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Frequently Asked Questions - Configuring and running QMapShack

Can I run several QMS instances at the same time?

Valid from patch version aa576e2 (22.02.2017).

No. QMS saves workspace information in the file workspace.db. There is only one such file. If this file would be used by several QMS instances at the same time, then the QMS workspace data behavior would be unpredictable.

If an attempt is made to start a second QMS instance, then the file parameters of this call are transferred to the first QMS instance and the files are loaded there silently.

Why does QMS ask for authorization on start-up (Ubuntu version)

When starting QMS with Ubuntu 18.04 it may happen that a user authorization/authentication is required.

The reason for this is, that QMapShack probes all block devices for GPS devices by mounting them, analyzing their file structure, and unmounting them again. This is also done for devices containing the system, as there is no known way to distinguish them from a GPS device. Usually, the unmount for system drives is expected to fail. Most likely, some Ubuntu window managers interfere and ask for authorization.

The following approach for avoiding this authorization was recommended in the QMS issue tracker:

  • Open the file

      /usr/share/polkit-1/actions/org.freedesktop.UDisks2.policy

    in an editor.

  • Locate the definition of the action

      org.freedesktop.udisks2.filesystem-unmount-others

    which starts with the line

      <action id="org.freedesktop.udisks2.filesystem-unmount-others">

  • Locate the end of this action at the line </action>.

  • Replace the line

      <allow_active>auth_admin_keep</allow_active>

    located 2 lines before the end of the action by the line

      <allow_active>yes</allow_active>

  • Do not forget to back up original file!

How to resolve SSL certificate problems?

When trying to use online maps or DEM data it may happen, that the expected data is missing in QMS and that there is no explicit hint from QMS about the reason for this lack of data. One of the reasons can be a missing certificate file.

The discussion of QMS issue #464 gives some recommendations for tackling this issue on Linux systems. Part of the recommendations described here are also valid for Windows systems.

On Windows, one approach to resolve the certificate issue is the following (communicated by mitxel-m):

  • Goto https://curl.se/docs/caextract.html.
  • Download the file cacert.pem from this page.
  • Rename the file to curl-ca-bundle.crt.
  • Copy the renamed file to the QMS base directory.

User-relevant QMapShack directories (Windows version)

  • Directories relative to location of qmapshack.exe:
    • .\translations: language files
    • .\routino-xml: routino configuration files including profiles.xml
  • Other directories:
    • c:\Users\your_user_name\AppData\Local\Temp\org.qlandkarte.QMapShack.log: logfile written if commandline option -f is used
    • c:\Users\your_user_name\.QMapShack: tile caches for online maps (default, can be changed by the user)
    • c:\Users\your_user_name\.config\QLandkarte\workspace.db: backup of last used workspace - used for rebuilding the last workspace when QMapShack is restarted

How to change the GUI language?

The language used in the QMapShack user interface (GUI) is defined using the following rules:

  • If the language of the operating system is a language supported by QMS, then this language is used as the default GUI language.

  • Languages available in QMS are:

    • English
    • Catalan (ca)
    • Czech (cs)
    • Dutch (nl)
    • French (fr)
    • German (de)
    • Italian (it)
    • Russian (ru)
    • Spanish (es)

  • If the language of the operating system is not supported by QMS, then English is used as the QMS GUI language.

  • The user can change the GUI language with the help of these steps:

    • Find the abbreviation of the operating system language (the so-called locale, e.g. hu for Hungarian).
    • Find in the QMS installation directory or its subdirectories the language files qmapshack_*.qm (Windows: go to subdirectory translations).
    • Select one of the supported languages (e.g. de for German).
    • Copy the file qmapshack_de.qm to qmapshack_hu.qm.
    • After the next start of QMS the GUI language will be the selected language (German in the example).
    • Remarks:

      • The (default) English language file is qmapshack.qm, not qmapshack_en.qm!

      • Both the locale (en, de, fr, ...) and the language file used with its full path can be found in the QMS logfile (debug output). Check for lines of the form

           2017-01-31 13:24:30.594 [debug] locale "de"    
   2017-01-31 13:24:30.594 [debug] "using file 'c:...\\translations/qmapshack_de.qm' for translations."

        If the language of the operating system is not supported by QMS, then these lines have the form

           2017-01-31 13:26:00.785 [debug] locale "de"
   2017-01-31 13:26:00.785 [warning] "no file found for translations 'c:...\\translations/qmapshack_de' (using default)."

  • When running QMS under Windows the GUI language can be changed by starting QMS with a batch file of the form:

      set LANG=de
  qmapshack.exe

    In this example, German will be used as GUI language even if the Windows system language is different.

Where does QMS save setup, configuration, and other information?

The following list gives an overview of the locations used for saving setup, configuration, and some other information.

  • Logfile (org.qlandkarte.QMapShack.log)
    • Purpose: Provide various information about QMS run
    • Commandline: qmapshack.exe -f
    • Location (Windows): c:\Users\user_name\AppData\Local\Temp\
    • Location (Linux): /tmp/
  • Console debug output (Linux only)
    • Purpose: Provide various information about QMS run (same information as in logfile)
    • Commandline: qmapshack.exe -d
    • Location (Linux): output on console
  • workspace.db
    • Purpose: Save various information for restoring QMS workspace at restart. Proprietary file structure.
    • Location (Windows): c:\Users\user_name\.config\QLandkarte\
    • Location (Linux): ~/.config/QLandkarte/
  • INI file
    • Purpose: Save most of the QMS setup and configuration information in a usual INI file structure
    • Commandline: qmapshack.exe -c my_inifile.ini
    • Location (Windows): defined with INI filename, if necessary, my_inifile.ini should include complete path
    • Location (Linux): defined with INI filename, if necessary, my_inifile.ini should include complete path
  • Registry (Windows only)
    • Purpose: Save most of the QMS setup and configuration information in a structure similar to the one used in QMS INI file. Registry is used, if no INI file is given on commandline.
    • Location (Windows): HKCU\Software\QLandkarte\QMapShack
  • QMapShack.conf (Linux only)
    • Purpose: Save most of the QMS setup and configuration information in a usual INI file structure. File is used, if no QMS INI file is given on commandline.
    • Location (Linux): ~/.config/QLandkarte/
  • User-defined waypoint icons
    • Purpose: Default path for adding user-defined waypoint icons (user can change this path!)
    • Location (Windows): c:\Users\user_name\.config\QLandkarte\WaypointIcons\
    • Location (Linux): ~/.config/QLandkarte/WaypointIcons/

Remark:

  • The commandline parameters -f and -d for Linux can be used simultaneously. In this case, debug output is written to the logfile and to the console.

What to do if QMS doesn't start?

(Find details and locations of files mentioned in this section here)

In rare cases, it can happen that QMS cannot be started because of configuration or data errors.

To achieve a QMS restart, carry out the following steps one after the other until QMS starts:

  1. Search in the list of running processes (task manager!) for a still running qmapshack.exe process. If there is some, kill it.

  2. If no qmapshack.exe process is running anymore, back up

    • workspace.db,
    • INI file (if used),
    • QMS part of registry (Windows users only. Use text format for saving!) or ~/.config/QLandkarte/QMapShack.conf (Linux users).

  3. Start QMS.

  4. Start QMS from commandline with the command path_to_qms/qmapshack -f. A logfile is written. Check this logfile for error messages and try to eliminate these errors.

  5. Move the workspace file workspace.db temporarily to another directory and try to start QMS.

    If QMS starts: there is a data error from the last QMS run. Try to reconstruct the workspace data from the used databases and/or GPX files.

  6. Copy the workspace file back to its original location.

  7. Start QMS from a commandline with the command path_to_qms/qmapshack -c nonexisting0.ini where nonexisting0.ini is the name of a non-existent file.

    If QMS starts: there is no data error, but a configuration error. The workspace shows the last content. All configuration parameters have to be set again (maps and map windows, elevation data, databases, ...).

  8. Again move the workspace file temporarily into another directory.

  9. Start QMS from a commandline with the command path_to_qms/qmapshack -c nonexisting1.ini where nonexisting1.ini is the name of a non-existent file.

    If QMS starts: there is both a data and a configuration error. Try to reconstruct workspace data from the used databases or GPX files. All configuration parameters must be set again (maps and map windows, elevation data, databases, ...).

Hint: Open the INI file, the registry or the QMapShack.conf file saved in step 2 in an editor to get some information about the last used QMS setup and configuration.

What is the recommended screen size?

The minimum recommended screen size for QMapShack is 1280 * 1024.

If the width of the screen is smaller than 1280 it may happen in the QMS GUI that some of the buttons for filters in the track edit window or some of the toolbar buttons in the map window when editing a track are not visible. Reducing the GUI width can be impossible. Switching the visibility of the docker widgets with Ctrl+D may help in some cases to get access to the hidden buttons.

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