Conceptual
Why is TrailRunner donation-ware with a fixed donation amount?
16/11/08 16:28
TrailRunner is no commercial grade software. Instead it's my spare time killer and I develop TrailRunner for the fun of myself and all users that like it. As I can not base my living on the earnings from this project I have to put the majority of my work power into a regular job. So due to this limitation of resources, I can't give any guarantees on a flawless functionality or a short term reaction on any questions or bug reports -- although I do my best and I am passionate about it.
If TrailRunner was ShareWare you would actually buy something from me, meaning we both would have a contract and would bind us to a license agreement. This would also have implications on what you’d expect from me, based on what you are accustomed with when you buy regular commercial products. So distributing TrailRunner as a ShareWare would require me to give you some contractual guarantees, which I can't. So I am not trying to play the big guy where I am small.
For all these reasons, TrailRunner is donation-ware or support-me-if-you-like-ware, even with a fixed amount. I think the amount for the token of esteem is really worth it. But if it's too much for you, just continue to use TrailRunner as there is no functional limitation for unregistered users.
That's my point of view regarding fairness. If you find this unfair, then there’s either my feedback e-mail address at the end of this page or a world full of alternatives.
Have fun,
- berbie.
If TrailRunner was ShareWare you would actually buy something from me, meaning we both would have a contract and would bind us to a license agreement. This would also have implications on what you’d expect from me, based on what you are accustomed with when you buy regular commercial products. So distributing TrailRunner as a ShareWare would require me to give you some contractual guarantees, which I can't. So I am not trying to play the big guy where I am small.
For all these reasons, TrailRunner is donation-ware or support-me-if-you-like-ware, even with a fixed amount. I think the amount for the token of esteem is really worth it. But if it's too much for you, just continue to use TrailRunner as there is no functional limitation for unregistered users.
That's my point of view regarding fairness. If you find this unfair, then there’s either my feedback e-mail address at the end of this page or a world full of alternatives.
Have fun,
- berbie.
|
What's the difference between a route and a workout?
02/10/08 09:15
Problem: You have imported recorded GPS data into TrailRunner and you want to modify the course of the data to use it as directions for a future workout. But it seems that this is not possible.
Background: Within TrailRunner there is an important conceptual difference between display of a workout recording and route planning.
Solution: During import of a GPS recoding, please note the following difference:
(a) A workout recoding is a recoding. Fixed as it is. You can import workout recordings into the TrailRunner diary and archive your workout there. You cannot modify workouts.
(b) On the other hand, TrailRunner lets you "copy" the geographical part of the recording and merge this into your network of tracks. During import of the geographical data, choose one of the Import options to merge the geographical information into your main document.
(c) During merge, TrailRunner will do two things, depending on the merge option you’ve chosen: TrailRunner will create at least one track that contains the geographical course. Additionally TrailRunner will create a route that makes use of that track. Geographically the route and the workout course are now almost identical. But it’s only the exact same course but nothing more. It’s a course that others, including yourself, might follow in the future.
Futher note: When you are new to TrailRunner this sounds more complicated than what you expect. But after you have imported more than one route you will notice that the courses might overlap and that you have locations where you made a left turn in the one recording and a right turn in the other recoding. When you plan third new route, you could either plan to follow this or that way. In theory you have an overlap and a crossing-point. In TrailRunner this is managed by your network of tracks.
Background: Within TrailRunner there is an important conceptual difference between display of a workout recording and route planning.
Solution: During import of a GPS recoding, please note the following difference:
(a) A workout recoding is a recoding. Fixed as it is. You can import workout recordings into the TrailRunner diary and archive your workout there. You cannot modify workouts.
(b) On the other hand, TrailRunner lets you "copy" the geographical part of the recording and merge this into your network of tracks. During import of the geographical data, choose one of the Import options to merge the geographical information into your main document.
(c) During merge, TrailRunner will do two things, depending on the merge option you’ve chosen: TrailRunner will create at least one track that contains the geographical course. Additionally TrailRunner will create a route that makes use of that track. Geographically the route and the workout course are now almost identical. But it’s only the exact same course but nothing more. It’s a course that others, including yourself, might follow in the future.
Futher note: When you are new to TrailRunner this sounds more complicated than what you expect. But after you have imported more than one route you will notice that the courses might overlap and that you have locations where you made a left turn in the one recording and a right turn in the other recoding. When you plan third new route, you could either plan to follow this or that way. In theory you have an overlap and a crossing-point. In TrailRunner this is managed by your network of tracks.
What's the difference between routes, tracks and way-points?
02/10/08 09:15
Tracks describe connections between two locations. Each track has a start and an end way-point where other tracks could be connected to.
Routes are a sequence of several tracks. You plan routes by adding tracks to its course. The distance of the route is the sum of the distances of all tracks consumed by the route.
Example: The route to my grandmas house is beautiful, I follow several tracks that go through woods and fields. At one way-point, two tracks are crossing where the other goes down to the valley. I have recorded the course with my GPS device for that you might try the same route one day. The recording is either a single track or a sequence of way-points. The problem with the latter is that the recording then misses any intermediate locations between two way-points. Therefore I send you the single track recording. You can import this into your TrailRunner document and merge the course with your existing tracks. TrailRunner will then split the track at locations where existing tracks overlap and at the same time update the routes course to use the resulting tracks.
Routes are a sequence of several tracks. You plan routes by adding tracks to its course. The distance of the route is the sum of the distances of all tracks consumed by the route.
Example: The route to my grandmas house is beautiful, I follow several tracks that go through woods and fields. At one way-point, two tracks are crossing where the other goes down to the valley. I have recorded the course with my GPS device for that you might try the same route one day. The recording is either a single track or a sequence of way-points. The problem with the latter is that the recording then misses any intermediate locations between two way-points. Therefore I send you the single track recording. You can import this into your TrailRunner document and merge the course with your existing tracks. TrailRunner will then split the track at locations where existing tracks overlap and at the same time update the routes course to use the resulting tracks.
What's the difference between the main document window and the diary?
13/08/08 09:00
Problem: I expect that when I import new workouts into the main document, the main document should behave like a journal. But on the other hand there’s the diary where I can enter additional information on workouts. Why are these two separated?
Explanation: Unlike pure journaling applications, TrailRunner has two modes. The route planning mode and the diary mode. These two modes are separated into the main window (with the primary focus on building a network of tracks to plan routes within) and the diary (with the main focus of archiving the raw data of recorded workouts). Even though seperated, TrailRunner still displays workout information for a selected route in the main window (if a related workout can be found in the diary).
Advice: When you import new workouts, make up your mind, if the workout course contains track segments you would like to add to your network of tracks. If so, use one of the merge options. If you (just) want to archive your workout in the diary, check the add diary option.
Tip: Unlike the main document, your diary is stored in a central location on your Mac. As you can have more than just one document, each of your documents could cover a different networks of tracks. For example you would like to have one document for your neighborhood and more for each location you where on holidays.
Additionaly, if you delete a route from the main document, it would not delete any workouts in the diary and vice versa. Both are a separate thing even though they might be related to each other.
Explanation: Unlike pure journaling applications, TrailRunner has two modes. The route planning mode and the diary mode. These two modes are separated into the main window (with the primary focus on building a network of tracks to plan routes within) and the diary (with the main focus of archiving the raw data of recorded workouts). Even though seperated, TrailRunner still displays workout information for a selected route in the main window (if a related workout can be found in the diary).
Advice: When you import new workouts, make up your mind, if the workout course contains track segments you would like to add to your network of tracks. If so, use one of the merge options. If you (just) want to archive your workout in the diary, check the add diary option.
Tip: Unlike the main document, your diary is stored in a central location on your Mac. As you can have more than just one document, each of your documents could cover a different networks of tracks. For example you would like to have one document for your neighborhood and more for each location you where on holidays.
Additionaly, if you delete a route from the main document, it would not delete any workouts in the diary and vice versa. Both are a separate thing even though they might be related to each other.
Existe-t-il un tutoriel en français?
27/07/08 21:36
Non, mais essayez la traduction automatique:
QuickGuide Introduction courte.
Utilisez TrailRunner avec Nike+iPod.
Utilisez TrailRunner avec ForeRunner.
> Tutoriel en anglais
QuickGuide Introduction courte.
Utilisez TrailRunner avec Nike+iPod.
Utilisez TrailRunner avec ForeRunner.
> Tutoriel en anglais
TrailRunner looks like a tool for Runners — But I am a Biker...
29/05/06 21:33
Although TrailRunner looks like focused on runners, bikers will benefit from TrailRunner too. The only difference is the approach on handling routes:
Runners like to plan their routes detailed in advance and seldom own a GPS device like the Garmin ForeRunner. They would like let calculate a route for a given distance and then export the course onto an iPod for orientation.
Bikers plan routes roughly in advance but primarily like to collect and catalog their rides afterwards and watch an elevation profile. They often own a GPS device like the Garmin Edge and a Mac. Even some runners own a Garmin ForeRunner and a Mac.
So if you are a biker, open a new document, connect your GPS device, download your ride and possibly let TrailRunner download satellite imagery or topo-maps of the course-area. Both, runners and bikers would then make a diary entry and watch their training progress.
It's all that simple.
> Documentation
Runners like to plan their routes detailed in advance and seldom own a GPS device like the Garmin ForeRunner. They would like let calculate a route for a given distance and then export the course onto an iPod for orientation.
Bikers plan routes roughly in advance but primarily like to collect and catalog their rides afterwards and watch an elevation profile. They often own a GPS device like the Garmin Edge and a Mac. Even some runners own a Garmin ForeRunner and a Mac.
So if you are a biker, open a new document, connect your GPS device, download your ride and possibly let TrailRunner download satellite imagery or topo-maps of the course-area. Both, runners and bikers would then make a diary entry and watch their training progress.
It's all that simple.
> Documentation
How can TrailRunner support me?
13/02/06 22:03
Motivate, collect, explore. These are the three topics TrailRunner tries to focus on. For an insight into the main idea behind TrailRunner, read the About.