Bushwalk Australia

(Removed "100% free, no ads" from title so it doesn't look so much like spam) - Mod.

Gmap4 is a 100% free enhanced Google Map viewer. Since it runs online there is nothing to download, nothing to install.

Homepage: http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.html

Think it’s spam? Check out our links page and see what people in other forums have to say.

For a quickie tour, click on ‘Examples’ in the menu bar.

Gmap4 lets you:
* View your GPS data
* Create a permanent link that displays your GPS data on the map
* Turn on/off a UTM grid
* Get current magnetic declination
* Search
* Print, and more

But note that the detailed topographic maps only cover the USA and Canada.

The link below shows a map for part of the Blue Mountains area. This is Google’s ‘Terrain’ view with the UTM grid turned on.
http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.p ... &coord=utm

The next update should be out in a couple of months.

Enjoy,
Joseph Elfelt - Gmap4 author

Having investigated, it seems the claims are valid that it is free and there are no ads. Though I am not sure of the benefits to Australian users. My internet is running a bit slow at the moment so I can't really tell for sure.
Anyone want to take a look and see what they think, from an Australian perspective?

Here's a LINK to get you started.

Looks OK. Could be useful when planning trips. I found it quite easy to use and clear.

rucksack

Thank you to the admins for letting me post.
I updated my links page to point to this thread.

Below is an example of people outside of the USA/Canada using Gmap4.
This is a personal website for a couple that lives in the UK. Most of their more recent walks have a map link at the bottom.
http://www.wowzers.webspace.virginmedia.com/index.htm

The Gmap4 maps do not have the distracting sidebar and other stuff that you see on POGM (Plain Old Google Maps).
It is also used to map road rallies in South Africa, ski trips in Norway...

Please note that Gmap4 is only for non-commercial use. Which reminds me - there's this real estate office in Syria using it to show the boundaries of parcels they have for sale. I need to drop them a note.

Joseph

Looks pretty good to me.

As someone who is constantly using coordinate systems, for eg. lat/lon, UTM, even polar stereographic, I've come across Google Earth's limitations. This product seems to remove them, and considering it's browser only... I'm pretty impressed. I liked the "Today's Declination"... very cute. And the right-click menu is useful too.

I'd definitely recommend people to give it a try

I wholeheartedly agree with Dave on this one. It seriously isn't too shabby. However, I'm curious to know if this platform would be able to provide trail routes for both walking and driving? As someone who does their hiking while camping, I like having my flatbed trailer along. Could this site perhaps map out those specifics in the GPS? Thanks, guys! =D

Thanks for the kind words.

Gmap4 can show driving routes, hiking routes, campgrounds, and anything else that someone wants to put into a data file.

Remember, Gmap4 can only read data files that are placed online. I recommend Google Sites for this purpose. It is free, easy and it works. The Gmap4 'Help' file has some tips to get you started with Google Sites. http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4_help.pdf

When I want to make a data file from scratch, I use the super easy 'delimited' file format that Gmap4 can read. Scroll down on the Gmap4 Examples page to see some samples. http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4_examples.html
For more info, please search the Gmap4 Help file on 'delimited'.

At the present time, Gmap4 does not let you simply click the map and build a data file. A 'trip planning' feature like this will be part of a future update. A large portion of that code is already written and debugged. I just need to steal some time from life's other obligations so I can finish the initial version of this feature. This will easily be the most complex feature that I've implemented.

Meanwhile, the next update should come out in September. It includes a feature that flips the map view to Google Earth. You can then 'fly' along your GPS track in 3D. This is great fun and I am wasting waaaaay too much time playing with it.