View topic - Connecting tracks

I have 26 GPX files, each containing track data from 1 day of our latest expedition. And each file contains about 10 separate tracks (number of them differs from day to day).

Do you know about any automated way (i.e. utility) how to connect all these tracks together into 1 file and 1 track? I will use resulting file as input in Microsoft's WWMX program to geotag all our photos (i.e. write GPS EXIF data into each photo).

After many of our previous expeditions, I did this track connection manually. I edited each file in MapSource, "Cut" one track, opened preceding track, scrolling to the end and pasting clipboard data in, eventually making each file 1 single track. Then I had to connect all those separate files/tracks into one. With cut data growing, it is slower attaching tracks together. I think I am now getting older and lazier. There must be some automated way to do this, right?

And while I am at it, WWMX doesn't work on my 64 bit Windows 7 machine directly. It still works in Windows XP mode, though, and that's OK. However, do you guys know about any other program geotagging photos based on date/time contained in GPX track & in the photo?

Thanks

Slightly tedious but here is what I do

1 - copy the daily .gpx files to my hard drive

2 - open Mapsource and download what's on the gps (waypoints & tracks)

3 - open a new Mapsource window by clicking on the .gpx file for day one

4 - edit the track properties to remove "dead" trackpoints at the beginning and end of the day plus look for anomalies that can occur and edit them out

5 - copy that track and paste it into the first instance of Mapsource

6 - repeat step 3 - 5 for each day

7 - select and join all the daily tracks

You probably will be wanting to do #4 no matter what so while you are doing that you can do the joining bit with just a few extra clicks.

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"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915

Just wondering.....how do you have your trackpoint interval set? I used 10 seconds this year (previously I was using 20 seconds), thinking of going to 5 seconds to try to get a bit more detail in the rapids.

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"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915

How do you do that step 7? it doesn't sound like me doing cut & paste.

As for the interval, I leave GPS in "automatic" setting, whatever it is...

that part is easy, built in to Mapsource, select the tracks and right click "join the selected tracks".

I've found that for GPS Visualizer, Google Earth/Map at least you don't need to join the tracks, just load the .gdb file with the separate daily tracks.

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"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915

I use one of two programs.
1. GPS Utility. For smaller sets it is free to use but a fairly reasonable cost for large sets.

2. GPX editor. I started using this when the more recent Garmin GPS that I use saves GPX files.

I downloaded GPX utility. I opened one of my GPX files (trying first to connect all tracks within one file). I found menu Edit/"Merge all tracks". I applied that and saved as new GPX file. I open that in MapSource and inspect the content: There is now only 1 track inside the file, but the tracks were connected in incorrect order. Track starts at 6:58am, goes to 7:01am (that was first track in original file), then there are three points with these times:
9:08:29pm
9:13:47pm
9:08:20pm
and then jumps to 3:44:56pm. It seems the time order of connected track points are completely mixed up.
Original has 9 tracks. First is starting at 6:58am, as the result. Track no. 8 has only one point at 9:08:20pm and track No. 9 has two points, 9:08:29pm and 9:13:47pm. Track No. 7 starts at 3:44:56pm.

That doesn't happen with my clunky old school method......

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"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915

Hi RecPed,

In point 4. what do you mean by



?

I load the daily gpx file into Mapsource, in Mapsource I go to the track properties and from the list of trackpoints remove any "dead" points from the beginning and end. For example I might turn on the GPS in the morning but not actually leave camp for 5 minutes, or I might arrive at camp at the end of the day but not turn off the GPS for 10 minutes.

I also find that on many days there will be "erratic" points, these usually occur when the GPS loses satellite contact or when changing batteries, you'll get a few trackpoints which make it look like you travelled a few hundred metres in just a few seconds, messes up the daily distance total and makes for an odd looking track.

I do this mainly because I'm using this track data to calculate the total paddling time and/or average speed and/or other types of data analysis which is meaningless to most people most of the time (including myself ).

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"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915

Now I finally figured out what you were talking about, RecPed (point 7).

On my old computer Windows 2000 I have MapSource 6.11.3 (nothing newer than that won't install there). There is no "right click/join the selected tracks" menu.

I installed MapSource 6.16.3 on my new Windows 7 computer. That one has that option. very easy to use. That's the feature I needed.

Thank you.

Thanks guys - the "join tracks" thing helped me out now too after an evening of figuring out how to really use my 2 year old gps !