Geocaching
ViewRanger can be a very useful tool for geocachers. It is worth being aware of these points:
LOC and GPX Import
You can import .LOC files into ViewRanger. To do this, copy the file to the ViewRanger folder on the memory card. Go to Options > Data manager, then use Options > Import/export > Import GPX/LOC. The points appear as new points of interest in the My POIs section.
You can also import GPX files.
If your LOC or GPX contains more than a few dozen points, you should import it as a POI set by going to Data manager's POI sets section.
Groundspeak GPX files contain a lot of additional data using special Groundspeak specific tags. In v2.6 and later Viewranger will read a couple of the most important Groundspeak tags and combine them with the standard GPX tags. The tags it reads are the name and the long description.
Open web links
Imported geocaches often have a web link, which can be followed to see the clues. Select the POI, press the cursor pad centre and choose Details. Use the cursor keys to highlight the web link, press the cursor pad centre and choose Open link. The phone will open the associated web page. This works better on more recent phone models and check the price your operator charges you for data downloads.
Search for local caches
Geocaching.com and some other web sites can show a list of geocaches in an area using a URL like this:
www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx?lat=<lat>&lng=<lon>&dist=25
where <lat> and <lon> are replaced by numeric coordinates.
You can configure ViewRanger to open this URL, filling in the location coordinates. ViewRanger will ask if you wish to use the GPS location or the map centre.
To configure the URL create a text file E:/ViewRanger/Config/LocationWeb.txt (download the file for geocaching.com by right clicking here and choosing save). In the file put your URL with the place the latitude and longitude need to go indicated by <lat> and <lon>, as in the geocaching example above.
To open the page choose Options > Phone > "Open location web page". It will ask if it should use the map centre or the GPS location, unless you are locked to the GPS. It will then open the URL in a web browser, replacing <lat> and <lon> with coordinates.
Manual POIs
You can create your own POI using Options > Create POI. You can move it on screen or can set its position numerically by selecting it, pressing the cursor pad centre and choosing Edit > Set position (which shows the coordinates panel) or Edit > Move (to move it graphically on the map).
Coordinate formats
ViewRanger supports a range of formats for displaying coordinates, such as British national grid and longitude and latitude. For longitude and latitude you can choose to display in degrees and decimal minutes, for example N 52 deg 12.345'.
Choose this in Options > Settings then the UI tab.
Distance to target
ViewRanger can show you navigation details to reach your target point. Select the POI, press the cursor pad centre and choose Navigate. This will show the Trip view and you can flip between this and the map view. The trip view has customisable profiles - use the right cursor key to swap between these. To start with swap to the one named GPS and you'll see fields like distance to target and the navigation arrow.
The navigation arrow points the way to the target, relative to your current direction of travel. The arrow can be displayed over the map by choosing Options > Display > Show navi arrow. The arrow's colour changes depending where you are. If you are within the arrival alarm distance (set in Options > Settings > GPS) it will be red. If you are further away it will be green.