gps and filemaker

[hartmut]

Hello

I have a situation where I would like to make a kiosk with a map that is interactive of an amusement park. All the places I want to find in the map have gps coordinates. They are in a filemaker database. I was wondering if anyone knows how I might automate the placing of a "star" for depicting the location on the little map in filemaker. I realize this technology might exist for a web page that filemaker might address. I am just stuck and one of you might be able to help me. I have about 300 coordinates on this map. The gps is important so others may use the coordinates but I can't think of a way to automate my process of showing where that is on a map I have made. Do I have to know the boundary coordinates? I am not sure. But your feedback is especially important to me. Thanks Dave

[Razumovsky]

Hi Dave,

Interesting problem. I would think that there are better apps to do this in, but one way you could mock this up in FM8 is to put a text calculation field over the map, set to not allow entry and to be transparent.

1). You will need your boundary coordinates (but if you have a single gps point on the map and a scale, you can work these out) and then put them in decimal format in the following number fields that you create:

LeftLat

RightLat

TopLong

BottomLong

Then a global field "gSpace" that you would enter 50 values of 100 spaces.

Your Place coordinates in two number fields:

Lat

Long

And finally, your textcalc "XMarksTheSpot" (unstored; text)

Let([

xscale=100/(rightlat-leftlat);

yscale=50/(toplong-bottomlong);

xmark=Round((Lat-leftlat)*xScale; 0);

ymark=Round((toplong-Long)*yScale; 0)];

Replace ( gSpace ; xmark + (101 * ymark) ; 1; "X"

)

You need to format XMarksTheSpot on the layout to be a monospaced font, and it will produce an X in the field over a 100 character (x axis) by 50 character (y axis) grid. You could adjust the size by increasing/decreasing the field font size, as well as altering the resolution in the xscale and yscale variables (and adjusting gSpace accordingly). You could also use a special font that would return a star instead of an x.

Keep in mind that the formula needs to be adjusted depending on what side of the prime meridian and equator you are on. I believe this one is good for north of the equator and east of the prime meridian.

Hope that helps get you started.

-Raz

Edited May 26, 2006 by Guest

[Razumovsky]

Just saw a thread that has links to a bunch of apps that can work with fm and do this for you in a much more sophisticated manner, I would believe.

Have a look here.