Qt Mapper is a GPS navigation application, which by default uses map images provided for free by the OpenStreetMap service. For navigation, the application can use the internal GPS device of the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet or any external GPS device supported by the N810. Other features include tracking functionality and displaying points of interest.
The Qt Mapper window contains the following elements:
The menu bar contains all the commands needed to use the features of Qt Mapper.
The map view displays the map. Tracking information, such as track distance, will also be displayed in the map view.
The quick menu can be used to quickly access some commonly used features: zoom the map in and out, enable or disable tracking and add points of interest.
The tool bar contains a subset of the commands used in the application menus, and an icon which indicates whether the GPS is in use.
The map view, which takes up most of the application's display area, is used to display the map. The map images are downloaded automatically when a network connection is available. The downloaded images are saved to disk for faster/offline access.
The Move Tool is the first button on the left in the toolbar. If it is selected, the view can be scrolled by dragging the stylus on the touch screen. If you scroll the view to an area of which there are no saved maps, Qt Mapper will try to download the maps for that area. When downloading is in progress, a download indicator is displayed in the upper right corner of the view. Downloading can be stopped with the red cancel button in the toolbar.
The map view can be zoomed in or out using View > Zoom > Zoom In and View > Zoom > Zoom Out, or by using the plus and minus buttons in the quick menu. If you want to zoom into a specific area, select the button with the magnifying glass in the toolbar, and use the stylus to draw a rectangle around the area.
The current GPS location is indicated by a star in the map view. You can center the view on the GPS location at any time by selecting View > Go to > GPS Location.
If View > Center on location is selected, the view cannot be scrolled manually, and will be automatically centered on the current GPS location. This can also be activated from the button with the padlock image in the toolbar
The map view can be centered on a specific coordinates by selecting View > Go to > Lat/Lon. Enter the latitude and longitude of the location, press OK and the map view will center on that location.
If you have saved some points of interest, selecting View > Go to > Nearest POI will center the map view on the point of interest nearest to your location. If valid location information is not available, nothing happens.
You may also search locations with an address. Select View > Go to > Adress, or click the blue arrow button on the toolbar. A dialog will appear where you may enter the country, city and/or street name by which to search the desired location. A progress indicator is displayed in the upper right corner of the view when the search in in progress. If the search is succesful, the view will be centered on the found location, and if not, an error message is diplayed. Please note that this functionality requires a network connection.
The quick menu, which is displayed by default, can be hidden from view by selecting View > Show Quick Menu.
Selecting View > Show coordinates will display a coordinate box in the mapview. Touch the map with the stylus and the coordinate box will display that point's longitude and latitude.
Selecting View > Show Speed displays a small speed display in the upper right corner of the mapview. This will display your current travelling speed received from the GPS device.
Map images can be downloaded manually by selecting Maps > Download Maps. A dialog will appear, where you can either input the latitude/longitude values of the area for which you need maps, or you can press Select Area, which lets you select the area by dragging on the map with the stylus. Select the desired zoomlevel and click the Ok button. The program will then determine how many map images must be downloaded and asks for confirmation. Please note that this procedure might take a while.
The tracking functionality allows you to view and save the path you have travelled. The application will draw a line along the travelled path and display the distance travelled.
To enable tracking, select Track > Enable, or press the tracking button with the red circle on the quick menu. The application will start saving your location at set intervals. When you no longer want to track your progress, deselect View > Enable, or press the quick menu button again. The track will be displayed until it is cleared.
To save the track, select Track > Save and enter a file name in the following dialog.
To remove the track from view, select Track > Clear. Note that if you haven't saved the track first, it will be lost.
To open a saved track, select Track > Open. This will load the information of a previously saved track.
By selecting Directions > Get directions from the menu, you can download route information from the internet.
Write the starting address and the destination address to the dialog that appears, and click the Ok button. Progress indicator will be displayed in the upper right corner of the view during the search. If route information matching your search is found, the map will focus to the beginning of the route, and the route will be drawn on the map. Driving directions relating to your current position will be shown in the lower part of the mapview. If an error occurs during the search, a dialog describing the error will appear.
When you no longer need the route information, select Directions > Clear route from the menu to remove the route from the view.
Points of interest (POI) are locations on the map, which may be useful or interesting, such as restaurants, service stations etc. Qt Mapper allows you to save your own POIs, import and export POIs from and to a file, download POIs from the internet, and sound an alarm when there are nearby POIs.
To show or hide POIs, select View > POIs, or the button with the lightbulb image on the toolbar. This will draw a lightbulb image at each POI's location in the view area. To display information about a POI, tap the lightbulb with the stylus and a description will pop up. Tap the lightbulb again to hide the description.
To view saved POIs, select POI > Browse. You will be given three options:
After selecting one of the options, a dialog with a list of POIs will be shown. In the list dialog, there are several options:
Existing POIs can be imported from a file by selecting POI > Import. The POI information in the file must be in GPX format.
Each POI can be assigned into a category. The existing categories can be viewed by selecting POI > Categories. A dialog with a list of POI categories will appear, where you have the following options:
If you wish to download POIs from the internet, select POI > Download from the menu. A dialog will appear where you can write keywords for the search. Click Download and the program will search for POIs matching you keywords. A progress indicator will be displayed in the upper right corner of the mapview during the search. Once the search is complete, a dialog with results will appear, or in case of an error, an error message.
Qt Mapper can alert you when a POI is near. Select POI > Alarm On, and an alarm sound will be played when there are POIs within a specified distance from your location.
Qt Mapper's preferences can be set by selecting Settings > Preferences. The Preferences dialog contains the following categories:
General
POI alarm
Track
Show advanced options checkbox. Selecting this checkbox will display some additional options for the program.