Other formats then gpx?

Hi there,

sure, an input convertor would be a nice thing - but i would rather see this as a separate plugin. It would take a huge amount of source code (and the plugin already became much bigger than i originally wanted), and one needs detailed knowledge about all those different file formats to write it (that i don't have, i only know GPX).

Otoh, with the availability of excellent online converters like the one in your link AND "offline converters" like GPSBabel, it would be a bit like "re-inventing the wheel"...

cheers, Frank

No need to be sorry...


Today, I'm forwarding them to a online converter site: www.gpsvisualizer.com/convert_input.



But maybe an 'input (convertor)' could be a nice feature in the future for the plugin? I agree with you that everybody should use a standard. So it would be nice that everybody can add everything they want, and the output is each time a gpx format. And I agree that this is more a problem of the 'input' of things. Today i'm using a form (chronoforms) that creates articles in Joomla. But of course, those forms don't care about any content.

Hi there,

i'm sorry, but i currently have no plans to support other formats.

The main problem here is the OpenLayers API: as far as i know it only supports GPX, so it wouldn't be able to render tracks in those other formats. GPX is the de-facto-standard format, and it is pretty well documented. And: it is the only format that all of the GPS devices and software i use can handle (Garmin Basecamp, Google Earth, MagicMaps, and quite a few more). Export from one, import into another program -> no problem if you use GPX.

In the beginning, every vendor started creating his own format, making interchange of data between systems/vendors/programs close to impossible. That's why GPSBabel was invented: a free (!) "universal translator" for all kinds of GPS formats (and various operating systems). Converting a file from whatever vendor-specific format to GPX is done with just a few clicks.

One thing you should really consider:
If you let people upload files in all those formats, only the other folks that have that same device/vendor/software would be able to actually download and use the files. IMHO that goes against the whole point of making a site for presenting and exchanging GPS tracks, no?

If, on the other hand, you "force" them to GPX, everybody else can download and use the files because all the software "understands" GPX.
That is a strong point to really think about!

The point really is: To allow the one person that uploads the file to be lazy, you will force many of the users that download the file to convert them for themselves, or (which is more likely) to consider the file as "unusable" for them. Force the one person to do the three-click conversion before the upload, and everybody can use the files directly.


As for the "manual" on how to convert proprietary formats to GPX: With GPSBabel this is so simple, it only takes a single screenshot to explain how it works:

1. choose your source file
2. type in a name for the targe GPX file
3. hit the Convert button - that's it!

The screenshot also shows a small part of the very long list of formats GPSBabel supports, i guess all the formats you have mentioned should be in there...

cheers, Frank

First of all, great plugin!!! I was really surprised that this worked out of the box, and it gave this nice result!


Do you've got the intention to add more than only the gpx formats?

I'm building a site where everybody can upload their gps tracks. But of course, a lot of people don't know the difference between a gps file and a audio file.
So it would be nice if they don't need to worry about the file extensions. That the plugin takes care of the different file extensions...

With my site members, i discussed this, and apparantly they use today
crs / gdb / gpx / itn / tcs / trb...


ps I can write of course a small manual how they can convert it, but you know people, they're lazy... So i'm afraid that they won't use/read it then.