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New search tool available on Wikiloc

islandwalker

Veteran Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Francés and routes in Andalucia
For those of you who like to use Wikiloc for such things as finding alternative trails that lead to accommodation off the camino or for seeing what trails in an area would allow you to detour around disruptive roadworks, there’s a new way to search called “Search by Passing Area.” (I know many people who are walking well-signed caminos don’t use or need GPX tracks, so the following is meant as an update for readers who do have a need for finding alternate tracks.)

It used to be that you could search for GPX tracks on Wikiloc only by keyword or by the location where a trail began, but their new search tool allows you to center a circle on the search map and find all the trails that pass through that circle. What’s more, you can designate two (or more) circles and find all the trails that pass through both of those areas. (See photo below for an example of tracks through the dune area between Bolonia and Tarifa on the Camino del Estrecho.)

I’ve been playing around with this for a few weeks now and have found it very helpful for finding alternate routes between two points; finding trails to off-camino sites of interest; finding alternatives that avoid long stretches of road-walking; turning linear out-and-back routes into circular routes; finding alternate trails for walking a route in reverse; and finding trails that are harder or easier than my original route, or that go closer to the coast, or that shorten or lengthen a day, etc.

Search by Passing Area” is part of Wikiloc’s premium membership category for which there is a charge of $9, but to me, it’s been well worth it. (You can still search by keyword or starting point for free.) The feature works on both the computer and the phone app. Wikiloc users have uploaded more than 7 million gpx tracks for Spain and Portugal, often with photos, waypoints, and notes in addition, so there is a lot of helpful information available. Happy searching!

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The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Thanks! That looks quite useful for all the reasons you said. I have used Wikiloc on a variety of trails in Spain and this new option makes it even more useful. As you said, when things are well signed there isn't much need for it, but when you can find an off road trail that gets you to the same place more safely and without cars, it is nice.
 
This is great, I just saw your notes on the Vasco mountain alternatives, and I am going to head right over to wikiloc to pay my $$$ and start my premium membership. Seems like quite good value! Fabulous, @islandwalker, many thanks.

You'll probably not be surprised to hear I have questions. If I buy the app on my computer, will I also be able to put it on my phone, or is this a per device charge? I would not object if it were, it's just that I want to be sure I do this correctly and download the app at the right place.
 
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
If I buy the app on my computer, will I also be able to put it on my phone, or is this a per device charge?

The price gives you all the premium features on both your computer and your phone for just the one payment, good for a year. I am using it on both. I'm thrilled you are excited about it. It's absolutely amazing how much easier the searches are, how much more information can be turned up in a short amount of time, and the range of information that is now available. For instance, by using three circles, I can tell if I go off the trail to stay overnight at X village, are there any options for getting out of X to rejoin my previous trail further ahead or do I have to backtrack to where I previously left the trail.

Let me know if there's anything I can help with.
 
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but when you can find an off road trail that gets you to the same place more safely and without cars, it is nice.

Thanks, JFG. I have been hoping for this feature for years! (Thanks, Wikiloc.) In the past, it was frustrating to look for trails in a certain area and miss them because you didn't know a trail's starting spot and had zoomed in on a likely starting spot a few kilometers away. Now you can pick up all the trails that pass through a certain area or areas no matter where the trail actually begins. I figure that since Wikiloc now contains more than 7 million tracks for Spain and Portugal (and more than 11 million worldwide), we're pretty likely to find something wherever we need it.
 
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Let me know if there's anything I can help with.

Oh, that is a very dangerous offer. I want to use this on my computer, not on my phone, and I can't figure out how to buy it from my computer. Before next year's camino, when I have a new phone with more space, I will put it and maps.me on my phone and get rid of my Garmin, but not this year. Too little time to figure it out. :)

I know you said that you can use the app on both the computer and the phone, but can I just get it on my computer? Or maybe put it on my ipad? Thanks, Laurie
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
can I just get it on my computer? Or maybe put it on my ipad?

Hmmm...that's an interesting question. I'm trying to remember how I purchased mine, and I think you are right: it has to be done through the App Store and cannot be done on the computer. It must have something to do with the ways they are able to receive payments. So I think there are two ways you could do this and not use up any memory on your phone:
  1. Install the free Wikiloc app on your iPad if you don't have it already, and pay for the premium membership there via the App Store. The premium membership will then apply to any device that you are using your Wikiloc account on - ie, your computer, when you are signed into your Wikiloc account. Or...
  2. Install the free Wikiloc app on your phone and pay for the premium membership via the App Store there, but then delete the Wikiloc app from your phone as soon as you have confirmed on your computer that you have the upgraded membership.
Once you pay for the premium membership, no matter how you make the original payment, the upgrade will apply to your Wikiloc account, not any particular device, so it will work anywhere that you sign into your account - your computer, your phone, your iPad - or even a a public computer in Spain, if you sign into your account.

I hope this works!
 
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Aha! Laurie, I don't know why I didn't think of this before (but maybe you already know this): you could, if you wanted to, use your Wikiloc account in Spain on your phone without installing the app by using the web version of Wikiloc on your phone. Since you wouldn't have the app installed on your phone, it wouldn't use up any extra memory. That is, when you have access to cell or wifi, you could open up the Wikiloc page on your phone (if you are taking your phone) in whatever web browser you like to use - Chrome, Safari, etc. - and use Wikiloc just as if you were on your computer at home. Thus, if you are sitting in a hostel in Spain with wifi and want to find an alternative trail for the next day, you could do so on your phone by signing into your account. All your saved info (and upgraded tools) from your home computer will show up. This would also be a way to use the Wikiloc IGN maps if you have cell when you are out on the trail and you want to check something in addition to what you have on your Garmin.
 
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It seems like the two of us are the only ones involved in this new wikiloc feature, but I will resist the PM route because I think there is a lot that may be of more general interest.

BUT... The "search passing area" feature is fabulous. But what I am having trouble doing is finding the second "passing area" on the map, so that I can find all the trails between two areas. There seems to be no way to use the search function to search for a second passing area, so it's a matter of moving the map all around and it is not easy to find very tiny places by just pushing the map around with your fingers. Does this make sense? Does anyone have any ideas? Am I doing it wrong? Thanks, buen camino, Laurie
 
3rd Edition. More content, training & pack guides avoid common mistakes, bed bugs etc
I thought the same about the PM vs general interest question. Here are some ideas to try:

You are right about having to push the map around to center the circle for the second passing area. That is the only way to do it. This is easier to do on a big screen where you can see more, so it would be ideal if you can get your new tools to show up on your computer. Are you logged into the exact same account on your computer as on your iPad? If not, that is why the "search by passing area" is not showing up.
  1. Go to the dropdown menu by your profile photo (upper right) on your Wikiloc page on your computer, and click on the 4th line down where it says "Your products" (see "dropdown" photo below.)
  2. 52596
  3. Does a window open up that shows you have premium membership? (see "Mbrshp" photo below) It should, if you are signed into the same account that you are using on your iPad. If not let me know, and I'll look for an email address I have somewhere for a guy on the Wikiloc team who has helped me before.
  4. 52593
Search hints that might help:
  1. Start your search from the world maps page on your computer. (see photo)
  2. 52594
  3. Use the +/- buttons to zoom in and out to make moving around easier.
  4. Use the "more maps" drop down to get a map that shows the names of the small villages. It's too bad that the IGN maps don't appear in this particular drop-down. I find that the last option, OpenCycleMap, tends to show a lot more of the small village names than OpenStreetMap does. (See photo )
  5. 52595
 
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Thank you islandwalker.
I'd forgotten that I'd signed up to Wikiloc. I've just signed up for the 14 day free premium trial and it's got me inspired to get walking again.
 
I thought the same about the PM vs general interest question. Here are some ideas to try:

You are right about having to push the map around to center the circle for the second passing area. That is the only way to do it. This is easier to do on a big screen where you can see more, so it would be ideal if you can get your new tools to show up on your computer. Are you logged into the exact same account on your computer as on your iPad? If not, that is why the "search by passing area" is not showing up.
  1. Go to the dropdown menu by your profile photo (upper right) on your Wikiloc page on your computer, and click on the 4th line down where it says "Your products" (see "dropdown" photo below.)
  2. View attachment 52596
  3. Does a window open up that shows you have premium membership? (see "Mbrshp" photo below) It should, if you are signed into the same account that you are using on your iPad. If not let me know, and I'll look for an email address I have somewhere for a guy on the Wikiloc team who has helped me before.
  4. View attachment 52593
Search hints that might help:
  1. Start your search from the world maps page on your computer. (see photo)
  2. View attachment 52594
  3. Use the +/- buttons to zoom in and out to make moving around easier.
  4. Use the "more maps" drop down to get a map that shows the names of the small villages. It's too bad that the IGN maps don't appear in this particular drop-down. I find that the last option, OpenCycleMap, tends to show a lot more of the small village names than OpenStreetMap does. (See photo )
  5. View attachment 52595
@islandwalker, do I remember right that another feature of the new wikiloc premium was that you could pull up a certain “user” and search through his/her trails for a specific one? Some of these guys have posted thousands of trails, and it gets frustrating looking for a specific stage of a camino I know they posted!
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
@islandwalker, do I remember right that another feature of the new wikiloc premium was that you could pull up a certain “user” and search through his/her trails for a specific one?
Yes, that method of searching is now possible - hooray! Try these steps on your computer:
  1. Go to the main wikiloc search page and click on the term "users" over the search box. (see photo 1)
  2. Type the name of the person whose tracks you want to see into the search box on the page that pops up, and click search.
  3. Click on the correct user name on the page that pops up.
  4. Click on the green search button on the right side of the user page. (see photo 2)
  5. The map page will pop up. (If no map is showing, use the more maps dropdown menu to select "openstreetmap".) Only the first 15 tracks of your selected user will be shown on this map, so the track you want may not be visible yet. (see photo 3)
  6. Zoom in to the area where the track you want is located and click on "search this area" which will bring up a new page OR type in a key word in the search box. It will search only the tracks of your selected user. (see photo 4). This will narrow down the selection of your user's tracks appearing in the left hand panel. Once you see the track you think you want, you can make it appear on the map by clicking on the symbol that looks like an eye that is placed after the track name in that same left-hand panel, or you can click on the track name to go directly to the track page.
Let me know if you have any questions about how to narrow the list down. Happy searching!
Elaine

searchpage.webp userpage.webp mapview.webp resultspage.webp
 
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It seems like the two of us are the only ones involved in this new wikiloc feature, but I will resist the PM route because I think there is a lot that may be of more general interest.
Thank you!
Some of us are lurking, even if we don't have the slightest idea of what you're all talking about.
(I need a tutorial...)
 
Thank you!
Some of us are lurking, even if we don't have the slightest idea of what you're all talking about.
(I need a tutorial...)
That's a great comment, VNwalking! If there are any questions I can answer for you, I'd be glad to give it a try. I took my own first steps toward using GPS tracks after getting help here on this forum ten years ago, and it has opened up such a marvelous range of walking possibilities for me. I am forever grateful.
Elaine
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Laurie, here's an example that might be clearer than the one I posted above in terms of narrowing down the search results for an individual user. Let's say, for example, that I wanted to find a track you had posted in the area southeast of Burgos.
  1. If I click the green search button on your user page (see photo 1) ...
  2. It takes me to a map page showing symbols for 15 of your 67 tracks. I could use the page advance arrow at the bottom of the left-hand panel and search through all 4 of your pages (see photo 2) or...
  3. I could zoom in on the area containing the track of yours that I am looking for, in this case, south of Burgos. When I zoom in, I still see only one symbol in that area of the map (see photo 3), but if I click on "Search this area" (after I've zoomed in) ...
  4. Up pops a map showing all 7 of your tracks southeast of Burgos with clickable links in the left-hand panel (see photo 4).
Search.webp map.webp Zoom.webp ResultM.webp

Hope this helps,
Elaine
 
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