Import & Export

SEAiq supports a number of methods for importing/exporting waypoints, routes, and tracks. Some of the uses for this feature include:

• Backup your Waypoints, Routes, or Tracks to your laptop.
• Send a Route or Tracks to a friend.
• Transfer your Waypoints and Routes to SEAiq on another iPad. This example is explained in detail below (see: Example: Transferring Between SEAiq on Different iPads.
• Transfer your Waypoints, Routes, and Tracks from SEAiq to another app (or vice-versa).
• Display your Tracks in Google Earth.

You may find it useful to install other data sharing apps such as DropBox and FileApp (both are free for basic use). For instance, with DropBox you can save your data to their online storage and share it with others. FileApp provides other methods to transfer data to/from your laptop. These apps (as well as others) support the Copy To method to transfer data back and forth with SEAiq.

To get started, you need to determine the following things about what you want to do:

• What direction will the transfer be in?
  • Export from SEAiq or Import into SEAiq
• What object(s) do you want to transfer?
  • Waypoints, Routes, or Tracks
• What format will data be transferred in?
  • GPX (.gpx), KML (.kml), Transas (.rt3), Maris (.rtu), Mona Lisa 2.0 (.rtz), SevenCs Lisy (.rte), NACOS Platinum (.nacos), and Sam Electronics ECDIS (.sam or .dat).
• What method will you use to transfer the data?:
  • Email, Save File, or Copy To another app

Note that in many cases you will be both exporting and importing. For instance, if you want to transfer a route from SEAiq on one iPad to SEAiq on another iPad, there are several options available that involve exporting from your first iPad and then importing into your second iPad. See the section below Example: Transferring Between SEAiq on Different iPads for more information on this example.

The following objects can be transferred.

• All Routes and Waypoints
• Individual Route
• Individual Waypoint
• Tracks

The following formats are supported:

• GPX routes and tracks (suffix: .gpx). GPX is a standard format for transferring geolocation data. Many marine charting applications support GPX format. Google Earth supports GPX (though KML is preferred -- see below). SEAiq supports both import and export of data in GPX format. GPX is recommended when transferring from SEAiq to SEAiq since SEAiq uses GPX "extensions" to convey all the information stored in routes; other formats may not include some of this information.
• KML data (suffix: .kml). KML is a format created for Google Earth. The name stands for "Keyhole Markup Language". For KML data, SEAiq only supports exporting (not import).
• Transas routes (.rt3). This is a format for exchanging individual routes. SEAiq supports both import and export of files in this format. Note that not all route information may be included.
• Mona Lisa 2.0 (.rtz). This is a format for exchanging individual routes. SEAiq supports both import and export of files in this format. Note that not all route information may be included.
• SevenCs Lisy (.rte). This is a format for exchanging individual routes. SEAiq supports import in this format. Note that not all route information may be included.
• NACOS Platinum (suffix: .nacos). This is a format for exchanging individual routes. SEAiq supports both import and export of files in this format. Note that not all route information may be included. Files in this format normally use the generic .xml suffix and may need to be renamed with .nacos in order to be imported in SEAiq.
• Maris (suffix: .rtu). This is a format for exchanging individual routes. SEAiq supports only import in this format. Note that not all route information may be included.
• SAM Electronics ECDIS (suffix: .sam or .dat). This is a format for exchanging individual routes. SEAiq supports only import in this format. Note that not all route information may be included.
• JRC ECDIS (suffix: .rta or .rtn). This is a format for exchanging individual routes. SEAiq supports only import in this format. Note that not all route information may be included during the import.
• Trelleborg Safe Pilot (suffix: .spx). This is a format for exchanging individual routes based on GPX. SEAiq supports only import in this format. Note that not all route information may be included during the import.
• Comma Separated Value (suffix: .csv). This is a format for exchanging individual routes. SEAiq supports only export in this format. Note that not all route information may be included. Options are included for exporting "human readable" (includes formatting and units) and "machine readable" (simple numbers with no special characters or units) variants.

The following data transfer methods are supported:

• Email. This method allows you to email the data to someone else (or even to yourself). Email normally requires internet access.
• iTunes File Sharing. This method allows you to transfer the data between your iPad/iPhone and your laptop. This method does not require internet access.
• Copy To This method allows you share the data with another app on the same iPad/iPhone (including apps that can save the data data or transfer it to another device, such as DropBox and FileApp).

Exporting

The following objects can be exported:

• Tracks
• All Routes and Waypoints
• Individual Route
• Individual Waypoint

To export tracks, go to the Settings tab and find the Export Tracks item. Pressing the Export button will present you with a choice of how to export the tracks.

To export all waypoints and routes, go to the Route tab and press the "forwarding arrow" button on the top bar.

To export a route or waypoint, go to the Route tab, select object and press the "forwarding arrow" button on the top bar.

When exporting objects you will be presented with a dialog listing choices of methods you can use:

• Export with Email
• Save File
• Export with Copy To

Note that for the Email and Save to iTunes, SEAiq always exports the data in both GPX and KML formats.

Export with Email

Email export allows you to send the data to anyone (including yourself) as email attachments. You will be presented with a standard email display. All you have to do is fill in the email addresses you want to send the data to and press Send.

Note that you will normally need internet access to send or receive email.

Save File

The Save to iTunes method allows you to transfer the objects directly to your laptop using iTunes File Sharing.

These are the steps:

• Attach your iPad/iPhone to your laptop with the connector cable.
• On your iPad:
  • Select Save to iTunes choice when exporting.
  • SEAiq will confirm the GPX and KML files were saved and tell you the file names that were used.
• On your laptop:
  • Run Apple iTunes.
  • Select your iPad/iPhone on the left side of the iTunes window.
  • Select the Apps item in the upper bar.
  • Scroll to the bottom of the window until you see the File Sharing section. In iTunes on MacOS, the apps listed under Sync Apps scroll separately from the window frame they are in. This can sometimes be confusing. If only the list of apps is scrolling, then you may need to click on the area outside the apps list.
  • Select a SEAiq app in the Apps section.
  • You should see the file that you exported listed on the iTunes window.
  • Press the Save... button
  • Choose where to save the file, optionally renaming it.
  • The file is now on your laptop. If you now want to open the file in another program you can follow the instructions for the other program.

Export with Copy To

This method allows you to transfer an object in the chosen directly to any other app (on the same iPad/iPhone) that understands that format. After selecting this choice, you will be presented with a list of apps that support the format. Select one of them and that app will load the data you are exporting.

Importing

SEAiq supports importing Routes, Waypoints, and Tracks in the GPX (.gpx) format. Routes can also be imported in the the Transas (.rt3), Maris (.rtu), Mona Lisa 2.0 (.rtz), SevenCs Lisy (.rte), NACOS Platinum (.nacos), and Sam Electronics ECDIS (.sam or .dat) formats. Data in KML (.kml) format cannot be imported.

There are two methods for importing data: Copy To and iTunes File Sharing. Importing from an email uses the Copy To method.

Copy To

This method is used when any other app has route data that you want to share with SEAiq, including general purpose data sharing apps such as DropBox and FileApp. When you export route data from another app, you should see SEAiq listed. If you select SEAiq, then it will start SEAiq and immediately import the routes and waypoints.

Note that this method is used when route data has been emailed to you. Open the email. Long-press the route attachment. , then select SEAiq as the app to open the data with. Note that when using Copy To from Mail, you should do a long tap on the attachment to open it (if Mail appears to become confused and gives you a white or black screen see Troubleshooting section below).

The last step is to actually import the objects into SEAiq.

• For Waypoints and Routes:
  • Go to the Settings tab in SEAiq and then select Routes and Waypoints.
  • Select Import.
  • You will see a list of possible files to import (.gpx, .rt3, .rtu, .rtz, .rte, .nacos, .sam, and .dat).
  • Select the file you want to import.
• For Tracks:
  • Go to the Settings tab in SEAiq and then select Tracks.
  • Select Imported Files.
  • You will see a list of possible GPX files to import.
  • Select the file you want to import.

IOS File Transfer

The other way to import data is through iTunes File Sharing. This method is useful when you have the GPX data on your laptop. The advantage of this method is that it does not require an internet connection to transfer the data from you laptop to your iPad/iPhone.

Note that using the free FileApp app is another way to transfer data to/from your laptop without having a full internet connection.

• Attach your iPad/iPhone to your computer.
• On your laptop:
  • Open Finder.
  • Select your iPad/iPhone on the left side of the Finder window.
  • Choose Files in the horizontal tab bar. You may need to scroll to the right if your finder window is small.
  • Look for the SEAiq app listed on the left.
  • Drag/drop files on to this app to transfer into SEAiq.
• On your iPad/iPhone:
  • For Waypoints and Routes:
    • Go to Settings tab in SEAiq and select Routes and Waypoints.
    • Select Import.
    • You will see a list of possible files to import (.gpx, .rt3, .rtu, .rtz, .nacos, .sam, and .dat).
    • Select the file you want to import.
  • For Tracks:
    • Go to Settings tab in SEAiq and select Tracks.
    • Select Imported File.
    • You will see a list of possible GPX files to import.
    • Select the file you want to import.

Importing Duplicate Waypoints and Routes

When importing waypoints and routes, if an exact duplicate already exists then SEAiq will use the version it already has and not create another copy. Thus, if you export all your waypoints and route and then re-import them immediately, no new waypoints or routes will be imported -- since they are all duplicates.

If an object with the same name already exists but is not an exact duplicate, SEAiq will choose a new name for the object being imported.

Example: Transferring Between SEAiq on Different iPads

A common use of this feature is to transfer waypoints/routes from one SEAiq app to another SEAiq app on a different iPad. We recommend two ways to do this.

The simplest is to export via email and send them to yourself. On the other iPad select the attachment to import it (remember to use a long-tap -- press and hold -- to open the attachment). Email will normally only work if you have a connection to the internet, which may not be the case if you are underway.

The other approach, which does not require an internet connection, is a two step process. The first step is to export to your laptop using the Save to iTunes (aka iTunes File Sharing) method. The second step is to import to your other iPad using iTunes File Sharing.

Troubleshooting

• When I import waypoints/routes from the Mail app, I get a black screen?!? When importing from Mail it is easiest if you long-tap on the attachment. Otherwise, Mail can become confused and appear to lock up with a white or black screen. Nothing serious has happened: Mail is just trying to display the data but does not know how to. Here is what you do to get out of this:
  • Single tap on the center of the screen.
  • A bar will appear on the top of the display, with a Done button and a forwarding button in the top-left and top-right, respectively.
  • Press the forwarding button to open the GPX data in SEAiq.
• If you have any other problem, please let us know.