Hi,

I would be happy if the Java application could connect to the external GPS receiver without actually starting the tracking. The reason is that in certain conditions it takes my receiver several minutes to find the position. Therefore, I would like to connect it to the application in advance so that later I can start tracking at anytime quickly. Without connection my GPS receiver switches itself off after a few minutes.

While not tracking, the application could still display the position, speed or even the map. By the way, it would also be nice to be able to turn the map off completely. I am planning to use MapMyTracks primarily for trainings and I know my usual routes pretty well :) so downloading the map is often just a waste of bandwidth. Not to mention that I usually run out of the map before it is downloaded completely. Either my connection is too slow or I am too fast. :)

I must mention that I find the design of the application very nice and it is also easy to use.

Best regards,
Zsolt

Zsolt, glad you like what we have done with the design of the screens. An option to switch off the map is a good idea. One alternative that you can try is to zoom out when the map is on screen by pressing 3. If you zoom out several times the map scale does require as many tiles and can save a little on bandwidth. This way you get the best of both worlds - you can see the map and save on bandwidth!

I should mention that there are a few other shortcut keys that you can you when tracking. These include:

Press * - for section help
Toggle # - View map full screen
Press 5 – zoom in
Press 3 – zoom out
Scroll up or down between on screen data using the joystick

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the tip. I will zoom out next time. Does the application remember the last zoom level?

As a workaround for the waiting problem I connect to the GPS receiver earlier with a program that just displays position information. Just before I want to start tracking I exit that program and launch MapMyTracks. This way I do not have to wait for the GPS to get the position when I actually want to start.

Regards,
Zsolt