After two months of hard work, we are releasing a new version of your favorite outdoor navigation system. It brings again an incredible amount of modifications and improvements. We pick the biggest highlights from the changelog:

• the new route planner
• new in LoMaps
• unified system of LoPoints
• possibility to highlight selected categories of LoPoints above the map
• new notification centre

Now let's take a closer look.

Planning routes faster and more clearly

As you already know, the planner draws a route based on the selected route profile. What is a routing profile? It is a set of certain parameters that the planner uses to plot a route on the map. It can be a means of transport, such as a car or a bike, but also a sport activity, such as walking or cross-country skiing.

Based on your numerous suggestions and our monitoring of the planner's use, we have undertaken a major transformation of the route profile selection and planning logic. Clicking on the profile selection button will now take you directly to a menu of all profiles for the selected router. Click on the selected profile to activate it, and the entire route will be recalculated according to your new selection:

Data analysis reveals that most routes are planned with a single activity, requiring a quick modification of the entire route with a different profile to view it all in a new context. We've now sped this up to two clicks.

A different profile for each segment

Many of you are planning a combined route. For example, you want to drive to the start of the hike and then continue on foot. Of course, we have the option to choose a profile for each route segment separately. We just moved it to the action menu. Click "Continue with..." to change the profile for the next route segment, not the whole route.

What about custom settings?

Of course, it wouldn't be Locus Map if it didn't offer additional options to customize the app. Each LoRouter profile (except for manual mode) includes the ability to change various route calculation and route time estimation parameters. Just hold your finger on the profile select button, and additional setting options will appear:

TIP: As a proper geek, you can place the button to change parameters directly on the planner's desktop. A long press then quickly changes the profile to manual mode:

Detailed instructions on how to use all the options of parameters and their settings when planning your trips will be discussed in a future article.

LoMap always on display

With the new Locus Map, you'll never drive out of an area covered by LoMap and see a blank screen instead of a map. Once the app detects you're off the map, it automatically switches to online mode and streams map data from the internet. You can, of course, turn this option on or off in the settings:

Bulk update

Those of you who use offline LoMaps will appreciate the ability to update multiple map packages at once. You can choose from a list or update all of them at once.

Locus Map Lite now also offline

This news isn't Android-related, but we still want to brag a bit: Locus Map's little brother for iPhones and iPads, Locus Map Lite, can also work with offline maps, as we wrote here. So if you have Apple friends, feel free to tell them.

Online&offline LoPoints in one

LoPoints, touristy and interesting places on the map with lots of information and photos, used to be available separately in online and offline versions, and were also switched on separately above the map. We've managed to simplify this tremendously - everything is hidden under one button in the content panel, and you don't have to worry about whether you have an internet connection or have downloaded the right offline LoMap.

Of course, you can turn off the automation in the settings and display online or offline LoPoints separately. Important note: the new system only works with the latest LoMaps, so make sure you update them.

Highlight the selected category

If you arrive in an unfamiliar city and need to quickly see all the places to eat on the map, just tap the content panel and select the appropriate LoPoints category:

Since there are a plethora of categories available, you can also search them in full text:

What about points of interest from other sources?

You can also display other databases in Locus Map, for example, from OpenAndroMap. There is a separate display button for these in the content panel. Here you can also find LoPoints from older versions of LoMap:

So you don't miss anything

We've created a brand new notification system for the actions the app takes - when and how it downloads maps, backs up your routes and points, syncs with the cloud, and more. You can also get a look at your notification history:

We've also added a button for quick access to manage system notifications, where you can set everything up so that you're only notified of exactly what you need to know.

And now we can only wish you a nice holiday with Locus Map!

Článek Version 4.30 – improved planner, LoMaps, LoPoints unification and much more se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

Summer holidays have passed like nothing, autumn is slowly knocking on the door, but the outdoor sports season is far from over. On the contrary, we are all looking forward to walks and rides full of autumn colors. So here we are again with a new version of your favorite outdoor navigation. It is full of major or minor improvements, of which we would like to highlight a few of the most important.

The map rotates, the names and labels remain

You all know how to rotate the map according to the compass or direction of movement, it's a basic feature of the map in the app. If you have rotation turned on and your phone has a built-in compass, the map rotates according to it, even when you're standing still. If you don't have a compass, Locus Map rotates the map in the direction of motion detected by GPS and other sensors. Until now, everything that was part of the map data rotated too, including local names and labels.

By updating some parts of the machine that renders offline vector maps in Locus (LoMaps and OpenAndroMaps, for example), we were able to apply the option to keep the titles in a horizontal position so that they are perfectly readable in any orientation of the phone:

The labels of objects such as streets, hiking or cycling routes are still aligned with their lines, but when flipped over vertically they switch to the other side, again for better readability.

The only labels that do not change their position are the elevations on the contours, as they are always written "top to bottom" to convey the direction of the slope.

Texts in online maps continue to rotate - online maps are technically different, being composed only of raster images in which the text is part of the map layer.

Search 3 in 1

Locus Map's main plus (and some say minus) is its lavish selection of features and settings. Even many advanced users used to get lost in the plethora. That's why you can search the functions and settings in full-text - you can find the "magnifying glass" both in the menu of all functions and in the main settings menu.

Now we've made this search even more accessible - we've linked it to the main online search for places and addresses. So when you enter the first few characters into the general search, toggles appear with results in the functions and settings categories, if Locus Map finds a result for the query.

But the work on the search doesn't end here - we are preparing a new Library for you, which will include a new search in your routes and places. We'll also add the results to the main search results list.

Even better planning and navigation

More accurate route time estimation

When planning a trip with the family or a brisk ride with friends, estimating the time spent on the route is always very useful. For example, we still need to catch a visit to grandma's or we don't want to return in the dark. However, general estimates of return time do not always correspond to the actual reality, which can be very individual.

That's why we've added to the LoRouter profile settings the ability to define a custom average speed on a flat surface, typical for a given activity or bike type. This allows Locus Map to calculate a much more accurate estimate of how long you will be on the route. We've added this option to both walking profiles and to all bike types except road bike - road cyclists have a setting based on wattage, which our research shows they track more.

The setting ranges vary by activity type. So, for example, for walking you can set a time corresponding to a relaxing walk to a fitness run, for gravel you can choose between relaxed and sporty riding, etc.

Two routes at once, why not?

Until now, you have only been able to generate alternate routes using the GraphHopper online router. Now our offline LoRouter can do this without needing to be connected to the internet, and offers many more activity profiles and personal settings. Just turn this option on in the router configuration.

You can easily switch between the options by tapping directly on the map in the planner. Of course, the variations are not just for the complete route, but for segments of it, so you have a little more room to experiment when planning, and very quickly choose the most optimal route for your trip or training.

Are we going uphill for a long time?

This intrusive question is familiar to every parent who has ever gone on a bike trip with their kids. However, the remaining elevation figure is also of interest to more sporty riders, who can better distribute their forces according to it. You can now insert it directly into your favorite dashboard that you use for navigation:

Finally, something for Garminers

For Garmin smartwatch users, we have a great add-on to quickly get a Locus Map route to the device on your wrist. However, it's not available for all devices. If you have a Gamin Edge or other device that is not on this list and you want to get routes planned in Locus Map into it, just tap Share > Share as GPX in the route details and then tap "Open". Garmin Connect is also in the apps menu. Select it, choose an activity on your route, save and sync with your device. And you're ready to go!

Článek New Locus Map 4.26 – Dynamic offline LoMap rotation and other features not only for cyclists se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

We've taken our time with the new version of your favourite outdoor navigation app - we wanted to give it a proper polish and bring some major improvements before the start of the 2024 season. And we've done it - we've got a brand new route planner with an integrated dynamic itinerary linked to the route navigation, the ability to put the app directory in a freely accessible storage area, and lots of other nice touches.

Navigate with the planner

Sophisticated route planning is one of the cornerstones of Locus Map's features. That's why we've done a lot of work in recent months on the planner as well as routing, profiles and other setup parameters. However, the "Navigate to" function could not use this potential in its original design and defacto duplicated the planner function in a somewhat clumsy way. So we decided to combine these two functions into one. 

So how does it work now?

• Choose a destination - via "Navigate to", by direct selection on the map (point of interest, your own user point, long-tapping any place on the map...), in your library, from a search result...
• Tap on the navigation button - the route planner will start and a route will be generated in the last used profile from your current location to the selected destination. Now you can change the profile (activity, means of transport), add waypoints on the route, check the elevation graph, and surfaces, and just take full advantage of the comprehensive route planner. Or don't, and go straight to the next step:
• Start the route navigation - the button in the top bar starts the selection between navigation and guidance, and then you're ready to go.

What are the advantages?

• Removing a redundant route planning interface for navigation
• Simplification of the user interface
• Linking fast navigation from A to B with a comprehensive planner while maintaining the speed of its launch
• Quick possibility to edit the route, add waypoints, recalculate in another router or profile (large selection of profiles and their customization through many parameters) plus other benefits of the route planner (elevation graph, types and surfaces of roads...)

Plan routes with an itinerary

The itinerary has been part of the route planner for a few years now. However, until now it has been somewhat neglected, with extra input from the top bar. And since it is a live part of the UI in the web planner, we decided to make it more visible in the app as well. 

How is the itinerary in the planner used now?

• The bottom slide-up panel, the so-called "bottom sheet", now contains two tabs that are switched by a button on the top right: charts and itinerary. The default is to display the itinerary, even though there is nothing in the planner yet. This is because you can also select the start and finish directly in the itinerary.

• You can choose the start as before directly on the map or in the itinerary - tapping on start will display a menu of all options: 

• You can add additional waypoints (shaping or via) either directly on the map or in the itinerary:

• Use the itinerary to reorder, delete or reposition waypoints quickly.

• Tap between waypoints in the itinerary to see intermediate route segments that can be recalculated in another profile:

• Of course, on the map you have a fully editable route in addition to this.

So what are the advantages?

Route planning options are now more handy (they used to be hidden in menus), there are "more" options and something different suits everyone. You can plan on the map, in the itinerary, or combine both. The Itinerary is now an equal planning tool to the map.

Plus a little bonus - you can view a detailed route graph directly from the planner:

Photos from Locus Map in Google Photos? YES!

And not only there, and not only photos. Thanks to the new option to move the app's main directory to the Android/Media sector, the system gallery gets to them too. And you can easily access other app data, the geocaching folder, local exports of geocaching logs, and so on.

It's a refreshing breeze of freedom since the fateful moment in Android 4.4 when apps were forced into the impenetrable private Android/data sector. While Android's recommendation is still to use the Android/data sector, you can easily set your main directory to "Private folder in Android/Media" in Locus Settings > Backup & File System > File System Manager and forget about the nightmare of inaccessible app data.

You also have this option on an external SD card, but we don't recommend it due to data vulnerability and unreliability of the cards.

GPS auto-off is back

This feature, which made life easier and saved the battery for long-distance travelers and wanderers, had to go, as it didn't work properly on many phones - a lethal combination of battery optimization and a number of system permissions for location access made it impossible to exist.

Fortunately, we've managed to discover a way to restore the feature so that it's fully functional on Android 12+ phones. However, you still need to have Locus Map excluded from all battery optimization options (but Locus Map can't do without that now anyway). If you don't know how, this site will give you the details directly on your phone.

However, we've placed the option in the Expert settings section. Its use is really specific and has no justification for normal day trips.

More improvements for geocachers

In the previous version of the app, we've made a lot of geocaching features available that were originally only accessible through the Geocaching4Locus add-on. However, experienced cachers immediately threw a few things at us that we had forgotten in the rush. We hereby apologize and add the missing options to the app:

• the ability to update a cache directly in its details
• filtering of owners’ caches
• filtering of unpublished caches
• badge for downloaded caches

And don't worry, it'll get to the labs one day too, we're working on it!

So we wish you all a beautiful spring and a nice start to the new season with your favorite outdoor navigation!

Featured photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Článek New Locus Map 4.22 combines navigation with route planning and shares photos to the gallery se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

by Tim Parks

I came to Locus Map to solve a problem. How to walk 400 miles through Italy, crossing many areas that are hardly popular for tourism or trekking. Italy is not famous for its detailed walking maps.

Why did we want to do this? In 1849, the revolutionary hero Giuseppe Garibaldi, abandoned the defence of Rome which was besieged by 30,000 French soldiers, left the city at night with 4000 men, and tried to march them hundreds of miles north to Venice where another group of rebels had declared Italian independence. They zigzagged back and forth through the Italian Apennines, Lazio, Umbria, Tuscany and the Marches, pursued by French and Austrian armies.

Always a fan of Garibaldi, in 2019 I came across a diary of his aide de camp, Gustav Hofstetter, a Swiss soldier, who describes in great detail the route they took and all the hardships on the way. Suddenly I knew I had to walk the same walk, to get a sense of the epic thing they did, and, since I’m a writer, to write a book comparing Italy then and Italy now.

But nobody walks from city to city today. The only well-marked paths are in the prettiest places, where the tourists go. Google’s route-finder offers only roads and walking along Italian roads out of town is perhaps more dangerous than being hunted by an army. Even when I did find paper maps with paths, they were out of date, and you would need so many they would fill your whole backpack.

Enter Locus Map. My partner, Eleonora, and I downloaded the app, set the algorithm for backpacking and began to plan our route.

I’m not going to pretend it was all plain sailing. The app does everything it can to keep a walker away from busy roads but even Locus Map had trouble figuring out a safe way to walk from the centre of Rome to Tivoli, 30 km to the east. Amazingly, it would know of tiny passages through brambles beneath elevated highways, but then bring you smack up against a huge four lane intersection where you were walking right alongside racing trucks…

… or sometimes it will take you half a mile out of your way to avoid a few hundred yards of road, unaware that you’ll be walking this route at dawn on a Sunday in August and there’s really no problem. There are times when what matters is to get where you’re going before the day is too hot. We were doing the walk at the same time of the year they did: July.

But these are quibbles. Day after day, Locus Map found a way: north up the Tiber river, through the wild landscapes of Sabina, to Terni and Todi…

… across windy plateaus and through deep gorges, up over the high Apennine passes to San Marino and the Adriatic coast.

The facility that allows you to record your movements as you walk with a strong red line is crucial for orientation. You see pretty quickly when you’ve missed a turn, which is all too easy in this kind of terrain where very few of the paths are signed. And it’s great that you can reorganize your route fast when you realize that a path or road isn’t going to work, or that you haven’t the energy to get as far as expected. The profile graph that tells you how much climbing you’ll have to do and, even more crucially, how steep the path is going to be, both up and down, is essential when it comes to figuring out your day and getting in the right mindset.

Garibaldi’s men were poorly supplied, their shoes falling apart, weighed down with rifles and gear; at night they slept on the ground without tents or shelter. We had good light trekking shoes and walking poles, carried only about 7kg in our packs, and managed to find a bed for ourselves every night, even in the most remote villages. Still, we struggled to do the 400 miles in the time they did: 28 days including two days rest. And we didn’t have to do any fighting or shooting on the way. To avoid the armies following him, Garibaldi often took the most arduous routes, through the most empty and magnificent terrain. We’d never have managed to follow him without the help we got from Locus Map. And if we hadn’t managed it, the book would not have been written.

More about the author:

• www.timparks.com
• Facebook
• X

Článek Locus Map and The Hero’s Way: Walking with Garibaldi from Rome to Ravenna se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

Sometime around this time, in 2021, we slowly began to release the first version of the new generation of your favorite outdoor navigation - Locus Map 4. After a year, we would like to offer you a small summary of what we have accomplished during that time. A lot has been done, mainly thanks to you and your support, both moral and financial.

Brand new app

Let's start with what is most visible:

New user interface

• We clarified it, simplified it and adjusted it for one-handed operation. And both for right-handers and left-handers
• We added options for custom configuration of elements on the display - zoom buttons, map rotation and centering buttons, track recording, function panels - all of them can be combined for several variants of their visibility on the desktop
• The new content panel allows you to easily control everything you see on the map screen - maps and map themes, LoPoints, shading, photos…
• Routes and points got new slide-out panels with information and controls - all in one place, within easy reach of your thumb
• The new bottom-up main menu contains all the basic functions. Of course, it is fully configurable
• Last but not least, Locus can be switched to energy-saving dark mode, even automatically depending on the time of day

We've also added our own content and got rid of dependencies on external applications:

Our own maps, points of interest and router

• LoMaps - our tourist maps of the world are now available in a free online version for all users, not only in the application, but also on our new web route planner
• LoPoints - these dynamic points on the map, describing civic amenities or natural attractions are now available online and offline. In the online version, we managed to enrich LoPoints with information and photos from Wikipedia, and we improved their search on the web.
• LoRouter - our own route calculation machine for planning and navigating to a destination. It is available online in the application and on the web, as well as in the offline version for the most demanding outdoor fans.

Synchronize the application with the cloud, the web planner and across multiple devices

Locus Map has always been a purely mobile application with no server background. There was a radical change a year ago - you can now sync routes and points automatically:

• From mobile to cloud and back - you no longer have to worry about data if your mobile is lost or damaged
• From the cloud to the web library and route planner - what you plan on the web is right on your mobile and vice versa
• Among several devices - do you have a mobile phone and a tablet with Locus? You record the route on your mobile phone, save it and you have it on your tablet right after. The number of devices connected in this way is not limited.

Over the year you've synchronized over 1 million tracks and routes.

Brand new web planner and route library

We used to think that planning a route right on your mobile phone was enough. And we did our best for that and developed the route planner in Locus to the best of its kind on the market. But the big PC screen just makes sense for planning trips and entire vacations. And so we developed a web-based planner with an associated library of users’ tracks and points.

• You plan the route on the web then you go on a trip with Locus on your mobile phone
• You can record the expedition in the mountains with the help of Locus, at home on the couch you can see the route on the big screen of your laptop

We are constantly working on the web planner and library. A lot of improvements await you this year.

It wouldn't be possible without you

Web services, synchronization, cloud, servers, storage, user support, continuous development - it all costs a lot of money. But thanks to you, we manage to get it all running. We are sure that the new subscription financing system really works to your and our satisfaction.

If you continue to support us in this way, we plan a lot of other great things:

What awaits you

• further development of the application - improved search, new dashboard, satellite maps of the whole world (finally!!)
• web planner and library - import of routes, other maps from other providers, more detailed graphs
• more app purchase options - we'll introduce also one-time period purchases with no auto-renewal

Thank you once again for supporting us!

Článek Thanks to you, we have completed the first successful year of the Locus Map 4 project se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

Locus Map as one of the most versatile and flexible navigating apps is packed with features and settings. All those need controls, buttons, panels and dialogs and making them all accessible for the best user experience is a great challenge for us. We are doing our best to place, structurize and visualize all items for first-hand usage but from time to time there is a situation we need to use our long-press magic.

Let's summarize all of them here for you - we're sure you'll appreciate these hints for more fluent Locus use in the field.

The main screen

Centering button

By long-pressing it you can turn on the "hold-center" option. When you browse the map and shift your GPS location out of the visible map crop, it returns your location at the center automatically after 5 seconds:

Zoom button

Long-press at one of the zoom buttons displays a zoom slider indicating the zoom range and the selected zoom level:

Track recording button

Long-pressing the red button of the active track recording immediately stops the recording without sliding the recording panel out:

Top panel with coordinates

The top panel on the main screen can display various information. When it is set to display coordinates on the position of the cursor, you can easily copy the coords to the clipboard by long-pressing the panel:

The main menu

Main menu button

Long-pressing it opens a hidden menu of bug fixing options and further "expert" settings:

Tapping the expert settings adds them to the main settings section:

Buttons in the menu grid

You can set up features you need in the main menu by long-pressing any of the grid buttons. A complete list of the features shows up and you can select which one should be placed on the button position:

Panels of functions

Long-pressing any button on the function panel opens a popup offering information about the feature triggered by the button and the panel's modification. Some of the buttons, however, offer more options:

GPS indicator/button

This multi-purpose item indicates Locus GPS status and also opens GPS/compass screen with the skyplot and data of the device's motion sensors. Long-pressing it you can quickly activate/deactivate Locus access to GPS:

Tracks, points or data manager button

By long-pressing one of these buttons you can quickly hide all tracks/points on the map and also clear all other temporary items on the map:

Dashboard toggle button

If you need to select a different dashboard quickly, just long-press the dashboard toggle button in the function panel and open the dashboard selection:

Tracks/routes and points manager

Track/point bar

If you tap the track bar in the folder you open the track detail screen with stats, elevation profile, waypoints and so on. When you long-press it you get quickly to the tool menu with the track checked for other actions - copying, moving, exporting etc.:

The same happens when long-pressing a point bar in a point folder.

Track preview thumbnail

Sometimes it happens that the thumbnail is not rendered properly. You can re-generate it by long-pressing it:

Point

Detail screen

The same as in the main screen topbar, when you long-press the point's coordinates, they are copied to the clipboard to be shared or sent via e-mail or SMS:

Guidance panel

When you want to stop guidance to a point quickly, just long-press the guidance panel:

Route planner

The route planner provides four long-press magics!

Drawing mode button

When planning a trip, sometimes it happens that you need to make a shortcut leading across a meadow without any path. To do this, it is necessary to switch the router off and use the manual drawing mode. To make it as fast as possible, just long-press the drawing mode button.

Routepoint removal button

Don't you like the route you've just planned? Just long-press the "-" button and clear the planner quickly:

Routepoint adding button

Long-pressing this button opens the location selector for a particular way of adding another routepoint. Obviously, there are many ways:

Distance indicator

Last but not least... nevertheless another proof of Locus's versatility. When you need to quickly measure the area of a spot defined by your route, just long-press the distance indicator:

So, get out there to test it! But remember, the real magic is the spring which is now in full bloom. Enjoy!

Článek Long-press “magic” se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

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 development can’t be stopped, not mentioning that one of Locus Map. We admit that not much has been seen for over two months from us, except for a few bug fix versions published right after the last “big” app release. Still, we did not sleep during all those days. So – a lot of work has been done mainly on two of Locus Map’s cornerstones – map-rendering core and route calculation.

New Map Core

The largest chunk of development, coding, and testing was consumed by the rebuilding of the very heart of Locus Map – its map rendering core. It was necessary. The old core started to become obsolete and unsuitable to follow all current requirements for map control, speed, and flexibility. The new map rendering guts bring a lot of unexpected features:

Automatic map scaling

Map zooms, as you were used to, are slowly flowing away with the stream of time and progress. Newly, the app chooses the best map resolution according to the device screen DPI and selected raster or vector type of the map. Resulting display experience is fluent and the map is crisp and well contrasted. Including crossfading effects between zooms when zooming in and out. EDIT: this feature can be turned off if the result is not satisfactory

Mapsforge V4+ support

The new generation of the vector map rendering engine is coming into Locus. It brings more options for work with map themes:

• support of multiple vector themes per directory and V5 themes
• faster autoloading of neighboring maps
• overall pleasanter experience, e.g. improved running of world maps in upper zooms or optimized map sorting in the quick map switch.

No limits for map overlays

Until now it was possible to overlay only some types of maps. Others couldn’t be overlayed due to different properties. Now, actually, all kinds of maps can be put one above another. Online over raster, raster over the vector, maps of all possible systems and datums. Just select the background map and then any from the vast map portfolio Locus offers. Or, even better – your own custom map.

Route calculation for navigation and planning

Over the last months, we collected a pretty wide list of improvement suggestions about this topic. Locus Map 3.38 comes with a lot of them implemented. First of all, we improved the route recalculation system behavior when the route priority is set:

• when you need to navigate from a custom starting point, the app will try to navigate you to this point as the first option
• when you ignore 2 following recalculations, routing backward is blocked
• when you make a shortcut of your original route, the recalculation no longer pushes you back to the last visited part of the route

Automatic route drawing in the route planner uses the same processes. We updated work with the via points - now you can set the planner so that it places via points directly without the need to change shaping points first.

And more...

As usual, the new version is full of other minor improvements. Among others, we added 7 new activities for track recording, e.g. handbike, canicross or snowmobile. Sports freaks will appreciate multiple track export to Strava. We also adjusted online map download. And more...

Test it and see!

Článek New Locus 3.38 comes with a new map core and enhanced navigation se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

Route planner, one of the main features of the mobile outdoor navigation Locus Map, has become an indispensable tool of many enthusiasts for hiking tours, treks, road or mountain bike rides. Its main characteristics is simplicity of controlling in complexity of background data and route planning options. Together with the wide map selection Locus Map offers, running on a portable device like tablet or mobile phone, planning routes is quite a different experience. Let's have a look at its most useful features:

Routing on-road, drawing off-road

When you plan a trip running along roads or paths, use automatic route drawing powered by cooperating routing services - BRouter or GraphHopper.

Each service has its pros and cons. BRouter works offline and offers a lot of routing profiles:

On the other hand, it needs storage for offline routing data and the route calculation is quite slow and power consuming.

GraphHopper is very fast because calculating a route runs on a remote server and doesn't engage your mobile processor. And you usually plan routes at home with wifi internet connection, right? But alas, it offers just a few basic routing profiles:

When you plan a backcountry trip where there are either no roads or paths or required map/routing data aren't available, use the manual mode:

Check route elevation and estimated on-route time

During planning, all necessary info is at hand. Just slide the chart up:

The chart changes according to your editing:

Detailed statistics show also the gradient chart for even finer route tuning:

Avoid obstacles

Forrest works ahead and it's dangerous to pass? Put it in map and let Locus find a detour!

Plan a geocaching trip

Nice warm weather expected next Saturday and you are a keen geocacher. Let's go for a trip somewhere you don't know and hunt a dozen local geocaches. Put them in Locus route planner, it'll find a way connecting them all!

Want to go on bikes instead? Recalculate the route!

You've changed your mind. The weather's gonna be awesome, wow, you will manage to hunt even more geocaches! You've just planned a walking route... doesn't matter, just push Recalculate all button and select bike as the activity.

Cool tip at the end - gradient-colored route

Would you like to know clearly where is your route steep or flat? It's quite useful, especially when you ride a bike. And what's more, you can plan the route according to it and avoid too steep up-hills... Just set up gradient coloring of your route planning line:

Locus Map route planner is very intuitive but if you need to know everything about its features, check Locus Manual.

Happy route planning!

Článek Locus Map – plan your routes like a pro se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

You would say alas, the summer is over. Temperatures dropped twenty degrees in just a few days, Fabienne storm ran over the middle of Europe with freezing winds and downpours. Nevermind, as all true outdoorers say, there's never bad weather - there's just a poorly dressed hiker! So, reach deeper in your closets for warmer garments and install our new Locus Map. There's something prepared for your autumn adventures:

Wizard of Live Tracking

Some of you often complained that for setting up a Live Tracking session it's necessary to have university degree in technical engineering and information technologies at once. We in marketing part of our tiny team often agreed so we persuaded our devs to try to look at it from the same point of view. Fortunately, we succeeded - they removed their diplomas from the wall for a few hours and started to pretend to be absolutely unaware of any Locus or Live Tracking. The result finally came and setting up Live Tracking is now a matter of a few simple steps executable by a school kid. Please, meet Wizard of Live Tracking:

Say who is your audience

As you already know, Live Tracking is mutual real-time sharing of position between you and someone else. Here you select whom you want to share your position with. All other Locus users? Your MTB gang? Or mom, dad and sis?

If you like to share your current outdoor adventure generally, choose the first option. Nothing more is required, your name and avatar is pre-filled from your My Locus profile. Of course, you can edit both. Then, just press the start button. Your position is visible to all other Locus users who are using public Live tracking and also on Locus Live Tracking website.

Did you previously join a group of Locus users from your local hiking club? Then select it. Or, if you had received an access key to another group, you can enter it here as well. After you press start button your position will be visible only to those in the selected group.

If you bought Live Tracking Premium subscription, you can start your own new group and invite (send access keys to) whoever you need, right here.

Are you a live tracking pro or just another geek who needs to have everything under control? Then select the last option and set your own real-time position sharing service.

And that's it, go Live Tracking now!

Manage route points easily and recalculate route segments

You've liked new Route planner right from its launch. Nevertheless, we felt a few things could have been done better.

New popup boxes

We redesigned popup boxes where you can manage and edit shaping, via and navigation points on the planned route. See how you can change one to another easily:

Edit via points names and icons:

Show a routepoint in Google Street View:

Partial route recalculation

You can recalculate segments of the route. Just select the route part and another routing profile:

Recalculate all!

Changed your mind and would like to go for a walk instead of biking? No problem, you can recalculate whole route with a different routing profile and avoid roads:

This works, so far, with BRouter only.

Explore Canadian Rockies with premium Backroad Mapbooks!

We've recently partnered with Backroad Mapbooks, a renowned Canadian map publisher. Their Backroad GPS Maps bring the most detailed and comprehensive coverage of Canada available to recreational users. With the most up-to-date outdoor recreation information including topographic contours and summits, industry and forest service roads, campsites, trails for hikers, bikers, ATVers and snowmobilers, paddling routes, hunting and fishing hot spots, parks and wildlife viewing areas, and thousands of geographic and recreation points the maps offer adventures for every explorer.

In connection with unprecedented functionality of Locus Map you can have finally a very powerful navigation tool for traveling Canada.

Enjoy autumn with Locus!

Photo by Joel Cross on Unsplash

Článek New Locus Map – easy Live Tracking setup, souped-up Route Planner and Backroad MapBooks se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.