Quick Start
Using GPS Tracker is easy. You build a track for analysis by clicking on trail segments in the map. As each segment is clicked, it's added to the track to be anlayzed. Using GPS Tracker does, however, require a certain familiarity with the trail systems represented on the map. You might find the program easier to use if you have a good trail map to compare it to, such as the PATC maps for Shenandoah and Massanutten.
You can go ahead and start using the program by following these simple guidelines, or see the rest of this help manual for more detail.
- The Trail Network - Trail segments are shown on the map as a network of blue lines. The ends of each trail segment are marked by a light blue dot.
- Areas - Trail segments are grouped into "areas" and only one area is displayed on the map at a time. This reduces the amount of processing power that would be necessary to display the network of all available segments. Areas represent a logical grouping of segments such as "Shenandoah National Park - Central Section".
The default area when the page comes up is "Shenandoah National Park - Northern Section". You can choose a different area by selecting one from the drop down list at the top of the page and clicking the "GO" button.
- Centering the Map - The first step in building a track is to center the map on an area of the trail network where you want to begin building a track. If the trail of interest is in an area other than the one that is currently displayed, select the proper area from the drop down list at the top of the page and wait for the new segment network to be drawn. As with other Google Maps, you can click on the map and drag it to move it.
- Zoom Levels - The drop down box in the top left corner of the map shows the current zoom level of the map. Higher zoom levels show more detail and lower zoom levels show less detail. You must be zoomed in to level 13 or greater to select segments.
- Selector Dots - At zoom level 13 or greater a red dot will be shown in the center of each segment. You click on this red dot to select the segment and add it to the track. Hovering over the red dot will show the name of the trail the segment is a part of.
- Building a Track - Segments must be selected in such a way as to produce a contiguous track and only those segments which continue the current track will be selectable.
When the map page first comes up, all of the red segment dots will be enabled and selectable. Once you have begun building a track only the red dots on segments which are contiguous with the current track will be enabled. The red dots on all other segments will be grayed out. In other words, the program will not let you create a track with gaps in it.
- Statistics - As you add each segment to the track, the statistics at the bottom of the page will be updated to show the distance, the elevation gain and loss, and the maximum and minimum elevation of the track.
- The Buttons - You can use the buttons below the map as follows. Note that the buttons are grayed out until you add the first segment to the track.
- Print Map - Bring up a new window and display a printer friendly version of the map.
- Profile - Bring up a new window and display an elevation profile of the selected track.
- GPX - Bring up a new window that lets you output the track into a file that can be uploaded to a mapping program or a GPS unit.
- Google Earth - Download a .kml file to display in Google Earth.
- Back - Remove the last selected segment from the track.
- Clear - Clear all selected segments and return to a state where no segments have been chosen. This will return the page to the state it was in when it first came up so that you can begin collecting a new track. In other words, all of the red segment dots will be enabled, the buttons will be grayed out, and the statistics will be set to zero.
- Recenter - Re-center the map over the selected segments. This will reposition the map so that the selected segments are shown in the center. This is useful if you ve moved the map to a position where none of the selected segments are visible.
- URL - Bring up a new window that displays a URL that can be used to recreate the currently selected track. This useful if you want to save the currently selected track or to share it with someone else.
- Predefined Tracks - This is a list of tracks whose segments have been pre-selected. If you choose one of these tracks from the list and hit the "GO" button the page will be redrawn displaying the track with the segments selected as if you had choosen them manually.