[OSM-newbies] Unpredictable Behaviour in Potlatch

[James Ewen]

On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 11:26 PM, Kevin & Ruth Sheather
<mobilesheathers at bigpond.com> wrote:

> I open the map in View mode, go to the area to
> which the tracks apply, zoom in,

That's fine for having a look around.

> click on Edit, log in, then click GPS
> Traces and find my tracks. I then click Edit beside the track and the map
> opens in Edit function where I opened it for this session.

No actually, it opens a new editing window. You are not logged into an
editing session. You are using a web browser. When you click on the
view button, you are using a viewing webpage (not sure of the actual
programming behind it, but that doesn't really matter).

When you click on edit, it uses your current view as a basis to start
the editing process. If you click on any other tab, you will close
down that editing session.

So, go to the GPS trace that you want and click edit (that being the
word edit just before the word PUBLIC as in my example below)

20091203_144107.gpx ... (679 points) ... about 1 month ago more / map
/ edit PUBLIC
Highway 63 new alignment
by VE6SRV in Canada, Alberta, Highway_63

When the EDIT session starts up, click the convert GPS tracks to ways
check box, and then click the edit with save or edit live box just
above the check box line. DO NOT CLICK the EDIT tab up top. That will
take you to edit mode at the last viewed area. You want to enter edit
mode via the GPS traces page so that your GPS traces can be turned
into a locked way.

> I then click the
> Show GPS Tracks button, a message tells me that my track is being processed.
> Then, and this is the problem, the map goes back to where I live which is
> about 100 km away from where I am trying to add the track. The only reason
> that I can think of for this strange behaviour is that I added a couple of
> bus stops and a post box in this area.

Sounds like you are clicking the top EDIT tab, and not the edit link
for the GPS trace. You should not have to click the show GPS tracks
button. When you enter editing mode from the edit link on the GPS
trace, you will get sent to the area near the start of your GPS trace,
and the GPS trace will be a bright red line (locked way). You have to
click the convert GPS tracks to ways check box for the red line to
show up. I have to zoom out a bit to find my trace some times.


> Advice as to how I get back to the correct location or stop the map from
> changing would be helpful. Scrolling at edit zoom levels is impossibly slow
> and I suspect devours my download plan at an alarming speed.

Just to be sure, don't use the EDIT tab at the top of the page... use
the edit link on the line that has the name of your GPS trace when
looking at the GPS traces page. (more / map / edit)

I think you've got your mind set in that you should be able to bounce
around the tabs at the top of the page as you wish without affecting
what you are up to. In fact, that changes everything that you are
doing. Drop that preconceived notion and try again. Sometimes it can
be really tough to change your mindset when your brain is set on
thinking "it should work this way", and it doesn't do that.

Try that, and see how you do. If you still don't get it, come on back
and we'll try again!

James
VE6SRV