Psi-Mapper/GB 5.0 (C) UK 1994-1997 Steve Litchfield ======================================================= Released as shareware March 1997 ... *************** If you unzipped this product from its constituent ZIP file(s) _without_ the "-d" or "Include folders/directories" option (to rebuild the original correct directory structure), then delete this file and the other files you've just created and try again! If you use a Mac, please note that you should avoid any unzipping options that involve 'smart'-handling of linefeeds. *************** If you've already got v4.7 on your Psion, you should use the special upgrade file, MA47UP50.ZIP instead, which gives specific instructions on how to tackle the upgrade with minimum fuss. If you've got a version *prior* to v4.7, you'd be best advised to delete the old program completely (including removing the icon from your system screen) and start from scratch by installing this 'full' distribution! *************** (Note that registration is half-price if you've previously registered any of my other Psi-Mapper country products. Contact me for details!) Registration address (send cheque for 14 pounds to): Steve Litchfield 22 Grays Crescent Woodley Berks RG5 3EN or register electronically on Compuserve with GO SWREG no. 6565, or with a credit card at http://www.swregnet.com/758p.htm Psi-Mapper update information and new versions can be found at http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/ Requires Psion Series 3a or 3c or Acorn PocketBook II, with approximately 100k of free system memory to run in. Psi-Mapper/GB 5.0 is shareware. This does not make it a free program! Yes, you can copy it freely to friends or acquaintances, or even upload the original ZIP file to ftp sites, bulletin boards, but if you like it and continue to use it, then you are honour-bound to register the program by sending me a cheque for œ14 (pounds). Registration gets you: a) a clear conscience that you're using paid-for software, and that you're helping support future development of Psi-Mapper/GB and other quality Psion shareware software. b) a special code that will personalise your copy of Psi-Mapper/GB, remove the opening shareware screen and let you access the program more conveniently by shrinking or removing the status window to give more room on-screen. No need to re-install the software, just use the registration menu option and type in the code! ******************** IMPORTANT!! ******************************** This text file documents the history of the program, its installation, and some of the more technical aspects to running it. For general help in using and understanding Psi-Mapper/GB, please browse through the *extensive* on-line help. The on-line help is the only documentation of most of Psi-Mapper/GB's features, so work through it properly! 8-) *********************************************************************** NOTE to upgraders in general. Although Psi-Mapper/GB gets updated regularly, these additions tend to be fairly minor. You may wish to check the changes summary below to see whether you need to upgrade your currently installed version or not. Note that if you are only one version behind, a special 'upgrade' ZIP is available for download on the Web, CIX and Compuserve, containing just the changed files. Quick summary of changes for v5.0 (since 4.7) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Formalised auto-detail bug operation (people seemed to like it as it was so I've made it permanent!); 30 new town plans; name change to reflect fact that program works on 3c as well as 3a; many more STD and postcodes filled in; a few minor bugs fixed; added Welsh Heritage sites; changed ETA/ETD feature in GPS moving map mode to work from second selected item (the 'To:' field); when finding place names, the previous find attempt is now given as the default; added many extra overlays, organised into overlay packs; extra roads added; --------------------------------------------------------------------- This is Psi-Mapper/GB, released as shareware for the Psion 3a and 3c. There is also a cut-down Siena version, currently at v1.1, using the same registration codes (so you can use either once registered etc) All rights reserved, and copyrights, including the database files and their format, where appropriate (see listings below). All data sets are original work of the various contributors, collated using information from low resolution free maps, genuine public domain information, data gathered from personally-owned GPS units, club/hobbyist databases, and RAC and AA member information packs. ****Please note**** that the displayed graphics, coastlines, boundaries, railways and road vectors are shown diagrammatically, for ease of understanding. Please especially note Psi-Mapper's low resolution. *Everything* is at *least* +/-1km both horizontally and vertically! Using low resolution means (i) that the program data can be built from public domain information (ii) that Psi-Mapper won't conflict or overlap with existing PC-based GIS systems or infringe map copyrights (iii) (most importantly) that quite large areas and amounts of information can be crammed into a palmtop, where a PC version would need megabytes!! Components and Installation. ---------------------------- This full distribution of Psi-Mapper/GB v5.0 comprises three separate ZIP files, for convenience in downloading and unzipping; MAPA50.ZIP (containing this file and the main program files), MAPB50.ZIP (containing extra MP3 item and MP4 vector overlays and any related information files or databases), and MAPC50.ZIP (containing the town plan schematics and utilities). There are also additional packs of overlays available, for more specialist interests. {Note that if you were rather looking for a 'lite' version of Psi-Mapper/GB, i.e. you don't want the town plans or most of the overlays, then just use MAPA50.ZIP on its own.} Psi-Mapper is almost certainly the largest and most complex program you'll ever have to install on your Psion, so don't get frustrated if you can't seem to work out how to get everything going immediately. Try installing another (simpler) program first, and then try Psi-Mapper again when you're more confident with files, directories etc. NOTE: Before installing Psi-Mapper, do the following. Go into 'Set Preferences' on your system screen menu and set 'Update lists' to "System Button". If you don't do this, the Psion will try and update all its lists after *every* file is copied, which will take ages .... If you don't use PsiWin on a PC: Assuming you *did* use -d with PKUNZIP etc. and now have all the files in their original directory structure; with the link on between the Psion and the desk-top machine, go to the Psion keyboard. Position the cursor on the system screen on Time and press Psion-C. The 'Copy Files' dialog will appear with the root directory selected. Change the second line to point to the appropriate directory on the desk-top. Change the third line to be "\", i.e. a single backslash. Change the fourth line to be the disk you want to install Psi-Mapper onto. Set the fifth line ("include subdirectories") to read "Yes". Your Psion will then copy over the directory tree in one go to the appropriate disk. If you use PsiWin: (i) If you correctly unzipped Psi-Mapper/GB with its orginal directory structure, then simply drag and drop this directory tree onto one of your Psion's disk root directories. Note: dragging and dropping whole directory trees so that they end up in the right place is not trivial and you may wish to read the manual and/or practice first!! (ii) If you've got all the Psi-Mapper files in the same directory, you're definitely going to have to do it all manually, but at least you can do it all with 'drag and drop'! You'll need to create the \APP\, the \APP\MAPPERGB\ and the \APP\MAPPERGB\PLANS\ directories by hand on your Psion using the 'Create Directory' menu command. A good tip is to sort the unzipped files by extension/type, i.e. all the .PICs together, all the .MP3s together, and so on. You can highlight blocks of files in PsiWin by clicking on the first one and then holding the key down and clicking on the last one. ALl files in between will now be highlighted as well, and you can drag and drop the lot in one go across to your Psion's drives!! If all else fails refer either to the list below, or to the INSTALL.SCR script file, both of which should give you enough clues as to where things go! TIP: - when you drag and drop, remember to hold the key down throughout the operation. This forces PsiWin to just copy the file(s) and not try to do any fancy conversions! {Inside the three ZIPs are the following files, file sizes quoted to help you decide on whether to install certain overlays etc. Contributor information also included where known or appropriate} Inside the 'A' ZIP ================== (Note the files marked with -* are ESSENTIAL and MUST be included for the program to run at all!) MAPPERGB.TXT - this file! MAPPERGB.OPA - the main program module. Place this in an \APP\ directory on any Psion drive, and install onto your system screen with Psion-I. Size - 64k -* plus support files, to be placed in a \APP\MAPPERGB\ subdirectory on the same disk: MAPHELP.RSC - the comprehensive on-line help file - 19k USEFUL.RSC - a help file of some useful numbers - 2k GB.MP1 - a data-set of approximately 1100 towns and cities, their post and STD codes - 35k -* (updated March 1997) COASTLIN.MP2 - a data-set showing the coastline of GB - 10k -* (updated by David Brown, November 1996) ROADS.MP2 - a data-set of the GB motorway and most of the primary route network - 25k -* (updated March 97) MAPPER.PIC - some icons for use with the overlays, including a default one, and the town plan icons etc. - 2k -* JUNCTION.MP3 - Motorway junctions - 8k JUNCTION.PIC - icon for each junction - 1k SERVICES.MP3 - Motorway service stations - 3k (updated July 96) SERVICES.PIC - icon for each service area - 1k Inside the 'B' ZIP ================== Loads of extra overlays, which you can install as you wish... note that if you install them *all*, you'd better count the cost of the extra SSD disk space needed! .... they also all go into the aforementioned \APP\MAPPERGB\ directory ... Vector overlays (i.e. lines and labels): RIVERS.MP4 - a vector format data-set of rivers - 5k (contributed 1996 by Tony Bartels and David Brown) RAILWAYS.MP4 - a vector format data-set of the GB railway network (excluding some local or irregular services) - 10k COUNTIES.MP4 - a vector format data-set of the GB county and admin boundaries - 13k (contributed by Mark Avey, updated 1996) FERRIES.MP4 - a vector format data-set of the external GB ferry routes - 2k TUBEZONE.MP4 - a vector format data-set of the Greater London tube zones - 1k (contributed by Tony Crocker) OSGRID.MP4 - a vector format data-set of the National Grid Squares - 1k (contributed by Simon Pooley) Item overlays (i.e. specific points and labels and reference info): FORTE.MP3 - Forte hotels (all different kinds) - 8k (contributed by Hedley Wright) LITTLECH.MP3 - Little Chef restauarants - 5k (updated summer 1996) HAPPYEAT.MP3 - Happy Eater restauarants - 2k (updated July 1996) PIZZAEXP.MP3 - Pizza Express restaurants - 4k (contributed by W Croaker) NOVOTEL.MP3 - Novotel Hotels - 1k HOLIDAY.MP3 - Holiday Inns - 1k TRAVINN.MP3 - Travel Inns - 4k (updated June 1996) TRAVELOD.MP3 - Forte Travelodges (updated June 1996) - 5k GRANADA.MP3 - Granada Lodges - 1k PREMIER.MP3 - Premier Lodges - 2k YHA.MP3 - Youth Hostels - 8k (contributed by Darren McMinn) FOOTBALL.MP3 - football grounds - 3k (contributed by Trevor Ridley) CRICKET.MP3 - county cricket headquarter grounds RUGBY.MP3 - rugby grounds - 1k RACECRSE.MP3 - race courses - 2k AIRFIELD.MP3 - airfields - 8k CAMPSITE.MP3 - recommended camp sites - 12k (contributed by Hedley Wright) CARAVANC.MP3 - Caravan Club sites - 8k (contributed by Hedley Wright) TVMAINTX.MP3 - TV transmitters - 2k (contributed by Simon Pooley) BBCRADIO.MP3 - BBC local radio stations - 2k MRACING.MP3 - motor racing circuits - 1k CASTLES.MP3 - castles - 5k (contrbuted by Mark Avey) DAYSOUT.MP3 - days out (theme parks, attractions etc) - 1k (contributed by Mark Avey, updated November 1996) NATTRUST.MP3 - National Trust Properties - 13k (contributed by Pat McMurray) HISTSCOT.MP3 - Historic Scotland sites - 3k (contributed by A. Thomson) EXHIBIT.MP3 - Exhibition centres - 1k (contributed by Pat McMurray) WOODLAND.MP3 - Woodland Trust sites - 7k (submitted by Tim Alton) ENGHER.MP3 - English Heritage sites - 4k (submitted by Tim Alton) CADW.MP3 - Welsh heritage sites - 2k (submitted by Peter Buxton, 1997) ZOOPARK.MP3 - Zoological parks - 1k (submitted by David Gouge, 1996) LIFEBOAT.MP3 - Lifeboat stations - 7k (submitted by Ian Henry, 1996) EVENTS.MP3 - Annual events - 3k - (submitted by David Brown) EZ_VIEW.MP3 - Easy to get to breathtaking views - 3k - (submitted by David Brown) [ NOTE that OTHER more specialist overlay packs are freely available for Psi-Mapper/GB: AROV9702.ZIP - amateur radio repeaters, packet radio etc. MARITIME.ZIP - ports, coastguards etc. PEAKWALK.ZIP - hill peaks across GB, plus 2 famous walks ANCIENT.ZIP - ancient (prehistoric) Britain (barrows etc) COMRADIO.ZIP - commercial radio stations, FM and AM CATHDRAL.ZIP - anglican cathedrals NATFEATS.ZIP - bays, lochs, reservoirs, channels NATURE.ZIP - sanctuaries and reserves WINDMILL.ZIP - windmills in all states of repair SPECIAL.ZIP - specialist interest stuff (steam/maps/aviation history/ sky-diving/pilots/roman history) ] Each of the .MP3 overlays listed has an associated .PIC file of the same name. These are the on-screen icons for overlays, and will be used if present in the main \APP\MAPPERGB\ directory. If they are not present, a default 'star' icon will be used .... Some of the overlays *may* also have information files (*.WRD) and/or database files (*.DBF), depending on whether the original compiler of the overlay supplied one. Some also have WRD files can read as usual in WORD, and describe the overlay in more detail. Each of the overlays usually includes reference information for each item (for example, telephone contact numbers), and this can be displayed by turning 'Overlay Reference Fields' On. As I say, all the above support files live in the \APP\MAPPERGB\ directory. MAPTUTOR.WRD is a short tutorial WRD file, which you're best advised to copy to a \WRD\ directory on your internal disk for working through and then deleting. Inside the 'C' ZIP ================== Lots of Town/Item plans VECTDRAW.OPO - the town plan drawing utility TPLIST.OPO - the town plan listing utility (Put these in \OPO\ on any drive) VECTDRAW.TXT - documentation for VECTDRAW (text file, doesn't need to be installed!) TPnnnnnn.MT1 - Lots and lots and lots of small files, each one a town plan schematic, you can use TPLIST to tell you which is which, if you really want to know! Install these files if you want to use the town plan facility and have the necessary Psion disk space available, putting them in \APP\MAPPERGB\PLANS\ on any drive. As at this version of Psi-Mapper/GB there are about 280 plans compiled. Note that 4 or 5 of the plans are for things like airports or exhibition centres (very useful!) and so will show up as 'invalid' under TPLIST. Psi-Mapper/GB supports a feature to show plans/schematics of selected towns or items, albeit to fairly basic resolution (again, space reasons prohibit a full street plan). At this version of the program only a limited number of town plans (about 25% of the total number of possible plans) have been completed, and it is hoped that if a town near you has not been done yet, you can compile a similar plan for it and send that it to me, and thereby contribute to the whole Psi-Mapper/GB project. Town plans should be constructed with the special VECTDRAW utility. Town plans have the file extension .MT1 and are typically 500 to 1500 bytes long. The recommended place for these is \APP\MAPPERGB\PLANS\ on any drive ... Read the VECTDRAW.TXT file if you want to do any plans yourself. Note that you can get a 'directory' of all town plans you've got loaded on your Psion with the small TPLIST utility ... GPS owners ---------- If you own a GPS unit (Global Positioning Service), you can hook it up to your Psion running Psi-Mapper to provide a moving-map display. See the file GPSNOTES.TXT for more details! .MP3 Overlays and their format etc. ----------------------------------- There are three ways to create your own .MP3 overlays, you can choose the method that works best for you: (i) Use the overlay creation menu options to create an overlay and then use the point and shoot method to identify where you want each item icon to appear, together with information for the reference field. This method can obviously be time-consuming if you have a lot of items to enter, but is friendly and easy to use! (ii) If you have a lot of items in your overlay and you know their OS northings and eastings (as numbers from 0 to 1000, so you may have to divide your figures by 10, 100 or 1000...), you can make the MP3 file yourself by preparing (for example) a CSV text file and then importing into DATA. The format is: Standard DATA file, named xxxxxxxx.MP3 in \APP\MAPPERGB\ 4 text fields: Name, Eastings, Northings, Reference Info The first record is a header record and should contain (What the reference fields represent) (What the name fields represent) (Blank) (Blank) The second record and following records contain (Name) (Eastings) (northings) (Reference info) If this is not clear to you, then please get in touch and I can arrange to help you construct your overlay. (iii) The third option is if you only have information in National Grid or Latitude and Longitude format or in paper map form and require extra help to construct an overlay. Please get in touch and I'll see what I can do! Please note that although these user-made .MP3 files are editable under DATA, you will run into a few problems if you update the records in the file on a *flash disk*, as the file *must be compressed* for Psi-Mapper/GB to use it, and the Psion won't let you compress a file on a flash disk! Thus you'll have to copy the file onto your internal or RAM disk, make the changes, compress the file and then copy it back over into the \APP\MAPPERGB\ directory on your flash. Psi-Mapper/GB *should* default to creating new .MP3 files on your *internal* disk, which is where you'll have less problems updating your overlay. Note that some of the built-in/supplied overlays have been compressed slightly to save space and so are not editable under DATA. If you're desperate to see what's in them, the freeware program JBDATA will let you do this. You will probably want to create a custom icon as well. In this case, Psi-Mapper/GB needs a 17 by 17 single-plane PIC file of the same filename as the .MP3 overlay, but with a .PIC extension. I normally create these icons by starting with a 48x48 blank icon using DRAW 2.82 (see appendix notes), drawing my icon in the top-left corner, and then using 'Draw/Dimensions' to create a 17x17 PIC. Save and exit. .MP4 overlays and their format ------------------------------- These vector overlays are non-trivial to create, and are best only tackled if you know what you're doing. For the record, here is a quick summary: The MP4 format is simply groups of 5 eastings/northings pairs per record. The 1st/last duplicate/line-up. All ferries/railways etc thus are fitted into block of 5 coordinate pairs. The vector *name* is printed if required to the top right of the third coordinate pair, normally, or to the bottom left if you flag this to Psi-Mapper/GB by setting the eastings coordinate of the *first* point in a record to be negative. Usual Psion OPL database format. First field is $ format, the numbers are all % format. All numbers in 1000s of eastings (i.e. 1km resolution). e.g. Record 1: Basingstoke E1:110 N1:234 E2:114 N2:227 E3:118 N3:220 E4:125 N4:210 E5:132 N5:200 Record 2: Basingstoke E1:132 N1:200 etc etc Deleting info from the custom town database, \OPD\MAPPER.DBF ------------------------------------------------------------ The \OPD\MAPPER.DBF file is editable under DATA, so you can delete individual towns etc and modify them in this way. Please remember to compress the file before exiting DATA ! Keeping a standard/default settings file ---------------------------------------- Note that because Psi-Mapper/GB can cope with read-only settings files, you can set everything up how *you* like it (i.e. your own private default for all settings) and then save it under a chosen name and make it read-only. You can then start Psi-Mapper/GB with your preferred settings and it will be prevented from overwriting them when you exit the program. Grabbing the current map screen as a PIC file --------------------------------------------- You may well want to grab a map screen as a standard Psion .PIC file, for printing or editing using DRAW or PAINT or any other Psion bit-map editor. Grabbing the Psion screen is done with pressing 'Control', 'Shift', 'Psion' and 'S' simultaneously (it's easier to do than it sounds) and lo and behold a file called SCREEN.PIC will have appeared in the root directory (\) of your internal disk ... _+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_ Thanks for trying Psi-Mapper/GB! If you decide to remove Psi-Mapper/GB from your Psion, please note that it creates several small files in \OPD\ on your default disk. MAPPER.DBF (custom place database), MAPPER.REG (your registration key, once I've given it to you) and assorted .MSF files (used to store your preferences and position etc from session to session). If you've created any custom overlays or their icons, there may also be a few files in an \APP\MAPPERGB\ directory on your internal disk, and if you've created some town/item plans, then there may be files in \APP\MAPPERGB\PLANS\ as well .... Small print: ------------ 1) Reverse engineering of the program or data modules is strictly forbidden. If you would like to create a complementary program and use my data-sets, then please get in touch with me. 2) You can contact me via email at slitchfield@cix.compulink.co.uk if you'd like. To speed up registrations, you can quote your email address for quick return of your registration code, or use the Compuserve SWREG scheme. 3) On-line support for Psi-Mapper/GB can be found on the World-Wide-Web at http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/ 4) If you give MAPPER to a friend (as is encouraged with shareware!), then it's always best to give him/her the original ZIP files. If the transfer takes place by SSD, then remember to include both the main MAPPERGB.OPA program and the \APP\MAPPERGB\ subdirectory (and its \APP\MAPPERGB\PLANS\ subdirectory, if present) full of data files. Do *not* give your friend your MAPPER.REG registration file, as this is unique to you and contains *your* name, and subsequent piracy will tell the world who started the outbreak! 5) Thanks to all the testers and contributors out there, who have supplied ideas, support, bug-reports, data, code fragments etc. You are too numerous to mention! If *you* find a bug or spot an error etc in any of the overlays, then please get in touch! 6) Note that the Northings/Eastings and National Grid coordinate systems are used with the kind written permission of Ordnance Survey. 7) Note on copyrights etc.: be careful to only make use of publicly available and public domain data sources when compiling any overlays or town/item plans, unless of course you sourced the information (from memory?) in the first place! If you submit an overlay to myself for inclusion in future versions of Psi-Mapper/GB, please state your source(s) of information and their copyright status. 8) Disclaimer: I accept no responsibility for anything happening to you as a result of inaccurate information within Psi-Mapper! I try to keep the overlays up-to-date as possible, but that is as far as my liability goes! 9) Do not use this application while on the move! If you crash your car while looking at your Psion, don't blame me!! Steve Litchfield