Avenza Symbols

[Scooter]

Basics of a conversation that I just had with Avenza support, which may be of interest to other Avenza users:


Scooter:

You know the white/black symbols that you can add to a map? It would be fantastic to have a set of symbols which just show the 26 letters of the
alphabet.

Right now, if I'm setting up an orienteering course, I can mark a bunch of pins and label the pin locations as A, B, C, D, etc.

The only problem is that when you touch the screen, the names of the pins disappear. This is good most of the time, but in this specific example, it would be nice to be able to see all the different stops with their title letters up on the map permanently. If we had symbols for each letter, then instead of pins, we'd see the symbols. They would be there permanently, and would be easy to see when zooming in and out, with no risk of them disappearing (and then needing to slowly tap each pin to bring them back up).

Seems that this should be a fairly easy feature to implement, and I bet that thousands of users would eventually appreciate these symbols.

Also, you only need to add 25 more symbols, not 26. We already have the letter P from the Parking symbol.


Avenza:

I can definitely file a feature request for additional symbology files. I do want to note that if you are a Pro subscriber, we can create symbol files for you based on the PNGs you provide. So if you were able to provide those symbol files in the form of PNGs following the specifications below - we could create the file for you to import right away. Unfortunately, getting things developed and implemented directly into the app can take longer.

https://support.avenzamaps.com/hc/en-us ... ymbol-Sets

In regards to the request for labels being displayed all the time - we do have a feature request for this already that I would be happy to add your name to so that when we implement this we can let you know.


Scooter:

A question, come to think of it: If I were to upgrade to a Pro subscription and had some symbols created that way, can the symbols be imported by regular (non-Pro) users? So if I'm out hiking with a friend and I have a bunch of custom symbols on a map that we're using, can I export my KML file to them and have the custom symbols appear on their map as long as they've already imported the custom symbol set that I shared with them?


Avenza:

So there are limitations when it comes to sharing custom symbol sets or files created with them. If it is a Pro symbol library, anyone that doesn't have Pro will see them as generic symbols - so this could be a limitation to what you are doing.

Another option is to create a symbol set within Google Earth. Basically, you can drop points wherever you want (doesn't have to be accurate), and assign each point with your desired symbols. You can then export this and import it into any version of the app, and the symbols will be automatically saved under the "Imported Symbols" section. From here they can be accessed like any other symbol, and the original KML file can be deleted (hence the actual location of the pins doesn't matter).

Unlike Pro symbols, with these types of symbols, you cannot delete them from the app, nor can you toggle them on or off in the list, like you can with the Pro symbols (i.e. you can hide them from the Manage Symbol Sets section if you don't want to see them in your main list of symbols taking up space).

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For reference, Avenza has three levels of users. The "Basic" subscription is free, but the user is limited to three maps active in the map at any one time. The "Plus" subscription is $38.99 CAD per year, and removes the three-map limitation. But that Plus level does not allow for what is suggested above. The "Pro" subscription is $169.99 CAD per year, and allows what is suggested above. Pro also allows import/export of 'Shape' files, which the Plus version doesn't allow.