Configuration
A lot of parameters may be configured in the GPSMan main file
gpsman.tcl
. Most of them
are also defined in the
preferences file, and the
values there will overwrite those in gpsman.tcl
.
GPSMan needs a
user
directory to keep both the preferences file and other
files for user definitions (like user-defined projections). The path
to this directory and the name of the preferences file are given at
the beginning of gpsman.tcl
. When GPSMan is launched and does not
find the user directory, it either attempts to create it, or (in
non-Unix systems)
asks for it to be created and leaves. If the preferences file
does not exist, it forces it to be created.
Users
wanting to load their own Tcl/Tk code (at their own risk!) can
do so by putting it in a file named patch.tcl
in the GPSMan
user directory. This file will be loaded immediately after all the
GPSMan source files.
If GPSMan has been installed from the Debian or other
Linux/Unix distribution packages no changes are mandatory. Otherwise,
on Unix systems the information on the program source files directory,
user directory and default preferences file must be correctly set. A
default serial port device can be defined and will
be used if no argument is passed to the main program.
On other systems the same applies to the information on the serial
port.
The following list gives a description of all the options that can be
configured:
- for non-Unix
systems: serial device to which the receiver will
be connected; users of GPSMan must have read/write permission.
- path to directory containing the program source files.
- path to user GPSMan directory that will contain the preferences file
and other files for user definitions (like user-defined
projections); this directory is normally not to be used explicitly by
the user.
- name of the
preferences file; the
user directory is searched for it only if there is not a file under the
same name in the current directory.
-
print command or any command for further processing of
Postscript files generated by
GPSMan; if no such command is wanted or available this option should
be set to the empty string; GPSMan will use the file
print.tmp
under the user GPSMan directory as a temporary
file.
- the language to be used by GPSMan; new languages
can be included by
translating the
lang*.tcl
files that contain the text and messages in Dutch, English, French,
German, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish
and Portuguese (help here will be acknowledged) and inserting
new abbreviations for month names in the ALLMONTH
array.
- use of character composition (accents,
cedilla) using Western European (isolatin1) mode, and of
Delete
key to delete last character.
- choice of main window: there
are three permanent
windows for the map, lists, and receiver connection; either the map
or the lists window can be selected as being the main window.
- GPS
receiver
dependent values: GPS brand,
baud rate of serial communication, whether all characters should be
accepted in names and comments,
length of names,
comments,
maximum numbers of
waypoints, routes,
waypoints in routes, and
track points, use of creation
dates and of
lowercase letters in
strings. In the distribution, the values are set for use with a
Garmin GPS II.
- (for Lowrance receivers only) sampling
interval,
in seconds, when acquiring tracks.
- default symbol and
default display
option
to use with waypoints;
correct names for symbols and display options can be found in file
symbols.tcl
.
- default line
widths
for representing routes, tracks
and polylines
on the
map.
- when
displaying a track, count of track points before showing point
number; 0 means no numbers, 1 means all points numbered, 2
every other point numbered, and so on.
- behaviour when reading a data item with the same
name as another
item of the same type in the data-base: either
overwrite the existing one,
or create under a new name.
- behaviour when a data item with hidden
information is changed:
remove the hidden information, keep it, or ask the user.
- distance unit to be used.
altitude unit to be
used in data items; this option has no effect in altitude values
displayed in real-time log or navigation windows of the Garmin
variant.
- format of positions, default
datum and time
offset, date format.
default map projection and cursor
position
format when starting with an empty map.
- accurate formulae (slower than the
normal ones) for computing distances and bearings.
- whether to ask for confirmation of projection
parameters.
- whether to use help balloons.
MapGuide text format default version.
- map dimensions, length of line for
displaying a scale,
and initial map scale given as the distance corresponding to the
given line length. The possible values for this distance depend on
the choice of unit made before.
- map font and
travel window font sizes: either in points or as
Tcl/Tk
for the Tcl/Tk default value. The map font will be
used in map labels and can be changed from the map menu.
- interface appearance: number of maximum
elements per menu, initial positions of
windows,
dimensions,
colours.
- saving the program state on exit
and deleting the saved state files after restoring.
- permission of created
files (in Unix numeric notation).
- default paper size and usable paper dimensions.
- abbreviated names for months in all known languages.
- paper sizes and dimensions, used when saving
plots or maps as Postscript files.
The dimensions
are floating-point numbers followed
by
c
for centimetres, i
for inches, m
for
millimetres, or p
or nothing for printer's points (1/72 inch).
GPSMan User Manual
©Miguel
Filgueiras,
mig_at_ncc.up.pt
, DCC-FC & LIACC,
Universidade do Porto, 2004