User Manual — Geo-Explo

1. Overview

Geo-Explo is a mapping module integrated into the forum, designed for overlanders and heavy-vehicle travellers. It lets you share GPS tracks, points of interest, and geotagged photos directly in your posts.

The module is active in all forums under the Voyages category. In other categories, posts are unchanged.

What you can do

• Share GPS tracks (.gpx files) with automatic statistics
• Add geolocated spots (campsites, water points, hazard warnings...)
• Place your photos on the map via GPS EXIF metadata
• Edit your tracks: trim, split, merge, rename segments
• Explore all forum tracks on the interactive map
• Save favourite tracks and define private zones

2. Viewing a GPS track in a post

When a post in the Voyages category contains a GPS track, an interactive map automatically appears above the post content, before the written text.

2.1 The interactive map

The map is fully interactive: zoom with the mouse wheel, pan by dragging. Each track is shown as a coloured line.

• Click on the track — shows a popup with name, total distance, elevation gain and min/max altitude
• Double-click — zooms in on that point
• + / − buttons — zoom in/out

2.2 Elevation profile

If the track contains altitude data, a chart is displayed below the map. The horizontal axis represents distance travelled, the vertical axis altitude in metres.

Hover over the chart: a red ball moves in real time on the track on the map, and a tooltip shows three values:

• Altitude at the hovered point (metres)
• Distance from start (km)
• Time of passage (if GPS timestamps are available)

2.3 Geotagged photos

Photos attached to the post whose EXIF metadata contains GPS coordinates appear as 📷 camera icons (circular markers with a camera emoji) on the map.

• Click a 📷 icon to see the photo thumbnail and title
• Click the thumbnail to open the full-size photo

2.4 Under the map: "Download GPX" and "View on global map"

You are in post viewing mode. Under the map, these two actions are available (editing is done from the post form, section 3):

• Download GPX — downloads the raw file to your device
• View on global map — opens the global Explorer at the right location with an adapted zoom level to immediately center on the track/spot area

3. Creating or editing a geo post

In Voyages category forums, a Geo-Explo panel appears below the text editor when creating or editing a post.

This panel contains four optional and independent features. Only check those you need — all can be combined.

3.1 Adding a GPX track

Check "Add a GPX track" to reveal the track form. You can either drag-and-drop a .gpx file into the drop zone, or use the file browser button.

After selection, a track preview appears with automatically calculated statistics: distance, elevation gain, GPS point count, min/max altitude.

• The track is simplified automatically (Douglas-Peucker algorithm) for lighter display without losing shape
• The original complete data is preserved for download
• The track name is pre-filled from the GPX file but is editable

3.2 Adding a spot

A spot is a geolocated point of interest: campsite, water point, trail hazard, viewpoint, rest area...

Check "Add a spot" then fill in:

• Title — name of the place
• Category — spot type (Campsite, Supply, Trail, Viewpoint...)
• Tags — characteristics based on category (e.g. Free, Drinking water, Shaded...)
• Coordinates — latitude and longitude (direct entry or click on map)
• Description — practical details
• Suitable for — vehicle types for which this spot is accessible

3.3 Geolocating the post

This option associates a geographic area with the post itself (independently of the track or spot). It is used by the explorer filters.

Check "Geolocate this post" and click on the map to place a marker. Country and region are detected automatically.

3.4 Cover image

You can designate a cover image that will be displayed in track previews (explorer card, sharing). It must be among the post's attachments.

Check "Cover image" then select the desired attachment. A square preview is shown.

3.5 Automatic drafts (text + geo + files)

While you write, Geo-Explo automatically saves your draft on the server to prevent data loss (tab closed, network drop, switching device).

This draft is tied to your account and post context (forum/topic/post). You can resume on another machine once logged in.

• Subject and message are saved every 30 seconds, and 5 seconds after typing stops.
• Structural geo events (enable track/POI/geolocation, change a geo field, place/reposition a point on the map) trigger an immediate draft save.
• Geo-Explo files (GPX track and cover image) are uploaded to the server immediately when file selection changes.
• When reopening, a "Draft from ..." banner restores text + geo content, classic phpBB attachments, and shows server-side draft file names (reused at publish time if you do not choose new local files).
• The "Ignore draft" button only clears the local restored form (it does not delete the server draft).
• A draft is auto-deleted only if it was restored in this form and then submitted with the final "Post" action. If you ignore it and publish different content, the source draft remains. You can also delete drafts manually in phpBB Draft Manager, which then also cleans linked Geo-Explo draft files.

4. GPX Track Editor

The GPX editor is a complete tool for modifying your tracks before publishing. It opens in a dedicated window from the post form.

The interface is split into two areas: the sidebar on the left (controls, statistics, lists) and the interactive map on the right.

4.1 Loading GPX files

Click "Load a GPX" at the top of the sidebar. You can select multiple GPX files at once (Ctrl+click or Shift+click).

• Each file can contain one or more segments
• Segments from the same file form a file group — they will export together in one GPX file
• The map automatically recentres on the loaded tracks

4.2 Segment list

Each segment in the list shows its name, distance, elevation, point count and action buttons.

• ✂ Trim — opens start/end sliders for this segment
• 🗑 Delete — deletes the segment (confirmation required)
• ⠿ Handle — drag to reorder segments

Renaming a segment

Double-click on a segment name. An inline input field appears. Confirm with Enter or by clicking elsewhere. Press Escape to cancel.

4.3 Trimming a segment (start / end)

Trimming lets you hide the first and/or last points of a segment — useful to remove the home-to-start drive or spurious recordings.

Click "✂ Trim" in the segment actions. Two sliders appear:

• Start slider — hides the first N points
• End slider — hides the last N points
• Click "Apply" to confirm, or "Cancel" to revert

4.4 Splitting a segment in two No "mode" needed

Splitting is always available without activating any special mode. Simply click on any track to select a split point.

How to split a segment:

1. Click on the track where you want to split. The nearest GPS point is highlighted with a red circle. A tooltip shows the segment name and altitude.
2. The "✂ Split" button (in the Undo/Redo bar) turns bright red and becomes clickable.
3. Click "✂ Split": the segment is divided in two. The new segments inherit the original name with suffixes -A and -B.

4.5 Merging segments

Merge selected segments

The "Merge selected segments" button at the bottom of the list groups selected segments into one (concatenation in list order).

Merge files

The list displays separate file boxes, with segments inside each source file box. Select segments from different files (checkboxes), then click "Merge files". These segments will now export together in the same GPX file.

4.6 Junctions (Connect / Merge selected junctions)

With multiple segments, the Junctions panel appears automatically. It lists all end-to-end connections between consecutive segments.

Each junction shows the names of both segments, the geographic distance between the end of the first and the start of the second, and the time gap if tracks are timestamped.

Connecting segments at a junction

Check a junction's checkbox to draw a grey dashed line on the map between the two segments, visualising the route from the end of one to the start of the other.

Merging connected segments

The "Merge selected junctions" button is dedicated to the Junctions panel. It is enabled when at least one junction is checked and merges only linked segment groups, leaving others intact.

Example

With 4 segments and the junction between #2 and #3 checked: the button creates 3 segments — #1, merged #2+#3, #4 unchanged.

4.7 Elevation profile

If your tracks contain altitude data, the elevation chart appears automatically in the sidebar, aggregating all visible segments.

Hover over the chart: a red ball moves on the map, and a tooltip shows altitude · distance · time.

4.8 Global statistics

After loading one or more segments, global statistics appear at the top of the sidebar and update on every modification:

• Total distance — sum of all visible segments (km)
• Elevation gain — cumulative ascent (m)
• Min / Max altitude — altitude extremes across all segments
• GPS point count — total number of tracklog points

4.9 Timeline

If your tracks have GPS timestamps, the timeline shows segments on a shared time axis. Gaps (pauses, overnight stops) are shown as hatching.

Click a segment bar in the timeline to select it and centre the map on it.

4.10 Edit the basemap on OpenStreetMap

A "✏ Edit the basemap on OpenStreetMap" link is available in the sidebar. It opens the OSM iD editor at exactly the same position and zoom level as your current view.

4.11 Undo and Redo

All operations are undoable. Each action is named in the history visible at the bottom of the sidebar.

• "↩ Undo" or Ctrl+Z — undoes the last action
• "↪ Redo" or Ctrl+Y / Ctrl+Shift+Z — redoes

4.12 Download and send to post

Once your edits are complete:

• "Download GPX" — exports a GPX file to your device in the current state of all modifications
• "Send to post" — sends the data back to the posting form and closes the editor (only visible when opened from a post)
• "Load a GPX" — imports one or more new GPX files into the editor to add them to your current editing session

4.13 Keyboard shortcuts

5. Map explorer

The Explorer page (accessible from the navigation menu) displays all forum tracks and spots on a full-screen interactive map.

Nearby point markers (spots, geolocated posts, images, homes) are grouped into clusters that split as you zoom in. GPX tracks remain lines and appear from a sufficient zoom level.

5.1 Quick start

Use this sequence to get productive quickly in Explorer:

• Search for a place in the search field to immediately recenter the map on the target area.
• Select content types (tracks, spots, geolocated posts, images, homes) from the sidebar.
• Refine results with difficulty, vehicle type, spot type, tags and post-type filters.
• Pan and zoom: the map reloads data automatically for the currently visible area.
• Click a marker or track to open the detailed popup and use the "View post" link.
• Read counters, then enable "Chronological journey" to visualize time order per member.

5.2 Chronological journey on the global map

The "Chronological journey" button in Explorer links visible dated items on the global map.

Each member gets a dedicated color, and the legend under the counters shows which path belongs to whom.

• The top counter now includes georeferenced photos alongside tracks, spots, posts and homes.
• The line is built from raw dated points (not grouped marker icons), so visual clustering never breaks chronology.
• For photos, only reliable EXIF dates are used; a photo without usable EXIF datetime is excluded.
• GEOEXPLO_DOC_EXPL_JOURNEY_LI4
• GEOEXPLO_DOC_EXPL_JOURNEY_LI5

Open the explorer →

6. Member geo profile

On a member's profile page, a Geo-Explo section displays a map with all their published tracks.

• Total distance travelled
• Number of tracks and spots published
• Countries visited

6.1 Chronological journey of items

On the profile map and in My account → My map, the "Chronological journey" button links items in time order.

The date source depends on item type. If no usable date exists, the item is excluded from the chronological path.

This view is for a single member. On the global Explorer map, the same concept is rendered per member with dedicated colors and a legend.

GEOEXPLO_DOC_PROFILE_JOURNEY_P4

7. My account — Geo-Explo settings

In your personal area (My account), a Geo-Explo tab gives access to four sections.

7.1 My favourites

Save your favourite tracks and spots by clicking the ♥ Favourite button on each track or spot card.

Your favourites list is accessible in My account → Geo-Explo → My favourites. Each favourite shows a map thumbnail, name, author and a link to the original post.

7.2 Private zones

Private zones let you automatically hide portions of your tracks that pass through a confidential geographic area — your home, workplace, etc.

Define one or more rectangular zones on the map. Segments passing through these zones are automatically trimmed during public display.

7.3 My home

Home management is available in My account → Geo-Explo → Private zones, inside the "Geo-Explo: My Home Base" block. You can add, edit and delete permanent or temporary home locations there.

The form switches to edit mode automatically when you click a home marker, a table row, or the "Edit" button.

• Place the home location on the map (click): latitude and longitude fields are auto-filled, then adjustable by dragging the marker.
• Set a home label (optional): when empty, a default label is applied.
• Select visit policy: "Contact me before visiting", "Unannounced visits welcome", or "No visits please".
• Text address: optional account-side context field, not shown publicly.
• Community visibility: the dedicated checkbox controls whether this home can appear in Explorer for authorized members.
• Consent is mandatory: the consent checkbox must be ticked on each save request, otherwise saving is refused.
• Illustration (optional): if enabled by admin, you can upload a JPG/PNG/WEBP image with instant preview; the new image replaces the previous one.
• Capacity and editing: domicile capacity is configuration-driven; once reached, delete one entry before adding another. "Cancel edit" returns to add mode.

7.4 My vehicle

Register your vehicle so your tracks are properly tagged and to filter spots accessible to it.

• Type — category (Truck, 4x4 SUV, Motorbike, Bicycle...)
• Weight — GVW in tonnes (used for accessibility filters)
• Dimensions — width, height (narrow passages, tunnels)
• Drive — 4WD, 2WD, AWD... (for trail filters)
• Photo (optional) — your vehicle in the field