GeoDis v1.06 ============ Overview ======== GeoDis (Geographical Display) - (c) 1995-97 Rolf Aeschbacher This program draws maps of different countries on the Psion Series 3a/3c. You can move the map around, enlarge or reduce it (zooming) and you can search for and display places. Information such as distance between places, population and elevation of cities etc. can be viewed. GeoDis uses overlays to draw details such as roads, lakes, hotels etc. on the map. You can turn overlays on or off at any time. This program was developed specifically for the Psion Series 3a, with two objectives in mind: low disk and memory usage and fast screen drawing. The first goal was achieved by using compact binary files that are only loaded by the program when required. The second goal, fast drawing speed, is more difficult to achieve, as it is dependent on processor speed. Waiting time can, however, be reduced by interrupting screen-redraws by pressing ESC or any other active key (eg. pressing F interrupts screen drawing and goes straight to the "Find" menu). Note: Files that are contained in the full version only and functions that only the full version has, are marked with [*] below. Installation ============ If you have installed an earlier version of GeoDis you should first delete all files in the directory \APP\GEODIS\ as well as the file \APP\Geodis.opa. Also, remove the application from the system screen. Note: Since version 1.03 GeoDis resides in \APP\GEODIS\ to make it more standard. Since version 1.05 each map has its own directory in \APP\GEODIS\. - in \APP\ Geodis.opa - all common files in \APP\GEODIS\ Geodis.pic Georich.opo Geosupp.opo Geogps.opo (for GPS support, optional) Geomsg.01 (English texts) or Geomsg.03 (German texts) Geohlp.01 (English online help, optional) or Geohlp.03 (German online help, optional) *.ini the initialisation files of the maps you want to install About ini-Files and maps ------------------------ All .ini files may be renamed or copied. Thus if you copy Europa.ini to Europe.ini you can start both and have different views of the same map! In this case I also recommend assigning an application button to GeoDis - this allows you to switch between the views by just pressing a button. Maps can be on any drive. GeoDis checks the drive from which it was started, then the drives M, A and B (in that order) for \APP\GEODIS\Geodis.pic. The drive on which that file is first found must contain the common files Geomsg, Geohlp and the .opo files. GeoDis can be started directly from a remote drive, for example from a DOS disk in the Cyclone drive. Installation Schweiz/Switzerland -------------------------------- see separate file Installation Austria/Oesterreich -------------------------------- see separate file Installation Germany/Deutschland -------------------------------- see separate file Installation US-City -------------------- see separate file Installation USA ---------------- (all states, largest cities) \APP\GEODIS\Usa.ini all other files in \APP\GEODIS\USA\ Border.us County??.us Dist.us1 Ewho.us City1?.us1 (3 files) Default.us3 Mapinf01.us Overlays (optional, extensions us2 and us3): - Lakes the big lakes - States the states - Pun_* the states with Capital Punishment (5 overlays) Installation Europe ------------------- (Europe overview with largest cities, islands) \APP\GEODIS\Europa.ini all other files in \APP\GEODIS\EUROPA\ Border.eu County??.eu City1?.eu1 (3 files) Dist.eu1 Mapinf01.eu Overlays (optional, extensions eu2 and eu3): Country.eu2 Country borders Islands Islands Installation M‚tro ------------------ (Paris subway, all stations) \APP\GEODIS\Metro.ini all other files in \APP\GEODIS\METRO\ Border.me County01.me City??.me1 (6 files) Mapinf01.me Overlays (optional, extensions me2 and me3): Lines1 M‚tro lines Lines2 R.E.R. lines Saine River, islands and city limits Installation France1 -------------------- (all departements with their numbers/names, no cities) \APP\GEODIS\France1.ini all other files in \APP\GEODIS\FRANCE1\ Border.f1 Overlays (optional, extensions f12 and f13): - Departem all departements Installation Canaries --------------------- (overview map of the Canary Islands) \APP\GEODIS\Canaries.ini all other files in \APP\GEODIS\CANARIES\ Border.ci Mapinf01.ci Overlays (optional, extensions ci2 and ci3): Cities Capital cities Islands Names of the islands Longlat Longitude/Latitude grid Peaks Peaks, largest elevation Installation Vector ------------------- (some vector graphics as overlays, of course with Zoom) \APP\GEODIS\Vector.ini all other files in \APP\GEODIS\VECTOR\ Border.ve Overlays (optional, extensions ve2 and ve3): - Columbia Space 'ship' Columbia - Illusion Optical illusion - Krumm Optical illusion - Lissajou Lissajous - Maisha Vector girl - Penrose Optical illusion - Porsche surprisingly, a Porsche - Skull yes, a skull! - Spiral Mega spiral - World Globe Install Geodis.opa with Psion-I. -------------------------------- Files not needed by the program ------------------------------- Geocomp.opo to create overlays [*] Geomanag.opo Manager for GeoDis files [*] Geodis01.txt English documentation (ASCII file) Geodis03.txt German documentation (ASCII file) Geodis01.wrd Doc in Psion WRD format (available on request) Geodis03.wrd Doc in Psion WRD format (available on request) Configuration files ------------------- The files Geodis.??s and Geodis.reg are created automatically in the directory M:\OPD\. The former contains the setup and the latter the registration details. See also the section "Setup" below. Keys ==== + - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7: zoom in/out, select zoom level Arrows: scroll map, Psion-Arrows: scroll map in large steps ESC: stop drawing Space: full redraw Enter: redraw overlays Star *: center again Help key: online help. please read!! TAB: toggle scale ruler Diamond: much/few detail Display (A) =========== To make the program more flexible and to save memory, the maps are subdivided into up to seven regions. Psion-M shows information about the loaded map when the relevant Mapinf file is present. Formulas (A) ============ Only maps with cities: The 'display' dialog has an entry 'Places by formula'. Activate it and you will be able to enter a formula. For the data of each place the formula is computed (using EVAL). If the result gives TRUE that place is drawn on the map. Variable sized marks: --------------------- If you choose "variable" from "Display", GeoDis uses different font sizes dependent on population for the place names. Small italic font means that there is no population data present. 8 different fonts are used. If you choose "outlined box" or "filled box", each place matching the formula is drawn as a box on the map. The size of this box depends on the population and the elevation: the larger the population the wider the box and the larger the elevation the taller the box. The boxes are between 1 to 16 pixels large (inclusive), where 1 pixel wide/tall means that the population/elevation is not known. You can as always press B to turn the text display on/off. Examples for formulas: see online help! --------------------------------------- Diamond key =========== Switch between much and few detail (all cities/large cities). Info about places (I) ===================== The following information about cities is displayed: - Canton, state or country - Elevation (m or ft) - Population (for Switzerland based on the 1990 national census) - Swiss map: Coordinates (national grid), with a precision of 1 km - Swiss, Austria & US-City map: Geographical coordinates (longitude/latitude), calculated from the grid coordinates - Swiss map: Locator; a code which is used for HAM Radio and Packet Radio for worldwide positioning, calculated from the geographical coordinates (example: JN47HM) If it is an item from an overlay you will see the name of the overlay in the title in angle-brackets [...]. Distances (D, T) ================ Psion-D ------- The 'distance as the crow flies' is calculated from the coordinates. Note: Unfortunately the distances calculated for the USA map are not very accurate. Use those figures with care. GeoDis also calculates the bearing which is the direction from one place to the other. Psion-T ------- Many GeoDis maps have distance tables. The program knows the distance on the road between the cities contained in this list. Choose two such cities and press D for distance. Searching (F, L) ================ The search text can be up to 30 characters long. It is case INsensitive by default and 'Umlauts' don't have to be entered. If you enter 'zur' GeoDis finds Zurich, Zurzach etc. GeoDis always searches all parts (three for the Swiss map), whether they are activated or not (see Psion-A, "places", to activate), however the activated parts are searched first. Psion-F ------- F searches for places or for texts in overlays. You can press Psion-Enter after entering a search text to search through all overlays. Psion-L ------- L searches for cities only and presents all cities that have been found in a sorted list. Anchor city (N) =============== You can anchor a place that is already displayed. All further distance calculations will be made from that place. History (G) =========== Places selected during a GeoDis session are stored in their own list, which can be recalled by pressing G. If a place is selected from this list, the program switches to the search function, using the place-name as search text. Overlays (O, P) =============== Overlays can either be points (cities, hotels etc.) or lines (roads, lakes, rivers etc.). The former can be represented by a picture. Psion-O ------- An overlay can be drawn black or grey. For 'point overlays' you can choose to display it as picture or as text (Psion-A). Psion-Enter lets you activate/deactivate all overlays. Psion-P ------- This presents a list of all overlays. Choose one to see its description. Files with the extension .??2 are overlays (the two ? stand for the map code - CH for Switzerland, US for USA etc.). The extension .??3 is used for the appropriate icons. These are standard PIC images, which can easily be changed with a pixel editor. These pictures can be arbitrarily large, but currently the program places them correct on the map only if they are square. Currently a maximum of 28 overlays can be displayed simultaneously (six in the unregistered version). Registered users can create their own overlays. The full version contains the program you need to do that: Geocomp.opo. GPS === If you connect the Psion to a GPS (Global Positioning System) GeoDis will be able to display the current position and direction of movement on the Swiss map. You'll need an NMEA-0183 compatible GPS unit (I have the Garmin GPS 38), a serial cable for the GPS and a serial link for the Psion S3a/3c. Because the Swiss map is based on a 1 kilometer grid the coordinates read from the GPS will be rounded up/down to a hole number of kilometers. Note that GPS support is only available when the file \app\geodis\geogps.opo is found at programstart. First connect the GPS with the Psion, then activate GPS within GeoDis by pressing Psion-Shift-G. Turn on the GPS and activate NMEA output. As long as the GPS has no "fix" GeoDis will display "invalid fix" or "invalid data". Only when GeoDis receives the first valid position the blinking cross will be displayed on the map. Press SPACE to immediately read out the coordinates from the GPS even if the time interval was not over yet. If position or direction has changed since the last readout the display will be changed accordingly. Should the logfile (Gpstemp.*) be in use or read-only NO error will be generated - the data is simply not saved. This is because an error prompt would interrupt the running program. If GeoDis displays the coordinates at the bottom right corner together with "/log" then you can be sure that the data has been saved correctly. If just the course (magnetic heading) changes, no log entry is written. Simulator: Press Psion-Shift-G, then Psion-Enter. This shows how the moving map works without having to connect a GPS to the Psion. Setup ===== The registered version automatically saves your setup when you quit the program (file M:\OPD\Geodis.??s, separate for each map). You can set this file's attribute to 'read only' once you are satisfied with your setup. I personally use Psion-Esc to quit GeoDis - although this means aborting the program you can do no harm to the Psion because GeoDis has only read access to its data. Zoom setting and map position is also saved at program exit. If you cannot see the map after starting the program, try pressing 1 for smallest zoom. If this doesn't help, you can safely delete the relevant settings file (M:\OPD\Geodis.??s) so GeoDis will use default settings when you next start that map. Of course you can also press F and search for a place, this automatically recenters the map. Memory ====== You need max. 100k internal memory to fully use GeoDis with the Swiss map. The other maps run with less memory because they contain fewer cities. Updates ======= 1.02 - the large screen in the S3a emulator is used automatically - keys 1 - 7 jump to a specific zoom - formulas (Psion-A) - extended overlay format 1.03 - several maps - Psion-Enter from the Info dialog can be used to save the coordinates of the current place. Use the module Geocomp.opo to create your own overlays. [*] - language independence because of message files. Currently there are only codes 3 (German) and 1 (English) supported. You can rename these files to default to the other language (rename *.01 to *.03 or reversed). It is also possible to press PSION while starting GeoDis - this swaps the language. - conversions between mi, km, ft, m 1.04 - max. 28 Overlays - enhanced searching (exact match) - Psion-Enter searches in all overlays - Swiss border created again (some Swiss villages were placed in Germany...), Border of Liechtenstein - new maps: France1, Vector - Geosupp.opo is now needed in any case - variable sized marks in the formula menu - Distance table for the USA map - Swiss map: HAM-Radio/Packet Radio Locator 1.05 - Overlays: Firmen (enterprises), Best Western, McDonald's actualised (Swiss map) - new maps: Germany, Europe, M‚tro, Canaries - conversion: m to ft is now calculated correctly - Info about maps: mapinf01.?? files (currently in English only) - display all/no overlays: Psion-O, then Psion-Enter - Bearing info when viewing distance between places - Each map has now its own directory in \APP\GEODIS\. This makes handling of the maps easier and also speeds up file access. - always all city parts all searched, but starting with the activated parts (Psion-A, places) - introduced language specific County files: County.xx files renamed to County??.xx where ?? is currently 01=English and 03=German. GeoDis checks the presence of both files but uses the language which is in the Psion ROM in preference. Holding the Psion key down while GeoDis starts will swap the language. - limitation removed in the unregistered version: diamond key, history, distance table - better display handling, less screen redraws needed when using overlays; use SPACE for a full redraw and ENTER to redraw just overlays - Geomanag.opo: lists files which belong to a map or counts all GeoDis files. Also shows the two letter extension code: city1a.ch1 - CH is the code for the Swiss map. Geomanag can also copy or delete a map. To stop the scrolling display, use Ctrl-S to pause and Ctrl-Q to continue the output. [*] - Zoom setting and map position is also saved at program exit - Formulas (Psion-A): different font sizes dependent on population - Geocomp can not only compile point overlays but now also line overlays [*] 1.06 - Locator is now Psion-Y - Psion-P: number of objects and size of overlay is given in the title - Save coordinates: Psion-Shift-Enter or Psion-Enter; always saved in the internal drive (Geotemp). This allows running GeoDis from a read only disk. - fixed a bug which prevented GeoDis from running from the Cyclone disk drive - Display places and formulas is now Psion-S - can have up to 7 city files (was 3) - changed county file format to include menu texts (Psion-S) - introduced geo_xx.opo files (map specific routines) - city search can be aborted by pressing ESC - Geocomp.opo: new option will allows overlay source files to have the overlay description on the first line of the source - Display routines made faster for cities and for point overlays - GeoDis logo appears only every 10 times (approx.) when the program starts - Place names and overlay texts can be turned on/off independently. Psion-J for place names and Psion-K for overlay texts. Psion-B overrides J/K and always switches between text display on/off. - GPS support: only available when \app\geodis\geogps.opo is found at programstart. - Schweiz: new Overlay Gourmet; Overlay Kantone: cantons in the usual languages, with population; updated overlay Bowling - Germany: Overlays Inseln, Berge, KFZ (car registration), Laender (federal states) with population - Europa: new overlay Country; overlay Islands: added Malta + Elba and capitals/area/country - New Map: US-City. For technical reasons, there is no border with this map at largest scale. - Fixed memory problem with the distance table: when Alloc fails, the heaps are compressed, followed by another Alloc. When this fails, an error message is given. - new map: Austria - Changes to the display routines to make GeoDis more Siena compatible Registration (R) ================ This program is not free. You can try it out for two weeks without obligation. If you like the program, then you must register it after this time, or delete the program. Registration is through payment of a small fee (see below). What are the advantages of registration? ---------------------------------------- You will receive a code which you can enter in the "Register" menu selection (Psion-R). This enables additional features as follows: - the limitation to six overlays disappears - your setup is saved - 100 instead of 20 found places can be viewed in a sorted list With the additional program "Geocomp" you will be able to create your own overlays. You may pass this program over to friends, but only complete and unchanged. However you are NOT allowed to copy the full version which you have paid for. Note that, once registered, there is a file Geodis.reg which you must not copy - it contains your name. Please support the shareware system! Only through your support can it survive. If nobody registers the program, I have no motivation for further development, and I will ask myself whether it would have been better to release it as a commercial product. Cost: ----- Registration costs only CHF 20 or US$ 20 or GBP 15 in cash. The small maps (small in bytes) are fully included with the Shareware version and with the full version of GeoDis: USA, Europa, France1, Metro, Canaries, Vector. The big maps cost one registration fee each. Currently these maps are: - Schweiz (3000 places) - Austria (2400 places) - Germany (1500 places) - US-City (6400 places) For one registration fee there is one of the above maps included. If you pay US$40 you can choose two maps etc. Please notify the name(s) of the map you'd like to register to me when registering. Checks are very expensive to cash with the bank. So if you have to send a check please add 20 % to the amount. You can register online via Compuserve (US$ 22): GO SWREG, then follow the instructions. The registration ID for GeoDis is 6320. In Germany GeoDis is distributed by PSIOlogic. If you credit their account by DM 30 you will be sent the full version and the registration code. PSIOlogic Michael Baas Taunusstrasse 4 D-63589 Linsengericht Tel 06051 470065 Fax 06051 470066 Account 305006 Raiffeisenbank Gelnhausen (BLZ: 507 626 49) Delivery: on a PC DOS disc or for Compuserve members by binary e-mail. Registered users of GeoDis will receive updates free and automatically if the update can be sent by e-mail. If you don't have access to electronic mail I ask you to send a formatted DOS disc and a SAE (self-addressed envelope). If you cannot read ZIP compressed files, please tell me so with your order. You will then be sent a disc with the uncompressed files. Disclaimer ========== GeoDis has been tested as much as possible and all data has been entered carefully. However I cannot guarantee that this program works as expected and that the information presented is correct in any case. The program is provided 'as is', you use it at your own risk. Author ====== Rolf Aeschbacher Bacheggweg 2 CH-8424 Embrach Switzerland E-Mail: 100116.3357@compuserve.com Compuserve: 100116,3357 FidoNet: 2:301/811.26 Homepage: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/aeschbi/ National giro account (PC): 84-51241-4 [End of file]