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This tutorial is for the Desktop Designer. To view the updated tutorial for the online project designer, please click here .

GPS Point

Learn how the GPS point can be used and see it in action with the sample projects.

What is the GPS point?

This point allows you to capture GPS positioning information using the device's readily available GPS hardware. The GPS point can be easily integrated with the Map Point to provide a live map with the current location.

Key Features

  • Provides the ability to collect 20 different GPS outputs in accordance with NMEA standards.
  • Supports integration with a Map Point to display live updates as the device's location changes.
  • Supports integration with a Math Point for calculations based on GPS location.
  • Can output various GPS data to other points, using dynamic references.

Gps point animation freeway

Integration with Map Point

The GPS point can be integrated with the Map point in order to display a live map of the GPS coordinates, as the GPS is updating. To do this, the GPS point's format string must be set with the format %lat%,%long% and the Map point needs to be configured to use the GPS point for coordinates.

Dynamic References

You can configure another point to obtain GPS positioning information from a GPS point by setting the point's ID to a dynamic reference. To enable this feature the GPS point will need to have enabled the option Expand coordinates to child points in the GPS point's properties. These dynamic references can be useful for extracting additional information for reports or for calculations and can include information such as latitude, longitude and much more. As an example, to add an Edit point which references a GPS point called GpsPointLatLong to obtain the GPS latitude as a decimal, the Edit point's ID would need to be set to GpsPointLatLong.lat . For a full list of the available options that can be referenced, see the table below:

Value Point ID Reference
Latitude Decimal GPSPointID.lat
Latitude Degrees GPSPointID.latd
Latitude Minutes GPSPointID.latm
Latitude Seconds GPSPointID.lats
Latitude Min & Sec GPSPointID.latms
N or S GPSPointID.lathem
Raw Latitude GPSPointID.latraw
Longitude Decimal GPSPointID.long
Longitude Degrees GPSPointID.longd
Longitude Minutes GPSPointID.longm
Longitude Seconds GPSPointID.longs
Longitude Min & Sec GPSPointID.longms
E or W GPSPointID.longhem
Raw Longitude GPSPointID.longraw
UTM Zone GPSPointID.zone
UTM Easting GPSPointID.easting
UTM Northing GPSPointID.northing
Horizontal Accuracy GPSPointID.accuracy
Vertical Accuracy GPSPointID.vaccuracy

Configuration and Settings

The GPS point can be configured in the Mobile Data Anywhere Designer to customise the behaviour of the point. Below is an example of the properties window for a GPS point, opened in the Mobile Data Anywhere Designer.


Gps point properties

Format Settings

The format settings allow you to customise which GPS information is recorded in the GPS point's value. The Insert Token dropdown allows you to select from various GPS information that can be added to the point's recorded value, including values such as latitude, longitude and much more. The token will be inserted where the cursor has been placed in the format string.

Options

These settings allow you to customise how the point functions when the point is used on a mobile device.

Allow coordinates to be changed once set.

When this option is enabled, the GPS point can be changed as many times as the user chooses. When disabled, the GPS point's value cannot be updated once it has been set.

Expand coordinates to child points.

When this option is enabled, any points with dynamic references to this point will be set automatically whenever the value of this GPS point changes.

Keep GPS device active while project is open.

When enabled, the device will keep the GPS location services active while the project is open which can reduce the time taken to capture coordinates, between sessions. This option can be disabled to save on battery usage if the GPS point is not used often.

Close GPS window as soon as a fix is obtained.

By default, the GPS point will need to be tapped once to start searching for a GPS position and a second tap will stop the search and capture the most recent location. When this option is enabled, the GPS point will automatically stop searching and capture the location as soon as a location has been found.

Desired Accuracy (m).

The GPS point will continue to search for GPS coordinates until the location is within the specified desired accuracy (in metres).

Location Services and Privacy Settings

Permission Requests

Apple iOS devices require permission to access the location services on the device. The app will prompt you to grant permission with the prompts seen below:

Location permission while in use Location permission while in background
You will need to ensure that both permissions are granted in order to allow the app to gain access to location services and to allow the app to track location changes in the background.

Checking the status of permissions

You can check on the status of permissions from within the app by opening the Settings page and scrolling down to the Location & Privacy Settings section.

Location permission settings status The location service status will be one of the following:

Status Meaning
Not Set Permission has not been requested yet. The app will request permission access when location services are required.
No Access The user has denied access to location services. Location services cannot be used by the app until the user changes the location service permissions for the app.
Limited The user has only granted permission to allow location services while the app is in use. The user has not granted permission for the app to use location services while the app is in the background. This will impact the performance of points such as the GPS Tracker point where location information needs to be tracked over time.
Full Access The user has granted permission to access location services while the app is any state. This will allow all points to use location services as required.

Updating Permissions

To change the permission settings for location services, you will need to open the Location and Privacy settings on the device. For devices running recent versions of iOS (iOS 8+) you can quickly navigate to the location and privacy settings from within the Mobile Data Anywhere app:

  • Open the Mobile Data Anywhere app.
  • Tap on Settings.
  • Scroll down to the Location & Privacy Settings section.
  • Tap on the Location and Privacy Settings button.
  • This will open the device's Settings app.
  • Tap on Location.
  • Tap on Always to provide the best experience.
For older devices, you can manually open the Location and Privacy settings by following the steps seen below:

Ios enable location services

Sample Projects

The Basic Points Sample project contains examples of how to use many of the various points that are available. This project also contains a page that demonstrates some of the ways that this point can be used in your projects.


Sample Projects
You can download the sample project for this tutorial or import the projects directly into your account.
Download the Sample Files Import the Basic Points Sample project

Sample 1: GPS Point

In the provided sample project, basic_point_samples.ppc there is a page for the GPS Point , which demonstrates how a GPS point can be integrated with a Map point as well as many other points using dynamic references as point ID's. Open this project in the Mobile Data Anywhere Designer for a closer look at how each point has been customised on each point's properties window.

Gps point sample