We’ve just updated the site with a new feature. We have introduced the ability to attach labels (or tags) to your list of routes. Labels work in much the same way as folders but you can give a route more than one label. You can now get the site to only show certain labelled routes and also sort by route distance, type and name. This has been one of our most requested features I’m going to spend the next few minutes sorting mine as I have 100s of saved routes and it will be nice to get them into some sort of order! Have a play and let us know what you think.

This is not currently possible on Mapometer.com but we found  this link which explains how to do it using a text editor.

http://www.ehow.com/how_7314918_join-gpx-files.html

There is also a free windows application that you can download here:

http://www.gpstrackeditor.com/

And a Youtube video explaining how to do it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMOsDVEF2Zw

We’ve been asked a few times for this recently so here it is.  You can find it here also:

http://www.openstreetmap.org/key

We have been hard at work and created the following new features which are live on the site now.  As always, if you find any bugs please let us know via our Facebook page, Twitter, this blog or by emailing us at info@mapometer.com.  Mapometer continues to be 100% free!!

1.  Editing.  We have completely re-written the editing function to allow users to edit part of the route (either flipping to the nearest route or by dragging individual points around), deleting sections of the route, reversing the route’s direction and moving the start and end points.  We have tried to make it as easy as possible to use and probably the bestway to understand this is to try it for yourself.  The editing tab appears whenever you are drawing or editing a route.  We’ll try and post some more on this soon.

2.  Altitude.  Now, when you click on the altidude button and hover your mouse over or touch the line on the altitude graph, the position on the route will be shown.  This has been very popular request and very useful for planning routes.

3.  Arrows.  Another requested feature.  Your routes now have arrows.

4.  Viewing routes.  If you are viewing someone else’s route we have created a “Create your own route based on this one” button.  If you are viewing one of your own routes you can edit it as well.

5.  Search.  We’ve made some improvements.  When you are looking at your search results hovering over the route will bring it to the front so it is easier to see.  Clicking on it opens it in a new window.

We hope this updates makes using the site easier.  Best wishes from all of us at Mapometer.

There have been many stories in the press how many people are getting on their bikes, putting on their running shoes etc as a result of watching all the fantastic sports men and women at the Olympics.  And it seems they stories are true!  We really have seen a massive surge in users over the last couple of weeks with a 52% increase on the same period last year.

We are rolling out a big update to the site over the next few days.  Much of the work is under the hood stuff and, for the more technically minded, involves an upgrade to Google Maps Version 3.  This will enable all sorts of future functionality but there are a few features you will notice immediately.

1.  iPads and iPhones will work again!!  They haven’t been since Apple releasied iOS5 but they will now.

2.  The Search will engine runs at lightening speed.  Previously it has been a little on the slow site particularly in popular areas.

3.  We’ve introduced a way to change the colour, thickness and shade of the route via My Account / Preferences.

We have tested the changes but, as with all upgrades, we would be grateful if you could email info@mapometer.com if you experience any problems.  Mapometer.com continues to be free and we feel this important upgrade  will help in our aim to be the best site for measuring your routes and managing your training logs.

We use another website to provide us with the altitude data for our routes.  This week the information has stopped being transferred for some reason.  We are working to get it fixed and planning an update that  would bypass the third party site anyway so please bear with us and we should have it sorted in the next few days.

We’ve fixed this.

We have some exciting news for London Marathon runners. We have teamed up with a publisher to bring you a map of the route that you can personalise with your name and time. The maps are printed on 300 gram paper with light fast inks and will be sent in a protective postal tube. This is the first marathon route we are printing but we’ll do more in the future. Good luck to everyone running on Sunday. Follow this link for more information.

http://www.mapometer.com/printed_routes/london_marathon

Over the weekend we had a few emails from users who had problems logging in.  It seems be be affecting a small percentage of users who have created more than one account and one of them is linked to Facebook.

If you have problems please email us at info@mapometer.com and we will look into it.

We’ve just updated the site with a special new feature for users that log on through Facebook and Twitter. Now, whenever you map a new route or log a training session, you can choose to have this automatically posted on Facebook and Twitter. It is turned off by default so to turn this feature on login to Mapometer.com go to My Account and then Social Networks.