KML error, filename bug, and some feedback about 1.34

[routeconverter]

Hi, first I wanted to say that RouteConverter is a hidden gem of a program with so many useful features, that I couldn't even imagine that someone would think of them, let alone implement them in a free program. I just started using it but I am already amazed at what it offers.

Thank you.

First, there is a bug in saving filenames containing dots. When I save a file and put a date in the filename, such as (24.06.10), the last part - ".10)" will get stripped off. Not sure if that's a 'feature' of java or what...

The program tries to be nice and replaces the file extension with the one appropriate for the chosen format. It fails in your case, but if the file is called 240610 or 24.06.10.kml this magic should work.

Second - version 1.33 has trouble reading .kml files, saying "an error occurred while opening 'file.kml' : null". Now, these are from Google Earth 5.2.1.1329 (beta) Build Date Jun 10, 2010 and the prerelease version, 1.34, fixes the problem and loads the files - but sometimes it detects them as a Garmin POI database (.xcsv) - see attached.

That is weird: the file you've sent me contains a Track encoded like this

Code:

            <gx:Track>
                <when>2009-07-25T17:45:25Z</when>
                <when>2009-07-25T17:50:49Z</when>
                <gx:coord>-72.93847 42.721797 335.0000000000001</gx:coord>
                <gx:coord>-72.938855 42.72168 327</gx:coord>
            </gx:Track>

But this not defined in Google's XML Schema Extension http://code.google.com/apis/kml/schema/kml22gx.xsd

Did you produce that file with Google Earth?

Third - the elevation retrieval in 1.34 is excellent! It's much faster and more accurate than in 1.33 (different server?). Good job with that.

Local files are the reason. The 1.34 first tries to download and use HGT files and then falls back to geonames.org and earthtools.org

Fourth - this might be just a personal pet peeve, but from a usability viewpoint, it's easier to access features through tabs rather than through menus and right-clicks. [..]

Thank you for your feedback, actually there have been quite emotional discussions in this forum about the UI and its usability after the 1.32 release. In conclusion I've decided to go with a more classic UI design that is implemented in the prereleases.

So with that said, I am very much looking forward to where RouteConverter is going and hoping to be of help.

I have a lot of users from Germany - do you have an idea how to increase the visibility in other parts of the world?