Ocpn-Draw and Boundary

[jongough]

Putting a warning may be sensible, but it would have to be on the WD plugin as OD does not know anything about alarms. This is on purpose as it is a drawing tool only. To do this Sean would have to agree, it is his plugin after all.

However, there is a general warning with OCPN that it is not commercial software and it is the users responsibility...... is this not sufficient?

[NAV]

What I think in relation to OCPN Draw:
1. To remove one variable: automatically draw a grid inside an Exclusion area, and a narrow one (setting 15) outside an Inclusion area. The grid then indicates always whether you see an Exclusion or an Inclusion area on your screen. Remove another variable by removing the possibility to set the grid width for Inclusion areas. No grid for general areas.
2. Indicate in OCPN Draw that - for the time being - alarm interaction with WatchDog only works for straight lined areas and not for circle areas.
3. Also consider the possibility to remove a third variable, the variable that makes an area active or inactive. Once drawn, all areas are active.

And related to WatchDog:
1. For the alarms to be sound when approaching an area: only use distance and remove the time variant (a fourth variable removed).
2. Approaching an Exclusion area or a general area from the outside: if alarm is set ON, the alarm(s) is/are given.
3. Sailing inside an Exclusion area: if alarm is set ON, the alarm(s) is/are given. Sailing inside a general area: no alarms at all.
4. No alarms for approaching an Inclusion area form the outside.
5. Approaching an Inclusion boundary from the inside: something to be developed for the future.
6. Indicate in WatchDog that alarms cannot be set for circle areas and that presently no alarm is possible for the situation where an Inclusion boundary is approached from the inside.

These are just thoughts, that describe how things can possibly be made simpler, and certainly not requests.

[NAV]

Originally Posted by jongough

However, there is a general warning with OCPN that it is not commercial software and it is the users responsibility...... is this not sufficient?

If I remember well, you see this only during installation.

[bcn]

That should be sufficient - but finally a judge will decide what is sufficient and what not

Please leave the world as disclaimer free as possible

[Gilletarom]

Originally Posted by jongough

....
However, there is a general warning with OCPN that it is not commercial software and it is the users responsibility...... is this not sufficient?

Hmm .... That will be enough until a judge of a court declares that it is not enough ....

oops .... Hubert said the same thing before me. Hubert shoots faster than me !!!

[CarCode]

Originally Posted by jongough

Gerhard,
Patch 664 replaces the graphic with a text table that allows translation.

Jon

As I have said before already I strongly recommend you use a better compiler to see possible faults immediately. For an inexperienced programer it is very hard to find faults in a blind environment.
In your patch 664 you might have forgotten to alter the files ODicons.h and ODicons.cpp. Furthermore I can't find your function SetCellBackroundColours(). If you need help to program a grid table you might consult the file grid.h of wxWidgets or e.g. look at the table of the Grib plugin as an example (file GribTable.cpp).

Gerhard

Just found SetCellBackroundColours() which you have renamed from SetCellBackgroundColours() (the missing "g"). Nice hack to foul wxWidgets...

[RogerD]

Rgleason:
"Roger I went back to the text to find where this is written. I did not find it yet (please advise.) What I did find seemed to be correct to me, and I added for Exclusion="Keep boat out" and Inclusion="Keep boat in"
which might make it clearer to you.

Inclusion and Exclusion "alarms" are different types of alarms."

This wording comes from the 4.2 About OpenCPN/Help file downloaded with the program.

As Gilletarom and NAV have pointed out there is currently no "Inclusion" alarm, only alarms for entering a bounry from outside.

Q: How does the off-line manual attached to the downloaded OpenCPN get updated when a new version of a plug-inis installed?

Roger

[rgleason]

RogerD
The off line manual is "Exported" then images resized and compressed and links edited and then the images and html is included with the program.
You can update this manual by finding the export link in the Editing User Manual, saving the html and images and copying over the program user manual html. It is actually easier than it sounds. You dont need to resize images and compress either.

[rgleason]

Regarding "no inclusion alarm", keep in mind I have not tested it recently, but probably should.

[NAV]

Slightly changed Dutch language files for OCPN Draw (0.4.662) and Watchdog(1.9031).

[RogerD]

Rgleason:
It would be very handy for "normal" users (boaters, not programmers) to have a link to "Download User Manual for Offline Use", or "Update Offline Manual". without having to "edit" the on-line manual. Is that possilbe?

Roger

[NAV]

And again ... (sorry, I found another inconsistency ).

[NEVERMIND]

Hi,
a document that might interest you

Jean paul

[rgleason]

Roger,
OpenCPN User Manual | Official OpenCPN Homepage
see Edit User Manual? - Follow it
Edit User Manual | Official OpenCPN Homepage -click on the link in the page
Edit the User Manual | Official OpenCPN Homepage -See Export Process?
Export Process | Official OpenCPN Homepage

Under full version processing, click on the link next to User Manual Export
OpenCPN User Manual

Now in your Browser Window click on File > Save page as and save it somewhere like the Downloads directory. Then copy the single html file and the image subdirectory over your Opencpn version's html help file.

[jongough]

NAV,
One thing I have found is that each user has a completely different idea of how to use OCPN. Some want things to scale, some don't, some have high res screens and want things bigger and better looking, some have touch screens and want alternatives to mouse usage, and so the list goes on. It would seem that if I restrict choice some section of the user community will feel constrained/restricted. So I made the decision to make all settings in the main config file available easily to the user for customisation, hence the size of the preferences. I tried to pick what I thought were sensible defaults, but..... So some may want zones with shading inside to be OK areas, so may make the shading green, they may want zones with shading on the outside to show it is only safe inside, so may make the shading red (think anchor watch). I let the user select what width they want the shading outside a zone as it depends on the screen you are using as to what you can easily see without impacting other functions/features.

The thing that needs to be remembered is that OD is a drawing tool, nothing more. Whilst I have used the words boundary, exclusion, inclusion, etc. this is just terminology that I found useful, you or others may not. But, for me, when I put the shading inside a zone I think of this as a no-go area, when I put the shading outside I think of this as a 'safe area'. But that is just me.

I think, in the next version of OD, I will make boundary points also be 'Active'/'Inactive' as it makes sense. There may be times when areas are active, i.e. at certain states of the tide, certain wind conditions, when marine research is being undertaken, when boats are racing. It would be possible to make some of these 'automatically switch states', but that is definitely for the future.

Originally Posted by NAV

What I think in relation to OCPN Draw:
1. To remove one variable: automatically draw a grid inside an Exclusion area, and a narrow one (setting 15) outside an Inclusion area. The grid then indicates always whether you see an Exclusion or an Inclusion area on your screen. Remove another variable by removing the possibility to set the grid width for Inclusion areas. No grid for general areas.
2. Indicate in OCPN Draw that - for the time being - alarm interaction with WatchDog only works for straight lined areas and not for circle areas.
3. Also consider the possibility to remove a third variable, the variable that makes an area active or inactive. Once drawn, all areas are active.

I think we need to 'decouple' OD and WD a bit, i.e. focus on what each plugin does and not combine them into a 'super' plugin. When combinations are made the seeming complexity rapidly increases. So perhaps we need to be careful in our explanation. I wonder if we could not continue Gilletarom's work on the coloured table concept. We could make a few more tables to show the interaction between OD and WD.

The WD code is only a 'proof of concept' to demonstrate that plugins could communicate and provide extra functionality to users. I was hoping that someone else would pick up the baton on this and start to further develop it. The issue here is that there are so many different ways to set/build alarms that the WD plugin could get very complex in its settings. We already have Time, Distance, Anchor, AIS alarms some of which have boundary types and boundary states associated with them. If we now extend the 'Anchor' alarm to show when you are approaching the boundary line this becomes another setting. If we decide to have an alarm when the boat changes 'side' (inside to outside and vica versa) then this is another setting or alarm.

Boundary Points, with shaded range rings, are included in the boundary alarms as it may be easier to drop a point and have an 'exclusion' zone than make a polygon boundary. In Aus we frequently have exclusion zones set that prohibit boats within a 3nm radius of a certain lat/lon. An exclusion boundary point is very useful for this.

Again, I think this points to the need for good, simple, easily understood documentation to explain what and how WD should be used AND the limitations. Again, Gilletarom's table may be a good starting point for this. My problem is that I am too close to the plugins and the way they work, so it is difficult for me to think like you and even more difficult to work out how to present the information as I 'know' what is happening. Having to explain it to other is helping me, but.....

Please carry on thinking and writing your messages. I am sure it is helping others understand. One thing, this is post #1290 in this thread. Perhaps we should move this sort of discussion to a new thread specifically about usage of OCPN or plugins and their interaction, what do you think?

And related to WatchDog:
1. For the alarms to be sound when approaching an area: only use distance and remove the time variant (a fourth variable removed).
2. Approaching an Exclusion area or a general area from the outside: if alarm is set ON, the alarm(s) is/are given.
3. Sailing inside an Exclusion area: if alarm is set ON, the alarm(s) is/are given. Sailing inside a general area: no alarms at all.
4. No alarms for approaching an Inclusion area form the outside.
5. Approaching an Inclusion boundary from the inside: something to be developed for the future.
6. Indicate in WatchDog that alarms cannot be set for circle areas and that presently no alarm is possible for the situation where an Inclusion boundary is approached from the inside.

These are just thoughts, that describe how things can possibly be made simpler, and certainly not requests.