Trailguru:Route Editing

From Trailguru

There are three main methods for editing a route: 1) editing the descriptive WikiText for the page, 2) rearranging, reversing, or removing current items from the route, and 3) using the map to select and add trail segments.

Editing a Route’s Text

Editing the descriptive wiki text for a Route is done in the same manner as any Wiki page -- you can just press the edit tab at the top of the page and edit away like any wiki page. However, the Route namespace (similar to the trail Segment namespace) is special in that it automatically brings in the route overview, map, and elevation graph for this route in addition to the descriptive text.

Editing a Route’s Components

The route overview, in addition to showing the details for the route, also allows you to edit the order and composition of the route.

The up and down arrows are fairly self-explanatory – they allow you to move a particular segment, route, or waypoint up or down in the route sequence.

The third icon to the right allows you to reverse the current element. All trail segments have a start and finish location chosen by the first track that establishes the trail. This enables Trailguru to store separate statistics for when someone does this trail segment starting at the start and going to the finish and from the finish and goes to the start, since the timing for these two directions might be very different if one direction is uphill and one is downhill. When you add segments from Google Earth, the map, or from a trail segment page, these segments are always added to the Route in the direction the connects them, if possible, to the previous trail segment or route and in the forward direction if not. This might not be correct if the previous route entry doesn’t have a connection and Trailguru doesn’t guess the correct direction for the trail segment. In this case, you can use the reverse button so that the segment matches correctly. To help you with this, the “Connection” column tells you if the current trail segment is connected with the next one (and if not, how big the gap is).

The final icon is pretty self explanatory as well – it deletes that entry and moves all entries up a notch that are below it.

Adding components from Google Earth, Google Maps, segment/route pages

Adding a trail segment to a route from Google Maps

The main method for adding trail segments is visually using Google Earth or Google Maps. To add a trail segment from a route map, locate the small blue earth that is next to each trail segment on the map, and click it to bring up the Trail Segment summary “balloon text” and the link to add it to the route as shown highlighted in the picture here.

It works the same in Google Earth but with one twist –- because you are not on a route page, you need to set a current route so that Trailguru knows where to add the trail segment. To set a current route, navigate to the route you are working on in your web browser and then click on “Make this my current route.” With this completed, you can then add trail segments from Google Earth in the same manner – click on the trail segment and then “Add to current route”.

Having a current route set also enables you to add Trail Segments and Routes to your current route from their respective wiki pages. Just navigate to them and click “Add to Current Route.”

Adding waypoints

The final element that you can add to a route is a waypoint. Waypoints are fixed positions on the map that are used for navigation and are typically used when no existing trail segments or routes exist over the existing path. To add a waypoint to a route, click the "Add Waypoint to Route" button on the bottom right hand corner of the map. This will add a marker to the center of the route map, which you can drag around to position exactly.

When you are creating a route over a street map, Trailguru will try to pull down routing between the last route component and this waypoint. If it can find a route, it will automatically draw this route it found on the map.

If there are multiple paths to the waypoint from the last route component, it will choose the quickest route -- but sometimes this is not what you want -- in this case, move the waypoint closer to the last route component in order to force it over the route you would like.

More Information about Routes