Here are a few ways you can export your data out of Social Hiking before the site closes on 27th May (including a few new features)
[UPDATED 21/05: Supporters (past and present) are able to self host their old maps after Social Hiking closes – see below]
GPX / KML
As long as you have selected the option to allow exporting of GPX / KML files for a map (and it is not live) then you can download a gpx or kml file.
Next to the title on each map page will be a ‘GPX’ and ‘KML’ download icon.
TIP: GPX files are always ‘routes’ if you are not logged in – logged in users will download the GPX files as ‘tracks’ (with timestamps)
Raw Data File
The GPX / KML download option only exports the location data on the map. Unfortunately Social Hiking cannot provide a mechanism to export the media linked to maps directly, however logged in users can now download the underlying raw data file that Social Hiking uses to generate a map. This file contains details of both the points making up the track(s) / route(s) but also the text that is outputted for each marker that appears on the map.
TIP: before exporting the raw data file for a map, edit the map, save without making any changes and then wait for the ‘scheduled to be updated’ icon disappears from the map list. This ensures the markers are updated to use the latest code which fixes the file to work better after Social Hiking.
As you look at a map, there will be a big ‘DOWNLOAD RAW DATA FILE’ button under the title and description:
The format for this file is not standard, however it would be possible for a third party developer to either support the file for an existing service, or develop something that would enable Social Hiking maps to live on (any interested developers please get in touch). Supporters can use these files to host standalone Social Hiking maps (see below).
Bagged Peaks
There is now the ability to download your entire history of bagged peaks – just log in, click on the ‘peaks’ tab, and then click on the ‘DOWNLOAD YOUR PEAK BAGGING DATA’ button.
The data is outputted as a csv file with the following fields:
Date Bagged, Name, Height, Latitude, Longitude, Feature, Classification, Country, Geoname ID, DBH (Database of British Hills) Classification
Whilst I am thinking about peaks, you can view the handful of peak lists that were setup, including the ‘leaderboard’ and a GPX export at:
- Dartmoor Rocks and Tors – http://www.shareyouradventure.com/features/baglist/1/tors-rocks-of-dartmoor (congratulation to Paul for getting 100%)
- The Wainwrights – http://www.shareyouradventure.com/features/baglist/2/the-wainwrights (congratulations to Eddie, Martin and Gary for getting 100%)
- The Munros – http://www.shareyouradventure.com/features/baglist/3/munros (so close Dave with 99%)
- Hills of Dartmoor – http://www.shareyouradventure.com/features/baglist/4/hills-of-dartmoor
Raw Data Export
For supporters (past and current) only, if you want more data extracted from the database ‘raw’ then just get in touch and I will see what I can do.
No automated exports?
No – I thought long and hard about whether to put together the ability to automatically export gpx or raw data files but in the end decided not to. As I looked through my maps, whilst some are very important to me (Offa’s Dyke for example), there are a lot of maps that could easily disappear without my noticing, and I am sure it is the same for you. Ultimately, now is probably a good time to do a bit of curation, work through your maps, match them with gpx files stored elsewhere and decide what to keep and what to lose.
Supporter Standalone Maps
If you are (or have been) a supporter, then you can self-host standalone Social Hiking maps (the full size / iframe versions) after the site closes on 27th May. This involves several stages:
- For each of your maps, download the raw data file (see above) and the self hosted map file. The self hosted map file can be downloaded by clicking on the new ‘Download Self Hosted Map’ button next to the ‘Download Raw Data File’. It is really import that you do this before 27th May obviously!!
- Get in touch with me at phil@shareyouradventure.com to ask for the additional files required to self host maps (the styles, scripts and images). I will also be able to give you more detailed instructions.
- Get a square profile image you want to use for yourself.
- So far fairly easy… but now it gets bit more complicated. You will need a Google Maps key, which you can get at https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/javascript/get-api-key. Google have just introduced a new pricing mechanism which, although you should not hit the limits that require payment, is a hassle to setup.
- I have not completely tested it, but the standalone maps should also support OS maps if you get a key from: https://openspaceregister.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/osmapapi/register.do
- Finally,the hard bit – you need to update the standalone map files to include the key, and then upload all the files to your server.
Please note I can only give minimal support to resolve any issues.
