The Route Manager and Data Import/Export

  • Through the Route Manager  OpenCPN can save and load waypoints, routes, tracks and layers using the GPX transfer format.
  • This lets you save your routes and marks so you can have more than the active ones - for example to do route planning, or archive existing data.
  • GPX format is supported by a wide variety of programs.
  • You can have as many saved files as you wish, there are no limits on the number of saved files.
  • Use this for passage planning by saving multiple possible routes for a passage.
  • Save routes and tracks for historical/log purposes.
  • Prepare layers as an aid to navigation en route.
  • All Navigation Objects on this page, except for "Temporary Layers", are persistent between sessions. More here:Navigation Data Backup
  • All objects visibility is toggled by clicking the "eye", or other icon, to the left of the route/track/waypoint name on each line.
  • All objets can be sorted by the header in the columns in the Manager. By clicking "Route Name below, the routes will be sorted alphabetically, pressing once again reverses the order. Similar for the column "To", the destination.

    Routes


  • Click the "eye" to the far left on the line with the route to toggle if the route is displayed or hidden on the chart.
  • To Sort routes click "Route Name" or "To"
  • Properties:This button brings up a new dialog with settings that can be changed for each route.
  • Departure Time:With no departure time the ETE (Estimated Time Enroute) is calculated. Enter a Departure Time and the ETA will be calculated
  • Times shown as: UTC is a new name for GMT. LMT is a local mean time based on the present longitude. For Local Zone Time one can also enter the keyword "now".
  • Color: Set the displayed color of the track or keep the default.
  • Style: Solid, dashes, dots, a combination or keep the default.
  • Width: Set the width of the track or keep or keep the default.
  • Marking a  line with the leg number and the destination Waypoint in the Properties Dialog also marks the Waypoint on the chart with a blue square.
  • Extend Route:Extending is possible only when it is obvious, what should be joined with the current route (current = visible in the Dialog). Eligible are all visible route points shared with, or lying nearby to the current route's endpoint. If there is exactly 1 such point, then it is considered obvious, and the Extend button is enabled. If there are more, some should be hidden before proceeding, until just 1 remains.
    Routes are extended  forward, based on the geographic location, next route point must be very near, as when mouse-extending the route. If the next route point is to far away for extending, just create the joining leg and extend twice.
  • Split Route:For splitting, the split point is selected as the row in the listing. The point-of-split becomes part of both new routes (shared) or tracks (cloned). Original route/track is deleted.
  • Here is a basic example of first splitting then extending. The test route is shown below
  • "Split Test_A"
  • In the Route Managers property dialog for the route we have selected a waypoint where we would like to split the route. The "Split Test" Route now consists of two parts, that has been renamed.
  • Next we extend the first leg "Split Test_A" with the second leg "Split Test_B". This extended route s now named "Split Test_B_plus.
  • Activate/Deactivate: Activates/Deactivates a route marked in the left part of the window.
  • Zoom to: Zooms in on a route marked in the left part of the window.
  • Reverse: Reverses a selected route.
  • Delete: Deletes selected route or track.
  • Export Route: Save the route on your computer for later use (import)
  • Send to GPS. Send the Route to your GPS. For Garmin Users, make sure that the ToolBox->GPS->"Use Garmin GRMN/GRMN(Host) mode for Waypoint and Route uploads" box is ticked. The reason for this is that Garmin units cannot accept route uploads via NMEA0183. This is a "design feature" of all Garmin receivers.
  • Delete All. Be careful. If you know you have saved the routes on your computer and are able to import the again, this is a simple way to clear the screen from routes. Better be safe than sorry, so save before deleting, if you want to be able to use the routes again.
  • Import. Import one or more previously saved Routes. It is possible to select and import multiple routes.
  • Export All Routes. Saves all routes in one gpx file. This is done through a normal file saving dialog.

    • Route Planning


  • If a Tidal Height Curve Dialog, for an individual tidal station is  shown on the screen, the tidal situation for this station will be tabulated along all route points in the route properties dialog. It is essential to enter a departure time and a planned speed. Once "Enter" is pressed the tidal column will show the nearest High or Low water considering the ETA at each waypoint.
     
     
  • The ">" (meaning: "Now") departure time specification can be entered if local PC time zone is selected. It differs from specifying the same moment of time, but without the "Now" spec (e.g. "5/23/2011 08:00" vs. ">"):
     - "5/23/2011 08:00" - calculates departure at 0800 on May 23rd 2011 from the first waypoint of the route
     - ">" - issued at 0800 on May 23rd 2011 - calculates departure Now from the current boat position, including the distance to the first waypoint of the route
  • If no tide dialog for any station is open and a waypoints name contains the string @~~<name>, for example "@~~York Spit Light", then the tide report for the closest station with matching name is shown in the tide column for this waypoint. The most appropriate tidal station for each waypoint can thus be selected.
  • When entering a departure time the ETA, Expected Time of Arrival will be shown, instead of ETE, Expected Time En-route.
  • The individual waypoints "Description" field can contain the setting of planned speed specific just to the next route leg (e.g. "VMG=4.5;") and/or the specification of Estimated Time of Departure from this waypoint (e.g. " ETD=2/14/2011 12:00;"), allowing for planning extended stopovers. Time can be specified as UT, LMT or local zone time at the PC (default).
     

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    Tracks


  • Make sure that you have read all about Automatic Daily tracks and track Highlighting in the Documentation for the Toolbox etc tab
  • The visibility of tracks is controlled by clicking the "eye" on each line. Tracks can be sorted by clicking the column headers.



    • Start Track. Same thing as pressing the track button in the ToolBar
    • Route from Track. Make a route from a track, for future use. The new route is listed in the Route Manager tab. An smart algorithm is used to create  route of reasonable size. Look upon this as a suggestion to a route, that needs manual editing. It is a tool that can be used as a first step in regular route construction.
    • All other buttons behaves similar to corresponding buttons for Routes. The color of the tracks can be changed.
  • Tracks are extended backward, based on the time-stamp sequence, a track is selected, which ends as the latest one before the start of current track. Tracks are extended as a single segment if they share the extending point, otherwise a new, disjoint segment is added. Joining 2 tracks (i.e. extending a track) results in just 1 track remaining. 


    • Waypoints





    • Control the visibility of each waypoint by clicking the waypoint icon to the left on each line. Sort the waypoints by clicking the column headers.
    • New. Create a new waypoint. This brings up the properties dialog.
    • Properties. All about the dialog on this page.
    • Zoom to centers the chart display on the waypoint.
    • Go To. Makes an instant route from present position to the mark and activates the route. A similar instant route is created by right clicking and selecting "Go To Here" without first creating a mark. This instant route will be listed in the Route Tab.
    • Export Wpt and Send to GPS buttons behaves similar to corresponding buttons for Routes.
    • Delete All, does not delete any Man Over Board marks. All otther marks are deleted.

 


Layers





"Unlist Contents"
  • Layers are one or more routes, tracks or waypoints  that has been saved together in a gpx file. A layer is represented as a single gpx file. A layer is persistent and protected from changes. A waypoint in a gpx file for example, can be imported either as a "waypoint" or as a layer. The difference is that when imported as a layer it cannot be changed or deleted. To see if a waypoint, route or track, is a part of a layer, open properties and check the top of the dialog. If it is a part of layer, it will say so.

     


     

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  • Layers are useful for many things. It can for example be used to update charts with new navigation marks and dangers as per Notices to Mariners, and to add Radio Call-In Points or to build a database of lights and locations, that will be visible on chart regardless of current scale. See the first picture above. In the second picture, a very good celestial fix, plotted with a gpx script has been saved as a layer.
  • More advanced uses could for example be an interactive cruising guide using the possibility to embed links in waypoint descriptions.
  • Layers can be created in OpenCPN,  and saved as a gpxfile, or be created offline, manually or by scripts, for example.
  • Layers that are saved in a directory called "layers", in the same place that holds your opencpn.ini(config) file, are automatically loaded on start of OpenCPN.
    Easiest way to find this is to go to the - button in the ToolBar and look all the way down in the first tab (About).
    In Linux create the directory: /home/$USER/.opencpn/layers.
  • Any subdirectory in the layers directory,  is also loaded. To actually display these layers on startup, tick the box towards the bottom of the TooBox Etc tab - "Show layers initially".
  • Layers worth keeping, could be kept in the mentioned "layers" directory and  visibility during a session can be handled through "Hide from Chart" or "Show on Chart" buttons. New layers, gpx files, can easily be added in a subdirectory of it's own.
  • A few restrictions apply to layer marks. A layer mark cannot be used to set anchor-watch on. If right-click-selecting co-located objects, priority is given to non-layer objects.
  • Temporary layer: Any gpx file can be imported as a layer. This can be used for developing layers or for import from a user defined directory with predefined layers, as necessary. Layers imported this way will not be saved when closing down the computer, but can of course be loaded again. More permanent layers should be kept in the "layers" directory, as described above.
  • Delete: Unloads the layer, but doesn't of course touch the originally imported gpx file.
  • Hide from Chart or Show on Chart Controls if the marked layer is visible. The same thing can be achieved by clicking the "eye" to the left of the layers name.
  • Hide WPT Names Shows a visible layer without waypoint names. This helps to unclutter layers, when zoomed out.
  • List contents or Delist Contents  Listing is this context means showing the individual points in the layer as waypoints in the "Waypoints Tab"
  • Import GPX.. and Export All.. Warning these buttons has nothing to do with Layers. They work as if you are in an other tab. For import use "Import New Layers". For export, create layers as described above.