Compass

Compass

ViewRanger Compass Support

The following phones contain an electronic compass, which is supported by ViewRanger from version 2.7.24 onwards:

5th edition: Nokia: N97; N97-mini. Samsung: i8910HD.

3rd edition: Nokia E72; E55; E52; 5730; N86; 6720; 6710; 6210.

Note: E52, E55, 6710 - there is a fault in the firmware / operating system on these phones (not in ViewRanger itself), which makes the panorama unreliable. This has been reported to Nokia and we await a fix.

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Map view

ViewRanger displays a compass indicator to the bottom left of the map view. The white arrow points to north, the black line indicates grid north. To make the map align with the countryside around you, rotate the phone until the white arrow lines up with the black line.

The outer ring of the compass changes colour to show whether the compass is calibrated and how accurate its current reading is. Red means the compass is not accurate; yellow means it has limited accuracy; and green means it is accurate.

To calibrate the compass rotate it a couple of times about two different axes - for example turn it twice about its vertical axis, then twice about a horizontal axis. Do this until the outer ring of the compass turns green. (For more on calibration, see the final section on this page.)

As the compass is calibrated the outer ring goes from red to yellow to green

Notes:

• The white arrow takes account of the magnetic variation that you set in the UI section of Settings.
• If auto rotate is enabled (using Options > Display) then the map will rotate by multiples of 90 degrees to best align with north.
• The compass can be switched on and off using Options > Display > Show / hide compass.

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Panorama

The panorama will rotate automatically to align with the direction the phone is pointing.

As with the map the calibration is indicated - the bottom axis changes colour, as does the compass button on touch screen phones. Twist the phone until the axis and button go green.

The direction the phone is pointing is indicated by an arrow in the bottom label area.

If you rotate the panorama manually - using the cursor keys, arrow buttons or by touching and dragging - the panorama will stop aligning with the compass. The phone's direction will still be shown with the green arrow, as long as it is in the field of view shown by the panorama.

To re-align the panorama with the compass simply press the compass button or choose Options > Start using compass.

Compass display in the panorama - left is not calibrated, middle and right are calibrated

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Trip

You can set any trip field to display the compass using the trip settings.

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Navigation

Normally ViewRanger navigates using your heading, as given by the GPS. You can tell ViewRanger to use the compass instead by selecting Options > Navigation > Use compass.

Important Note: Only do this if you are holding the phone straight in front of you. If you put the compass in your pocket then navigating using the compass will give the wrong direction. It would be fine if mounted on handlebars.

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Configuring for portrait / landscape

Some phones, for example the N97, automatically adjust the compass when you change the screen for portrait to landscape. However, other phones, such as the 6210, do not.

In ViewRanger you can set a correction for each orientation using the Compass section of Settings. For the N97 leave both the portrait and landscape corrections set to 0 degrees. For the 6210 leave portrait set to 0 degrees and set landscape to 90 degrees. For other phones experiment.

You may prefer to tell ViewRanger to use just one orientation - do this using the screen orientation setting in the UI section of settings.

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Compass calibration

If the compass ring is red or yellow, or if the panorama axis / arrow / button are red or yellow, then the compass needs to be calibrated for accuracy. This is the way the compass in these devices works, it's not something we can change.

To calibrate the compass you need to twist the phone until the compass ring, or panorama axis / arrow / button, go green.

There are several ways to do this. Some people flip the phone sharply over three times. Others turn it alternately about a horizontal axis, then a vertical axis. There are some You Tube videos which show these techniques.

N97 note: It is very hard to make the N97 calibrate if its screen is set to automatically rotate to landscape when you put the phone on its side. There are two solutions:

1. Switch off this feature using the phone's Settings - go to Phone > Sensor Settings > Turning control and switch off Auto-rotate display.
2. In ViewRanger go to Options > Settings, then into UI. Set the Screen orientation to either Portrait or Landscape. This stops ViewRanger auto-rotating the screen.

As the compass is calibrated the outer ring goes from red to yellow to green

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