Short: Psi-Mapper/GB 5.3 Author: slitchfield@cix.compulink.co.uk (Steve Litchfield) URL: http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/ Uploader: psion-adm@nic.funet.fi Type: s5/apps/map Psi-Mapper/GB 5.3 for the Psion Series 5 (C) UK 1997 Steve Litchfield ====================================================================== Released as shareware September 4th 1997 ... [Note to upgraders from v5.2 or before: the filenames for some of the essential files have changed. After installation you may wish to delete the old versions of these files to save space] (Note that registration codes are the same as for Mapper/GB on the Series 3a/c and Siena palmtops, so if you've already registered you don't have to pay again!) Registration address (send cheque for 14 pounds to): Steve Litchfield 22 Grays Crescent Woodley Berks RG5 3EN or register electronically on Compuserve with GO SWREG no. 6565, or with a credit card at http://www.swregnet.com/1221p.htm Psi-Mapper update information and new versions can be found at http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/ If you have trouble with that address, try www.3-lib.co.uk instead. Requires Psion Series 5 with approximately 200k of free system memory to run in. Psi-Mapper/GB is shareware. This does not make it a free program! Yes, you can copy it freely to friends or acquaintances, or even upload the original ZIP file to ftp sites, bulletin boards, but if you like it and continue to use it, then you are honour-bound to register the program by sending me a cheque for œ14 (pounds). Registration gets you: a) a clear conscience that you're using paid-for software, and that you're helping support future development of Psi-Mapper/GB and other quality Psion shareware software. b) a special code that will personalise your copy of Psi-Mapper/GB, and remove the opening and closing shareware screens. No need to re-install the software, just use the registration menu option and type in the code! ******************** IMPORTANT!! ******************************** This text file documents the history of the program, its installation, and some of the more technical aspects to running it. For general help in using and understanding Psi-Mapper/GB, please browse through the *extensive* on-line help. The on-line help is the only documentation of most of Psi-Mapper/GB's features, so work through it properly! 8-) *********************************************************************** Changes for v5.3 (since v5.22) --------------------------------------------------------------- radius circle now plotted much more smoothly; road displays speeded up in 32x and 64x zoomed views; A roads now given thickness in these views; reworked selection display code to more intelligently handle long place names etc; assorted minor bugs fixed, including one where the 'step-through' dialog wasn't cancel-able; annotate function improved by thickening the lines drawn; vector labelling enlarged; pen point selection improved; --------------------------------------------------------------- All rights reserved, and copyrights, including the database files and their format, where appropriate (see listings below). All data sets are original work of the various contributors, collated using information from low resolution free maps, genuine public domain information, data gathered from personally-owned GPS units, club/hobbyist databases, and RAC and AA member information packs. ****Please note**** that the displayed graphics, coastlines, boundaries, railways and road vectors are shown diagrammatically, for ease of understanding. Please especially note Psi-Mapper's low resolution. Everything is at least +/-1km both horizontally and vertically! Using low resolution means (i) that the program data can be built from public domain information (ii) that Psi-Mapper won't conflict or overlap with existing PC-based GIS systems or infringe map copyrights (iii) (most importantly) that quite large areas and amounts of information can be crammed into a palmtop, where a PC version would need megabytes!! Components and Installation. ---------------------------- This full distribution of Psi-Mapper/GB contains the main program and most of the popular overlays. There is also an extra module (usually named "Tow5GB52.zip" or similar) which contains all the town plan schematics. Note that there will also be additional packs of specialist overlays available as and when people ask for them, see the web site for details. Please also note that it may help to disable the Series 5's auto-switch-off facility while installing Psi-Mapper, as otherwise you'll leave PsiWin transferring files while you make a cup of tea, only to come back and find that the S5 has switched off right in the middle of the procedure. If you unzipped Psi-Mapper/GB OK, you should have ended up (depending on the way you did the unzipping) with either: (i) about 70 or so separate files. On the Series 5 disk you wish to install on, make sure viewing of the \System folder is turned on and then go into \System\Apps and make a new folder \MapperGB. Thus you'll now have a folder whose path reads something like \System\Apps\MapperGB. Use PsiWin to COPY all 70 or so files into this new folder. A good way to do this is to highlight all files (by clicking on the first one, then shift-clicking the last one in the list) and then dragging and dropping them all in one go using the RIGHT mouse button. Note that you DON'T want to CONVERT any of these files, they're all already in Series 5 format! (ii) a few text files (including this one) plus a folder called \MapperGB. On the Series 5 disk you wish to install on, make sure viewing of the \System folder is turned on and then go into \System\Apps Drag and drop the \MapperGB folder across into \System\Apps. If all goes well, the \MapperGB folder will appear underneath \Apps, i.e. you'll end up with \System\Apps\MapperGB, containing all the MapperFV program and data files. Note that you DON'T want to CONVERT any of the Psi-Mapper/GB files, they're all already in Series 5 format! If you also grabbed the town plans, make another folder, *within* the \MapperGB folder, called \Plans, i.e. you'll have \System\Apps\MapperGB\Plans. Put all the town plans in this new folder. Thus Psi-Mapper and the overlays etc are in \System\Apps\MapperGB All the town plan files are in \System\Apps\MapperGB\Plans If all went well, you should now have a new Psi-Mapper/GB icon on your Extras bar. --------------------------------- In this distribution are the following files, Contributor information also included where known or appropriate. PLEASE note that NONE of the files below are compatible with the Series 3a/3c versions of Psi-Mapper/GB, despite filenames being similar. This is because of fundamental file format changes in EPOC32 and was unavoidable. (Note the files marked with -* are ESSENTIAL and MUST be included for the program to run at all! All other files are optional and can be omitted to save space) README.TXT - this file! MAPPERGB.AIF - application information file -* MAPPERGB.APP - the main program module -* MAPHELP.DBF - the comprehensive on-line help file -* TOWNS.MP1 - a data-set of approximately 1100 towns and cities, their post and STD codes -* (updated March 1997) COASTLIN.MP2 - a data-set showing the coastline of GB -* (updated by David Brown, November 1996) ROADS.MP2 - a data-set of the GB motorway and most of the primary route network -* (updated March 97) MAPPER.MBM - some icons for use with the overlays, including a default one, and the town plan icons etc. -* Vector overlays (i.e. lines and labels): RIVERS.MP4 - a vector format data-set of rivers (contributed 1996 by Tony Bartels and David Brown) RAILWAYS.MP4 - a vector format data-set of the GB railway network (excluding some local or irregular services) COUNTIES.MP4 - a vector format data-set of the GB county and admin boundaries (contributed by Mark Avey, updated 1996) FERRIES.MP4 - a vector format data-set of the external GB ferry routes TUBEZONE.MP4 - a vector format data-set of the Greater London tube zones - (contributed by Tony Crocker) OSGRID.MP4 - a vector format data-set of the National Grid Squares (contributed by Simon Pooley) Item overlays (i.e. specific points and labels and reference info): JUNCTION.MP3 - Motorway junctions SERVICES.MP3 - Motorway service stations (updated July 96) FORTE.MP3 - Forte hotels (all different kinds) (contributed by Hedley Wright) LITTLECH.MP3 - Little Chef restauarants (updated summer 1996) PIZZAEXP.MP3 - Pizza Express restaurants (contributed by W Croaker) HOLIDAY.MP3 - Holiday Inns TRAVINN.MP3 - Travel Inns (updated June 1996) TRAVELOD.MP3 - Forte Travelodges (updated June 1996) GRANADA.MP3 - Granada Lodges PREMIER.MP3 - Premier Lodges RACECRSE.MP3 - race courses AIRFIELD.MP3 - airfields/airports BBCRADIO.MP3 - BBC local radio stations MRACING.MP3 - motor racing circuits CASTLES.MP3 - castles (contrbuted by Mark Avey) DAYSOUT.MP3 - days out (theme parks, attractions etc) (contributed by Mark Avey, updated November 1996) NATTRUST.MP3 - National Trust Properties (contributed by Pat McMurray) HISTSCOT.MP3 - Historic Scotland sites (contributed by A. Thomson) WOODLAND.MP3 - Woodland Trust sites (submitted by Tim Alton) ENGHER.MP3 - English Heritage sites (submitted by Tim Alton) CADW.MP3 - Welsh heritage sites (submitted by Peter Buxton, 1997) LIFEBOAT.MP3 - Lifeboat stations (submitted by Ian Henry, 1996) EZ_VIEW.MP3 - Easy to get to breathtaking views - (submitted by David Brown) CAMPSITE.MP3 - Selected camp sites (supplied by Hedley Wright) CARAVANC.MP3 - Caravan Club sites (supplied by Hedley Wright) Each of the .MP3 overlays listed has an associated .MBM file of the same name. These are the on-screen icons for overlays. Each of the overlays usually includes reference information for each item (for example, telephone contact numbers), and this can be displayed by turning 'Overlay Reference Fields' On. GPS owners ---------- If you own a GPS unit (Global Positioning Service), you will be able to hook it up to your Psion running Psi-Mapper to provide a moving-map display. See the file GPSNOTES.TXT for more details. Some people have had trouble with Psi-Mapper/GB locking up in GPS mode. Two points: (i) if a lock-up does occur, don't reset your Psion, just kill Psi-Mapper with Control-Esc. (ii) to help us debug the problem, there is now a debugging mode built-into the GPS section. Contact me for the password and then we'll proceed together in ironing out the compatibility problems between Psion and GPS. .MP3 Overlays and their format etc. ----------------------------------- There are three ways to create your own .MP3 overlays, you can choose the method that works best for you: (i) Use the overlay creation menu options to create an overlay and then use the point and shoot method to identify where you want each item icon to appear, together with information for the reference field. This method can obviously be time-consuming if you have a lot of items to enter, but is friendly and easy to use! Note that once you've created an overlay with this method you cannot open it in Psion's DATA application. This is a DATA limitation on the Series 5, unfortunately. Use the supplied utility CustomEd.OPO to edit these special overlays. (ii) If you have a lot of items in your overlay and you know their OS northings and eastings (as numbers from 0 to 1000, so you may have to divide your figures by 10, 100 or 1000...), you can make the MP3 file yourself by preparing (for example) a tab-delimited text file and then importing into DATA. I've supplied a template file (MP3-Temp.) which you can copy and rename as appropriate. The general format is: Standard DATA file, named xxxxxxxx.MP3 in \SYSTEM\APPS\MAPPERGB\ 4 fields: Name (text), Eastings (numeric, 0 to 1000), Northings (numeric, 0 to 1000), Reference Info (text) The first record is a header record and should contain (What the reference fields represent) 0 0 (Blank) The second record and following records contain (Name) (Eastings) (northings) (Reference info) (iii) Use the supplied CustomEd.opo utility to add to and to edit your custom overlay. This is a simple data editor and is still in the prototype stage. You will probably want to create a custom icon as well. In this case, Psi-Mapper/GB needs a 17 by 17 single-plane .MBM file of the same filename as the .MP3 overlay, but with a .MBM extension. There are detailed instructions on how to do this in the on-line Psi-Mapper/GB help database. .MP4 overlays and their format ------------------------------- These vector overlays are non-trivial to create, and are best only tackled if you know what you're doing. For the record, here is a quick summary. Note that you can copy and rename the supplied MP4-Temp. template database as a way of getting started. Then use DATA itself to construct your records. The MP4 format is simply groups of 5 eastings/northings pairs per record. The 1st/last duplicate/line-up. All ferries/railways etc thus are fitted into block of 5 coordinate pairs. The vector *name* is printed if required to the top right of the third coordinate pair, normally, or to the bottom left if you flag this to Psi-Mapper/GB by setting the eastings coordinate of the *first* point in a record to be negative. First field is text format, all the rest are numeric. All numbers are in 1000s of eastings (i.e. 1km resolution). e.g. Record 1: Basingstoke E1:110 N1:234 E2:114 N2:227 E3:118 N3:220 E4:125 N4:210 E5:132 N5:200 Record 2: Basingstoke E1:132 N1:200 etc etc Deleting info from the custom town database ------------------------------------------------------------ Use the supplied CustomEd.opo utility to maintain and prune your list of custom towns. Once in the program, use the Menu functions to make progress. Grabbing the current map screen as a .MBM file --------------------------------------------- You may well want to grab a map screen as a standard Psion .MBM file, for printing or editing using SKETCH or any other Psion bit-map editor. Grabbing the Psion screen is done with pressing 'Control', 'Shift', 'Function' and 'S' simultaneously (it's easier to do than it sounds). _+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_ Thanks for trying Psi-Mapper/GB! If you decide to remove Psi-Mapper/GB from your Psion, please note that it creates several small files in \SYSTEM\APPS\MAPPERGB\ on your default disk, which you may want to remove at some stage. Small print: ------------ 1) Reverse engineering of the program or data modules is strictly forbidden. If you would like to create a complementary program and use my data-sets, then please get in touch with me. 2) To speed up registrations, you can quote your email address for quick return of your registration code, or use the Internet RegNet or Compuserve SWREG scheme. 3) On-line support for Psi-Mapper/GB can be found on the World-Wide-Web at http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/ 4) If you give MAPPER to a friend (as is encouraged with shareware!), then it's always best to give him/her the original ZIP file. If the transfer takes place by Infrared or Compact Flash, then do *not* give your friend your MAPPER.REG registration file, as this is unique to you and contains *your* name, and subsequent piracy will tell the world who started the outbreak! 5) Thanks to all the testers and contributors out there, who have supplied ideas, support, bug-reports, data, code fragments etc. You are too numerous to mention! If *you* find a bug or spot an error etc in any of the overlays, then please get in touch! 6) Note that the Northings/Eastings and National Grid coordinate systems are used with the kind written permission of Ordnance Survey. 7) Note on copyrights etc.: be careful to only make use of publicly available and public domain data sources when compiling any overlays or town/item plans, unless of course you sourced the information (from memory?) in the first place! If you submit an overlay to myself for inclusion in future versions of Psi-Mapper/GB, please state your source(s) of information and their copyright status. 8) Disclaimer: I accept no responsibility for anything happening to you as a result of inaccurate information within Psi-Mapper! I try to keep the overlays up-to-date as possible, but that is as far as my liability goes! 9) Do not use this application while on the move! If you crash your car while looking at your Psion, don't blame me!! Steve Litchfield e-mail addresses: slitchfield@cix.compulink.co.uk slitchfield@ukonline.co.uk 100640.107@compuserve.com