let's start a collaborative collection of possible features concerning GPS / geo-coded images, estimate their importance and discuss possible UI implications. Showing the location on a map in XnView MP's Browser (tick Menu > View > Panels > Information then select "GPS") or in Internet browser (Menu > Metadata > Open GPS Location in) is great, but by far not all it takes...
- the map delay is too high (is >20sek!). IMHO extremely important, whole feature makes no sense like this. As of 2024, the map delay is short (barely noticable) – it seems the delay is only based on Internet connection speed, while XnView does not add deplay.
- show location of multiple files, i.e. all selected files in browser mode. Clicking one marker on the map makes the respective picture the current one in browser. IMHO very important.
- Add Settings - Browser - Thumbnail - Overlay Icons - "red GPS for missing data". IMHO important as missing geo-information is more relevant to know (exception/problem) than existing (standard, all shall have it) for several use cases, e.g. a hiking tour. See suggestion for classic XnView version http://newsgroup.xnview.com/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=18704 Alternative: In Search > Conditions > Add > EXIF, extend list by GPS with operator "is empty" so one can search for pictures missing GPS metadata.
- Add option for default map zoom level, maybe split into "for 1 vs. multimple images" (multiple may be used for overview = less zoomed) and "map vs satellite vs terrain" (map is for overview, sat is for details, terrain shall be detailed enough to show elevation level). IMHO important to make feature really useful.
- In browser mode, add options "show only pictures contained in shown map region" (disable centering map on each newly selected file?) and "sort by distance from current image" (or from manually located pin in map) IMHO very important as they enable a new way / use case to browse my collection, e.g. if someone asks "show me pictures of picturesque Bamberg". Yes, I can use tools specialized in that like GeoSetter, but they offer only minimal image tooling.
- In Search > Conditions > Add > EXIF, extend list by "GPS" with following operators. IMHO very important to quickly find relevant pictures (e.g. with certain keywords) in bigger image selections, e.g. from all travels to a certain region when friends plan to go there. Only few tools support a search based on a combination of location and numerous other metadata.
- "distance from manually located pin in map", "distance from coordinates", "distance from track(s)" (full path to a GPX/KML/KMZ file), "within current map view" to find pictures taken from a certain area
- "viewing direction towards manually located pin in map" to find pictures showing a certain mountain or building (i.e. these images can not be taken at mountain's location but must be taken from another location). Note: This will usually be used in combination with "distance from ..." or "within current map view" as you cannot see Taj Mahal from Paris due to too big distance even tough the direction is correct.
- "is empty" so one can search for pictures missing GPS metadata.
- Allow other map sources for map panel in Borwser. IMHO important to make maps panel useful for much more use cases, e.g. altitude is a cruicial aspect for hike, bike or ski tours but invisible in standard maps of Google & OSM, and same applies to rural areas like Iceland's heart,
where standard maps do show nearly nothing so orientation is really difficult, while terrain maps show the valleys & mountain ridges & surface types that are the landmarks for orientation like cities & streets are in urban areas. In Panel Information > GPS, add a drop down offering to quicky change between different maps. Which maps? Two ideas- Easy for users, but satisfying only a limited amount of use cases, and requiring ongoing maintenance beacause map APIs change: In Settings > Browser, add text "Default map" and a drop-down listing the maps of "Menu > Metadata > Open GPS location in" and additionally Google Maps Terrain and one of the Open Street Map terrain oriented renderings like OpenTopoMap/OpenHikingMap/...
- A little more complex but much more powerful, satisfaying nearly all use cases, and requiring nearly no ongoing maintenance: In Settings > Browser, allow users to add/remove lines with 2 text fileds, one being the map's display name, one being the URL. In standard settings, the currently existing entries in "Menu > Metadata > Open GPS location in" are shown, so users see how the URLs are structured. Would be similar to JSON background imagery, see =https://josm.openstreetmap.de/wiki/Hel ... umentation, so URLs further supported maps can be found in JSOM support forums etc.
- In browser mode, add option "sort by location" (sort using space filling curve, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-filling_curve), but a traditional thumbnail list can't reflect 2 dimensions like a map can. Alternatively, add "browse on map", so a map with overlayed thumbnails (appearing in the fashion known from Browser, so with tag status, color coding,...), which is more intuitive. IMHO nice, not important, as multiple markers on map come close.
- Possibility to change the location by dragging on the map. IMHO not important, I can use tools specialized in that like GeoSetter, they will always be better at that task. IMHO more interesting: call those tools with current pic & map region.
- Possibility to create a "geo film strip" for Google Earth etc. IMHO not important, I can use tools specialized in that like GeoSetter.
