“Summer cleaning” on Tracker

[AISEAG]

To all of you

As you may know, all your requests concerning OpenCPN functionality should be placed in Tracker.

OpenCPN’s developers are facing a list over 300 requests (some as old as 2010).
To help them, to help you, a ‘summer cleaning’ will be launched shortly.

Our advice when using tracker is for :
- asking for a new functionality : address it via ‘new features’ project.
- a bug report : address it via the project related to you OpenCPN’s version

- a plugin - address by Plugins - please, identify "beta" or "release" and "bug" or "feature" and name (and version) of plugin.

For those who allready have submitted a subject, please make sure that its contents is still valid, if not, thanks for asking for its closure.

This thread will be used for keeping you informed.


AISEAG & rgleason

[AISEAG]

Originally Posted by AISEAG

.....developers are facing a list over 300 requests (some as old as 2010).
To help them, to help you, a ‘summer cleaning’ will be launched shortly.

......This thread will be used for keeping you informed.
AISEAG & rgleason

For your information :

On the 1st of June : 313 pending requests in Tracker : 249 were related to OpenCPN (including 189 features requests) and 64 to Plugins.
today : 293 requests are pending : 237 are related to OpenCPN and 56 to plugings.

Thanks to all of you

Remember :
use Tracker is for :
- asking for a new OpenCPN functionality by address it via ‘new features’ project.
- reporting a bug by address it to the version of your running OpenCPN

for plugin: please address by Plugin and identify "beta" or "release" and "bug" or "feature" and name (and version) of plugin.

If you have allready have submitted a request, please make sure that its contents is still valid, if not, thanks for asking for its closure.

Serge

[AISEAG]

Hello fellow mariners,

Since the last report :
- 2 OpenCPN betas versions have been available for uploading
- All Plugings are identified in Tracker

Tracker Situation :
- 310 pending requests : 248 are related to OpenCPN and 62 to Plugins.

Tracker is your tool,
Please use it with no limitation and then you will be sure that any bugs, any remarks, any suggestions... will be taking in account.

How to use Tracker:
For OpenCPN items:
- if asking for a new functionality by address it via ‘new features’ project.
- if reporting a bug by address it to the version of your running OpenCPN

or Plugin Items :
- please address by Plugin and identify "beta" or "release" and "bug" or "feature" and name (and version) of plugin.

If you have already have submitted a request, please make sure that its contents is still valid, if not, thanks for asking for its closure.

Thanks to all of you

Serge

[rgleason]

Thank you Serge. For those new to Tracker, it is sometimes called Flyspray. You will find it on the opencpn.org website in the upper left hand side of the menu "Tracker" OpenCPN::Tracker All Projects: Tasklist.
There is a place to register, and a place to login. See the dropdown Categories.

[rgleason]

For new admins of Tracker (Serge & Rick) adding Task Type apparently needs to be done for each "Project".
1. Pick Project from left dropdown.
2. Select Manage Project and click on "Task Type"
3. Then "Add New" "Task Types"

Bug Report priority 0
Feature Request priority 1
Patch priority 2

I did not do this at first, and had no Task Type assignment that would drop down when entering each task.

[rgleason]

I think we need to work on Tracker project "0 - OpenCPN - Feature Requests" in the Projects dropdown list. It has 189 entries from as far back as 2010. I found three under my name, which I ended up closing because of others helful comments!

I think we should try to boil this down to 50 Good Feature requests related to the core program. Use Tracker to guide development sensibly.

Perhaps everyone can take a moment to scan and comment on any requests, labeling with resolutions such as:
1. Outdated or duplicated.
2. OpenCPN has feature. (beta or current)
3. Move to plugin, has merit.
4. Initial author, state why needed.
5. Needed keep
6. Summer 2013 Cleanup, etc
6. ...Other?

Add a short comment/note if needed. This will give administrators a chance to clean these requests up intelligently, with your commentary assisting. Some of you may have knowledge and history that we do not, so your participation would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[rgleason]

or perhaps 100 feature requests for the core program.

Since working with Tracker for awhile as an admin, I have some questions. I'd like to avoid doing something wrong if possible.

1. Opencpn + Plugin Structure - Sometime I and unsure if an items should be moved to pi_plugins. Should I leave a question in the comment area for someone to advise?

2. Moving to pi_plugin [Feature Request]. Do I make a new item under the right project, say pi_dashboard, select Task Type [Feature Request], save, and then close the original item?

3. Assignments. It was assigning me, when actually I've been working with Sean on his plugins wxfax, wxroute, climatology, watchman, dltsdr etc and when I tried to assign him, his name was not there. How do I accomplish that, I saw he had submitted some items.

4. In reviewing Opencpn - Feature Requests, should we use "Resolution" to sort these into reasonable bins before acting? - Also leaving a comment that helps to explain what we intend to do? Who will review these and respond? It appears that we will have to test and try Opencpn beta to determine if a feature has been implimented too. I suppose github would be a decent way to check as well?

5. Before closing some item, if someone says it has been implemented in version 3.3.711 for example, should we check this?

6. I see 4 PM's in Tracker, that need attention, people requesting items restored etc. Who does that?

Thanks

[rgleason]

Admins - We can move items in the 0-Opencpn - Feature Requests to respective plugins this way:
1. Edit task of the item.
2. Select upper left project dropdown.
3. Save.
Simple.

[rgleason]

Tracker, project "0-Opencpn - Feature Requests"
There are now 176 items. Their titles have been Keyed with appropriate alphanumeric. Sort by "Summary".

I think the next step is to review each Summary group
1. Eliminate duplicates.
2. Consolidate Feature requests that are the same or similar.
3. Verify that these are all current and have merit.

Some of the items have been moved to appropriate pi_plugins.

Please review and make comments.

[rgleason]

Since doing some Summer Cleaning on Tracker - Flyspray, specifically the Opencpn Feature Requests "project", by changing the front letters in the task titles and sorting by "Summary", chaos becomes less complex. The following is an organization of various requests from WP (waypoint) and RM (routemanager) sorts into several basic categories.

I hope this is not too long, but it should serve to illustrate a point. I think we need to distill these requests down further, because many contain the same request or topic, are similar requests or may have different solutions or uses. It would be helpful to the developers to have a clear picture of what is needed.

I hope the following with help. Please make your comments here and in flyspray on each item. Following is from Tracker.

===

Change of Waypoint to next Leg Issues

FS#320 - WP Automatic waypoint switching. using a small touchscreen at the helm, I have to go down to the nav station every time I pass a waypoint - to switch it to the next in route. Would it be feasible to automatically change the waypoint to next in route when having come within certain distance of waypoint, making it more tolerant? Perhaps there are other ways of doing this?

Related --
FS#1046 - RM User-definable arrival radius in routes First mentioned here http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post1285827 The arrival circle is now fixed to 0.05 M, but due to different turning radii and different navigation demands depending on, for example offshore navigation or trickier piloting, this ought to be user settable.


WP Lock/unlock Ease and WP security

FS#139 - WP Accidental way point Editing - Way points & Route Editing: It seems that when several routes or a singular route is loaded it is possible to accidentally move a way point without engaging to the route editing mechanism. Simply have a route loaded when OCPN starts and move the cursor over a way point. Now left click on the mouse and drag the way point to any location. The danger here is that at high resolution maps it is possible to accidentally move a way point (this is how I found it) without having the route editing functions activated. It would be safer to not have this capability until such time as the route editing functions are activated.

FS#825 - WP Unlock individual waypoints Lock/unlock using Ctrl key to move locked waypoints, or right click menu and on wp properties form.Too easy to move a wp by inadvertantly, and too involved to useToolbox to unlock all waypoints to move a single wp.

FS#277 - WP protect a mark from moving or deleting - function in mark-properties to protect a mark from moving or deleting. So I can move or delete certain marks only after having changed the mark properties or answering a question "do you really want to change/delete this mark". to prevent accidental mark moving.

FS#79 - RM Transfer the tool box parameter "lock all wpts" to the route manager It is very easy to move accidentally a wpt during rough navigation .But also it may be needed to move one .Currently the solution is to go to tool box and lock all wpts then de-lock then re-lock ... But it is not easy to have to go in the tool box , choose the page , select the parameter ...
It would be more easy to have a button or an icon to click on in the route manager to do it

WP to Mark Danger

FS#717 - WP waypoint radius and warnings Waypoint Warning Radius for user location at dangerous places. User set radius. visual and audible warning.

FS#333 - WP Cardinal Points as Mark/WP Use icons to mark out a big but uncharted reef with N, W, E, S points and would find it useful to have icons for the real Cardinal Markers.
FS#224 - RM Warn when route crosses area shallower than shallow or safety depth There would be a big safety advantage to warning a mariner who is focused on getting from point A to point B that there are intermediate obstacles he must avoid. Here's how I think I would approach adding such a feature to OpenCPN. Add a field in which the user could enter the draft of his vessel. Leave it to the user to decide if he is going to enter the draft with boards and rudders raised or lowered or actual depth of keel or depth some distance below the keel. The idea is the draft he enters will be the depth he is comfortable sailing over. For detail see FS.

Save Sets somewhere as user specified files. --Say gpx?

FS#357 - WP Save sets of marks to user-specified files Allow 1 or more external files to be available in which to save marks added to a chart. This allows marks placed on a chart to be saved as a particular identifiable collection which can subsequently be opened or closed (one of the few good features of MaxSea!). E.g., a group of marks associated w/ a particular country or sea area. Ideally several could be opened at any time. When a mark is added on to the chart, there could be a default active file, or the target file ID could be requested at the time the mark is placed.

FS#655 - RM Selectively export/delete waypoints from the Route manager Window. Right now to export or delete GPX waypoints from the Route Manager window, it is an all or nothing deal. It would be wonderful to be able to "selectively" delete or export possibly only ONE waypoint or perhaps 4 waypoints--EX no's 2,6, 9,13,24 The way most often done in a list is to hold down CONTROL and then selectively click on whichever waypoints you wish to export or delete.

FS#821 - RM Route Manager: Select Multiple Waypoints for Export & Delete. It would be great to be able to select multiple waypoints in the waypoint list and then perform and export or a delete on all selected waypoints. Example: I was given a gpx files with waypoints. Didn't realize it had hundreds of waypoints in it. Do delete the ones I didn't want takes forever in current Route Manager. I finally exported everything, Delete ALL in Route Manager, deleted unneeded waypoints using text editor on exported gpx and re-imported. Would be fantastic to just highlight all waypoints I didn't want and do a single delete (or export).

FS#77 - RM Route manager : Add a button to export all routes or tracks or wpts in separate files. Currently , it is possible to export one route or one track or one wpt at a time , or all these three objects It would be very useful to add a button in each page : routes/tracks/wpts to allow exporting in separate files all routes or all tracks or all wpts .

FS#822 - RM Route Manager: Export All should allow choice of Routes, Tracks, Waypoints etc. Currently EXPORT ALL in the Route Manager exports all Routes, Tracks, Waypoints (and Layers?). It would be nice if one had an option to just Export ALL waypoints but not tracks. Perhaps a dialog with checkboxes for the 4 types of items, or change the EXPORT ALL button to a drop down button with the default being EXPORT ALL but the drop downs being the 4 types of items.

FS#1005 - RM Route Manager export not populating save file name. Prior to 3.3.424, 3.2 specifically, when exporting a route from the route manager the route name would be populated as the save file name. In the current git this does not happen. The save file name is populated with the name of the directory being saved to.


Lengthen Waypoint Names

FS#1043 - WP Allow longer waypoint names for GPS untis that support them The current version only uploads Waypoint names of 6 characters (as supported by Garmin). Raymarine units supports longer names - I'm using an E120. I'd love to be able to use the longer names. Please make the length variable.
FS#329 - RM Import/Export waypoints and routes to Furuno Navnet VX2 An extract from the manual for my 1724C chartplotter can be found here.www.kjellqvist.ch/public/furunonavnetvx2.zip The Furuno waypoint and route names are limited to only 6 characters so it can be tricky to synchronise the names. My suggestion is to allow an alternative "Furuno" name with only 6 characters in the OpenCPN waypoint properties, and a hidden unique waypoint ID number which I would suspect already exists (the furuno format allows a 13 character comment which is not normally displayed). The ID can then be used to synchronise the two systems when changes and updates are made from either side.

How to make longer names and keep shorter Furuno names by addingg unique WP id number?

Extend/Change the Use of WP to POI and linking with new data & photos

FS#951 - WP Change Name of "Waypoints" Tab to "Marks" or "POI"
This is a semantics thing. I think that WPTS are always on a route. I think the "Waypoints" dialogue could be changed in name to "Marks" or "POI". -help to avoid confusion. In just one "for instance"; logically, why aren't all the waypoints of routes included in the present Waypoints Tab? Aren't they waypoints? d'you see? It's odd. So, calling them Marks or POI gives them a special purpose as a note on the chart in any location, but not particularly involved in a route. After all, the route wpts can be as special with links and notes and their own icons too, but they go with the route and are therefore Navigable. I appreciate it seems a nuisance request, as it would need context menus changed and all the rest.

FS#945 - WP Storing a single waypoint as a Point Of Interest (POI) When acting on a waypoint, several options are offered but not the storage one to dissociate a single WP from a route and store it as a POI. [ When creating a waypoint, I can associate to this WP a picture (it works, I've done it, it works, but with limitation on the pathnname (#940)). If I can store this single WP and make it as a POI, this could be the starting opportunity for another collective work (allready seen in the layers Library). From my point of view a recollection of Lighthouse's pictures (taken by Opencpn'seamen) stored as POI will be a collective achievement. ]

FS#332 - WP Link .jpg files to Mark/WP properties It would be great if you could allow users to link .jpg files to the properties box of Marks/WP's. The files could perhaps be stored in a subdirectory to OpenCPN. Where charts are not always very precise, especially when going in to coral reefs and uncharted bays. Use Google Earth in advance make .jpg files that show corals and bommies really well. It could also be used to link for example photos of a marina, lighthouses and much more. In short, this is a really simple feature and I think would be very useful to many sailors.

[rgleason]

PS: If individuals would take one of these topics they are familiar with, study the feature requests and write a Summary of what should be done, and post the "Summary of direction" under "Comments" in each Tracker item, that might be helpful.

I hope we can consolidate these items to simplify development.

[AISEAG]

Originally Posted by rgleason

For new admins ...."

Bug Report priority 0
Feature Request priority 1
Patch priority 2

.

Hi Rick and fellow administrators,

- Plugins : Priorities set for each one (see above).
- OpenCPN : - if related to a actual (stable or beta) version : only Bug Report and Patch have been set have been set for each pluging category.
- if related to "features request" - priority 1 is the only one available
nota : for older version - this classification is no longer useful - should be reviewed case by case

Serge

[rgleason]

Serge, agreed

Task Types allowed for various projects.

0- Opencpn - Feature Requests <--Project -typical

Feature Request <---Task Type

1- OpenCPN 3.2.x (stable)

Bug Report <---Task Type

2- OpenCPN 3.3.x (beta)

Bug Report <--Task Type

pi_[plugin-name] <--Project - Typical

Bug Report <--Task Type
Feature Request
Patch

When entering a new "Task", the "task type" is selected from a drop-down menu in the upper right, which is below the "Project" drop-down menu.

[rgleason]

Question:

In project "0 - Opencpn Feature Requests" if find a number of RM (Route Manager) tagged tasks have "Task Type" of "Bug Report" - Sort by "Task Type" by clicking on the title.

It shows that I have last edited these entries, but I do not believe I changed the "Task Type" in these items.

Did someone previously enter these intentionally as "Bug Report" for some reason?
Should these all be changed to "Feature Request" to conform to the project "Opencpn Feature Requests"? Or should they be moved into the Opencpn 3.3.x beta project?

Thanks for your help.

[rgleason]

WP Lock/unlock Ease and WP security post above
WP Lock/unlock Ease and WP security - related FS items
FS#139 - WP Unlock / Lock Accidental waypoint Editing & Route Editing
FS#825 - WP Unlock individual waypoints Lock/unlock using Ctrl key to move locked waypoints, or right click menu and on wp properties form
FS#277 - WP protect a mark from moving or deleting - function in mark-properties to protect a mark from moving or deleting. So I can move or delete certain marks only after having changed the mark properties or answering a question "do you really want to change/delete this mark". to prevent accidental mark moving.
FS#79 - RM Transfer the tool box parameter "lock all wpts" to the route manage Currently the solution is to go to tool box and lock all wpts then de-lock then re-lock It would be easier to have a button or an icon to click on in the route manager to do it.
===
****Read FS#79. There are a number of patches and tests done using Ctrl & possible Cmd for locking unlocking. Talk of including in 3.2.x. -What happened??
--It appears nothing has happened. Version 3.3.814 has not implemented these patches. (I tested.) Is there a reason?
I guess we cannot close all of these FS items yet.