TopoShare.org Help

Sign up for an account / Login

1. Click Sign Up on the home page
   
2. Enter a username and password
3. Select the units you want your distances and elevation displayed in
4. Enter your home address (or click map).  This will be used to display routes near you.
5. Select the week you want your log calendar to show.
6. Click Submit
   
7. Click Login (top right of navigation bar).  Hint: Capitalization in your username and password does matter.

Find an Adventure Map

1. Click Search from the navigation bar.
   
2. Click:  State, County, then Activity type.  The routes found will display below.
3. Or: Type in an address or city and click Search Address
4. Click Zoom to open the Trip Player
5. Click the play button to watch the trip play back on the map and elevation profile
6. Click the title of the route to get details (See below)
7. Select Details at the top of the page to get a complete listing of all routes and their detailed listing.
   

Get the Adventure Map

1. Find an Adventure Map via Search or My Trips (See above).
   
2. Click on the title of the route to get route details
3. Click the map image to zoom and get
   
4. Click Print to get a printer friendly page to print
5. Click Google Earth to view the route in Google Earth
6. Click Download to save a GPX file for uploading to your GPS
7. Make sure you get driving directions to the trailhead as well as detailed weather forecast and weather radar image before you go.
   

Download a Map to your GPS

1. Make sure the GPX file has downloaded on to your computer (See above)
2. Connect to your GPS to the computer (via USB or serial cable)
3. Start your GPS transfer program.  A program to read GPX files may have come with your GPS.  If not, check out the free program G7toWin.  We have posted some directions to use G7toWin on our blog.
4. Transfer the GPX route to your GPS.
5. Enjoy your trip!
   

Upload a Route from your GPS

1. After the trip, connect your GPS to your computer.
2. Start your GPS transfer program.  A program to connect to your GPS may have come with your GPS.
3. Remove any tracks that aren't part of the route you want to upload.  It is very easy to upload multiple trips to the site accidently -- making it very difficult for users to access the trip you have uploaded.
   
4. Merge the GPS tracks into one track.  Many GPS units create a new GPS route every time the GPS loses contact with the satellites.  It is important to combine these separate routes into one before uploading to the TopoShare.org site so future users are able to follow the track you initially took.  One of the best programs to edit and merge tracks visually is TopoFusion.  They currently have a demo version that gives full access to the program with some limitations in the mapping image.
5. Reduce the number of points in the route if possible.  Some older GPS units won't accept a route with more than 250 points.  TopoFusion will makes it easy to reduce the number of points without comprimising the quality of the route.
6. Save the route to your computer.  Make sure you select the GPX format from the save window.
7. Click Upload on the navigation bar.
   
8. Click on "Browse..."  and select the GPX file on your computer.
9. Select they type of information you want to upload (Waypoints, routes, trips, tracks) and click Upload.
10. The new route will be uploaded and will show up under My Trips.

Edit and Share a Route after Upload

1. Click on My Trips on the navigation bar.  This will show all the trips you have uploaded.  Only the ones you have made public will be visible to other members.
   
2. Click Edit.
3. Fill out the name of the route, comment, and description.  NOTE: If you would like include links in your description (such as to flickr.com) enter them in this format:  "Link Text":www.yoursite.com  So, a link called GPS Sharing to this site would be:  "GPS Sharing":www.toposhare.org  If you added text in parenthesis to the title: "GPS Sharing(Check this out)":www.toposhare.org you would add text that you see when you mouse-over the link.
   
4. Make sure you select the type of activity from the drop-down list.
5. Select the type of background map you would like to use for the route.  Color Aeriel (Urban) images are available for major metro areas.
6. Click Public to share the route with the TopoShare.org community.

Log a trip you have taken more than once

1. If you have a route you have taken more than once that you would like to track (a trail running route, for example) you can use the function.
2. Find the route you would like to log using Search or My Trips.  Click on the details tab.
   
3. Click New Log Entry below the route description.
4. Select the date and time you took on the route.  You can also select the equipment you used on the trip.  This can be used for GPS, rock climbing or mountaineering gear.  You can add new equipment to your list under the Equipment tab on the navigation bar.
   
5. Click Submit.
6. If you click Log on the navigation bar, you can see a graph showing all the logs you have submitted.

Create a new GPS route

1. Click Create Route on the navigation bar.
2. Use the + or - on the map to zoom to the area you would like to create a route.
3. Start by clicking map at your starting position.
4. You can manually pan the map by holding down the left mouse button and dragging.
5. Each time you click the map a new route point will be created.
6. When you are finished, click 'Save' and the route will be stored and can be found in My Trips.

Navigate using the Maps

1. Click on Maps on the navigation bar, or click on the route map from the route details page.
2. Select the Layers tab to choose the type of map to view (Topographic, aerial, or urban color).  You may also check the box next to weather, ridge radar and click refresh map to view a weather map of the area you are viewing.
3. Select the Routes tab to see quick links to the routes listed under My Trips.
4. Select the Search tab to find a location by street address.
5. Tools:
1. Zoomin: Click once on the map or hold the mouse button down and draw a rectangle of the area you want enlarged.
2. Zoomout: Click once in the map.
3. Center: Click where you want the new center.
4. Info, Extract info from points: Hold the mouse button down and draw a rectangle. Each track / way point within the rectangle will be listed under the map window.
5. New / edit route: Plot a new route or alter a old one. Follow the instruction that appears to the left.
6. Measure: Measure length.
7. Print:  Generates a preview page of the map in your browser that can be printed.
   

Applications for Viewing Tracks before Upload

1. TopoFusion -- www.topofustion.com
2. QuakeMap -- www.quakemap.com
3. G7toWin -- www.gpsinformation.org/ronh/
4. USAPhotoMaps -- www.jdmcox.com/

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