What is "Browse map" intended for?

[Bart Eisenberg]

I'm trying to figure out what the "Browse map" profile is intended for.  As it doesn't include navigation settings, it seems less useful than the other seven profiles, which are each specific to an activity.  Thanks!

[Greg Troxel]

The point of that profile is that it is useful for looking at the map
while one is not navigating!

Seriously, I don't understand why you don't understand. One of the
things I do with OsmAnd is to look at the map (like a human looking at a
paper map) of someplace that I might go, or just want to know something
about.

So it has fewer things in sidebar, and doesn't need to assume a mode of
travel because there is no route computation.


I do wonder if the default of not having night mode is the right thing,
but that's another story.



What do you think should happen when you don't select a destination, and
are zooming out and back in someplace else?

[Bart Eisenberg]

The Walking profile or one of the other activity-based profiles work for me when I'm just browsing.  But if your point is that the "Browse map" profile presents an uncluttered view when navigation isn't a goal, that answers my question.  Thanks.

[Greg Troxel]

Bart Eisenberg <bartei...@gmail.com> writes:

> The Walking profile or one of the other activity-based profiles work for me
> when I'm just browsing. But if your point is that the "Browse map" profile
> presents an uncluttered view when navigation isn't a goal, that answers my
> question. Thanks.

Yes, that is indeed my point. I find that Browse map is different in
not having extra things only needed when navigating (but I couldn't tell
you what they are) and also in that it doesn't invoke night mode at
night.

It does seem that e.g. the car profile suppresses trails compared to
browse, and that browse is thereofre intended as more of a neutral view
like mapnik standard.

But I also see your point that using an activity profile to browse is
pretty sensible, too, especially if one's browsing is goal-directed
towards later doing that activity.

I suspect in the end this issue doesn't matter much.

[Bart Eisenberg]

That could be.  I'm thinking about doing a video tutorial on the new profiles and didn't want to overlook anything. 

[A Thompson]

I have Browse as my default profile and rarely explicitly switch. When you calculate a route in Browse, you can then select a profile in the route overview sidebar - this causes the route to be recalculated with the selected profile's navigation settings even though you're still seeing the map in Browse. If you start navigation then the display switches to the selected profile, and once navigation is dismissed you're automatically back in Browse. It's very convenient!

[Bart Eisenberg]

In looking at the profiles, I realize there are really three distinct areas where all the profiles come into play: General settings (metric or miles; light theme or dark, etc.), Navigation (are you walking, bicycling, driving or flying?), and the display (Configure map and screen).  But as you've pointed, out, the last two are actually independent of each other. That is, one could could select, say, the Bicycling (or Browse map) profile for the map and screen configurations, and the Car profile for navigation. For new users especially, I don't think that's immediately obvious.