the Map
Layer cache_location, using the Continent style as this was
how the original DEM server (pre 2021) worked.
::: note
Using many DEMs is memory intensive as every DEM block is loaded into
memory. Depending on your computer\'s capability, it is probably unwise
to attempt using too many blocks (perhaps 200+ it becomes an issue), so
trying to use DEMs covering large countries/continents (USA, Australia
etc...) is unlikely to work. In these conditions under Linux, Viking
may be automatically stopped by the
\"OOM Killer\".
:::
Layer Properties
Configurable properties are split into several sections:
Drawing
Min Elev Colour
Explicit colour for those lower than the Min Elev.
Colour Scheme
Default or Delineate. Delineate allows selecting start and end
colours, with in between colours automatically allocated.
Colours for drawing the DEM are allocated in discrete units between the
Min Elev and Max Elev heights. Thus to see differences more clearly you
may want to adjust these values to match the height variance around the
area of interest.
Download
Base URL
The server URL including the root location of the DEM files
Layout
Describes how the DEM file directory structure on the server is laid
out.
Filename Convention
Normal means the filenames on the server are named like N12E034.hgt.zip
SRTMGL1 means the filenames on the server are named like N12E034.SRTMGL1.hgt.zip
Files
DEM Files
The list of files in use.
Normally you do not need to manually edit this list.
Layer Operations
Other than the standard operations (Cut, Paste etc...), there are no
further specific operations available.
Screenshot
An example with an alternative colour scheme.
Screenshot: DEM Example
Edit and View Menus {#EditViewMenu}
Standard Edit Entries
Besides the standard edit entries (Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete) that
operate on the currently selected item, there is also the Delete All
which removes ALL layers (including the automatically created Default
Map).
Map/Position Edit Entries
Copy Center Location
This will copy the current center of the viewport as coordinate
lat/lon pair in plain text, such that it can be then be pasted into
other applications.
Flush Map Memory Cache
This will empty the in memory map cache, hence it should reduce the
amount of memory that Viking is using.
Set Default Location
This will set the Default Location (AKA the Home Location) to
current center position of the viewport.
Allows access to the Layers defaults. When creating a new layer
it will start with the default values as specified here.
Access to show the messages that are being suppressed and the ability to
reset back to the default of no messages being suppressed. Some warning
style messages can be selected to be ignored, since if they repeatedly
come up in your work flow they could otherwise become tiresome.
Offers a selection of methods to jump to a position in the world.
The Go to Lat/Lon dialog method allows manually specifying the
coordinates to move to.
::: note
The latitude entry (although a spin button) can accept any text and will
be attempted to be used as a LatLonInput.
:::
Additionally there is method to move the calendar view to todays date.
Colour View Entries
These entries allow setting the default background colour (i.e. when
there are no maps) and the highlight colour for selected tracks and
waypoints.
Zoom View Entries
Offers a selection of methods to zoom the viewport, including not only
In and Out but also to any specific level.
Show View Entries
Offers a selection of methods to control visibility of various screen
elements. Most of these can also be accessed via shortcut_keys.
Dialog View Entries
Offers alternative access to additional informational dialogs. Otherwise
these can be accessed from the Statusbar.
Extending Viking {#extend_viking}
Overview
Currently, Viking has some extension points based on configuration
files. The file format is heavily inspired by the GtkBuilder file
format: you specify the class of the GObject to build and set its
properties. Technically, it is a XML file containing a \"objects\" root
element. Inside this element, you set a collection of \"object\".
You can find more examples as installed on your system and in the
documentation part of the distribution. Typically these will be
installed into one of the \$XDG_DATA_DIR locations, such as /usr/share/viking/ or C:\Program Files\Viking\data depending on the
Operating System.
It is also possible to override the internal defaults e.g. to update any
parameters should they change over time, by adding the values into your
configuration file. When you define object group that already exists
(and for Maps this means by a repeated Id key, but you may have to
examine the source code to work out what the relevant Id values are)
then you need to define all the other keys as well, otherwise they will
be reset to the defaults.
Map Sources {#map_source}
It is possible to add new map sources. The file is maps.xml placed in
your config_file_loc.
An example of the file is in the distribution doc/examples/maps.xml.
Further examples and values are online in the Maps
Wiki
The VikSlippyMapSource allows declaration of any map source working
like OpenStreetMap. It supports the following properties:
id
this is an integer and should be unique as it used to identify the
map source
name
a string (should be unique) that is used for the OSM style cache
directory name when the Map Cache directory is the default
(~/.viking-maps)
label
the text displayed in the map\'s source selection dialog
hostname
the server\'s hostname (eg. \"tile.openstreetmap.org\")
url
the parameterised address of the tile, in the spirit of C printf
format, with 3 \"%d\" fields for Z, X and Y (in that order) (eg.
\"/%d/%d/%d.png\")
::: note
The full parameterised address can just be put in the URL field and
the hostname field doesn\'t need specifying.
e.g. \"https://tile.openstreetmap.org/%d/%d/%d.png\"
:::
user-agent (optional)
Override the default user-agent used in the HTTP request.
custom-http-headers (optional)
Custom HTTP headers to be added to the download request. The default
is none.
Multiple headers can be specified by separating each part with an
\'\n\'.
The header allows of substitutions of values of the positional Z, X
and Y (in that order) values, as per the url option above. Using
multiple and/or different ordered values can be acheived via
printf() positional argument specifiers. For example:
The minimum Tiled Web Map zoom value supported by the tile server.
The Default is 0 if not specified.
zoom-max (optional)
The maximum Tiled Web Map zoom value supported by the tile server.
The Default is 18 if not specified.
lat-min (optional)
The minimum latitude value in degrees supported by the tile server.
The Default is -90 degrees if not specified.
lat-max (optional)
The maximum latitude value in degrees supported by the tile server.
The Default is 90 degrees if not specified.
lon-min (optional)
The minimum longitude value in degrees supported by the tile server.
The Default is -180 degrees if not specified.
lon-max (optional)
The maximum longitude value in degrees supported by the tile server.
The Default is 180 degrees if not specified.
file-extension (optional)
The file extension of the files on disk. The default is .png
If the tile source is not a PNG file, then this parameter can be
used to specify the naming to give consistent extension filenames on
disk.
This can also be useful in reading a tileset from other software
which may name tiles in an alternative form, e.g. for Mobile Atlas
creator it names them .png.tile
::: note
The file types actually usable are those supported by GDK Pixbuf
Library, which includes at least PNG and JPEG.
:::
::: note
Remember to include the beginning \'.\' when specifying this
parameter.
:::
use-direct-file-access (optional)
Only use files on disk. The default is FALSE
This can also be useful for tilesets already on disk as it will
avoid attempting to download any tiles.
Thus with this type the hostname and url parameters are not
necessary and are ignored.
offset-x (optional)
The offset of the map in the x plane (towards east) in metres. The
default is 0.0 if not specified.
Use negative numbers to adjust in a westerly direction.
Typical usage would be aligning differing maps, e.g. aerial imagery
may be offset from cadastral maps.
Currently this is a single value that applies to all zoom levels.
offset-y (optional)
The offset of the map in the y plane (towards north) in metres. The
default is 0.0 if not specified.
Use negative numbers to adjust in a southerly direction.
switch-xy (optional)
Swap the X,Y values around in the URL parameterised ordering.
The default is false.
check-file-server-time (optional)
Sends the timestamp of the tile to the server, so the server can
decide whether it should send a new tile or not.
The default is true.
use-etag (optional)
Use and compare the ETag
value in determining whether to download a newer tile. The default
is false.
The ETag value is stored in a separate file in the same directory as
the tile to enable checking the value across multiple runs of the
program.
referer (optional)
A URL to serve as referrer for the HTTP request (eg.
\"http://hostname/\")
follow-location (optional)
The maximum number of redirects allowed. The default is -1 for an
unlimited number of redirects. Use 0 if you do not want to follow
redirects.
tilesize-x (optional)
The tile x size. The default is 256 pixels if not specified.
tilesize-y (optional)
The tile y size. The default is 256 pixels if not specified.
scale (optional)
The tile scale. The scale is 1 if not specified.
::: note
Use a value of 2 to represent high res tiles. Don\'t change the
tilesize as the internal display size is still based on 256 pixels.
:::
The VikTmsMapSource allows declaration of any TMS service. A TMS (Tile
Map Service) is defined in Tile Map Service
Specification.
The configuration supports the following properties (as per VikSlippyMapSource above):
The VikWmscMapSource allows declaration of any WMS or WMS-C service. A
WMS (Web Map Service) is defined in WMS Tile
Caching. The
configuration supports the following properties (as per VikSlippyMapSource above):
It is possible to add new new search engines for the \"Go-To\" feature.
The file is goto_tools.xml placed in your config_file_loc.
An example of the file in the distribution doc/examples/goto_tools.xml.
Currently, there is a single object class available: VikGotoXmlTool.
This feature allows one to declare any search engine using a XML format
as result.
The related properties are:
label
the text displayed in the Go-To dialog
url-format
the parameterised address of the query, in the spirit of C printf
format, with a single \"%s\" field (replaced by the query string)
lat-path
XML path of the latitude (eg. /root/parent/elem)
lat-attr (optional)
name of the attribute (of previous element) containing the latitude
lon-path
XML path of the longitude (eg. /root/parent/elem)
lon-attr (optional)
name of the attribute (of previous element) containing the longiude
referer (optional)
A URL to serve as referer for the HTTP request (eg.
\"http://hostname/\")
follow-location (optional)
The maximum number of redirects allowed. The default is -1 for an
unlimited number of redirects. Use 0 if you do not want to follow
redirects.
user-agent (optional)
Override the default user-agent used in the HTTP request.
custom-http-headers (optional)
Custom HTTP headers to be added to the HTTP request. The default is
none.
Note that unlike custom-http-headers for Tile download requests, it
does not perform any value substitions in this string.
As a facility (or readability) it is possible to set both path and
attribute name in a single property, like an XPath expression. To do so,
simply set both info in lat-path (or lon-path) in the following format: /root/parent/elem@attribute.
External Tools
It is possible to add new external tools. The file is external_tools.xml placed in your config_file_loc.
An example of the file in the distribution doc/examples/external_tools.xml.
The VikWebtoolCenter allows one to declare any Webtool using a logic
based on center coordinates and zoom level value.
The related properties are:
label
the text displayed in the menu entry
url
the parametrized URL to open, in the spirit of C printf format, with
2 \"%s\" and a \"%d\" fields for X, Y and Z (zoom level) (eg.
\"http://hostname/?lat=%s&lon=%s&zoom=%d\")
The VikWebtoolBounds allows one to declare any Webtool using a logic
based on bounds coordinates.
The related properties are:
label
the text displayed in the menu entry
url
the parametrized address of the tile, in the spirit of C printf
format, with 4 \"%s\" fields for left, right, bottom and top (eg.
\"http://hostname:8111/load_and_zoom?left=%s&right=%s&bottom=%s&top=%s\")
Routing Engines
It is possible to declare new routing engines. The file is routing.xml
placed in your config_file_loc.
An example of the file in the distribution doc/examples/routing.xml.
The VikRoutingWebEngine allows one to declare a routing engine
available via HTTP.
The related properties are:
id
a string, should be unique as it used to identify the routing engine
label
the text displayed in the menu entry
format
The GPSBabel format code to interpret the service response. By
default a GPX response is expected and processed internally. However
if the service returns a different format then GPSBabel is used to
transform the text into something that Viking can understand. Only
formats that GPSBabel supports can be used: e.g. gtrnctr (for
Garmin Training Center .tcx files), etc...
Use gpsbabel --help on the command line to find out the supported
file types and their codes to process them.
Some format codes are handled natively by Viking such as gpx and kml.
A special format code of viking-geojson-osrm is available for
handling responses by OSRM route
servers.
url-base
the base URL of the web service (eg. \"http://hostname/service?\")
url-start-ll
the part of the URL setting the starting point location,
parameterised in the spirit of C printf format, with 2 \"%s\" for
coordinates (eg. \"&start=%s,%s\")
url-stop-ll
the part of the URL setting the end point location, parameterised in
the spirit of C printf format, with 2 \"%s\" for coordinates (eg.
\"&stop=%s,%s\")
url-via-ll (optional)
the part of the URL setting via point location, parameterised in the
spirit of C printf format, with 2 \"%s\" for coordinates (eg.
\"&via=%s,%s\")
url-start-dir (optional)
the part of the URL setting the starting point location for
direction based routing, parameterised in the spirit of C printf
format, with one \"%s\" for direction (eg. \"&start=%s\")
url-stop-dir (optional)
the part of the URL setting the end point location for direction
based routing, parameterised in the spirit of C printf format, with
one \"%s\" for direction (eg. \"&stop=%s\")
url-ll-lat-first (optional)
The ordering of the lat/long terms in the Start, Stop and Via URL
settings. By default this is TRUE.
For instance using Brouter services, the URL uses a pair of values
which is longitude and then latitude. Thus setting this value to
FALSE ensures the value substitution is performed in the necessary
order.
referer (optional)
A URL to serve as referer for the HTTP request (eg.
\"http://hostname/\")
follow-location (optional)
The maximum number of redirects allowed. The default is -1 for an
unlimited number of redirects. Use 0 if you do not want to follow
redirects.
user-agent (optional)
Override the default user-agent used in the HTTP request.
custom-http-headers (optional)
Custom HTTP headers to be added to the HTTP request. The default is
none.
Note that unlike custom-http-headers for Tile download requests, it
does not perform any value substitutions in this string.
Remote File Datasources
It is possible to add web references expected to return a file which can
then be opened directly or converted via GPSBabel.
An example of the file is in the source distribution doc/examples/datasources.xml.
The VikWebtoolDatasource allows one to declare any URL using logic
based on coordinates.
The related properties are:
label
the text displayed in the menu entry
url
the parameterised URL to open in the spirit of C printf format, with
up to 9 \"%s\" values. e.g. http://hostname/getfile?lat=%s&lon=%s
The order and meaning of these parameters is given by the
url_format_code below
url_format_code
A string describing the parameterised URL substitution parameters,
each character represents how to translate each term.
B = Bottom of the current view i.e. minimum latitude
L = Left of the current view i.e. minimum longitude
T = Top of the current view i.e. maximum latitude
R = Right of the current view i.e. maximum longitude
A = center lAtitude of the current view
O = center lOngitude of the current view
Z = OSM Zoom value of the current view. See Zoom
Levels
P = selected Point\'s latitude
N = selected poiNt\'s longitude
S = A user specified input string requested from the user via a
dialog box
Thus for the url example above then the format code should be AO
file_type
This value is passed on for the -i parameter in interfacing with
GPSBabel.
If it is not defined then the returned file is interpreted
internally as a GPX file.
Possible values such as \'kml\', \'mapsource\' etc.. can be used.
See GPSBabel File
Formats for the full
list.
babel_filter_args
This value is passed on for the filter arguments interfacing with
GPSBabel.
E.g. \"-x nuketypes,routes\" can be used to filter all routes from
the results.
input_label
This value is used when requesting input from the user.
It is the label of the text input box.
referer (optional)
A URL to serve as referrer for the HTTP request (eg.
\"http://hostname/\")
follow-location (optional)
The maximum number of redirects allowed. The default is -1 for an
unlimited number of redirects. Use 0 if you do not want to follow
redirects.
user-agent (optional)
Override the default user-agent used in the HTTP request.
custom-http-headers (optional)
Custom HTTP headers to be added to the HTTP request. The default is
none.
System Extension File Locations
Note that, on UNIX like systems, the extension files (maps.xml, goto_tools.xml, datasources.xml, external_tools.xml, routing.xml) are also searched in /etc/viking and /usr/share/viking directories (or related in your system).
The $XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variable can be used to change these
directories.
The $XDG_DATA_HOME environment variable is also used (if set) to look
for these extension files.
GeoClue Layer {#GeoClue}
Enable following and/or creating a track from the position returned by
the GeoClue
service.
On some systems you will need to enable location services, otherwise
Viking will encounter errors along the lines of \"GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.AccessDenied: Geolocation
disabled for UID ...\"
For the Ubuntu Linux distribution this is in the System Settings:
Settings->Privacy->Location Services
::: note
GeoClue runs using the dbus messaging
service. This is currently disabled in the Windows build of Viking due
to system distribution complexities.
:::
Layer Properties
Configurable properties:
Auto Connect
Whether to automatically connect or not.
Recording tracks
Whether to form a track on the location updates.
Jump to current position on start
Whether to move the viewport on first location report.
Moving method
How the viewport is moved upon location updates: centered, keep the
position in the viewport or none.
Update Statusbar
Whether the Statusbar is also updated on location updates.
Colour
Set the colour of the position indicator.
Layer Operations
Start / Stop Tracking
Offers manual control over the start or stop tracking as appropriate.
Empty
Quick access to remove all data from the tracking layer.
GeoRef Layer {#GeoRef}
This layer allows one to use any image as a map. You will need to tell
it how to align the map to a position in the world and the scale of map.
When a new image is selected the values from a World
File will automatically be
tried to be found. (subject to the setting in prefs_external)
If you do not know the scale of the map but know the coordinates of both
upper left and lower right coordinates, you can enter these coordinates
(Lat/Lon only) and then use the Calculate MPP values from coordinates
button.
The map once loaded can be repositioned via georef_tools, which
may be easier than trying to edit the raw property values.
Layer Properties
Configurable properties:
The map image file.
X + Y Scales in metres per pixel.
Rotation (in degrees), clockwise about the upper left corner
position.
Coordinates of the upper left corner of the map (either UTM or
Lat/Lon value).
Alpha. Control the Alpha value for transparency effects using a
value between 0 and 255 with the default being 255 for a fully solid
image, whereas 0 is transparent.
Properties
World File Notes
Viking does not support \"upside down\" images, nor does it support the
+ve/-ve definitions of the Y-Scale. Instead the Y-Scale is treated as in
the direction of the image, thus reading in from a World File the
+ve/-ve of the Y-Scale is ignored and -ve values can not input directly
into the GUI (simply use the absolute value instead).
There is limited support for reading in skew values. As Viking uses a
single rotation value, this will be derived from the y-skew value and
the x-skew is ignored.
Layer Operations
Zoom to Fit Map
Automatically set a zoom level to see the entire map coverage.
Goto Map Center
Center the viewport on this map.
Export to World File
Opens a file save dialog to save the scale and position information as a World File.
Mapnik Rendering Layer {#MapnikRendering}
The Mapnik Rendering Layer uses the Mapnik
Library to generate map images according to the
Mapnik configuration.
When using this layer it is useful to review the prefs_mapnik to
ensure the settings are correct for your system.
Mapnik configurations can be created via the CartoCSS Mapnik stylesheet
pre-processor. Viking will automatically invoke the carto program when
a carto project file is specified. Currently Viking can not tell when an
included file of the project has changed, so there is an option to
manually run the carto command.
Viking will only (re)render tiles when it believes it is necessary -
such as when there is no tile in the file cache, when there is a new
Mapnik configuration style or the tile is over a certain age. To force
Viking to (re)render all tiles - create the file planet-import-complete in your config_file_loc and/or update
its timestamp. (e.g. using the touch command).
Creating a Carto project or an initial Mapnik configuration file and
maintaining the datasource is beyond the scope of this documentation.
There are various existing Carto projects such as OSM
Carto or OSM
Bright. These use OSM data and
contain guides on how to setup the datasource. Further detail about
using OSM data can be found on the Switch2OSM
website.
If you use a simple Mapnik configuration then the tile rendering time
can be negligible and you can avoid having a tile cache. However for
most systems using a stylesheet of similar complexity to the OSM Carto
styling, rendering a tile (including reading/acquiring the data) can
take some time and thus several seconds to generate a display screen\'s
worth of tiles. Hence Viking runs these tasks in the background and uses
the tile cache to save this output.
Generated tiles are stored in the PNG format in the standard OSM Tile
name layout.
::: note
Currently due to code build and dependency complexities, Mapnik
Rendering is not available in the Windows version of Viking
:::
Layer Properties
Configurable properties:
::: formalpara-title Carto project file
:::
When specified, this is used to generate the mapnik configuration file.
Specify the Mapnik configuration file or leave it blank when using a
Carto project file.
::: formalpara-title Alpha
:::
Control the Alpha value for transparency effects using a value between 0
and 255 with the default being 255 for a fully solid image, whereas 0 is
transparent.
::: formalpara-title Use File Cache
:::
The default is to use a file cache.
::: formalpara-title Tile cache directory
:::
The top level directory of where the generated tiles are stored.
Layer Operations
These extra options are available when right clicking on the Mapnik
Rendering Layer in the Layers Panel.
::: formalpara-title Refresh
:::
Reload the Mapnik configuration.
::: formalpara-title Run Carto Command
:::
Force running the carto command and reload the generated Mapnik
configuration.
::: formalpara-title About
:::
Show some information about the Mapnik version in use.
Viewport Tools
When a Mapnik Rendering Layer is selected in the Layers Panel, the
Mapnik Features tool can be selected from the toolbar. This enables
location dependent actions to be invoked by right clicking on the
viewport and selecting an action from the drop down menu.
Rerender Tile.
Tile Info
Recommended Programs {#recommends}
::: formalpara-title gpsbabel
:::
Viking uses GPSBabel for several important
functions, such as:
Importing Files from many formats (including KML)
Exporting Files to various formats
Transfer Data to/from GPS Devices via serial connections
Thus these will not be available if the program can not be found.
For Unix like systems this will search the system path to find the
program, as it is typically installed via the System\'s package manager.
From Viking 1.6 onwards GPSBabel is not
deployed automatically on Windows systems. If GPSBabel is not installed in a typical Windows
location that Viking can find, then the GPSBabel preference can be set to specify the
exact location. See prefs_external.
Viking will need to be restarted to use the new GPSBabel location preference.
::: formalpara-title unbuffer
:::
Viking uses unbuffer command to optimize conversion calls.
This mainly applies to Unix like systems when invoking GPSBabel commands.
::: formalpara-title gpsd (not available for Windows)
:::
Viking will use togpx to open GeoJSON
files if the program is available on the system.
::: formalpara-title togeojson
:::
Viking will use togeojson to
export to GeoJSON files if the program is available on the system.
Command Line
Overview
Viking being a Graphical User Interface program only has a few command
line options.
viking
program to manage GPS data
Attributions {#attrib}
This document contains licenses and notices for open source software
used in this product. The source code used in this product is available
on the project website http://viking.sf.net
// Copyright (C) 2002 Michael Ringgaard. All rights reserved.//// Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without// modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions// are met:// // 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright // notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. // 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright// notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the// documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. // 3. Neither the name of the project nor the names of its contributors// may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software// without specific prior written permission. // // THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND// ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE// IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE// ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE// FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL// DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS// OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)// HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT// LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY// OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF // SUCH DAMAGE.
Version SHA:0e22cbdaf4b4790beca2313c329db2332f2609eb (Nov 2017)
Data: cities15000.txt
Source:
This is used in a lookup of positions to timezones.
Unneccesary fields in the dataset (for Viking) have been removed and the
resultant file is data/latlontz.txt
Available under license:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License,
see
The Data is provided "as is" without warranty or any representation of accuracy, timeliness or completeness.
Data: Response to online request made in vikgoto.c
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL), Version
1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation with
no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
You can find a copy of the GFDL at this link or in the file
COPYING-DOCS distributed with this manual.
Document and modified versions of the document are provided under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License with the further
understanding that:
document is provided on an \"as is\" basis, without warranty of
any kind, either expressed or implied, including, without
limitation, warranties that the document or modified version of the
document is free of defects merchantable, fit for a particular
purpose or non-infringing. The entire risk as to the quality,
accuracy, and performance of the document or modified version of the
document is with you. Should any document or modified version prove
defective in any respect, you (not the initial writer, author or any
contributor) assume the cost of any necessary servicing, repair or
correction. This disclaimer of warranty constitutes an essential
part of this license. No use of any document or modified version of
the document is authorized hereunder except under this disclaimer;
and under no circumstances and under no legal theory, whether in
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