5.5.0
2023-08-15
V. 5.5.0 --14 August 2023
• Weather forecast for any Point of Interest (POI) in the United States from the National Weather Service (NWS). The NWS (a branch of NOAA) provides forecasts on a 2.5 x 2.5 km grid for the entire country. Now, whenever you have a wireless or cellular data connection, just tap the weather button in the POI details screen (or in the POI summary message box) to see a plot of the forecast weather for that exact point in your field area. You can get hourly forecast conditions on temperature, "feels like" temperature, relative humidity, precipitation probability and amount, cloud cover, wind and gust speeds and wind direction, as well as sun rise and set times. You can also access daily and nightly narrative forecasts. This feature is only available for POIs within the United States. If you are plotting a POI outside of the US, you simply will not see the weather buttons. If in the US and you find the weather buttons to be distracting, you can hide them with a new setting in the Settings Screen.
• Enter a POI by typing, or pasting, in the latitude and longitude into the text field of a message box. Either decimal degrees or degrees minutes and seconds formats are accepted.
• When you edit the color, symbols, line weight, etc of a data type, you no long have to remember to tap the Save button. Changes are now saved automatically. the Save button has been replaced by a Cancel button. If you start making changes to a data type and decide you don't like them, just tap Cancel.
• Update users manual. Also, you can now send a pdf copy of the users manual to yourself (or to anyone else) so you can read it on a big screen. I just know that this is the feature that you've all been waiting for ;-)
5.0.2
2023-07-27
v. 5.0.2 -- 27 July 2023
• If your map file (e.g., myFieldArea.mbtiles) has the same root name as your DEM (e.g., myFieldArea.flt) in the same folder, the DEM file will be opened automatically when you open the map file. If you want to select a different DEM, you can do so with the DEM File: button in the New/Modify Project Screen/
• GMDE now recognizes the LAYOUT tag in the header file (.hdr) of a GridFloat or BIL DEM. Some GIS programs , when they save a GridFloat DEM, use a BIL format for the header.
• Short popup messages now display for a somewhat shorter period of time.
5.0.1
2023-06-01
v. 5.0.1 -- 1 June, 2023
• Show or hide individual datums by swiping left in the Data List Screen
• Updated manual
• A few annoying bugs fixed
v. 5.0.0 -- 21 March 2023 (happy Spring!)
• GeoPackage database files can now be exported directly from GMDE Lite for import into your favorite GIS program! GeoPackage is a modern, open GIS format developed by the Open Geospatial Consortium, especially for use in mobile apps. Virtually all major GIS desktop programs can now read the GeoPackage format.
• Elevations for selected points can be fetched automatically from the Open Topo Data elevation server when you are outside of the boundaries of your digital elevation model (DEM) or have not loaded a DEM, as long as you have a wireless or cellular data connection. This means that you can now do a three point problem or calculate map thicknesses, etc. without loading a DEM. Certain operations like contact projection and the rangefinder still require an onboard DEM. Note that connection and download charges may apply so GMDE Lite has some built in warnings to that effect. You can toggle on or off access to Open Topo Data in the Settings Screen.
• Refinements to the data details screens, including a button in the upper right hand corner to dismiss the keyboard after you are done entering your text details.
• Lassoing vertices in a contact now reports the length of the selected segment in the initial message about what to do with the selected vertices.
• Improvements to the performance of the rangefinder with more efficient code and taking into account the angular difference between UTM north and True north.
• Fixed a bug that would cause lasso selections at times to select vertices that were not inside the lasso!
• Fixed a bug with moving a single point orientation on the map.
5.0.0
2023-03-21
v. 5.0.0 -- 21 March 2023 (happy Spring!)
• GeoPackage database files can now be exported directly from GMDE Lite for import into your favorite GIS program! GeoPackage is a modern, open GIS format developed by the Open Geospatial Consortium, especially for use in mobile apps. Virtually all major GIS desktop programs can now read the GeoPackage format.
• Elevations for selected points can be fetched automatically from the Open Topo Data elevation server when you are outside of the boundaries of your digital elevation model (DEM) or have not loaded a DEM, as long as you have a wireless or cellular data connection. This means that you can now do a three point problem or calculate map thicknesses, etc. without loading a DEM. Certain operations like contact projection and the rangefinder still require an onboard DEM. Note that connection and download charges may apply so GMDE Lite has some built in warnings to that effect. You can toggle on or off access to Open Topo Data in the Settings Screen.
• Refinements to the data details screens, including a button in the upper right hand corner to dismiss the keyboard after you are done entering your text details.
• Lassoing vertices in a contact now reports the length of the selected segment in the initial message about what to do with the selected vertices.
• Improvements to the performance of the rangefinder with more efficient code and taking into account the angular difference between UTM north and True north.
• Fixed a bug that would cause lasso selections at times to select vertices that were not inside the lasso!
• Fixed a bug with moving a single point orientation on the map.
4.5.4
2022-10-26
v. 4.5.4 -- 2022.10.25
• NEW: Add vertices. If you need to densify the vertices in a contact that you digitized, perhaps too coarsely, you can now do so in GMDE Lite. Select the contact and then choose lasso. Lasso the existing vertices in the segment that you wish to densify. When you stop drawing the lasso, the message box will appear asking what you want to do with the vertices. There is a new option: Add Vertices. When you choose it GMDE Lite will insert a new vertex half way in-between each selected vertex, doubling the number of vertices in the selected segment of the contact/path. The vertices will remain showing so that you can immediately start dragging them to their proper places. When you are done, just tap anywhere outside of the contact to deselect it.
• FIXED: when you import an object with the same ID as the same type of object that is already in the project, the one in the already in the project will be replaced by the imported object IF the modification date of the imported object is more recent that the object already in the project. If the modification date is the same or older, then the object will not be imported.
v. 4.5.0 -- 27 July 2022
• Use GMDE Lite without loading a map MBTiles file or a DEM! GMDE Lite can now be used in 2D with just an online satellite or road map base. Of course, in this mode, certain functions that require known elevations will be disabled (e.g., three point orientations, contact projection, rangefinder view, drawing topographic profiles, etc). But, you can start using GMDE Lite right out of the box to collect data just using the online maps view. Needless to say, the online maps view requires a cellular or wireless data connection and download charges may apply.
• Any project that started out in 2D will automatically be converted to 3D when you load a DEM for the region. The app will automatically add elevations to every data point and contact vertex in the project. After that, you will have access to the full range of 3D operations (listed above, and more), even if you choose not to enter a custom map MBTiles file. You can now do everything that you did in the online maps view that you can do in the custom maps view (assuming you have loaded a DEM).
• You can at any time add a custom map as an MBTiles file to a project using the same methodology that you always did.
• New and modified projects are now saved automatically. You no longer have to remember to tap the Save button. If you accidentally tap New Project, but make no changes in the New project Screen, you will be returned to your existing project when the New Project screen is closed.
• You now enable StraboSpot for a new project by toggling on the switch in the New Projects screen. A separate message box will no longer appear asking if you want to enable StraboSpot. As before, you must enable StraboSpot at the time you set up a new project. You cannot do so afterwards.
• StraboSpot upload and download has now been moved to the Data List Screen, accessed by the Export and Import buttons, respectively. A few bugs related to Strabo edge cases have been quashed.
• Using the measure tool in a map screen to Get Location now automatically copies the longitude, latitude, and elevation to the clipboard, making it easy for you to send a location to someone else (e.g., where the field vehicle is parked, etc.). You can, of course, still set a POI at any point and then share that POI via email, etc.
• The file browser for opening a project now allows you to select a number of different file types so that if, inexplicably, the operating system has added the numeral "1" to your project name (e.g., "my project.sqlite1"), you will still be able to select and read that file.
4.5.3
2022-10-10
v. 4.5.3 -- 2022.10.09
• several irritating but non-critical bug fixes related to use and display of the Sharing panel, especially on iPads. Also, improved behavior of filled contact polygons and how the interact with other contacts during editing.
v. 4.5.0 -- 27 July 2022
• Use GMDE Lite without loading a map MBTiles file or a DEM! GMDE Lite can now be used in 2D with just an online satellite or road map base. Of course, in this mode, certain functions that require known elevations will be disabled (e.g., three point orientations, contact projection, rangefinder view, drawing topographic profiles, etc). But, you can start using GMDE Lite right out of the box to collect data just using the online maps view. Needless to say, the online maps view requires a cellular or wireless data connection and download charges may apply.
• Any project that started out in 2D will automatically be converted to 3D when you load a DEM for the region. The app will automatically add elevations to every data point and contact vertex in the project. After that, you will have access to the full range of 3D operations (listed above, and more), even if you choose not to enter a custom map MBTiles file. You can now do everything that you did in the online maps view that you can do in the custom maps view (assuming you have loaded a DEM).
• You can at any time add a custom map as an MBTiles file to a project using the same methodology that you always did.
• New and modified projects are now saved automatically. You no longer have to remember to tap the Save button. If you accidentally tap New Project, but make no changes in the New project Screen, you will be returned to your existing project when the New Project screen is closed.
• You now enable StraboSpot for a new project by toggling on the switch in the New Projects screen. A separate message box will no longer appear asking if you want to enable StraboSpot. As before, you must enable StraboSpot at the time you set up a new project. You cannot do so afterwards.
• StraboSpot upload and download has now been moved to the Data List Screen, accessed by the Export and Import buttons, respectively. A few bugs related to Strabo edge cases have been quashed.
• Using the measure tool in a map screen to Get Location now automatically copies the longitude, latitude, and elevation to the clipboard, making it easy for you to send a location to someone else (e.g., where the field vehicle is parked, etc.). You can, of course, still set a POI at any point and then share that POI via email, etc.
• The file browser for opening a project now allows you to select a number of different file types so that if, inexplicably, the operating system has added the numeral "1" to your project name (e.g., "my project.sqlite1"), you will still be able to select and read that file.
• Several I/O bugs fixed, including one where importing POIs from another users database would not include the photos in the database.
4.5.0
2022-07-27
v. 4.5.0 -- 27 July 2022
• Use GMDE Lite without loading a map MBTiles file or a DEM! GMDE Lite can now be used in 2D with just an online satellite or road map base. Of course, in this mode, certain functions that require known elevations will be disabled (e.g., three point orientations, contact projection, rangefinder view, drawing topographic profiles, etc). But, you can start using GMDE Lite right out of the box to collect data just using the online maps view. Needless to say, the online maps view requires a cellular or wireless data connection and download charges may apply.
• Any project that started out in 2D will automatically be converted to 3D when you load a DEM for the region. The app will automatically add elevations to every data point and contact vertex in the project. After that, you will have access to the full range of 3D operations (listed above, and more), even if you choose not to enter a custom map MBTiles file. You can now do everything that you did in the online maps view that you can do in the custom maps view (assuming you have loaded a DEM).
• You can at any time add a custom map as an MBTiles file to a project using the same methodology that you always did.
• New and modified projects are now saved automatically. You no longer have to remember to tap the Save button. If you accidentally tap New Project, but make no changes in the New project Screen, you will be returned to your existing project when the New Project screen is closed.
• You now enable StraboSpot for a new project by toggling on the switch in the New Projects screen. A separate message box will no longer appear asking if you want to enable StraboSpot. As before, you must enable StraboSpot at the time you set up a new project. You cannot do so afterwards.
• StraboSpot upload and download has now been moved to the Data List Screen, accessed by the Export and Import buttons, respectively. A few bugs related to Strabo edge cases have been quashed.
• Using the measure tool in a map screen to Get Location now automatically copies the longitude, latitude, and elevation to the clipboard, making it easy for you to send a location to someone else (e.g., where the field vehicle is parked, etc.). You can, of course, still set a POI at any point and then share that POI via email, etc.
• The file browser for opening a project now allows you to select a number of different file types so that if, inexplicably, the operating system has added the numeral "1" to your project name (e.g., "my project.sqlite1"), you will still be able to select and read that file.
• Several I/O bugs fixed, including one where importing POIs from another users database would not include the photos in the database.
4.1.0
2022-07-02
v. 4.1.0 -- 2022.07.01
• You can now use GMDE Lite to measure simultaneously a plane and a line in the plane. In the Map screen, tap the new orientation icon on the toolbar and select "Current Location". In the Orientation Details screen, toggle on the "Auto" switch. When you do so, a new segment will appear in the data class segmented button: Lines|Planes|Rake. Tap Rake and then place your phone on the plane to be measured with the long axis of the phone parallel to the lineation in the plane that you want to measure. The stereonet view will show both the plane's great circle and a dot for the line on the plane. When you leave the Orientation Details screen, both the new plane and the new line (in the plane) will be saved automatically.
• Lasso Data -- The measure tool icon (angle-arrow icon on the toolbar) has a new "Lasso Data" tool. When you select this, you can lasso any data of any type showing on the map (contacts have to be completely inside the lasso to be selected). Once you have lassoed the data that you want, you will be given the opportunity to Hide the selected data, Show only the selected data, Export the selected data in the GMDE Lite database format, or Delete the lassoed data. Be careful because delete happens immediately with no further opportunity to reconsider!!
• All data that have been hidden can now be displayed with the "Show All" button in the upper right corner of the Data List Screen
• A few more bug fixes...
4.0.1
2022-05-29
v. 4.0.1 -- 2022.05.28
• GMDE Lite has been updated to read the new file formats introduced in Stereonet Mobile v. 4.0
• The standard iOS file browser is now used to select projects to open
• a few minor bug fixes
4.0.0
2022-04-26
v. 4.0.0 -- 2022.04.25
• The satellite view (or road or hybrid maps) from Apple MapKit just got a whole lot of new functionality. You can now dow just about everything in that view (as long as you have an Internet connection, of course) that you can do in the regular map screen, including:
- Carry out three-point calculations right on the satellite map view. You can also reposition any of the three points at a later time.
- Draw contacts, record tracks, or use sketch on map right on top of the satellite image
- Measure distances, get locations, edit contacts, project contacts from orientations, etc..
• There are a few differences with the regular map view: (a) Text is not drawn to the screen so that, in order to see a dip magnitude or the name of a POI you will have to tap on it to select it. (b) To select contacts and orientations, you have to use the new pointing finger icon at the right of the toolbar in the map view. Tap that tool and then tap on the object that you want to select. (c) Filled contacts are not shown as filled on the satellite map view.
• The usual selection of bug fixes; others undoubtedly remain...
3.6.2
2022-03-26
v. 3.6.2 -- 25 March 2022
Fixes a bug which could cause problems reading in a UTM DEM, when an already open project uses a UTM DEM in a different zone.
3.6.0
2021-12-15
v. 3.6.0 -- 15 December 2021
• Calculate map stratigraphic thickness. To calculate map thicknesses, you must first tap on an orientation which lies on the upper or lower boundary to the unit for which you want to calculate thickness. Then tap the second contact. As you tap and drag to define the second boundary, the display at the top of the screen shows you the thickness, with the final thickness reported in a message box once you lift the pointer from the screen. If you have already mapped two contacts, you can use this function to tell you how parallel the two contacts are: If they are parallel, the thickness will remain constant as you drag along the second contact. Be forewarned that very few stratigraphic contacts are truly parallel to one another!
• Fixed a bug in the code for outputting GPX files.
v. 3.5.0 -- 29 November 2021
• Much improved Apple Maps display now shows all of your data on an Apple Maps road, satellite, or hybrid map base.
• Collect GPS tracks which can be turned into contacts while in Apple Maps view. Also set add POIs or orientations at your current location while in Apple Maps view.
• The rangefinder can be accessed from Apple Maps.
v. 3.4.1 --11 November 2021
• Fixed a bug that prevented contacts from being written to KML output files
• Fixed a bug that occurred when POIs were hidden that mistakenly produced the multiple items tapped dialog box even when zero or one items were tapped.
v. 3.4.0 -- 3 November 2021
• The brand new user's manual is now embedded in the app and can be accessed offline at any time. The graphics-oriented users manual is richly cross referenced with hyperlinks and has both a table of contents and an index to help you find things quickly.
• The observation type is now listed in the details screen for the observation.
• The Modify Project Screen now includes created and modified dates, project size, etc.
• New Import button on the Data List Screen.
v. 3.3.5 -- 28 October 2021
• From the Data List Screen, you can now export your data in the following formats: (1) the entire project database as a SQLite file, (2) As a text file that Stereonet Mobile can read right off the clipboard, (3) as text files to read into various versions of GMDE, (4) a .KML file, or (5) a .GPX file. Once you select the format, the standard system sharing panel will appear allowing you to copy the data or save it to various locations.
• The Stereonet Screen displays the rotation axis and sense of rotation for rotated data and, when measuring angles by tapping and dragging, displaying the arc of the great circle between the initial tapped point and the end point.
v. 3.3.0 -- 27 October 2021
• You can now carry out rotations in the Stereonet Screen. Rotations are temporary and your data are not changed in any way. Both original (solid great circles and points) and rotated data are shown (dashed great circles and hollow points) are shown for comparison.
• if you tap the Stereonet, you will see the trend & plunge of the point under you finger/pointer in the upper right corner of the screen. If you tap and drag, the angle between where you originally tapped and where your pointer is currently is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen.
• If you go to the Stereonet screen from the orientation details screen, that orientation will be highlighted on the plot with all the measurements.
• The contact details screen now has a subsample button to decimate the number of vertices in the contact while preserving the shape of the trace (as much as possible!).
• Copy and pasting from Stereonet Mobile to GMDE Lite now works as expected! It was broken before...
3.5.0
2021-12-01
v. 3.5.0 -- 29 November 2021
• Much improved Apple Maps display now shows all of your data on an Apple Maps road, satellite, or hybrid map base.
• Collect GPS tracks which can be turned into contacts while in Apple Maps view. Also set add POIs or orientations at your current location while in Apple Maps view.
• The rangefinder can be accessed from Apple Maps.
v. 3.4.1 --11 November 2021
• Fixed a bug that prevented contacts from being written to KML output files
• Fixed a bug that occurred when POIs were hidden that mistakenly produced the multiple items tapped dialog box even when zero or one items were tapped.
v. 3.4.0 -- 3 November 2021
• The brand new user's manual is now embedded in the app and can be accessed offline at any time. The graphics-oriented users manual is richly cross referenced with hyperlinks and has both a table of contents and an index to help you find things quickly.
• The observation type is now listed in the details screen for the observation.
• The Modify Project Screen now includes created and modified dates, project size, etc.
• New Import button on the Data List Screen.
v. 3.3.5 -- 28 October 2021
• From the Data List Screen, you can now export your data in the following formats: (1) the entire project database as a SQLite file, (2) As a text file that Stereonet Mobile can read right off the clipboard, (3) as text files to read into various versions of GMDE, (4) a .KML file, or (5) a .GPX file. Once you select the format, the standard system sharing panel will appear allowing you to copy the data or save it to various locations.
• The Stereonet Screen displays the rotation axis and sense of rotation for rotated data and, when measuring angles by tapping and dragging, displaying the arc of the great circle between the initial tapped point and the end point.
v. 3.3.0 -- 27 October 2021
• You can now carry out rotations in the Stereonet Screen. Rotations are temporary and your data are not changed in any way. Both original (solid great circles and points) and rotated data are shown (dashed great circles and hollow points) are shown for comparison.
• if you tap the Stereonet, you will see the trend & plunge of the point under you finger/pointer in the upper right corner of the screen. If you tap and drag, the angle between where you originally tapped and where your pointer is currently is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen.
• If you go to the Stereonet screen from the orientation details screen, that orientation will be highlighted on the plot with all the measurements.
• The contact details screen now has a subsample button to decimate the number of vertices in the contact while preserving the shape of the trace (as much as possible!).
• Copy and pasting from Stereonet Mobile to GMDE Lite now works as expected! It was broken before...
v. 3.2.0 -- 25 October 2021
• .BIL DEMs are now supported by GMDE Lite. The .hdr and .prj files, which are written by most GIS programs, are still required, though if you omit the .prj file the program will assume that your DEM cell size is in decimal degrees (not UTM) and uses a WGS84 datum.
• Sight along the plane of a contact, either along strike or down-dip, to measure orientation without putting your device on the outcrop (essentially the same functionality as Stereonet Mobile). To access, tap the new orientation button on the Map Screen toolbar, tap current location in the message box, and then in the resulting Orientation Details screen tap the sighting icon in the middle of the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
• The zoom level for the map is displayed in the bottom left corner of the map and a small scale bar in the bottom right corner of the map. The scale bar, of course, scales dynamically as you change the zoom level.
• A POI can now be set using a latitude-longitude pair on the clipboard.
3.4.1
2021-11-11
v. 3.4.1 --11 November 2021
• Fixed a bug that prevented contacts from being written to KML output files
• Fixed a bug that occurred when POIs were hidden that mistakenly produced the multiple items tapped dialog box even when zero or one items were tapped.
v. 3.4.0 -- 3 November 2021
• The brand new user's manual is now embedded in the app and can be accessed offline at any time. The graphics-oriented users manual is richly cross referenced with hyperlinks and has both a table of contents and an index to help you find things quickly.
• The observation type is now listed in the details screen for the observation.
• The Modify Project Screen now includes created and modified dates, project size, etc.
• New Import button on the Data List Screen.
• Lots of small GUI refinements and bug fixes, including bug where pasting data could end up with duplicate measurements and several bugs in the Set Type screen related to use of the StraboSpot lexicon.
v. 3.3.5 -- 28 October 2021
• From the Data List Screen, you can now export your data in the following formats: (1) the entire project database as a SQLite file, (2) As a text file that Stereonet Mobile can read right off the clipboard, (3) as text files to read into various versions of GMDE, (4) a .KML file, or (5) a .GPX file. Once you select the format, the standard system sharing panel will appear allowing you to copy the data or save it to various locations.
• The Stereonet Screen displays the rotation axis and sense of rotation for rotated data and, when measuring angles by tapping and dragging, displaying the arc of the great circle between the initial tapped point and the end point.
v. 3.3.0 -- 27 October 2021
• You can now carry out rotations in the Stereonet Screen. Rotations are temporary and your data are not changed in any way. Both original (solid great circles and points) and rotated data are shown (dashed great circles and hollow points) are shown for comparison.
• if you tap the Stereonet, you will see the trend & plunge of the point under you finger/pointer in the upper right corner of the screen. If you tap and drag, the angle between where you originally tapped and where your pointer is currently is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen.
• If you go to the Stereonet screen from the orientation details screen, that orientation will be highlighted on the plot with all the measurements.
• The contact details screen now has a subsample button to decimate the number of vertices in the contact while preserving the shape of the trace (as much as possible!).
• Copy and pasting from Stereonet Mobile to GMDE Lite now works as expected! It was broken before...
v. 3.2.0 -- 25 October 2021
• .BIL DEMs are now supported to by GMDE Lite. The .hdr and .prj files, which are written by most GIS programs, are still required, though if you omit the .prj file the program will assume that your DEM cell size is in decimal degrees (not UTM) and uses a WGS84 datum. Note that some programs allow you to output non-standard BIL DEMs which have cell sizes with different X and Y dimensions. GMDE Lite will identify these, but will not load them. Make sure you check the box in your GIS program for equidimensional cell sizes!
• Sight along the plane of a contact, either along strike or down-dip, to measure orientation without putting your device on the outcrop (essentially the same functionality as Stereonet Mobile). To access, tap the new orientation button on the Map Screen toolbar, tap current location in the message box, and then in the resulting Orientation Details screen tap the sighting icon in the middle of the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
• The zoom level for the map is displayed in the bottom left corner of the map and a small scale bar in the bottom right corner of the map. The scale bar, of course, scales dynamically as you change the zoom level.
• A POI can now be set using a latitude-longitude pair on the clipboard.
3.4.0
2021-11-03
v. 3.4.0 -- 3 November 2021
• The brand new user's manual is now embedded in the app and can be accessed offline at any time. The graphics-oriented users manual is richly cross referenced with hyperlinks and has both a table of contents and an index to help you find things quickly.
• The observation type is now listed in the details screen for the observation.
• The Modify Project Screen now includes created and modified dates, project size, etc.
• New Import button on the Data List Screen.
• Lots of small GUI refinements and bug fixes, including bug where pasting data could end up with duplicate measurements and several bugs in the Set Type screen related to use of the StraboSpot lexicon.
v. 3.3.5 -- 28 October 2021
• From the Data List Screen, you can now export your data in the following formats: (1) the entire project database as a SQLite file, (2) As a text file that Stereonet Mobile can read right off the clipboard, (3) as text files to read into various versions of GMDE, (4) a .KML file, or (5) a .GPX file. Once you select the format, the standard system sharing panel will appear allowing you to copy the data or save it to various locations.
• The Stereonet Screen displays the rotation axis and sense of rotation for rotated data and, when measuring angles by tapping and dragging, displaying the arc of the great circle between the initial tapped point and the end point.
v. 3.3.0 -- 27 October 2021
• You can now carry out rotations in the Stereonet Screen. Rotations are temporary and your data are not changed in any way. Both original (solid great circles and points) and rotated data are shown (dashed great circles and hollow points) are shown for comparison.
• if you tap the Stereonet, you will see the trend & plunge of the point under you finger/pointer in the upper right corner of the screen. If you tap and drag, the angle between where you originally tapped and where your pointer is currently is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen.
• If you go to the Stereonet screen from the orientation details screen, that orientation will be highlighted on the plot with all the measurements.
• The contact details screen now has a subsample button to decimate the number of vertices in the contact while preserving the shape of the trace (as much as possible!).
• Copy and pasting from Stereonet Mobile to GMDE Lite now works as expected! It was broken before...
v. 3.2.0 -- 25 October 2021
• .BIL DEMs are now supported to by GMDE Lite. The .hdr and .prj files, which are written by most GIS programs, are still required, though if you omit the .prj file the program will assume that your DEM cell size is in decimal degrees (not UTM) and uses a WGS84 datum. Note that some programs allow you to output non-standard BIL DEMs which have cell sizes with different X and Y dimensions. GMDE Lite will identify these, but will not load them. Make sure you check the box in your GIS program for equidimensional cell sizes!
• Sight along the plane of a contact, either along strike or down-dip, to measure orientation without putting your device on the outcrop (essentially the same functionality as Stereonet Mobile). To access, tap the new orientation button on the Map Screen toolbar, tap current location in the message box, and then in the resulting Orientation Details screen tap the sighting icon in the middle of the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
• The zoom level for the map is displayed in the bottom left corner of the map and a small scale bar in the bottom right corner of the map. The scale bar, of course, scales dynamically as you change the zoom level.
• A POI can now be set using a latitude-longitude pair on the clipboard. The pair cannot be separated by an end of line, i.e., return, character; almost any other type of separator will work. If the values are unlabeled in the copied text on the clipboard, you will have to specify whether longitude or latitude are listed first.
3.3.5
2021-10-29
v. 3.3.5 -- 28 October 2021
• From the Data List Screen, you can now export your data in the following formats: (1) the entire project database as a SQLite file, (2) As a text file that Stereonet Mobile can read right off the clipboard, (3) as text files to read into various versions of GMDE, (4) a .KML file, or (5) a .GPX file. Once you select the format, the standard system sharing panel will appear allowing you to copy the data or save it to various locations.
• Further refinements to the Stereonet Screen display including showing the rotation axis and sense of rotation for rotated data and, when measuring angles by tapping and dragging, displaying the arc of the great circle between the initial tapped point and the end point.
v. 3.3.0 -- 27 October 2021
• You can now carry out rotations in the Stereonet Screen. Rotations are temporary and your data are not changed in any way. Both original (solid great circles and points) and rotated data are shown (dashed great circles and hollow points) are shown for comparison.
• if you tap the Stereonet, you will see the trend & plunge of the point under you finger/pointer in the upper right corner of the screen. If you tap and drag, the angle between where you originally tapped and where your pointer is currently is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen.
• If you go to the Stereonet screen from the orientation details screen, that orientation will be highlighted on the plot with all the measurements.
• The contact details screen now has a subsample button to decimate the number of vertices in the contact while preserving the shape of the trace (as much as possible!).
• Copy and pasting from Stereonet Mobile to GMDE Lite now works as expected! It was broken before...
v. 3.2.0 -- 25 October 2021
• .BIL DEMs are now supported to by GMDE Lite. The .hdr and .prj files, which are written by most GIS programs, are still required, though if you omit the .prj file the program will assume that your DEM cell size is in decimal degrees (not UTM) and uses a WGS84 datum. Note that some programs allow you to output non-standard BIL DEMs which have cell sizes with different X and Y dimensions. GMDE Lite will identify these, but will not load them. Make sure you check the box in your GIS program for equidimensional cell sizes!
• Sight along the plane of a contact, either along strike or down-dip, to measure orientation without putting your device on the outcrop (essentially the same functionality as Stereonet Mobile). To access, tap the new orientation button on the Map Screen toolbar, tap current location in the message box, and then in the resulting Orientation Details screen tap the sighting icon in the middle of the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. When in the Sight on Plane screen, you can freeze a measurement by tapping lightly anywhere on the video display. When you return to the orientation details screen, the orientation that you froze is automatically filled in for you and will be permanently recorded when you close that screen and return to the Map Screen.
• The zoom level for the map is displayed in the bottom left corner of the map and a small scale bar in the bottom right corner of the map. The scale bar, of course, scales dynamically as you change the zoom level.
• A POI can now be set using a latitude-longitude pair on the clipboard. The pair cannot be separated by an end of line, i.e., return, character; almost any other type of separator will work (e.g., tab, comma, space, comma-space, semicolon plus n spaces, etc.). If the values are unlabeled in the copied text on the clipboard, you will have to specify whether longitude or latitude are listed first.
3.3.0
2021-10-28
v. 3.3.0 -- 27 October 2021
• You can now carry out rotations in the Stereonet Screen. Rotations are temporary and your data are not changed in any way. Both original (solid great circles and points) and rotated data are shown (dashed great circles and hollow points) are shown for comparison.
• if you tap the Stereonet, you will see the trend & plunge of the point under you finger/pointer in the upper right corner of the screen. If you tap and drag, the angle between where you originally tapped and where your pointer is currently is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen.
• If you go to the Stereonet screen from the orientation details screen, that orientation will be highlighted on the plot with all the measurements.
• The contact details screen now has a subsample button to decimate the number of vertices in the contact while preserving the shape of the trace (as much as possible!).
• Copy and pasting from Stereonet Mobile to GMDE Lite now works as expected! It was broken before...
v. 3.2.0 -- 25 October 2021
• .BIL DEMs are now supported to by GMDE Lite. The .hdr and .prj files, which are written by most GIS programs, are still required, though if you omit the .prj file the program will assume that your DEM cell size is in decimal degrees (not UTM) and uses a WGS84 datum. Note that some programs allow you to output non-standard BIL DEMs which have cell sizes with different X and Y dimensions. GMDE Lite will identify these, but will not load them. Make sure you check the box in your GIS program for equidimensional cell sizes!
• Sight along the plane of a contact, either along strike or down-dip, to measure orientation without putting your device on the outcrop (essentially the same functionality as Stereonet Mobile). To access, tap the new orientation button on the Map Screen toolbar, tap current location in the message box, and then in the resulting Orientation Details screen tap the sighting icon in the middle of the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. When in the Sight on Plane screen, you can freeze a measurement by tapping lightly anywhere on the video display. When you return to the orientation details screen, the orientation that you froze is automatically filled in for you and will be permanently recorded when you close that screen and return to the Map Screen. Realtime strike and dip values are displayed in red at the top of the screen when the view is not correctly oriented or the phone is not sufficiently stable. The values turn to black when a valid reading can be frozen for recording. The green circle tell you whether the phone is correctly oriented (pole to the phone horizontal for strike parallel measurements, or perpendicular to strike for down-dip measurements). You, however, must determine whether your eye/phone is located in the plane of bedding or not!
• The zoom level for the map is displayed in the bottom left corner of the map and a small scale bar in the bottom right corner of the map. The scale bar, of course, scales dynamically as you change the zoom level.
• A POI can now be set using a latitude-longitude pair on the clipboard. The pair cannot be separated by an end of line, i.e., return, character; almost any other type of separator will work (e.g., tab, comma, space, comma-space, semicolon plus n spaces, etc.). If the values are unlabeled in the copied text on the clipboard, you will have to specify whether longitude or latitude are listed first. This is handy if someone sends you the latitude and longitude of, say, where the field vehicle is parked. You can just copy the coordinates from the email or text, go to GMDE Lite and tap the new POI toolbar button and the message box that appears will give you the option of using the coordinates on the clipboard. A POI will be created at that location.
3.2.0
2021-10-26
v. 3.2.0 -- 25 October 2021
• .BIL DEMs are now supported to by GMDE Lite. The .hdr and .prj files, which are written by most GIS programs, are still required, though if you omit the .prj file the program will assume that your DEM cell size is in decimal degrees (not UTM) and uses a WGS84 datum. Note that some programs allow you to output non-standard BIL DEMs which have cell sizes with different X and Y dimensions. GMDE Lite will identify these, but will not load them. Make sure you check the box in your GIS program for equidimensional cell sizes!
• Sight along the plane of a contact, either along strike or down-dip, to measure orientation without putting your device on the outcrop (essentially the same functionality as Stereonet Mobile). To access, tap the new orientation button on the Map Screen toolbar, tap current location in the message box, and then in the resulting Orientation Details screen tap the sighting icon in the middle of the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. When in the Sight on Plane screen, you can freeze a measurement by tapping lightly anywhere on the video display. When you return to the orientation details screen, the orientation that you froze is automatically filled in for you and will be permanently recorded when you close that screen and return to the Map Screen. Realtime strike and dip values are displayed in red at the top of the screen when the view is not correctly oriented or the phone is not sufficiently stable. The values turn to black when a valid reading can be frozen for recording. The green circle tell you whether the phone is correctly oriented (pole to the phone horizontal for strike parallel measurements, or perpendicular to strike for down-dip measurements). You, however, must determine whether your eye/phone is located in the plane of bedding or not!
• The zoom level for the map is displayed in the bottom left corner of the map and a small scale bar in the bottom right corner of the map. The scale bar, of course, scales dynamically as you change the zoom level.
• A POI can now be set using a latitude-longitude pair on the clipboard. The pair cannot be separated by an end of line, i.e., return, character; almost any other type of separator will work (e.g., tab, comma, space, comma-space, semicolon plus n spaces, etc.). If the values are unlabeled in the copied text on the clipboard, you will have to specify whether longitude or latitude are listed first. This is handy if someone sends you the latitude and longitude of, say, where the field vehicle is parked. You can just copy the coordinates from the email or text, go to GMDE Lite and tap the new POI toolbar button and the message box that appears will give you the option of using the coordinates on the clipboard. A POI will be created at that location.
3.0.2
2021-10-18
v. 3.0.2 -- 18 October 2021
• Fill contacts with the new fill button in the Contact Details Screen. When you fill a contact, the fill is the same color as that specified for the type but with 80% transparency applied so you can continue to see your base map. The contact will be plotted in black.
• When a contact is filled, you can click anywhere inside the filled contact to select it. you no longer have to click on the line, itself. For unfilled contacts, you must still click on the line to select it.
• Lock contacts to prevent unintended changes with the switch in the contact details screen. Locked contacts cannot be modified.
• This version restores the default point spacing slider for setting the spacing between vertices in GPS tracks and drawn paths/contacts that was inadvertently deleted in the last version. Oops!
3.0.1
2021-10-12
v. 3.0.1 -- 12 October 2021
This version brings some marked increase in functionality as well as the usual bug fixes and interface enhancements. Here are the changes/additions:
• Map transparency can now be set in the Settings panel. This is an excellent way to put the focus on your mapping.
• Tapping a POI, orientation, or contact now displays a message box with the name, type, exact location, and a list of options for what, if anything, you want to do with that object. Tap Cancel if all you wanted to do was see the name, or Show Details if you want to go to the Details screen for the object. Other options are described below.
• Join two contacts into a single contact. Tap the first contact, tap Join in the message box, and then tap the second contact and the two will be joined by connecting the two closest end points.
• Split a contact into two separate contacts. Tap the contact, tap Split in the message box, and then tap the vertex where you want the split to occur.
• Move a POI: tap the POI, tap Move in the message box, and then tap the map where yo want the new position of the POI to be.
• Project a contact from a tapped orientation right from the map screen: tap the orientation and then tap Project in the message box.
• Tap a temporary projected orientation to remove it from the screen or convert it to a regular contact.
• Move an Orientation: tap the orientation, tap Move in the message box, and then tap the map where yo want the new position of the Orientation to be. If the orientation is associated with a displayed temporary projected contact, the contact will be recalculated and displayed automatically.
• Move one of the points that defines a three-point orientation: tap the orientation, tap Move Pt # (where # if the point number) in the message box, and then tap the map where yo want the new position of the Orientation to be. If the orientation is associated with a displayed temporary projected contact, the contact will be recalculated and displayed automatically.
• Import GPX files. GPX is a popular output format for GPS receivers so if you want to import a track or waypoint from someone, you can now do that. The file must be visible in the Files app on your device for GMDE Lite to access it.
• Import KML files. Complicated KML files with attribute tables are best entered into GMDE Desktop and then exported from there for GMDE Lite because, on the desktop, you can select the attribute that you want to use for the name of the feature. The file must be visible in the Files app on your device for GMDE Lite to access it.
• Projection distance sampling interval can now be set in the Settings panel. The smaller the number the denser the topo grid that will be used to project the contact (and the longer time it will take to calculate the contact). GMDE Lite automatically sets this number when reading in the project so that the program will be relatively responsive, regardless of the resolution of the DEM. LiDAR DEMs, for example, will be subsampled between 5 and 10 times so that it takes only a few seconds to calculate the contact but, if you need a higher resolution contact, and are willing to wait the extra time, you can set the sampling interval to a smaller number. With a 1 m LiDAR DEM, projection distance of 500 m, and a sampling interval of 1 (uses every node in the DEM), it can take your device 20-30 seconds to calculate a contact, which may have 10,000 to 20,000 vertices, so be careful!
• The multiple items message box no longer shows items that are hidden on the map view (this also results in faster searches).
2.3.5
2021-09-07
v. 2.3.5 -- 6 September 2021
• Optimizations, refinements, and bug fixes.
2.3.2
2021-07-17
v. 2.3.2 -- 17 July 2021
• Fix for a disappearing GPS position icon inadvertently introduced in the previous version.
• Yet more optimizations.
2.3.1
2021-07-16
v. 2.3.1 -- 15 July 2021
Many optimizations to make the app more responsive with large complex datasets, especially contacts with many vertices. With more than 100 contacts, only the map will be drawn while dragging or pinching to zoom. Interactive operations (e.g., measuring distance, drawing paths, sketching on the map, etc.) have been speeded up considerably under these conditions because they now occur in a separate graphics layer than the map.
2.3.0
2021-06-26
v. 2.3.0 -- 26 June 2021
• Sketch on Map -- Sometimes you just want to make a quick sketch on a map, e.g.: "the glacier was over here, the water drained down this meltwater channel..." or maybe you want to quickly show your field partners the travers you are going on. This is especially true if you are a teacher who wants to illustrate some point for your students, or if you want to show other members of your research group/field party what you are thinking. Sketch on map allows you to make an ephemeral sketch right on top of the map. You can quickly and easily select different pen colors and thicknesses, undo strokes, and erase everything with the tap of a button. Your sketches are not saved; if you intend something to be permanent, you should plot a real contact.
Sketch on Map is accessed from the message box that appears when you tap the Measure tool on the map screen toolbar. This will show three new buttons at the bottom of the map: a pen color, transparency and size picker, an undo button to undo the last stroke, and a trash button to clear your sketches from the screen. To leave sketch on map mode, just tap the Measure tool button on the toolbar again. Your sketch will remain visible on the map until (a) you clear it with the trash button, or (b) the iOS operating system kicks GMDE Lite out of the stack to clear up memory for some other program
v. 2.2.1 -- 18 June 2021
• Import files from any source that the Files app can see (iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, etc.) directly from the New/Modify Project Screen! Just click the Import Button on that screen. You will get the standard system file browser view. Map mbtiles files and DEM files are automatically moved into the project or GMDE Lite Documents Folder and you are then given the opportunity to make those imported files the default for the project. Data files (.txt, .sqlite) are imported into your project directly without moving the file from its location.
• If you use an Apple Pencil to turn on photo annotation or make a digital sketch on an iPad, the app will now block inadvertent "taps" resulting from your palm resting on the screen. A message at the bottom of the screen shows when Apple Pencil input is activated. When it is, you cannot draw on the screen with your finger, although you can use your fingers to pinch to zoom.
• The limits of the DEM coverage are now shown as a thin red dashed line in the map view.
2.2.0
2021-06-21
v. 2.2.1 -- 18 June 2021
• Import files from any source that the Files app can see (iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, etc.) directly from the New/Modify Project Screen! Just click the Import Button on that screen. You will get the standard system file browser view. Map mbtiles files and DEM files are automatically moved into the project or GMDE Lite Documents Folder and you are then given the opportunity to make those imported files the default for the project. Data files (.txt, .sqlite) are imported into your project directly without moving the file from its location.
• If you use an Apple Pencil to turn on photo annotation or make a digital sketch on an iPad, the app will now block inadvertent "taps" resulting from your palm resting on the screen. A message at the bottom of the screen shows when Apple Pencil input is activated. When it is, you cannot draw on the screen with your finger, although you can use your fingers to pinch to zoom.
• The limits of the DEM coverage are now shown as a thin red dashed line in the map view.