MapFactor Forum

mdx

There are many users complaining to limited capability of Navigator search engine. As I mentioned in several posts, MapFactor is using administrative areas as primary source. Unfortunately this info is missing (or the geometry is not valid) for many countries/cities in the OpenStreetMaps data. The cities/villages are mostly described only by tag place, which is only a point.

Up to now we used artificial assignment of named streets to nearest place, but it is causing various problems like you see only streets in the center of the town etc. Moreover this artificial assignment is not desired in countries like Slovakia where administrative areas are already completed ...

Here is experimental version for Android:
   http://download.mapfactor.com/mapfactor_navigator_0_14_x.apk
where at the end of list of streets you get option with 5km, 10km and 20km radii options. The algorithm is trying to combine distance with the entered key. It is not perfect, but maybe it is a better workaround for missing administrative areas then current static artificial assignment to nearest place. Let me know, what do you think about it ...

thanks
   Martin

tomas

search/poi/by address and name/country(uk in my case)/any/any/ type pizza

Oldie

Do I have to uninstall the existing installation first or can I install 'over' the existing installation?

Can I use installed maps oder do I have to reinstall maps as well?

tomas

just install over existing one, no need to install maps

cyunczykg

Works great.
One little improvement request -> partial searching phrase should be not cleared from searching text frame when you "press search surroundings to..." button.

crocodilefarm

Will this version be available for WinCE in the near future?

mdx

Here is experimental build for PND (WinCE):
http://download.mapfactor.com/pnd_app_0_14_x.rar

tvo

I have now tried the new searching system, and it is a big step in the right direction. It is now possible to find a street, even if there is something wrong with the city area in the OSM. Of course you can now get more streets with the same name to choose among, so it would be even better, if you could see the distance from the center of the used city to the different streets on the street list.

There is one problem. When you have searched one time with the new distance search, and you want to search for one more street in the same city again using the distance search, the first street name will be shown in the searching text frame, after you have written the new street name and then choose one of the 3 distances.

mdx

Thanks for comments - as you can see the radius search is not well integrated :(. In particular if you select say 5km radius on Street selection page, you want to transfer the already entered letters, so that you do need to write it twice. On the other hand you get problem as described by tvo (if I understand it correctly). Also if you change radius on the second page it creates a bit confusing "search history" - we will probably remove radius options on the second page so you will have to go back and change the radius there.

Oldie

A great enhancement!

mdx

I just uploaded new version (0.14.15, the same download link http://download.mapfactor.com/mapfactor_navigator_0_14_x.apk)
- there is only one page where you can select radius, if you want to change it you have to select back
- distance info is added and streets are sorted by distance
- unresolved is issues with pre-typed search key, when you go from normal search to search in nearby area

kopco

I want to ask if can you add search in POI by Name.
If I want to go to pizza restaurant so probably this restaurant have in the name word Pizza and not something like Asian or fish.

tomas

this type of search already exists

kopco

and can you say how to get to this option?
btw. at Android version

kopco

hmm, it's but to this i need to write address and others things
It will better to find about actual GPS position :-P

tomas

you do not need to write address, just select ANY

kopco

ok, done
but still it don't show distance from actual GPS position
for example:
I'm in one village in Germany, where is only one restaurant and I want pizza.
So I choose Germany, click to any, any and write pizza
If I click to first one so it show me one at 500 km from me. So click to second and it was 200 km. Next one was 250km, next one 550km.
If you add something as around GPS position with choose maximal distance (for example 10, 50km or wrote by user) so I can find it faster.
If I'm in zone, which I don't know, so it's hard to find anything, if I'm not connecting to internet.
Now you understand my problem?
It's only idea to future, next example.
I go from one point to second point. I want to eat Doner during the traveling.
So I choose not around actual GPS position by during the way, that I don't need go so far from my way to eat this.

tomas

I see what you mean now, you want to search when finding nearest
I will pass it on

tvo

Hi Martin

I have installed the new version 0.14.15, and it is very good that you have made the street sorting and added the distance. In my opinion it would now be ok to remove the radius 5km and 10km and only keep the radius 20km because you will now know the distance in the correct order, and it will be even more easy to use. But let the user still know that the radius is 20km.

mdx

@tvo - interesting, I did not realize that. If there will be only one button then we could directly search in the radius (OTOH it could slow down the original search), i.e. you would have first streets found by the area and then by list defined by the nearest search.

tvo

Yes I think it could be ok to go directly to the 20km search, but then there are one problem I think must be solved. When there are more than one road with the name, you are searching for in the 20km aria, the program, as it is now, only comes with the first road and distance and when you press on that, all the roads with the name will be shown, but not distance sorted and not with distance shown. I think the best would be, that all the roads are shown in the first page, distance sorted and with distance shown.

mdx

OK - this is something version 0.14.16 should do (add distance info to streets with the same name, split by details info), but there were two other problems so we did not upload it. Hopefully more tomorrow.
thanks
Martin

mdx

Hi tvo & others,
the download link now points to version 0.14.17, both standard search + find nearest are on the same page. There is no duplicity checking between these two outputs - first part is sorted by name and does not contain distance info, the second part is sorted by distance.
Let me know, what do you think about it & if it is still working for you
thanks
Martin
p.s. the fixed 20km radius may cause some problems. If the same street name is also in nearby cities you have to be careful to select the proper one. If admin info is the same for both they are currently merged.

tvo

Yes it is working for me, but if the road is located in the city you searching in the street name are shown 2 times, one with information and one with distance and that is not logical.

I think the right way to do it could be so. If the street you are searching for is located in the chosen city, then the street name and information should be shown (as it was in the earlier versions), and if it is located outside the city but inside radius 20km the page 2 automatically comes up with one or more street names (distance sorted) and with distance.

I think it would be a help for the user to understand what happens if there on the top of page 2 always was printed “Inside 20km from city center” or so.

In this way you can search in the same way as you always have done, but if the street is not found, you will automatically get help to find it.

Oldie

Will an automatic update from Google play replace the experimental version?

Oldie

14.17 is only crashing, when asking to show the found street (i.e. Dölzschener Straße in Dresden) on map. Unfortunately I am now back on 0.13.x with old search and its limitations (from Google Play).

tomas

it did not crash for me, do you have the latest map data?

Oldie

Yes for the maps I was searching in. That were Germany South and East.

mdx

there could be problem with search history - maybe just delete or rename /sdcard/navigator/search_history
thanks
Martin
p.s. there was also a bug in the latest text placing - I will rather create new version with fix

Oldie

I am back on 14.17. and after deletion of the directory search-history everything works fine again.

mdx

Hi, I just wanted to let you know that link changed to 0.14.20 - the search results are with details and split based on details info (if available). Let me know, if speed is still acceptable (look up the details takes some time).
thanks
Martin

tvo

Hi Martin. When using 0.14.20 on my SE Experia mini, the searching speed is still ok for me. I can see that more roads with the same name are found now than in the 0.14.15 version because all the side roads (service roads) also are found, and therefore it is now possible to find the house numbers for the houses on these side roads, which not always was possible before, of course it is not so easy to find these numbers that way, but it is possible and that is good. Thanks.

mdx

Hi tvo, thanks for your test & comments - I changed link now to 0.14.21. I removed binding to center of settlement, which is artificially created as link to the nearest place in OSM data. This way it is clear new if street is in administrative area (missing distance info) or searched in 20km area. If this would be OK we could remove some data from MCA files and thus make them smaller.
thank you
Martin

Oldie

14.21 works fine here (Xperia Active on ICS). I checked it for "Dölzschener Straße" for "Dresden". There are two of them inside and one just outside the city boundaries. Well done! A search option with zip code would be even more complete ...

tvo

Hi Martin, Thank you for the 0.14.21 which is running well for me. For some roads it still can be a little bit difficult to find a house number. Please try as an example to search [Denmark- Vonsild – Vonsildvej – 193], which I think explain it. It is only one example among many I have found. I don´t know if it is possible to change it so, that the “printing area” chances to a “house number searching area” after the 20km searching is ended, and when the house number is found the color for the name for road(s) with the searched house number changes, so you directly can select the right road part. If that is possible and you implement it, I think you have made very great searching system despite the OSM – map is mapped I many strange ways. I don´t hope, that all my suggestions irritate you.

mdx

Hi Oldie and tvo,
thanks for comments and examples - at the moment I can think only about calling "merger" on all streets with the same detail description (it is used in normal search if there are more streets of the same name "..."). I can see that "Dölzschener Straße,Cotta" is there twice, while all the "tree of streets" Vonsildvej should be merged into one (or more?).
thanks
Martin
p.s. you do not irritate me :-) ... I am glad I get fast & useful feedback from you so I can still do something before release

tvo

Hi again Martin. Yes I think it could help a lot, if you can merge the most of the roads and let the roads with same name names but with different detail description stay as “single lines”. Then you can still find all the streets and house numbers, but I think the amount of lines will be reduced very much. I am looking forward to try it if you decide to change it in this way.

kkw

Hi Martin,

I'm new to the forum. I have tried a few GPS apps and this is the one I'm going to keep. I have tried 0.14.21 which is much improved from 0.13.x in terms of search capability. I found some bugs in my area map when performing the search Country=Canada City=Ottawa. If I enter the first letter or number h, t, 1, 4, or 6 to Street, my phone (4.2) will be stuck and my tablet (4.0.4) will quit. For Country=Canada City=Gatineau Street=4 it has the same issue.

From what I read above, it seems that the radial distance is set to 20km. In our Agglomerated Ottawa it is composed of suburbs. 20km does not cover the whole "Ottawa" area. There are other bigger cities such as Toronto. Would you consider expanding the radial distance or provide user options with different radial distance?

Please keep up the great work.

UKurtz

Just installed 0_14_x.apk. (14.21)
Wow!
Now search is great!
Tested search for street names in St.Petersburg, Russia. Works fine!
Best GPS software ever!

bpn

Works great!
Thank your so much.

How do i adjust the radius?

thx and rgrds

bpn

tvo

Hi Martin. I have found what I will call “a little bug” in 0.14.21. As an example please try searching (Denmark – Vinderup – Vesterled - (select) Vesterled Struer kommune, 12km – Any- Any). In the blue area on the page where you can choose “Navigate”, “Set as departure” and so on, there is written “Vesterled Vinderup, Holstebro kommune, Denmark”, but I think the right text is “Vesterled Struer kommune, Denmark” (the road you selected by the searching).

mdx

I just uploaded version 0.14.25 - the search is very similar to 0.14.21 with some bug fixes, handling white screen problems and new detour feature. Now I will try to do revision of tvo in Denmark
thanks
Martin
@bpn - at the moment the radius is fixed and set to 20km

cyunczykg

I've got strange problem with 14.25 - app keeps poping on status bar to get back to navigation.
At fist i thought that I've didn't closed it using exit button, but this popup on status bar appeared 6 times or more during last two days.
On 14.21 was ok.

tomas

thanks, we know about this, hopefully it will be fixed today

mdx

I just uploaded 0.14.30 (the APK link is the same). There are two major fixes:
1) restart described by cyunczykg should be fixed
2) thanks to Kim (kkw) we found the reason for crashes in Canada (it was only in English and it was caused by translation of only a part of street like http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/way/76726980

bpn

Hi,

how do I adjust the radius?

Thanks and Regards

Bpn

bpn

Sorry,

i just now found your answer.

Thanks and Regards

bpn

tomas

at this moment radius is fixed

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