Charts

[jonasaberg]

Sinbad7,
First let us describe what path is doing.
We have extracted (=unpacked) the libbsb package to c:\libbsb-0.0.7
This means that all the programs we want to use such as tif2bsb.exe, bsb2tif.exe etc are located in the c:\libbsb-0.0.7 directory.
This also mean that we could place our template.kap files and map.tif files in c:\libbsb-0.0.7 directory and do a:
c:\libbsb-0.0.7\tif2bsb template.kap map.tif calibrated.kap
but this is not so nice since we would have all the program files, template.kap files .tif files and newly created .kap files all in a mess here.

We could instead create the c:\kap directory and move to it and write:
c:\kap\c:\libbsb-0.0.7\tif2bsb template.kap map.tif calibrated.kap
The text in red is the "prompt" stating which directory you are in
the text in blue is the path to where the command(=program) are located
the text in green is, as before, the input files (template.kap and map.tif) and output file (calibrated.kap)

What the environment variable path does is to make all the commands(=programs) located in any of the directories mentioned in the path available regardless of which directory you are standing in. By this you don't have to write the full path everytime you use a command.

Does it make sense?

Ok, try to write the command "path":
c:\kap\tif2bsb
if it doesnt work try to write
c:\kap\path
You should get a reply such as this:
C:\kap>path
PATH=C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS;c:\libbsb-0.0.7

If the last bit, the part stating the location of the libbsb-0.0.7, is wrong it will not work. (your path is probably several lines long)

I hope this helps. I think you probably typed a letter wrong when you tried since Dan is right, you are in the correct dialogue.

If you get a warning box/error box saying you have "No access" it might mean you are not logged in as an administrator of you system. I dont know how it works in Vista but you usually need to have full administrative rights to change the environment variable.

/Jonas

[jonasaberg]

Cagney #34

I don't get any chart outline after placing the created calibrated nz54.kap in the OpenCPN chart path.
The chart is just "ignored"

Where is the log file? I feel silly not to know, but it is not in the OpenCPN directory as i expected.

/Jonas

[sinbad7]

I have tried everything but still no joy. I AM the administrator on this laptop.

This is the path in the environmental box:

%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\Sy stem32\Wbem;C:\PROGRAM FILES\Common Files\Ulead Systems\MPEG;C:\Windows\QTSystem\;C:\libbsb-0.0.7;

I have now made the c:\libbsb-0.0.7; the last statement in the line and I also changed the original drive statement "c\libbsb-0.0.7;" to "C:\libbsb-0.0.7;"

I am running under Vista...and,sorry, the CMD statements are all in Norwegian..

[dacust]

Originally Posted by jonasaberg

Cagney #34

I don't get any chart outline after placing the created calibrated nz54.kap in the OpenCPN chart path.
The chart is just "ignored"

Where is the log file? I feel silly not to know, but it is not in the OpenCPN directory as i expected.

/Jonas

Did you get it to rediscover the charts? When you place a chart in the path, it doesn't find it until, in tools, you remove the path, click OK, then go back in and add the path back. Bad part is, if you are like me and have a lot of charts, this takes a long time. For that reason, I remove the main path and add a path that just contains the charts I am experimenting with. Makes it much faster.

My log is at:
C:\Documents and Settings\Dan\Application Data\opencpn

-dan

[dacust]

Originally Posted by sinbad7

I have tried everything but still no joy. I AM the administrator on this laptop.

This is the path in the environmental box:

%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\Sy stem32\Wbem;C:\PROGRAM FILES\Common Files\Ulead Systems\MPEG;C:\Windows\QTSystem\;C:\libbsb-0.0.7;

I have now made the c:\libbsb-0.0.7; the last statement in the line and I also changed the original drive statement "c\libbsb-0.0.7;" to "C:\libbsb-0.0.7;"

I am running under Vista...and,sorry, the CMD statements are all in Norwegian..

First try the command "path", not "kap\path"

And, it probably doesn't matter, but you shouldn't need the very last ; at the end.

-dan

[sinbad7]

Dan..

Made the changes you suggested but still no go.

Also see the 'path' statement...

[John A]

Some chart programs are difficult to adapt to Windows Vista as quite a range of programs were developed for Windows 98, and needed to be upgraded to run on the new Windows Vista platform.
I don't know if this is the case here but I've heard that a new Windows platform is about to be released called Windows 7.
Those of us who will wish to transport our verious programs to newer computers will need to carefully evaluate the upgrade requirements for each sub system.
John A

[dacust]

Originally Posted by sinbad7

Dan..

Made the changes you suggested but still no go.

Also see the 'path' statement...

The path looks right, now.

I'd go into explorer and look for "tif2bsb". Should be tif2bsb.exe. If not, maybe you loaded the unix version?

Sorry, we got two things against us. Norwegian and Vista.

Is that the same message you get if you try a command that is not there? If not (or maybe even if so) could be that Vista is not allowing it for some reason. I heard it locks down more things.

Anyway, sorry, but the further we get into this, the more I am just reaching...

-dan

[jonasaberg]

Vista is new to me too...

Sinbad:
Does it work if you stand in c:kap and write
c:\libbsb-0.0.7\tif2bsb

If this works, then use this metod although it is a little more to write each time. Otherwise they have made some change to Vista I can not imagine...

/Jonas

[sinbad7]

Good morning Jonas..

Your suggestion works it seems,so I start all commands from C:\kap ?

Thanks

[kiwiradical]

Isn't this all a huge amount of work that could be avoided if OpenCPN had a simple image calbrate utility to georeference? I'm not a programmer but it seems like the effort being expended on this is more than the effort needed to develop the code for a calibrate utlity for OpenCPN!

In the meantime,as this is a 'charts thread' the Cm93 ED2 2009 version is pretty good worldwide. Oh, and by the way, I've seen comments eleswhere that Cm93 Ed2 isn't very up to date. In the 2009 version I have if you check the chart properties you'll see the vast majority of charts are corrected to Notices to Mariners March or April 2009, and digitised in Jan-May 2009. That's as good as many electronic and paper charts around.

David

[sinbad7]

Jonas and Dan..

I FINALLY managed to create a new australia4c.kap file from the header.kap and australia4c.tif files. Looking at the new file it HAS the small header pluss the short macine code map below. However,it will not display in OpenCPN??

I was running the commands from the C:\kap directory.

[dacust]

Originally Posted by kiwiradical

Isn't this all a huge amount of work that could be avoided if OpenCPN had a simple image calbrate utility to georeference? I'm not a programmer but it seems like the effort being expended on this is more than the effort needed to develop the code for a calibrate utlity for OpenCPN!

In the meantime,as this is a 'charts thread' the Cm93 ED2 2009 version is pretty good worldwide. Oh, and by the way, I've seen comments eleswhere that Cm93 Ed2 isn't very up to date. In the 2009 version I have if you check the chart properties you'll see the vast majority of charts are corrected to Notices to Mariners March or April 2009, and digitised in Jan-May 2009. That's as good as many electronic and paper charts around.

David

To write a "simple" georeference utiity, Dave would have to go through some of the same things we are going through. What formats would it accept? Then how to convert those formats to something OpenCPN could use, then how to georeference.

That is all we are doing. Figuring out how to georeference .tiffs. And the method we are using is to georeference and generate a .kap which OpenCPN already uses.

If a simple georeference is provided for OpenCPN, I might still not use it, as I have a large number of aerial photos I want to use. They are already georeferenced, just not in a way OpenCPN can use. So, this exercise is getting me close to a way to convert them all in batch. It would be rather painful to use a screen to one-by-one convert thousands of photos.

What you see going on here is what developers go through all the time when doing something new. Also, for me, this is fun. I'm, having a blast delving into areas that are very far outside my work experience. Different platforms, different operating systems, different languages and a totally different set of geo problems.

In the end, we may have a solution. Or we may have a companion tool for OpenCPN users. Or we may have some ideas Dave can use. Who knows. It's research.

In other words, this is a very normal part of software development.

-dan

[dacust]

Originally Posted by sinbad7

Jonas and Dan..

I FINALLY managed to create a new australia4c.kap file from the header.kap and australia4c.tif files. Looking at the new file it HAS the small header pluss the short macine code map below. However,it will not display in OpenCPN??

I was running the commands from the C:\kap directory.

Did you go into OpenCPN Tools and add the directory and let it discover it?

If so, post the chart so we can look at it.

-dan

[sinbad7]

Now I converted the nz53.tif file again using the header of your previously converted nz53.kap chart and created a new nz53a.kap chart which I have placed in my dropbox for inspection. I received error messages though...