MapsToGPX.com

This is the latest major update to a tool I've discussed in earlier blog articles.

I've re-branded the tool I built to convert Google Maps Directions to GPX files to Maps To GPX and it now has its own dedicated domain.

Along with the main tool I also migrated the dev-tool that constructs GPS replay files for developers that are dealing with developing location aware applications (e.g. apps for smartphones and other handheld devices).

Other updates include a better tracking for conversion errors and an even simpler user interface. There is hardly any configuration needed and the configuration options available should be very accessible for novice users.

I have also finally fixed a slew of previously unreported bugs. 

Change Log

• New domain. Old links correctly redirect to appropriate places under the new domain.
• The tool now tracks all errors that occur during conversion and reports them for me to fix.

Fixed multiple URL related bugs that caused the tool to silently fail.

• Unicode characters are now correctly decoded.
• Space character encoded correctly in Maps URLs (this one was a strange one).
• Handling of strange xxxxxxxx entries in some map URLs that cause a failure.
• Proper handling of unicode characters and special accents (such as apostropies in French place names).
• Better error handling and early exit when communication with maps.google.com fails.

Fixes in output file generation

• Fixed an issue with malformed description field causing errors in conversion.
• Output filename adjusted to include the conversion date and time.
• Output now correctly updates copyright notices with relevant year.
• Fixed issue when waypoints for places contained only a lat/lon name.

Fixes in website front-end

• Improved validation of URL before attempting to download.
• User will now be given an early warning the url is malformed.
• Errors are cleared more consistently now when user modifies input.
• Added a "Donate" button to the page for users eager to thank me.

Don't delay, try it out now :)

This article and more are available on my blog.