|
| |
Contents
Read me first if you read nothing else
If you are pretty computer savvy and don't like reading
manuals, here are the minimal sections to read. The rest you should be able to
figure out on your own:
You might also skim the " Fun Stuff"
page. It will give you a good idea of the kinds of things you can do with the
program.
Nomenclature
 | Rose Line : a line of sight, drawn on a map in red from a viewpoint to a
visible target. It is also a name for the meridian that passes through
Paris, featured prominently in the novel "The Da Vinci Code". |
| Filter : devices with which the user can control or limit what targets
are included in the Visible Targets list - for instance, the heading filter
could be used to limit the list to only those peaks east of a viewpoint. |
| Viewpoint : is any place for which you are interested in knowing what
peaks are visible. Most viewpoints in the program are summits but you can
create custom viewpoints anywhere (top of the Space Needle, your living room
window, the false summit of Mt Adams, etc.). |
| Target : is a point visible from a viewpoint. This will usually be the
summit of a named mountain but can also be a custom viewpoint that you
create which could be anywhere (a pass, the top of a building, a rest stop,
etc.) |
| Vertical angle and prominence score - vertical angle is the measurement
in degrees of how far a target sticks up from its surroundings. The
prominence score is derived from this value and weighted for taller peaks
that are farther away. The prominence score is used to determine which
Visible Targets are "best" |
| Heading : is always the angle of view from a viewpoint to target, in
degrees from true north. |
How to use RoseLine maps in the wild
In the wild and on your maps it's easy to be overwhelmed by
too much, too many peaks, too much data. So almost all these tips involve ways
to limit the complexity of your maps and put the focus on the peaks you are
interested in. Note that some of these suggestions only apply if you own
and have installed the National Geographic TOPO mapping program.
| Use the "Limit view to nn best peaks" filter. No matter
how you set the other filter settings it's a good idea to keep the peak
total below 50 to avoid overwhelm. (Note that the Google map does have a
technical limit of 50 peaks but the Topo program if you own it, can display
a much larger peak count. |
| If you really want a Google based map that has say 100
peaks you can create that as two maps of 50 each. Use the Heading filter to
limit one map to only northerly peaks (270 to 90 degrees) and the other to
southerly peaks (90 to 270 degrees). |
| For Google based maps it's useful to print the map on one
side of a piece of paper and print the peak list on the other. If you want
to do this for TOPO program maps you have to generate the peak list
separately - choose Text as your "Output Format" and press the "Generate
Output" button. |
| Often a whole section of view is not of interest. Use the
Heading filter to exclude that area completely. |
| Use the navigation, cropping and zoom controls on the
Google based map to create the map that suits your interests |
| In the TOPO program you can create labels and place them
near the Rose Lines making peaks easier to identify. |
| A useful trick to remember is that the face of the full
moon is one half degree. You can print peak lists that include the heading
angle from the viewpoint and the vertical angle (how much the peak sticks
up). Being able to estimate distances and elevations in degrees will
help identify peaks on the map. |
| Sometimes it's useful to use the heading filter to limit
a map to a narrow swath say 10-20 degrees. Leave the "Limit view to nn best
peaks" filter set to approximately 40. This will be a lot of peaks in a
small area but you can sometime create a more useful map with the viewpoint
in one corner and the Rose Lines using the rest of the paper. |
About your maps
The main thing to understand about your maps is that although
the data for the map is calculated on your local computer, the actual map is
created on the web and displayed as a web page in your internet browser. By
default when you create a new map on the web it replaces the the memory and the
data of the previous map. Also, if you don't access the data for about an
hour the map and it's data are deleted.
In this sense, your map is a temporary thing: If it's data
isn't replaced by the next map you create then it is freed by the web server
about an hour after it was created.
In the Full version of the program there is a checkbox labeled
"Make this map permanent". This causes your map and its data to be saved on the
RoseLineMaps.com web site. When you create a "permanent" map you are creating a
web page and so you must create a favorite/bookmark in your browser or else you
won't be able to find the web page.
You must manage the links to your maps or else you will lose
the ability to reference them. The program and the website does not currently
have a way to organize your maps for you. Note - You can also manage your maps
by cut/pasting the web addresses of your maps to your desktop, file system or
emails.
About Visibility
In a program dedicated to helping you identify what you can
see in the mountains much of what is actually visible depends on the weather
conditions. Colder weather can produce dense, still air and crystal clear
viewing conditions. Warm summer air is often turbulent and hazy. Certain air
conditions can actually cause distant features to appear to rise by refraction
while the curvature of the earth make them appear to fall.
Be aware that the program produces it's data based on ideal
viewing conditions. Your mileage may vary.
Determining what peaks are visible from a location -
an overview
Here is a quick list of steps for the computer savvy user -
how to see what peaks are visible and generate a map:
- Start the RoseLine program on your local computer (you
must be connected to the web)
- Type the name of a peak in the box labeled "Enter
Viewpoint" - as you type, the box below will display a list of peaks with
names that match what you have typed. When you see your peak in the list,
select it.
- Click the "Show names of visible summits" button
- The 40 "best" visible peaks will be displayed in the
Targets Visible list.
- Where it says "choose output format", select "Google
based map" and click the Generate button.
- Your map will appear in your browser window.
Extra credit:
- explore the Visible Targets list by clicking on the
headers to sort the data
- explore the Visible Targets by playing with the various
filters
- use the Reset Filters button to put the filters back to
their original setting
- use the navigation buttons on the map to explore
Determining what peaks are visible from a location -
details
The Viewpoint List - Choosing your viewpoint
The first step to creating a map or finding out what targets
are visible from a viewpoint, is to choose the viewpoint. The viewpoint list
contains the names of every peak in the state known to the USGS. It also
contains a number of predefined custom viewpoints and you can
create your own custom viewpoints as
well. The viewpoints are sorted alphabetically with "Mount XYZ" listed under "M"
and "The Pinnacles" listed under "T". Note that there are lots of peaks with
duplicate names - when this occurs, the peak name has it's state and county
appended to the name. If that still isn't unique then we append "_1" and "_2" to
the names.
Select an entry in the list by clicking it or type the name of
a peak in the "Enter Viewpoint" box. As you type, the viewpoint list will only
show entries that match what you've typed. With a little practice you can find
peaks in just a few keystrokes even when you are unfamiliar with their name.
The Visible Targets
List
After you select a viewpoint and press the "Show Names of
Visible Summits" button the program will generate the list of all visible
targets. The peaks that are actually displayed in the list depend on the
settings of several filters. The default setting is to display the 40 best peaks
where "best" generally means "most prominent".
The list displays some data for each entry:
| Name |
| Elevation of the entry in feet |
| Type: MTN=mountain, RDG=ridge, CLF=cliff, WTR=water
or ocean feature, etc. |
| Prominence: this is a score
that defines the "best" targets - that is the ones that are most
prominent. Specifically it is derived from the "vertical angle" value (see
below) and weighted for taller peaks in the distance. I high number means
that the peak stands out amongst its surroundings. A low number means that
the peak is not very tall and/or you can only see a bit of the top and the
rest is obscured by foreground peaks. |
| Distance: The distance in miles from the viewpoint
to the target |
| Angle: This is the
vertical angle as seen from the viewpoint from the top of the target to
where the base of that target is obscured by it's surroundings. A tip is
to remember that the face of the moon is one half degree. A large number
in this in this column means that the peak sticks up more than others.
|
| Heading: This is the compass heading in degrees from
the viewpoint to the target |
| Region: This is the state (or province) where the
peak is located (WA, OR, BC, ID, CA, etc.) or "USER" if the entry is a
user defined custom viewpoint. |
Note that you can click on the headers of the Visible
Targets list and it will sort the list by that column. Click once and it sorts
ascending. Click again and it sorts descending.
Note that no peaks under 3500 feet are included in the
Visible Targets list.
Generating output
Once you have generated a list of Visible Targets you can
select an Output Format (click the down arrow in the "Choose Output Format" box.
The options currently available are:
| Google Based Map - this generates a map in a format
used by Google Maps and displays that map in your internet browser. |
| TPO File - this generates a map in the format used
by the National Geographic TOPO program and starts the program. |
| Text File - this generates a text file containing
the same information as the Visible Targets list and displays it in
Notepad. |
| CSV File - this generates a comma separated value
(CSV) file suitable to read into a spreadsheet or other application. |
Creating Google
based maps
Select "Google Maps" in the box labeled "Choose output
format".
The first thing to remember about your Google based map is
that it is created on the RoseLineMaps server as a temporary web page. When you
generate a new map it clobbers the previous one and if you don't access the map
for about an hour, the data is deleted from the server and you will see a
message that the map has expired.
If you check the checkbox labeled "make this map permanent"
your Google map will be saved but like any web page you must make a
favorite/bookmark to remember how to get back to it.
You can use the navigation controls on the map to adjust
the position, cropping and zoom. If you've created a permanent map there will be
a "Save this map" button which will re-save any changes you make.
The map is limited to a maximum of 50 targets which are
displayed as Rose Lines emanating from your viewpoint to each target. As you
hover the mouse over a Rose Line you'll see the name of the peak and some
information ( [E]levation, [D]istance from viewpoint to target, [VA]vertical
angle, [H]eading in degrees from viewpoint to target (true north).
Creating maps with the National Geographic TOPO program
If you have the TOPO program installed you can use RoseLine
to generate maps that you can display in that program. After you have created a
list of visible targets from some viewpoint, click on arrow in the box labeled
"Choose Output Format". Select TOPO. When you press the Generate button, it will
open the TOPO program showing you the Rose Lines from your viewpoint to the
targets in your Visible Targets list. Note - in new versions of TOPO it will
open the map showing your viewpoint but older versions will require you to
navigate to your viewpoint. This is a limitation of the TOPO program.
Note, once you've created a map in TOPO that contains a set
of Rose Lines you can do some interesting stuff. You can delete individual
lines that either clutter your map or just aren't of interest to you (select the
"route tool" and then right click on the red line, choose delete). You can right
click a Rose Line and customize it - change the color, appearance or add a
label.
A cool thing you can do is create a profile of an
individual Rose Line. This lets you see all the intervening mountains and
elevation changes between the viewpoint and the target.
Creating GPX Output
Once you have created a list of visible targets for your
viewpoint you can output that list and its statistics to a GPX file. The GPX
file format is a standard way to transfer map characteristic to most GPS
programs. There are two forms: In the "Choose output format" select "GPX
waypoint file" to output the target peaks as individual waypoints. Select "GPX
route file" to create a file that contains a route from the viewpoint to each
target resulting in a burst of rays from the viewpoint to each visible peak.
Creating text files -
lists of peaks and stats
Select "Google Maps" in the box labeled "Choose output
format".
The text file will contain the same data displayed in the
Visible Targets list. It will be sort the same as well. The text file that is
generated will be opened in your default application for files with the .TXT
extension - usually this is Notepad. If you select a non-proportional font the
data will be displayed in nice columns.
Creating CSV files
CSV Output files can be read into spreadsheet and other applications.
The columns are defined:
- The name of the peak
- Elevation (integer) in feet
- Heading (2 decimals) in degrees true north
- Distance in miles (2 decimals)
- Vertical angle representing the amount of vertical relief visible to
the viewpoint
- Region - the 2 char state/province designator (WA, OR, ID, BC etc.)
or USER for a custom viewpoint
Using Filters
When the RoseLine program calculates which peaks are visible,
it calculates ALL the visible peaks whether it shows them to you or not. Often
there are hundreds of visible peaks, many or most of which aren't of any
interest and at worst can be thoroughly overwhelming. The filter help you
specify which peaks you are interested in seeing.
By default the filters are set to show you the 40 most
prominent visible peaks.
When you generate an output map or data file the data that is
included will be the peaks displayed as filtered by the current settings.
Remember that the Google based map has a limit of 50 targets.
Reset Filters button
This is the most important filter button. When you are
experimenting with the various filters it's easy sometimes get too much data or
not enough and not know why. Press the Reset Filter button to return to the
default display of the 40 most prominent visible peaks.
Reset
filters for each new panorama
If this box is checked, then every time you generate a new
Visible Targets list it will start out with the default filter settings: the 40
most prominent visible peaks. If it is unchecked, then the filter setting will
remain unchanged.
Restore
filters at program startup
If you have a favorite filter setting that you always like to
use, check this option and whenever you start the program it will be initialized
with the current filter setting.
Limit display
to nn best peaks
This is the easiest filter setting to use. It simply controls
the number of peaks displayed and always shows the "best" where "best" means
they have the highest prominence score.
Distance filters
The distance filter has two parts and limits the peaks being
displayed to a particular distance range from the viewpoint. It will display
"List only targets within nn miles" and farther than mm miles". Use the arrows
next to these boxes to change their values.
Heading filter
The heading filter is very useful when you would like to limit
the peaks being displayed to those in a particular direction or alternatively
you're not interested in the peaks in a particular direction. Either way,
if you check "Enable Heading Filter" and then use the arrow buttons to set the
two headings (in degrees) it will only display peaks between the two headings
(clockwise from the first to the second).
"Naked eye vs
Binoculars" filter
Normally "Naked eye" is checked and the peaks listed all will
have a certain minimal prominence. This means that they stick up a certain
minimal amount. If you are planning on using optical help like binoculars then
check that filter and the program will remove that limitation.
If you want to simply see all the peaks there are, then
uncheck the "Limit display to nn best peaks" and check "binoculars".
Prominence Filter
The prominence filter is only enabled when you uncheck
the "Limit display to nn best peaks" checkbox. Click the up/down arrows to
adjust the value and only peaks with a prominence
score higher than the filter will actually be displayed.
Create a
custom viewpoint
Why create a custom viewpoint:
(Note that a custom viewpoint can serve as both a viewpoint and a target.)
| The program viewpoint list contains a comprehensive list
of peaks for your state but often you aren't hiking to a summit or there are
interesting viewpoints on the way to the top. |
| You want to figure out what are the peaks visible from
your friends living room or the top of the space needle or your favorite
park. |
| The program will not list minor summits in the Visible
Targets list that are less than 3500 feet but custom viewpoints are not
subject to this limitation. You can create custom viewpoints on the smaller
summits and they will show up in the Visible Targets list. |
Creating a custom viewpoint:
| First you must determine the latitude and longitude of
your location of interest
 | The easiest way to do this is in Google maps.
http://www.maps.google.com |
| Navigate to your viewpoint |
| Zoom in as far as possible to that you can be very
accurate (this is important!) |
| Right click your viewpoint location and choose "What's
here?" |
| Google will display the latitude and longitude of your
viewpoint in the Google search box |
|
| In the RoseLine program, click the "Create a Custom
Viewpoint" button and a little window will appear. |
| Give your waypoint a unique name and remember that lower
case names sorts after upper case names. |
| Cut and paste the latitude and longitude from the
previous steps into the window |
| You can supply an optional elevation. If it is lower than
the corresponding elevation in the elevation data base, then the value will
be raised accordingly. If it is higher, it will be left with the higher
value. If you supply no elevation, we use the value from the elevation data
base. |
| Press the Create button to complete the creation of your
custom viewpoint |
You can also use this window to delete custom viewpoints and
press the Cancel button to undo any changes you've made.
Now that you've created your custom viewpoint, type the name
in the "enter viewpoint" box and you'll see it appear below. Select it and press
the Show Names of Visible Summits button to see the targets that are visible
from your custom viewpoint.
Get Info Here
In the upper left corner of the program window is a m enu
labeled "Get Info Here". It contains the following entries:
| Visit our website - links to the RoseLineMaps.com home
page |
| View the help - links to this help page |
| About RoseLine - displays the RoseLine product version
number, copyright, your user ID and your registration number |
| Upgrade your product - link to a page where you can
upgrade to the full version of the RoseLine product |
| View the FAQ - link to the
Frequently Asked Questions list |
| View the RoseLine Fun page -
link to a page with lots of fun things you can discover with this program. |
| Check for Updates - link to a
page with information about avail program updates |
Help button
The help button opens this help page in your browser.
Miscellaneous
System requirements to install and run
in order to run the RoseLine program you must have:
| MS Windows - Vista, Window 7, XP, Win 98, Win 95, Win ME, NT,
Win 2000 |
| This program will NOT run on a Mac. |
| A live internet connection |
| Approximately 130 MB of free hard drive memory |
Limitations, Restrictions, etc.
| Web technicalities limit the number of targets that can be displayed on
a Google map to 50. |
| Google limits their map size to 640 x 640 pixels or less. The RoseLine
program limits the smallest map to 200 x 200. |
| Google maps have zoom levels of 1 - 17 though some areas may support
less |
| Google also limits the number of maps it will generate for you to approx
1000 per day. Their documentation says they don't count multiple requests
for the same map but it's not clear what they mean by "the same map". If you
exceed your limit you'll see an icon with an 'X' through it. |
| Mountains with elevations below 3500 feet are not considered potential
visible targets. Custom viewpoints are exempt from this limitation. |
| When generating a map for National Geographic TOPO, older versions of
the TOPO program will open the map but require you to navigate to your
viewpoint. Newer versions of TOPO open the map at your viewpoint. This is a
limitation of the TOPO program. |
Coordinates and Statistics
| Latitude and longitude are displayed in decimal degrees, ie
latitude/longitude = 46.324, 122.642. the longitude is assumed to be in
the western hemisphere. |
| Headings are in degrees (0.00 - 360.00) using true north. |
| Elevations are in feet. |
| Distances are in miles |
| The datum used is the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) |
| Elevation data and peak names are all derived from USGS public domain
information |
| There is currently no support for magnetic north. |
| There is currently no support for metric measurements |
Peak names
In the viewpoint selection box (and Visible Targets list) names are
sorted alphabetically on what is considered the "full" name as given by the
USGS. Names that start with "mount" (Mount Saint Helens) are alphabetically
listed under 'M'. Names that start with "the" (The Pinnacles) are
alphabetically listed under 'T'. The sort is case sensitive with capitalized
names preceding lower case names.
Abbreviations are always spelled out such as "Saint" in "Mount Saint
Helens".
Tips and Tricks
| The "vertical angle" statistic can be very useful in
distinguishing side by side peaks. It's very helpful to remember that the
face of the full moon is one half degree. |
| If you don't know how to spell the name of your viewpoint
of interest you can type part of the name in the box labeled "Enter
Viewpoint". As you type the program will only display peak names in the
viewpoint list that have matches to what you have already typed. Try
different spellings. Usually the viewpoint list will quickly contain only a
few potential matches and it will be easy to find the one you are looking
for. |
|
with
questions or comments about this web site.