If you think nothing is going on around Locus, the opposite is true. We've almost tripled the capacity of our team in the last two years, and we now hardly pack into our small office during a complete team meeting. Fortunately, we mostly work in the home office, so we don't get in each other's way (and we don't share various now popular infections).

Work on our projects is currently continuing "double-track". On the one hand, development and maintenance of the classic Locus Map Free and Locus Map Pro branch continues. On the other hand, and here lies the focus of our efforts over the last two years, we are working feverishly on the development of a new generation - Locus Map 4 . Which is no longer "just" an application, but also an extensive environment of accompanying services.

What's new in version 3.49

So let's start with the classics . After all, when the new generation of the app is launched, we'll name this series this way. So what's new?

Route Planner

We've simplified the setup of the route generation service BRouter . We've removed the option to select navigation profiles defined directly by this service. On the one hand, this will make the profile selection much clearer, and on the other hand, we are forced to do so by the restrictions of the new Android 11 - Locus Map will no longer be able to access other app directories , including BRouter. However, geeks don't despair, you will simply place your custom profiles in a folder directly in the Locus directory structure and select them in the router configuration - they will be separated by an extra header.

Presets

For those of you who have no idea about this, these are batch changes to your entire app settings . If you want to make the most of Locus, you can't do without them. The versatility of Locus lies in the huge number of functions and settings of the application. However, if you use Locus for various different activities, you always need to reset it. Presets make this process incredibly easy - you can then reset the whole app with two clicks - 1. open the presets, 2. click on the preset. You can change the settings of the function panels, the map theme, the recording profile, the map rotation, and a lot of other parameters at once.

Initially, presets worked in two modes - basic and advanced . However, we've found that basic mode is unnecessary, so now presets work directly in advanced mode . In it, you can choose which specific settings you want to have in the preset.

In addition to these two major changes, of course, the version contains a number of minor adjustments and fixes, as you're accustomed to.

What's up with Locus Map 4?

A lot is happening. A lot is almost done and ready for demanding testing, but still, there's a lot of hard work ahead.

The App

• We're fine-tuning the new ergonomic UI , which includes the expected dark mode. It will also be possible to turn the controls the other way around so both right-handers and left-handers can use it comfortably.
• The route planner has got a lot of new features - graphical representation of surfaces and route types, built-in offline router, the ability to generate a round trip and several alternative routes at once

Cloud Sync

The synchronization of data from the application with our own cloud storage is also in the phase of internal testing. No more worries about losing data when resetting your phone, switching to a new phone, or using Locus on multiple devices at once will be a breeze.

Online LoMaps and LoPoints

We also converted the original purely offline content online so that we could have it available for the new web route planner, and also to solve one of our big pains - points of interest search. After disconnecting from Google, we significantly missed it...

Web Route Planner

We have brought the planner in the application almost to perfection. Now it's its web clone's turn - after all, in the warmth of home with a large monitor, the route is planned more comfortably. Here, however, we still have a lot of work to do - we don't want to offer you any semi-finished product, but a well-tuned piece of software.

There is a lot behind us, but also a lot ahead of us. So we don't want to promise anything, but we firmly hope that we will enjoy next season with the new Locus Map 4.

Then keep your fingers crossed for us!

Článek Locus Map 3.49 released, fourth generation still in development se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

The autumn is here, the main season is over. Nevertheless, we haven't given up our jobs. On the contrary...

During the last weeks and months, we've been working on the huge tasks we had set in the spring of this year. At that time, we couldn't have imagined the amount of work that was awaiting us. Together with some changes in our team, some new colleagues came, some left, the work hasn't been proceeding as fast as we had expected. Nevertheless, we are moving forward. Slowly, but steadily.

What are we working on now?

There are a few essential projects we are running through. At the moment, if everything goes smoothly, we are planning their release for the next spring/summer season 2020.

Route database

We are building a database of routes that you can use as an inspiration source for your hiking or biking trips. You will be able to select among hundreds or thousands of tips for trips in areas you don't know or in your neighborhood. In the beginning, the public database will be filled by renowned publishers. Among others, e.g. the German guide publishing house Rother. This database will be available, of course, in our Locus Store.

New design and user interface

Locus Map's design has changed a few times but always just slightly. The main UX elements have always stayed almost the same. The reason was, a typical Locus Map user is a conservative person and each alteration going deeper into Locus functionality resulted in many controversial reactions. Nevertheless, building the new Locus Map 4.0, we resolved to make more significant changes. We made some inner surveys, did a few ergonomy analyses and comparations with competitive apps. Recently, we are beginning to see the first results of these efforts (just wait a few more weeks for them :).

What comes in the latest version?

Simultaneously, the "old" Locus Map development is going forward too. Implementing the new map core completely changed the internal app work with the map data. It enabled overlays of various map formats and coord systems, improved legibility of many maps on current full HD screens with automatic resolution optimization.

In this newest Locus Map version, we polished the app UI - we unified details of screens, panels, and colors all over the app. And, we added an option to link app presets to navigation:

Navigate with your favorite app preset automatically

Imagine: you're sitting in your car setting out to hunt for some caches. You've just selected the first treasure box and want to start navigation to it. But, Locus Map is set to your hiking preset - hiking map theme on, cursor centered, display automatic turning off, etc. Never mind, tap the cache on the map, select Navigate to, then choose a car profile and GO. Locus Map resets itself to your car preset - road map theme on, the screen always on, cursor down, map rotation on, hardware compass off, etc. Of course, when you get to your target and the navigation stops, Locus Map re-sets itself back to your original preset. Fast and easy, isn't it?

How to set it up?

Go to Locus navigation settings > Link to presets. There are three options for the three most common ways of transport - walk, bike and a motor vehicle. Tap Motor vehicle and select an appropriate preset from the list. Do so with the walk and bike as well. Easy peasy. And how it works? See the short video:

Goodbye GPSies!

All of you, who used GPSies.com (a great public route database), have been informed by its provider that the service was merged with Alltrails.com. Unfortunately, this merger means the end of GPSies integration in Locus Map. The new provider isn't interested in such integration. Understandably, they need to push their own app forward.

As the saying goes, everything bad is good for something. This is another motive and inspiration for us, to put more energy into our own route database project mentioned above. So, keep fingers crossed for us!

Photos by Wilfried Santer and Helloquence

Článek New Locus Map 3.40 starts navigation with your favorite app preset se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

Despite the summer vacations are only a bit behind its middle, we have been extensively developing and testing. Huge work has been done on the new Route planner and Track editor - both in brand new screens, new UI, with new functionality. However, we are still not absolutely satisfied with them and we must also include results of their public testing in their final appearance so a bit more work must be done on them. So, you have to look forward to them a little longer :). Nevertheless, we decided to publish a new Locus version as we managed to finish many other things:

Map language switch - read the map as locals

Our World is pretty colorful, you know that. And not only in colors but also in languages and alphabets. Latin alphabet is generally known but in many countries a Westerner has problem with reading local names. Fortunately, the OpenStreetMap project enables displaying multi-language names of cities and villages in many countries. For example, Laos. A beautiful country with booming tourism, luring more and more adventurers. Laos alphabet, however, might be quite tricky for many of them. Our LoMaps, rendered from OSM data, can help - you can switch the language of the map in something more understandable.

Map with original names:

The language switch can be found in the map detail screen:

The same map after switching it to English:

Online GraphHopper - fast and data-efficient

We've added a new online routing service to our portfolio - online GraphHopper. Some of you have probably used its offline version in Locus via a GraphHopper add-on which is, to be honest, still in a sort of alpha version. This online version, however, works amazingly fast and consumes only a tiny portion of your mobile data (FUP) - in a range of just tens of kilobytes. Here in Europe where the extra charges for data roaming have been abolished it's pretty nice.

To turn this router on, go to Locus settings > Navigation > Navigation data source and tap GraphHopper:

When you want to start navigation, just choose your target and then means of your transport (a.k.a. navigation profile). GraphHopper offers "car", three kinds of bike - "cycle", "MTB" and "racing" and two types of walk - "walk" and "hike":

Function panels settings in presets

Many of you wished to have the option to set different layouts of function panels for various activities with one or two clicks:

Since launching Locus Presets we've been close to it. Now, finally, we found a way how to implement function panels settings in Presets. If you need to re-set function panels position by one click, you have to switch this option on first:

1. open Presets and check the "advanced mode" in the topbar:

2. Select the Preset you want to adjust and tap "Edit":

3. Go to the Preset settings mode:

4. Check the "Set functions panels" option:

The option to set functions panels appears in the Preset. You can set the panels as you are used to.

Pick the right color!

Locus line color manager has been also significantly improved. Firstly, we reworked the basic color selection so that it contains colors easily distinguishable on map:

You don't have to confirm your color selection as before. Just tap the color and your new line color is set.

The advanced color picker stays as it was because it's just perfect :):

For super-geeks we've added an option to define colors by codes - in HEX, RGB and HSV modes:

Nice, isn't it? And, of course, it's not all but we don't want you to spent your vacation reading the whole list of changes, improvements and fixes the new version offers. And if by any chance you are interested, you can find it on the traditional place - in Locus menu > About application > Release notes.

Článek New Locus Map 3.25 brings a nice bundle of improvements se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

Despite many ski resorts are still operating to their full capacity and in many mountains it is snowing, the spring is obviously behind the doors. The days are longer, the snowdrops are in full bloom in gardens and the sun is sending first shy warm rays. Wood and meadow paths in lowlands are slowly getting dry and inviting for first walks and bike rides. Last time we brought here a few useful tips for geocaching that is also awakening. In a nutshell, it's a high time to introduce a new version of your favorite app - and here you are, brand new Locus Map 3.22 is coming!

Attention please, an announcement!

This is how the new notification center works - you'll find its button in the upper left corner of the main screen:

The center button appears on the screen always when Locus wants to tell you something. E.g. when you download maps, routes or elevation data from Locus Store. Or when we post some news on our website, or when we remind you of downloading your map gifts, informing about polls, messages from devs etc. When you tap the button you unfold the list of announcements:

The button changes its appearance according to some actions in background. E.g. it works as a downloading indicator:

[caption id="attachment_10414" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Downloading is proceeding[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_10416" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Download is paused[/caption]

Individual announcements can be swiped away from the list or the whole box can be emptied by tapping a button in its bottom. When nothing is to be announced, the notification center button is not displayed.

Look, I'm just on a trip!

This is how our new service "My LIVE location" works. You surely know our Locus Live tracking that works practically the same way but only among Locus apps. The advantage of this solution is that you can share your location in the real time with anybody in the World who has access to the internet. The new feature can be found in Menu > Share:

If you like you can show a message to those who will track you and then just tap the green START button.

In the next dialog you can copy to clipboard or share via all available services the URL displaying your real time location.

The URL can be opened in any internet browser. You location is displayed on a microsite map and is updated every 15 seconds. A menu on the left shows your actual speed and elevation.

The service is running in BETA mode so far and can be used for free for 30 minutes. If you like it you can subscribe to Live Tracking Premium service in the Locus Store and share your real time location with your friends without limits.

Would you like a personal coach?

Monitoring of sports performance during workouts became massively popular after coming of smartphones. Apps like Runtastic, Runkeeper, Endomondo and so on are installed in almost each phone of everybody who goes running, skating or bike riding. Sports trackers, as these apps are called, not only record stats of such activities but they also announce these numbers directly to the sportsman's earphones. Locus Map can record track stats from its very beginning but its ability of commenting the workouts has been modest until now in the "Training manager".

The feature is named Audio coach in the new Locus 3.22 and its settings can be found in the track recording settings:

Firstly it's necessary to create a new training and define its intervals (lap distance or time) and events to be monitored - track distance, speed, pace, heart rate etc.

The news is the interval monitoring - Locus announces performance in the last interval which length you define:

So what, it looks like another unnamed app can be uninstalled from your phone... ;)

Do you often reset Locus? Presets can help!

Locus Map is a very universal app working excellently not only when mountain hiking, bike riding, running or doing other outdoor sports but it can also navigate in car or help professionals collect geo data or locate targets for rescue squads. This versatility and heaps of features, however, has its drawbacks - using Locus for more activities means a lot of re-setting. Speaking of adjustments to your screen layout, changing type of navigation recalculation, switching vector map themes, increasing map resolution or repositioning map cursor.

With new Presets you can reset whole Locus with two taps.

Using Presets needs a bit of settings in the beginning - above all, we recommend putting Presets button in the function panel:

There are three default Presets:

1. basic settings as you know it after the first Locus start, 2. cycling - with hidden control panels and a dashboard

and 3. car - map rotation on, location cursor moved, target-priority auto recalculation on, road theme of maps and others.

The Preset is activated by tapping it.

If you want to add another Locus Preset, just save your current Locus settings by tapping the blue + in the bottom right part of the Preset box. Then just rename the new preset.

If you're an experienced Locus user you can get to re-setting of the default presets - check "Advanced mode" in the topbar.

Option to edit activates in each preset action menu,

tapping it gets you to the panel of settings switches.

By tapping the blue pen button in the right you get to the preset settings selection menu:

Presets run in BETA mode so far and they don't contain all settings options Locus normally offers. There are only the most used preferences that resulted from our recent user survey.

Elevation data without maps

You probably know that when you purchase one of our LoMaps you get also a package of elevation data of the map area with it. Elevation data are necessary for rendering terrain shading, for calculation of elevation profile of a planned route and for many other useful features. Until now using of elevation data has been subject to downloading of related LoMap. As it is possible to use maps of many other providers in Locus we decided to abort this rule and enable detached download of elevation data. Of course, necessity to purchase the relating LoMap for using the elevation data remains.

[caption id="attachment_10432" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Elevation data can be downloaded from the detail box of a LoMap.[/caption]

Many minor changes as the topping

The end of this blogpost is, again, traditional - this, our friends, is not all. There are numerous minor changes, improvements and fixes done, the whole list is available in menu > about application. Just by random choice there is new display of points on map by tapping their icons in the list, option of repeated notification in point guidance, option of direct sharing of the map cursor position with other map apps (Share > Other map apps), option to insert an existing point to a route, improved POI displaying in LoMaps and many more.

We wish you all a beautiful spring with Locus!

Článek Welcome the spring with new Locus Map 3.22 se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.