The new boydsmaps app is ready!

[Boyd]

Well, I said it would be ready by the end of the year... and I made it with 6 whole hours to spare! Remember, this is beta software that only offers basic functions at this point:

10 years of New Jersey aerials from NJGIN
12 of my maps of the Pines
USGS National Map topo and satellite for the whole US
OpenTopoMap coverage of the whole world
3d map viewer
GPS tracking mode

Don't get too excited about all the buttons in the Main Menu, most of them don't do anything yet. But it will give you an idea of what's ahead for the app, although it will take months to complete. At this point, only the help, site and map info buttons are working.

Have done a fair amount of testing on two phones running Android 10 and two iPhones running iOS 14, but I've probably missed something, so let me know what problems you encounter. It was designed specifically for phones but will also work on your Windows or Mac computer in a web browser using the link below. Some things will look awkward on a computer since the app was designed for a small screen.

To get started, install the app on your phone, it only takes a second. After installing, always open the app directly from the boydsmaps icon on your home screen instead of a browser.

If you're reading this on a phone, just press the link below. Otherwise, type it into either Chrome or Safari and follow these instructions. When you're done, go to your phone's home screen, press the boydsmaps app and enjoy. Should be pretty easy to figure out, there are only 5 buttons. There's a detailed help file available from the main menu. Happy New Year everyone!!!


mobile.boydsmaps.com

 

[bicycle tim]

Boyd, you've exceeded your already incredibly high standards. Thanks again. Question-what is the number in the upper right corner, to the far right of the long./lat.?

 

[Boyd]

Thanks - glad you are enjoying it!

That number is your current zoom level. The maximum zoom varies depending on the map, if you keep zooming in you will reach a point where it won't go any higher. The NJGIN imagery starting in 2007 has a resolution of 1 foot per pixel, which is a zoom level of 19, although their servers will let you go higher (over-zoom), I have limited these to level 20. My maps vary - LIDAR in the Pines HD, Map of the Pines HD and Map of the Pines 2020 have a resolution of 1 meter per pixel, which is level 17. The Leaflet API that I use on the desktop website lets you over-zoom these maps, but the Maptalks API doesn't, so they are limited to level 17.

Other maps vary, the 2000 USGS map has a max of level 16. The Cook, Vermeule, 1950 and 1900 topos max out at level 15 and so does the OpenTopoMap server. The USGS servers top out at level 16. If you are viewing an aerial at level 19 (for example) and then switch to map like the 2000 USGS topo, the zoom level will automatically change to 16.

Keep in mind that the map scale doubles with each "click" of the zoom. Since maps are two-dimensional, that means 2 x 2 = 4x as much data. So as you go up the zoom scale, the amount of data on the server increases dramatically. For example, it takes about 400mb to store level 15 of my 2020 Map of the Pines, level 16 takes about 1.6gb and level 17 takes about 6.4gb. So, for me, it gets pretty impractical to work with anything higher than a level 17 map of the pines. A level 19 version of that map would require over 100gb of disk space!

 

[Teegate]

I will wait until my M1 comes. That will be 5 weeks.

 

[Boyd]

Haha, Just saw a post at MacRumors from somebody with a 7 week wait! But anyway, these maps are for your phone, not your computer. Of course, they do work on a computer but the interface was clearly designed for a small screen and fingers. I do like the 3d views on a big screen however. Eventually I will convert the desktop site to the new Maptalks 3d API.

 

[Teegate]

I am not a phone person. By that I mean using it for anything other than talking or texting. I want to see my maps on a large screen. I don't have data and don't have location services turned on.

 

[Boyd]

Phone, GPS. Not much difference anymore, if you are willing to pay Garmin's high prices you can get a premium phone that has better drop and waterproof specs, good GPS, long battery life and a bright screen. The Garmin transreflective screens certainly have an advantage in direct sunlight, but IMO that is more of an issue for someone on a bike, where they have no control over the light hitting the screen. If you're on foot, just hold the phone so it's shaded. Also no problem inside a vehicle.

But the BIG difference is processing power, even the top of the line Garmin devices just choke on aerial imagery. The 3d maps in this app run circles around any Garmin, even with my rugged smartphone that only cost about a hundred bucks.

Anyway, that's cool, use what you're most comfortable with. But this app was created for "phone people", so they can bring their maps with them. It's not really for sitting at a desk with a computer, although everyone is welcome to use it however they like.

 

[martink]

Wow this looks great—and the maps render so quickly (granted I’m on my home Wi-Fi). I look forward to pulling this up on my next outing!

 

[gipsie]

I just put this on my phone! It is like Christmas all over again!!!!! Boyd...you have outdone yourself! Thank you soooooo much!

 

[1Jerseydevil]

I am not a phone person. By that I mean using it for anything other than talking or texting. I want to see my maps on a large screen. I don't have data and don't have location services turned on.

Me too

 

[Jon Holcombe]

I installed your app on my iPhone 8 this morning and have been experimenting. Your ability to code software and combine it with mapmaking is amazing.

To have that many different maps, load so quickly, at my fingertips in the woods is very cool.

Thanks for all the hard work Boyd!

 

[manumuskin]

I"ve installed the app.The screen keeps changing orientation while I watch it.I"m a north is up guy and don't like to have the map change as i change direction but this is actually flipping in all directions as I sit stationary.I do have the gps working on it and it homed right in on my position.
Also when I go to the screen to choose my aerial or map it is only giving me the category option.This will change the map but for instance if I choose aerials it will take me to an aerial but there is no drop down to choose say NJGIN 2015 infrared. I have only one aerial,usgs topo,open topo map but no drop downs.

 

[Boyd]

If you want a North up view, just tap the compass. That locks the screen in 2d mode with north at the top - notice that under the compass it will say "2d".

Al, the maps list is different from the other site. I did not include the infrareds. Could add them but it seemed like a pretty long list already. There are 29 different maps to choose from. This will be upgraded in the future, with different folders of maps to choose from. I have a goal of 1000 maps of different parts of the world in 12 months. We'll see, haha. You can see the whole map list here, there are no "categories", it is just a list of maps. When you say that you only have one aerial, it makes me wonder if you realize that the list scrolls up and down?

 

[manumuskin]

Thats ashame,the infrareds are my favorite.I did find out how to scroll to find the regular njgin imagery and have been banging my head trying to find the infrareds.You can see the ground and trails so much better with them.

 

[Boyd]

I will add them with the next update, possibly later today.

 

[WaretownMike]

Boyd this is AMAZING! I’ve been using your maps regularly
I will be testing this today

Any plans for maps that will work without Internet?

also, there are no buttons using Chrome on iPhone - see screenshot. Safari works great

 

[Boyd]

Definitely planning offline maps. However I will have to learn how to do that, unfortunately it is not easy. With a "real" app, you can just access files on the phone. That's not possible with a web app (for security reasons), so you have to jump through a bunch of hoops. But it will be months away, lots of other code to write first. As I have posted elsewhere, I look on this as a 6 to 12 month project and am only one month into it.

Sorry, have not tried Chrome on iOS. My understanding is that it's a "pseudo-browser", whatever that means. But I don't think it supports web apps at all on iOS.

I am only going to support Safari on iOS and Chrome on Android. These are the native browsers that are pre-installed on every phone. Once you install my app, you can start it from the home screen and don't need to even know that it's using Safari technology "under the hood".

 

[Boyd]

FYI... Thanks for all the encouragement everyone! Am finishing a big update right now, hope to put it online in the next few hours. There might be some issues due to cached data when I upload the new code. If you have problems, try clearing your cache. Here is how to do that (this info is also in the help file). There is no need to do this UNLESS something isn't working properly.

 

[Boyd]

The update is active, you should now be able to open and save links to map views. These links will be exactly as you save them, including the 3d pitch and bearing (if any). The links will work on a phone or computer, but there are some differences.

On the Mac or Windows, the links will open in your web browser.

On Android, when you click on a link, you can choose whether to open it in either the app or in Chrome.

Unfortunately, the iPhone doesn't offer this choice, a link will always open in Safari instead of the app. I will write some code to allow you to paste a link directly into the app, but haven't gotten around to that yet. But consider the difference between using the app vs a browser. With a browser, you can save links as bookmarks, which might be handy. It would also let you open a map link separately in the browser without disturbing whatever you're doing in the app (such as navigating).

To create a link while using the app, go to the main menu and press the Export button. If you have GPS tracking enabled, you'll get an alert asking to turn it off, since your position is constantly changing when the GPS is on. For now, the only option in the export window is to copy the link to your clipboard (more options will be added in the future). Just push the button to copy the link. You can then paste it into a forum post, e-mail, etc.

Here are a few links for you to test, along with screenshots of what they should look like. If you're reading the forum on your computer, the map will fill your whole browser window. Also, it does not matter whether you use your phone in landscape or portrait mode, the link will be the same, it only contains the coordinates, zoom, angle of view and map name.

....Oh, and as you can see, the infrared aerials are now all online.

https://mobile.boydsmaps.com/#15.00/40.040867/-74.582031/njgin2015i/-159.60/59.60

https://mobile.boydsmaps.com/#19.00/39.518437/-74.336801/njgin2007/0.00/0.00

https://mobile.boydsmaps.com/#13.00/39.557886/-74.460219/pines2020/39.60/60.00

As I posted above, you may need to clear your cache for this to work. If you have not used the app before, or if it has been a few days then it will probably work without clearing the cache. But if you were recently using the app, you'll probably need to clear the cache. If you get a message that this feature has not been implemented, or if these links don't open properly, that means you definitely need to clear your cache. See my previous post for instructions.

Let me know how all of this works for you!

 

[manumuskin]

Yes! Thanks Boyd! You Rock!