Set different icons and colors in favorites

[jcz7021]

Hello,

I know that we can assign a custom color for a group of favorites but would it be possible to specify a custom color for a favorite itself ?

The idea, is that when planning a motorcycle ride, I like to add to the gpx : some speed cameras, some shops, fuel stations along my track. So I import the gpx two times : one time for the navigation and another time to a dedicated group of favorite which i activate before starting the ride. But they have all the same color when displayed in panels.

And the icing on the cake would be to be able to define a custom icon like the ones present in offline pois 👍

[devemux86]

@jcz7021 Thanks for the suggestion.

It could be possible, although it complicates things.

Different favorite types usually belong to different groups and different gpx files.
Each group stores different favorite types with its own icon and color.

Routes can be stored in multiple formats, gpx is one of them,
json is more advanced as it can store easily much more information.

So you can import and store your favorites in my collection in different groups
and then decide which group participates in navigation.

[devemux86]

Gpx is a file format to transfer data, i.e. waypoints and tracks.

Why is it in the discussion of an app interface and its functions?

@jcz7021 Perhaps you can describe with examples your use case?

[devemux86]

@jcz7021 Also please see this discussion:

• Remember GPX waypoint overlays in import route #46 (comment)

I asked for opinions, but no one seemed interested.

[jcz7021]

My use case is the following:

I'm planning with QMapShack in this order :

• Creating the track
• Activating POI collections and adding needed poi along the track to my gpx

• Adding some speed cameras (grabbed from https://lufop.net/en/download-speed-camera-free/ in csv format and converted to a gpx with custom script) to my gpx

So at the end I've a gpx with :

• Track
• Fuel stations waypoints
• Speed camera waypoints

So you can import and store your favorites in my collection in different groups
and then decide which group participates in navigation.

Yes but for my use case I'm using favorites as a workaround to have my waypoints from the gpx.

@jcz7021 Also please see this discussion:

#46 (comment)

I'll be ok with your proposition of

Import route from GPX
We could import wpt as favorites, so they can be permanent (like track overlays).
(with a new option in import screen)

In the meantime, overriding a favorite item inside a group of favorites with custom color will be acceptable 😊

[devemux86]

@jcz7021 Thanks for the extra details.

So at the end I've a gpx with :

• Track
• Fuel stations waypoints
• Speed camera waypoints

Can you post a gpx file with waypoints and track to see its structure?

For example, how are these different waypoints (fuel and cameras) identified in the gpx?

[jcz7021]

Here is the gpx file:

20250330.txt

As you will see, they are just simple waypoints; no differences between speed camera or fuel station, they have the
<sym></sym> element with a value set by qmapshack that I choose when adding to the gpx.

So if I when I create a dedicated (for the current navigation) favorites group with all these waypoints and could set a color or an icon (manually after import) by myself to each favorites items, it will be more useful instead of seing the default icon (orange white star).

[devemux86]

@jcz7021 Thanks for the gpx.

Looking at it, it appears that the waypoints have no specific identification?
For example, the radars only have a name, etc.

[devemux86]

Current implementation assumes that we create different groups with specific icons / colors
and then add / import favorites in them.

@jcz7021 What you mean is that we have a gpx with a collection of all types of waypoints,
we import all of them in 1 group and then we want to set different icon / color on each favorite in the group.

[jcz7021]

@jcz7021 What you mean is that we have a gpx with a collection of all types of waypoints,
we import all of them in 1 group and then we want to set different icon / color on each favorite in the group.

Exactly 🙏

[devemux86]

Option to set different icons and colors in favorites will be available in next Cruiser.

• Image 1: a group of favorites with different icons and colors
• Image 2: the map menu of a favorite
• There will be a "Reset" option in groups and favorites to reset their appearance

[WolfgangZ42]

Sorry, off the top of my head I miss Select on map especially with these options:

The reason is that we use favorites as starting points for route sections (as meeting points) and pass this on to fellow riders.

But to redesign the whole thing, perhaps the following considerations:

• In my opinion, a favorite is primarily chosen as start or end or to extend a route, so the first points are absolutely correct (I'm not sure about Round Trip).
• Often a favorite is also shared with others, be it via export to .gpx, as coordinates or as PlusCode.
• However, the creation of a favorite usually only takes place once, so these points could be created in a subordinate panel.

My preferred panel structure would therefore look like this:

primary:

Set end
Extend route (end)
Set start
Extend route (start)
Export as gpx file
Share coordinates
Share plus code
Change group
Delete
Customization (->second panel)

secondary:

Move
Edit
Icon
Color
Reset

[jcz7021]

Option to set different icons and colors in favorites will be available in next Cruiser.

• Image 1: a group of favorites with different icons and colors
• Image 2: the map menu of a favorite
• There will be a "Reset" option in groups and favorites to reset their appearance

Great thanks for this, wonderull 👍

[devemux86]

@WolfgangZ42 Thanks for the suggestions.

• "Export", "Share", "Coordinates", "Plus code" can be added in favorites menu when long press on map.

• "Coordinates" and "Plus code" can also be added in favorites menu in my collection.

  • "Export", "Share" already exist there.

[devemux86]

The zoom level option will be removed from the "Show on map" action, as it is causing technical issues.

The visibility of all such map elements will be an on/off switch from now on.

[MotoUKRider]

I'm now making use of this nice new feature - having used a series (7, normally) of GPX files appearing as different Groups (Food, Fuel, Photo etc) within Cruiser. The single-group (but each allowing different colors/icons) means that turning on/off the whole set is now much easier. "Grouping" them for tidyness (Map/Settings/Appearance) is also helpful.

I've mentioned the "trick" I use before, but will repeat it here to show that anything's possible if you put your mind to it!

Garmin BaseCamp is used to plan my routes. For over a year, I have relied on my own maps, compiled off Geofabrik and custom PolyFiles where I need overlaps (ie: France into Belgium into Germany) for a tour. My Waypoints have all been named quite strictly, mainly for the purpose of a logical order - So I have Fuel, BP , Food, Cafe and Photo, Nice Place.

I then "select all" (~1100) items in BaseCamp, exporting them to a single GPX file which is picked-up by my own Windoze application which, in turn, spits out 7 Grouped GPX files based on the points' name prefix: Bike, Camp, Food, Fuel, Hotel, Port etc, ZIP'ing them up into a single file and Cruiser App ingests them perfectly.

Now, with the single GPX, I have the same visual look on Cruiser's map, but just a single Group in "Favorites", colors+icons as needed. The new "single GPX" method allows for a default color+icon but can be overridden if an entry matches a "trigger keyword" in my application.

Left: Cruiser with some Favorites ... Right: Original BaseCamp view on Desktop

The Windoze app has the colors+icons "hard-coded" and I've adopted a near as possible match to the internal icons between BaseCamp/Cruiser. It works very well and allows me to see how many good photo stops are nearby rather than seeing a lot of 🟠 blobs 🤡

[devemux86]

@MotoUKRider Very nice process, thanks for sharing all the details!

[devemux86]

• Available in Cruiser 5.5.2 #820