Facilities currently only available to supporters


Forum » General Forums » Supporters

By TallPaul on 08/03/17 at 1:07pm (last edited 06/01/24 at 3:41pm)

Users who support us get early access to new features. Here's a list of where we are with new features. We will update it as we add more features.

We always welcome any feedback on these features: as a supporter you are probably one of the more active users of the software so your views are invaluable. You can do that either directly or by posting a new topic on this forum.

Here's the list. These are roughly in chronological order so the more recently you signed up the more you will already have been told about.

Uploading track offers to update log book

When you upload a GPX containing a track the software checks the track for any tops you've passed over or near and then offer to update your log book. As it knows the date and time you also get the date recorded if you use this feature.

Full details, including a screen shot, can be found here on the forum.

This feature only appears when you're logged in and is currently only for supporters.

It's optional and you can turn it on and off from the "Settings" option in the menu.

Speed field in walker mode

When you're looking at a track we have added two new fields to the "Your Track" box:

For supporters only we've also added some extra information. If you're in track mode then the "Walker" information now shows an extra field Speed which shows you the average speed immediately around the point where the walker is currently placed.

This is all described here, including a screen shot.

Direction arrows on tracks

For supporters only at present we now show direction arrows on tracks. Again it's optional and you can turn it on and off from the "Settings" option in the menu.

OS benchmarks overlay

Adding to the water levels overlay we now have all the OS benchmarks as a overlay in the mapping which you can turn on and off. This was discussed here on the forum and this was originally only available to subscribers but when we added the Photos overlay (see below) we made this overlay available to everyone.

Reloading your GPX files

As we revealed on the forum this week we have been saving GPX tracks you've uploaded to, and the GPX tracks and routes you've downloaded from, our software since the start of the year. Since the start of this week we've also saved GPX routes you've uploaded.

We've been doing this for everyone but now supporters can re-load those GPX files and look at the routes and tracks again. This forum post has more details, including screen shots.

View tracks and routes in 3D

Supporters can view both their tracks and routes in 3D both on WayMaps and using aerial photography.

Tops Overlay

Supporters can choose from any of the many hill bagging classes present in our database, e.g. Wainwrights or Munros, and have their locations displayed as an overlay on the map. If they've "bagged" any of tops in their log book then those are shown in a different colour.

Photos Overlay

Supporters can turn on an overlay which, at zoom 9, lets then easily view the photos which have been uploaded to Geograph® Britain and Ireland at every location on the currently viewed map. Geograph is the closest thing you'll find to Google StreetView when out walking away from roads and we find it invaluable when planning new walks. This overlay was originally announced here on the forum.

Automatic Recording of Activity in your Log Book

We now automatically log all activity indicated by your GPX uploads to your log book. You can find more about this here in the forum and the post includes a video explaining how it works and how to use it.

NLS Historic OS layer

These tiles are based on Ordnance Survey maps from 1919-1947 and are provided to us by the National Library of Scotland map service. These tiles can be interesting when you're researching a route you're intending to walk, especially to see where roads and railway lines used to run.

Track Heatmap layer

These tiles are built from all the GPX tracks which logged in users have uploaded over the years and we've used then to create a heatmap showing where everyone has been. You can find a full explanation of this here in the forum.

Personal Track Heatmap overlay

A Personal Track Heatmap overlay where you can see tracks you have previously uploaded which you can load on top of any mapping layer including WayMaps, OS and aerial photography.

The Future

We are continuing to look at ways we can improve the software. Possible enhancements include:

But if there's anything else you think might be useful then do post it on the Supporters forum and see if people think it's a good idea.

Anyway thanks again and good walking!

Paul and Beth

WalkLakes
https://www.walklakes.co.uk



WalkLakes recognises that hill walking, or walking in the mountains, is an activity with a danger of personal injury or death.
Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions.