I just discovered how to fetch a KML from saved Google Maps[1], and I was wondering if anyone knew how to import KML (or any other file format) into Ovi Maps. I would *love* to be able to keep a local copy of Google Maps that my friends, and conferences, send to me. Especially handy when I am traveling, and don't have an always-on data connection.
[1] Click "View in Google Earth", that gives you a KML file. Download and load the URL contained in it, and it includes the description, type and gps coordinates for each location.
Nokia has not published APIs or file formats for importing KML or any other file format data into Ovi Maps.
But you can always download the maps of your choice and use them with ovi maps even if you are offline or in a area without signal😉 lol
TheSpecialBoy wrote:But you can always download the maps of your choice and use them with ovi maps even if you are offline or in a area without signal😉 lol
Yes, but the point is to fill in those maps with the interesting POI from a 3rd party source. Having the waypoints in my preferred mapping software would be a huge win.
Currently, I simply update my offline maps immediately before I head to the conference, and possibly hand-port a couple interesting locations (my hotel, the conference center, official locations, etc). But when they include 35 restaurants in the area (including brief reviews and descriptions) in a 6 block radius alone, that becomes very time consuming.
phessler wrote:Yes, but the point is to fill in those maps with the interesting POI from a 3rd party source. Having the waypoints in my preferred mapping software would be a huge win.Currently, I simply update my offline maps immediately before I head to the conference, and possibly hand-port a couple interesting locations (my hotel, the conference center, official locations, etc). But when they include 35 restaurants in the area (including brief reviews and descriptions) in a 6 block radius alone, that becomes very time consuming.
you could always switch to Android. but then you wouldn't be able to import stuff from your friends who have Nokia...
oh, if only all the OS hawkers and hardware gurus could just sit down a big round table and duke out their differences, we'd all have the same perfect mobile phone...
just give me damn maps of places I actually want to go!
grr .. or let me import my own from "other" sources.
to quote TG "how hard can that be?"
torrentblock wrote:you could always switch to Android. but then you wouldn't be able to import stuff from your friends who have Nokia...oh, if only all the OS hawkers and hardware gurus could just sit down a big round table and duke out their differences, we'd all have the same perfect mobile phone...
Heh. Yea, I've thought about switching to Android, but they don't have offline maps. The most recent version of Google Maps on those devices will cache things for a long time, but that is still annoying.
Symbian is good enough for me, this is mostly a wishlist item. I can easily live without it, but I would certainly have a better life with it 😉.
seki wrote:just give me damn maps of places I actually want to go!grr .. or let me import my own from "other" sources.
to quote TG "how hard can that be?"
The file format of KML is super easy, just a little bit of (sane) XML. The main problem is importing the external file format. But, hopefully someone on the Maps team will implement this.
<Placemark>
<name>Singing Manhole Cover</name>
<description><![CDATA[<div dir="ltr">someone snuck a radio into a manhole cover in the street here. It plays 24/7 year round.</div>]]></description>
<styleUrl>#style11</styleUrl>
<Point>
<coordinates>9.740323,52.375751,0.000000</coordinates>
</Point>
</Placemark>
seki wrote:just give me damn maps of places I actually want to go!grr .. or let me import my own from "other" sources.
to quote TG "how hard can that be?"
This is a good point.
Just imagine when browsing contacts -- a simple feature- add this contact adress to my Ovi Maps Favourites points.
Or when brwosing Ovi Maps to enable view of contact adresses like pins of Points of Interests.
And the feature could go on and on- like import my favourite adresses...
TheSpecialBoy wrote:This is a good point.Just imagine when browsing contacts -- a simple feature- add this contact adress to my Ovi Maps Favourites points.
Or when brwosing Ovi Maps to enable view of contact adresses like pins of Points of Interests.
And the feature could go on and on- like import my favourite adresses...
Contacts > Select a contact that contains a full address > Find on map > Go > Long press on map location > Save
The location is now saved in Favourites and shows as a starred item on the map.
Hope this helps. 😃
ironass wrote:Contacts > Select a contact that contains a full address > Find on map > Go > Long press on map location > SaveThe location is now saved in Favourites and shows as a starred item on the map.
Hope this helps. 😃
BOOM! great for setting way points as well if you're touring a new town. worked a treat for me in Belgium the other day.
Don't forget that the maps.ovi.com site will also sync your favourites with your phone if you sign in. I've used this to put POIs onto my wife's phone while she was using it to navigate around London on foot (and I was at home looking after the kids).