editing .kmz or .tpo tracks?

[stripperguy]

So I have many tracks saved on (in?) my NatGeo Topo program.
I also have the same tracks saved in Google Earth. I prefer the Google Earth tracks, mostly for the speed, time and elevation profiles. These are mostly paddling trips and the above info helps me synchronize with my photos and fuzzy memory.

But here's the rub.
Many of my saved tracks have miles and miles of leapfrogged points.
If I forget to clear off the previous tracks, I end up with a saved track that starts from home or some other seemingly random start point.
So when I try to zoom in on a particular profile section of a track, I'm saddled with 100 miles of nothing, and my actual track comprises the last 5% of the track.

Is there an elegant way to edit these tracks in the software? Editing or saving partial tracks is extremely cumbersome (for me, anyway) in my Garmin 60CSx.

[Trail Boss]

You can use GPS Track Editor to modify GPX files.

http://www.gpstrackeditor.com/

You can use http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/ to convert from one file format to another.

[Wldrns]

GPSBabel for Mac is my workhorse for converting Google Earth (or anything else) to anything else. I use it to convert paths and waypoints I create in GE to excel .csv files to work the waypoints with distances and name them to feed back as routes into my GPS for the Yukon River races.
https://www.gpsbabel.org

[stripperguy]

Thank you, gentlemen,
I can now edit my converted to gpx tracks and eliminate the connecting segments.

[stripperguy]

OK,
So I can edit my converted to gpx files, and upload them to Google Earth,

BUT,

the time slider on my GE won't advance beyond Oct, 2016, even though my GE version is dated 1-1-2017!!

Should I just download another version of GE???

[Trail Boss]

If you're referring to the time slider displayed in the upper left of the screen, it represents the date and time of the displayed track.

Here's an example of a track I recorded earlier this month and the time slider shows April 2017.

[Wldrns]

Originally Posted by stripperguy

But here's the rub.
Many of my saved tracks have miles and miles of leapfrogged points.
If I forget to clear off the previous tracks, I end up with a saved track that starts from home or some other seemingly random start point.
So when I try to zoom in on a particular profile section of a track, I'm saddled with 100 miles of nothing, and my actual track comprises the last 5% of the track.

Is there an elegant way to edit these tracks in the software? Editing or saving partial tracks is extremely cumbersome (for me, anyway) in my Garmin 60CSx.

Nothing makes a DEC SAR debriefer more upset than to download such a track. Usually a long straight leg from either home, or the assembly point to the beginning of a search block. Much as they complain, they do have ways of clearing those phantom points, but the methods explained above will do it too. Crew bosses are cautioned at the pre-brief before every incident to be sure to clear their track log first, then to only turn on tracking only upon arrival and turn it off again when departing the assigned search area.

[donsla]

The best way to edit a KML is by adding it to Google Earth and then editing it in there.

The other way that I've done it in the past is by using DNR Garmin. It was made by the University of Minnesota, and they still maintain it pretty good.

[MTVhike]

Originally Posted by stripperguy

So I have many tracks saved on (in?) my NatGeo Topo program.
I also have the same tracks saved in Google Earth. I prefer the Google Earth tracks, mostly for the speed, time and elevation profiles. These are mostly paddling trips and the above info helps me synchronize with my photos and fuzzy memory.

But here's the rub.
Many of my saved tracks have miles and miles of leapfrogged points.
If I forget to clear off the previous tracks, I end up with a saved track that starts from home or some other seemingly random start point.
So when I try to zoom in on a particular profile section of a track, I'm saddled with 100 miles of nothing, and my actual track comprises the last 5% of the track.

Is there an elegant way to edit these tracks in the software? Editing or saving partial tracks is extremely cumbersome (for me, anyway) in my Garmin 60CSx.

When my primary device was a Garmin GPSmap 76CSx, I use the MapSource program provided by Garmin to edit the tracks. It worked very well. But computers evolve and it no longer works on my Win10 pc. BUT, I switched to my iPhone/GAIA several years ago. I could edit my GAIA-produced GPX files with MapSource, but can't any more. I can trim my tracks on my iPhone with GAIA, but can't really edit them, and I can't even do that on GAIAGPS.COM on my laptop.
Is there a better GPX track editing program than MapSource which will run on Win10?
(I hadn't read TrailBoss' suggestion when I wrote this!)
Second edit: I downloaded and tried GPSTRACKEDITOR, loaded the OpenStreetMap layer, and it doesn't seem to have topographic detail (or much else!).

[JoeCedar]

Garmin's BASECAMP has the functionality of Mapsource and a lot more. You can also transfer GPX files to and from your GPS receiver. I have never liked Basecamp's setup and file management system. I like the simple file manager capability of Mapsource and I can open GPX files in it on W10 and edit the tracks, but there is no background base map and the program crashes when saving the file.

GPS Track Editor is OK and capable of editing and saving GPX tracks. It is free and it works.

[DSettahr]

The "simple and free" options available are definitely worth mentioning and will probably suffice for 99% of the needs of forums members who look to sort/organize their GPS tracks.

There are other options out there for those that particularly interested in significantly expanding their capabilities with regards to spatial datasets, though: Geographic Information System (GIS) software packages. Of these, there's 2 that are worth mentioning:

QGIS (Quantum Geographic Information System) is a free, open-source software package. I've not used it personally but I understand that it's fairly powerful- especially for software that is free. I believe that Andy Arthur uses GGIS to produce the plethora of maps that are available on his website.

Probably the most powerful spatial analysis software out there (and the industry standard by far) is ESRI's ArcGIS software. ArcGIS Pro 2.x is what I use- a personal, non-commercial license is $100 for a year, and gives you full access to the entire software package. $100 may seem like a lot for only a year's worth of use, but keep in mind that commercial licenses for the same software can easily run into the thousands of dollars.

Again, to be clear: These are not options that are going to be relevant to most forum members. In particular, the learning curve for any GIS software package is going to be pretty steep (and there's not a lot of crossover, i.e., a strong ability in using QGIS is not necessarily going to translate into a strong ability to use ArcGIS Pro). You can almost certainly expect to rely significantly on online tutorials for a good while at first- and even then, it make take enrollment in an online course (there's some online college-level GIS courses out there that can be audited for free) before things start to really "click."

But for those looking for access to the most powerful spatial data tools available (in other words, those who like having enough rope to hang themselves with), GIS software is the be-all and end-all of spatial data management at the professional level. For me personally, the $100 per year cost for ArcGIS Pro is worth it; in particular, ArcGIS skills are very relevant to my career field and tinkering around with the software for fun allows me to keep those skills fresh. I also really like the level of fine control it gives me over the end product.

[2505]

Originally Posted by Trail Boss

If you're referring to the time slider displayed in the upper left of the screen, it represents the date and time of the displayed track.

Here's an example of a track I recorded earlier this month and the time slider shows April 2017.

Lyon Mt....cool how you can just barely make out remnants of the old ski area.

[MTVhike]

Originally Posted by JoeCedar

Garmin's BASECAMP has the functionality of Mapsource and a lot more. You can also transfer GPX files to and from your GPS receiver. I have never liked Basecamp's setup and file management system. I like the simple file manager capability of Mapsource and I can open GPX files in it on W10 and edit the tracks, but there is no background base map and the program crashes when saving the file.

GPS Track Editor is OK and capable of editing and saving GPX tracks. It is free and it works.

I've downloaded both GPS Track Editor and Basecamp and neither shows a topo map as background; I found Mapsource much better. I have Mapsource installed on my work computer (which used to be my only computer), but that's downstate and I'm in my new permanent residence in Etown. I can connect to it via VPN, but that's a little inconvenient, and when I tried to install Mapsource on my new, local computer, it doesn't show the topo map background my old installation does (without buying it again for $99).

[Wldrns]

go to gpsfiledepot.com You can download hundreds of digital maps for free, including NY topo.
https://www.gpsfiledepot.com
https://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/state/ny

You can load that map into Garmin Basecamp and/or your GPS. It does not display contour information in basecamp, but waterways are shown and it is good for route planning in basecamp and coordinate location that you can then transfer to other map displays (Google Earth or your GPS). If you load it into your mapping GPS it shows contours and topographic features as you get with a regular paid for Garmin topo map.