Wrong coordinates are added to Simple Notes/Images

[AndrewM-]

PhotoNotes-positionsNotCorrect.pdf. The coordinates for image notes are not correct. I have traced the issue back to a certain extent and have documented the issue in the attached pdf. I am using Smash version 1.10.0 on iOs 18.1.1 which is running on an old XR iPhone.

[moovida]

Hi @AndrewM- , thanks a lot for this great feedback... for a potentially brutal bug. Before I am able to look into this (but will very soon to make sure to fix it if it is one) two questions:

• you are you talking about simple image notes, right? The ones without text, just a quick image. And when you take them do they seem to be in the right spot in your map?
• it is not due to the fact that when you open and move, then the coordinate of the first moment is taken and not the one of the picture (I think to remember, will have to check).

Thanks

[AndrewM-]

@moovida I will go out and try and reproduce the issue today. I reported the issue straight away, as it could be serious. I do like the new interface and Smash is very fast. I should not be opening and moving as I stand still when I am taking photos. Yes, I was using simple image notes and was not using a custom form.

[AndrewM-]

@moovida The issue was mostly user error: the photo note was using the centre of the screen and not the current position for the photo. This is a feature, not a bug but it caught me out. There is an interaction between screen following current position and the position recorded with an image. So there can be a small error if a user screen is tracking position and the image note is set to using the centre of the screen for coordinates. Perhaps the setting for using the centre of the screen should not be sticky, as adjusting the location of a photo using a screen is only of occasional necessity. I would be happy to select the option to move the photo each time I need the feature. In this case, the setting was inherited from a previous project, so caught me out. I can see others getting caught by this issue, so some more visual feedback might be in order, when people are using the screen to set the photo or form position.

[AndrewM-]

When I create a new project, the current settings are inherited including the one that determines whether photos are attached to the current position or the centre of the screen. I think that each new project should have photos positions reset to the current GPS position. There are two reasons why certain settings need to default back on new project creation. Firstly, an asset such as an iPhone might belong to a company and be used by anyone. They will create a new project and could be caught out by inherited settings. Two of the companies that I worked for recently provided devices for data collection. Secondly, I might forget to switch the settings back again when I create a new project. Usually I am distracted by my primary task and am not paying full attention to SMASH, so I might not notice that photos or forms are not at the current GPS position for a while. I think that photos and forms should always be at the current position, unless the user expressly casts the position to another location. In my case, weeds on a riverbank are best seen from the opposite bank, hence I want to cast the form position using the map centre. I think that the users should have to select use the screen centre for position, each and every time this feature is required.

[moovida]

This behavior has been discussed in the past and it lead to the gps or map center icon in the top bar of the forms.
I can understand what you propose, but it is quite invasive for those that do not have your same issue... since in the field one more tap is already too much for many :-D

Adding an per-project setting is a bit tricky, since it would need to be inserted in the db.
I wonder if we could ad a preference that toggles a per-note choice of the insertion type or not.
But then again I would not be sure how to graphically show that without adding a new intermediate dialog. Hmmmm

[AndrewM-]

I have considered you feedback and I think that your concerns are valid and it is good to hear them. I often get massive forms created by GIS people in the office, which are hard for me to use in the field. Forget adding a per-project setting. I think that is is relatively uncommon to need to place a point in a place that is not your current location, so I would propose that the control defaults back to using a GPS location and that a user has to deliberately choose using the screen centre for location each time that they need to offset a point. This would not result in any additional taps for those that do not need this feature. I got caught out because I was distracted by doing a drone survey at the same time. My point is that in less-than-ideal conditions, it is easy to miss a persistent and incorrect setting for location. Perhaps the icon for offset points could also be a different colour or variant, such as the outline of a camera, rather than a solid camera.

[opk12]

Other apps show the note balloon at the chosen position, before actually saving the note, like a preview / feedback.

I think that is is relatively uncommon to need to place a point in a place that is not your current location

I'm an OpenStreetMap volunteer mapper and I usually locate things by eye and aerial imagery, What kind of mapping requires moving to the exact place of the future note?

Also the GPS can be unreliable if you have a budget phone or in a city (due to the signal reflections on the walls) or in a needle-leaved forest (reflections on the leaves)