Issue 1545 in mytracks: MyTracks KML doesn't import correctly into MEL

[mytr...@googlecode.com]

Status: New
Owner: ----
Labels: Type-Defect Priority-Medium Reported-Site

New issue 1545 by charles....@gmail.com: MyTracks KML doesn't import
correctly into MEL
http://code.google.com/p/mytracks/issues/detail?id=1545

What steps will reproduce the problem?
1. export MyTracks track to KML
2. transfer KMZ file to computer; Unzip resulting KMZ to KML file
3. upload KML file to MEL

What is the expected output? What do you see instead?
Uploading the KML file to Maps Engine Lite only results in the waypoint
markers being imported; the track itself does not show up. This is
different behavior than what you get if you export directly to Google Maps
Engine (where the waypoints show up in one layer and the track in
another). I don't know what would happen if you tried to import a KML that
was just track & no waypoints.

What version of MyTracks are you using? On what version of Android? On what
phone?
MyTracks 2.0.7; Android 4.4.2; Samsung GalaxyS3



If possible please provide a log by uploading here.
Detailed instructions can be found here:
http://code.google.com/p/mytracks/wiki/HowToReportErrors

Please provide any additional information here:


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[mytr...@googlecode.com]

Comment #1 on issue 1545 by js...@google.com: MyTracks KML doesn't import

correctly into MEL
http://code.google.com/p/mytracks/issues/detail?id=1545

This is a bug on Google Maps Engine.

My Tracks outputs a valid kml file, I suspect Google Maps Engine kml import
only supports certain kml tags and not others.

[mytr...@googlecode.com]

Comment #2 on issue 1545 by mikechar...@gmail.com: MyTracks KML doesn't

import correctly into MEL
http://code.google.com/p/mytracks/issues/detail?id=1545

this same issue occurs if the file is loaded into various other programs,
such as gpsprune. Just the start and end waypoint are available and the
track itself is missing. This is relatively new behavior as i have been
using gpsprune to trim tracks for years, and now it fails to load the
track something about the way My Tracks stores the track ( layer,
format, ?, I dont know) has changed in the My tracks program itself, or
all of the programs I have tried call the same dll, add-in, plug-in,
engine, etc, and that has changed. Seems more likely a small change to My
Tracks, as files recorded from previous versions of My Tracks still load
fine.

[mytr...@googlecode.com]

Comment #3 on issue 1545 by js...@google.com: MyTracks KML doesn't import

correctly into MEL
http://code.google.com/p/mytracks/issues/detail?id=1545

Do you remember which version of My Tracks still loaded fine? Thanks.

[mytr...@googlecode.com]

Comment #4 on issue 1545 by mikechar...@gmail.com: MyTracks KML doesn't

import correctly into MEL
http://code.google.com/p/mytracks/issues/detail?id=1545

Unfortunately I cannot say for sure. Seems like this started in mid to
early june. I have however identified a difference in the file structure.
When looking at kml files that load and those that don't, My Tracks files
that load correctly always seem to have 2 <gx:track></gx:track> segments,
the first of which seems to be just two points. If I add just the
<gx:track></gx:track> in front of the gx:track data, the file now loads
fine into GPSprune, and will be readable in google earth after cropping the
file. One thing that I haven't figured out is when is load one of these
modified files back into My Tracks to view, the speed data is now wrong
because the total time is always some random number of hours usually in the
thousands, despite all of the time stamps in the file being within a period
of a few hours.

[mytr...@googlecode.com]

Comment #5 on issue 1545 by mikechar...@gmail.com: MyTracks KML doesn't

import correctly into MEL
http://code.google.com/p/mytracks/issues/detail?id=1545

related possibly too this is just the simple fact the My Tracks does not
play nicely with the desktop version of Google Earth. If A track from My
Tracks is opened and saved in desktop Google Earth without making any
changes. The resulting file will show a random duration of thousands of
hours inside of My Tracks thereby voiding any speed related data. The
track is there in My tracks, but essentially unusable in android Google
Earth. The random duration of the saved track does not seem to be related
to its initial start time to the current save time either. I cannot figure
out how the duration is arrived at from any data or timestamp in kml coding
either. I have attached The saved file as an example (test.kmz), as well
as the original.

Attachments:
test.kmz 48.5 KB
5_13_2014 6_06PM.kmz 33.4 KB

[mytr...@googlecode.com]

Comment #6 on issue 1545 by mikechar...@gmail.com: MyTracks KML doesn't

import correctly into MEL
http://code.google.com/p/mytracks/issues/detail?id=1545

Also wierdly, the android Google earth reports a duration of 502 hours,
while My Tracks reports 3013. The slider in android google earth cannot
play the track.

[mytr...@googlecode.com]

Comment #7 on issue 1545 by mikechar...@gmail.com: MyTracks KML doesn't

import correctly into MEL
http://code.google.com/p/mytracks/issues/detail?id=1545

I believe I may have some insight into this problem, and certainly into a
incompatibility between Google Earth for desktop (and perhaps Maps Engine
as well) and My Tracks, so here it is. There is an incompatibility is in
the file output structure of the KML. Google Earth can open any kml/kmz
from my tracks of earth, etc, but once that file has been saved in Earth,
the file will not open correctly in My Tracks ever again. Here is why:
The output of Kml from My Tracks stores the track in the <gx:track> segment
by writing the <when> immediately followed by the <gx:coord>, then the next
<when> <gx:coord> set, etc. When the file is opened up in Earth (and
perhaps maps engine does the same), it understands this, but it writes the
file back out with all the time data first (all the <when>s) and then all
the coordinate data (<gs:coord>s). Earth interpret either format
correctly. Once the Kml is reopened in My Tracks, My Tracks sees the first
<when> and expects a <gx:coord> to follow, which it does not, so it moves
on the the next <when> where the same thing happens and so on. finally at
the last <when> (the supposed end to the timeline), there actually is a
<gx:coord> next (which should have been the coord the the start of the
track), so it creates that point). So now we have one point with a correct
starting location, but occurring at the ending time. Then My Tracks reads
in the rest of the <gx:coord> data, but there is no remaining time (<when>)
statements, so it assumes and assigns the current instant time. This means
all the rest of the track has the same time coordinate. What you end up
with is a track that shows starting at the end time, and displays the rest
of the track for only an instant that corresponds to the time at which the
file was read into My tracks. If you did all of this from within Google
Drive, It has now obliterated the original time data irretrievably from the
file (hope you made a backup). This is also the reason that speed
calculations are now junk, because the whole tack occurs in an instant. It
seems like the likely fix would be just to make My Tracks Understand how
the read both formats of Kml, perhaps by having the code look for the first
<gx:coord> upon reading the first <when>, then returning to read the second
<when> and then looking for a second <gx:coord>, etc. I am not sure what
the source code does when trying to read the file now. The <when> and
<gx:coord> data could also be read as arrays, and scan the file for the
matching data statements. I hope I am not hijacking the OP's thread.

[mytr...@googlecode.com]

Comment #8 on issue 1545 by uspoerl...@gmail.com: MyTracks KML doesn't
import correctly into MEL
https://code.google.com/p/mytracks/issues/detail?id=1545

This is such a pain, as tracks written by MyTracks now won't be read by
gpsbabel, gpsprune, JGPSTrackEdit, etc.

Can we sit down the MyTracks and GE developers and talk about how to
interpret KML?

[mytr...@googlecode.com]

Comment #9 on issue 1545 by cpe...@gmail.com: MyTracks KML doesn't import

correctly into MEL
https://code.google.com/p/mytracks/issues/detail?id=1545

Mike is correct: MyTracks now uses the TrackType element of the Google
Extensions for OGC KML 2.2. See
http://code.google.com/apis/kml/schema/kml22gx.xsd for the XML Schema.

<shameless plug>
You might want to try my RouteConverter tool, which reads the examples
above. And if you save as "Google Earth 4.2 Compressed (*.kmz)" you get the
previous <Placemark> format that gpsbabel, gpsprune, JGPSTrackEdit, etc.
should be able to read.
</shameless plug>


Attachments:
test-Google Earth 4.kmz 17.2 KB

[mytr...@googlecode.com]

Updates:
Status: WontFix

Comment #10 on issue 1545 by js...@google.com: MyTracks KML doesn't import

correctly into MEL
https://code.google.com/p/mytracks/issues/detail?id=1545

We don't plan to change the My Tracks KML format for now. As a workaround,
you can export to Google My Maps directly.

[mytr...@googlecode.com]

Comment #11 on issue 1545 by MGKittri...@gmail.com: MyTracks KML doesn't

import correctly into MEL
https://code.google.com/p/mytracks/issues/detail?id=1545

The export from My Tracks to My Maps works for the tracks and waypoints
only, but it does not transfer the pictures. Seems a bit of a shame...

[mytr...@googlecode.com]

Comment #12 on issue 1545 by damien.n...@peeppl.com: MyTracks KML doesn't

import correctly into MEL
https://code.google.com/p/mytracks/issues/detail?id=1545

+1 for RouteConverter! ... opens the files fine, and way nicer to use that
GPSPrune. Sidesteps this unfortunate issue.